WiFiGuy

Thanks Strato-Master, here's a follow up: I de-soldered the switch and removed it last night. I was hoping for a part number that I could look up but there was only specification re voltage and milliamps on the side. I did some online searches with the numbers I pulled off the housing but wasn't able come up with any real matches. I did check Mouser's site (I buy stuff from them already) and scrolled through about 50 pages of switches and again didn't see the one I need. So...I went the easy route and jumpered the switch contacts on the board and it worked. I'll plug the hole in the case with a small piece of plastic and I should be good to go. Just a note to any of you who use Line6 products, they're quite breakable so treat them with care. If you do have a hardware problem, tech support for these type questions is non-existent. Thanks

Thanks very much, that's pretty much what I was thinking. Of course if I do try this and it does wreck the device, I would the responsible party. By asking on this forum, I was just curious to see if anyone else shared in my assessment of the problem. Here's another quick question: The power supply used for this device outputs 9vAC@200mA, would 22 gauge wire be OK for the jumper? Thanks

Hi, I think this one will be easy, but since it involves a fairly pricey electronic device, I figured I better ask before I do something I may regret. Here goes: I have a Line6 POD XT that won't turn on. It's on / off switch is a rocker switch that I think may be bad. The switch has two "legs" or contacts that are soldered to the device's main board. When the switch is in the ON position, I would think that there should be continuity between the two contacts but there is not. Is it possible that I could simply solder a jumper wire across these two contacts and then power the device on / off by plugging / unplugging the power supply either at the wall or at the power input jack on the POD? There is continuity to each leg of the switch from the stero type power jack. The middle pin inside this jack connects to one leg while the side or sleeve of the jack connects to the other leg on the switch. I'm hesitant to try jumpering this since I don't want to fry the ICs on the unit and then lose my $300 investment in the gizmo--it's actually pretty cool to play around with. Line6 has no tech support whatsoever and cannont or won't answer my repeated questions about this switch. Any help of advice that you can give would be greatly appreciated.

So far no luck in finding the inserts, but here is reply that I got from: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=53 "I searched around for a while, came up empty handed. Usually you get the inserts included when you buy the trem. Floyds and Start inserts are so common you'll have no problem finding them, but I have no idea where to get the inserts you need. I even tried to find a way for you to contact Wilkinson directly, but they have no site, no E-mail that I can find. So, good luck dude, I can't find anything." Here's a quick tip re the UG forum. Use Firefox as your browser but first install the "adblock" add-on. It will stop UG's annoying pop up ads. Get it here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865/

As an FYI to anyone else following this thread, here is some info that I got from : http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=53 "No you won't have to apply the sealer first. That is to treat the raw wood before spraying the lacquer. Since the neck has already been dipped you shouldn't need to worry about that. I would hit it with some steel wool at least before spraying. If it were me I'd go over the entire back of the neck with some 320 grit. The neck pocket is your choice. You can finish the neck, and then do a bit of sanding if you need to get it to fit, or you can tape off the heel area that actually makes contact in the pocket. The choice is yours, although I prefer to have my heel finished as well. Unless its a maple board remember to tape off the fretboard. Good luck dude."

I have Warmoth strat replacement (mahogany / kingwood) neck that that I bought a couple of years ago for a guitar build that failed. The neck was never installed and never finished. It sat in my basement (not too damp, not too dry) in it's shipping box for a couple of years. The neck still looks great and shows no signs of warping or twisting, so I'm going to attempt to use it with a finished Warmoth body that I just received. Here is how Warmoth's neck ship: "All our necks are dipped in an oil based penetrating sealer which is compatible with virtually all secondary finishes. This provides enhanced stability; however, it is not adequate protection for playing. We strongly recommend you apply a hard finish to all Maple, Mahogany, and Koa necks." The plan is to shoot the neck with a few coats of Behlen B104-1406 Stringed Instrument Lacquer Aerosol to give it the recommended hard finnish. And although Behlen's instructions highly recommend the use of their B102-8000 Vinyl Sealer Aerosol product as a base coat, I was wondering if I really need this since Warmoth has already applied a sealer. Secondly, since the neck has sat, should I sand it or rub it down with steel wool before applying the finish? Lastly, the neck already fits very snugly in the body pocket, so should I be concerned about building up the overall thickness of the heel when I apply the finish? If the heel grows and has trouble fitting into the neck pocket, I suppose a little sanding of the pocket would solve the problem, but I figured I'd check in with you guys first, before I start. Thanks in advance for any tips of suggestions that you might have.

