DannoG

Nice looking wood. Might I suggest a little more clamping than is shown in your photos?

There is a material called Inlace, which is meant to be pouring into a depression. Woodcraft sells it in various colors. It looks pretty cool, but it's not cheap, at least for playing around with lots of colors, so I haven't tried it yet.

Yes to the pilot holes. The size would be dependant on the type of wood - 80% is a good base. A little more for a really hard wood, such as pupleheart or maple, a little less would be okay for a softer wood such as Limba.

Well just to throw another angle in here I would say don't just stick with the big name brands. There is a growing group of small craftsmen who make great PUs and because they are not wed to a certain product line, they often will make pickups to suit your specific needs. On my first guitar I made I had custom P90s made for me by this guy: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/skgs/sk/Index.htm He asked about what woods and design the guitar would be, what kind of amp I had and what styles of music and tones was I after. He did a very good job, wasn't expensive and offers a great warranty. There are other guys who do similar work, I just know this Stephen K. from that one sale. You do need to wait for a few weeks though, since it is custom. At some point I'll find enough time to wind my own, part way there already.

I may be a moron, but really, a Neil diamond autographed guitar...

I seem to remember Lex Luthier being from Victoria. He's a member that hasn't been around PG for a while.

Doug, I know you have drilled holes for neck to be attached with bezels and don't want to have plugs showing. How about making a custom plate for the back to go over your plugs? One of the guys who builds over on the MIMF makes neck plates out of figured wood (I have only seen flamed maple ones) and they look slick. In your case it's the old got lemons/make lemonade line. You seem to be competent enough that you could make this work. In any case borrow that digital cam and let us see what we're actually talking about and you're bound to have some great advice here.

Let's leave action and other variables out. A string of greater length will require more tension to reach the same pitch as a shorter string. This is a fact. This explains the different feel on the different guitars.

Well just to have made an acoustic is an acomplishment, but I can see afew things right off. The frets look to have no crown on them. The one dot on the fretboard that is in a closeup is not flush - it would bind on a bend. And the saddle doesn't seem to be compensating for intonation needs. Not sure what else, the back of the neck heel looks ragged, but the photos aren't very clear. Hope that isn't too critical. If he keeps at it he could improve. Good luck.

This is quite similar to what I made - got the idea from Kathy Matsushita's (sp?) site. I didn't put a crank on mine, the fret wire feeds through easily enough once I put a starting bend in it. I did make mine with a slotted middle pulley setup so I can adjust it to different radius boards.

The thought of Lovecraft being ignorant on any matter concerning electrons is, well, unthinkable...

I put a blender pot from Stew-Mac in my latest guitar. Is that what you have? If you have one with 6 lugs, it is possible to wire it wrong and get the result you describe - I did same thing the first time I hooked it all up. I think S-M has a diagram on their site which covers how it should go.

Gilmer is in Oregon (Portland). Unless they have a new outpost further north...

The previous thread dealt with a set neck/carved top IIRC. Since you've got the stable rectangle body, with a flat top (once the hardware is off), and can get the neck out of the way, I'd say it could work on a bandsaw. I'd do a few test cuts on some scrap wood and find out how much wood you'll lose to the blade wondering.

I do mine more like Rhoads, my reasoning being that with the thickness of the fretboard overlaying the joint, it is extremely strong. If you have a headstock veneer that is more than a thin sliver it will also add strength at the joint.

Dave, I voted for your blue guitar for GOTM, but I have changed my mind and wish I could change my vote-to your flamed spalt guitar. I assume we'll get to vote for that soon.

Potting wax should be about 140-145 degrees F. Any hotter and you have a major fire hazard. When you do your test leave the plastic in for a while. To have the wax penetrate well you need to have it sit in the wax for several minutes. I know that the serious PU builders leave them in for 10-15 minutes and use small vacuum to help displace the air in the coil.

Not really harm, but the strings vibrate in a wider path the further you get from the bridge (and nut). To compensate, it is standard to have the middle be about 10% stronger than the neck and the bridge 10% stronger than that. So if you have PUs of the same outout in the bridge and the neck, the neck will sound quite a bit louder. You could adjust to some degree by lowering the middle and neck.

It should sound very good. It is so soft that you'll need to be more careful with it then, say, maple. It will also be much, much easier to carve the top then most any other wood. Welcome to the forum, where in the NW?

I just posted in the regular Carriburst thread (Finishing section). I am close to being done, but don't think it will be by 1/1/05. So, I may just take my time, forget about the dealine, since it all just wound down.

I'm actually pretty close on mine, BUT... I was psyched up like the rest of the entrants way back when, but the carrieburst wasn't something I was that keen on by itself. I am more of a natural finish kind of guy. So I'm almost done, but don't think I'll be able to have it buffed and done by the 1/1/05 deadline. And now nobody seems to real give a rip, so even when I do get it done, it won't be part of the whole group... I kinda wish I'd just made this one not a carrieburst. Oh well, all part of the learning process...

Stains add material to the top of the wood, which can cover up grain (either good or bad). Dyes soak into the wood, letting the grain show through (again for good or bad). I like dyes better. They also are often available in a wider range of colors.

I took a similar course several years ago. Not quite as many premade items and the students weren't limited to strats. About the same session length. Nobody finished in the time allotted. Since you've streamlined things, maybe. I came out of it with a nice Tele. Later the teacher asked me to help with a travel guitar class. We taught two terms and definately learned a few lessons on how to keep things moving: Divide the class into two groups and have one work on necks while the other starts on bodies. That way you stagger the use of certain machines. If you can prep some written/illustrated class materials it will help, you don't have to go over the same stuff if someone is sick or late (I'm a graphic designer so it was right up my alley). Don't assume they all know the basics (one fellow didn't know that the epoxy was two part, just thought the second tube was extra - what a mess to clean off his guitar). And advise them that simplicity is a virtue-custom is cool, but takes time. Before any class work there was a safety period to keep the fingers where they belonged. I had a good time. Hope you enjoy it too, Dan

Don't know about the hickory, but Stephen Kersting has uses cherry a lot in guitar building, including necks. Here is a link to his building site: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/skgs/sk/Tele...ar_building.htm Note that he uses top woods, such as maple and also does chambering. This last item might cut the highs enough that the cherry seems more mellow. Why not email him and ask. He is more known for his pickups (I own a pair and they very good) than his guitar building.

I agree that making a neck by hand can be very satisfying. Especially if you are using one of the softer woods, like mahogany or limba. Maple, purpleheart, etc. are a bit tougher, might have to try the jig. Myka, I think I can say for all of us here that your sharing of info is a great gift to us all. Thanks.