Morben Guitars

The stew mac dyes I beleive are different than the traditional "analine" dyes. It used to be that water soluble dyes were more color-fast (less fading). However the Transtint dyes have disproved that with their alcohol based dyes. I normally use the alcohol based dyes, and have never had a problem.

Here's another tip I've used in the past. If you're neck isn't *Exactly* like the stew mac template (ie: made yourself, etc) - You can get an extremely tight neck pocket by doing the following. With a C-Clamp, clamp the neck to the body and align it properly. Then put small wooden blocks (double sided tape and clamps) next to the neck in the pocket area. Now, when you remove the neck, you have a template remaining on your guitar. Works every time. Think this is discussed in Hitchcock's book - or perhaps it was another one...

After I used the shielding paint on the inside of the f-holes, I stopped and asked myself.."why am I going to this much effort to create a "shielded cavity" when I have two huge holes in this guitar to let all the noise polution in...hmm. Some inquiring led me to beleive that it will *help* reduce the potential noise of the guitar, but some could still get in. Be sure to use quality shilded cable for any long runs in the guitar. Another take is to keep a "box" around the electronics in the guitar and only shield that area. Makes good sense. I kinda like the look of bare wood when looking in an f-hole, so if I had it to do over again, I may just leave the visable area clean and paint around it. I wouldn't try to match it with the color of the guitar. It will reduce the visability of the f-hole and will be almost impossible to match the finish (you can't very well wet sand and polish the finish in the f-hole after it's been built)...suppose you could do it as part of the building...but I'd still say make that thing stand out! They're rare now-a-days!

I second the Schaller vote. I've used them twice on guitars I've built and they are great. The Planet waves seem OK, I don't like the plastic on them. I'm also not sure I want the string being cut by anyone but me...unstreched strings often need to go back in the locking tuner to avoid twisting the string around the peg. Also, the schallers have different heights on the pegs eliminating the need for string trees to be screwed into your headstock - great idea!

The conductive paint that I've used is from Stew-Mac. It's pretty wierd stuff. Even months after it's dry, you can wipe your finger across it and you will pick up a good bit of black on your finger. It's NOT a gloss paint, and I wouldn't recommend painting over it. Don't need to prime or fill the wood to use it...it's kinda thick. you don't want to sand it either - just put it on and let it dry. Where are you planning on using it that would require a top coat of another paint? I did the inside of a thinline I'm building now, and it looks fine through the f-hole.

I have a little block of cocobolo - or however we spell it.. It is very oily, and I'd be concerned about it's holding power with glue. The only other thing I know about it is that it's one of the most alergic woods...never work with it w/o a good respirator, it can create serious issues. My $.02.

It will be helpful to know what type of wood us underneath that finish. That will determine some of your finishing process. once you get it stripped and sanded, be sure to post a picture and we'll be better equiped to guide you through the finishing process. Re Ranch is a great place to start - I found their instructions to be very good. If you plan on using spray cans for the finish, adding toner to the lacquer isn't an option. If you have a compressor and spray equipment, it's a very viable option.

If the finish is a lacquer..you can shoot a lacquer thinner, then a retarder, then some thinned and retarded lacquer. It will melt the previous finish and blend nicely..this is tricky tho... Not sure what to do if it's a poly finish.

and the golden rule...PRACTICE ON A SCRAP!! Don't route the neck pocket before you have the neck. the world isn't as "standardized" as you'd think.. Follow dave's tips, and practice before you route the actual guitar and you should be fine.

Hi, and welcome to our world! As a great affordable first project, let me suggest that you purchase a Strat or Tele "kit" - they are available online many places...some shops even carry them. This process will teach you lessons that you just can't learn anywhere else. Assembly, electronics, finishing, and set-up of a guitar almost from scratch. Once you've done that not only will you have an indepth undstanding behind the mechanics of a guitar, but you'll be able to make a much better decision as to what type of "restoration" you'll want to tackle...IE: broken headstock, or just a worn finish and old electronics. That's what got me going - and I still have that first guitar!

Careful of longer screws.. You still want to pre-drill for these holes to avoid any possible cracks or splits. Longer screws will also leave an area (where the old screw was) that isn't well sealed and will allow mositure in over time. This can create all sorts of issues. Longer screw is an ok temporary fix...but you'll want to install a permanet fix as soon as possible.

I see no problems with that plan...looks good to me!

It will be difficult to obtain a faded grey finish with a wood like mahogany. It would be much easier with a maple or alder.. I think there is a bleaching post running right now..check that out. If you can lighten up the wood, you would have better luck with with the finish you're trying to achieve. Based on your earlier post, lets see if we can help you a bit - and we'll see what Drak has to say as well. By "filler" be sure you get grain filler...not wood filler (i've seen it happen kids..) Don't use a very light filler, as it shows up like little white dots all over the guitar...dark is better. Wipe on, scrape off (use old credit card) and sand after dry...2-3 coats are typical. If you want the grain so show through darker than the rest...don't apply a sealer coat yet. Dye (not stain) the wood directly. Then sand this back so that the dye in the grain is all the remains (again, mahogany not the best for this application). After that THEN apply the sealer coat, sand flat, apply dye, apply finish. Applying dye to the sanding sealer coat is a trick I often use, but it's tricky...you can't sand it. It's comparable to dying a piece of glass...the smallest scratch will remove the dye and expose the wood underneth...this has been a real headache when doing something like a sunburst finish and you scratch the surface...time to start over! Hope this helps.

