ElRay

ALL: Thanks for the responses. I received clarification, they meant "The truss rod is as loose as it will go and the neck still has a back bow", so this is a can of worms that I don't think I'll open at this time.

As best as I can tell (at this point) is that it's a one-way truss-rod that can be tightened, but something is preventing it from being loosened. I'm waiting on clarification to see if the owner really means, "The Truss rod is as loose as it can be, but the neck still has a back-bow" -- That would be a different fish to fry.

I have an opportunity to buy a Classical Guitar that has been on my "Wish List" for a while for nearly free. The issue is that the truss-rod will only tighten and the neck has a slight back-bow. I had a steel-string acoustic that had the same problem, and that just took some patience, penetrating oil and a tight fitting Allen Key. If the truss rod truly needs replacing, how involved is replacing it?

Thank you for this thread and the pointer to it

I haven't posted much because my own build has been on a serious hiatus. I'm starting to restart, and picked-up some pick-ups. I have two X-Bars, but I want an X-Bar/Deathbar "set". So, I'd like to make one of the following trades: One 4" Chrome X-Bar for a 4" Chrome Deathbar Two 4" Chrome X-Bars for a 4" X-Bar/Deathbar set in Black Two 4" Chrome X-Bars for a 3.5" X-Bar/Deathbar set in Black or Chrome (maybe) Ray

Show me a double-blind study where the listeners can hear identical guitars, through identical equipment and identify the body, neck, fretboard, whether it's a drop-top (and if so, what woods are used), etc. then I'll give the myth some credence. Then, we'll get the same folks to listen to differently made guitars, through different gear, and see if they can identify the woods. Then, we'll test the "cut under a full moon" myth.

I was torn between killemall8's "Bubinga EXP custom" and Technology4Musicians's "H851". Being a sucker for headless guitars, I voted for T4M's -- Good thing, I tied it up. The only critique I have is the read strap pin looks like it would interfere playing seated in a Classical position. Switch to a recessed strap lock, and you've got a totally winner. Ray

Regarding Bob's comment below (Oddly, the editor won't let me put the insertion point after the quote.): You won't get a "truly one piece" look. First, saw cuts are not infinitely thin and grain lines are not perfectly straight. You will have offset on either side of the cut. Second, you plan to flip on of the pieces. There's no way you'll get the grain on the flipped side to match. Third, glue is not invisible. It's possible to hide the glue line well, but that often relies on a geometrical feature of the piece (a corner, an edge, etc.). There are reasons why binding, purfling, rosettes, and inlay stripes were added to guitars. Ray

I haven't thought about this since last summer when I realized that the bench was not going to be built that season. Now that I'm thinking about it again, drawboring very well may be the way to go. I'll deal with moving the bench when that time comes. Ray

I had thought of that (and I still want to to a set-neck like this), but I decided against it because I know (sincerely hope) that I'll be moving and will want to move the bench. I may still go that route. That's definitely an idea. I'm trying to remember why I decided to go the threaded rod route. Another idea was to make my own barrel/dowel nuts (pretty much the slugs you mention) by cutting, drilling and tapping rod stock. The final idea was to bore a hole through the cross pieces, flatten the bottom of the hole and use bolts & nuts. Ray

I've been collecting very much the same articles for very similar reasons. The current plans I have rough-sketched use standard dimensional lumber build-up in layers to create "virtual" mortises and tenons. The other key parts of making the base sturdy enough is to use offset holes/draw-bolts and run threaded rod through grooves in the cross pieces. I'll have to remember this thread when I get the plans into digital form. Ray

For those that missed-out the last time: They've got 17 more in stock. Ray

Depends on: What tonewood dust you mix into the resin What color mesh you use Whether you buy big containers of resin and pump-out what you need, or the pre-portioned packets Whether you add resin to hardner, or hardner to resin Whether you cut your cloth on the night of the full-moon ore not. Do I even need a Ray

I feel bad not voting for the SwedishLuthier's Electric Cello, but I've got a major soft-spot for headless, ergo guitars. Ray

To me, a neck-through seems much less problematic than a bolt-on or a set-neck. This is new territory for me, so I'm likely leaning on "conventional wisdom" more than I need to. Ray

