Southpa

There is a little leeway but not much. 1/2" is wayyy too much. You would never be able to get the guitar in tune.

yeah, I been there. I drilled the holes evenly for my Tune-o-matic roller bridge and then did a mock setup. I found out that intonation wasn't going to happen, I had E and A saddles backed towards the tailpiece all the way and notes still wouldn't match up. I then remembered the TOM rule of thumb. (SLAP! to the forehead) I had to plug the bass side hole and then redrill about 1/8" farther back. Lots of room now.

TOM bridge sits higher off the body so you will have to work out a few things if you want to go that route. You would either have to angle your neck (about 4 degrees) off the guitar body, raise the fretboard (which means strings will be way off the body) or recess the bridge into the guitar body. The TOM was basically designed for an angled neck, but a combination of the other two can be done if you want the neck on the same plane as the body.

Lots of products out there, mostly used by the autobody pros. A good spray on adhesive is called "Air-Tac II". I use a similar product just called "Disc Cement" by a company called Pro Form Products Ltd. It comes in a tube, you just spread a thin layer on the block, wait about 5 minutes and then stick your paper on. Its good for several paper changes.

I guess I'll throw my mahogany guitar into the fray next month. Will take some new pics (w/out vaccuum cleaner in the background etc.) . Gotta do it some justice. I just wish the voting included trying the guitars out. I got more incentive to practice now.

I'm 45. When you turn forty you start to think about body parts you'd like to turn in. After 50 I'll look at the organ donor's thing on my driver's license and just start laughing.

The first one is usually the most expensive one. Namely, because you find yourself buying tools etc. A lot depends on what sort of facilities you have on hand. A woodworking shop with belt sander, bandsaw etc. is ideal but you can still do it without those things. Also, availability/cost of parts and materials in your area. Its nice to have a headstart. In my case I got some free mahogany, enuf for half a dozen solidbody electrics. But I shelled out about $400 Cdn for decent hardware for my first one. Stewmac has some pretty good acoustic kits available too. I heard good feedback on their resonator kits. Check their website.

Well I'll be... heres MY strat, you steal my idea? http://dingo.care-mail.com/pictures/80/808...3/808735477.jpg Ah, forget it, I gotta change picture host again.

Heres one: http://www.ncworkshops.com/service.html Why don't you just hit the "search" button in your browser and type in "spokeshave". Or go take a walk down to your local hardware store and ask about one. They aren't some kind of specialty tool, you can find them basically anywhere tools are sold. BTW, "cheap" and "good" don't really compliment each other very well.

Pretty much all wiring schematics don't show exact ground wiring. They will just show the little ground "arrow" symbol, the rest is up to you. Grounding the bridge, which in turn grounds your strings and tailpiece is to be taken for granted, its just not mentioned. I've never owned a guitar yet that didn't have some sort of bridge grounding. As far as setting up any fusible links, etc. inside the guitar I don't really think its necessary. If you end up with ANY kind of amperage strong enough to fry wires inside your guitar then you better ground your amp properly and stop playing in the rain. The guitar I just built has a stainless steel pickguard. I stripped about 1 1/2" off the end of a wire, pushed the end into the hole for the TOM bridge post and then laid the pickguard down on top of the remaining bare wire. I then hooked the wire to one of my central grounding points, in this case a volume pot. All of my pots are linked together with a ground wire and then a wire from the last pot goes out to my plugin. Along the way I have ground wires feeding in from pickups and pickup selector switch. Sort of like a river with tributaries feeding in, no ground loops.

Its literally lying around on the beaches out here, Vancouver Island BC. One fisherman I know was walking a beach on west coast Queen Charlottes and found a mahogany log. Fell off a ship I guess. It was 16' long X 4' in diameter. He took it to a local sawyer and got it cut into 2" planks to be later cut into flooring pieces when he got back home. I had a close look when he was stacking it on the deck of his boat and it was so tight I couldn't even see a grain.

You can find a spokeshave, rasps, block planes etc. at any hardware store. If they don't have any of those items then order a cheeseburger and have a seat. You're in the wrong place. kidding! If the store has a few spokeshave varieties check them out and see how well they adjust for blade depth and stability. I've found that one is just as good as the next one. If you never used one before then practice on a 2X4 for a little while until you get used to the weight, balance and adjusting blade for best results.

I use round, half round and rectangular rasps. A small block plane, a spokeshave. 80, 180, 220 and 400 grit sandpaper (dry sanding). Finer grits 600 up to 1500 or 2000 if you want (for wetsanding finish coats). I cut my initial neck angles (top and both sides) with a Skilsaw, nyuknyuk, and borrowed the use of a big belt sander to plane them flat. Rasps, plane and spokeshave for the initial shaping of curves, then sand til it feels nice....oooooooh yeah! Jigsaw is handy for cutting curved body shapes. If you build the body by sandwich glueing 3/4" plank together then you can jigsaw cavities beforehand. Definitely need a drill and a large assortment of bits. Even some oddballs. Grover tuners required 25/64" drillbit which isn't part of the average set. Had to buy it separate. Router makes some of the hardest areas quick and dirty...and even. Roundover bit is nice for body edge, finish doesn't stay long on sharp 90 degree edges, elsewise use binding. Plunge bits for cavities. But Forstner bit on a regular drill is good for hogging out wood, just not as purty. Clamps, clamps and more clamps. all kinds, types and shapes come in handy. I personally like the "Quick grip" style with the rubber pads on the gripping surfaces. I use yellow carpenter's glue, tacks good, dries ok and doesn't creep too badly. I spilt a whole bottle of that crap on my table which then dripped onto the carpet, thankfully its water soluble. Sure you can build a guitar with what you got. Sandpaper works faster on a dual action sander tho. But I would definitely get a set of rasps, they are relatively cheap and are really easy to use. Best shaping tool I ever used.

