HuntinDoug

I have cut abalam before with the laser with decent results. MOP is generally too thick & dense. Most of the time it burns. Although I do cut a lot of the thinner headstock MOP & abalone. Here is an example of something I did for the J/C custom shop:

I do work for them on a regular basis. Oddly enough, they were the ones who turned me on to the pearlessence material. A lot of "purists" think that nobody uses the "toilet seat" material. Jackson uses it regularly on custom pieces that require color, or a large single piece inlay. They are also starting to use a good amount of wood fretboard inlay:

(this one was not for Jackson)

http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/flameinlay.jpg

I have an upcoming bloodwood & purpleheart flame pattern fretboard inlay that should be cool.

Actually, it's called "Pearlessence". It comes in a wide range of colors, and it works & sands really well. The quality has come a long way in the past 10 years. It works well for large pieces like the tribal inlay. You would never find a piece of shell that big.

Stunning....Very unique!

I am not having any luck finding pre cut inlay from places other than Stew Mac and LMI. Any suggestions? I don't have a specific design I am looking for, I just want more options to choose from.

Shoot me an email of roughly what you are looking for. I can cut just about any custom shape in most woods & pearlessence. I'm sure I can hook you up. Here is a couple recent examples:

huntindoug@aol.com

http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/sample1.jpg

http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/sample2.jpg

http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/rosecross2.jpg

I did a few refins back in the late 80's when the crackle look was popular with a product called "Vreeble". It was available in black only at that time. The process was: spray your base color, then lay a coat of vreeble, then clearcoat. The thicker you lay the vreeble coat on, the larger the cracks are. It was cool to watch the cracks open up as it dried. The bad part was it took a LOT of clear to make the finish smooth. I'm not sure if it's still available. I used to buy it from a CarPaint store.

Melvin,

Your book was the first book I bought on building. It has helped me greatly, and I still have it. I understand your frustration…. A few years ago I went through a similar situation with a non guitar related design that was blatantly copyright theft. I threw a lot of money to lawyers that ended up doing nothing but cash my checks. It left me with a bad taste.

I hope that you are able to stop these thieves. I’m sure you’ll have the full cooperation of this forums members. Best of luck.

I read somewhere that if you put a coat of ArmorAll on the wood before you finish it that it will retain it's color... Also, I have no problem with refinishing once or twice a year... maybe even once a month if really necessary...

armour all is a sure bet to ruin your guitars

I agree! Armour all is a bad idea. From what I understand, it is liquid silicone. I used to to pinstriping & custom paint work on cars & bikes. Customers would use it on thier tires, and sometimes even on the car body itself. Paint will not stick to a surface with armour all on it.

Oooops. Old age I tell ya... If I dont write it down...it's gone.

I had a PS10LTD a few years ago that I'm still kicking myself for getting rid of. It was pretty beat up...would have been perfect for a restore project. I've got one on paper to build in the next year or so. Thinking about possibly doing a floyded one w/gold hardware. Actually, I have a new Gibraltar II bridge, quick change tailpiece, and a set of the "M" style Ibanez tuners (all in gold) on order, so I could do two, one floyded & one TOM.

Thanks...Actually, I havent done one in a while. This is the last one I did. I don't think I've posted any pics of it. Ironically, It's the same thing, an IC200B. This one is a "bengal bass".

Very cool design! I love how the blue areas curve. Here's a mirror top Ibanez Iceman bass I did a while back. :

another flag mirror top

http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/flag2.jpg

Wow, I could not live without my bandsaw. To me it is a required "luxury." Resawing would be very wasteful without it.

Agreed... If you like to bookmatch top woods, is hard without a good bandsaw.

Looking good so far. Those long clamps look like Harbor Freight specials I have a dozen or so of them myself.

epoxy with ebony dust and xerox ink is all you need

I use a powder furniture dye in my epoxy...Works great!

Trussrod cover? Ask Huntindoug! It's a laser cut piece of rosewood :-D

does anyone know where i can get a fernandes ravelle template

or could anyone draw me one up ?

thanks

METALSUSTAIN

I may be able to help you out...Email me a good front pic of a ravelle body (with measurements).

huntindoug@aol.com

Thanks, Doug

I have a Central Pneumatic compressor. It seems to work just as well as my last compressor. It was a Craftsman that I paid 3 times as much for.

Actually, I but a lot of "junk" at Harbor Freight. If you get the sale emails, and use the 10%, 15% & 20% off coupons that are available every now and then, you can get stuff really cheap. I bought this mill last year:

It may be a "cheap" import...but it does me just fine. The store price was $999. I printed out the internet price of $899, and took it in the store. They had no problem honoring it, along with a "20% off any single purchase coupon". It ended up being $720 + tax. That is literally half what another local place wanted for the exact same mill painted a different color with thier sticker on it.

My latest purchase was a 10" disc/48in belt sander combo. Store price was $209, but after all my coupons I got it for $143+ tax.

I don't buy all of thier tools...some of them are pure junk. I would never buy something like a planer or jointer from them.

I was in my local Lowe's store a couple days ago and I came across a piece of Aspen that had a serious quilt figuring to it...So I bought it. I've never worked with it before. It seems to have the consistancy of poplar. Anyone ever use it for a neck, top or body? It seems a little soft. Here is a block I glued up for kicks. You can't really see the figuring well.

now where would be a good place to buy corian in sheets?how would you cut it?

It cuts well on a table saw with a fine tooth blade...just go slow. It comes in 1/2" thick sheets that are 30" x 8',10' & 12' long. Finding a place that sells it can be a problem. Our supplier for Corian made us sign an agreement not to sell or distribute any materials with the Corian name to anyone other than countertop customers. So if you go into a Lowe's store, and ask for a sheet, you wont have much luck.

I have some small pieces in the shop. How much are you needing?

now how would you go about glueing corian?does epoxy hold it well?

Corian has a proprietary 2 part adhesive that matches the color of the sheet being used. Actually, it works really well. It's really hard to find a seam in a top when it's used properly. It's basically epoxy...So I guess epoxy would work. Dupont is very particular about certifying fabricator/installers for warrantee purposes. If they find out a shop is using a different adhesive, they have a fit.

I keep some bone color corian on hand for use as a nut material. It polishes up well, and sounds better than bone or brass IMHO. I may have to take the Corian guitar idea off of the back burner....

A friend of mine owns a counter top shop. I worked there for about 3 years as a sales rep. I can get off cut & scrap formica whenever I need it. In the shop it comes in very handy. It works really well on jigs. They also do Corian tops...I can get that too. here is a fret slotting jig I recently made from an offcut of Corian:

I have contemplated building a guitar completely out of Corian. It's 100% acrylic, and very dense. It would definately need to be chambered. A fretboard size piece has a great tap tone to it. Formica on the other hand does not. It is basically a phenolic, with a patterned top paper layer.

Those are really nice Clif. I'd love to see you do a large Bald Eagle inlay with some MOP for the head!

Oh, you mean like this one?

Yea....pretty much exactly like that. That looks really good against the dark wood.

Those are really nice Clif. I'd love to see you do a large Bald Eagle inlay with some MOP for the head!

Wow...That's a beautiful piece of wood.

Hello

do you have any examples available to show me?

thanks!

Chris

Chris,

Shoot me your email, I'll get you some pics. Or email me a DXF or EPS file if you have one. Here is my website: http://www.parableguitars.com . Right now it has TR covers only (I just changed to a different web company). Let me know....Doug