araz

Yhea but, powertabs.net has posted this message on their front page and are not allowing access to their huge repertiore of tabs "[December 17th, 2005] Due to the recent actions of the MPA (see here), we had to change the available content temporarily. More information will be posted soon. Sorry for any inconveniences this change may cause. Thank you for your understanding and patience" This really sucks Araz

Hey Perry, great looking guitar I love the inlays in the fingerboard. Can you give us a quick & dirty step-by-step on the inlay... Araz

I vote for recessing the studs, simple to do and may even look cool Araz

11.11mm = 7/16" I recently drilled my TOM posts with a 7/16" (11mm) drill bit. The bottom part of the posts, which is the smooth metal, fits too loosly in the holes but the upper corrugated part is a bit too large for the holes. Once I push in the posts (or gently hammer or heat the posts with an soldering gun), the corrugated metal will dig in the wood/poly and sit in there nice and tight. That's what I hope will happen anyways The reason I haven't done it yet is because I only want to do it once so I don't make grooves on the sides of the holes. I'm currently laying down the clear coats, then polish, then put in all the accessories. Araz

Hey Josh, No more progress to report, I'm done with the experiments. I already stained the guitar, see picture above. I gave up on the black because it required too much sanding back which is not possible/advisable to do it on a thin piece on veneer. Check out this thread http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=12912 Take care, Araz

The clear coats do not bring out the tone, they simply protect the wood. Araz

The book from this website is the best I've found http://www.buildyourguitar.com/ Along with this website (PG) you should be able to answer most questions. Araz

This doesn't answer your question but has other usefull info if you are building a Gibson X-plorer http://www.gibson.com/Products/GibsonElect...rer/X%2Dplorer/ Araz

Here's the guitar stained yellow, sand back, amber, sand back, yellow (or was it amber again). In the end, I used my judgement after each coat to apply the next coat. I'm very happy with the result, especially that I only paid 12$ (cnd) for the veneer and in the end I didn't use any black. I can't wait to see it with the clear coats on... Araz

Are Perry and Matt saying the same thing? Can you guys shed some light on this. I would really appreciate to know how to get the best effect, with or without using black but preferably without! Araz

Here's what it looks like when the 1st coat has dried. The colours are not as intense anymore. Then I sanded back on each one. At this point I kind of got the feeling that I didn't sand back enough on the black ones (3, 4 and 9) but I continued anyways... The second coats (still wet) look like this based on 1(Y:Y), 2(A:A), 3(B:Y), 4(B:A), 5(Y:A), 6(A:Y), 7(A:B ), 8(Y:B ), 9(B:?) I'm starting to like 1 (Y:Y), 2(A:A), 5(Y:A) and 6(A:Y). The black colour is too dominating on 3(B:Y) and 4(B:A) but maybe I didn't sand back enough? Can anyone confirm this from the link above. Should I sand back until I see a lot more of the maple? Also, applying black over a colour coat completely hides the underlying colour, i.e, 7(A:B ). Therefore I didn't do 8(Y:B ) because it would have looked just like 7. Comments and suggestions appreciated. Araz

Just applied the first coats. The yellow seems to pop the flame pattern more than the amber, e.g. compare 1 and 2. I will let them dry and then sand them back a bit. I used bugman96's suggestions for #7 and #8 and black for the last one. Araz

I finally completed my first project, well actually I went through three bodies and two necks but I'm finally done It's a mahogonay back, maple top with flamed maple veneer, maple neck, purple-heart fretboard and jabota headstock veneer. I want to make the flamed maple veneer pop, you know, where the patterns on the wood have that 3D look. So I set up 9 flamed maple scraps to experiment on with different tecniques and colour combinations. I purchased 3 water-based aniline dyes from LeeValley, Ebony black, light yellow and Honeytone Amber. I want a yellow-amber-orangy-like coloured top to contrast the purpleheart fingerboard. In retrospect, I should have bought some more colours for more possible combinations. Oh well... I already sander the pieces of scrap from 220 to 400, raised the grain with a damp cloth and sanded again from 220 to 400. If you are doing this on a thin piece of veneer like I am, be careful not to sand through the veneer. In this case, the veneer is glued on MDF. Here is what I plan to do on each piece: 1: yellow, sand back, yellow 2: amber, sand back, amber 3: black, sand back, yellow 4: black, sand back, amber 5: yellow, sand back, amber 6: amber, sand back, yellow 7: ?? 8: ?? 9: ?? The point of all this is to experiment and get some experience before actually applying any stain on the guitar. I'm also hoping to be helpful to others in the same situation and to also get advice from more experienced "stainers". I will apply the stains probably tomorrow so there is still time if you want to make suggestions for 7, 8, and 9 or modify 1 - 6. I will post pictures as I progress. Let's see how all this will turn out Araz

