MP63

Brass is more dense than any wood you will find. I would use it.

The Craftsman Professional is what I have. No problems. I like it a lot. I like the adjustment controls and it is well balanced and handles well. I particularly like the little plastic window that lets you see the cut, but keeps the majority of chips away from you. It even has a small light to see the cut. It is a variable speed router. One thing I like about Craftsman is the customer sevice. They tends to be real good with any tool issues. I do not have any tool loyalties. I buy what I think is good for my projects. I only have one crafstman power tool and the router is it. I have a Bosch jig saw, a Ridgid joiner, a Ridgid spindle sander, a Porter Cable belt sander, a Porter cable hand sander, a Milwaukee hand-held drill, and a 1950's Delta drill press. The rest are hand tools.

Thanks there brother. I just don't want the saddles to be OK during the building stages, then find that once mounted the intonation is off because the saddle needs to move more. Then it won't be able to, because the saddle is maxed-out. Mike

Since I will install a Bad-Ass type bridge, I have to be right on the money with the correct spot. What do you guys do to get it right on? When using a tailpiece, I did the tailpiece first and then figured the bridge intonation after. That way the strings were taught and I could gauge it better. With a Bad-Ass, it's a one shot deal. Thanks for the help. Mike

Thanks there Cleverpun. Great link. I made it 12-3/4" Too late. I really like the custom case idea. Great work by those guys. Mike

Anyone know the width of an SG? I am building a guitar and I want to make sure that findng a case will be easy if I use a standard body width. Thanks, Mike

What's the body width? Mike

My friend gave me an old classical guitar to fix. The bridge needs removal. Any advice on the safest way to remove a clasical bridge from a 1960 guitar would help. Thank you, Mike

No. Actually, mine is the opposite of what you do. I normally do your technique also, but the wood selection limited me. It was free, so I'll make the best of it. The pieces I have are too thin for a one-piece, quarter-sawn neck. So, I glued up the pieces to make one big flat-sawn neck (all three glued together). It's a shame that they weren't thick enough for a one-piece. They had a slight bow to them, so to get them straight enough, would mean having just only 1/2" thick pieces. I used two bowed pieces to glue together against themselves. Mind you, they were only slightly bowed. The are beautufil pieces and will still make a nice neck. I was trying to salvage as much as I could. They were originally going to be used for cabinetry.

So, I shouldn't foresee a big problem with the three pieces being flat sawn? There are many guitar necks that are one-piece and flat sawn. Three pieces laminated together to make one flat sawn piece should do me good then. They are perectly flat sawn pieces. 90 degree. Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the heads-up Rich. That wood has been sitting in his garage for years. At least 8 years. It is very dry and light. I thought about the orientation of the grain too. My Rickenbacker is maple and walnut combinations on the neck and it is doing well so far. Do you think I should use all flat cut then? I have about six neck pieces.

It was given to me by a friend and he said it was black walnut. They were originally going to be used for cabinet making, so they aren't that thick. Not sure what variety of walnut they are, but it is walnut. Thanks.

Does anyone foresee any problems if I laminate three pieces of wanut to make a tenon neck? The center piece is close to quarter, but the two outside pieces are flat grained. If viewing from the neck end with the fingerboard up, the center piece will have up and down grain (good for strength) while the end pieces will have side-to-side grain. The pieces are too thin to make a one-piece Fender type neck, so I am gluing them together. Mike

I was given some nice slabs of dark walnut, but they are only 1" thick. They are 1" thick and about 16" wide. What's the verdict on having them glued together to form a solid body? Bolt-ons and bodies with tenons? Thanks, Mike

Thanks garehanman, I did as you suggested. After I hacksawed it, I filed it back. Then sanded with 220; 320; 400; 600; 1000; 2000 grit. Then applied Maas Metal Polishing Creme Then used some old cotton materieal to buff it out by hand. It looks great. One edge barely has a little copper color showing, but it is actually better than the original in some spots. Thanks for the help fellas. http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/MP63/Picture1290.jpg http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/MP63/Picture1284.jpg

