Guitarfrenzy

All of them are great in their own way. I simply couldn't decide. I think that you guys have raised the level of cigar box geetarz in a good way.. Anyone want to let me use one on my next gig.. haha

Ah.. the dreaded Jointer, yeah I remember my first experience with this tool.. lol I had no concept of how it should be adjusted. Like has been previously mentioned by thegarehanman, there are certain things you need to have properly setup on it before you can get good results. Your jointer blades need to be aligned properly and the fastest, most accurate way is with a tool. You can get a Jointer Blade Alignment Jig from Woodcraft.com. Here's an article on setting up the blades without the use of one though. Either way, they must be aligned properly. Adjust your outfeed table level with your infeed table, use a straight edge and see if they are level. If they are not level then you will have to adjust the tables until they are. Then you need to adjust the outfeed table properly. If you do a search on Google you can find way more information than I can give you here. Good luck.

No.. lol.. I'm dumb enough to give information away, not sell it..

Since I've bought almost every book that Amazon sells on building guitars, etc. They sent me an email informing me of a new book that's coming out, and I thought I'd post it here for you guys as well. It hasn't even came out yet, but will be available soon, like I need another book.. haha I'm not sure if it's any good, just wanted to bring it to PG's attention. Here's the official link from Trafalgar Square Publishing company. Anyway, it should be available at Amazon soon, so look it up if your remotely interested in it. Later, Matt Vinson

Nitro turns yellow over time, which isn't a bad thing. It actually gives you the classic vintage look that most are looking for in the first place. Like Mattia said, I'd leave it alone...

Looking great AlGeeEater!! Looks like your really making some good progress. The Robo-Sander is slower, but really works great on the neck, headstock area, etc. where tearout is worse. Keep up the good work. Matt Vinson

Nice.. Stainless steel and gold fretwire? Quite a stash bro.. I agree, I would rather bend my wire myself to get the exact radius (slightly overbent) to match the fingerboard radius. There are plans somewhere on the site to build your own bender. Definitely look into it if you don't want to spend the money to get one from Stew Mac.

I think it looks great. Very nicely done. So when do we offically see the Tremol-no go on sale?

I've got one that I might part with. I never used it much, and don't think I will in the future. It's got a couple of scratches on it, but is like new. Still have the box and instructions, works great.

Glutton for punishment....you shot the damn thing again, didn't you? ← haha.. no actually I'm trying to learn Flash and this is just a newbie try at it.. No harm meant. Anyone else know much about Flash, I'm starting to figure it out after reading 205 pages of a 500 + page book.. ...

Click on link below the picture to see how the event actually took place in Boggs shop.. Boggs Deer Talks

Hey Perry, since when did you stop being a Mod? Maybe I missed something.

I have a 300 grit Offset Diamond file like you are talking about and I like it a lot. You can use the rounded edge to avoid contact with the guitar body when working on acoustics or set necks. I almost wish I'd have went with the 150 grit to better work on Stainless Steel wire, but you'd have to be careful with it when crowning regular fretwire. I can't comment on the other files although they look good to me, I don't own a set. I'm sure either way you go, you can't go wrong. I guess it just depends on which ones would suit your needs better.

I remember this very subject coming up, don't know the link for the thread though, but your right. I feel the same way as you guys, it's not only dangerous, but not very good advice either. I don't think the Mod's can do much about the main site, but I might be wrong. You probably need to contact Brian on this on, but I'm sure bringing this to the Mod's attention will get the information passed on to him just the same.

If your worried about the use of softer wood, you should really try to use CF(Carbon Fiber) Rods to strengthen the neck without adding undue weight. It just makes the neck much more stable, in fact I use it in every guitar I build, because I want the guitar to play great in any climate it might be in and take out the need for adjusting the truss rod once set.

First, I must soak the popsicle sticks in a mineral suspension and let dry. I figure on probably a year of alternately soaking and drying would pretty well infuse the popsicle stick with the minerals needed to harden it to where it could be sharpened to cut... You have to come up with a much tougher assignment, my friend! ← Hey, I'm just here to help..

I have to admit. You sure are a lot braver than me. lol I can't even imagine trying to make a neck pocket with chisels, and hand tools. Thank god they invented the router, is all I have to say.. Looks good though and makes for a very interesting read. Now for your next assignment... You must carve out frets using popsicle sticks!!!! Good luck!

Oh well, I was bored somewhat, so I'll give it a design try.

Not only did you do an excellent job on making the violin, but your building journal or tutorial is one of the best I've seen this year. Wonderful job!!! I know an old man that makes violin's from scratch like you did, and he tried to talk me into building one. I think it would be a very fun project but finding the time to learn and build one would be the hard part. Again, great job bro and I enjoyed reading your journal. Matt Vinson

GregP is guiding you in the right direction. Single coil pickups do pickup outside interference, but you can help to minimize it somewhat. Make sure that everything is grounded to the same place, no exceptions if you want to avoid a ground loop. You could shield pickup cavities, etc. too.

Very interesting thegarehanman!! I like it, plus your trying new things out and being inventive in your approach. Nice design, I like it a lot, and am anxious to see how the tang top will look once finished. I like how you took the time to actually build jigs and tools while working on your guitar. That shows that you want everything done right or not at all. Keep up the great work... looks great so far. Matt V

I have a Les Paul Custom Lite, which they built in the mid 80's, mine is a '87 and it's a very thin body. Yet it has that classic Les Paul sound. I don't know if that would help you determine anything, but an interesting fact.

You can use Stew Mac's Black Fingerboard Stain to give it an ebony look. I've never tried to stain one with the frets already installed though, but I imagine it wouldn't hurt anything. The only concern is with the inlays, try not too stain them directly somehow if your not going to pull the frets. You could try it first and if it doesn't give you the results your looking for, you will then need to remove the frets and do it that way. If your not really familar with fretwork, then I'd consider avoiding doing this, since you'll want the fretjob to be accurate as can be. You can pull the frets by heating them up with a soldering iron, and slowly prying them up starting at one end and going across the length of the fret. Installing new ones could fill up a whole article on it's own, if you want to do the job right. Please only mess with the fretjob as a last resort. As far as getting the old finish off the fingerboard, you can use Naphtha (lighter fluide) to remove it. That should work unless for some reason it has been clear coated, which would suprise me since it's usually only done that way on maple fingerboards.

I thought the earth was flat.. haha

No problem bro. I just posted it so you could see illustrations of what everyone else was talking about. I hope it helped. Close. What you do is use it to build your template of the neck. That way you can get it perfect. It's easier sanding a 1/4" template and getting it perfect than a piece of hardwood that's thicker. Then with your perfect template you can cut out the neck accurately. If you need any help on using templates I could explain more detail. Good luck. Matt Vinson