Hi and thanks in advance to anyone who replies to this thread. After totally messing up the neck pocket route on my first attempt at a from-scratch body build, I decided to go with a finished Warmoth body and I just received it a couple of days ago. Here's my question(s): Does anyone know where to find post inserts that will fit in holes drilled for a .382" (9.70 mm) diameter insert? I can find the skinnier American Standard strat ones and the fatter Floyd Rose versions, but can't seem to find the inserts for Wilkinson / Gotoh anywhere. Is there a "rule of the thumb" with regard to how deep the insert should be installed in the hole? Should the insert itself be installed flush to the body of the guitar or is slightly recessed OK? I have a pair of American Std. inserts that I've placed into the holes and though they don't fit snuggly, they sit slightly below the body. I know I'll have more questions as I start putting the guitar together, and I know from previoius experience that this is a great place to go to get info, so thanks to anyone who replies.

Many thanks for the advice--in reading it all I think I may give the router method a try first. I'll get a scrap of leftover piece of body wood and glue on a scrap of top wood, then I'll try the two step routing process described by Erik. I'll also give the "climbing" route methods a try as well. I'll take a look at making a routing table using some flat, wide laminated shelving material that i have for the table top--if that turns out to be too much trouble I'll go get one from Home Depot. If the trial routes work out and I feel comfortable with the set up, I'll then take it to the guitar. If not, I'll drop back and sand. I'll post results when I get 'em. Thanks again.

Hi all--well, here's the latest with the semi hollow Jag: Set the neck into the body: http://www.geocities.com/buildaxe/neckon1.jpg Routed the pickups: http://www.geocities.com/buildaxe/neckon2.jpg Routed for the controls and the tremolo: http://www.geocities.com/buildaxe/neckon3.jpg Now need to round these edges: http://www.geocities.com/buildaxe/neckon4.jpg I know that I should probably just use the router with a round over bit but am a bit leery due to the dreaded "tear out" word. I'd hate to mess this up after all of this work!!! I have a drill press with drum sander that I was thinking of using to gradually take down the edges or was thinking about using a random orbital. I have a belt sander and a palm sander that I can use for additonal shaping. Any advise on techniques or tools would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Jon---thanks for sharing the tip. Sometimes this stuff is obvious, but I can't or won't see it because I'm so fixated on trying not to mess up. Your technique sounds good and I'll give it a try.

Been making some progress of late on my Semi Hollow Jag project, here are pics: http://www.geocities.com/savespark/Glued-up-front.jpg http://www.geocities.com/savespark/Glued-up-back.jpg Top and bottom are glued, neck pocket's routed, crontrol cavity is routed, jack mounting area has been routed, and recesses for control knobs have been made for pots and switches. Any helpful hints on any of the following would be greatly appreciated: Pick Up Placement I'll be going with a S-S-H (Seymor Duncans) assortment and would like to know about placement, i.e. neck, middle and bridge. Been reading a bit but thought I'd check with some of you before taking the router to the wood. My neck is Warmoth Std. Strat style with 25 1/2 inch scale. It does overlap the bottom of the pocket so I know I can't be there with my neck PU. I'd be interested to know about how far I should be from the last fret and how far away from the bridge I should be. Trem Mounting Screws I'm going with an LR Baggs Std. X-Bridge Strat replacement tremolo with piezo pickups under the saddles. Since the X-Bridge is sold as a replacement, I didn't get any mounting screws--or at least don't think I did. Any ideas on what I should use? Neck Installation Any ideas on how to get the neck holes marked on the neck pocket once the neck is lined up with the center line? Am I correct to think that THIS is one area that I should try to be as precise as possible? Making a template is not out of the question but will take some time. Claw installation in rear StewMac's instructions say to use a special "aircraft bit" to drill the mount holes for the claw. Is this really necessary? and how far in do you go with the screws. Saw a picture someone posted of the screws not being flush with the claw--is this normal? Thanks

Oh yeah, I took an angry chisel to my project (semi-hollow body guitar) trying to remove wood inside the controls cavity so that the threads on an LR Baggs jack would poke out the other side. Although I didn't draw blood, I went straight through the side wall, cracked the wood and made a huge hole. N Now my "baby" has a scar and and a very obvious repair---I have since put the chisels away. Oh, and then there was the time I was routing a cable chase into a peice of plastic with a Leatherman tool. While bracing the plastic on my thigh I slipped and the 3 inch knife I was using went into my leg-- "like butta". Got some stiches on that one..... You'll be laughing about it soon enough, hang in there....

