Bizman62

Straight string pull has its benefit as it helps to keep the tuning when bending or dive bombing but it's not crucial. If you look at PRS headstocks the two middle strings are slightly off, in Gibsons all strings are more or less slanted from the string line. Not to mention some Charvels, Jacksons, Kramers etc... Fenders tend to have a straight string pull but I guess some of the benefit is lost with the string trees. Another thing than string pull direction is that there's several types of tuners. Some require more space than others. I've used the same PRS template for two guitars and the space between tuners on the back side on one is double to the other. Also, if you measure the distance from one string capstan to another, even there's a lot of variation. On my guitars which are either factory made or the headstock tuner hole positioning is copied from an existing model the distance between two poles is between 2.4 to 3.6 cm. Nothing stone carved there!

Back in the day I used to buy my daily frustration playing Rampart. It was controlled by a trackball.

I've been very happy with the Blackstar Fly and for what I've heard the Nux of similar size is even more versatile as it can use tons of effects via a smartphone app. There's more of that ilk, some sound like plastic buzzers while others can be really pleasing. Your uploads will start working after you've established your membership with a few more posts.

If you search for travel guitars you'll soon find out there's several ways to reduce the footprint. Like this review of current models: https://www.guitarlobby.com/best-travel-guitars/ . It shows many variations starting from simply smaller versions to partially cut bodies to headless guitars with the bridge at the very end of the body to hinged wonders. There's many other variations of the theme, Google is your friend. I recall having seen one collapsible guitar where you didn't even have to loosen the strings for packing and it would stay in tune, more or less!

It's looking - umm... what's the superlative for killer? Some wax/soap might help the screws go in without stripping.

Yikes! I was afraid of that but not in that measure! Guess I'll rather try acid fumes should I ever want to darken the shiny parts.

It doesn't affect playability or structural integrity so leaving it is a valid option. If you keep thinking about it, spray it again just for sanity. As it's on a small face with sharp edges you can blend the fix without having to spray the entire neck.

As I said, that one looks like one. I've got a €50 router which is sold under various names depending on the shop and even though I lent it to a to-be trained luthier for a couple of builds it still seems to work nicely. Routing guitar bodies isn't too tough of a task if you use the router right i.e. predrill cavities and take light passes instead of sticking the bit an inch deep into rock maple and start cutting. No router or router bit likes that type of abuse. A trim router like that can be nice, but I'd rather take a two hand operated one for universal use as it can be both easier to guide and safer as you won't let go off the handles while the bit is running.

As @mistermikev said, fix the fret buzz. Start with the easy things. First, find out where the buzz is by playing every fret and every string. And open strings as well. Also tap the neck to find out if the truss rod hasn't been tightened at all. In that case tighten it just enough to stop rattling. If it seems to buzz most everywhere but the truss rod doesn't rattle the action may be too low. In that case loosen the truss rod by 1/4 turn or less. If that does the trick, good! If the action is very low you can also raise the bridge. If you have to make the action crazy high to fix the buzzing, continue. If it buzzes only on certain frets and certain strings, the next upper fret is most likely high. Check if the fret has popped up by trying to sneak the corner of a paper under the fret. If so, support the neck properly and tap the fret in place using a block of hard wood and a hammer. Recheck. Only if none of the above eliminates the buzz it's time for a fret leveling and recrowning job.

I guess for a one time job that router would be just fine. You can do the stripes either free hand or make a template. That choice will then tell the choice of the router bit. Notice that when you're routing on the edge there's a big risk of tilting the router and cutting the sides as well. That risk can be reduced in several ways. For freehand routing you can make a fence or box around the guitar so that you'll always have a solid base for the router. If you make a template - which I'd recommend - make it some 2"/5 cm wider than the guitar for the same reason.

Heat treating might give a blueish hue but then again that might ruin the structural integrity. That would also require quite a lot of disassembling and that can be a no-go for tuner housings. Since you've played with fire before that might be an option for solid metal easy-to-detach parts. Notice that some pot knobs have plastic inside so check that before burning! Another option is vinegar as described in https://www.tdpri.com/threads/vinegar-for-relicing-hardware.106991/#post-1240445 . That might be safer than burning and would allow for treating the entire tuners. The shiny white mother-of-toiletseat dots may take dye to some extent. Drilling them out should be easy, getting the new ones leveled can also be done without removing the frets. It can be a bit fiddly at the highest frets but a narrow file with polished sides shouldn't damage the fret wire.

Is there only that round hole behind the steerhead in your sandwich versions? Easy to store picks in, a pain to get just one out during a gig...

