Woodenspoke

I havent read this whole post but the first response is the correct one. There is no easy answers to wromg direction. Climb cutting wich is using the router in the wrong direction is a viable option to some chipping situations. But this requires some skill from the user. The proper way to look at a router and bit is like paper. Each layer in the wood is like a single sheet of paper. But the sheets lay in a certian direction but change as you travel around the guitar. Push the paper in the wrong direction and the sheets (wood layers) seperate from one another. In the right direction they stay together and get pushed down against one another. Now imaging its a router bit pushing against the paper. If the paper seperates you get tearout if the paper stays together no tear out. As you work around a guitar especially ones with less than a normal shape the direction of the grain does not make it easy to follow the nornal pattern. Most end grain work also causes headaches. Simple solution is use two bits 2" long. This allows you to use a pattern on one side and avoid climb cutting. Since ideally you will need to flip the guitar to chage direction you do not want to remove the pattern. So two bits with bearings on opposite sides solves this delema and allows a proper non climb cutting motion. A long trim bit with bottom bearing and a long pattern bit with top bearring. the 2" lenght allows you to always ride the pattern. Because of the lenght of the bit a table is recommended even if its just a hole in a piece of wood and the routers screwed to it, its still a router table. Another tip is always plunge your router bit directly to the pattern edge at 90 degrees (push the guitar straight into the router bit or visa versa for a hand held router). Trying to angle into the work will not be pretty.

make sure you use the correct DYE, made for dying leather, not a stain. Check on Sm for the name of the correct product.

Some of the first things to check when you refret is fret tang and the old slot size. Obviously the two were different. This requires a feeler gage and dial indicator. now depending on the wood species its not always just hammer in the frets and your done. Ca placed in the slots first will help but having the correctly sized fret tang for the slot to begin with is more important. A test fitting will help solve the question will it work as not every situation is the same, such as species of FB age and other refrets that may have been done.. A fret tange resizing tool would be a better suggestion over other tools you mentioned. A fret press sure helps especially if this is your first fret job as hammering takes some skill and basic fretting knowledge of how a fret works.

Anything finishing is a pain. I always thought the WB stuff had too low a solids content and just sunk. It was constant refilling with marginal results. The alternative is almost as bad as its hard messy and just as much trouble to keep it clean (oil based filler). makes you want to figure out how to dip a guitar in epoxy.. I always felt finishing is learning to suffer... I have tried using a shellac with microbeads to fill pores, this also has its draw backs but dries fast enough to repeat. Almost like adding a French polish only thicker.. I have even used a cooking powder (baking soda) to increase bulk in shellac.. It works as the Baking soda turns clear. Just my thoughts on suffering

Back to shell dots. Again I am a dealer. No matter how many suppliers I use they are all different sizes. Ideally the dots should be slightly undersize. In the old days they used to turn the dots as a cylinder. I think with the reduced availibity and asian suppliers most dots are core drilled or in some rare cases laser cut (very difficult except on the high end). The bottom line is expect variation. Dots sizes are 4mm, 5mm 6mm, 6.35mm(1/4") and 7mm. +/- .02mm is about a standard variation. The best method is own a good set of drill bits or many sets of bits. My first choice is a spur or brad point, buy a good expensive set. Calipers are your friend here. Check the bit and the hole as not all drill presses run true (chuck) nor do hand drill chucks(even worse). As for hammering in dots, if you have no choice and the difference is slight it works fine. If the dot is way oversize use another bit. Shell will crack if forced to hard. Also have extra on hand anyway it goes down. Good spur bits are available individually. I also suggest a cheap set of Letter and standard bits as well as metric. The more you have the easier your bit selection will be. Fostner bits are aso a requirement for guitar work (In my shop), but I have never tried them on dots, maybe next time. i would never drill dot holes by hand, because you cant fully control the drill bit, the distance and depth without a drill press and a fence.

