al heeley

yep, that is simply stunning. Great work and a great read following your progress.

Thanks guys, glad to know I'm not barking up the wrong tree.

Now do I spend $8.99 for some welding tip cleaners sold as special fret cutting tools, or $2.35 for welding tip cleaners sold as welding tip cleaners?

Good idea, thanks! Don't suppose it will take a dark stain will it?

I've been scouring round for a set of nut files. the StewMac set has a basic flaw (imho) in that they are shaped so the sides stick in the slot and you don't get a nice round profile.

The Ibanez nut files have been recommended but UK prices are crazy: Luthiers Merc in US have them for $90, in the UK they are £85. Grrrr.

I was also recommended a neat alternative, a set of welders jet nozzle welding tip cleaners, at £1.99!

I have fouind this on a UK website:

http://www.welduk.com/Details.asp?ProductID=371

welding tip cleaners

I was wondering if anyone had any experience of using these gadgets, basically a set of different thickness rod files, for cutting nuts?

I would think a minimal spreading of pva glue would do no harm at all to the structural integrity of your acoustic top. PVA glue is not going to set up massive tension as it dries. It's just the water content (60 -75% typically) that can soak into the wood if you put loads on. However, if you're sticking paper to it, that will absorb the majority of the water and the glue will dry, through evaporation, through the paper collage you apply. I wouldn't worry about it.

I was given this Chinese made Fender acoustic to repair from a work colleage. Neck badly fractured as it was severely sat on in a freak barbecue accident.

After regluing and clamping the neck, I sanded it all smooth and used Colron wood filler to fill the cracks left.

Trouble is, after 2 days drying I just end up sanding all the filler out of the cracks when i try to finish it.

The cracks are 2 lines running for about 10 inches along the back of the neck from the headstock, only shallow, where thin slivers of wood have come away along with the brittle lacquer.

Am i using the wrong stuff to crack-fill? I'm finishing sanding with 1200 grit. The wood filler is a little can from Homebase, single-part stuff for furniture.

Cheers!

nitrocellulose does not get on with any other type of coating.

So, if I keep sanding eventually all the wood will turn 'white' like this?

Yes.

It doesn't look nowhere as nice as the sealed wood, so if I put a sealer over it will it all go 'nice' again?

Yes. Be patient. The finish you reapply will only ever look as good as the surface you cn prepare. You may find you don't want to sand entirely back to the bare wood everywhere if the sealer can be prepared nicely. It depends what sort of finish you want to go for. It's a lot of work. You may have to go down to 1200 or 1600 grit to finish it all off smoothly enough for some clear laquer.

Actually a lacquer is ANY surface coating that is mostly clear and glossy, it does not mean anything chemically.

The trouble is, so many different people use the same word to describe different things - this is why you have to be careful about different recommendations on the forums. Some people talk of nitrocellulose as a lacquer, some people mean water-based or solvent-based acrylic. Actually they both are.

Should I use a clear Nitrocellulose finish to seal the paint job?

No need, if its a sparkly strat its more likely to be polyester based and the nc will not achieve anything - more likely to cause extra grief.

As Nitefly said, just sand all over to give a mechanical key to the new paint, and off ya go.

I adapted my epiphone 335 according to this Series-single coil-parallel switch recently, kept same controls just added a 3-way micro toggle switch, works a treat and gives the Dot access to some really nice jangly tone variations with both pickups selected. Makes for a very versatile instrument, the series and single coil options reduce a lot of the characteristic jazzy bassy warmth of the Dot and make it better for rhythm/arpeggio backing, it cuts thru the mix better.

Come on! There's help and then there's Spoon-Feeding! You can search google like the rest of us - how do we know what shops you have in your area? Paint can be found at a paint shop. Sandpaper from a hardware shop. It's not rocket science.

If you are careful you can get a pretty decent finish just with auto spray cans. The satin finish is just about not going for a hi gloss at the end, so you only sand up to say 1000 grit wet'n'dry and don't buff it up or clear coat the finish. That will give you a good, smooth but satin, not high gloss - finish.

Here's a hypothesis, the natural oils in the rosewood fretboard have prevented the clear laquer applied to the neck wood from adhering properly to the side of the fretboard, hence it is causing the lacquer to lift/blister. Can it be carefully cut off with a sharp knife and the laquer removed from the side of the rosewood?

It's tricky to tell with that photo - need more of a close up.

An interesting dilema. If you relic it only enough to leave some laquer penetrating or coating the wood, then that would protect it enough.

If you take all the laquer off, then it leaves it open to dirt, sweat, grime which will improve its RELICED appearance! You would have to really abuse a neck like regularly dipping it in a bath to cause any serious damage like warping from ingress of water. Most likely you'll find that the grease/oil/sweat from your hands will tend to coat any open pores remaining, help to seal them and increase it's authentic look

No, once the paint or lacquer is hard enough, lay it on an old clean towel on your bench for the final rubbing/buffing. I tried refinishing one on my lap sitting on the leather sofa in the living room while watching a satriani video, and it didn't go down very well with the wife

Thread a bent coat hanger thru one of the holes in the neck joint and hang it from a beam or similar, then you don't have to lay it down anywhere while the paint cures.

Mask off the cavities before spraying if they have already got shielding paint in them.

We used to add a little thixotrope powder (Fumed silica or 'cab-o-sil') to a clear coat to knock the gloss back, when I worked in surface coatings. It's a very fine fluffy powder that sits at the dried surface and basically gives tiny bumpiness to the surface that causes light scatter, rather than a perfectly smooth mirrot-like finished surface.

All you are doing with a fine and gentle sanding is introducing very small surface contours/lines/scratches, call them what you will, which causes light scatter and takes the glossiness off. I stick with the wet sand/scotchbrite pad method myself.

Yeah some oak has nice figuring, you say you have a 'nice piece of oak', so if its nice why not use it for the top too?

I guess I'm scared about taking a thin sliver off the main body piece to use as the cap while the main body gets a thorough routing.

Thats true, but disconnecting it will set off an alarm in the mind police headquartetrs and you will receive 'special treatment'.

Thanks for the advice guys! I feel a lot more confident to go ahead and do the oak thing. I'll let you know how I get along.

Oh, what about the top? Any recommedations for the chambered Tele?

CHeers,

Al

Possible new project being hatched: thinline tele.

Wood available: nice piece of oak.

I don't come across oak very much as the wood of choice for electric guitars. Is there any reason it is thought unsuitable? Weight? Tonal quality? too hard?

It's just that there is a good slab of oak available and I really want to put together a chanbered thinline tele.

Any feedback welcomed. Thanks!

biggest ones I've come across are A4 size, nowhere near enough or a guitar body. Cool idea though!

I got a shiny chrome one for my black mim tele about 3 months ago- from Precious Metals. Looks really cool, didn't know they were under managemnt changes. I have not had any problems so far with scratches. Quality was good, fitted perfectly.

^ sad but true. Over-rated;

too many people with too much spare cash, gee wish I was one of them.