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I used the shank on a soldering iron for bending ebony and qld maple bindings to form. It was great for all the small but tight curves. cheers, Stu

So which dovetail jointing system did you end up forking out for ? And is it any good ? Oh yeah, I'm running through a Marshall jcm-800 cheers, Stu

I'm using the same method as Peter. It's quick and also very precise. In fact I also use almost the same method to make my two foot long radiussed sanding blocks too. There is a tutorial on that also. cheers ,Stu

Yep , I've used that tool before many times and it always works really well for me. It's also free. This is the 'real' secret weapon to learning . O.K.........I did a quick search for you. Here's but a fraction of what you''ll find using the 'ultimate tool'. linky 1 linky 2 cheers, Stu

I'll second you on that one , Mattia. You can get a lot of info off the net by doing a search on bandsaws. With that said, I still went out and bought a book on it. Why ? Well, I'm glad you asked. A good book will not only have set up methods and ways to utilize your bandsaw to it's full potential, but also a section for diagnosing problems and solutions. That in itself is worth the purchasing. Cheers , Stu

It's all personal tastes from experiences, but I'll machine buff after flattening back using P2500 grit. (wetsanded) I use a buff on everything I possibly can, and hand cut everything I can't reach . When hand-cutting I'll take it to P2500 grit also, but it obviously takes longer to bring up a good result when hand-cutting. cheers, Stu

Once again you've created another truly inspiring build with great detail. Did I mention the fine detail ? Congratulations to you, David and the lucky kiwi waiting by the mailbox cheers, Stu

I read your other posting in the sherwin-williams thread that you use alot of pre-cat nitro at your workplace. You could use that without any problems. In fact, what you could do is a search on different finishing materials , to give you the low-down of the pros and cons of each system. I've used Pre-cat nitro before on a build and gotten great results from it. Although with any product , there are inherent precautions to follow in getting the most out of it. ( But considering you use it a lot in your job, you should be well aware of them) cheers, Stu

Here's a few pics dealing with the control cavity and electricals. cavity test fit recessing control knobs This one's entered into the May GOTM. What the hey........you only live once cheers, Stu

Thanks for that Phil. You've pulled out a real ripsnorter. It's without a doubt a brilliant idea and one I'm going to use/make in the future. cheers, Stu

Is there any benefits of using epoxy for this type of stuff instead of titebond ? Cheers, Stu

Another chippy, eh I bet my hammer's bigger than your hammer I'm out in Knox but work mainly around Kew area. With Qld maple, alot of people say it's a substitute for mahogany. What I'm dying to find out is, sonically, how close to mahogany is it ? Is it anywhere near it ? Cheers, Stu

Wow, 2 years is a long time to maintain enthusiasm. That's definitely a milestone achieved Well done on the hollow-body, rdiquattro. Nice to see not only a fellow melbournite on the build, but also another using Qld maple on this forum. What are your thoughts on the Qld maple ? Cheers, Stu

I'm keeping my thoughts on this one to myself, as it's not going to get you closer to your goal. But I will say this..................If we ever find out what that f/board is, it is secondary to the fact that you've all thrown in a heap of great links to timber colours and variations therein. I've just added them all to my favourites folder (pssst.......I don't think it's koa/acacia/blackwood) bugger, couldn't help myself. Blackwood/acacia cheers, Stu

Hi all, My name's Stu and here's my first attempt at building. Native Aussie timbers carvetop. 1 piece Qld maple body with a 9mm carve 3 piece Blackwood neck dyed maple between. Lace she-oak fretboard with inner ebony binding and sheoak outer. Qld maple headplate with ebony inner binding and Qld maple outer. 25 " scale set neck Gotoh 510 gold tuners. Gotoh gold tuneomatic bridge String thru setup with rear ferrules recessed flesh with body. GFS fatpaf humbuckers. one vol. one tone and 3 way toggle. m.o.p. side markers and a m.o.p. inlay on the headstock. finished in pre-cat nitrocellulose lacquer. Headstock She-oak fretboard neck to body my build thread (carvetop heaven) Thankyou and cheers, Stu

