bluespresence

Sweeeet Job! Looks great! Good luck on the job hunt. If this blizzard we're having in Wisconsin makes it to Detroit you can always shovel walks for little old ladies. Great way to earn guitar fun money! Seriously, I hope things work out for ya. Keep up the good attitude, it helps a ton when you're out pounding the pavement.

Quote "BTW, renablistic, why is your avatar a picture of Frodo"

Ummmmm.......GHS or whatever the heck is on the one I'm playing at the time! I'm still experimenting to find what my fingers like the best (pick?? what's that??!?!). I refuse to use a pick and when I see a bass player using one I get all wierd inside - don't know why because some sound good with one. Anyway, they can't be too sticky and can't be too slippery. I'm using 4 different kinds on 4 basses right now and I'm likin' the flatwounds the best.

Streamline....I thought I had patience. Holy crap batman! You actually removed that finish by hand?!?! I just refinished 2 Yam 112's for resale and had a heck of a time with sander! No offense to anyone who enters this month (cause they too are stunning works of art!) but I have to give "Stream" this vote. A lot of hard work + a ton of originality = a kick a&& guitar that plays well for him and gets a vote from me! Great Job!

Ace, I noticed your "location" is Germany, near the French border.....Any chance you're by the Venn Mountains? The homeland!!!

That looks like a "crackle" finish that is popular with furniture finishing. Use a base coat, cover with Tite-bond original and shoot silver metal flake (glitter! ). The metal flake will "peel back" as the glue dries and give you that effect. For more (and better) instructions go to a paint store or hardware store that sells a lot of paint. They'll have flyers explaining exactly how to do it and they'll have the tite-bond glue - 'course you should already have that if you do any gluing on guitars. I've been thinking of a hammered finish for my next git' that looks similar to that. Time, all I need is more time........ PS: sold 5 guitars today!!! 3 repairs that were done by me and 2 I didn't have time to finish.

You'll be happy with the oldham's. They hold up well in most woods. 'course nothing holds up well in some of the harder exotic stuff. I think you will be impressed with the Ryobi router. A buddy of mine has been woodworking for nearly 40 years and had one, replaced it with a "D" word one, after 2 uses got rid of the "D" and bought a new Ryobi. He won't use anything else! How do I get a Home Depot gift card?????

Wow! She's here and sounds Kick A&&!! Not too loud unplugged but man can I get the different sounds out of her plugged in. Time To Jam!!

Great stuff Lex! Judging from the pic of the first one I'm sure it'll be sweet!

Both a router and a bandsaw. probably two of the most valuable power tools for building. You have to cut shapes and you have to rout cavities.... Here's a good type of sander to start with: http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US...ID=9876&pos=p06 A spindle sander is handy too, but as you can see you're starting to spend some serious money. You can get by without a spindle sander to begin with if you have a drill, a steady hand and a drum sanding kit for your drill. Except for inside the horns the above sander will do the trick. If you have the cash and you're serious about building guitars (or just woodworking in general) then get all of the above. You'll move a lot quicker if that's what you're after. IMO the bandsaw is the "must have" tool. It makes cutting bodies a breeze and you get get very close and minimize having to sand a big hunk of wood to shape.

Beautiful walnut! Beautiful bass too! I want to know more about the "self-designed glueless dovetail neck joint" if it's not a secret.......................

Yes, very useful....

No, I have one but like I mentioned above unless you have a template they are hard to control (in my experience). The pg material is pretty soft and when you throw in a hunk of steel spinning at 10 or 15000 rpm's it melts and sticks and grabs and causes all kinds of problems. I find it easier to just cut it close and use a fine file to bevel the edge. Filing goes quick and allows me to make small changes in the shape while I'm working.

Thanks for the links. I guess if they want to stay in business they better do something. The shutdown of exports was a part of a similar program that was abused by locals. The forests were surveyed and certain areas were set aside for logging. The problem was the locals were pushed out of the areas where logging was permitted by the big lumber boys, so they started poaching in the zones they weren't supposed to cut. (I can't blame them because they have to feed their families too) The problem is they took so much wood out of the forbidden zones it caught up with them and the whole system failed. I am going to find that link and post it. It's very good reading and affects us directly as consumers of exotic woods.

