Bizman62

So... Last weekend I glued the neck, sanded matte and applied some more lacquer. Today I leveled the runoffs and sanded it matte and went to apply some more lacquer. Is there a "best before" date on rattle cans? These two were bought when I started this project about a year ago and both have suffered from the stuff not wanting to come out. Today's one was even worse than the first: At first it just spit something, then it started to leak under the nozzle button. An occasional spray and then stopped again, leaking more from under the button which at that point decided to stick on my forefinger rather than stay where it should. Then all of the sudden, after some more shaking and keeping upside down, it started working. Fearing it would stop again I applied the lacquer too plentifully so there's runoffs all over the place. Hopefully the layer is uniform enough to be sanded level! And the bottom is wavy as the sea but I won't bother leveling it! For some reason the images loaded sideways

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The in-between version of "Beryl" makes me think of an old men's club with dark brown leather and wood furniture and tobacco stained walls. A bit of aristocracy, upper class feeling if you get what I mean. Think about the leisure clothes of the very rich - jeans and checkered flanel shirts - that look similar to the regular ones until you take a close look to the seams and other parts where quality of materials and workmanship show the reason why they cost ten times more than the cheaper alternatives. I was thinking about enhancing the grain with a darker shade of the brown that's already there. So matching timber colour was what I meant. Making it more natural, so to say. I'm not too fond of pure black for popping the grain or other pattern strenghteners - even charred wood is very dark brown instead of bluish black. Then again, I've seen some very nice bursts created with colours you rarely see on wood like turquoise and pink used together on flamed maple for a Caribbean Sea surfing impression!

Glad I could help you pondering! That's the next best thing after being able to help someone doing nothing.

Thanks, @ScottR! I was thinking similarly but as I'm a novice in woodworking compared to either of you I was hesitant to instruct my superior.

Although the only really critical place for metal enforcement was under the saddle height adjusters I understand your point. And I really like what you came up with! Except for the screw in the bottom... Recessing the block sounds great. It should also keep the plate in place with minimal fasteners - maybe even a couple of magnets might do, or dowels. Or just the corner screws of a Tele... Looking at your idea made me think about some further ideas to make the bridge more interesting: How about an elongated acoustic bridge type with a ramp for the bone and a flat lower part for the pickup? Like:

I can't see why it wouldn't work. There's a couple of places that may require some further thinking, though. The height adjustment screws of the bridge pieces need something hard to stand on so they don't sink into the maple. Countersunk flat head nails or something similar (thumb tacks???) should help spreading the pressure. The intonation screw holes might need something as well - I wonder if there's pop rivets that have a matching inner diameter with the screws... A regular washer should suffice, though. Same for the pickup adjusting screws, although I believe that's of least importance considering the stress.

I think you're right.

If you already haven't, study @Drak's "Beryl" and how she evolved from a bit dull natural beauty to a stylish club rose and further to a mindblowingly vivacious personality. That said, the wood used for "Beryl" was stunning to start with, your's is more down-to-earth. If your build was mine, I might consider something like the "club" looks. I also wonder how it would work with a blue burst but that definitely would require some in-depth testing!

That really is some very pretty wood there! Natural is a valid option, then again some matching coloured stain or filler might bring the grain up even better, and maybe a burst to accentuate the shape? You decide...

Whoa! for the fretboard!

Definitely not, at least not any of those mentioned, or rather all of those. There's every myth and story ever told in that figured colouring. The spiritual aspect of Creation was already mentioned, equally it could illustrate a post-industrial Mad Max by night or any sort of apocalypse. Despite all of the flames and smoke I wouldn't call it a weapon of Doom, though; the fire is elemental and pure like a volcano, deadly but not evil. I'd say that guitar requires tunes with a meaning, performed with attitude in any style.

Holy Mackerel! I repeat the Big Bang reference, with the addition that there seems to be fiery fumes blown out amidst the burning moustache the flame-eyed Creator!

Although it can be seen, the grain matches surprisingly well! I'd say the patch is as good as a patch can get. If it starts to bug you, reshaping the horn a bit shorter can easily be explained as improving playability on the highest frets...

That was an easy to answer survey even for one speaking a foreign language. One option was missing where you had to put the properties in order: Playability! No matter how good the tone is, or the extra features, or portability, or unique looks; if you struggle to get a note out of it you won't play it. A good guitar or any other instrument feels like it plays by itself, the player is just giving hints. Almost like a mind reading thing! Good luck with your survey!

You're right, the wood was gorgeous to start with but it was just a piece of figured lumber. The middle version somehow reminds me of the covers of the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman, both because of the gloominess and the figuration, just beyond being able to actually see what the picture is about. There's been several threads about removing the finish but your method beats them all! And... the end result is fantastic! There's stories untold starting from the Big Bang, the all-seeing eyes of an Almighty Creator, their will stirring swirling Galaxies from the flaming Chaos in the Infinity - and from those macrocosmic views you suddenly can find human size campfire stories, a bit scary but safe to be heard within the sphere of light and warmth.

I was thinking about that while driving to work. You can use pieces of leather, hardboard or thick cardboard between the wedges and the body to prevent dents as those will spread the pressure on a larger area, thus preventing dents. You can make the wedges out of any wood although I'd prefer some dense hardwood like maple or beech. Pine might split under pressure. Having all sorts of wedges at hand can be very helpful, make them wide, narrow, long, short, tall... And save them for future use! The illustration just shows where to put them, not the actual shape or size.

Hey, having a workshop is luxurious. If it's warm enough to serve as a wood storage, even better. After 9 pm most people aren't at their best anyway, so take your wife's command as a safety advice!

One word: Wedges! For addressing hard to reach areas like that one option is to pinch the piece between two boards held in place with clamps and then add wedges between the board and body to apply diagonal pressure. Let me draw it! Another trick is to use the bars of the clamps as levers. Use whatever you can - bungee cord, rope, another clamp - to pull the bars towards each other.

I just love how you make them look loved instead of abused!

I know what a capacitor is and I've done some recapping for motherboards but when it comes to understanding electronics... To me it's as mysterious as women!

Every time I see the little date tags I think of stealing the idea. And I always forget! Those are untouchable, I've seen my share of digital photos with wrong dates since no-one has remembered (how) to set the time and date after the battery has run out.

Neat??? That's surgical grade accuracy!

Definitely! If you can make it you can pat yourself on the shoulder and say *atta boy*! Just don't try it on the actual guitar first. Use sacrificable wood for a makeshift body - you can even attach the neck as it's bolt-on - and hone your templates until you're satisfied with the result. The temporary body can be something like piece of 2x5 of whatever you happen to have at hand. MDF, pine, plywood... Just enough for the bridge to be in the right place.

First, why epoxy is not the answer: Aside from what you already told, how would you make sure the neck won't move while curing? A tight neck pocket keeps the neck in the desired position during gluing. Even tightening the clamp will rotate the neck in a loose pocket. And aside of pictures, it would be nice to know what tools you have access to. A router would make the fix pretty easy, a large chisel might also help in cunning hands. Thinking of it, there is a way to use epoxy to fix a loose neck joint. Simply fill the entire pocket with epoxy, possibly using a sacrificable block in the middle to save epoxy, and finally reroute the pocket. Ugliness guaranteed, unless you can make it a river table type feature.