kiwigeo
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Everything posted by kiwigeo
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Wrapping is mainly to reduce chances of the truss rod rattling or buzzing inside the slot. It's probably good insurance to wrap your truss rod but on my steel strings I dont bother.
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Best use for balsa is sandwiched with carbon fibre as bracing under an acoustic soundboard.
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Sounds like the guitar wasn't set up too well when you bought it. Were did you buy the instrument.... if you dont mind me asking?
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Intonation being out shouldnt make an instrument buzz. Sounds like something funny going on the bass side of your neck. How low is your action? Note that if your action is very low then bass strings will be the first ones to start buzzing. If buzzing continues with a higher action then id be looking at the neck....first thing id check is neck relief and trueness. If youre not sure how to adjust a truss rod then take the instrument to someone who does. Cheers Martin
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If they did the process is taking an awfully long time. I'm currently stuck out on an offshore oil rig where just about every measurement known to man gets used at one time or other. Drill pipe in metres, drilling mud in barrels, pump flowrates in gallons per minute and helifuel in pounds. Cheers Martin
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Nitefly, I agree Stewmac are a tad more expensive than other suppliers but I also factor quality and speed of service into the equation. Down here in Australia I can get stuff shipped from Stewmac (and LMI) quicker than I can from the other side of Australia. Whenever there have been (rare) hiccups with shipments they get fixed pronto....so far Ive only had one Australian supplier match Stewmac for service. Cheers Martin
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Darren, Not trying to be the noise cop in here but I think Javacody will find the noise will quickly become HIS problem once the neighbours complain and the council noise control officer comes knocking. Noise is one of the major cause of conflicts between neighbours and 9 times out of 10 the conflict is easily avoidable by a little communication and consideration. Being on good terms with your neighbour is also cheap insurance for your workshop....a neighbour youve p**ed off with nocturnal routing sessions is probably not going to do much when he sees house breakers making off with the offending tool. Just my ten cents worth. Cheers Martin
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Dayvo, Ive got a dandy conversion list which came with one of my Stewmac catalogues. Has all the common sizes in metric and fraction and decimal imperial. PM me your email address and Ill send you a PDF of same. Cheers Martin
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You are not supposed to hold the pipe while you bend the wood . You must be a pretty tuff fella . Peace,rich Well the instructions mention maintaining good posture while working on the pipe and bending your arms was one suggestion they make to achieve same.
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Im in agreement. I mark up with an Xacto knife and a steel ruler with measurments engraved into the ruler. I run the knife down the appropriate marking on the ruler and put a nick across centreline of the fretboard. Once the whole thing is marked up I CHECK measurements and then run the Xacto against a square across the fretboard at each nick. I then CHECK measurements again before sawing slots. Cheers Martin
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Shimmy, try some of the herpatology suppliers. Theres a few with websites here in Oz. I sourced ceramic bulb holders for my side bender from a place in Queensland. Out working on an oil rig off the NW Shelf right now so dont have the details on me. Will post website URL in about a week if youre interested. Nice to see someone else working on a hot pipe. The Fox benders are great but I love working up a sweat and burning the cr*p out of my arms and hands on a pipe. Cheers Martin
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Pm Sent. Yeah i'd heard about using ceramic socket but haven't located a supplier yet. I have though about the LMII dishes but for the $80US plus shipping to australia, i figured it would be better to build my own. cheers Dave
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Twisted Neck Aesthetics... Suggeestions?
