Acousticraft

I had thought of getting a custom stick on decal made a la Fender but unless you were getting a large number made it would be expensive I would guess. Your brass plates would be the same unless you had them made by the thousands in China. Most of the stamp sets Ive used are all the same sort of plain font.

Some of the Mahogany Ive used in my new axe is unknown. This is due to the fact our school gets lots of off-cuts, rejects very cheaply from a timber importer. There is all sorts of amazing looking timbers including purple heart, zebra wood, Oak and all manner of Mahoganies and other unknown nameless types. Sapelle is fairly easy to identify once machined as it has those line of opposing grain lines and is sometimes a nightmare to machine as no matter which direction you thickness it some tear out occurs. The problem with Mahoganies is in their aged rough sawn state they all are chocolate brown in colour but the neck wood I used was quite pink in colour but machined nicely. As long as it has a nice tight end grain I don't particularly care whether it is African, Honduran or from Iceland, especially when I can get it for free when I talk nicely to the wood shop teacher.

How do I get rid of this as it posted twice?

The light makes the front photo look odd. I finished the lacquer job and in a few days are ready for sanding, polishing etc. What is the ideal grit to wet sand with and would a drop of detergent with the water be the best to use? I have 1500 grit. Next query for fret work is due to the width of the binding I need to glue the fret ends to wood binding to lock it in place so it wont move or lift. What glue? Super glue, Weld on binding cement?

Ive only used 2 Stew Mac Pre-radius ed/pre-cut slot FB's in Rosewood twice but have been pleased as they have been top quality. I wonder if they have a new person packing who isn't up to speed on quality control.

I just rout a hole or slot so the inlay sits below the finished level, glue the inlay in with a dab of super glue or contact to stop it floating up, and use a clear craft epoxy to pour over the top. I then leave it for about 4/5 days to cure and carefully file off the excess and then sand it down to the finished level and polish with 0000 steel wool which removes any fine sanding sratches. With this method you dont need colour as the edges are invisible from the colour showing from underneath the epoxy. As long as you can fit it in the physical space then nearly anything can be inlaid. Ive even used cheap jewellery and Ive seen insects inlaid into tables and that looked impressive too. You do need the clear epoxy resin as some are quite amber coloured.

The idea was to be able to make a semi-hollow quickly without the time and effort required for making molds, jigs and kerfed linings etc. Even a true semi-hollow does not have great unplugged acoustic volume because the strings are not vibrating over a sound hole, the center block locks the top down which prevents vibration, so are in reality mostly cosmetic. I played a brand new Gibson ES335 and was disappointed at its acoustic volume, not much different than a good solid body. The top didn't need reinforcing (I did think about reinforcement around the "F" holes) and that would have made it more difficult to clamp it down, and may have caused problems with getting nice curves. I think if you went thinner than 1/8" then it may not be stiff enough. I just finished the clear coats on my Axe and I am definitely improving with my lacquer finishes. You definitely need a wet coat so it will flow out smoothly. In the past I have sprayed my coats too thin and it ends up orange peely. The ability to rotate and lay the guitar flat and shoot a nice wet coat is awesome. I have been using a small 2hp compressor with a basic suction gun. In the past I have set the regulator on the compressor and run a 30 ft hose to the gun but this time I plugged in a regulator / water trap at the gun so full pressure is in the line. This gives slightly more air volume and means there is not the same pressure drop running thru a long line with an underpowered compressor. I sprayed my lacquer at 20 PSI and found it minimized over spray and reduced air consumption and still got a nice finish. I ended up using 1 1/2 liters lacquer and about 1/4 liter sanding sealer. The Miro tone brand Micro cat 1220 lacquer is an awesome product to apply. I have 1500 grit to wet sand after a week. Is this a suitable grit or too coarse?

I have lost this reply twice from bumping the wrong key on my lap top so I'm a bit annoyed. The jig works well and I will put my last clear coats on tomorrow hopefully. The top and back have no bracing as the double curvature makes them stiff even the front with the "F" hole. They are 3/8" thicker than the sides are at 1 3/4". The skins were glued down by firstly clamping the center block area with a strip of plywood so it would bend to the profile block shape and this stops the seam opening up. Then I used the clamping ring in the picture and clamped the edges with about 12 clamps. It is neat to see the arch forming as you pull the skin down. As this is a prototype I will look at reducing weight in the body by narrowing the rim width and the center block behind the tail piece and maybe even drilling holes in the center block. I don't know what the sonic implications of joining both chambers are? Maybe feed back?

Check out the fender site. http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0278900500

There is no problem strength wise unless you want to do some heavy work but for light sanding between coats and masking it is ideal. The line showing is where I had to fill it but it is now a blood red colour all over so can't be seen. The timber I used for the body was made from 4 pieces glued together and was not as good as I hoped, it had a few flaws which werent obvious until it had been machined. I dont like to waste timber so planned a colour finish to cover flaws. After watching the ES335 Eric Clapton video the guy paints the guitar hanging from the body end. They must have an eye bolt that screws in the tail pin hole to hang it from. Hey Mike a nice tidy workshop. Looks clinical unlike my car shed.

I thought after they took scans and moulds of the neck they would be shaping it on some CNC machine but then they shaped it by hand. I kinda thought a lot of the processes would have been more high tech than they actually are. A great video though.

This is the skeleton underneath the front and back. The profile block that glues to the center block gives the body its arch in both planes. The body is heavier than a normal ES335 but Im hoping it may be more acoustic with solid maple front and back. The ring to clamp down the skins is pictured as well. I use plastic cling wrap under the ring so any glue sqeezed out will stick. I used double sided tape to stick the clamping ring to the skin so It didnt move as I lined every thing up for gluing.

