zyonsdream

doubt it's very accurate but that's a pretty killer paint job, blue to siver burst!

Ah sorry, I work with the stuff so much I forgot to name it. The picture is Zebrawood, the link (top) is maple

I really don’t want to think about what I paid per BF ($47.29 a BF, which included the shipping costs) but my client is footing the bill for it and I get to keep 1 of the boards for my own greedy self! Going to make a neck out of it (neck thru) This is going to be the top and we will be using limba wings. http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j287/ZDG...%20posts/99.jpg It is scheduled to be a neck through viper, but he likes to change his mind alot so until I start cutting on wood, I'm sure things will change.

I get mine from Wood craft. They sell them for pen blanks. The one I go to has about 25 colors too. I think they go for about $3.50 USD.

It’s called balanced expectations. So the wife has seen your work and she likes it. Have her bring the husband by and have him check it out. Let him play one. Balance their expectations off of the work you have already done and be clear with the husband that you are newer to building and still honing your craft but you’d be happy to build him a guitar if he still wants it. Sit down with him and get an idea of what he likes. If it’s within your skill range, go for it. Don’t commit to a neck through if you aren’t sure how to make one. If everyone knows what they are getting into before it starts I see no harm in you making a little money for your efforts. As for pricing; I give a standard discount to very close friends and the few that stuck with me and played the sub par crap I put out in the early days of my learning process (no forums when I started!) Those people earn it and I can afford to take a cut because this isn’t my primary income.

I use 3 in 1 lube or graphite. If your saddles and nut are set up properlly you really shouldn't need a lube

Now I'd like to know why my 3 1/4 HP Triton doesn't have a light.

You know I was thinking about this. I rather like the “router shavings shower” that I get when blasting through a nice set of cavities. It’s sort of an accomplishment to see how many chips you can fill your ship with. Besudes that, if my ships were going into a dust collector or a shopvac it would be harder to amass the collection of wood chips and dust that I have over the years. I like to keep them to fill in voids or chip outs. You know what I really think routers need. Built in lights that light up the area you are routing. My shop doesn’t have the best lighting so I have to position a flash light so I can see inside the cavity I’m routing. I don’t know if they make attachments for lights on a router but I haven’t seen anything. Hmmm, sounds like a little R&D is in order.

It’s not that the GOTM is not enough. I thought it would be cool to see folks match wits and see who could come up with the highest votes in a specific genre of build. In the GOTM you get a very wide variety of guitars which can make it hard to compare features, quality and difficulty of build. If everyone has the same style of guitar to work with it allows everyone to compare on an equal level. I think a yearly thing would work. We could start it January first and then end it December 31st. Your guitar has to be started and completed in that year. You can’t submit anything started earlier than January 1st and no kit guitars. Go basic with it and have two categories. 1.A telecaster or Stratocaster 2.A dreadnaught acoustic. Those choices can generally be built without huge costs and in a decent time frame. After the shape, everything else is up to the builder’s imagination.

I hadn’t realized that it had been done in the past. I guess it’s a good idea in theory but in practice it wouldn’t pan out. I know I would be lost if someone started the baritone fanned fret with a floyd rose acoustic GOTM competition.

I was thinking that it would be cool to set up a theme for a GOTM. Not every month but once in a while. For example, Build a traditional tele or a unique shapes only month. Give a two month notice and see what people can do with that time. I thought it would be cool to do a cigar box month or something tricky. Something that forces people outside of their comfort zone. A lot of times the builds in the GOTM are so different in Genre that it’s hard to determine the one I like the best.

The actual piece would React differently and would get darker looking when placed against the wood. Make it about 3 shades darker and you’ll have a better representation of what it will look like. Sorry, I worked with acrylic sheet stock for several years. I was also thinking of a full pickguard too.

That’s why I thought that a translucent red would be nice because it would almost be a redish amber once placed on the top. For the money and time involved you could just buy a piece, whip up the pick guard and see what it looks like. Just putting it on top of the guitar would make the wood underneath it a few shades darker but would still allow the wood grain to show though clearly. It would actually darken the face of the guitar and add an interesting contrast. Did I mention that I really like that spalt! Edit: They make translucent amber acrylic too which would add a yellow tint to the wood beneath it. I personally would go with the red if I chose to go this route but the yellow would add an interesting flavor to it too.

