Acousticraft

Look at Warmouth website and they explain the difference very well.

I used Grover Rotomatics instead of the usual no name sealed tuners and was really dissapointed they had so much back lash in them when turning the tuning knob back and forth. They work ok but I honestly prefer the others as they have no backlash issues.

I have seen people talk about using Tone Pro studs and bushes but have no knowledge of them myself. I used the Gotoh bridge/ tail piece and it came with good sized bushes and it sustains beautifully on my semi-hollow build. In fact it sustains way more than my other solid body that has a fender style bridge. Personaly I think it is really cheap for Epiphone not to use bushes but I guess that is part of the reason why they are way cheaper than a Gibby LP.

You could pull out the frets remove the nut and plane it off. If it is a removable neck you may be able to bandsaw the bulk of the board off and plane the last little bit.

Yes thanks Woodenspoke, I have been thinking about the feeding of the board under the sander belt and thinking I might be better to have the wood fixed down sitting against a stop block. On the ends of the 2 lengths of angle iron mounted to the sander, I could have some height adjustable Castor wheels then the Sander can be freely moved around while maintaining a fixed height above the wood. This could be a lot safer solution as you then have full control of the sander with your hand on the trigger switch.

I have a small 1/4" router but quite powerful that detaches from its base so you can use it as a Die grinder as well. Its handy for shaping the area where the truss rod nut comes into the Peg head so you have clearance for a socket etc. It has a surprisingly smooth plunger setup with good depth stop. I have made attachments for radius cutting and binding cutting so it is versatile.

Watch those floor mounted models as some of them flex badly over their length and thru the base. We have a couple in my school metal work shop and unless you anchor the drill column to a wall with a bracket they move annoyingly at times. The distance from the column to the chuck is something you need to take into consideration, as when drilling Tuneomatic bridge holes many smaller drill presses don't have enough reach.

I cant imagine a drill press sander taking off what a belt sander can. My sander is a powerful beast and I don't think you would ever stall it. Anyway I cut 2 bits of angle iron 25x25x3mm at 700mm long and drilled holes at the ends to fit 10mm studs. My front mount for the sander will be where the screw in front hand grip is and I will make some brackets to fit the screws on either side of the switch hand grip and weld them to the angle iron. I need to find 4 suitable springs and make up some extended wing nuts so they are above the height of the angle iron for easy adjustment. I have an off cut of heavy 30mm MDF so I will set it up on that. I was wondering whether I should put thin sheet metal on as wearing surface or glue on some kitchen bench top laminate on the table surface.

I have both Tele and Strat bodies cut out of Ash. I only have one neck though that I'm making so will have to choose. Probably the Tele as I have edge sanded most of it so far.

Yes it sounds very possible the way you have designed yours. My idea Ive sketched out on paper is that the sander is suspended above a table and would be mounted on two long pieces of angle iron and be adjustable by using fully threaded studs which would be bolted thru the table with a nut and washer either side. The angle iron mounts would need to be 600-700 long so a guitar body could be put thru in a series of passes that would sand the whole width of the body. The 4 mounting studs would need springs on them so the sander is always forced up-wards off the table and wing nuts would adjust the height up and down. I am thinking the sander is probably more efficient if kept level thru its up and down travel so the spring loaded pressure plate under the belt is also level. I'm not sure about fine tuning the height adjustment to get it even unless a gauge block is used to level it up A body can then be slid under the back of the sander between table and belt in between the mounting studs. The mounting stud spacing would determine the max width of wood that could be sanded across its surface in a series of passes. I would probably put a narrow edge guide strip either side to guide and stop a wide piece of wood hitting the studs/springs as you push it through. I cant see why I couldn't make this idea work. The angle iron/studs would need to be heavy enough so it doesnt flex under load and make the sander jump around.

I havent used them but I haved looked at their site many time thinking, man those sound like good pickups. I have only heard good things about them from all forums Ive been on.

I have a heavy duty 4" Hitachi sander that I have had for about 25yrs that still works perfectly. I have a board set up so It mounts on its side for edge sanding. I can clamp it down to a table then its ready to go. I even use an old vacum cleaner for a dust extractor when doing a lot of sanding such as shaping braces and bridges for an acoustic guitar. It gets more use in this configuration than as a normal belt sander. I have had thoughts about making up some mounts and an adjustable table to use it for thickness sanding. Has anyone done this with their belt sander. I would be keen to see their setup. I have even thought of making a thickness sander but I wouldn't probably use it enough to justify the work/cost involved for this sort of project.

Try a google search for Weld on 16 cement in the UK. I had the same problem in NZ and found a company here that stocked it. It was just sold as acrylic cement and they had no idea it would bind plastic to wood. There probably other brands of acrylic cement that would work equally well.

I am assuming the two different lacquers reacted against each other. If you want a perfect job you may be better to use stripper to remove what is there and start again. I know that is no consolation but sanding probably want work as the lacquer may not cure hard and it will probably not sand well without gumming up.

Yes I would second the clear epoxy method.

Welcome to the world of Sapele. It has that sort of double gain in it and it makes it difficult to thickness with out tear out. I have had this problem with all the Sapele Ive thicknessed but it is a very stable wood and the only Mahogany species I can get where I live. I am helping 3 students building Sapele solid body guitars. I planed them to within 1/16" thickness and will get them thickness sanded from a cabinet making company who has a big drum sander to clean up any tearout once they have sanded the edges. It makes a nice final product but is anoying to thickness or joint because of the grain problem.

Ive seen several cases of young guys with cheap nylon strung classicals who think they will slap on a set of steel strings. It usually turns the guitar inside out then shears the bridge off when it cries enough.

Every time I play I wipe down my strings with Kysor liquid string cleaner and give the fingerboard a wipe as well.

On the last two electrics I built, I ran the neck straight thru into the neck pocket and added a small heel separately to blend neck to body joint. All the guitars I am building now I have added a heel as per Fender necks as it makes the whole process easier and you don't have to be quite so precise with fit up.

Where I am in NZ the only Mahogany I can get locally is African Sapelle. I have used it for two acoustics for back and sides plus the major parts of my semi-hollow body. At the moment I have three students building solid body guitars from it. The only drawback is the double grain that it has can make it tricky to thickness without some tear out, but sands well and is stable and looks nice when clear finished.

Just remember Google is your friend who will work hard for you sifting thru all those pages.

Do a google search.

Have a look at their website as they describe there pickup sounds very well.

Thanks Mattia I will look at that when I rout out the slot and see where the nut will sit and whether it can sit at the bottom of my neck or not. My neck pattern was copied of a Vester Strat so it may not be exactly the same as a genuine Strat.

I use 0.46mm Dunlop flexible for electric being mainly a rhythm player and 0.60 for acoustics.