chunkielad

I don't see the point in getting a figured maple if you aren't going to show it off to it's best so some sort of stain is a bit or a pre requisite for my lkiking. Maybe a subtle amber or Amber sandback and then clear? I really have a thing for tiger eye at the minute so it'd be easy for me to say do that but I'll refrain.

I suppose it's down to personal choice as to whether it's acceptible then. I personally want to do EVERYTHING on all my guitars. I can do it or I will learn to. I don't expect everyone out there to be the same. If I bought a custom from any workshop, the actual person doing the work wouldn't bother me as long as the final result was what I had asked for. To a customer it's the product and service that matters not the logistics of making the item. We also need to keep in mind that the phrases bantered around mean diffferent things to each of us. I build custom guitars but have only done 2 so I see myself as a Hobbyist Custom Guitar builder. I wouldn't however say I was a luthier! Someone else may see that they are making guitars so luthier is the coirrect term and technically they'd be right but morally to me it's wrong. Drak says custom guitar builder is wrong. Everyone to their own.

Sod to the whole 'what's a custom builder bullsheet!' Matt, you do good work. If you want to pay for your electrics to be done, hell, why not. Does one person in PRS make the whole guitar, finish it, wire it and set it up. Sheet no! Does it make it any less of a machine? No! Giv it up fellas. Matt - when they have rewired, what have they actually done, rewired or replaced components? If they replaced components, did they replace tone capacitors etc too? Break down the circuit into parts and see what hasn't been changed yet. You could also just try another pickup off another guitar onto the circuit and hold it over the strings or maybe do th same with this pick up over another guitar. It may be worth taking the pick up out, wiring a jack socket to it direct and just trying that through an amp.

Baby oil or baby lotion without lanolin are perfect mate. My back didn't scab at all and was healed within 3-4 days, itchy as hell for the last 2 of them though! The reason to avoid lanolin is that some people are allergic to it and it can irritate the area. Generally the cheaper lotions don't have it. Asda (Walmart) have their own range here that I use - the oil is there's too.

Any cheapo moisturiser WITHOUT Lanolin will do the job very well. Plus, I used baby oil on my back tattoo and it worked a tret.

No way, I've never seen that before but hey, if it worked, wicked!

I see no reason why an extension won't work if done to a good standard. As long as the glue joins are clean and tight, it should hold well. A bit of extra planning would be better next time though!

To be honest I have only realised a difference when I sanding sealered and I tinted it with stain to be extra sure of the colour. Fretboard is on and trimmed to the neck so I had to fit it together and take a look see. Body finish is next then dot inlays and finally the fretboard shaping and nut/ bridge fitment. Oooh I'm all excited! Had a go at a dot inlay with solder to see what it'd turn out like. If the flux hadn't been in there it'd have been great (only have fluxed solder at the minute. May do this, may go with quilted maple dots. http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m37/chu...d/Solderdot.jpg

The only thing to keep in mind on a scarf one is whether you will hit the end of the truss rod. If that's going to happen, the 2nd option may be better - you should get 5 or 6mm before the rod with that method I'd have thought. Hence a 5-6mm back slab and then just fill in the 'end' as it were. I remember someone on here tuning a bolt on into a glue in with a similar method.

I get you on the kudos for the neck building but so far it's not been anywhere near as scary as I thought. The whole cost of fretting thing is not an issue as you either get a caul for a drill press if you have one or a brass head hammer and practise on scrap. Seeing as there is a bit 'extra' on the fret board, could you not work an angled cut at the heel of the fender neck and add a piece in to extend the length. This would give you the overall length needed and only require a little shaping of the neck heel but no fretting. Almoist a scarf joint heel. Where the pink in the image is the new piece. Or even an L shape where a thickness is taken off the heel and a whole block fitted with a veneer line and a back block to make a pretty effect.

What pocket size is the ibanez? If it's 4" then just do a 3" one for the warmoth hence moving the neck out.

Wow that's cool! I thought it was some kid being daft but if it works, I may have a go (carefully!) Does it set clear or white?

Just read on a site that if you mix CA and baking soda it makes a plastic is that right? If so, I might have a go at some dot inlays for a laugh. If anyone has done it, is there any way of colouring it?

