Scott French

Thanks! I always glue in my frets after pressing. If you mean glue in frets like where they just slide in with no resistance then I don't know. I'm not sure how well the glue is actually sticking, it seems like more of a gap filler that locks everything together.

Thanks, guys!

Nope, you're not alone. I had lots of problems and switched to a standard style jack on a football plate. I think the Switchcraft ones also only use 2 screws, but I am not using the main housing, just a set screw from the side. Even less secure but pretty sure it would not hurt the actual guitar if the cord got stuck on something.

I can't speak for the Neutrik model, but on the Switchcraft ones I'm using the locking mechanism doesn't feel so strong that it would tear a guitar apart. I think the lock would give before the jack was pulled out of the guitar. In this situation I was more interested in a robust jack, not necessarily the locking feature. In the end I'll probably go back to the football style plate with standard Switchcraft jack. That's been my favorite for a while but I didn't want to deal with making my own plates out of aluminum. I have the stock now so may as well give it a try for the next one if a side mount option for the locking jack doesn't work.

I used these a lot when I started building as I tend to make fairly thin guitars as well but I've had a lot of problems with them going bad. Some of my touring guys have even resorted to carrying spares as they fail so often. They are my first choice for ease of installation and aesthetics on the thin ones though. No prob! There's always room for improvement and sometimes it's tough to see issues in your own work. Nothing better than the mirror of the community to at least bring things to your attention.

I said before the original idea was to build a bunch of these. That's no longer the plan so please excuse the piles of parts in some of these photos. Here are some Paperstone fingerboard blanks. This is a pretty cool product that can be used as an ebony replacement. It's super dense, very dark in color, and takes a nice polish. The downside is it's tough to glue and does not compress at all. That means you need to widen your fret slots otherwise the neck may backbow (assuming you could even get them seated). Here you can see the scarf jointed headstock. There's very little waste in the neck. I was even able to save the front part of another headstock to use as the headcap on this one. The one-piece claro walnut body blank use the standard SF3 shape with an added nub to make room for the third neck bolt. It's tiny but you can see one of the little neck bolt ferrules I made. These were anodized green along with all of the other aluminum parts. This isn't a great pic but you can see how the neck goes together. First the main neck blank, then the scarf jointed headstock, next the fingerboard is glued on and finally the headcap goes over the headstock and a small wedge of the fingerboard. You can also see the great green and gold colors on these Sperzels. Hopefully I'll have time to add more this week!

Thanks, RAD! I agree the belly cut is not great and the arm carve is even worse... Doesn't line up with the pickguard. I got it right on Marnie's guitar but even on that one the belly carve is very small. I'll have to try a larger on on the next iteration. There's not much to do about the control spacing but that front mounted jack has been a bone of contention for just about everyone. The next one will certainly have some kind of side mount. I'll have to figure out a way to retain the locking output jack without being too wide for the thickness of the guitar... these blanks are all pretty thin, 1 5/8" is the thickest, most are around 1 1/2".

To start I should say I am from Northern California, so when I talk about "local" stuff that is my frame of reference. It all starts with lumber! These claro walnut blanks are from trees that grew within 50 miles of my house. My goal was to find all reclaimed or certified wood for this project. This stuff is probably riding the line but I know the guy that harvested all of this wood and without him this would likely end us as firewood or pulp or who knows what. These were all trees that were either dangerous (standing dead in residential areas, etc) or removed because of city growth around Sacramento. There aren't a lot of great neck wood choices close to home (or even domestically really) so rock maple it was. Maple happens to be my favorite neck wood anyway so it didn't feel like a compromise when trying to keep everything at least domestic (USA). I got a bunch of FSC certified maple from a local supplier. Here's the first glue-up of neck blanks. I used a really thin green dyed maple veneer between the main maple pieces. Sadly the veneer is not FSC certified. You can also see the paperstone fingerboard blank. This is a cool product made in Washington state using recycled newsprint. It is FSC certified, recycled and made domestically. More on this stuff later. I can never resist posting a picture of the ol' B-dog! Beatrix my Great Dane is a regular fixture around the shop.

