Geo

That doesn't surprise me. I would expect that most of the fret wear comes from the strings being hammered into the fret by your finger... probably more wear if they're already vibrating (hammer-ons). The zero fret sees none of this of course, as the strings never "strike" it but just rest on it. Anyway, that's my half-educated guess.

Well, here's some progress... Bracing the top. Yes, I did in fact improvise a sort of "clamped fulcrum" rather than buying deeper clamps. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...ar/IMG_1145.jpg Attaching kerfing... with $1 worth of clothes pins! http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...ar/IMG_1161.jpg My reprehensible solution for attaching the sides. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...ar/IMG_1162.jpg The neck pocket template was "lightly glued" to the guitar and I held the router at a 90 deg angle. I love routing neck pockets, I don't know why. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...ar/IMG_1194.jpg Back bracing, where the improvised clamped fulcrums were crucial. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...ar/IMG_1200.jpg Neck bolted on... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...ar/IMG_1199.jpg I made an oversized head block. There was a snafu with the neck tenon, which I thought at first would require me to route a pocket as wide as the end of the neck. But I fixed that on the neck tenon, so the pocket isn't was wide as I thought I would have to make it. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...ar/IMG_1201.jpg Full frontal... although the headstock is not gray, but brown (walnut). Another view. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...ar/IMG_1205.jpg

Agreed. For any original design, I much prefer an angled head. For me, the flat headstock only works on Fenders or copies of Fenders. If you're doing a Strat-style neck, you may need 1", I don't know. In that case, you could just laminate wood to the underside of the heel and head, where it's needed, rather than thickening the whole blank and giving yourself an extra 1/8" to carve off.

My advice to you is more general. I say this first part very cautiously. You are only 16. When I was 16, my "dreams" for my life were a lot different than they are now. (I'm 21.) I'm glad I changed, because I was a much different person five years ago. When I was 16 I had never touched a guitar and thought I might major in a foreign language or creative writing. I am now a music composition major, I'm proficient at guitar and bass (self-taught), have built a few guitars, and write and play a lot of piano music. I never saw any of this coming when I was 16. So, start your research now, but also keep thinking about it. Some people go through "interest fads" (I did for a while). You don't want to invest tons of time and money and then discover that your passion has lost its glow. THAT SAID... you know better than any of us what you want to do. So start right now learning the skills you'll need. It's great that you sense this much "direction" at such a young age. I'm 21 and still don't know what I want to "be when I grow up". (Yikes.) My guess is that since you are so sure of it already, you won't change, and you'll end up making a good career out of it. You seem like someone with initiative who takes risks. I think that and the knowledge you'll learn both first-hand and in school are all you'll need. Lastly... DON'T let anyone tell you that you should be a doctor or a lawyer or something. You know what you want to be. Go for it, work hard and go the extra mile for your teachers/employers/whatever, and you'll make a name for yourself.

There's a lot to consider with that. 1) The truss rod placement--through the extra 1/8 splitting it down the middle, or under it? 2) It won't look like binding because the fingerboard will still be above it. 3) I would just go with the 7/8" thickness, as you'll be carving the neck blank down to 1/2" or so anyway (not counting fingerboard). If you want a thicker heel, laminate something there... If you want to do it, I'm sure you can figure out a way to make it work. Just letting you know the problems that popped into my head.

It looks great! Classy guitar! The bass I built is 30", which makes it a lot more "accessible" to me, since I came to bass from guitar. The issue with a shorter scale, though, is the lessened string tension (unless you get heavier strings) and thus a less firm sound. One question... are you really routing that body without eye protection, and without it clamped to the table?! (Maybe the clamp is hidden, but you're scaring me! )

To a point, I think you can recess a new bridge. If you have a flat neck angle, I don't see why you'd need to recess a flat Strat type bridge. Note... if you use a Strat hardtail, your string-thru problem will be fixed, I think. This is an illustration of the need to plan the build completely.

Yeah. Or a merlot/dark red color and gold!

Thanks, Geo! These guitars actually use 8 gauge strings. Otherwise, the neck tension would be unbearable. True, I guess that would be the same tension as a 28" scale or something. "electric mandolin in the shape of a les paul or a les paul double cut as shown in melvyn hiscocks book!" Yeah, I always thought that picture was awesome! It would be a pretty easy project I imagine.

Beautiful work!!! I assume you use normal string gauges, since the scale length is ~half of a normal guitar scale?

