rsguitar

The rigid router just kicks @ss. Ihave owned both the porter cable and the rigid. and hands down I like the rigid much more. It comes with standered base and plung base. this thing even has a light in it that comes on when you are routing. I like it so much I plan on buying a second one when I can aford it........ Mike

anyone have a set of plans for one of these things??????????????? Mike

I have used an inveted pin router for a couple of years at this cabinet job I had. This thing was great. It was an onserude brand router works great for jigs and templates. But the thing was like $6000.00 out of my price range . Grizzly has a numatic one check it out http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0587. Good luck Mike

you should charge an hourly rate. keep close watch on your time so you can charge accordingly. That way you never loose on your time or skill. You have somthing they want so don't give away your work. You are worth more than that...... Good luck Mike

Yea I HATE WHEN THEY FLY BY WITH SQUEEKY WINGS!!!!!! Hahahaha Great one Racer X Mike

Do you have a printing service around you like kinkoos or pitneybows. {not spelled corectly }.you could talk with them to find out what file format they work with. Then you could get it in full size and in one piece of paper..... Good luck Mike

I agree with you both, but I must confess I am some what of a tool junkie...But I do build as many things as posible, Like the neck jig that stew mac offers. They want $355 for the thing and I built mine for about $65. I also built the neck rocker, and the Neck Support Caul with some scrap wood that I already had around. You can find some good alternative tools that will do just as good a job as the stuff stew mac kicks out, but when it comes to doing a consitant job with precise results time after time some of these so called " Speciatly " tolls realy are quite handy. As I have made the decision that building guitars is how I am going to make a living. But as a hobbiest you have to determine the amount of time you will spend on a certain task. And if you can get by with some generic tool to do the job. Like I said you can bild alot of what you need depending on your skill level and confidence in building in general....... I say kudoos to you on your purchases and saving money you can spend on materials for your next guitar..... Mike I guess if something works for you then go for it....... Mike

I love to see original designs so keep it up looks very cool!!!!!!! Mike

[quote shame on me.

Do you have a custom bike or car shop near you? If you do you could watch and pick thier brain a little. you can also order a dvd from carvin which shows some of thier finishing tech. Mike

Well you could do it both with good results. It depends on you, if you are a patient builder you could go for the before neck pocket. If you do it this way you have to route carefully on the pass comin out of the pocket as not to blow it out. If you do it after the neck pocket then make it stick into the neck pocket by a 1/6" or so, and use a file or fine sandin block to get it flush. Main thing is to take your time..... Good luck!!!! Mike

I think you are doing a damn fine job so keep it up..... Mike

Do you have the tools to make your own?

That is some scary lookin stuff AND TRUST ME I AM BEING KIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Must cut everything with a hand held jig saw!!!!!!!

Hi Firefox2551 What's up. Looks like you got yourself some green wood to play with. Which is a great idea for learning alot of the steps you will be doing in the future on the real thing. I can gaurantee you that that wood is green, I have bought kiln dried studs made out of hem. and they were still twisting in the wind. Not really sure on thier deffinition of kiln dried but it will make for some great practice anyway. Do you have a jointer or a hand held planer? this would be your best bet for a good glue joint. Have fun Mike

I think you are doing a fine job on your first build. Doing anything in life is a learning prosess with mistakes along the way. But it sounds like you are starting to get a better feal for what you are doing. You have been able to fix ,and overcome the mistakes you have made whitch is great. it means you are on the road to becoming a better guitar builder/woodworker. Most of what you are doing is woodworking skills, and as you learn what works and what doesn't you gain in your skills. The PG forum is a great place to pick some brains on all types of subjects, but keep in mind what will work for some people might not work for you in your givin situation. I have been building things since I was 5 years old, and learned at an early age that I loved to work with wood. I remember a time when I was working in a cabinet shop on this custom solid oak desk. I had the top all done with cardboard over top of it so it wouldn't get scratched up. Well in my brilliance I decided to drill the holes for the drawer pull on the drawer fronts before attaching them to the drawers. Needles to say the bit went through the drawer front, and then the cardboard, and then into the oak top. major mistake when i removed the cardboard there were three holes in the top. Itold my boss what I did and he told me to fix it. So i filled the holes with a combination of wood glue and wood that matched the grain patern best. Then used an exato knife to make a little more grain detail and you couldn't see it at all once it was stained and finished. So don't be to discouraged on your mistakes they are making you a better builder. and in the future you won't make them again. Some of the best jig material I use is baltic birtch. It is very strong and can take a good drop off the work bench without breaking like plexi would. I can't wait to see your ccompleted guitar it will represent alot more than just a musical instument. It will represent the jouney you took in ceating it... Build on ihocky2 Good luck Mike

I was woundering how to submit a guitar for the guitar of the month. Is it a easy to do? Can anyone give me a step by step on how to do this please. Thanks for your time everyone. Mike

Can you route the cavity yourself? That would save you all the trouble of getting the info. As for the head stock you could use a good photo and use the nut dimension to scale the photo to the correct size. If you can't do that then you could still trace the design at guitar center. Just push the tunners through the paper not perfect but it will get you close.... Good luck Mike

Thanks for the info guys. Hey also woundering if anyone knows of a company who can laser cut my logo into som shell for inlay. anyone?????? Mike

Is the necl plate just flat or does it have a logo or shapped in some way? you could make one out of some brass then buuf and finish with lacquer. Mike

Ihave two stew mac files. #1 is http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_suppl..._Fret_File.html wide med file. I used it on two frets and I didn't like the chater of the file so I bought the diamond file http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_suppl...Fret_Files.html. I love the diamond file very smoth. I will sell the other since I don't use it if you are interested for $25.00 Anyway thats my take on the issue. Mike

It will work but like Mickguard said you need a bridge with fine tuners on it. Kahler has a flat mount non trem bridge with all the adjustments you could ask for. they are at " kahlerusa.com ". Good luck. Mike

Looks like some great wood to build with I can't wait to see some pics of the progress. Mike

What are you trying to do with this thing. Do you want it to be a fretless bass? If so I would scape out that spackle and then glue into the slots som wood of a contrasting color like maple. Once glued in and sanded down you have a nice feretless fret board and you can still see where the frets were. If youn want it to look like it never had any frets then you have to go with some epoxy and some saw dust of the same type of wood or inlay filler for that color of wood. Good luck whatever you are trying to do!!!! Mike

I agree thats a good way to get the job done. And it's not like jackson is going to send you a template now are they.. Good luck MIke