Glued in a plug made of mahogany then sanded it down to height. Filled in the gap around the plug and the previous cut with filler made from Tightbond and sawdust. Then re-cut the neck pocket using the template and a 1/2" straight router bit that had three pieces of duct tape (one complete wrap for each piece) around the bearing. Did not go back in with the 3/8" bit to get the corners of the pocket radiused--the 1/2" bit was fine as is. This, along with simply being more careful and methodical seemed to work. The neck now fits in snugly and lines up with the body's center line. I also made a new face and cut it / sanded it to match up with the body neck cavity. Here's a pic: Next will be to drill out the controls and switch holes in the face. I'll also have to recess these holes from the back of the face since it is much thicker than a pickguard. Once this is laid out and drilled, I'll glue the face to the body then will route the trem and pickup cavities. Here's more on the build with a bit more detail: http://www.geocities.com/buildaxe/ Thanks agian for all the advice and encouragement---I think this thing may work out OK afterall.....

PRS--that makes sense and yes I have enough maple that I could do it. What about the depth? I guess I could do the same thing, that is, glue down a 1/4+ inch thick piece of mahogany then lay in the maple sides then route again. With the top going on over it all it might cover the grain inconsistencies. Also, if looks too bad I could cover it all with a pick guard. Thanks for the input.

This should give you an idea:

Well.....chalk up another mistake to impatience. In trying to "get something done" this weekend, with limited time, I managed to: 1. Go in too deep on the pocket depth--should have been 5/8" (20/32"), is 23/32" 2. Not paying attention to the template will making routing passes, the clamp loosened due to vibration and the template jumped about 1/8 of inch off center. Good news if there is any is that the top and bottom are not glued yet. I thought I could clamp them together and cut out the nect pocket but was wrong. Any ideas on salvage or is this another completed "wall of death" project?

Hi to everyone following this build, for the lates pics, click here: http://www.geocities.com/buildaxe/ To summarize, here is the latest: Third try at glue up of the top yeilded satisfactory results, I went ahead and cut out the guitar shape in the top and used the drum sander to match it up to the body. I also went ahead and routed out a fair amount material for the controls of this guitar. I didn't take it all the way through the back side of the body since I wanted to make sure I was going to have enough room for everything. Note that I'll be going with an LR Baggs X Bridge with a pre-amp and will most likely go with a 4 knob arrangement for volume and tone control. I figure on going with the Strat standard 3 knob (5 way switch) set up for the magnetic pick ups and use a dedicated volume pot for the X-Bridge. Once I order all of this and get it in, I'll lay it out inside the guitar, before the tops gets glued, and will then cut the back controls opening. I ordered the neck from Warmoth a couple days ago. I went with a Warmoth Pro, Kingwood on Mahogany, with stainless steel jumbo frets and a graphtec nut. This should be in next week, so I won't be doing too much real work until it gets in and I can route the nect pocket. This weekend I hope to try routing a test pocket in some leftover wood so as to get comfortable and familiar with using the template. I've also been looking at magnetic pick ups and have come up with the following: Neck = Single coil Seymore Duncon JB Jr. Middle = Single coil Seymore Duncon JB Jr. Bridge = Humbucker, Seymore Duncan JB jr. Let me know what you guys think of these choices. I used the tone comparison tool on Duncan's web site to listen to a bunch of different pick ups and these all sounded the best to me for what I like to play. Any comments or suggestions here would be appreciated. So anyway, I'm waiting on the neck and will resume working once it is here. have a great weekend.