You most definatly CAN use a TOM bridge with a bolt on neck - it will require a neck angle however. It will me more difficult for you as the "assembler" to deal with a neck angle on a non-standard depth rout than with just a straight bolt on. That was my only concern. What I meant by a "side angle" is that you want to draw the entire guitar out on paper as if you were looking at it from the side. This will help you determine any issues with string angles, action, etc. Use a big piece of paper and correct measurements and the building process will go much smoother. In reguards to smoothing the aluminum to the body...it seems that the other way around may be easier almost..have the body cut a bit big, then mount the aluminum and use it as a template with a patern bit on a router. The more I think about this, the more I think you should have the builder of the guitar deal with the aluminum issue. It's not cosmetic, rather structural issues that we're dealing with. If you haven't already, order Melvin Hitchcock's book on building electric guitars...it's a great referance book and will explain a lot of what we are talking about...WITH PICTURES! Keep us posted on this project.

The best fix I've found for loose strap buttons (short of drilling the hole out and filling with a dowel, then redrilling) is to use wood clue and a piece or two of a toothpick...glue alone will give way later...but if you put some extra wood in there (toothpick) you'll have a tight bond for years to come.

I forgot to add this...You WILL need a finish on the wood. Not to look pretty, but to seal it. If you have open grain wood that picks up moisture, it could torque and twist the entire guitar. A shelac wash coat should do the trick...nothing fancy since it won't be seen.

Stain the neck after you attach the fretboard. You'll need to sand the edges so that you have a smooth join, and that will cause sandthroughs in the stain. Just tape the fretboard off and stain the neck... Actually, if you're shooting lacquer on the fretboard, it has to be maple correct? Wouldn't you want the maple neck to match the maple fretboard? If that's what you're using, stain them both - then shoot the finish. If you're using a fretboard other than maple (rosewood/ebony/etc), don't shoot nitro on it...those don't require it. In reguards to your nitro on frets questions...yes, once the finsh has cured (2-3 weeks), tape off the fretboard leaving only the frets exposed. Use a razor to scrape off the worst of it, then rub the frets down with steel wool. this will remove the rest of it. Now you just have to polish the nitro on the fret board...that's a ton of fun...ha.

wow, 80%. That's really high. You want something more like 35-45%. Espically with the cans since you can't add anything to the lacquer. If you spray and it's too humid, you'll get "blush" on the finish which looks like a haze..it's caused by traping moisture between the surface and the finish. You may want to have some "Blush Eraser" available. You can buy that in a can. But idealy you want to get the humidity down. Buy a cheap measuring device and find a time of day that the humidity is low...often at night. Shoot then but TEST ON A SCRAP FIRST!!! You won't want to sand the finish back and start over again...good luck!

You have some good ideas, but the only way to be certain they will work is to draw out a full scale diagram. A side angle will be necessary to determine how the alum. will affect the building of this guitar. I have a few pointers for you..If you're using a TOM bridge, you'll need to have an angle on the neck (like a les paul). Angled necks are best as a set neck (or through neck), not as a bolt on. I'd suggest that if you use a bolt on neck (fender esque) that you use a non-TOM bridge..like a fixed strat or tele bridge. This will allow for a straight neck pocket and you'll also have more surface contact with the bridge and may exploit some of the aluminum sound as well. The bridge/neck pocket issue is this...What you are worried about is the height of the strings when they meet the neck. If you add a thickness to the face of the guitar, then the fretboard will be closer relative to the face of the guitar. This means that the bridge is not sitting on the correct plain and would need to be "lowered". Well bridges themselves can't really be lowered. One option would be to cut out the bridge area in the aluminum and mount it to the underlying wood..not the best option. The better option is to have the neck pocket rout reduced by the exact height of the aluminum. This will keep everything relative (strings, bridge, fretboard). String angle and action will be greatly impaired if these measurements are not correct. On your headstock issue...you may have a problem laminating the headstock with something as thick as aluminum and without having problems mounting your tuners. Once I venereed a headstock and forgot to take the additional height into consideration and the tuners didn't fit...had to sand down the back of the headstock to get them to fit...Just have everything measured out, drawn out, and ask questions until you really understand the relationships between the necessary parts. Hope this helps, sorry for being long winded.