I have a 1-3/4" thick body and I am making it with a neck tenon joint. What do you find is a good depth for the route? I have some Les Paul Jr. plans and it has a 1-3/4" body with a 1-1/4" depth on the body route. That leaves 1/2" for backing. Is that good enough? Thansk, Mike

Thanks fellas. I jusy wanted some oppinions as I had the extra wood on the neck stock. Once cut I can't go back. It's a solid color anyways. Mike

I am going to slot the body to receive the neck stock. The neck section is wider at the tip that will be at the body. Should I use all of the neck wood possible and keep it so, or taper the neck stock to follow the taper of the fingerboard? Will it matter? Thanks, Mike

See, that's the kind of stuff I didn't think of. Thanks brother, Mike "Honey, can I see you for a bit....I need to borrow something......"

I have an imitation Tele bridge that will become a tailpiece. I want to hacksaw the end with the pickup hole away. That'll leave me wih some metal exposed. Is there anything that will protect the edges from corrosion? Maybe somehing that will pass for chrome? A recommended paint? This is for a cheap guitar made with spare parts, so I won't need to replate it, nor do I want to use a nice bridge for this. Thanks, Mike

Yes! Bravisimo! The tip must not go past the head face. So, you can put a truss rod cover on the face.

I didn't really test them. Just from use over the years. I used the Hot Rod two-way; LMI two-way; LMI one-way (the wrapped one); a copy of the Martin rod, that was in a hollow chamber; the traditional, with the solid rod; and a one-way made into a two-way by putting tension on the rod, then truing the fingerboard. This allowed the release of tention to correct a reverse bow.(I took this from a factory I worked at years ago. They threw it away and I picked it up). Is that five? The wrapped one was the best for the buzz factor. But that was only on my very first guitar some twenty-five years ago. It's one-way, so that might not appeal to some. I am not sayint that every rod had buzz. Maybe the wrapped one will have buzz the next time I use it. The wrapped rod from the onset, was much more secure in regards to its installation. I wanted two-way action in case of a reverse bow, but that has never happened to any of my guitars. Maybe if I used super thick fret wire and had supper thin strings. I will stick with one-way rods from now on. The LMI wrapped one. This isn't an advert for their rod, I just thought I'd pass my experiences using them. The latest one I used was a Hot Rod, two-way, with the spoke adjustment.... Mike

Today I completed a neck with a Stew Mac truss rod. I used a different type than I have before. I tried about six diifferent truss rods and came to my conclusion that only one had no buzz. It was the one-way, wrapped truss rod from Luthier's Mercantile. I used silicone, glue, foam, tried all the suggestions on the manufacture's web sites. Only one proved reliable to me. Mind you, this is a one-way rod. Simple to install. These are just my observations. I hope they help someone. Mike

Photo 530 The truss rod is upside down. The flat part is against the fretboard. The round part is in the slot. Put the truss rod, so the tip of the adjstment tube (where the wrench goes in) is not past the face of the head. Look at it from the side. If the tip goes out too far, then the slot must be made longer towards the body of the guitar. The ends of the slot will have the force of the truss rod away from the fretboard, so the square end doesn't have to be exactly under the nut. Better to be under the fretboard than too far into the head. Anyhelp? Mike I think the fretboard is the same as keyboard, right? I tried wording this using simple english.

You can do what I did on my first guitar. Do not taper the fingerboard and use a square against the edge. Take a small fret saw (that's up to you to buy) and use the square as a guide. Keeping the fingerbioard untapered allows for any imperfections on the slot to occur on the unused portion on the fingerboard. When you're sawing, the top edge or bottom edge sometimes will have the slot wider becasue of your arm moving sideways and messing up the slot a bit. That gets cut off when you're done slotting. I used an Ibex ruler with four scales on it. I learned this from Irving Sloane's book, Steel String Guitar Construction. Once you get slotting down, you won't need a service. I like radiusing the fingerboard before glueing, because if I need to deepen a slot onced I radius, I can do it easier not glued to the neck. I still finish radiusing and check for slot depth after I glue, but it's much less.