First most fretboards have some arch in them with strings on. I would rather use a small triangle and check across several frets for low and high spots. So with strings on why bother with a full SE. Then if they are off (Strings) especially on a guitar you didn't build its more important to first level the FB then check the frets. again a small triangle will show high and low spots and the need to fix. Sighting down a straight neck is also another visual method of checking fret work. Sure for a FB that is unfretted I use a straight edge to check the board but that wasn't the question. I do adjust the FB right after fretting using the Trussrod and SM slotted SE for any back bend or movement. I trust my sanding beam and marker method so I dont look back and recheck once the frets are flattened. Any slight angle with a straight edge will create false negatives in your examination anyway. Same with the sanding beam of course. If I was doing a fret re crown a straight edge would be the last tool I would look for, this is assuming the FB is good and the frets are known to be funky. I not saying its useless I just think its not the greatest tool as FB's are never 100% level after its strung up nor should they be. Remember there are 100 ways to do anything in guitar building so this is strictly my biased opinion IMO

1. Increasing the arch means you may loose side dots on a thin board. 16 to 12 2. Flattening the board means you may be loosing posistion markers on the center of the board. 12 -16 Thats about the risks you face. If the board is very thin option 1 will ruin the neck. But it would have to be very thin. Remember the board will get thinner on the lower frets as the arch will be greater in size..Binding is another issue if the frets are cut back behind the binding it will be difficult to deepen the slots either way you do it. Again you are either going one way or the other... so which is it????

A 24" straight edge is a great tool however it in useless for checking the tops of frets. To properly check the FB you need the slotted straight edge sold by SM. That way you can check the board with the frets on. Be aware that I returned one and had to final level the second SM tool I received because it was not at all level. Sand paper on glass checking with a known good straight edge. I suggest Lee Valley for straight edges as they have the best prices and I have never received a bad SE from them. One you have determined the FB is OK and the neck is straight as you can get it without strings attached then you need only one more tool. A sanding beam. You can make one out of any material you want or buy one. Either way it need to be checked with a straight edge for flatness. Ideally a straight edge that spans every fret is best, that way you cut every fret at the same time. 18" is minimum 6" will make a mess. You attach a 320 grit sand paper (being Conservative here)to the beam to level the frets. But first mark the tops of each fret with a black (sharpie) marker so you can see the low spots (still has black on the fret) as you sand across the tops. When all the black is removed you have a set of level tops. Now more black marker and use fret crowning tools to reshape the crowns on the frets. When you just remove the last vestige of black from the top of each fret move on to the next one. This is all assuming your FB is straight and level if not remove the frets then level the FB.

First I have looked at the page and it is just a plastic guard only it is attached to a single bolt with some nuts and washers. Not going to stop fingers getting sucked in if they are too close to begin with. Just mount the plastic to an L bracket made of wood so you can clamp it to the edge of your table and remove it easily. the only thing is to figure out how to change the depth without a bolt. Also his router table is small so the distance from the edge is short in the picture. Remember this is way back when I started building. Looks like he has a 3/8 to 1/2" thick piece of plastic. Thick enough to stay rigid. Here is a link to something more profound..Router Jig Page 39-41 ... scroll back to page 39. If your wood is getting thrown, there are several reasons. Crappy bits or running the router in a climb cut direction. Also always start your cut straight in (or toward) to the pattern edge never start at an angle or angled to the edge of the pattern. That will also make a mess. This is the most critical step to stop kickback at the start by meeting the patterns edge first, then rotate the work counter clockwise on your router table.

First anything that obstructs the ability of the user to do the job is just that an obstruction. The amount of chips generated in most pattern operations is excessive for almost any guard. Meaning the space between the plexi and the bit will start to fill up and obstruct the view. If you are having router close calls it is your technique or safety procedures that are at fault. Any operation where your fingers may get too close requires either a jig or push blocks. That said the easiest jig holder would be (with a steel router table, which few own) using the new magnet clamps that came on the market witin the last year. You can build a small guird that can easily be moved and small enough to let the chips fly out. With a wood table just make a very long plexi cover attached to an L shaped wood bracket clamped to the side of your table. Routers are a pain, there is no really good answer.

