anderekel

I'm not a huge fan of the shape, it's the upper bout, just don't like it. I love the headstock though, very cool.

The easiest way to put it is that it's okay to sand clear coat, however, you don't want to sand through, even if you have multiple coats of the same color it could change the shade slightly and that could be very annoying, so as long as the dust is on top of the clear, go at it with 600 grit and see if you can get it out.

Looks very nice. I gotta ask, why is it now just you workin' on it instead of you and your friend?

I like that taper idea, that's cool. It'll be interesting to see how this ends up

Actually, and I've already proven bad taste in this thread once lol, I like the padauk. I like the jumble of different woods.

I actually like the spalt and all that, I know, I have horrible taste lol

Cool, I'm stuck on mine for the moment, moved out and now can't afford a 30 dollar router bit lol. I've seen those pickups before, it's like two humbuckers stuck together right? How's that sound? or have you not had a chance to hear it yet?

I don't know if this is an option or not, but I think that L1 and L2 should go together, the flamier side of each could go together.

It's backwards.......hehe Looks great man. I like the green, not quite as dark and rich as a lot, a little more fun.

I'm payin' attention. I think it's a cool little guitar.

HAHAHAHAHA, that's one of the most horrible things I've ever heard lol

The way the pieces are set on the top looks like some are slightly closer to the hole than others. I think you should draw a light circle X distance around the sound hole so that they all get the exact distance apart. I like the idea though, very cool.

Cool, I like the spalted board. Xanthus, from what I can tell, the ash is gonna the body. The purpleheart and spalt are gonna be the top, purple/spalt/purple, side by side. That's what I gathered anyway.

I like that, I say go for it.

I'm certainly no expert, but it looks to me like you don't have your neck angled at all. I think you need to shim it a little bit.

Compound scale, I like that. Good choice on the whole usin' cheaper, but still good, woods on the first build, that's what I'm doin' and am glad I did lol. Lookin' good so far, can't wait to see the progress.

A fight? What sort of fight? Love the guitar, even though I don't like more than six strings usually, go figure

A hollow body wouldn't be all that difficult, all you have to do is use two pieces, the body and a top, route the hell out of the body, plan what you wanna take off though, and then when it's all set you can glue on the top. Viola, it's hollow.

Yeah, definitely watch ebay, I got a couple good condition planes, a 9 inch and 14 inch together, for like 40 or 50 bucks, don't remember which. I gotta make sure they're flat, but otherwise they are in fine condition and will certainly be nice. Can't wait to see what ya start

And one more thing about allergies, don't forget you can't be allergic the first time you are exposed. It takes at least the second time before you have symptoms. And some people don't have problems for a long time, so always watch out and protect yourself (do as I say, not as I do)

I'd really take a look at cabinet scrapers, they aren't very expensive and are a lot nicer to use, and quicker at that, than sand paper. You should be able to get away with not makin' a whole lot of noise, don't know how loud the bow saw is though. It'll just take a lot more time, but they say patience is a virtue. A hardcoat finish is a finish like lacquer or poly or a urethane clear, stuff that creates a hard finish. Most of them are sprayed but some you can also do with a brush, just gotta be careful. If you're gonna relic it seems like nitro lacquer is the way to go.

ok, didn't know if that would fit a TOM since you said that's what you were gonna use.

Thanks for the link daniel, I've been havin' the same problem with one I just strung up lol

Well, sounds like you have things pretty well figured out. Just to preface everything I'm about to say, a lot of this is stuff I've picked up, I haven't finished my first build, but I do have some other wood working experience. So, as far as cutting the headstock and gluing an ear on, you should be able to use a hand plane, as long as you can get the neck clamped in a good position. I'm just learnin' to use planes, they are awesome, I really enjoy them and they are quiet, very good in an apartment or condo, like me. If it's a body blank it should be glued up and surfaced, ready to cut into the shape, so no need for a planer. Your best bet for using the plans you buy are to make a template out of them, or multiple templates, that way you will have them if you ever decide to make another one, plus you can keep the pickup templates you make and use them in every build you have that kind of pickup. A router is your best friend after the templates, bits with bearings are very nice for that. For cutting the shape, you can use a jigsaw if you'd like, just be careful and stay a ways away from the cutting line, then you can attach the template and a router to clean it up. You should be able to do all your contours with rasps if you're careful and take a little time. Practicing before you touch your guitar is always a good idea. An easy way I've seen to get the neck pocket perfect is to clamp the neck to the body exactly where it's going to go, you'll need a center line and whatnot. Then take three perfectly straight boards and clamp them against the sides and end of the neck, after that you can just run a bearing bit along the boards to make a perfectly sized neck pocket, you may have to mess with the corners some to get them to fit the neck, depending if it's rounded on the end or what. For the TOM you can recess it, search the boards, there's a few pictures of them, don't know about a cover though, you can probably do it, but you might have to fabricate your own. Cabinet scrapers would be something I would suggest looking into as well, they are very handy. That's all I can think of. Good luck on your project and post lots of pictures.

I say you add tips and do an ML I can only remember seeing one ML on the board and that one was never finished, at least not on here, as far as I know.