I thought about and made up a jig for rotating a guitar while you spray it. It can be rotated to any angle for convenience. The jig is simple with 2 brackets that can be screwed to a table and a headstock mount which is 1/4" rod and uses two tapered bushes that fit through a tuner hole. They are locked in place by a nut and washer on each side. The body end has a 3/16 rod with about 1" turned down to 1/8". A fractionally smaller hole is drilled in the tail pin location and the rod tapped home. To remove it just clamp a pair of vice grips on and pull it out. The vice grips are used to turn it as well. I used it when I sprayed my semi-hollow body guitar today and it worked a treat. For masking and sanding work it is excellent as well. I found spraying in the flat position you could put a nice wet coat on without runs although I did manage that on the peg head so will sand back and redo that piece. For the curious the body is mahogany and chambered and has a curved profile block added to the centre block front and back with a 1/8" maple skin glued front and back. You cant tell from the pictures but it looks just like a arch top. http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g111/One...29Image0064.jpg

The oil will enhance the grain and also give it protection from sweaty hands etc. I use Danish oil as it dries reasonbly quick and is durable. I give it about 3 coats rubbed on with a cloth.

Mahogany is plenty strong enough for the job. Headless guitar, thats like a headless chicken, just plain ugly.

Get one of those double edged fret files if you havent already got one. I was on my 3rd guitar before I got one and they are much quicker and make a far better job than ordinary mini files. A good investment.

I am assuming you don't have a bound fingerboard. I personally wouldn't use epoxy otherwise you will have to recut all the fret slots and you may tear out wood at a re fret trying to remove them. I have never even glued my frets in up to now, as they have been unbound, seated firmly and never moved. With the bound finger board on my new axe I found they didn't seat as firmly as they are not locked in at the fingerboard edge. One came loose while I was tapping the others in so I glued it with Weld on binding cement and I noticed one other was a tad loose when bevelling the edges. I use the edge of an oil stone to bevel the fret edges, not the face as I want to keep those good for sharpening chisels, plane blades etc. The oil stone works a treat for the job as you have both coarse and fine grit to use. Do you use a hammer to play your guitar. How do you dent the frets or are you constantly bending strings?

How old are your strings? Dead strings can have the sustain of fence wire, zero. Hey nice looking guitar, but what is that ugly red switch thing doing there?

Give it a go but digest as many books as you can re guitar building. Look in libraries. I remember when I wanted to build my first acoustic I stumbled on The "Steel String Guitar" a white covered book by a guy from LA if I remember correctly. This gave comprehensive plans and step by step instructions. I read that book over and over till it was clear in my mind how all the bits went together and why. Thats what I would recommend you do firstly. There are things even in an acoustic book that apply equally to electrics so go forth and read.

Read the post: I need help with Truss rod adjustment. This should explain things. Cheers

I am not exactly sure what you are asking here. I asume you are talking about steel string tuners without the srew in bushing but the type that is pressed into the hole in the peg head. If this is the case the bushing hole has to be drilled the correct size so the bushing can be easily pressed in with a vice with woden blocks either side to protect bush and peg head. Then the tuner can be slid in and the retaing screw holes drilled and screws fitted and lightly nipped up. I may be talking about the wrong thing he as you may be meaning classical type tuners which is another totally different story. Please elaborate?

Have you played this guitar thru another amp to test for sustain? Does your amp have, or do you use a noise gate pedal as these will kill sustain if adjusted up too high? Maybe you are looking in the wrong place. You should be able to hear the sustain playing it unplugged acoustically as well.

There is a Matrix 1 and 2. I have had a Matrix 2 installed my dreadnought since I built it about 3yrs ago. It works great because it has a pre-amp built into the jack plug. The only thing it needs is a volume/EQ control, especially for gigging. I use an amp for a monitor and plug in to a DI box thru the PA system. I think from memory the Matrix 1 is for smaller bodied guitars. The previous thread is correct re fitting of the under saddle piezzo pickup. The saddle should be bone or synthetic "Tusk" and must not be a real right fit, but just slide in easily without being too loose for it to work the best.

When I tighten the adjustment on my truss rod, I detune the strings, turn the nut 1/4 turn clockwise at a time and sight down the fingerboard till it is straight then re tune let it settle and keep retuning till it holds its tune. It can take a while for the neck to stop moving. When it holds it tuning you can then judge the neck relief at that point. You may then find you need slightly more adjustment so repeat the procedure. I have found some necks need 24 hrs before they settle and stop moving especially an acoustic guitar.

All the previous axes I have made had unbound Rosewood fingerboards as I couldn't be bothered with the hassle involved. I am fast coming to the stage on My ES335 when I be ready to fret the neck. What I have done previously is to cut the fret wire with about 1/4" longer than slot, pre-bend them in radius block I have and tap them in unglued with a nylon faced hammer. I have had no problems getting frets to seat. I made a copy of the Stew Mac neck rocker support and glued on some thick cork gasket material to the vee shaped face. It is very solid and gives a firm support for fretting or a good angle for general work or re-stringing etc and suits any guitar without damage to the neck. I am assuming I will need to nip off the tang flush under the crown with a bit of clearance between binding faces to allow for shrinkage of neck. Angle filing the ends without damaging the bindings, what is the best solution for this? I looked at my friends PRS and the fret ends are about 1/32" inside binding edge. Incidentally my binding is maple as I made the finger board to narrow so glued a 1/8" strip down either side. Looks awesome actually.