sinner16

I recently did a "practice run" trying to make a decal with an ink jet printer and transparency film for overhead projectors. Basically I built a work bench for my basement and used some hard wood floor poly to clear it. I decided to slap an image made out of transparency film on it... just to see how it works. My results were not perfect ... but I did learn a few things about using this method... It seems the way you cut out your decal is directly related to how many coats of clear you will need to "bury the line" . The transparency film I used was .003 in. thick. It will take a lot of clear to bury a line that thick. However, if you cut your decal / image out on an bevel / angle .... you will achieve a more gradual slope to the edge of the decal. I did this by accident while cutting out my decal with a pair of scissors. The spots that were cut on an angle had a much smoother transition and didn't need as much "build up" of clear. I'm going to try using an ex-acto knife held on a 45 degree angle the next time around. Also .... I realize that most headstock decals are just plain black which is easier to work with. But I used a color image as a test.... Color images will need a white background for the color tones to correct. My image came out darker because it was "natural wood" color behind it. If I had used a white paint behind it .... the white would have trapped the color making the image clearer and brighter. just my $0.02 worth of useless knowledge ....

Jory, I see you have the determination to keep sight of the fiberglass "Airline" guitar, despite previouse warnings lol.... Great pics by the way. .. I hope everything works out right for your project..... Also ... I hope that you have good venting in your home..... working with fiberglass and resin will give off some nasty fumes....your parents my not be too happy with that.... not to mention the itch!!!!! Good luck.....

all i can really say is to try an avoid any interruptions.... That's what has plauged me for a lot of time currently...... Just when you get into the whole creative vibe..... boom... the phone rings... the baby starts to cry.... someone's at the front door..... etc...etc..etc.... It will hinder your progress massivly... I'v ended up measuring things 52 times... because I was interrupted.. and had to take care of something.... Once I return... the big ? comes up..."Where was I last" .... just my thoughts

Actually in one of the fine books Dan Earlwinn (sp) wrote.. He uses actually his breath... That's right... hot steamy 98.7 degree breath . I ve tried it myself... It actually workes pretty good. If you exhale onto a small area... maybe two frets at a time, till it foggs up .... then wipe it with a clean cloth... Worked for me and also won't harm the fretboard.... Also he states that your saliva will actually brak down grime and sweat on the board.... it sounds gross and all.... but it does work.... I would use the Naptha or steel wool for a last resort..... And if you have a maple fretboard... steel wool may dull / remove the finish. If you are looking to just polish the frets nice and clean .... Brian did a tutorial a while back on polishing the frets using a dremel and a template for the frets. It's kind of the tool they use in drafting to erase a fine line. I think... lol... But I'm in favor of the saliva and moist breath way... that's just me..... At the most I might use the edge of a credit card to scrape away the mass of buildup... then try the salivia / breath method..... Then again it's your neck.... you can do what you like... lol Anthony

Well I never tried it ..but you could probably use those nifty "chrome" cover like the ones on Universal Jems page. You could use that as a "base mold" or a starting point, so to speak. I think they are 100% metal...which can withstand heat from a hot sheet of acrylic ... Like everyone else is stating... If you plan on making a couple hundered to sell or something... it may be worth the time and $$$ to invest.... If it's going to be a one time thing.... Fasten your seatbelt, get comfortable, and leave your wallet at the front door it's going to be a long and expensive ride..... Only you can decide which the best way to spend your time and $$$. Also .. just think .. you may need to make 12 or more .... just before you get the process down and a perfect cover that is usable .... that's a lot of scrap materials that will be wasted for a "one time" cover. Another thought that just popped in my head.... You may be able to use Lexan or a polycarbonate (sp) kind of like RC car bodies .... it may be easier and cheaper to work with..... plus you could paint / tint it whaterver color you want ... making the covers more universal.... than just making one color.... in your case trans. blue. It just a thought....

well I'm no expert on this..but if you have plast bead media.... your going to need to make a mold of the pup cover.... most likely out of metal.... I guess you will have to heat the plastic beads up to a high temp. Your looking at an awful lot of work . Do you have to use plastic beads ? I think a thin sheet of acrylic would work better and easier .... Heated to the right temp. the acrylic will conform to pretty much any shape ..... that's how we (the company I work for) make acrylic bathtubs and jetted tubs. Just an idea... Having to build a mold for the plastic beads to melt together may be very time consuming.... Just my opinion. Again... I'm no plastic expert... but I do have $0.02 to spend...lol

