Woodenspoke

The veritas standard spoke shave is a great choice but yes a bit pricey. I have a record and the low angle veritas and I use the record most of the time. Part of getting it to work is flattening the sole but the major issue is sharpness. If you cant get the blade razor sharp then it will never cut well. I dont use the veritas as much as I found the low angle easy to use in tight heel situations but for long strokes the whole spoke shave has to be angled up in the back which I find odd. It is a good tool but I wish I had bought the standard spoke shave. They also sell replacement blades for a Stanley or record or any other Stanley based shave. Been thinking about upgrading the blade or finally buying the standard veritas shave. I make it a point to avoid stores who dont know tools and choose to mail order almost everything.

Thanks for the design approval. It took me years to find a shape I was happy with. I always liked single cutaway LP guitars. A picture showing why I named it the dove. The eye was extra. LOL

I have these suckers, I am just too nervous to try one on a guitar body for fear of toasting the build. They also do not normally come with a guide bearing. I have a couple of those too. One of them I got and foolishly tried it out in a handheld router. No real risk to my fingers, but sure enough it ruined my workpiece. That thing was like a propeller just trying to take off. Another one I have was only slightly smaller but didn't feel like it was gonna launch my router into the air. It actually worked quite nicely, but it's just not a look I'm crazy about. I would have much rather just carve it by hand. You would need to use that large bit in small depth steps. Spooky scary stuff. You have nerves of steel my hats off to you. i Guess I could hobble together a body plank from some shop scrap and give it a try someday, but I don't think I have anything with a bearing guide. There is also the vertical panel raising bits but the logistics of rotating the guitar on its edge makes it useless for guitars. I guess if you are desperate to machine a perfect carved top only a cnc router will do as you can carve the entire top anyway you want. Unlike a router bit in a handheld router or router table.

Sorry forgot to give you credit. I agree 100% with your assesment.

It does say a 6" bandsaw, which has never been made So I goggled 6" band saw and look what I found http://petersons-tools.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=15823 I don't think its worth anythingunless you are making minatre models, a 12" is the smallest useful bandsaw size I have tried. Anything smaller and Its just a crime that they are even manufactured,, LOL

Unless you need to make a very precise channel the bevel in that picture will be a problem. Sculpting figured wood sounds like a slow and dangerous process especially for someone who doesn't own carving tools. Plus they need to be razor sharp and not cheepo garbage. A small carving plane would be a bit easier. Considering a Harbor freight mini grinder is like $20 US and a flap disk about $5 US how much cheaper can you get. Plus its fast and controllable unlikely to cause figure damage, and did I say cheap. One you go to hand tools you better buy good tools know how to use and sharpen them. I have these suckers, I am just too nervous to try one on a guitar body for fear of toasting the build. They also do not normally come with a guide bearing. A panel bit in a shaper is a better choice as you can add a rub collar.

Got a bit further along. A few more things to do then sand and finish.

I don't get it if you have a source for $60 and its the only source then just buy it. Considering a good fingerboard is now at least $20 and the piece you are buying can make many boards I don't see the problem. What are you trying to find, one board with the fret slots cut for cheap?

Maybe this will help as a possible source http://www.sdplastics.com/phenolic.html

I find a cove bit works best. A large 3/4" one. Gives me a working ledge above the main body that is even across the guitar. The same as using a rabbit bit only it removes more wood. If I felt safe using a panel bit I would try that instead . The second illustration is just a rough area of removal as lots of different carve shapes can be made. I take off the bulk of the carve with a mini grinder and flap disk. The rest is working with a locking pad sander on the drill press to even out all the little nooks and crannies http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNPDFF?PMPAG...mp;PMT4TP=*LTIP

I have done several tests using alcohol and the transtint dyes. The first test was the difference using black vs dark brown to pop the figure. The brown seems like a better choice. However the blue vs red was a different story. The blue was very uneven and blotchy compared to the red. Now this was wiping it on. The maple is a hard maple. I think I may just directly spray on the color dye after darkening the figure on my next test. I am trying to avoid tinting the clear coats since I have always done it this way with marginal results. After reading all these posts and seeing the direct dye results this is the better way to add color. It doesn't mean I cant add additional color to some projects as a tint but for the maple it seems like direct dye is the way to go. I though was that water vs alcohol made a big difference in the results, but I guess that isn't true. Maybe I should look through my dry powders and see what I have to play with.