Hey Everybody! It's been a long time, eh? I have been mostly out of commission with work and family so very little action of the guitar front from me. I started a new project in 2010 and (almost) finished it last year. I just pulled it out of it's bag with the intention of readying it for it's owner. That's should give you an idea of the pace things move at around here. Anyway, I figured I would share it with the folks @ PG in the hopes of finding ways to improve the next one. The original idea was to build a bunch of these but once I started a few I realized it would be best to go one by one leaving room for new ideas with each progression. The basic idea behind the eco/green project was to reevaluate every area of the guitar to look for products and processes that would be the most local, sustainable, recyclable, and earth/people/health friendly. I could go on and on about this stuff but will spare you the details. Here are the final specs for the prototype: • SF3 Bolt-on Body Shape • One-Piece Claro Walnut Body Blank • Flat Top & Back with Comfort Carve/Belly Cut & Roundover • RPI Black Plastic Pickguard - Recycled, Made In USA • Natural Oil Finish • 25 15/32" Scale Length • 3-Piece Maple Neck with Green Lams - FSC Certified • Obsidian Paper Stone Fingerboard - Recycled, FSC Certified, Made In USA • 12" Fingerboard Radius • Maple Headcap with Green Lams - FSC Certified • 22 "Gold" Evo Medium Frets • Standard "C" Neck Profile • LMI Double Adjustable Truss Rod - Made In USA • Individual String Guides with Zero Fret • Light Green Anodized Hardware Finish with Brass Accents • Nordstrand NCD Humbuckers - Made In USA • Sperzel Locking Tuners - Made In USA • Custom Strap Buttons • Hipshot Baby Grand Bridge - Made In USA • Volume/Tone/3-Way Pickup Selector • Precision Electronics 500k Pots - Made In Canada • Switchcraft 3-way Pickup Selector Switch - Made In USA • Switchcraft Locking Output Jack - Made In USA • Consolidated Hookup Wire - Made In USA • Hipshot O-Ring Knobs - Made In USA Some Photos: More posts to follow with progress photos and details about the various features.

Looks like it's working again!

Dope!

Hey Everyone! It's been a long time! I stopped posting my instruments in this contest a while back because I started outsourcing my spray finish work and didn't think that would be in the spirit of this site. I haven't finished much of anything lately, oiled instruments included. This is an OLD one I sprayed myself and finally finished up recently though. There is a long story behind this guitar but I'll just say I am glad to be done with it after many years. This is "The Only SF2 Guitar" Chambered Redwood Body Nickel/Chrome Hardware Locking Sperzels Stetsbar OEM Hot Nordstrand NDCs 650mm Scale Mahogany Neck w/Maple & Walnut Lams Ebony Fingerboard, Pickup Covers, Headcap, Heelcap, and Trussrod Cover Abalone Dots Master Volume/Master Tone/3-way Schaller Locking Strap Buttons Taking photos of a high gloss carved top guitar is a real pain in the ass but here they are!

Awesome guitar! I really like that color and always love a wenge neck!

Whew, haven't posted in a while but gotta say, nice job. Not a big fan of the headstock but the body shape/wood/hardware selection/pickup placement is pretty damn tight and I'm digging it.

Whew, haven't posted in a while but gotta say, nice job. Not a big fan of the headstock but the body shape/wood/hardware selection/pickup placement is pretty damn tight and I'm digging it.

I think this dude got burnt out on the idea when we figured out how much it would cost for a replacement or fixing the bridge so he just setup one of his other guitars. Haven't heard anything about this project so I'm just forgetting about it until I hear from him again. Thanks for all the tips! Seems like bending it back would just result in the strings bringing it back down again eventually. Sticking something under the center might have worked, who knows.