kiwigeo replied to Uncle Os's topic in Solidbody Guitar and Bass Chat
For filling work on a dark wood I generally use 5 minute epoxy mixed with wood dust. You can also try burn in laquer sticks available from Stewmac and LMI. Cheers Martin -
All comments appreciated Setch and taken on board. Its horses for courses I guess. Im happy using white glue and youre just as happy using epoxy. The great thing about luthiery is there are as many different ways of doing things as there are luthiers! Cheers Martin
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Hi Setch, Yes some luthiers use epoxy on their necks but to me its like using a sledgehammer to knock in a nail. White glue does the job quite adequately and leaves you the option of undoing the joint. Epoxy is also alot harder to clean up than white or yellow glue.... From my experience reversing a white glue is easier than undoing an epoxy joint....more chance of taking wood with you when you part the joint with epoxy. Youve obviosuly had more luck than me with epoxy joints. I've never had problems with backbow after gluing on a fretboard.....the only time backbow has been an issue with me is after frets have gone in. Cheers Martin
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JP, LMI set is generally preferred by alot of people. I have both and generally use the LMI kit. Reasons...bearing runs lower on the bit...helps keep router a bit more stable and allows for deeper binding cuts if necessary. Also more bearings in the set....sticking tape around bearings is a P in the A. Cheers Martin
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Dave, If youre building a Fox style bender youll need ceramic sockets for the light bulbs. Dont under any circumstances use normal plastic batten holder fittings..theyll melt and youll probably burn down your workshop. PM me and Ill give you adress of a herpatologist supplier over in Queensland who can supply the proper ceramic lamp holders. I built myself a Fox style bender but I dont use it much...I do most of my side bending by hand over a hot pipe. Not as easy as the side bender but I like the challenge and Im old fashioned. Dish forms...I bought mine from LMI. Could have made my own but dont really have the time. For drawing up large radius curves I use a pencil tied to a piece of string. I had a huge garage built just so I could do this! Cheers Martin
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Olyen, Chuck the blade and get a new one..you wont get it straight. If youre twisting blades check following: 1. Check you've got the upper guides set to about 10mm above surface of wood youre cutting. 2. What sort of guides does your saw have? If theyre block style and there are roller replacements available get them...theyre far better. Check the blade is tracking in the guides properly as well. 3. Check your blade tension. Should be something in the handbook about recommended setting. 4. For tight curves best to use a 1/4" blade or thinner. 5. If you have to back out of a cut..turn the saw off first and then back out of it. Backing out with the saw running is a good way to bend/break blades. Cheers Martin
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Vinny, My advice to beginners is build something basic as a first project....if youve got Campiano's book then build a classical or a steel string following his method. Starting off on an archtop is jumping in the deep end...I admire your bravery but there's the danger youll find it very difficult and the project will kill your enthusiasm for luthiery. Best of luck whatever you decide. Cheers Martin
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If the neck is loose try and shim it. Glue for fretboards....white glue best as its easier to undo the joint with a bit of heat. Fretboards dont last for ever and your fretboard is going to have to come off at some stage. LMI white glue is good....I use Selleys PVA here in Australia. Cheers Martin
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Mattia's right. Dremel way underpowered for routing out cavities for an electric. Do yourself a favour and save up for a router and get the best one you can afford. I use Dremels but only for light work such as intricate sound hole rosettes on acoustics. Stewmac sell router and rossete attachments for Dremels but I prefer doing these tasks with a router....router gives a much cleaner cut than a Dremel. Cheers Martin The guy was probably a Dinosaur by the time he finished
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One thing to watch if youre buying routers. Some brands come with 1/4" collets and they also call 6.35mm collets "1/4". Routers with 1/4" imperial collets wont take 6.35mm cutters. When you buy your router, poke in a few cutters while youre at the shop and make sure theyre going to fit. I bought a UK made Trend router here in Australia which came with 8mm and 1/4" collets. It wont take the cutters Ive got which are mainly 6.35mm shank. Cheers and happy routing Martin
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Know what youre talking about Greg. Working with hand tools can be a pain and it takes awhile to get the hang of it but I enjoy the challenge and I get big satisfaction when I get a good end result. Getting there can be a chore though....Ive still got the two mahogany neck blanks I tore to pieces with my (blunt) smoothing plane while building my first acoustic. I keep things like that for times when I think Im not making any progress. Mahogany blanks can be highly variable depending on species and how its been cut. Sometimes you cant tell youve got a piece with a rogue grain untill you attack it with a plane. One of my favourite woods for working on is Spanish Cedar...easy to work and I just love the aroma that comes of the stuff when you work it. Cheers Martin
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MS, Im not an electric builder but I wouldnt think there'd be a whole lot of difference in the acoustics of regular and fiddleback maple. Ive used fiddle back and regular Houn Pine (Aussie tonewood) on acoustics and not noticed a whole lot of difference in acoustics. No doubt the electric boys in here will be able to provide an answer to your question. Cheers Martin