I built a buffer from it. The only thing I don't like is the shaft could be longer. Most commercial buffers have a decent spread between the two wheels and the housing allowing you to buff the guitar on both sides of the wheel easily, or what I mean is equal clearance for the guitar on each side of the wheel. But it sure beats polishing by hand.

The better grade of Phenolic is linen based not paper. You may have to roughen up the glue surface in order to bond it. Since it is epoxy based I am surprized it didnt bond using epoxy.

Cant say i agree with the method as there is no flat spot for the neck pickup ring. Look closely. But that like that.

Cant say i agree with the method as there is no flat spot for the neck pickup ring. Look closely.

Are you flooding the top with alcohol first or applying it dry (well not dry you know what I mean). I actually mix the transtint with my alcohol. This way I can control the color better. It doesn't take much alcohol and transtint to make enough for use. Sorry I meant mixing if first with alcohol but also wetting the wood as well.

I refer to the Transtint dyes which are both water or Alcohol soluble. The little bottles of liquid dye. Are you saying the aniline dye's you are using are much better. I know transtint also has a line of water soluble dye in powder form. If you could use the same dye with either medium what would you prefer?

Fast heat transfer away from your soldering iron. It takes longer to solder a bigger wire just as it takes more heat to solder on a ground to the pot. I generally use flux and solder and start the process on a pot prior to adding any wires. As PSW says you want to tin all your wires first. That means a bit of flux then solder prior to attaching it. Same go for just about anything you solder. After years of struggling with expensive Weller soldering irons I finally bought a station. In fact the station was only double a Weller and it has way more features. This one warms up in about a minute if not less. You can buy a digital but I don't think I needed it, this works just fine. Also has a range of tips available. Note the high range is about 900 Deg F

Are you flooding the top with alcohol first or applying it dry (well not dry you know what I mean).

I never heard if deadly sandpaper before even on an angle grinder. Are you using hand tools for your entire build since a router is more dangerious than an angle grinder with a sanding disk. I generally start with a cove bit in my router which gets a good ledge going around the guitar. Then go to an angle grinder to do the bulk of the work. The rest is either sandpaper chucked into a drill press, scrapers and gouges for some of the fine detail work.

Without a finish it is the usual pictures, nothing pops. As for selection this is what I had in my shop at the time so it was a no brainer what woods to use. The maple as I have said is second class (in my opinion) so it will never look 5A. The shape does lend itself to veneer on a flat top. Talking maple here. I would use a maple topper with a maple veneer if I did. want an inexpensive 5a top. As for balance this is basically the same as a LP or any other guitar without an upper horn. Because it does not have an upper horn which gets your strap close to the 12th fret (the point at which I believe most designs can be made into anything) hollowing out the body was problematic. The 2nd prototype was hollowed and had a bit of neck dive. If I was just going to put in an F hole I don't see a problem there.

I am going to be testing out dyeing a new maple top I am building. But first I was wondering what medium do you you prefer for transtint dyes. I read about water all the time and then there is alcohol. I know alcohol will evaporate faster but it does not raise the grain so dramatically. I will be raising the grain first with water regardless. What do you use and why??

I am glad it works, crude meaning duct tape and a pump which looks like it came from a model T sitting in a field for 50 years. A little paint and it will look as ggod as new. LOL

Not so cheap if you cant find an off the shelf router base. Here is a link to the attachment method I refered to. you only need one. http://www.bishopcochran.com/foredom.htm

any pics for auto body filler? Its called Bondo do a google search. As an alternative to plaster as it much harder after it dries but does smell. However the plastic bag is a good idea. The bondo is a bit more expensive but you dont need quite that much. If you don't use the plastic bag you can easly cut it right after it sets up (off the guitar of course) but before it hardens. Gives you the opportunity to square it up.It sets up probably as fast if not faster than plaster. It's a two part product. A tube of hardner and a can of paste (or whatever its refered to), you mix the two. The more hardner the faster it sets up. Reminds me of epoxy but its not.