Just hit your local autobody supply store. I found up to 2500.

I use this little unit. 2 speed (20,000 and 30,000 rpm) comes w/ plunge router base, 2 freehand bases (1 w/ handle - 1 w/out), circle cutting base, and cable extension for dremel work.

Cool, a flipped out Flying V!

Do you have a format already in mind or would you like to assemble something from input from forum members? Theres lots of common sense involved and we should all admit that we still have lots to learn in this area, especially where safety is concerned. I use a 2 speed spinsaw with freehand and plunge router attachments. I only have experience at routing mahogany and noticed it can be soft and brittle when routing. I got the best results operating at the higher speed (30,000 rpm) with new bits. I never routed deeper than 1/2" in one pass. I found its much easier to control. If you don't have a template for whatever cavity you are making the least you could do is setup a straightedge for a guide on the longer sections. oh, one more thing, good bits are EXPENSIVE! If ya buy cheap you will get cheap.

Are you talking about painting or just applying a clearcoat? I've had good success at applying polyurethane clearcoat with those little wedge shaped sponge applicators. A tele is perfect for this because its flat. Lay it on thick and the poly will settle out into a mirrorlike surface.

Find a piece of copper or brass tube, inside dia. = dia. of hole to be filled, and notch teeth into one end with a hacksaw. It should just fit a 3/8" drill chuck. Cut your plugs in the face of the wood and put a piece of masking tape over all the little wood circles. Then cut the back (with the grain) to the thickness you need. The plugs will stick to the tape as you peel the tape off.

When I first played my guitar project I got lost right away. I couldn't believe how much I depended on those fretboard dots! So I took a 1-hole paper punch and made some temporary ones out of sticky backed label paper. Until I get good at cutting and setting abalone.

Each successive coat should have a good foundation to bind with. A light scuffing with a fine grit will roughen it up so your clearcoat has firm anchorage.

Okie dokie! I already posted this link in the inlay section re: "mahogany" thread. All the guitar specs are listed there too. But I can cut 'n paste the text into here. http://pictures.care2.com/view/1/158054871 All Honduras mahogany neckthrough Grover tuners Schaller roller bridge (tune-o-matic) - had to cut 4 degree neck angle Golden Age overwound humbuckers (12 Kohm) StewMac Bi-flex "Hotrod" truss rod Stainless steel pickguard - homemade strat-style plugin - had to fashion a black plastic retaining ring, thats what happens when you cut holes a little too big. body style is a tracing of the lower half of my 67 Hagstrom III and then mirrored. Arrow shaped headstock w/ staggered tuners allows for strings running straight thru the nut. 3- 500K pots (2 vol. and 1 tone) .047 ufarad capacitor Black Ice Overdrive capacitor mounted on 250K pot Rosewood fretboard - 24 3/4 scale - precut Medium jumbo frets

I was recently registered with another discussion forum for guitar builders that shall remain nameless for the time being. Not a very friendly place and run with a certain air of "**** retentiveness" towards posters. But enough of that, I'm glad to have found this forum which is much more in tune to my personality. I'm 45, been tinkering, fixing and rebuilding guitars for about 25 yrs. I just finished my first guitar from scratch and am very happy with the results. I'm looking forward to learning more, as always, and hope I can be of service to others in areas of my own personal experience.

Well, Hagstrom is said to have the "fastest" neck around. My Hagstrom III measures 1 9/16" across the nut. Its also a very shallow neck. They can only get away with stability in such a slim neck because the trussrod they use has little wings along each side. I can't say as much for the action, those guitars can be difficult to set up for really low action. They have a very primitive style TOM bridge. I would have to agree about the definition of a "fast" neck having low action but I guess string spacing would play a part as well. I'm not sure fret size has anything to do with it. Shaping a neck can be real fun. The important part is getting the initial rough in done properly. Set the blade depth shallow (around 1/32") on your spoke shave and make sure the blade is really sharp. Dull blades will wreck the wood in no time by grabbing chunks out. As long as what you start with is straight then its no problem so long as material is removed evenly. Otherwise you have to work out the high areas first until its all level. I run a spoke shave down the entire length and check it now and then with a straightedge. When you have it roughed in you run the entire length with 80 grit sandpaper, still checking with a straightedge. Just keep going until the neck feels right to you, thats all. When you start to see truss rod ...ya better stop , . After that you can use finer sandpaper for smoothing.

All I can say is WOW. And here I am trying to cut simple stars out of Mexican abalone. I can't believe the potential and just wondering if I can ever produce such intricate quality one day. The viperfish, angler and hatchetfish are my favorites. Do you use a diamond cutting wheel to shape the pieces?