guitar2005

Gotcha! but even at 15 passes, that is still not a lot of time. So exactly what is 1/15th of 1/16? 1/240th if my math is right LOL - good luck setting that up!

i did not say that,do not put words in my mouth. i said that the stewmac radiused blocks i have are imperfect,and that buying a radius blck and expecting to get a perfect fretboard radius with it is unreasonable...imperfect tools= imperfect work. do not turn my specifics into generalities I didn't put words in your mouth... That was a question. Maybe you missed the question mark. In the end, you use what works for you. I want to use any wood I want and any scale I want - Therefore, I slot and radius the board myself. These imperfections you are talking about with regards to the stew-mac blocks, I cannot comment on. Maybe you should get a refund from Stew-Mac.... I don't know. Regardless, because the fretboard is being sanded by hand with a block, it will not be perfect. Even with a pre-radiused board, you'll need to touch up and again, it won't be perfect (unless we have a different definition of perfect). It can be within very tight tolerances and that's all you need. You define the tolerances and get there in whichever way you can.

it means you are already close...15 minutes of cleanup after glueing to a neck vs hours of hand sanding with a radius block You're exaggerating. Hours? I've radiused and trued up the fretboard on my latest project in 45min. Ebony would have taken longer but there's no way it would takes hours.

Exactly - That's what I was trying to convey in my post. You really need to carefully check that everything is top notch before installing the frets. Hell, I've done a fret job with nothing more than a flat sanding block, some small pliers and hammer. Turned out fine. A good straightedge is your friend. I like real low action on my shredder guitars and I can achieve that with manually radiusing the board (I've done it in the past) So are you (Mattia) and Wes saying that a top notch job cannot be done with a radius sanding block? I find that hard to believe.

not when those radius blocks you buy from stewmac are imperfect...which they are.the machinery lmii and the other places use to radius is much more accurate than sanding with the radius blocks in my experience Wes, a piece of wood is imperfect... yes. I really think you're splitting hairs here. I have NEVER had a problem with using a radius block. Of course, when using a radius block by hand, the radius may not be perfect but I think that those minute imperfections are inconsequential in getting a quality neck. Maybe my standards are not high enough but frankly, I can't really tell the difference on a good job done by hand VS a pre-radiused board. I had a guy from Nova Scotia (Canada) make me some radius blocks and they match the stew mac fret press cauls. I'm happy with the results. On my fretboards, I like to integrate a bit of a fallout on the end of the neck and a store-bought fretboard won't get me that. I make the fretboard myself so I can fine tune the thing the way I like it. I have more fallout on bolt on necks and slightly less on set necks.

While making radiusing the fretboard yourself doen't necessarily mean better, it really should be of equal or better quality. For ebony boards, I like www.warmoth.com. When I changed the fretboard on my 1987 Ibanez Jem, that where I got the board and it was absolutely top quality. I highly recommend them.

+1 If you bump that guitar a little too hard, those pieces will fall off... unless you scarf them on but that would be quite the job. You could also try a mortise and tenon joint. The main body should have been joined right in the middle.

Works for me. Never had an Ebony board crack. Coincidence? Maybe. I like nicely cleaned and oiled fingerboards. I Use Lemon Oil.

For the first two questions... you answered them yourself. Never place a guitar next to a furnace. As for the crack, Ebony need to be oiled more frequently than other woods. Every time I change strings, I oil the fingerboard. To fix it, simply run some thin CA glue in the crack and you shouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

Unless you go to Steve's Music or Italmelodie, you're out of luck. On the net, the best prices I got were from USA eBay dealers but they're not supposed to ship to Canada. Some got caught and are no longer DiMarzio dealers. Try these guys:http://stores.ebay.ca/MusicLandCentral

Excellent work! Of all the guitars in the family picture, I like the one with the custom neck the best.

1- Simulate string tension - Too late now (maybe) because you need to measure the relief on the neck with the strings on and the neck adjusted with the truss rod to be as flat as possible. This is only to detect if the neck can't be brought back to dead flat using the truss rod adjustment. You simulate string tension as a reference get the neck flat with strings on. This is usually a problem on "spongy" necks. 2- Truss Rod - Determine if it works as it should. If it does, I usually loosen it (neutral position) and get the fretboard as flat as possible (reading the fretboard in the playing position). 3- I would not have oiled it until the frets were ready to install - If you need more sanding, you'll gum up the sandpaper. 4- Ensure that the fret slots are clean and the proper witdh to accomodate the new frets. If the slots are too tight, you'll induce back bow on the neck with the frets installed. This is especially a problem with ebony boards. Next steps in my opinion would be to ensure that the board is properly radiused. I do this with a pre-radiused sanding block. for a les paul, you're looking at a 12" radius. Make you you re-check for flatness. Then, I would build in a bit of fallout at the end of the board. I like to have about 0.08" of fallout. On a les paul, you don't need as much and on a bolt on 25.5" scale, I like to have a little more.