I think that's Koa. The inlay is really beautiful. The bearclaw soundboard looks cool too.

If you're using a switch to wire in a cap to ground, yes that can be done. Personally, I would just use a tone pot, as that gives you the full adjustment. For wiring the cap to ground, I don't know how it would work with your particular switch, but just look at it and sort out which contacts go where and you should be able to come up with something.

Hm. Personally, i would leave the white pickguard on the gold body. It looks great that way. I think that's part of the Strat "aesthetic", the contrast between the body and pickguard. (Except on white bodies I guess.)

A P-90 type in the bridge would be cool. That is a beautiful guitar!!!

I think chrome is a lot more distracting than wood. The guitar has plenty of bling already if you ask me. However, it will still look FABULOUS whether it has black, chrome or walnut rings!

That "luthier" has no idea what he's doing!

I am not sure I understand your theory about the rod not bearing on wood. If it doesn't bear on any wood, it can't do anything. The good thing about a double-action rod is that it can correct backbow if the strings can't pull the neck out of backbow. I built a bass and I guess the neck moved on me into a slight back bow. It would have been hopeless, but I had a double-action rod in it. The backbow was probably my fault (some flaw somewhere down the line), but the rod corrected it for me.

This is one of the most beautiful guitars I've seen in a long time!!! I would actually keep the PU rings or, if they must be changed, keep them dark. I think otherwise they may distract from the overall color and shape of the guitar, which is already great. Just my thought.

Twelve screws should work as long as they conduct the magnetism well. You won't have any issues if you buy Stewmac's polepiece screws, although they are way overpriced. The handdrill method works quite well. Doubtless you've already seen Jon Fisher's pictures (that's where I got the idea), but here's two pictures of mine for another angle. Notes: I used a clamp to control the speed of the drill. It was pretty effective once I got the hang of it. Also, DON'T mount the spool like I did. Put it in a tupperware container directly below the spinning bobbin. Guide the wire with thumb and finger. The wire won't snag that way. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...ct/100_4672.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...ct/100_4673.jpg Yes, a typical DMM (digital multimeter) will suffice. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=prod...;Ntt=multimeter If you don't care about precision, it isn't strictly necessary to count the number of windings or measure the DC resistance of the coil. If your bobbin is typically sized and you wind it till it's full, it will have a normal output. However, the meter IS useful to make sure your coil is not a short or open circuit. If you get one, set it to 20k ohms to measure. I suggest potting the coils first. I don't see how the wax can totally penetrate the coil if the coil is already wrapped in tape. I would put the tape on after the wax. Again, I'll direct you to Stewmac... I know they're expensive, but they are a good source for pickup parts. They have everything you need to make a humbucker, although it's probably more cost-effective to make your own bobbins and baseplate and buy the magnets, polepieces and wire from them. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_p...ups:_Parts.html I can't answer that, as I've never built a traditional humbucker. On the pickups I've used, I've soldered the leads to little eyelets that I got for building tube amps. One for each lead, and one 42awg lead goes in each eyelet as well. When you solder, the trick is to heat the eyelet so that the solder melts the insulation on the 42. But if you heat it too hot you'll burn the thin wire and it'll break, so be careful. It is NOT fun to rip a ruined pickup apart and rewind it! You'll have a blast. I find pickup making as enjoyable as any other aspect of guitarbuilding. and your pickups will sound amazing.

Yeah... the effect shown around 4:00 is the coolest part in my opinion. Does anyone know of any resources for building something like this as a self-contained unit? A tube circuit would be cool.

Right, not all guitars need it... classical guitars have much lower tension, etc... But tux91, I assume you're building a traditional solidbody electric. I see no reason to go with a non-adjustable rod when adjustable ones are readily available. The neck will change over time, from string tension and changes in humidity/temperature etc, so adjustable is a good idea.

I like that one effect that changes with how hard you play. That's totally AWESOME. What's interesting is that you could still hear the musicality of the guitarists' playing very clearly. Their very different styles shone through, so the guitar seems like it is very organic, which I imagine the Line 6 is not (though I haven't played it) since it's digital models.

That's really classy. Cherry is a beautiful wood and I'd like to use it some time, but I've never seen anything like yours! (Must be a different species...?) I think I'm thinking of American Cherry.

And I thought I was insane...

That false soundhole is STUNNING!!!