Here's a pic of my latest pickguard on a custom J bass I made. the plastic is still on the guard - that's why you see the outline of the neck pup. http://home.centurytel.net/bluespresence/1...107_0768_r1.jpg

Pickguards are FUN!!! My approach is simple (like me )...... Strip the body and lay it on a flat surface. Tape a piece of tracing paper big enough to cover the are where the PG is going and draw your routed area on the paper, including the neck pocket. Then draw on your proposed PG design. I usually do something out of my own twisted mind. Pull the tracing paper and lay it on a piece of card board. Cut out the design and lay it on the guitar to make sure you like it. If it's to your liking lay the cardboard on your PG material and trace around it with a marker. I use a dremel tool with a cutout blade and cut the material about 1/8" outside the line and then use a file to get my final shape and 45 degree angle. You can also use the dremel with a 45 bit to do your final cutout (or a router) but I would recommend this only with a template. Since all of my PG's are different I don't bother with templates and use the old fashioned method with the file. When your design is cut lay the tracing paper back on it (remember you traced on the routed pockets) and layout your holes for your pups with a marker. It helps if you kept the plastic on the PG material so you don't have to remove marker lines later! Make sure they are square with the bridge and centered!!!! Cut them out with the dremel and the cutout blade carefully. Finish with a small file. I always have the pups handy so when I'm finish filing I can get a nice tight fit. Drill your holes in the edge and use a countersink bit to finish them. Lay the PG on the body and either use a marker or an awl to mark your holes in the body. Pull the PG and drill your pilot holes for the screws and you are done! It sounds like a lot of work, but usually take me less than an hour - unless I screw up! Good Luck!

Wow! No words for those......................

IMO and experience necks are a PITA. I have made one but it didn't seem worth the time it took to make it. I have started considering my time involved and like to make money off of that besides the materials plus mark up. I can't see selling any more guitars/basses with $400 in materials for $500 when it takes 20 hours or so to make them. For five bucks an hour I can flip burgers which takes a lot less skill than building a guitar. I do ask the customer if they care if the neck is purchased (or parts to make neck) and none have seemed to mind so far. Saves me a ton of time too.

That is a good price. I recently read an article where they shut down the export of mahogany from South America in May of this year, but I can't find it to post a link. It was on one of the main wood suppliers sites. Anyway, if that's the case we are all in for a serious price increase when supplies get short or we'll be looking for a new wood to build with that sounds the same for a reasonable price. I agree with the others you'll have to watch shipping. Check with the seller, he may have a shipping option that's not too pricey.

Hey Litch......Congrat's on the baby on the way! It sucks to have to work. I love what I do for a living (plc programming) I just can't stand to be on a schedule - especially someone else's schedule. I've been involved in small business and family business most of my life and it does suck being on your own too. The tax man never rests. Neither does the health insurance man, the liabilty insurance man, the buttheads that don't want to pay you for months, everyone who wants something for free 'cause they think they're your best buddy all of a sudden, etc., etc., etc.......... Good luck finding a job. The market here seems to be on the upswing. My company is hiring like mad if you like making cheese....

That is sweet. I wonder how it would look if the body was done up in a translucent green....... I'll have to put that on my "someday list". I look forward to seeing it completed.

Building an acoustic has been a goal of mine for years, I just never got around to it. I have an acoustic guitar I play once in a great while, but since the bass is my main instrument I decide it was time for a toy for me She's not perfect but looks good enough to me! Should be here this week.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...tegory=621&rd=1 I was shopping the Ovation B778, but that $1600 price tag was not fitting in with the finances at his moment in time.

Snork's got it, ebay is a well designed system. Reasonable too. Where else can you reach millions of people for $3 and include color pic's? Not in your local paper! I have bought and sold on ebay with no problems so far. I do watch the feedback and if they're are any negatives I read them before I buy. Some people will complain no matter what. I look for the real complaints and stay away from those sellers. Once I find a good one I'll go back. You end up getting some nice deals after you deal with someone a while. They know you'll pay right away and don't mind knocking off a few bucks for you. BTW here's my latest purchase: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...tegory=621&rd=1 I always wanted to go acoustic. Should be here this week!!!

Check out Grover's new mini sealed locking tuners. Here they run around $40 in chrome, $45 in Black or Gold. I'm going to use them on a strat I'm building. I also play bass so my opinion here is probably not worth too much.

No I'm just married for too long, most anything gives me wood now! Speaking of spindle sanders, etc. Home Depot here has a floor model Ridgid bandsaw (13" backset I think) for $349 if you guys are looking for affordable tools. I have been fortunate enough to be patient and do a lot of my work with hand tools at home. When I get lazy or in a hurry I have a good friend that allows me use of his wood shop which is decked out with nearly every floor model power tool known to man including - I am not kidding - a remote controlled dust collection system. Wes, is that green-gray tint in the edge of the bocote from the lighting or is that the color of the grain? That is amazing looking. I love the knot on the board. Must have been fun to cut that slot! Nice to see someone other than me that likes knotty wierd stuff in wood. It always reminds me of that old Amish thing of dropping a stitch in every quilt to remind us we're not (no pun intended) perfect.