It's an oversized metallic called a holo-flake. I can't remember where i saw them being sold - try a search in google for chrome paint I'm sure it was one of the companies that supply that. EDIT: Found one called Alsa Corp You'd need to have a more even spray than this and they call it Crystal FX but it's basically a large flake glitter metallic.

I'd have a go at just glueing that one. It's a nasty break but I'm sur ethat it'll hold. The other option would be to glue and clamp but then route two slots in the back and use infill strips to bridge the break either side of the truss rod. A bt of shaping and painting and no one will know! http://www.guitarrepairshop.com/repair1930epiphone.html shows a similar final join of about 30 degrees and even better, your has a rough surface hence in#creasing the surface area.

I jkust had a go at my first necka nd i've used a router, orbital sander and a rasp/file. Not hard to do at all! If the fretboard on this is extended then you mayt ust need to move the end of the neck poicket further toward the edge of the guitar. IIRC the ibanez neck is really deep into the body. A standard fender neck will have a pocket 3" long so work from that and 'penicl in' the bridge location then measure out to the nut and see if you still have the 3" pocket you want. I reckon it'll be OK.

And that's really all that matters. Either way it's still a nice looking piece. You got it in one mate - it does my head in when people ask others opinion and end up doing something they may not like themselves as it fits in with other's opinion. As it turns out, the top has had some plasticote clear over it to protect the stain whilst i do the next bits and it's gone a lovely shade of amber brown! Gorgeous!

I never use nitro - I use 2 Pack car paint and my mix has very little thinner in it at all really. Maybe 25% and then a small splash of hardner/activator. It may be worth playing around with the mix on scrap and the pressure drop was always going to help but you may have gone a little too low. Try upping it a little and messing with the mix. It's a wierd one if you have used the mix before but spraying is an art not a science!

That looks like a setup problem to me. Either your mix isn't right or the air pressure is wrong. Try dropping the air pressure so it JUST sprays and then up it just a click or so. What mix of retarder/hardner//thinner/clear are you using?

Yes mike there is a touch of green hue but I like it and I had black at hand when I tried it so that's what went on. It's not that bad in real life plus these images are taken on a phone camera and under flourescents. It's more browny in real life.

I chickened out on the idea of binding! It's only my second guitar and I am doing a neck for the first time so I think I'll leave binding for the next one! Today I got around to fitting my first truss rod. It was suprisingly easy to route and install. I don't know what I was worried about all this time! It's a single action rod as I got 3 of them for £3 each! Hardly worth turning down. I also decide that the more I looked at the quilt on the body, the more I didn't like it - Sand back time it was! I stained black, sanded back and then coated in antique Pine Coloron. Then I decided a nice edge fade would be good so I had a go at a sanded one. I stained black again and sanded the stain back but not as much at the edges. Then another 5 coats of antique pine and a good rub to even the fade out. I will be painting the back of the guitar black and spraying a small paint fade a little over the stain one to help blend it some more. Pics of body only as I forgot to do the neck ones but the fretboard is on and clamped so won't be long before I'm playing this baby! http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m37/chu...ld/DSC00493.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m37/chu...ld/DSC00496.jpg So much for a natural look eh? Maybe on the next one.....

Very nice - I don't suppose you want to make a sister for it do you?

The only way to do this properly is to drop fill or keep sanding and spraying until they level out. The latter being a poor way of doing it really but should work just as well in the end. Ensure that there is no sanding swarf in anything before you spray and you should be OK.

Do you have a water trap on your spray gear mate? I fnot, get one and if you have, check it's working and not damaged. What about a go with Rustins plactic coating and brush it on - just to get the whole spray gun out of the equation?

Well I decided that dye was the only way to go. I tested on a few pieces of scrap and nothing made the quilt pop like a good old stain - sandback - stain! So here she is so far - there is going to be wooden edge binding and I am putting a centre strip down the join between the two pieces of maple. That is why I have not worried too much about the join. The maple did not show the figure too well before I glued and hence i made the grain pattern match not the quilt. It is a lesson learned as the quilt is not that well lined up. Hey ho, next time it will be prefect! All images are just dyed with Coloron wood dye- no sealer/wax/anything else. I expect it'll pop a bit more when finished. http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m37/chu...ld/DSC00492.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m37/chu...ld/DSC00490.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m37/chu...ld/DSC00489.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m37/chu...ld/DSC00488.jpg