OK here is the latest re the build---pics are here: http://www.geocities.com/buildaxe/ Glued up and cut out the top, then shaped it to the body using the drill press and drum sander. Didn't go overboard on this since I'll be doing a lot of final shaping later. Hollowed out the controlls cavity in the body from the top. Once I figure out how everything will fit inside, then I'll cut out the back. Since I'm going with an LR Baggs X-bridge (piezo pickups for accoustic sound) + a pre-amp, I'll have to see where everthing will go and if I'll have enough room before I glue the top to the body. Ordered the neck from Warmoth today. It's a standard Strat replacement neck, mahog with kingwood fretboard Gotoh SG38 machines (chrome), stainless steel jumbo freights and a graphtec nut. They'll set it all up and I'll finish it once I piece everything together. Now I've turned my attention to pickups. Since my group plays a lot of different types of music I was thinking of going for a rock and blues type sound form the mags--how does this sound?: Bridge Magnetic PUP==Seymore Duncan JB JR Humbucker Neck and Middle ==Seymore Duncan JB JR single coils I went online to their site and listened to a bunch of tones from a bunch of their PUPs and these two sounded the best to me. I am still researching this, so any insight any of have would be grealty appreciated. It'll be about a week or so until the neck gets in so I won't be doing too much untill I get it. Although I could route out the neck pocket and the trem cavity in advance, I figure I'll wait to see exactly what I'll be delaing with--I am actually planning on routing a test pocket just to get comfortable using the template etc. I also don't want to get the scale length messed up by trying to cut it out before I have the neck installed. Anyway, let me know what you guys think re pick ups. Thanks

Now THAT's an interesting concept---I'm stringing rubberbands across mine already and twanging them just to hear what it sounds like (just kidding of course) Wait and do it properly???!!!! That might be the best advice ever offered on this forum. Went ahead and glued up a second top last night, since I wasnt' too thrilled with the first one. I used my workmate as a clamping base and think that it might have been the source of the problem---Since I want to start cutting the top asap, I didn't wait to get the proper clamps and just went for it with what I had. Might pay the price by having to re-do it all tonight---we'll see. Thanks

FYI to everyone following the Hollow Body Jag build, I moved the page. It's new address is: http://www.geocities.com/buildaxe/ Keep those cards and letters coming THanks

Thanks for the input Bilious and Jon, I do appreciate it. Jon--nice pics of your bass, hope it turned out for you. What you did there is exaclty within the spirit of what I am trying to do--create a truly unique instrument that will be fun to play and maybe will even sound unique as well. Re the through cavity for controls, I had thought about that but will probably just do a standard rear-route since I can get templates for the cavity and cover recess cheap online. A custom made back cover for controls might just be one of those things that I SAY I'll do, but never actually complete. If this guitar get's that far and is playable--I'll be too busy messing around with the sound and the cover will be left hanging. Here's a question for you: When you lammed the top on to your bass, did you add an elbow countour on the bottom left of the face? I've seen this done on another guitar I own and, in this case, the body width was taken down to 1 inch (.75 inches removed) at its outside most edge. This of course was done on a solid body guitar so the shaping was no big deal (other than making it look nice!) For semi-hollows like ours, we've only got the top thickness to work with and in my case, it's 5/16th of an inch. I would like to have some contour for this area of the guitar, if not for actual comfort, then simply for looks is fine. I was thinking of NOT routing out any cavities under where this contour will be so that th top, however thin it may end up, would have something under it. Any thoughts or prior experience on this would be appreciated. Bilious---re the full-through route out and the back panel idea. I had thought about that as well, but again figure going the easy route will be best for me at this point. Besides, I'm pretty sure that I'm hooked on building guitars now and will be making another one when this one is done. Maybe that top wood will come in handy for Axe #2 or something coming later. Will (hopefully) start on the top cut tonight, will post pics as I go. Thanks

OK, here's the latest re the hollowbody Jag build: The bottom wood is almost all routed out and the top wood is glued up. See pics here: http://www.geocities.com/savespark/GuitarBuild.html Couple questions for those in the know: 1. Re the center strip---is 4.25 too wide? I arrived at that measurement by taking 3.728 and adding 1.0 inches to it. --.5 on the right and .5 on the left. I read in a post in this group that you should take your widest element and add .5 to each side. I'll going with an S-S-H set for the pups so I doubt that they will be wider than 4.25". If it turns out that my strip is too wide, I'll take a smaller Forstner and put some more holes in. 2. Re the chambers, would it be reccomended to connect them all together with a small route? Although I'm more interested in reducing weight than trying for an accoustic sound, I thought I might let some air travel around the inside of this guitar. Thoughts on this would be appreciated. Note though, that I do want this guitar to sound like an accoustic, but not all the time. I'd like to be able to use an X-Bridge to go from a Strat Sound to an Accoustic sound when needed. 3. Should I simply clean out the area in the lower right of the body, i.e. no honey comb? With the book matched birdseye face I'm planning for a rear route for controls. Any issues I should know about ahead of time with regard to the rear route? Do I have to leave anything inside this guitar for the controls to mount to? I seem to recall that they will mount to the underside of the top--I'll do some research here before I proceed. 4. Before lamming on the top, I'm pretty sure I'll need to drill or route cable paths from the controls cavity to the pup-stack. Any advise would be appreciated here as well---Hate to close this thing up and find out I've go no way to run wires. Anyhow--thanks to all who have been following this, feel free to reply. Thanks