I've heard about a recipe of one third each. The application method is similar to any oil i.e. you flood it, then when it starts to get tacky you'll wipe it off with a clean towel and wipe any sweating excess off again after about five minutes. Let cure, repeat daily or even twice a day depending on temperature and humidity. The lacquer will eventually build to a solid buffable surface. Basically that's similar to Crimson Guitar Finishing Oil or Danish Oil or Tung Oil. A higher lacquer content will build up faster but it can be more difficult to apply evenly. Lower lacquer content will penetrate, the curing oil hardening the wood deeper than just on the surface. https://thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/make-your-own-oil-varnish-blend/ Truth to be said, getting a high gloss finish with that is a tedious job. It's doable, I've seen Tung Oiled guitars that look like glass, but it requires lots of layers. A satin sheen is pretty easy to achieve, though. This tutorial may also be of help: https://www.projectguitar.com/tutorials/finishingrefinishing/bedroom-builders-wipe-on-varnishing-r67/

CA seems to make a great finish and it also is very tolerant. The biggest issue is the vapours. It's really nasty stuff for your lungs! A proper respirator and preferably a ventilated painting booth are a must if you care about yourself. Outside with the wind in your back might work as well if there's no particles flying. For a wipe on finish you can mix it yourself. Basically it's just lacquer, boiled linseed oil and turpentine all of which should be pretty widely available. The biggest issue is to find the suitable lacquer as the terminology varies around the world: Lacquer, Poly, Varnish, Clearcoat, Paint... An oil based lacquer that can be thinned with turpentine should be a safe choice for the mix.

Hmm... I can think of two ways: The backyard method of using a ball-peen hammer or a more sophisticated way using a hydraulic press to shape the edge of a precut narrow slot. Both would require a mold of sorts, and the latter would also benefit from a similarly shaped tool on the other side. I guess those ventilation grilles are made by one pass which both cuts and shapes at least one slot at a time but the material is both softer and thinner than your titanium plates.

So... following @komodo's advice I went to the belt sander and made the body smaller. Damn the poplar is soft! It took me maybe five minutes to do the job. I then went through my sortiment of router bits and lo and behold there was one with a smaller bearing I could swap to the 1/2" bit. Having experienced how easily the bearing dug a groove on the wood I put a couple layers of masking tape on the side. My first plan was to use birch veneer but it didn't want to co-operate so tape it was. Instead of building a jig I took several passes, gradually working my way down, eyeballing the depth/width and taking care not tilting the router more than the radius of the top. The result was decent so with a scalpel and a chisel and a scraper I then tried to make the channel continuous and perpendicular. After I was happy with the result I took a heat gun and prebent the plastic a little, then glued it on with regular viscosity CA. There's some sanding required but nothing irrepairable. During the last minutes I then managed to route the roundover on the bottom side. Pretty happy so far!

Osmo. They have various products, some more suitable to maple than others at least according to their site. The product numbering may also have changed. I've been very happy with that, both on guitars and floors.

Congrats!

Other than that yuur design looks indestructible! Obviously the slots are needed for proper cooling so getting rid of them is not an option. Narrower slots sunk below the surface in the style of upside down ventilation grilles should provide both sufficient airflow and protection from saws and spikes. I don't know how difficult it would be making that type of grille to the material you're using, though.

The existence and size of the glue lumps makes me think of too little pressure. As you know from top joints, the glue line should be invisible. That much glue would be very much visible. You had a bottom mold, but no top mold. You'd need both, and some foam in between to fix any unmatching spots.

Thanks @Drak, again a good lesson about triple checking my vocabulary. I guess I meant pore filler despite talking about sanding sealer. English not being my native tongue is one reason, another being that on this side of the pond same words can mean different things, can be used synonymously or can be swapped. After all, by the name one can easily think that a sealer somehow closes something that's open like pores.

Well then... If you want to repaint the front, just sand it matte and spray new paint onto it. For reselling leave the top as is (someone may like it!) and learn to do the fret job after which you can sell it.

It's kinda flattering but I haven't said anything in this post yet! But that's what I was thinking so no harm done. It was @ScottR who actually said that.

The chipping on the side didn't show on the first two images but that's a minor damage. Some dye and nail varnish could fix that. Other than that the guitar doesn't have any major belt buckle rash on the back and the top looks intact as well. Mint is too much said but it looks like it hasn't been played much. Do the frets have dents or deep worn areas? If not, looking at the overall condition they may well be in their factory condition. The fret height can be anywhere from a short .032" to a tall .060". To start the refinishing process you should detach all electronics and mask the areas you don't want to touch. If it's just the top you want to refinish, you can scrape and sand the edge of the binding as much as is needed, leaving the sides untouched. When sanding and scraping the binding area take note of the working directions in order not to pull the binding off.

That's a nice looking guitar for the price, looks like almost in mint condition! The top isn't my style either... If you're worried about the heat, don't use it near the edges. Scrapers are very good for removing paint so all you'd need for the edges is some elbow grease. If you're not going to change the colour of the bottom and sides, the binding can actually be your best friend! Normally making the seam of old and new poly invisible would be a mission impossible but the binding should perfectly hide it. If the frets are in a decent condition leveling and recrowning them is the only thing needed. By decent condition I mean that there's no deep grooves on the most played frets. Less than halfways through is still fixable! It's not too difficult to do it yourself either. Refretting is needed only after there's almost no metal left above the fretboard level.