I'm more happier with the whole build now that I've been able to give it a good playing over the last month or so. Initially, when making the nut, I blew it out twice, and recut the third with happy results. Tuning is also very stable as to be expected, and the overall set up has worked out much better than I expected for a first timer. ( I'm hoping it's not just beginner's luck). For some reason I expected the combination of blackwood and Qld maple to be more muddy sounding (mahogany-like) than how it is. That's not a negative, but an observation which , in hindsight worked out for the better. Running through the jcm-800 through a clean channel, All I can say is ' the clarity..........' I also made a thicker neck than any guitar I've owned before. Again, I wasn't too sure how my cocktail frankfurt fingers were going to go on a thicker neck, but after playing for awhile and then going back to my other guitars, I do prefer the thicker, rounder neck. Another plus. (gee, I'm fluking a few on this build) The only things I'd really change is the size of the volute. Maybe a bit oversized. And I'm going to take the straplocks off. They rattle too much in their retainer socket. The ebony binding worked out well, other than the fact everyone who sees the guitar in person tends to say " how did you paint the black lines on so straight?" ( The ebony binding looks like it's painted on with no grain definition for want of a better word.) Overall, they are all trivial things. I'm very happy with it for a first build. Can't wait to finish the second as I know it'll be much better. cheers, Stu

The link works for me. Godin, that is seriously impressive stuff. Congratulations are definitely in order. It's time to take a bow. cheers, Stu

if you upgrade to a 2 hole cam. $50 And does this also come with a lefty trem. arm ? cheers, Stu

All in good time , Tim. Once you do take the plunge into refinishing, you won't regret it. Ever. cheers, Stu

Congrats on the build so far Tim. You should pick your uncles brains for advice and tips/techniques with spraying. If he's that great, it'd be a shame to pass on an opportunity such as this. Looking forward to seeing the finished work of art. cheers, Stu

I hope you find what you need, RG. I've decided to enter this first build into the GOTM some time soon. As a great forum and info resource, the thing that makes it so good is the amount of participation in it that moves the site forwardbound. It's all about getting in there and participating, so , I'm gonna give it a crack. cheers, Stu

Thanks Mattia, you beat me to it. Important info for those of us who are the lepers of the guitar playing community. cheers, Stu (still a lefty and regretting it)

I'm waiting on a few gold micro screws to turn up so, in the mean time, it's held firmly in place with double sided tape. Inlay was done with a jeweller's saw and a dremel with the stew-mac base. thanks. The hardware is all from Stewmac. And there's nothing on the guitar that is lefty specific.(in the hardware dept.) Standard gotoh T.O.M bridge and Gotoh 510 tuners which I'm really impressed with. Sourcing lefty trems and the like are a real pain, so I'm still looking for a good source for those. cheers, Stu

The Quiet One - Moo-aah.............Frank Zappa would be proud. I've currently got a lend of my bro's Marshall JCM-800. In return he's got my telescope. I'm expecting him to ask for the amp back soon, so I'll have to move interstate I think. Sound at 11 - Cheers for that. I'm really happy with this first build. As far as the exporting thing, most of our Aussie timber gets exported. America takes a big slice of them, especially the Blackwood/Acacia. RG - The timber prices are all up on Tim's Website I prefer to email him direct and ask questions about timbers . A1 for service, too Since this is my first build, I can only judge the sound , sustain, feel and so on by comparing them against my other factory bought and built guitars. I guess all I can really say is that I am still completely amazed by the difference in sound, sustain and so on but I can't tell you why there is such a jump from the bought ones to this build. No idea whatsoever. Suffice to say, If I had the opportunity to do a build like this and have the exact same result at the end, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I've got a heap of blackwood/acacia lined up for necks in the future and a few figured tops also. And I won't talk about the stack of figured goodies I've been getting from Tim. Other than to say you'll eventually see them on this forum, no doubt in a work in progress thread. cheers, Stu

Godin, Thanks for the encouragement. I've still got a lot more up my sleeve in the future, I hope. Jester, cheers for that also. I've decided to dedicate a fair percentage of my future builds to using tonewoods from Australia. Australia has a lot of strikingly beautiful timbers, but also totally unique ones as well. I'd like to learn a bit more about the tonewoods I have growing on my own continent first and foremost, and in doing so, share the experience here . Getting back to the last build, Below is probably my favourite timber on this guitar. The lace she-oak fretboard. I thought it was so good on it's own , it more than deserved to be left unadulterated. ( And I'm still slowly learning how to play by the side dots only ) sheoak pic. cheers all, Stu