Well I posted a Harbor Freight horror story in here a few months ago. My big problem was with their customer service.... I bought a metal work bench from them... It came to my house missing the hardware to put it together. A month of several calls led me to send it back for a refund. Buyer beware: On a good note.... I had a pair of digital calipers I bought from them.... No problems so far... But then again its a just a sophisticated ruler!!!!! I still get books and flyers from them in the mail. I use them to keep my 10 month old daughter from ripping my guitar mags. By the time she is done.... there's nothing but shredded catalog all over the place.... lol

If anyone is interested.... here is the site that tells ya how to emboss velvet material..... I'm sure it would look pretty neat when used to line the interior of a case. http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00072.asp

I actually was planning on making a case too... similar to a coffin type case with a "natural" type finish... I haven't gotten too far on the plans as of yet... house remodeling has taken up most of my time. But I am concern about the weight too.... I want it to be solid ... but I don't want a hernia when lifting it!!!! lol. One bit of info I do have... I have a "Coffin Case" that I got for my B-day. The interior is a purple velvet w/ a v- shape kind of embossed on it... which is pretty neat looking. I think you can duplicate this pattern ... or even make your own custom pattern.... The key is to have a velvet fabric w/ a high Rayon content..... You will need to make a pattern (like a stamp) that is able to handle a clothes iron. Basically you put the pattern flat, lay the fabric with the velvet side down... and iron away.... This will leave a crisp imprint of your pattern on the velvet.... pretty neat... I found a fabric site that explains it much better... I'll post it later... but you can customize your interior very easily... Sorry for the long post..... hope I at least gave my $0.02 .....

I disagree.. Ok you can collect just as many girlfriends as guitars .... but once a girlfriend finds out she is just part of a "collection" ... I'm sure she will hightail out of sight. You just can't keep collections of girlfriends for very long..... Plus that cuts into playing and building time. Just my thoughts....

Guitar's X4 Guitars will never make me watch stupid Jessica Simpson and Nck Lachey shows!!!! Guitars don't care if you go to bed late. Guitars don't get jealouse if you get other guitars If you don't like your guitar ... you can always start over... Not so much when you have a wife!!!!! I think Howard Stern said it best ... " Should I trade half of my money, for 10X more sex? It's an equation from hell!" The list goes on and on...... Just remember... you can collect more guitars than you can girlfriends/wives!!!! Ok..I'm done

If you mean the CAD drawings and things like that... you have to become an "Advanced Supporter". Check the main site..I think you can find it on the page titled " Rules and conduct"... .. Go to main site " www.projectguitar.com" then go to Fourm section..... You then get a screen about the rules and becoming a advanced member... Hope that helps...

Ok .. I asked this before... but I think it might have gotten overlooked..... So what is the big difference between the green and blue 3M masking tape. I just picked up a few rolls of the blue... Now I'm scratching my head... thinking that maybe I should have bought a roll of green. So any opinions on the pros and cons of the colors?????

dave... very nice job.. Did you have much problems with the Createx Air paint? I just ordered some and after reading some of LGM's posts.... I'm a little worried I'm sure some Hose of Kolor would work great.. however the $$$$ is up there! I mean I only need 4-8 oz. at the moment.... I could'nt find HOK in anything less than a pint. So was it easy to work w/ the Createx ... or should I prepare myself for a lot of time, patience, and swearing ? ..Great looking body ...

This is actually actually a shirt I found in the kids section of a department store. I'm not sure when or what I'll get a chance to use it... But I couldn't pass it up.... Ya think it will make a good material finish ... Any opinions? http://img68.photobucket.com/albums/v208/s...16/DSC03118.jpg http://img68.photobucket.com/albums/v208/s...16/DSC03117.jpg I hope this web hosting site works!!!!!

Cool beans .. There are some ideas..... Actually ..it's a Jackson with a dark dark metalic green color.... None that I've seen before... I was just wondering. I'm trying to dress up the trem route by changing the flat black color to something a bit more brite. If I screw it up while sanding.. I would like to have something close to the original color to touch it up. The nail polish route sounds pretty good.... The Home Depot route.. hmmm I always seem to have a hard time to find someone who at least works there .. let alone know something about paint!!!!. There are a few good auto paint suppliers around my area.... I might try that route too..... Thanks... for the ideas....