I just got a new Triton which is a top of the line router and it throws chips just like my Ryobi router does. That’s just the nature of the beast. After routing the edge profile and cavities for a guitar I have to take an hour to clean up the shop. A collection hood would help if you could keep it below your project, off to the side and in the path of the exiting chips but likely it would take your focus off your work, become a pain and then the next thing you know you have a nice gouge where your upper horn should have been! When it comes to routers, I give it 100% of my attention all the time. Router’s and jointers. Both tools not to mess around with!

translucent Red acrylic sheet would look nice and would really complement the padauk stringers. It would be an excellent alternative to using wood. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...rksid=p3907.m29

Let me be the first to say that I like it. Very classy take on an LP Jr. The 1 humbucker sets it off nicely. Is it a bolt or a set neck? Any pictures of the back? I hope you finished the pick guard. A piece of rosewood that thin that isn’t glued down will tend to try to roll the edges and could possibly crack. A good flat hard coat will prevent that without changing the color too much. Just food for thought.

I've used my Delta orbital spindle sander to do bevels before. I've used my orbital palm sander as well. I've even used the 6” disc sander that's on the side of my table top belt sander before. A good flat file and a half round file will go along way because it isn't as aggressive as power tools but I get bored when I have a file in my hand for too long. Just go with your gut. It get’s easier as you go.

Make a 4 string, 5 string and a 6 string but make the 4 string first since it seems like what you want to do. You could always bandsaw the excess wood off the neck blank and then use it somewhere else.

If I were going to install one I would install a short lead from the back of my pot and wire it in-line with the wire going to my bridge. I’d make sure it was inside the control cavity for easy replacement if necessary. I suppose you could put it at the end of the electronics chain. I’d have to experiment to make sure that it didn’t cause signal degradation since a wire fuse isn’t shielded.

You should be able to contact Fernandez to get the correct scale length if you can’t find any online. It’s most likely the same scale as their current model but I always like to have proof. You might have to re-shape the neck pocket to make a tele neck fit snug. Stew-mac sells great neck pocket templates for nominal cost. If done correctly you can shape the pocket and keep the heel of the neck in the same location as it relates to the bridge. Just make sure you get a neck for the correct scale before ordering or making templates for conversion.

I really like the guitar and the color you chose for the top gives it a nice vintage feel to me. However, I’d be careful about that ebony board you are going to buy from Anostosi (SP?) My personal experience with this guy has been horrible. It took 3 weeks before he shipped my inlaid LP pickgard and a week after I got it the stupid thing rolled up into a tube. The inlay popped right out. I wouldn’t tell you not to buy from him but I like to share my experiences.

It also depends on the level of quality the buyer wants too. If you want a 10K guitar you’ll be researching to see who gives the best bang for the buck. However, there are a lot of interesting guitars being built from builders who are still learning which can be purchased at a much more cost effective price but at a lower quality level. Buyer beware is a good motto in any situation.

I cut the rough profile with my band saw and then use my orbital sander to get it close to the finished specs. Then I polish it out by hand with sand paper and micro mesh. I do a lot of neck through guitars so there are times I have to use a half round rasp to get the tight spots. I don’t suggest using an electric sander unless you are comfortable with how it reacts and you like spending a lot on sand paper.

I mix 80% Paraffin wax and 20% beeswax. Paraffin wax tends to be subject to the elements and can grow and shrink, causing swelling in the pickup. The beeswax neutralizes the movement. You can get both at any place that sells candle making supplies.

Couldn’t you just wire an inline fusible link into the ground between the pot and the bridge? This way, if the current passes through the link at higher than lethal voltages it blows the fuse. Use an automotive fusible link. It would always blow before you got zapped. This would not help with limiting buzz but a properly shielded circuit should'nt have excessive buzzing anyway. However, as said several times. A good outlet tester is the best way not to get zapped.