Woodenspoke

ah well that must be it.... i am clearly doing it all wrong or just maybe there actually is more than one viable way to skin a cat.... seriously, do you think i would do it if it didnt work and produce good results!! Clearly I have no idea what your doing nor does it matter to me how you do what you do. I am pointing out that CA is an alternative to wood glue...Plain and simple. So CA is not for you we get it. I have seen great work and repairs using CA glue in the fret slots.. And it produces great results too...

Soapbarstrat uses CA and all he does is re frets, so I guess he has figured out how not to make a mess.I believe Erlewine also uses CA from what remember. Just saying...

The only way I am aware of removing smoke odors is with ozone.

the answer depends on too many factors. Species and the piece of wood you are using. Using a specific measurement is not the right way. Pro builders use their senses and feel how flexible the top is then stop when it meets their critera for the instrument they are building. Look in the Official Luther's Forum (OLF) for a top thickness jig. Its used to finalize the top thickness using flexibility. then look for how to tune the top after the braces are installed.. Again you can use a number but each top is different even from the same species of wood. So using a more refined approach is suggested.

I have no idea what you guys are talking about. 1. Stumac still sells everything you need http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_suppl...Press_Caul.html Separate inserts http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_suppl...=1&xsr=4365 that full size insert kit for others who need everything http://www.cncguitarparts.com/index.php?cPath=46 they also sell the Arbor Pres system still...So I am lost I guess a separate Arbor Press would be cheaper but I understand you need to drill out the hole to fit the caul shaft. I think; I am not 100% positive as I bough the whole system to save on shipping costs since I did not have a HF where I lived at the time. OK now that that is done. The Caul must pivot..No its not a feature it is a requirement.. If your neck is slightly cocked (I mean slightly) to one side the fret will not press in fully. The pivot point removes this risk and aligns the insert flush with the wire. As long as you align the center of the caul with the center of the neck it works well. There is no jig that I have or have seen that keeps the neck perfectly square to the arbor press caul, things move around. A fender style neck with a long support would work the best, but imagine trying to support an angled HS that is off to one side. In that case you are relying on the back of the neck. For anyone who does multiple designs there is no one solution. even the concave caul I use allows the neck to rotate.. remember you must support the neck under the caul or you risk snapping the neck.. Another feature of the SM Arbor press system is the Caul also rotates 360 deg. Look for the ring on the shaft. This allows a setscrew to hold the shaft so it does not drop out but can still rotate. Again feeding the neck through the arbor press it may not be straight lengthwise. So again the caul can rotate to meet the fret crown rather than you having to adjust the neck. If you are gluing in your frets you have a limited amount of time to put on the glue align the fret tang in the slot and press in the fret. all of these features help align the insert and apply even pressure quickly. If you haven't pressed in frets with this system then its simplicity and function may be lost on you Making the Caul is the easy part. A rod of metal a block of aluminum and a table saw is all you need..OK a drill a tap and a few set screws and a pin to hold the rod.. Not really rocket science. The inserts are another story. for the price its not worth making your own, even though some have done so (Saopbar?).

Not any toxic than any other wood. To me I have a handful of woods that make me gag Oak is not one of them. I built a white oak acoustic last year and it was fine. However on an electric its hard and heavy, hard to finish (deep pores) and frankly I dont see any design reason to use oak since I find it does not look great on an electric guitar. If you paint it who cares.. red oak is garbage white Oak if Riff cut has some interest

Isnt that what harmony central does..has a review section..?

Just go to radio shack and pick up a roll of hookup wire rather than play with the other stuff. cat 5 is a bit on the small side for hookup. If you need a cheaper source try all electrocics its less than $5 for a 100' roll. Buy two colors make it look like you know what you are doing. Use the right wire, you dont find guitars wired in cat 5 cable even if its free... http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store...0-Rolls-/1.html

OK I have to disagree 100%.. Yes wire is wire but the outer insulation on the wire is not high temp heat resistant. That means it will melt way back from the solder point and make it look like Poo. the worse you are at soldering the worse it will look Thats why we all spend the few extra dollars and buy PVC hookup wire and not Cat3,5,6 or any other manufactured cable that is meant to be crimped. Even if the cat cable is Fire rated most likey is only rated for the outer jacket and not the wire insulation.

thats not really a neck through. Honestly I dont see the point to those designs. Its half way to a neck through and more work than a neck pocket..

