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I have the Craftsman 13" planer. It's a decent machine, and cuts smooth, and precise. There's plenty of power, and hooked up to my big shop vacuum the dust collection is surprisingly good. I've also got a 10" Ryobi that I bought 30 years ago. It's loud, and obnoxious, but has held up to the test of time. I bought the 13" with guitar bodies in mind, but I rarely use it for that anymore. Instead, I use my router sled. It's nice to be able to surface a drop top, or flatten any piece of material up to 14.5" X 25" without the tear outs or end snipe of the planer. Best of all, one can be made from scrap, or inexpensive material. The router I use on this one cost me $20 at a pawn shop. It's a great low cost solution. Right now, I only dream of having a thickness sander

Nice work Peter. Thanks for sharing the tip's along the way.

Here's a couple of covers from the batch last night.

^Thanks Scott. That's the one that started all the madness. Until then I was happy with other peoples guitar's. I made a few covers last night. I needed a white dogear P-90 for the junior that I'm making. I've been using black 1/16" ABS up until now. This HIPS (high impact polystyrene) is much easier to work with. It draws down tight, and it's quicker to get to a working temperature. I need to get some of this in black. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q15LqTowvhA#t=90 The Guitar is getting a Doghait, AKA Silverfox finish with white plastics.

Ahh.. I got you. Justin's is definitely a stunner. You did some great work there. The thread was fun to follow. I do need another P-90 guitar. Currently the only one I have is my Jr. The Junior was the first one I ever built from scratch in '07. It's a cool guitar, but limited.

Yeah........ SR Yeah! I'm using a bunch of re-cycled parts on this one, and the wood I selected except for the neck was about the least attractive on the pile, so I've got plenty of excuses to keep it. I need a demo guitar for P-90's, and this one should be well suited. Plus, it's been a while since I made one for myself. The weather is supposed to dry out here in the next couple of days, so I'll be able to proceed with finishes.

The last one of these went to my Daughter's boyfriend. (the blonde double cut) This one's mine! I really liked the other one, and had a hard time giving it up. It'll be a tobacco burst with black plastics. The finish on the Junior, and the bass is stalled right now. I don't want to spray lacquer in this high humidity. Damn these monsoons! I've got five guitars in different stages of progress. It makes for a big pile of necks. As usual, Elvis the cat is on the workbench.

A one piece with a flat headstock would be my pick.

The whole process is pretty simple. My research amounted to a couple of 'how-to' articles, and youtube vid's. Basically, all that is done is to mount the thermoplastic in a frame, then heat it to a workable temperature, place the frame with the soft plastic over the 'form', and apply the vacuum to pull the material down around it. The learning curve is short. I was making usable covers with my first efforts. The experiment was inexpensive, but quite rewarding. I heat the plastic in the oven at 375* for about five minutes. It cools very quickly, so you have to work fast. There are small vacuum tables available on ebay etc. I built mine from scrap. Material is cheap. I bought a 4' x 8' x 1/16" sheet of black ABS for $21 from a local plastics supplier. No comments on the guitar's?

Thank You, and Welcome to the forums. The Junior moved forward. I planed the body, sanded, and rounded the edges. I finished the neck taper, and gave he head stock some shape. I recently built a small vacuum table for molding pickup covers. I've been wanting to try this for years, and now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long.

Thanks Scott, The Junior is all mahogany, except of course the rosewood board. It's a 24 3/4 scale with jumbo fretwire, abalone dots. I'm working up samples of a black/white doghair finish for it.

Once again, it's been a while since an update. I didn't have much free time for a couple of months. I've completed the double cut. For those who weren't following, it's a maple over mahogany, sapele neck, cumara fingerboard thing. I've begun the finish on the mose bass. And, I started on a DC Junior this week.

Very Cool! I really want to build a multiscale. This is the kind of inspiration I need. Nice work.

Wow, It's been a while since I updated here. I had a setback with the double cutaway guitar. The finish cracked. I tried repairing it once by sanding it back about 75%, and re-shooting. It looked great for about 2 weeks before some of the cracks returned. I ended up going back to bare wood, and starting over. The colors in the original burst that I did seemed to clash with cream color of the pickup covers. It made them appear pinkish which wasn't good. From the start of the re-do, I knew that I'd be using a different palette of tint colors that would be more harmonious. I also decided to go to a little more subdued approach with the tints. For the base tint, I used a diluted yellow with a very small amount of red in it. The second color around the edge has just a bit more red. I hand applied it this time. Keeping things wet I worked the color in gradually from the edge inwards. It's subtle, almost indistinguishable in the pictures. I think it fit's this guitar better, and the cover's instead of clashing, coordinate well. If the weather permits, I'll spray the final coats today. The solid walnut neck for the bass is almost done. The consistent density of the American walnut makes it a luxury to machine when building necks. This is the first time I've used it. I can't wait to try it on a guitar. I'm such a minimalist. I know that there's nothing remarkable about them, but one piece necks seem so elegant, and simple at the same time. This one is looking good so far. I'm anxious to see it with finish on it.

They can have their tasers. I'll smite them with a pointy guitar.

Very Cool. It looks like a nice start. I'm also building a short scale bass right now, but mine's more of a tribute to Semie Moseley.

A tinfoil hat might not be a very good idea if there are tasers' around.

Just what we need "more cops" Thanks for helping out.

Thank You. This is all new territory for me, but I'm excited with my results, and I'm anxious to try it again. I bet it would look nice with gold hardware. It's a little late for that. I did get gold speed knobs for it though. Meanwhile, the Mose bass is moving along.

Nice work on the re-do. Very clean. The bend is impressive.

Wow! That's incredible. It all looks great.

Thanks Stu, I'm liking the way this one's coming out. Some of the aspects of the construction were new to me, but overall I'm very excited with my results. I don't know about GOTM, but thanks for the nice words. I'll probably try some cover's from a different maker. Hopefully I can find some that aren't so pinkish. First I'm going to try to tint these by submerging them in some dye. I've done it before with pickguard's with decent results. Meanwhile... The next one in queue is going to be a Bass. my inspiration was a Univox Hi-Flyer (Moserite Copy) that a friend brought by last week. Mine's going to have a maple top on a one piece mahogany body, and a one piece walnut neck. These are a short scale, 30 1/4". I think this will be a fun project. My progress so far.

The finish is about done. I hope to assemble it this weekend.

Nice work William!

I sprayed the first of the clear coat tonight. The weather is supposed to be warm for the next several days. That always helps.