Check out the link in this post neck pocket jig It's not a tutorial on how to make a set neck but should be enough to get you started. Araz

The best way I have found to get the neck aligned is to use one of those lasers, used for picture hanging. Place it on the body, behind the bridge area and align it with the center line on the body AND the neck until the laser is centered on the nut. This will give you a perfect alignement. The string idea also sounds good but I think it's easier with the laser. Araz

It worked I routed the neck pickup cavity first, then marked an outline on the neck tenon and just routed the tenon in my router planing jig http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=18537 One step closer to actually finishing this damn thing. Araz

I already checked out your site Setch to see how you did it but I could not wedge the neck in the body tight enough to feel comfortable about routing. However, I like your first idea. I.e., route the neck pickup, then carve the neck tenon. I will have to find a way to produce a 3 degree angle on the neck tenon but I'm sure that will not be too difficult. Actually, I may not even need a 3 degree angle on the neck if the pkup screw cavities are at the right height, i.e., just low/high enough to not allow the bottom of the pkup to touch the neck tenon. Since they already have the 3 degree angle in them, the pkups will be screwed in these cavities and the bottom of the pkup itself will be floating above the neck tenon. I hope I was able to explain it clearly enough but either way I think I have a way to do this now. Thank you very much for your valuable information. Araz ps. this site is so amazing

Hi folks, I'm reaching the end of my project but I have a dilema. The neck is finished but not stained, all cavities on the body are carved except the neck pickup cavity. My dilmena is, in order to route the neck pkup cavity, I need to install the neck (glue it) because part of the neck tenon will be routed as part of the pickup cavity (it's a set neck) but if I do that then finishing (staining) the guitar later will be more difficult with the neck in place. Ideally, I would temporarily hold the neck in place (it has a 3 degree angle), then carve the neck pkup, remove the neck and proceed with staining but I just can't think of a way to temporarily hold the neck in place solidly enough and have enough room to use the pkup template and router. Should I just glue the neck in place, route the pkup and just deal with the staining issues...? Araz

Although Maiden's suggestion will make it more sturdy, the way I designed this jig, with two layers of 5/8" MDF for the sled is plenty strong and does not flex under the weight of the router on its own, especially with smaller routers. It will flex a bit if you apply some downward pressure (~1mm), so when I use it, I only slide the router, not push down on it. Btw, I recently built Mika's neck pocket jig on the right-hand-side of my router planing jig. Two-in-one! Maybe I'll post a picture soon. If you are having doubts about building it, don't. This is such a usefull jig. I use it so often. Thickness planing for headstock venner, fingerboard, body surfaces, etc. I don't know how I would do things without it. Araz

Congratulations ! Must feel great. I'm getting really close to finishing my own project and I can only imagine how good it's going to feel. Araz

Hi Eric, I stumbled across your post from a search... Anyways, Langevin & Forest on Pie IX street has EXACTLY what you need. I know because I just bought an 8'' x 4' bookmatched flamed maple veneer from them for $12cnd. I don't know the exact thickness but it is ready to be used on a guitar. Go check them out... but give yourself a good hour for visiting, the place is not that big but they have a lot of great stuff... Hope this info is not too late, Take care, Araz

Chris, I designed and built this router planing table. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=18537 It's 2 feet wide and 4 feet long. I do all my surfacing with it from small to large pieces and it works great. You can get very smooth surfaces, specially if you sand afterwards with an orbital sander. It's well worth the time to build it for someone who doesn't have a real thicknesser. Araz

I photoshoped two versions. I kinda prefer the simpler 2+1 version instead of the 3+1. But is all this purpleheart on the body going to cause me problems later on? I mean the colour purple is very striking. What colour stain will look good with it? Also, do I have to mask the purpleheart when staining? Arghhhh... maybe I should just fill that hole and paint the damn thing!? idch, the center line is not visible, that's why I had to draw a pencil line. Araz

Looks like my extended fretboard idea was not a big hit. All for the best, the novelty of it wore out even for me after a short while. Majority says purfling strips. I like the idea but I have never done an inlay before, besides the round fretboard inalys but I get the feeling those don't really count, so instead of buying expensive purflings I propose this... The fretboard is purple-heart and I have a small piece left over which can serve the same role as the purflings (flush with the top). Also, I found some scrap pieces from the top that I can use to fill the hole, like David's guitar. I photoshoped this image, I think it looks ok. This guitar was always supposed to have 2 pickups... just that I'm not sure where to place the bridge pickup, actually I want to place it under the 48th fret but haven't calculated where that is yet. Araz

Grab that camera and take a picture Araz