Just a thought..... Has anyone heard of / seen a color code chart for guitar colors? Kind of like how the auto industry has done w/ touch-up paint for cars. It probably doesn't exist.... but would be nice .... Anyt thought's ? I guess if you are "spot finishing" ya need to just try and match it as best as possible ???

Just a quick additional question on masking ..... What is the difference between the "Green" tape... and the 3M blue masking tape? I tried looking at 3M site ...but couldn't find anything... well I didn't try that hard either though...it's almost 3 am here... so my eyes are a little if ya know what I mean...... Is it just a color difference ? Do they have different glues on them.. making one stick better? Or do they taste different ? LOL... Kinda like a Apple martini vs. a Blue Velvet martini ? LOL... I did buy a few rolls of the blue for a masking job.... now I'm scratching my head.. wondering if I bought the right stuff? Any ideas? Thanks.... Oh... and the "Tiger pink/purple sunburst" that LGM posted is awesome LGM is an airbrush guru ... 80's or not .... high hair or "mullet" . His work is top notch! Now everyone go and put on some Tesla or Poison ..or maybe Ratt (hey..remember White Lion?) ...on their CD/ipod/mp3 ..or whatever the latest music player craze is and remember the 80's lol

Ok fellas I know that asking for charity here is pretty low ... but I'm kind of in a bind ..... I picked up a Dimarzio HS-2 (single humbucker) of of E-Bay a week or so ago.... It came in the mail and after a little looking over ... I found the pick up cover didn't seem to fit too well. In the mean time I ordered a set of single coil P/U covers. It turns out that the Dimarzio single/humbucker's have a much taller p/u cover. (duh... it's a humbucker in a single coil size) . So now I have a complete set of black covers and one white cover that are no good to me. So ... any chance anyone has a Dimarzio singel coil cover they would be willing to trade for ? I figured it's worth a shot.... If not ... I'll just have to buy one from Dimarzio... and pay an obscene amount for shipping !!!! Any takers?????

Ok... I agree with everyone else.... Also you may want to get some practice with a steady hand... Play the game "Operation". You know the one where the dudes nose lights up when you try to remove a body part !!!!! In a cramped compartment you really need to have a steady hand... I can't tell you how many times I was more concerned with trying to get the tip of the iron in the right spot... to find out I just melted the insulation on a different wire from the "shaft" of the iron touching it. Just my $0.02 worth. Not like anyone will really care if the wires have a few burn marks ... but if you are building something you intend on selling... Burnt up insulation doesn't look so good...... I also try to keep the surrounding area of the body tapped off or covered w/ something ..... You never know when a drop of solder will feel like falling off the iron. Drops of molten solder on the body doesn't look so good. Also the molten solder can leave a dull haze or burn mark.... Just enough to look ugly..... Oh well.. this is all probably information that you propbably figured out already.. but I had to comment... thanks for listening ....

Thanks guys...it's all making sense to me now.

Lovekraft: You mentioned "grounding loops" .... If I were to run say 22 AWG or 24 AWG wire from cavity to cavity... then to ground .... I guess thats a ground loop ..huh? I really have no other choice because the body it a "top mount". I have no pick guard.. just 1/4 holes to run the wire through the body. Smack me if I'm wrong .... but each cavity is supposed to be shielded and grounded..right?

I can appreciate the time and effort that went into that guitar ..... But it seems like it would spend more time in it's case or in one of those neat acrylic wall display units rather than in being played Just my thoughts .... It's very good "eye candy" but I'm sure it won't be played to the point of breaking a sweat !!!!!

Yeah ... I guess you're right. I just didn't want the fruits of my labor to go sour. Besides, after thinking about it, I'll only be coveing up maybe a 1/4" of copper tape with black electrical tape. The rest will be covered by the pick up itself. Anyway... I probably screwed up anyway..... The single coils I have are Dimarzio's HS2 and a YJM. I am completely forgot those are supposed to be hum canceling singles Oh well... I guess it was good experience anyway... Thanks for the input....

Ok ... here's the deal.... After scoring some copper sheilding tape off of E-bay ... I've taken the time to shield my Jackson's PU cavities. My one issue is.. this is a top mount type of body..(no pick guard) So after I drop in the P/U's in, I'll still have a little copper showing . Can I just use some black paint on this area... Maybe a permanent marker? I thought to use some black electrical tape... but the adhesive on it usually is crap. Any suggestions ??? Will painting the copper tape kill the shielding qualities ???? Any ideas