Woodenspoke

It doesn't set up fast as an oil or solvent based filler but its still pretty quick. The other thing with water is the temperature range and humidity in your shop. Too cold and it will take longer to setup and I will assume cold is an issue this time of year..

Yes the silica or micro bubbles for epoxy. I bought a quart more than 5 years ago and I still have most of that left. You dont need too much.

With any water based finish you gain only 2 things, the removal of most toxic fumes and the ability to work inside a home. In the near future solvent based paints will take a back seat due to regulations regarding VOC's (fumes). The draw back is it does take more work to get the same result. Even when spraying the water based finish I dont think it lays down quite as nice as a solvent based finish. Plus because its a high solids content you need to have the right gun and tip combination as well.. Not that that has anything to do with the filler.

I know what the problem is..

First buy your stuff from the manufacturer who is http://www.targetcoatings.com/. First its cheaper and secondly its fresher.

And if they change their formula you will be getting the better product as it has only been getting better.

I have the same filler (or maybe a newer version) and as a filler it is too thin. Because it is water based and sold as super clear most of the volume just flashes off when the water dissipates. So its more like a thick coating than filler. I have added pumice to the stuff as well as epoxy filler (used to thicken epoxy). Both of these products help add the additional bulk and they turn clear in the sealer. I have even heard you can mix flour and plaster of Paris to bulk up filler but I have never tried this so do so at your own risk.

First I really hate filler. Either the HD darker oil based ones or the water based ones. They all require excessive amounts of work. makes you want to use only maple.

One thing Drak said or may have hinted at is you may be squeegeeing this off and removing it from the pores. honestly it looks too clean a squeegee job. I know this stuff sets up pretty quick as do most fillers but because it is thin it does not have that bulk to keep a rubber blade from wiping it out again from the pores..Just a thought.. Remember to squeegee at a 45 deg angle to the pores that is at a diagonal to the body..

You could have just picked up some African mahogany and made an SG. It may have cost $10 more and taken maybe two hrs less to glue it all up. Just saying.

I want to point out how this works.

Lumber is priced by the sq foot, except at Home Crapo..

A body is normally less than 4 sq ft. The price of African mahogany from a lumber yard is $6 a sq ft for 2" think stock.. Thats about $24 for a mahogany body blank..

I seriously want to know why do people have them or consider having them?

Killswitches on guitars that is..

They like playing guitar but they don't like hearing themselves play...

maybe you should consider shielding the case and running some Braid over all your wiring. The Parallel cable is shielded most everything else is not. It could also be the electrical outlet not putting out clean power, a UPS may help that side or a box which cleans up the line voltage.

It could also be a bad controller Board or power supply

So what is the question anyway.

First the assumption that the strings are equal to half the string length from the twelfth fret to the saddles is nonsense.. String compensation will put the saddles further back. So this measurement is inconclusive.

Since the nut is compensated we have no clue which one of those strings on the saddle has not been altered.

In general you measure from where the string breaks on the nut to the twelfth fret(front edge of the saddle). With the issue you have come up against try going to a fret calculator and measure the distance between several frets. Or gusetimate using the standard scale lenghts people use.

Most likey and with you not showing us the guitar (which would have been easier than all the lines) the style would suggest a 25.5" fender scale.

I web site called Holmstead finishing. They answered a few question I had a while back. They dont try hard sell you anything just tell you the facts. World renoun finishing experts.

Blush remover

How about a picture of the router and bit and all the pieces that may have fallen off...

If you cannot rout a flat bottom something is seriously wrong. If it is your router then stop using it..You dont want pieces flying about. Somehow I envision some 1930's router that has never seen repair parts..

If you turn the router shaft by hand and it feels rough its a bad sign. If the router bit has chips along the edges its a bad sign. If its none of the above its even worse... since that would make the operator the problem..

provide some solid info we can work with..

Not that I had really asked but:

it would not matter anyway if it was a small suction feed lower cup it will leave some paint. really I dont see those guns for sale much anymore. I had an HVLP bottom dweller and it was crappy. the only pro guns I see like that use pots and I will assume they also leave paint.

