guitar2005

Jim Donahue will make you a custom Jem body. He used to work at the USA Ibanez custom shop. I have 2 of his Jem bodies and they're great.

They're vitrually noise free and can be high output, higher that passives.

For the straigtedge, I use the Lee Valley ones. They're very accurate. In terms of price, I find that they're in the same ballpark as the StewMac ones. If you check your piece of bubinga right off the jointer against the straightedge, you might see that the wood is not perfectly flat... That's what a straightedge is for. If you've never has a straightedge before, you should probably set up your jointer with one.

I've never used one. Would they be good for doing the inside curve on an Ibanez RG style body? I always do those by hand.

So I guess you're saying the fretboard's base will be 1/8" off the body but you don't say how thick the fretboard will be. I usually have a 1/4" thick fretboard. Have you drawn it out?

I did some spraying without the proper fans and I guess I could have killed myself... When I realized that I needed an explosion proof fan, I looked around on the net and this was the best deal I could find:http://cgi.ebay.ca/6-Hazardous-Location-Direct-Drive-Propeller-Ring-Fan_W0QQitemZ190159601499QQihZ009QQcategoryZ53297QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZVi wItem

OPM = Orbits per minute. This is how the buffer's speed spec is stated and according to the Ryobi site 4800 orbits per minute is correct. http://www.ryobitools.com/products The orbits are the tiny circular movements it makes much like a random orbital sander. I just saw one of these things. I didn't realize it was a small hand held device. Personally, I'd just get a real buffer ( a motor, 2 pulleys, a belt and a couple of buffs).

4800 RPM (what's OPM?) seems to me like its on the fast side. I buff at a much lower speed... like 600 RPM. AT 4800, it'll just melt the finish. Actually, even a standard AC motor that runs at 1725 RPM is way too fast. Your buffer was probably meant for metal or something like that. Do a quick test on scrap and you'll see what I mean. 4800 will dig into the finish and/or melt it.

I wasn't referring to action but the distance between the body and the string between the pickups. Compared to a recessed Floyd, it sounds like the strings are farther away fropm the body but compared to a non-recessed Floyd and no neck angle, its probably at par. Have you thought of "angling" the neck pocket? I think the guys at Boogie Bodies offered that option on their guitar bodies, so its definitely do-able. The TOM on my guitar fits into the recessed area WITH the saddle adjustment screws, which is why the recess on mine is wider. Did you have to level and buff the finish on that guitar or is that the way it came back from the painter's?

Check that the fret is properly seated. If it it, sand it down a little, re-crown and test. A mini straightedge is best in ensuring that you don't remove too much fret material.

Thank you for your kind words! Here's a close up photo of the bridge recess which may help you: As for how wide, I made sure I had the actual bridge ready in advance, then I made a template based on its size to use for routing the recess. If you mean how deep is it, it's about 6mm deep into the body. Yeah, it does look like it hasn't been recessed, when you see it with the bridge in place, which is the effect I was after! DJ Looks tighter than mine. Definitely something to look into for my next build. I do find the thumbweels very close to the wood. It almost rubs. Any problems on yours with the adjustment screws touching the finish? EDIT Now that I look at my recess, I understand why I made it slightly wider - I wanted the strings closer to the body and I also wanted the TOM to fit with the saddle adjutment screws. Still, I like the look of yours. How do you like the fretboard being so high compared to the body?

Ouch! don't put acoustic strings on an electric. That's like putting truck rims/tires on a Toyota Yaris. You'll be lucky if the nut is still good.

Very nice and clean work. You must be real happy. Regarding the recessed TOM, do you have any closeup up pic? I'm a big fan of recessing TOMs. I can barely see that you've recessed the TOM though. How wide is your recesess?

Thanks, are you familar with making a one piece neck and fretboard with either of these? I m tempted to use either cocobolo or some kind of ebony I've used cocobolo on my 2 latest guitars and I definitely prefer the look and feel of it compared to Rosewood - Its pores are tighter and it almost feels like ebony. It seems to me like its slightly harder and that it doesn't darken as much. The colour is nicer too but... these are all personal preferences.

Someone had posted a link to an excellent video on how to do bursts with dyes but I lost it. Anyone still have the link?

Hey, I'll take a picture of mine when I have a minute or two.

I tried the miter box thing for cutting scarfs and its not precise because the blade will have a tendancy to wander a little, regardless of which miter saw you use. Have you thought of building a router jig? I built mine and I'll be using it on my next build. You do have a router, don't you?

Drill press? Please elaborate. +1 I don't get it either.

Drill press?

Its just faster to remove the bulk with a forstner then clean up with the router. Its also quieter It will put less strain on the router bits too. because they spin so fast, its also not a good idea to use a router to hog out wood... for safety reasons.

When working with a dense and hard wood like Jatoba or even Maple, before you bring a router to it, try to cut the body about an extra 1mm from the final size. If you can't get it that close with your bandsaw, sand it down. Making sure the router bits are clean and sharp also helps. Seems to work for me.

+1 eBay has so much crap bodies going for real cheap that its hard to sell anything in terms of bodies and make enough coin to cover the trouble of it all. You'd be better off selling locally.

There must have been something funky or reversed in your wiring. Shield the whole thing. I have the control pots and all outer metal parts of the electronics touching the shielding. All of the external casings of the electronics should be connected to ground.

Teletubbies.

Meh... I had them for a while and they're nothing to write home about.