Hi Everyone, Here is the latest re the hollow body J-master build: Had the birdseye maple re-sawn and planed down to 5/16" then had the Mahogany body blank planed down to 1 7/16", so now I have book-matched top wood (enough for two tops) and a body that I can start hollowing out. Here is a picture of the materials so far: http://www.geocities.com/savespark/GuitarBuild.html Next step will be joining the maple, then using the template to cut out the guitar top and bottom. I'll post pics with progress soon--hopefully.

Thanks WezV, I think you are on the money with your assesment re looks vs. functionality--but the big plates on the back of the guitar WILL have a purpose, they'll keep me from becoming sway-backed!!! Just kidding on that one, I do get your point and appreciate the well thought advice. Made a visit to the local wood guy and.....maybe the traditional top and bottom approach won't be so bad afterall--here's the latest: I bought a piece of birdseye maple for a very reasonable $45 yesterday. Its dimensions are 50" X 8.5" X 1". I figure I can do one of three things with this: 1. Check into gettting it re-sawn and planed--3/8" bookmatched would be ideal if it can be done. 2. Cut it in half, then have it planed down to 3/8" (lots of waste!!) and try to join it with some kind of interesting grain pattern showing. 3. Ruin it and not give the wife another "stupid husband" story to add to her collection. While planing down the top wood, I would also have the body blank planed down to 1 3/8" so that the total "sandwich" achieves a thickness of 1 3/4". Got some calls out to some local woodworking / cabinet makers in the area (Annapolis MD, USA) to see about the shaping. I would really like to know if the re-saw option is feasible. If so, I'd have enough wood for two tops AND it would really look good. Will also check with a kindly neighbor (only accepts beer as payment) about the use of his planer. Will post results, hopefully, soon. Thanks

OK, the wood's in and looks pretty decent--at least to me it does!!! Here's a pic: http://www.geocities.com/savespark/GuitarBuild.html As for next steps, here's what's going on: Will stop by a local exotic wood place tomorrow to find out about a top to laminate onto the body. In doing research on-line I'm finding that this may something I might want to reconsider--here's why: 1. Expense--this top wood, especially if it's got a bookmatched grain pattern, is way expensive. I'm not so sure that "learning" about guitar building on high end materials like this will be very productiive nor is it smart. 2. Top Contouring---I'd like to have an elbow cut on the top of the guitar (looks and comfort) but am not too keen on trying to bend the top a-la "drop top binding" that I've seen around the net. Might go a bit thicker on the top (3/8") Then sand it down at the elbow. Also, I'd leave the elbow area in the body un-routed. We'll have to see about this though. Although I could simply abandon the semi-hollowbody approach that I started with and try for a solid body with the wood that just came in--- I also don't want an anvil hanging off my shoulder, and this block of Mahog is heavy!! My current guitar IS an anvil and I'd like something light to switch to for a change. So here's a question for you experts: Ever hear of anyone hollowing out a guitar body from the back? Maybe I'm the Forest Gump of guitar builidng and don't know better, but it seems to me that I could take my block of mahogany and could clear it out from the backside, leaving a strip down the center for pick ups, bridge and trem. I could then make a couple of lightweigt panels to place over the cavities. This would eliminate all the trouble of trying to lam a top on a the face of the body. The wood removal would keep the axe light and maybe even give it somewhat of a hollow-body tone. My reason for asking this question is based on the fact that my present guitar, a 1981 Gibson RD Artist, has a major rear cavity that has a recessed plastic cover over it. This guitar was one of the first to have "active electronics" in it and the cavity in the back is where all the electronics boards, etc. are. Anyway, I'll see what the exotic wood place says tomorrow. Then I'll figure out what I'll be doing on this thing this weekend. Thanks