RobSm

Is the top contoured? It doesn't look like it, but it's hard to tell..

If you're going to paint it or have a really dark part os a burst there a cheap & nasty fix is sawdust & glue. You's need some sort of backing placed on the inside. Make sure you get really nice sawdust... (sorry ..) Good Luck.

In a DIY (non-industrial) set up,what would you use to do the polishing, and what's the best way to go about it? Not so much the finish on the frets, but the fingerboard?

Hi. it could be Red gum see hereunder: http://www.monarotimber.com.au/sp_river_red_gum.htm It doesn't look like much fun to work. Good luck.

Hi. it could be Red gum see hereunder: http://www.monarotimber.com.au/sp_river_red_gum.htm It doesn't look like much fun to work. Good luck.

Hi guys. I used a heat gun & vinegar (since I figured there was enough 'safety' water in the vinegar) and a putty knife. It came apart surprisingly readily. If anyone is reading this... once I got the scraper edge into the join I applied the heat to the blade and every now & then prised the join open a bit & tipped a small amount of vinegar in & worked the blade down keeping the heat on the blade. There was a little discolouring of the wood (neck side) and surprisingly little clean up on the headstock side.

Thanks guys. I'll try the heat gun. It's the headstock I want...it's a convoluted story....but I'll get the truss rod too!! :o)

Hi. I want to scavenge a headstock. What's the best way to unglue titebond? Thanks. Rob.

You could build one of these(scroll down the page a bit) : http://www.luthierscooltools.com/Dwgs.htm

I think you'd need to look for small dings & steam them out, and probably would need to sand. People will disagree about how fine to sand but 400 should get you in the ball park. Raising then grain becomes relevant if you're going to use water on the surface - as in water based dyes or the like - probably your water based paints too. For sealing priming filling depending on the wood I would keep it simple & use shellac because it is a lacquer, is WIDELY compatible with lots of types of finishing products - you will need to check - and it can be applied by hand ( rag, brush) or sprayed. If you brush or wipe you won't have ventilation problems. For the final coat I would use this: http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts....ut+Hard+Shellac for the reasons given above. Yes it's lo tech - but it will give you a great result anyway. Post a pic at the end! Rob.

..you can use talc in shellac as a filler... "FINALLY Talc is also used as a very fine abrasive, a lubricant on bench-tops, machinery, drawer runners, etc. and can be added to shellac as a grain filler. Our talc is much finer than ordinary body talc and completely free from perfumes that may harm a finish. It is also ideal for use as a body talc for people who are allergic to perfumes and other additives. There are many more practical uses for this amazing powder, from soaking up oil spills to ................ well, let your imagination run wild. " Shellac & Talc Have fun.

I've used Feast watson proof tint dissolved in shellac without any problems... actually on the build in my avatar

Thanks guys...softly softly...

Hi. I've actually been PLAYING some of my guitars...but...I browse this forum & off I go again!! :o) I have joined a bookmatched Victorian Blackwood top - reasonably well - but it has warped before I copuld finish surfacing it. The high spot is right down the glue line extending about 3cm either side of the centre. From conversation with the more experienced, the advice was to steam the piece & then clamp flat it for a week, maybe two, and to place a thin wafer of something under the 'pivot point' of the bend for a bit more purchase. However on one point I'd like more input before trying this is...Do I 'steam' the whole top both sides or the side that is concave upwards or the side that is convex downwards that is the 'inside' of the 'u' or the outside (bottom) of the 'u'? My logic for what it's worth (LOL) tells me to put the steam into the 'short' side that is the concave upside (inside of the 'u') TIA RobSm

My view of this tool is similar to yours. I could not get any reproducibility at all. I think I used the router on top to go down the height of edge carve + binding channel depth for my first attempt. It was OK. So far the best result I've had with binding (n=3) is using the Setch top carve jig with the StewMac Router bit & bearing set. The width of the channel & binding were spot on. No horrible scraping of the binding to trim the excess level with the sides. http://home.asparagine.net/ant/blog/?cat=8 I thought there was a tute on it here but couldn't find it. Have fun. Rob.

See David Myka's tute in the reference section. I've done it twice with good results. I've never tried the spray can over a template method because the dyeing techniques a la Myka & Roger Siminoff are straight forward & fun.

I think I will. The larger dowelling fits a 15/64 hole very well, & 15/64 is not too large. The holes are just a bit near the edges of the neck pocket. Thanks.

Sounds do-able. Thanks for the tip. It will be tomorrow before I get a shot at it. Thanks again.

Hi. I am reworking s DIY bolt on neck to use threaded inserts. It has an angled neck pocket. Whereas with wood screws it was OK to drill straight through at 90deg to the back & let the wood screws bite, I figure the new holes will need to be at 90deg to the bottom surface of the neck ie the inner angled surface of the neck pocket. I feel plugging & re-drilling the holes in the neck pocket would be safest. But my dowling is too thin, & the other bit too thick. So How do I 'thickness' dowling to get the right diameter? Also is there another way instead of plugging & re-drilling? Could I pack in some sort of epoxy & re drill after it hardens?...well I could..but would it work well? Is there some other better way?

Hi. I used 1 meg pots as vol controls on my latest DIY. The pots are StewMac audio taper. The useable range is very narrow - from 12o'clock down to 8 o'clock. The StewMac tech guy says 1 meg pots are like that. I don't see why that should be so. The sound is A OK. The pot thing is just a bit of an irritation. The wiring is like a jazz bass, 2 vol 1 tone (500k) no switch. Does anyone know whether the narrow range of use in\s typicl as suggested? and if not, what might cause this? RbSm.

I don't think it's orange peel...it's sort of like the pattern of craking when mud flats dry out or as if a spider web was lain across the surface...

Yes...the result I've got is closest to the left side in pic4. I restained, put on a shellac seal and even padded on the first coat of lacquer, but when sprayed, the lacquer gave the same pattern of cracks.. I'm spaying a neck...no problem...also the back & sides...no problem....I can't work out why this is happening on the top only... If you can shed any light that would be great... Rob.

Hi. I stained the front back & sides with the same water soluble dye, sealed top back & sides with the same shellac before spraying with StewMac Colortone water based lacuer sing a Wagner W550. When I sprayed - all at the same time - the back & sides turned out basically OK (with a run or two),...but the front turned out to have a sort of 'cracked' appearance or like a spider web patten or snake scales... I don't think I dd anything different... I've sanded it all back, but I want to avoid a repetition. Please shed some light on this if you're able... Thanks, Rob

A thin coat of shellac on the timber would probably be the go. It is vastly under-rated because as an end finish it is fragile ( but easy to repair) but it is compatible with just about everything. You might want to do a bit more reading but I know shellac will bond well to ebony, & just about everything bonds to shellac. Also listen to your 'Old Lady'

Hi. I was about to do a stringup on a string through W.I.P. and I realised I don't know how to safely & efficiently remove the ferrules afterwards. What's the best way to remove ferrules? TIA, Rob.