Thats kind of big the Lie-Nielsen. But you didnt say what size the Ibex was so its hard to reference the two together?

It may or may not be wider at the 24th fret. The biggest issue is making a longer pocket so you dont have to move the bridge. May also hit a pickup? The neck fret spacing is the only thing that makes a difference with scale lenght and at what point the nut starts and bridge ends. You could use a different scale as long as these points line up to the correct distance. Honestly may people bring up using a longer neck and realize the additional work makes it a big project. You either move the bridge or adjust the neck pocket.

No matter how flat or how straight everything is it will change one its glued onto the neck. If the fretboard is not on the neck worry about it later.. You only need two hands, one to hold the straight edge the other the neck. The secret is have a light behind the two so you can see gaps. 1/64 is pretty big. To properly level a fret board requires a flat sanding beam, which should also be checked to make sure its dead flat. Get a red or white pencil and make criss Cross lines o n the board (dark board only). Then sand them off. You will see which spots have not been sanded. I usually mark my board two or three times. Once all the color is gone the board is flat. A slight dip at the top of the first fret next to the nut will make no difference as long as its really close to the nut and not halfway down the first fret. Dont expect a board to come flat. Dont expect it to stay flat once its glued. Its wood, wood moves. This is why I always fret my neck after it is glued on and leveled again, and it has been checked after a few days. Some will fret then glue but I dont trust the wood I use to cooperate with that method..

what wezv said only use a 12" plus lenght drill

The bridge spacing is directly related to the width of the end of the neck. if the neck is narrow at this point (22nd or 24th fret) the bridge must also be narrower. Try an adjustable bridge.. Buy some calipers and check it

you can do anything you want. Sounds like a winner

I cut aluminum all the time. It should not dull the blade any more than wood does. However if you use the wrong blade to cut aluminum you will have a harder time of it. It cuts easly on a bandsaw as well.

You are using two opposing terms paint and translucent. You need to discuss tinted finish not painted finish. Me thinks you need to do some basic research into paints and tints and how they work.

but the areas which are supposed to be glued will be tape-covered so they will be ready to accept wood glue...Besides i f i seal it and then use epoxy,will epoxy work well over a sealed area???i think it will but it's a bit risky.. btw for neck joint many prefer hide glues,other titebond but few people use epoxy because its very hard and does not "feel" the vibrations...so it would be a bit dead...what is your opinion??? Anything that will stop wood glue for mating with raw wood will make the joint weak... Anything even a light oil sealer.......

Back to the glue up question. First dont use wood glue, once you seal the wood (apply a finish) it cannot be absorbed into the wood fibers which is how it forms a bond. You mentioned epoxy, I suggest you use it for this application. Also masking tape between the two pieces will prevent a big mess on the finish. remove the tape once the neck is clamped and wipe the joint down with Alcoohol to remove any excess epoxy. You may still need to do some finish touch up afterwards. I would use a 20 minute epoxy as the 5 minute will not provide you with enought time to fiddle with and clean the joint.

Shellac is a universal finish meaning it will stick to most everytnig we use on guitars and allow other finishes over top. God for a transition between two different finishes.

Had to do a double take that this ERO was a PG guitar. Jaden A++++. How about pictures of the back????? Deserves a better finish as a comment... Anyway great work...

Best to invent strings that dont wear through paint, frets or stain light colored FB's.

Remember router bits are in Radius not Diameter so a 1/2" bit is a corner of a 1" circle. Pretty big curve. In all honestly even though I like to keep my radius small on most guitars, it depending on the design. It may need to very big. Your best best on most instruments is start small you can always make it bigger, but not smaller. I think someone suggested 3/8" as optimal? Not sure this is true.

The final polish will the kicKer for me. Cant wait.