I know from a purely logical perspective, for a first build, a bolt-on is best because it will allow for neck shimming, the ability to rebuild the neck or the body if one is messed-up, etc. So, the plan is/was to use non-pretty "left overs" from other furniture, etc. projects. One of these left-overs is a can of DupliColor MetalCast Red Chrome. The idea was to go with the red chrome finish and black hardware and I've already bought the hardware. The conundrum comes in because I love natural finish guitars and it looks like I'll have left-over cherry that's wide enough for the body, but only if I do a neck-through. And the black hardware will still work with a natural cherry guitar. Is a bolt-on that much "safer" for a first build? I've done enough wood-working that I'm not too worried about the mechanics of milling the wood to size, glueing, routing, template building, etc., but I'm still concerned about the unexpected "gotchas", because I've never built a guitar before. Ray

The Die/Dye has been cast. I found the Wilkinson Waverly open back tuners that (I thought) somebody here pointed out in black. They're not 6-in-line, but since they're open-back, I'll likely go with a more Classical Guitar styled headstock. I also may have more Cherry left-over from a home furnishings project than expected, so I might actually go with a natural finish. :woohoo: Ray

Thanks all! I'm keeping the multi-scale design and the ergo body shape, but other that that, I've dropped all the "wish list" items (headless, Lace X-Bar pick-ups, stainless steel frets, "pretty wood" for a natural finish, more than six strings, etc.). I'm looking at using the GFS Lil' Puncher XL Tele Bridge pick-ups (Vintage in the neck and Modern in the bridge) -- just over $60 shipped and I bought six of the Rondo single string bridge/saddle combos for about $40 shipped. So I feel like spending more on tuners than pick-ups or bridge hardware is a bit like putting a spoiler on the station wagon (mini-van for you young-ins). I may just have to come to terms with buying "real" tuning machines for my "compromise Realistically Thought-Out" build. Ray

I know this has been touched on before, but things change. I'm finally sourcing parts for a super (somewhat?) simplified version of the build I've been planning for years. Since this is a first build, and not (by far) my dream build, I'm not looking to spend a tremendous amount on parts, but I'm not wanting to go "I'll regret it sooner than later." cheap. So, does anybody have experience with decent, but inexpensive tuning machines? I know folks have gotten good buys on eBay, but there's no guarantee that the current crop of items is as good as the previous ones recommended. I'm hoping for: Black 6 In-Line (not reverse) -- I'd love 4+2, but the only inexpensive ones I've seen are from GuitarFetish, but they're chrome and not 18:1 High Ratio (18:1 or better, but I know I can't be too picky) Locking (again, I know I can't be too picky) There are some open-back, 18:1 Waverley Tuners that look pretty decent; however I'm not finding them in 6 in-line and black. Ray

Grizzly had some really nice re-saw bandsaws. They took wide blades and the maximum re-saw width were 12" - 14". IIRC, one could even take blades somewhere around 3/16" (or was that 3/8"?). I remember drooling over them before the kids came. Ray

Regarding riving knives and kick-back: Like-wise, I had the factory-supplied splitter installed, too. I've replaced it with a semi-custom riving knife (I refuse to even associate what I have now with the original splitter by calling it a splitter) that's just a touch thinner than the blade kerf, is a touch shorter than the blade height and has about 3/16" clearance between the front of the riving knife and the back of the blade for the full upper-back quadrant of the blade. I don't even need to remove it for non-through-cuts. I also switched to zero-clearance inserts at the same time and Grrriper Push-blocks shortly thereafter. Thanks for the video, that definitely gave me the hee-bu-dee-gee-bu-dees. As for wood movement, the fence on my dado-ing jig is much thicker than intended because I had (supposedly) high-quality 13-ply plywood bow after being ripped into strips. Anyway, back on topic: OP: Nice project. I've had a Nylon-string solidbody on the To-Do list for a while. I'm definitely following this thread. Ray

Stuff like that is what converted me to riving knives. I actually (fortunately?) had the board close-up hard enough to stall the blade. That wasn't fun. Ray

The Bridge/Saddle combos I received were all new. Ray

They're not a regular item. He gets "extras" from the multi-scales that are built and puts them on the store when there's a bunch. I missed the last time they were available, so I follow kurt on Twitter now. I'm looking for the new rail-style Cepheus Pick-ups to show-up. Ray

{MODS: Feel free to move this or let me know if there's a better sub-forum. I'm not selling these} Rondo Music is selling pendulum single-string bridge/saddle combos again for $4.99 each: Pendulum Bridge / Saddle - RondoMusic.com. I bought six and there's eight left, so somebody buy them before I buy more parts that will set around for months before they're used. Ray