Lex Luthier

forget it

I used acrylic lacquers from an auto store. So how long should I wait before final sanding?

You mean like car touch-up paint? I've used that two or three times, and got fed up with the fact that it seemed to stay kind of soft for, well, ever basically.

I do it like this:

TRIM

A template of the fingerboard shape fastened to the neck blank and trimmed on a router table with a pattern bit(has bearing on top). I trim right to fit.

Here are some process photos from Northwood Guitars.

HTML site version

FLASH site version(click the A string tuning key for it)

I also wear gloves with everything excpt the band saw (wouldnt want it to get caught up in there)

I sanded a knuckle once, and learned my lesson. It took 2 months to heal

That can actually be a bad thing. The glove can get caught, and suck your hand into the tool, and not just on the bandsaw - drillpress, belt/disc/spindle sanders, tablesaw. Really any tool could catch the glove.

I've sanded knucles off, and bits of finger tips too. Whats really nasty is doing it on a fresh 60grit belt!

when routing always always wear safety glasses....

Imagine that burning a hole in your eye...

UMMMMM...DUH!!!!

I wear safety glasses when using any machinery, usually earmuffs too.

Bandsaw-Glasses/Earmuffs

Drillpress-Glasses

Edgesander-Glasses/Earmuffs

Spindlesander-Glasses

Routers-Glasses/Earmuffs

Palmsanders-Glasses/Earmuffs

I don't wear any safety gear with handdrills unless I'm drilling metal.

I've used the Meguiar's compounds, #2 - #9 - #7, in that order.

Always sand in one direction, even on a painted surface try to go with the grain of the wood. Do not sand in circles.

EDIT:Regarding Drak's post, wait at least one week. If you're using lacquer, waiting a month is best. I once refinished one of my Strat's neck's with Deft gloss from a rattle can, and waited over three months before I did the final sanding, and it was still soft.

LIKE THIS?

They are marks left by the bandsaw, which I remove when I true the fingerboard gluing surface, headstock face/back, and contour the neck. I use a jointer to true the fingerboard gluing surface, a stationary beltsander to true the headstock face/back, and the idle drum of a stationary beltsander to shape the neck.

WOW! I once shattered the carbide cutters of a bit routing a pickup in Ash, but I've never had one break in half. When I had my bit shatter, the carbide cutter fragments blasted right through the brass template guide, blowing out the side of it!

This is kind of off topic, but...

SCREENSHOT 2

Very nice. My very first guitar was a scratch built acoiustic, wasn't very good though...

What is the top? Is it Sitka Spruce? I have two Northwood MJ's, one with a Sitka top, the other with an Englemann top, but I just can't tell by your pictures. What is the neck joint? Dovetail or mortise & tenon? What kind of bracing pattern did you use on the top? Martin style? My Northwoods both use a symetrical bracing pattern.

POST NUMBER 1000!!!!!!

Now you got me wondering if that 1986 GP article about the neck-jig is in the book 'Guitar Player repair guide' .

There is two pages on it in that book, I just read it. The neck jig really seems like more of a repair tool to me, though, and I'm not sure if that's something I will ever get into.

Do you get the feeling Soap, that we are the only two that has a neck jig on the forum.  lol

Maybe, but not the only one who's interested. You guys would probably be the foremost in explaining exactly how the neck jig works, what everything on it does, and the benefits of using one, so could you please? I am interested, I'm currently waiting for a thickness sander to go on sale, so I'm not building anymore instruments right now, and now would be a good time to make a neck jig, if it should prove that usefull.

BTW, do you know if it's helpful with fretless instruments at all?

Thanks

EDIT: I found some explaination of setting it up here.

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!

Nice sharp heel and volute.

I'm green, but I noticed a few other things are green too...

