pour bleeding me

thanks guys! i know the camera sucks sorry..but i already got the diamond plate from a local metal sales place...20 bucks for a whole sheet to cover the guitar and have sum left over...i still have to get it cut out but the plasma torch went out at the place that was gonna cut it...but its not gonna stop me! thanks guys

sorry about the double post but i wanted more people to see this...heres some pictures of my explorer in progress...sorry for the low quality and for yahoo...damn servers http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/neverletg...tgo44/my_photos

Explorer Pictures Sorry i wanted to post the pics in here but my damn server went down...so i had to resort to yahoo...sorry guys...but those are the pics...sorry for the low quality...its just my little eyeball camera...but the pics explain themselves EDIT: 100th post!! whoo! what a great way to do it too...postin pics of my guitar...thanks guys! [/being cocky]

well i was feeling saucy so i just relocated the two screws...so now all i have to do is await the arival of my ferrules then countersink the holes for them to go in...im glad i moved the screws because now i can round the back of the guitar more for a more comfortable feel...thanks guys

id like to participate too...but i am basically a noobie with almost 1 guitar finish(well im painting it now)...any way i can help id be more than happy to...this all sounds like a great idea tho and if you want a guitar which represents this forum shape shouldnt be hard to figure out... A TELE!! haha

that guitar looks awesome!! it makes me want to strip down one of my guitars...hmmm....

I am all set with the ferrules issue..and i know how to drill the neck holes as i tested it last night on another project....but this question got ignored last time...if i move two of the screws towards the center of the neck will this affect the strength of the neck joint? i wouldnt want it to break on me... thanks

ive ordered the ferrules from stew mac along with some neck screws(so i can put the current ones back on my strat haha) and i get what you mean about putting them up to each other and sizing them...good idea...ill try that...thanks for your help guys!

so basically the find the size of the screw and just go one size smaller?

you all have a very good point and i agree..the ferrules are the safest way to go...i would have to move two of the screws tho if i want to use them...if i move the screws toward the center of the neck will this affect strength? and also what size drill bit do i use to drill the back of the neck? thanks guys....the black paint is goin on today too!...thanks for the help

i dont think i have room for them actually...the screw holes are close to the edge of the wood...and they ferrules might hang off the wood...so is recessed screw heads ok? or a deffinate no?

i have decided to ditch the back plate and am going to recess the screws...but are the ferrules needed or can i just recess the head of the screw till its flat? what do the ferrules do? are they needed or can i get by without em? thanks

I too was thinking of doing the same on my explorer...because the plate doesnt fit the back of the neck too well...and it adds width to the neck...so in order to use the ferrules do you have to use shorter screws? because the screws i have now(standard strat screws) would go well into if not thru the fretboard.

i too am using diamond plate for my project...its going to cover the whole front of my guitar...and its getting powder coated black...its a replica of james hetfield's signature esp explorer...should be pretty nice...im hopefully getting a friend of mine to cut it with a plasma torch but i might have to bust out the dremel for this one...damn "friends"

so just spikes and bumps in the paint are all im looking for?simple enough

thanks alot guys! uve all given me plenty of information...and a lot of tips on how to make my dream come true..so thank you...and thanks for all your help on my explorer too..almost done! thanks again

well i dont have the can with me..its at the shop but ill check it out and use the same brand...but ill sand the primer down to 400 and do another coat....thanks...how do u know when its sanded good enough tho? define "smooth"

alright..back again...but i sanded my explorer to 180 and got it nice and smooth and sanded...i sprayed a coat of gray primer on it....so now im wondering now what? should i spray another coat of primer? or sand the primer i got now? if so with what grit sand paper? or should i just spray the black paint on it? now as for the hard finish..i am so torn on what to use! i was originally going to use polyurathane...and i already bought it..but ive heard more complaints than anything about this stuff..and i dont wanna wait 3 months for it to cure....so what should i use? ive heard alot about nitro...or else automotive hard finishes..which i have a connection to get some for possibly free..but dont know how to use it..so please just any advise on this helps.. thanks for all your help and patience...i dont wanna mess up! ive come this far!

all good points you made there wes...im going to research the hell out of this so i know exactly what im getting into...(well ill have an idea anways) and i dunno about the esp custom shop....ill check that out too...but thanks for all the advise...ugh life...

i believe theres one in japan which sells cheaper guitars...and theres also a USA one which sell high end expensive guitars...but im not 100 percent sure...but i mean i could work at any big name like gibson etc. ESP would just be my first choice

i always hear about everyone using this program to design guitars so i thought id give it a try to see if it made life easier....where can i get this program and which one if theres more than one? free would be best if possible...or should i even use it? thanks

I cant even begin to express thanks to you all...but ill try..thanks! haha i feel inspired now because i was half expecting to get shot down like most people that dont know do...i was looking into schooling and want to take this route so i can be the best i can be...i realize one way to get out there is to have a totally new design...like PRS did...this is hard to do but i always keep my mind thinking of new designs...i have yet to have a job so now is the time really for me to chose a career...while having little side jobs till i find it...one way i was thinking about doing this was going to school and then getting a job at one of the big name custom shops...like ESP like my avatar says...so then i dont have to make a name for myself and can just work for an already respected company..and maybe get a bit of a following then leave and do my own work...and as for having my own shop i was thinking of having a team..because alot of my friends are guitar builders too..and are seeing the same dreams i do....so if we all had a team we could all specialize and get things done faster...like an assembly line...and maybe offer cheaper more machine made models..and then more expensive hand made models...but thanks for the advise guys...i will see whats out there and check my options..thanks

Hi...my name is ryan and im in high school....i love working with wood and specifically making guitars...and i was wondering if any of you are professionals or know the answers to my questions. Is custom guitar making a career type job or just a hobby? how can i become one(what schooling etc)? and just any tips on how to do this...being a custom guitar builder is my dream and i dont really know where to start looking...so any info is greatly appreciated...thanks sorry if this is in the wrong forum i didnt really know where to put it! thanks

can u please explain how that neck pocket works? i am going to make something similar to this for my next project but i never understood how PRS necks attach. How is it attached and what did you start with? a neck thru and just cut it and routered it? please help because im confused. it looks good tho

my thing about the speedloader is that the little bullet looking things at the ends of the strings just sit in the nut...so if u depress the bar all the way down to the body wont the strings just come out of the nut? and also the headstock looks so stupid without pegs! its so dumb! whats the point of a headstock?!ill never own one of these