Sounds like a neat idea. I've never glued aluminum before, so I can't help you with that. I'd think perhaps a Gorilla glue or something similar - I bet someone here knows what would work. You may consider in addition to the glue - using "billets" to attach it. These could run through the body and hold both the back AND front on. Be sure that your builder has scraps of this handy since it will alter the bridge height. The neck pocket will need to be slightly higher (less shallow) than if you didn't use the aluminum. Now that I'm thinking about it...how about instead of having a solid body guitar made, you have the "frame" made...similar to as if you were going to use a figured top and back. Then instead of using wood - use your aluminum, attach it via billets around the edges (through the wooden frame). This would give you a lighter guitar AND may exploit some of the acoustic qualities of an aluminum top/back. Just a thought, and may even be easier than getting good adhesion across the entire front/back of a guitar. -Ben.

You can do either...but you don't want to spray finish ON the nut. So either install it and tape it off when spraying -or- tape off the area for the nut, spray, then install it. I'd suggest installing it first which will reduce the odds of damaging the finish during the nut shaping process. It's easy to tape off as well. Nuts are replaced all the time on previously finished guitars - and you usually have to cut the finish away meaning that originally the nut was installed before the finish. Hope that helps and good luck!

Westhemann, I didn't mean this to be a personal attack on you - so please don't assume that I obtain my "anecdotal" information from the internet. I've been finishing/refinishing furniture & guitars for customers for many years and have developed some valuable tips that I'm willing to share with those newer to the trade. I'm not here to be insulted and belittled by a "Moderator" of all people. Having a good understanding of finishing is necessary for our work. It is not however the end-all, be-all of finishing. As most know, being book smart is very different from the real world in almost all practices. I'm familiar with the book that you are reading, as well as many others. But nothing replaces experience - which is the only time I'll offer my opinion. Anyone can quote from a book, but until you've done it yourself you won't understand the small details and anomalies that can occur.. Vinyl Sealer IS sanding sealer. Sanding Sealer is just a description of a product, it's chemical composition is different from one company to the next. Today's Vinyl Sanding Sealers rarely contain actual vinyl. Shellac chips are most typically dissolved into Denatured Alcohol. Applying Alcohol to an Alcohol based Aniline Dye will bleed it. This is why everyone should experiment with different finishes - not just take someone's word for it - whether that be contributor to a internet board, or an author of a book. If finishing were as easy as reading a book or a few posts, people wouldn't pay thousands of dollars to have pieces refinished by a professional. Being closed minded to successes that others have had will do nothing to improve your craft.

westhemann, I'll agree that sanding sealer isn't 100% necessary on an already flat surface, however I'll disagree with the book you're reading on this topic (after all it's just one persons opinion.) Sanding Sealer is NOT lacquer with soap. While you can buy nitrocellouse Sealer, the more common/recommended version would be a Vinyl Sealer. When finishing a surface (furniture, guitar, etc) the ideal situation would be to have a very flat, very THIN lacquer coat. Excess lacquer will lead to chipping and can deaden the acoustic properties of wood. Vinyl Sealer is a has better protection than lacquer against moisture. But it's strongest quality is that it contains far less solvents than lacquer does. If you're a weekend warrior finishing over a automotive paint...it's probably not a concern. However if you're finishing over a alcohol dye sunburst...solvents will bleed your finish. Locking it in with a thin coat of sealer is absolutly necessary. Your book seems to be a bit biased for one reason or another. But Vinyl Sealer is a very important step in obtaining a professional, lasting finish. a 100 years of fine woodworkers will agree on this. Gibson Custom shop seals with a vinyl sealer. But like most steps, sure it can be skipped. But there isn't a downside to using it..I've never once had an adhesion issue with it. I imagine that if you really coat it on, you'll have issues - but applying it with quality spray equipment will give you the control necessary for a thin, even coat.

You don't want to just "open" the circuit...always think of the signal as a circle...it has to go somewhere. Given that you are going to insert the switch (sorry, don't have the part number) between the volume pot and the jack, just wire a small resistor (.001mf) as part of that wire. I don't know how to post a pic, so I'll describe the Install (it's easy) 1.) From the volume pot, run the hot to the Jack (this is the wire with a resistor as part of it). 2.) Run a wire from the same lug on the jack to the momentary switch. 3.) From the other lug on the Momentary Switch, run a wire to the ground on the jack. Each lug on the jack should have 2 wires connected to it when you are finished. remember, it's best to get a bunch of aligator clip wires and experment with it before you heat up the gun. Hope that helps.

To bring out the figure in any nice maple you'll need to prep the wood properly. This step is often skipped. 1.) Sand (always with a block) with 100, then with 220. 2.) Clean surface with tack rag, and blow surface with air gun (compressed caned air will do in a pinch) 3.) lighly wet the surface to "raise" the grain. 4.) once dry, sand again with 220, then take it to 400, then to 600. 5.) wipe with Napthea, then tack rag it, then blow it out. 6.) Start finishing (sanding sealer - flaten - lacquer) The most important step mentioned above is using the air gun. Nicely figured tops come out looking less then excected because there is too much dust in the grains. By keeping the grains open and free of any dust/dirt/oil you give the light a pocket to reflect into and bounce out of...thus the "image shifting" effect when viewed from different angles.