If you have space issues you add wheels to your machines (everyone sells them) and move them in and out. Most of my stationary tools have wheels. I may not use them but if I need to I can. Several machines for my shop are in another storage room ones I use on occasion so they are not taking up space in my shop(15" planer, Scroll saw, second thickness sander). Besides I am tall and it adds another inch to the machine.

Thanks. My frustration is not directed at you..Hopefully you understand that. In fact you seem to be the only one involved since it started..

No it does not get better.. The dust is the compound and pieces of the the wheel.. What I see in your pictures is what you get. make sure you allow the wheel to heat the compound as you apply it (gently apply pressure for a longer time). Especially important when its just started and the compound is cold. the end of the bar should be a bit soft when you pull it off the wheel. You should see the compound coat the wheel and it will not do that without it softening up, even in the summer. I cant tell if you may have added too much compound for the job, you shop is pretty dusty.. I suggest you use your vacuum to keep the dust down a bit as well..Maybe Plastic drop sheets too. I just use mine in the middle of my shop its doesn't make a mess past 10 feet and I just clean the floor with a shop vac afterward. I did laugh when I saw the shelf over the buffer...first timer surprize..LOL

Yeah what Chris said..

in the states cocobola is around $16 Board ft for 8/4 stock less or more for thinner or thicker stock http://www.cocoboloinc.com/price.html

Thats a rosewood neck, and a black limba body not a black finish. Sorry I am combining two of your posts

To me it looks like a bunch of Mods and one Admin (Brian, yeah I know who he is) running around yelling what can I do we are under attack. Starting to look like a Monty Python skit. Lets tell the membership; why we cant do squat about it; its not our forum. So what is the point of a poll and having us post useless answers about what we think you should do and provide the names of all the spammers. You would think anyone with a large number of PM's is suspect.. Cut them off and request a response from them in order to reinstate their account.. If anyone has listened to us its a big secret since no one knows whats happening outside of the inner circle. How hard can it be to implement new registration procedures.. OH wait a few clicks of your mouse... There is so much you could, should and dont do its really getting old..This is my last post on the matter as it is starting to bore and annoy me, really just fix it and give us a break already..

If its done properly..yes

Horns that exceed the width of the body look awkward. as do long horns followed by short or no horns .. My skewed opinion Original #3 looks best to me. But after looking at all your pictures the bodies seem a bit narrow at the lower bout..Maybe it is an optical delusion on my part or the whole drawing is not to scale...I suggest 12+ inches across if it is smaller than that..

besides clipping the fret tangs you can also pre round the fret ends off the guitar.. I saw this done on Erlewine's fret video.. An easier method is wait until all your frets pop again on your previous guitars then start building. Then you know the shop is dry as so your wood will be too. Your guitar can only expand at that point, expansion is less damaging than contraction and your fret end shoud not pop anymore.. Or we should all move to the southwest where it is dry all year long..

Normally you do not use a radius to cut nut slots. It is a measurable distance off the fret with the larger wound strings getting more clearance. This will not show up as a specific radius measurement at the bottom of the slots when checked with a radius gage..I suggest renting the Erlewine Nut making step by step video from smartflix.. Also lots of other great videos on doing fret work as well. Cheaper to rent than buy and better than any book you can read.. http://smartflix.com/store/category/39/Lutherie

Wow bad month to be in the contest. Merlin.... but only by a hair over the other great entries. Go Chris go

An interesting technique. Just seems a bit heavy handed for such a thick piece of wood. I would have used a heating blanket and lots of water so it would steam out and soften before I clamped it down (yes you dont have one). Or a hand held clothes iron also set on high using lots of water. Lots of water meaning enough to create steam and soften the fibers. Probably an easier method would have been a steam box using an electric kettle like the one sold by Lee Valley But who am I to tell the master?

With a ruler you can figure out 1 how far apart are the strings from one another 2 how far from the edge are both e strings 3 Are the strings evenly spaced at both the nut and the saddle. The only way to fix the problem is first visualize it. Looks like you will need to notch the bridge saddles to bring the strings back in-line with the neck. As WezV said that nut is only half done. If he was a real tech he would have also fixed the string alignment problem. You got ripped off. My suggestion is find a real repair person.

Nic I wish you luck. maybe you will come up with something interesting? But reality has it's own way of bursting the bubble.