biliousfrog

If you're going to have a natural/stained/sunburst finish you need to get down to the wood. It doesn't matter whether the white is filler, sealer, paint whatever, you need to have plain wood if you're going to stain it. It's difficult to tell what you've got but I'm sure that you can tell what is wood & what isn't? the wood will be UNDER the finish...so if you're sanding back & you reveal another layer of colour you've obviously not sanded enough, correct? You can't sand through the wood to a layer of white, red or anything else...unless you've sanded through the entire body. You can apply stain by mixing it with laquer but you still want a flat, even surface first. So you need to remove any colour spots from the wood.

The problem with the metal particles scratching the frets was most likely increased by my heavy handed bevelling...I seem to remember that I had left the fret ends longer than I should have, but still I don't believe that I would have experienced the problem with a wooden bodied file. A similar thing happens when plastic washing up bowls are used in ceramic sinks, tiny particles of grit such as dirt from potatoes or small pieces of scouring pads gets pressed into the bowl because it is softer & then it scratches away the ceramic. The scratches weren't the end of the world. I did remove them with a fret dress but it was looking unlikely that I would have needed to level untill I scratched the tops. I contacted SM about the poor choice of material & the response was: A) to cover the base with tape & change it regularly...tape doesn't stick to non-stick plastic to brush the base regularly to remove particles...it will take more than a brush to remove them, more like a belt sander. Great tool but poorly designed IMO. I think that I'll make a wooden body for mine when I get a chance.

well the Warwick stands use that spongey foam rubber that is often used for handlebar grips on bikes. That seems to be the norm for "safe" stands but, as I posted earlier, I still got a reaction with a new finish. I'm hoping that Rustiins plastic is a little less prone to attack.

I've been using the Pod Pro for several years & it's a great bit of kit. This little one seems equally as featured, in fact more so in some ways.

I've had a reaction on an acrylic finished guitar with a supposedly safe Warwick multi guitar rack. The finish was relatively fresh though so that might have been the problem although it continued to react for some time...I just covered one of the rack's "slots" with duck tape & always placed the same guitar there

wow, that looks the mutts nuts, great work.

stunning, very inspirational. I really appreciate, as I'm sure others do, professional builders such as yourself taking the time to show off your projects on this supposedly "hobby" site. It's good to have people showing standards to work towards. The control cavity on the lefty, is the recess cut into the burl or has the recessed section been veneered? The S-type Harlot looks amazing. The wood choice is very classy & understated.

ooooh, I like the sound of that....kinky but I like it

Can I just ask WHY?...why split the distortion & mod effects?...do you never use them together?

...unless it has the binding over the fret ends? BTW, I bought the StewMac fret bevelling file with the slippery plastic body & it trashed my fret tops. The small metal particles get stuck in the plastic & scratch the frets...I only needed minor levelling before that but had to take quite a bit off afterwards to remove the grooves. If you want to buy one, get the wooden bodied ones off ebay, at least you can stick tape to that & remove if it gets clogged with metal dust.

nice, I preferred the darker one I think but to each his own. Just wondered whether this should maybe be in the WIP section? It would be beneficial for anyone searching for LP's under construction for tips & ideas...I usually search the entire site but for a more streamlined search I'd go for a specific section such as "in progress".

how old is the glue, was the temperature very warm/very cold/very changable, did you clamp it too tight & squeeze all the glue out?...just a few of the many questions that are going to haunt you at night I really hope that it's just the paint moving around the glue lines. I've had that too but I expect that it's more likely with crackle paint as it rarely cures completely hard. ....wait a minute...is it crackle paint or just a reflection?

I agree, anything slightly "wacky" or different from the norm, no matter how good or bad it is will only have a very select fan base. That's why artists have exhibitions, so that people that like that particlular artist can see a collection of their work....& often several artists with similar styles will exibit together. It is only recently that luthier's & effects makers such as Zachery Vex, James Trussart & Tony Zemaitis have found their products becoming mainstream because they were seen as boutique & slightly off-the-wall....unfortunately for you they're relatively conservative. I think that you need to create a buzz, a bit of hype. Maybe send it into a guitar magazine for a review or even just some photo's & a write up about yourself & the instruments. I'm sure they'd love to feature something a little different.

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...0steel&st=0 I get it

I'm confused....is this a guitar that you've already built? Because the first picture shows the completed guitar or are you making another one identical to the first?

I like the shape & design but the control plate ruins it in my opinion...looks like an after thought rather than a design feature.

I've just used some sterling silver tube beads for my side dots, was going to use them for fingerboard markers too but preferred the empty look. They're very cheap on ebay but they need to be solid silver not silver plated or you'll just end up with copper rings when you sand flush. I got the idea from Myka who uses the silver tube with a shell insert...I'm filling the hole so that it they are just silver rings.

you'll find almost anything you need to know right here but it is recommended that you buy Melvyn Hiscocks book as it will explain the entire process of making electric guitars so well.

A friend can't use them either with his audigy, it's a motherboard issue apparently. He says that he uses the latest creative ones & has 7ms latency which is inaudible...anything under 8ms is undetectable to the ear.

these guys are highly recommended: http://www.auto-paint.co.uk/ They mixed up some surf green from the original GM paint codes from the 50's for me, sent me a painted sample card in the post & made up a batch of aerosols for me when I was happy. When I said that I was refinishing a guitar & needed a laquer also he made the paint a satin finish rather than gloss to help with adhesion...not something that I would have expected but a nice touch. Great, friendly service & not too badly priced either.

I would love one! haven't got the cash though...but I know someone that might be interested for the right price

thanks for that Perry. Nice to see a different approach to staining & "popping" the grain...there's no doubt that the finished effect is as impressive as any stain->sand->stain that I've seen. The wood's figure certainly helps.

the most apparent benefit of a spoke wheel rod is that you don't weaken the headstock by creating a space for the rod adjustment. So you get the benefit of a heel adjustment without the usual access problems that traditional heel adjustment rods have.

oh sure, I don't deny that he's a busy guy & he can't be expected to be at everyone's beck & call 24/7...but maybe if donations were explained a bit better & maybe offered a little something extra, even if it's just good karma, then it might bring more money into the site & prevent uneccessary emails or messages for him to deal with? I understand that he's trying to get sponsorship for the site also? Have a look at these forums that I also frequent: http://forums.cgsociety.org/ http://www.spinquad.com/ there's plenty of potential advertising revenue available if a similar forum was used. There's the obvious companies like StewMac & LMI but also general woodworking suppliers, wood suppliers, music stores, paint suppliers as well as the guitar part manufacturers.

I've read that small holes enhance the bass frequencies, large holes reduce them, I don't know whether anyone more knowledgable can confrim or deny this?