SCREENSHOT

I actually used to use a CRAPPY little 1/5HP Companion 7 3/4" bandsaw. I was able to cut out Alder/Mahogany bodies, Mahogany neck blanks for 'ukuleles, Maple neck blanks for guitars. I've re-sawed 4 3/4" thick Koa for 'ukulele body halves, and I even re-sawed 4" thick Ebony, but the Ebony put alot of stress on the motor. Most of the time I used a 1/4"x4TPI blade, as I recall, so I could get fast cuts. Blade tracking wasn't that good though.

I now have a 14" bandsaw. It's awesome. I even made a riser for it - get's me 9 1/4" under the guard with a standard 98"x3/4"x3TPI. I resawed some flamed and quilted tops.

If you can afford a 14", get that. I speak of experience having used a benchtop bandsaw and upgrading to a 14" only this February, as well as having used a benchtop 8" drillpress to make all my instruments.

BTW, westhemann uses a 9" bandsaw, maybe ask him how well it's working out.

Some may tell you the bandsaw is too small, but I used to use one smaller than that, so it will work.

The drillpress should be fine.

I think that router combo sounds great. I've never heard of a THREE base combo.

Sorry to hijack, but it's along the same lines, so I won't want to start another thread.

Would anybody be interested in seeing a pictorial of one, maybe two 'ukuleles being built? Once I get a thickness sander I'll be up and running again building more instruments, and have been dying to make a 'ukulele in a new body shape I have.

And yes, I wouldn't mind seeing how you did that Dan, thanks.

Guitar Player Repair Guide: How to Set Up, Maintain, and Repair Electrics and Acoustics by Dan Erlewine

Only book in this thread I've read, and have. It's a great book, not really for building, however, it goes into great detail on the subjects of fretting, re-fretting, cutting a nut, electronics, setups and finishing.

You should sticker it, let it sit for a week, then joint your edges, then re-sticker it until you use it.

View of stickered lumber.

I sticker my tops with 4 - 5 pieces per side of a board. Your stickers don't need to be huge, mine are scrap from acoustic guitar tops, so they're about 3mm thick, and about 8mm wide. Place stickers in the exact same position on the top and bottom of your board, or you'll have uneven weight distribution. You'll also need to place weight across the top to keep it flat.

EDIT:You can also wet the wood and sticker it, to help straighten it.

What I noticed was there is very fine dust on the floor that I think is coming out of my vac.

You're right Gorecki, I didn't catch that. With my two shop vacs, I don't use the bags with them because I hate sucking up something and having to go look for it. I just have the foam and the blue micron filter. I find when there is too much sawdust built up on the filter, it begins to eject dust through the outtake, especially when I knock it - it's really annoying. You should open up your vac and clean out, or replace, the filter mediums it uses. I actually go out to my backyard and pull the filters out and use the vac to clean them, and all the sucked out dust just goes outside, so it's fine.

Yeah, QUICK GRIPS don't have nearly the clamping strength of F-clamps or C-clamps. I wouldn't recommend them.

I use F-clamps to glue up body blanks. You can use 3, 2 on one side, 1 on the other, I use 5 here because they were on sale and I bought 5. 3 on one side, 2 on the other. Always balance out the clamping, because it's possible the pieces could pop apart. The two C-clamps on the ends of the board prevent the pieces from sliding out of alignment.

Body.

Here is a laminated neck blank being glued. I have alot of C-clamps. I have a few small ones for small stuff, but they are mostly 4" and a couple 5" ones.

Neck.

Here is a fingerboard being glued. Note the clamping caul to spread the force.

Fingerboard.

Do you notice how I have the C-clamps alternating in size? They go 5"-4"-4"-4"-5"-4"-4"-4"-5"-4"-4"-4"-5" in the two neck pictures. I like to create even clamping pressure when I clamp stuff, not sure if anyone else is this picky, maybe it's just a 'thing' I have.

Enitre bolt-on neck instruments are built HERE and HERE. They may have what you are looking for.

The big red cylinder? I have it. I used it when doing the final fine sanding of the bare wood of the body and neck of my last instrument, it does work, kept the dust away, though I had it sitting right next to me on my work bench while working.