mistermikev

this is one of my fav videos. the sheltima jig... before I got cnc I had seriously considered building on of these. not so much for being able to mass produce but more to be able to consistently build a neck and know that it was "the shape I liked". that said... I can't help but wonder why you didn't cnc the neck? the glow in the dark logo is gonna look killer. vcool.

you got a bit of a poet in you there "great builds cast long shadows". I like that. saving that for later. on the flip side... I try not to observe the romans in other threads. Probably fall short, but I always try to be polite.

no worries - in my threads derails are encouraged! this is exactly why I setup my first post with all the most relevant build pics... I want to meandor and encourage meandoring because I'm certain it's not only me learning things!

so a hair off topic... so please forgive but relevant to the core of needing a fret bender. Did a lot of reading on this and came across a number of dif threads including this one: https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/threads/80241-Ultimate-fret-bender I do intend to occassionally use fender thin frets so had some concerns about the feedback many of the designs get regarding thinner frets. I bought the one mentioned above. I believe I paid a total of $70 shipped. It is quite solid altho I haven't used it yet. The brass fittings around the bearings are removeable. My one concern is the ability to somehow 'mark' the different radius's one might use. Guess I need to get some radius templates and some fret wire and trial and error. anywho, in case you want a better store baught option... thought I'd mention.

i dunno if this is like the one described here... but figured I'd chime in on the off chance it helps. I built mine using a cheaper vise at first... not advised as it skewed. 2nd time I built using a milwaukee c vise which has been rock solid. bought the caul from philli luthier but I suspect they are all pretty much the sm... just wanted to "know" i could continue to get decen inserts so bought it there. some of the cheaper chinese inserts are horrible and will leave indentations on your fretboard so be advised! just popped the rivets out of the c clamp...and had to grind it a bit on my drum sander so that the caul could more freely to wherever it needed to be. piece of walnut - I just took my router with a 1/8" bit and routed a channel in it. then marked the old rivet hole on the wood and used drill press to put a hole thru. on both pieces I use a number of thin washers to get rid of any play between the piece and the c clamp... but I could have just bent the caul. old bandsaw tire and some gorilla glue for the soft protective edge. I've used this design on everything but my first guitar and this specific one on my last 3 or 4. very nice because if you want to use some glue you can just set the vise just right, clamp down and leave it sit for a few mins.

that is a very good point. tis why I don't care for my orbital sander... or any of the electric ones that aren't $600+. the hand is so high off the material you just don't have control.

yeah, those are really nice. pretty much all the benefits of a da sander with the ease of an elec sander.

ok, yeah that makes a lot of sense. I hear a lot of talk about catching and how that would be potentially troublesome and I am gathering that that is the whole reason the wheel is so popular. makes sense.

so... buffing wheels... they don't lock them in tight? is that what you mean by slip?

your elbow must be super human if your finishes are any indicator. that stuff kills me. I have several of the different cuts of ... huh, it is spelled meguiars! the one I don't have is the heavy cut but have been using turtle heavy for that. should prob get the maguiars. very much appreciate your advice.

those is crazy fancy! so... I used an air sander to shine up solid surface and it worked pretty good... esp for 3 d surfaces. do you use either above on guitars?

wow, that' is about as glossy as it gets. respect.

thank you thank you so you've never buffed any of your finishes? not even that gtr in your avatar? wow, that's a lovely finish and I would have guessed it was buffed.

thanks for the reply biz. yes air sander aka da sander - for sanding wood there is nothing like it. literally the best thing ever because they are light (as you mention) and you have a ton of control with them. Used in the cabinet and auto industry. In auto industry they use them all the time for wetsanding. slow angle grinder - that seems to be a popular option too. thanks again for chiming in.

so... don't want to hog the spotlight here in this sub-forum... but had a few things I wanted to ask about. so... up until this body I had always finished with rattle cans. first time using my compressor and gun to spray anything... have never gotten a final coat that was this smooth. there is some very tiny ripple... but as a novice pretty pleased. so... normally I would start at 600 or 800 afa wetsanding... but I'm thinking it might be better to jump to 1k right off the bat. I had the finish almost perfectly smooth prior to this last shoot. what say you? start at 1k? also thinking of snagging an air sander. I know the convention on guitars is a wheel buffer... but lots of folks in the auto industry seem to get some pretty good finishes using an air sander. a wheel buffer has a single use... whereas an air sander - I would get lots of mileage out of. I have a 3" air sander already and it works pretty good with my compressor... thinking of snagging a low cfm 5" da sander. what say you? why aren't more guitar builders using an air sander for buffing? Admittedly the best guitar finishes I've seen have all been a wheel buffer afa I know... or elbow grease... but lots of things like pianos, cars and epoxy pour table tops - not using a wheel buffer on those and yet folks get great finishes on them. Most I've seen either use an air sander or an electric buffer. any/all feedback encouraged.

wow, that is a fantastic idea (using drill press to ensure you don't crossthread or crapthread inserts. you are full of good ideas. putting that in the trick bag for if/ever I do inserts. thank you for sharing.

noice... just found it and snagged it. thanks for the tip.

no, just changed the semi hollow route and moved supports a little closer to edges. also... moved the underside cut of the relief at the edges of the f hole a little closer to the edge. basically there is only 3/16" of 1/8+-" thick top right there and it fans back out to full 1/4" thickness.

thanks for the encouragement biz. if yer ever near az... def shoot me a pm. would love to get some in person feedback on any of my builds - would be a real thrill for me. it's funny... on this one -in person the color really matches that inlay very well... but then in pictures, even without flash, it doesn't match quite as well altho you can see the sm color here or there in some of the flames. hehe, I'm very comfortable with the size of my f holes! actually, the first version of this build (one where I cracked the top bending it) there wasn't quite enough support around the f hole. It wasn't like you could break the wood with your finger... but you could flex it. On this version I added some strategic supports to stiffen right under the f hole. Pretty well supported now.

noice, that seems to confirm hook/loop is just fine. that's actually a nice block. I just use chunks of wood but might have to snag one. where did you get?

wel... eh hem... it's not the size of your f hole... hehe thank you, the encouragement means a lot to me.

i actually use the trizact and it is really great stuff... had no idea they made it in disk form. I don't have an air sander so wonder how well that'd work on a std orbital. might burn pretty easily.

right on, had not seen that. also, that mirka stuff looks interesting. I had looked a while back for 800 grit disks and came up bumpkiss. it is a great idea as I imagine all the gum you might get is easily cleaned. was looking at their sanding pad - do you know if those will mount on just regular hook and loop pad or do I need to buy the mirka pad? If I knew the pad was more flexible it'd be a no brainer... as I'd like something flexible.

for some reason getting a very art deco vibe from that. lovely stuff.

so... got what I think is the final coats of gloss on my stuff last night. now the long wait for final wetsand as I work on knobs, cavity covers, and pickup covers...