Rick500

Mostly a skin irritation rather than respiratory for me. I have a good respirator that I wear when I'm making sawdust, so that part's not much of a problem.

Thanks for that link though; I may check that stuff out for other allergy issues (mowing the lawn always gets to me!).

I'm fairly allergic to it, but it's not too much of a problem if I take my allergy medication, and jump in the shower after I'm done sanding it.

As far as trouble gluing it; I haven't experienced that, but I read a tip in a book that said to lightly score the underside of the fretboard in a crosshatch pattern before gluing it. Don't know if that would help or not. I didn't do it.

Staggered-height tuners might also help.

Yeah, I can see some reflection in your pic. That's a nice piece. I need to find some >600 paper...I'm thinking I'll try an auto parts shop.

My lousy cell phone pic didn't capture the true color of the board. Here's a shot of the same board from before I inlaid the abalone (they're just lying on the surface)--really close to the actual color though.

Wow... I finished leveling the cocobolo fretboard for my Strat project, 150, 220, 320, 400, and 600 grit, and I can actually see reflections in it if I hold it at the right angle. Was not expecting that.

I tried to take a pic but I can't capture it.

As for router bits, I buy Whiteside whenever possible. They've all been great so far.

Got the fretboard leveled, carved the neck heel, and drilled the holes for the neck screws and ferrules today. Hey, it looks just like a guitar now!

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/rick...d_assembled.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/rick...el_carved_2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/rick...at_and_bolt.jpg

Jointing is making the surfaces that will be glued together, absolutely flat. It can be done with a hand plane (takes practice; I can't do it yet), a jointer, or if you set it up right, with a router table.

I have the Stew-Mac arbor and cauls. I haven't used them yet, but they're nice and solid and well-manufactured.

Nice!

I've got about an 18"-diameter silverleaf maple down in the backyard... I have a chainsaw and a bandsaw but no real space for drying.

I guess I should get out there and at least cut a piece and see what the grain is like.

The mass manufacturers have to build in compromises in order to appeal to the largest consumer base possible.

You can do any weird thing you want that no one else but you might like.

So it depends on what you mean by "better." I think I can make a guitar that's better to me, than the big guys can, because I can make it (within the limits of my abilities) precisely the way I like it.

[Edit: Didn't mean to imply that you will immediately have the skill to do everything you want on the first one.]

Toss that thing now before someone loses an eye.

Yeah, that's the way I did it, tapered normally.

I just noticed that the way that book demonstrates is different and wondered what advantage he thinks there is in doing it that way. (He mentions that it's "easier" but doesn't elaborate.) He's still making the neck and then making the pocket to fit, it's just that it's tapered from the nut to the point where it touches the neck pocket. The last three inches or so of the neck's sides are parallel.

I don't see any advantage to doing it that way; was just curious.

I did a few searches on this and didn't come up with anything:

I was reading through Tom Hirst's book, Electric Guitar Construction, and noticed that he builds his bolt-on necks with no taper through the part of the neck that sets into the neck pocket.

Just curious if any of you have done it that way. If so, did you cut the fretboard taper all the way to the end of the fretboard so that the fretboard taper overhung the straight part of the neck on the sides?

It doesn't seem advisable to cut the fretboard straight since the outer strings would then run closer to the fretboard edges where the taper stopped.

I just started using one of the two black limba neck blanks I bought from you today. I'll go check out your remaining stuff tonight. I'll have to go find another black limba source now.

so would tung oil work good on the fingerboard?

how many coats?

What is the fingerboard made of? [Edit: Oh, cocobolo... I missed that first time around. I'm currently building a Strat sort of guitar with a cocobolo fretboard, and am leaving it unfinished.]

It is really begging for a set neck, isn't it? I haven't tried one yet; just bolt-ons so far.

I have planned it so far as a bolt-on neck with no angle, so I'm still considering the bridge options. Maybe a Hipshot hardtail, or a recessed TOM if I get brave. Need to make that decision and get the rest of it drawn out next.

I did plan to throw a curve on the end of the fretboard, but I don't have too much room to play with; maybe a half inch. I'm going to repeat the curve of the horns though.

The horns are supposed to be reminiscent of shark fins. Repeated in the headstock as well. (The headstock I posted a few days ago will be on this one.)

Mahogany body (no top, so no chambers), black limba neck, probably a partial mahogany headstock overlay (about 1/4 mahogany; 3/4 of the headstock will have the black limba showing through).

I've had good luck with Boeshield T-9 on my power tool tables.

is their much difference between the 2 7/32 (2.21'' inch) and the 1/4? I mean does .04inch really show's up on a guitar? Because it seems kind wide and at nut it is 1.71 wich does make a kind of akward neck doesn't it? Or am I just crazy? My friend is building this custom guitar and got their neck and it is kinda winder at the 24 and smaller at the nut :S

No, I seriously doubt you'd be able to tell the difference between 2 1/4" and 2 7/32" on a neck.

I just measured the same neck at the nut, and it's 1 11/16" (about 1.69").

Both of those differences are probably within the margin of error of my measurements anyway. (I just held a tape measure up to the neck with the strings on it, so there's some slop in there.)

I just measured one of my Carvin neckthrough guitars (a DC145) and it's 2 7/32" at the 24th fret. It's a very comfortable neck.

Godin, I am moving back to the Pacific Northwest to Seattle, WA.

Someone phone ahead and tell all those big trees to look out.

Best of luck with the move.

I draw a centerline on my fretboard blank (top and ends), radius it with my radiusing jig, then double-stick tape it down to my fret slot template that also has a centerline marked. The template fits tightly in the miter box. Just have to be careful that there is enough tape to hold the fretboard down without slipping while cutting the slots. Could probably devise some kind of clamping arrangement as well, but the way I have my miter box affixed to a long piece of MDF, it's not practical in my case.

The StewMac miter box setup works well, but I'm disappointed in that saw. It's, well, just not very sharp.

Have you tried any other blades? Do you know if the LMI blade is any different than StewMac's?

I've only tried StewMac's.

Thanks; yeah I just kind of roughed in the neck portion in the drawing to get an idea of where it would lay.

Am I correct that as long as I cut the neck pocket 3" or so into the body, there are really no other requirements for the pocket, structurally? (It'll be standard depth for a Strat style neck pocket, and the body is 1.75" thick.)

The StewMac miter box setup works well, but I'm disappointed in that saw. It's, well, just not very sharp.