Press the string at the 3rd fret. You should still have a small gap at the 1st fret. If not, the nut is too low and adjusting the truss rod won't fix a thing.

+2 I also use the square back but the neck is also finished tapered. But Wes states that shaping the back of the neck might slightly bow the neck and I do think that it could be something to consider. If the frets are not on, you can shape, then re-true the neck but I wonder if that's really a big deal. On my necks, I build in a slight fallout at the end of the neck and try to get the rest as flat as possible. Will shaping the back of the neck really cause the fretboard to bow (front or back). Another thing to consider is that fretting the neck will also have an effect on neck bow so are we just being **** here?

I'm building my first neck and everything is coming along OK. I have the inlay side dots done, the 12th fret inlay done and the fretboard installed and radiused, I'm now ready to either install the frets using a fret press or do the neck profiling on the back. I'm not sure as to which I should do first. Any advice as to what works best and why would be appreciated. Thanks!

I've used my scroll saw (Dremel) to cut pearl. I glue the pearl onto a 1/8" wood base with a small dab of CA and cut along the lines. The scroll saw technique is not easy and I found that the lowest speed setting helps in following the lines to be cut. I've never tried it by hand because I already have a scroll saw and I didn't want to spend extra money on a jeweler's saw and blades. I've never had a problem with my fingers getting too close to the blade because of the wooden base I use. Cutting pearl takes a lot of patience and I find that its tough to follow the lines closely, especially on curves. I don't know if its easier or faster by hand but I see a disadvantage in trying to hold the small piece of pearl and cut at the same time.

all of this sounds very poor.. polyeurethane is a varnish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyurethane#Varnish urethane is something else entirely http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethyl_carbamate#Uses enamel is soft...never really cures hard enough(in my experience)and i really don't even know if it is compatible with polyeurethane paint http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enamel_paint but why use enamel for color and then top it with polyeurethane?you can get polyeurethane in any color you wish...at any automotive paint store...and then you would KNOW it would never have compatibility issues. nitro best for clearness?well,i don't know about that either...polyester(which i ASSUME is what you meant by "poly"(poly only is a prefix which means "many")is supposed to be much clearer...but harder to buff and more expensive to apply i think.acrylic is also supposed to be clearer than nitro... Hey... Sorry if that sounds "poor" to you but that's my personal experience. Yeah, another option is just buy car paint... NO clear... but avoid duplicolor if you must use car paint. If you're going with spray cans, here in Canada UAP can mix any color for you and put it in a can. Not sure what the product is but I used it once... on a car. Finish was pretty durable. If going with enamel, like I said, coat it with something hard. If the enamel is thin enough, you should be fine in terms of enamel "softness". Not the best option out there but an option nonetheless. By Poly, I meant Polyurethane, not polyester. By urethane I meant exactly that: Urethane. A quick google search finds this. I've used this. Personally, I find that Nitro provides the best "clearness". Personal experience and opinion. For solid colours, I guess its not an issue. You're right though, spray a finish with a spray gun is the best option if you have the gear and experience. Quick question, how many coats of finish would you spray with a 2-part finish and do you have to sand between coats? I try to avoid finishes where I have to sand between coats. Has anyone heard of catalyzed lacquer?

but I don't understand how you could have put yourself into a position like this full well knowing you had a deadline and also full well knowing that you're not a finishing guru, something isn't adding up in Mudville...please help me understand what your situation is in more detail. Drak, why do you need to understand why he wants it done quickly - That's besides the point. Anyways, Duplicolor is crap and it doens't cure hard. It will stay soft although the solid colours are better than their clear. I would paint the bass in a solid enamel enamel from anyone but DupliColor and clear it with a poly or urethane. Keep in mind that buffing poly is harder than buffing urethane and that nitro give the best "clearness".

... Hey.... I play a V and they're great guitars, plus they look cool on stage. Am I a poser just because I play a V? I say get a guitar in the color you want it. Don't strip it... But if you absolutely must, you'll need lacquer thinner as Gibson uses nitro lacquer on their instruments.

I couldn't find a template bit that was shorter than 1/2" for my cavity recesses. I had to make my templates thicker to use it I made all my dimarzio routes with it the same bit (1/2" radius). Worked out great. I'll check these guys out (routerbits.com) For the glue in the pores... You're supposed to wipe the glue. When you wipe it, make sure you use a damp rag that is rinsed often. the glue will get sucked into the rag. I usually take a first pass with a scraper, then use the rag to clean up the pores.

That's excellent work so far. Wow! I love the look of that rosewood. The cavity covers are really nice too. How did you rout the cavity cover recesses? Do you have a separate template for those? That's what I had to do on my jem project.

Yeah... I know what you mean. Ottawa pawn shops sell their stuff for more than what it would cost new... Its amazing what you can get on the street on garbage night though. I picked up a beautiful red cedar door .

They are (still finished in nitro).

Normal. Mine is a 1974 Custom. Originally, it was white.

Yes, I'll fill the worm holes but I want to actually harden the wood as it is very soft. Almost like pine.