What are we really talking about a half a coat on a guitar. If its a single part product just pore it back into the can

do you remember what model the pickup was it may have been some early 89 or something like that. or just a older emg im guessing they didnt have a quick connect harness in the 70's but i dont know they could have.

I just looked at a few sets on the EMG site (Humbucker) and it looks like I describe. Connectors on the Pups and standard pots no connectors. Not sure if this was the series but close enough. I didn't do the wiring as it was a student, I forced him to do it himself as making another trip to my shop to solder a few wires made no sense. he had done soldering before.

http://www.emginc.com/products/category/148/1

The set was active so I didnt see any braid and the harness was not soldered in. Everything was loose.. The pots were standard with no connector..

I think what needed to be said has been said and I will sum up what was discussed.

Both methods work and both have their faults as well and whatever method you decide to use it is another process to have under your belt when tackling the may situations that inevitably come up in a guitar build or repair. Try both and decide for yourself what works for you.. Or use both..

Knowledge is King..

Ok, so I drew up the aluminum router template idea. I did it for a 24.5"-25.5" cause this seems like a nice logical one to me. The results are this... the distance between the 23rd and 24th fret on the short side is only a slight amount over 5/16" (like 3/64")... and the smallest collet I can seem to find anyone making is a 5/16" collet. That means the "template" material between the guide area for the 23rd and the 24th fret will only be about 3/64"... and in aluminum that WILL bend when pressed against. IE: Unless someone finds me a nice smaller collet (an 1/8" OD collet would be AWESOME!) we're **** outta luck on the router template idea.

I have another qualm about the router template idea too... a 1/32" bit is wider than a fretslot (.023")... yet I'd be a little irked using a 1/64" bit to do the job... that's one tiny bit!!!

Chris

Edit: Oh yeah, sorry, you can get a .020" diameter end mill for $15.59 from precise bits that would work better than a 1/64" bit... but I mean... still pretty frickin' tiny! You'd have to do SEVERAL passes to get a proper depth slot. And that's provided we can source the smaller collet mentioned above... seems like a lot of work lol.

With a lathe you can just make a custom brass guide (I may have said collet by mistake) to fit the tiny bit. The only issue is the threads..I was thinking a locking ring using a few set screws would be easier than buying a tap and die of that size..

As far as collets precision bits carries those http://precisebits.com/gateways/ColletsNutsHome.htm

They are made for the bosch colt, bosch and PC routers

You can mix up smaller amounts in any sized gun so saving paint with a smaller gun is nonsense.. But

A touch up gun is generally less expensive. I can get quite a few coats from half a quart in a quart container. I only splurged for the quart because I though I may need that size to do auto body work I know I dont need that size for a guitar.. I have a kid coming of age soon so...

Sometimes you have to look into the future with your crystal ball when buying any tool.

I will say none of these ideas will really work.. Ozone will be the only product that will remove the smell forever. The same stuff they use to clean a smoked filled car for resale or remove smoke from a burned home and smoke damaged clothing. Some of these companies have facilities that you can bring your stuff to, Considering its one tiny box they will charge you little if they toss it in with a smoke removal job they are doing..

In your area

http://www.rainbowrochester.com/odorremovalrochester.htm

Coffee grounds I like that idea...

Some info for any of you using limit switches and Estop switches with Mach3.

After I added the switches I started experiencing problems with them triggering out of the blue while cutting. Setting the debounce in M3 did not help. I am using well shielded cables also.

I put a scope on it and found intermittent spikes.

Solution is to add an individual 0.1 Uf / mfd film type capacitor on each set of wires, bridging as close to the breakout board as possible. This acts as an Rf filter and the problem should be resolved. I have since run a few million lines of code and have had no problems at all.

Note: DO NOT USE AN ELECTROLYTIC Cap for this

Just some advice while you are building.

Happy CNC

Mike

I added a breakout box before the controller and ran all my limit switches too that.. I Still need to put in a stop switch..its been 3 years..LOL

the last EMG set I saw came with two wiring harnesses

One side was attached to the connector and the other side is bare wire. Plus all the controls as well.

