mistermikev

i think most of the tools that would be that large would be uber spensive. you'd probably have to setup some sort of feeler arm... but this dro is 36" and only $110... .004" accuracy per foot. https://ideaengineering.us/?ec_store=pageid1904modelnumber35-736-p

sharp. nice job.

the only real down side to rainbow poplar imo is that any guitars built with it will only play old dio songs (lol, rainbow in the dark!). anyone ever build a guitar with it... no not myself... but only because you are kind of locked in to a natural finish. reg poplar soaks up stain fast but color is changed by the green. perfectly good wood for guitars.

a lovely piece of wood and the shape is coming together nicely. keep doing what cher doing lol!

lovely stuff brother. seeing that bandsaw work... like butta - I have bandsaw envy. I have refused to change blades on mine because it finally does resaw and I know swapping out the blade would result in 3 hours of having to adjust everything to get back to being able to resaw and still waste 3/16" of material! that said I only paid $130 so... it def does a $130 job!!

nice work.

well thank you. I'm going to keep my first design hidden! it was very plain and just did not look good... so I basically took the shape of the upper horn and shrank it and then mirrored it. thank you for taking the time Henrim.... very much appreciate it.

that's a very moving argument... I'm moved. hehe.

so... would love some first impressions on this next part... "TAKE IT TO THE BRIDGE"! this is revision 1.9... this is the 3rd one I've built and for better or worse I think I'm sticking w it. first one was horribly mismatched to the rest of the design... completely started over. then second one was just too thick and clunky. Still feels awful thick but I need 1/4" thickness for some square nuts/grub screws to be able to adjust/lock fwd/rev motion... and 1/4" to bury the studs... so 1/2" it is. According to my measurements this should be just a hair low with the studs burried. anywho... I've bought an artec piezo and a big fat bone saddle blank that should fit in here... going to be a challenge to retrofit a channel for that!

have been working hard against the clock in my head... thinking I'd like to move on to new projects in the new year... but alas... I don't think I'll make it. spent most of my day today jacking around with boiling water and 1/8" strips of veneer. needs a lot of clean up yet but baby steps. did not anticipate it being this hard to get veneer to conform to those tight turns!

congrats on gotm biz!!

thank you mr shatner, hehe, "I'm dead sexy"...

Thank you sir!!

some minor updates... lot of finish work still to do but got my necks made and inlays done. still have to do some work bending veneer into those detail channels on the neck/headstock. think I'll work on my bridge piece next.

Some really cool stuff in this thread henrim. your pickup winder is impressive. the fit of the dulcimer - very nice. cool beans.

that deep red is very lovely... so inspiring. keep up the excellent work.

some lovely shapes, and like the idea of led lit knobs. that black guitar with the big knobs is very eye catching. some very nice work.

well thank you sir. I guess we'll see about actual weight balance here shortly. might try to relieve some weight from the body yet as it seems a bit heavy... but i guess we'll see. thank you again for the kind words.

he said "taking loads" hehe sorry, I can't help myself! honestly flattered, but it is an idea i have dreaded (commissioned build) as once you put that sort of pressure on a build... it is much harder to do well, or at least that's how I envision it would be if I did that! that said... a man can only afford to build so many guitars before his wife starts giving him the eye... so it may be an inevitable eventuality. thank you for the kind words mr shat

ahh yes... this wood is most def extra seasoned! it was probably 1.5 years seasoned to start with and a couple arizona 120 deg summers so... should be some stable stuff! as learning experiences go... man this one has taken me to the cleaners so many times. I'm thankful I made it this far but there is still a lot to NOT screw up!!

Are testing a new season your wood as you use it process? not sure what you mean? This is a visual masterpiece Mike thank you scott, that means a lot to me! Finish it already - hehe, this has been one of those projects that has been fraught with delays, mistakes... got delay by the teles, had issues with my carve and having a LOT of hand work to do on it, my cnc stepper driver motor went to shit while cutting the neck pocket... and more recently... after getting most of the purpleheart neck cut... I realize the headstock is approx 3/16 short of wide enough for my design... so last night was working on trimming the sides of the headstock square so I can graft on some purpleheart and make it wider. in short... it's not for lack of effort that it's taking me forever! my still to do list (this is just for me to help organize): finish purpleheart version headstock cut some inlay logo and "fish on" letters for both headstocks install veneer for fretmarkers and edge details on neck/headstocks work out the bridge piece... redrill my stud holes... figure out wire channels for piezo pickup... do cavity covers a truss cover wireup finishing

never saw a dbl bound tele I didn't like. nice work.

how ironic that the better I get at building the more the tiniest little flaw sticks out to me. things that mere mortals probably wouldn't even consider a flaw... but it's painful and obvious to me now. for that reason I think perfect is impossible... the best I think I can hope for is a larger window on a smaller flaw.

welp... if I was a betting man I'd put my money on the high e string saddle. is a common issue. I have a lovely tele that is string through and I even put tens on it... but that gawd fersaken' high e saddle rattles. You don't hear it on a recording... but it can't be good for sustain and annoys me to no end. my advice would be to get it rattling and then put your ear close to the string and move north/south to try and zero in on it. or... get it rattling then put your finger on the high e saddle... does it stop? about the only thing I can think of to cure such a thing is raise the action higher and angle the neck (for a bolt on, but looks like you are set neck)... could change to heavier gauge strings. in that trem... maybe drill and tap a hole from either side of the saddles and put a set screw in. switch to graph tech saddles? maybe those benford saddles would not rattle on account of the extra weight from all that brass? hope something there helps.

just in time for xmas... "oh tanin bow" or something. should be a really cool finish. looking fwd to seeing how that goes.