Hmmm, the saddles are some kind of bone (or fake bone) and chipping away but it might be worth looking into anyway, Setch. Any idea what book? I have "Guitar Player Repair Guide" (or something along those lines) by Erlewine but I don't see anything in there.

Heyo Duders, I don't really think about or work on old guitars very much so my knowledge on weird parts isn't great for this kind of stuff. My friend brought over an old Yamaha he bought a few tours ago in which the arch of the tune-o-matic has gone from '(' to '|' and almost ')'. So now the center strings are fretting out and the action on the outer strings is sky high. I pulled the measurements off this bridge and I'm guessing we're suffering from 1970s Japanese hardware syndrome. The radius is 7.25", the outside string-to-string spacing is 2" and the post spacing is 3 3/64" or something around 77mm. So...... I've looked a little bit and found just about nothing that will work for this guitar. I found a weird plate mounted tune-o-matic on a UK site that might be able to be fitted, but the radius would still be off. I'm going to keep looking but I want to check and see if anyone had any suggestions or feedback when trying to bring these weird old imports back from the dead. THANKS!

I got my first non-local order from a listing I paid for in the Guitar/Bass Player Buyer's Guide. I think it only brought in the one order but it did get things rolling. That's the only money I've spent, everything else has been networking through people I know, my players, and the internet.

I was really happy with the sound of this one. The final weight was 4.97lbs. Just shipped it out today. SF3 Body Style Flame Myrtle Top Over Redwood Tuning Folk Hollow Body Top & Back Roundover w/Comfort & Belly Carves Gloss Polyester w/Black Back & Edges 25.5" Scale Length 5-Piece Birdseye Maple Neck w/Bloodwood Veneer Laminations Bloodwood Fingerboard w/Bloodwood Binding/Headcap & Walnut Purfling 2mm Pearl Side and Face Dots 24 Jumbo Nickel Frets Thin "C" Neck Profile 2 Way Adjustable Truss Rod 1 11/16" Throat Width Individual Nut Elements w/Zero Fret Black Hardware Finish Seymour Duncan Invader SH8 & Duncan Custom SH5 Pickups Elixer 10s Sperzel Locking Tuners Schaller Locking Strap Buttons Hipshot Baby Grand Bridge Volume/3-Way/Tone - 2 Series/Single/Parallel Miniswitches More finished and construction photos here: www.scottfrench.com

Finally got the bridge for this one in!

Thanks a lot everyone! I'm really happy with these guitars. There's not a whole lot to tell. You can buy them from McMaster Carr in various sizes and types of metal. I use a normal nut file to put the slot in them then buff them on the wheel w/Menzerna to take off the burrs and polish the metal. I line up the holes with a stew mac fret ruler and drill them by hand with a little pen drill (?). They will stay in with string pressure but once I get the guitar setup I put a tiny dot of thick super glue on the tip of the rivet post and reinstall. The strings act as a clamp and hold them in the right position while drying.

It's sort of a half ass archtop thing. Warrior does the recurve too (maybe not so tight as this).

Thanks guys! tim_ado, I never won GOTM with a bass, not sure who it is you are thinking of. The guitar is hollow and the electronics are run though the bridge pickup route. Mickguard, yep zero-fret and little individual metal string guides VERY similar to what you linked to. These are solid stainless steel rivets though, still slotted with nut files. Finished off the carved top, still waiting on a bridge from Hipshot for the flat top. P.S. Not sure the rules about thumbnails, didn't see anything against it in the image posting guidelines and these together are probably 1/4 the size of a 640x480 jpg.

Two new ones shaping up here. Both customer guitars and both SF3s with bound fingerboards, Hipshot Baby Grand bridges, and Sperzel Locking tuners. First is a flat top with one piece myrtle top and one piece redwood body. The neck is birdseye maple with bloodwood lams/fingerboard/ trim. 5.10 pounds. The second is all black limba, east indian rosewood and chrome (wenge lam on body, maple lams on the neck). Pickups by Nordstrand! 6.25 pounds.