Seems to me all you would have to do is add the new harness(s) and connect the PUP's

ALSO, Cant believe I wrote FREATboard. How embarassing!

You can just edit it out I do it all the time.

Your best bet is to measure off a working instrument both at the end of the fretboard (top of the frets to the body) and top of the saddles on a similar fixed bridge. then draw it out on paper and make sure you are close.. Neck throughs are drawn out on paper then made..

I will throw you guys another bone but it needs to be refined. Its taken longer to write this than draw the picture below..

The table saw can be used but I still think the aluminum plate is easier for some people or to sell. And yes I want a piece of the pie Chris when you get Mike to make them...This idea can also be used in a radial arm saw removing the sled.

The basis of the design is to align the Fret slot with the blade without thinking. I like tools that take away all the guess work.. that is if I have to guess it is right I dont like that.

The design is simple using a fret slotting template you can align the short side up with a fixed pin and the long side up with a movable pin. The only reason to move the top pin is to increase the distance between two points.

The drawing is rough but what do you want for 5 minutes work.

The only issue is the pin it self. If you can visualize the angle the pin would enter into a fret template you would need to either angle both sides of the template slots to align up with the fretboard angle or devise a round pin system that allows the template to be aligned in at any angle. There may be some additional issues with the round pin and template slot; but so far it has not set off any mental alarms. You should be able to fit a round ball into a square slot as well. and Maybe just maybe a round pin will work with two existing SM templates carefully taped together using double sided tape.

You should add some sort of clamp for the movable pin side so it can be locked down as well as several Destaco clamps on the top for the board itself..

The SPOKE Multiscale template jig..TaDah...

With any maple you are finishing it so I dont see the point of compairing soft to hard maple since you will be playing on the finish and not the maple. Most people cannot tell the difference, and may be using soft maple thinking its hard maple.

Honestly I think some of what you said is confusing.

1. are you measuring off an unfretted board. Makes a difference

2. Neck pocket bolt-on or glue-in

I will assume you are putting on a Premade neck. First look at another guitar and measure or eye ball how high the strings are off the end of the board. Make a shim if you like to match that height.

Then with the neck in place use the shim and a straight edge lining one end up with the slot on the nut and the other on the shim and see what you have.

It's up to you to make your best guess as to how high your action will be or you want. Even without strings attached you want the bridge at a lower than normal position. But at the same time you also have to make sure once you get the st strings on it will be normal height and the set screws are not at the bottom of the saddle.

If you are making the body error on the side of two shallow and do a test fit you can always remove more wood from the pocket

unless your that serious about being vintage correct, i would stay away frome a syphon feed gun. go with a gravity feed even if its a cheap one.

How would you even be able to tell if a finish was sprayed vintage correct.

Most likely they used a large pot and not a small quart jar to spray hundreds of instruments. they most likey still do use pots only with finish saving heads like HVLP ot LVLP. Or a robot..

If I had to say a cheap syphon feed gun is worth it it may be.. I have used the Critter which uses a mason jar and it worked fine, even better than the cheap HVLP from Grizzly I still have. But its not perfect either. the syphon may work better because the parts needed to make it work are less costly and can be made to less exacting specs. Just a thought..

The main reason not to use a syphon gun is it needs lots of air and we are back to the issue we have here air..

has anyone with a CNC thought about making an aluminum template where you can use a small router and guide to cut the slots. The guide would also have to be very small and custom made but I think it may work to 24 frets.

Envision a long aluminum plate with many slots that extend over the edge of the fret board like so

while we're kind of on the subject, does anyone have any experience using the stewmac gun

That just looks like your standard Campbell-Hausfeld gun, (also available at Home Depot)

I use them all the time, they're fine for pretty much any standard spray functions.

The only reason you'd need a REAL quality gun is if YOU'RE that talented to take advantage of it's options,

which usually is just a finer tip (for very fine work) and higher quality parts (that don't corrode as fast).

Besides one fancy gun I do have, I use those C-H guns all the time, they're fine guns, break down easy, clean easy, go back together easy, shoot easy.

I always though the better gun helped me because I had little spraying talent to begin with..Its funny how we all see things differently...