daddy ray

i buy my rods from stewart mcdonald

they always send an info sheet with them

i believe this page is available on their web site

check it out

dr

interesting thread

kinda got off the original question topic of how & where to recieve your education as a luthier

i started playing about 4 yrs ago when i retired from a 30 yr technical career

playing guitar was something i had long wanted to do

being mechanically inclined & a hard core shop rat i knew up front i'd want to do my own repairs/mods to my guitar

so i started with yard sale specials

my first one was an old black cort strat knockoff that a friend of my son bought at a yard sale for $5.00 cause it had a duncan invader in it

my son ended up with it (minus the duncan pickup) & gave it to me to start with for play/repair practice

couldn't tell the difference between it & a nice guitar at that point as a player

plus i didn't want to practice tech work on an instrument of value for obvious reasons

i bought erlewine's book "guitar player repair guide" & his video "how to assemble a solid body guitar"

these two items covered virtually every aspect of construction & repair to various degrees

i now own virtually every book/video title he has published plus others as well

kinda pricy but cheaper than tuition/travel/lodging for a school

plus all of the info with visuals (nothing like visuals to make a concept clear) & text explination are always here for review

started with setups, fitting/cutting a new nut, basic electronics & on to fretwork, etc.

started as a hoby but i kept getting better & better

then players in my network started calling wanting me to do this or that to their ax & it is becoming an exponential thing

long story short...in the last week i've taken in over $600 in work to be done ( 2 fret jobs & an assembly from parts)

not enough yet to support myself but heading in that direction

i'm now into acoustic neck resets (more books/videos) etc as well as the solid body stuff

the key to being a technical artisan if your going to work for yourself is that you MUST exercise self discipline to study/work

in this arena their isn't a boss to crack the whip

if you can't motivate yourself to work you'r doomed before you begin

another thing...focus on absolute quality in your work & the $'s will be there as a byproduct of competance

hope this gives you practical input for thought

dr

Daddy ray,

I would be very interested in seeing pics of your glue press. When you learn how to post the pics, tell me as I am a knucklehead in that department.

i do know how to send photos via email attachment

be happy to do that if it's cool with you

dr

Thanks for the wood lesson fellas. I suspected as much (flatsawn rotated = quartersawn) but I needed confirmation from some advanced users. How about the 5 layer lamination, am I taking any chances with 5 versus 3?

no...it is actually stronger the more laminations you use...as long as you make a proper lamination(clean,tight joints,good glue spread)

i have a neck blank i built that is for an in the works neck through 7 string baritone

5 maple 4 purpleheart

the key to good glue joints is to fab. a glue press

i built mine out of corner angle brackets screwed to a hardwood 2x6 & then screwed to my bench top

on the other side a floating 2x6 that moves in as the clamps are tightened

the 2x6's are important to spread the pressure evenly on the neck strips

also it's important that one be screwed to the bench...it can be set perfectly straight with a straighe-edge as it's screwed down & this alignment then transfered to the neck as it is pressed & drying

use lots of clamps for even squeeze

wrap your glued wood with wax paper to keep from gluing everything to the press & bench cause their will be some squeeze-out

i'm just a hobby shoper & no web page...i'd be happy to post pics if someone could tutor me

dr

ps...i checked with alembic & they also wipe their woods with acetone as a prep before gluing

this is especially important with oily woods such as cocobola (did i spell that right?_

Item number BP 2214-001 , 4th from the bottom, only 4.50$US per set of ten, but they're only 0.010" thick, and they don't varry in thickness

Universal Jems - Bridge Parts

thank you so much...

i was pullin my hair out trying to find these

i'm gonna order a bunch just to have them on hand

dr

i'm out of shims for rose saddle blocks

need some to finish a job

stew/mac has advised they no longer stock this item

anyone know where i can get them

thanks

dr

a lot of the glue thing

depends on how spongey & soft

the fingerboard is

some rosewood boards i've worked

that had been played a lot

were somewhat pithy almost

didn't want to hold the frets

in spite of expanding the tang

on the fretwire

i feel it may be due to

acids etc in sweat

over a period of time

the glue on these boards

to hold the frets down

has a hardening effect

on the wood as well

happy playn

dr

it may be that the swelling in the wood caused by moisture/heat

in the partial steaming caused the cracking

i agree with brian on the brittle factor in ebony

this would tie in with my huntch

& i would suspect the cracks are at the border

between the expanded area of the wood

& that which did not heat & expand

as far as replacement being necessary

if you are happy with the results of the partial steam

& the glue line gap is gone to your satisfaction

i would flow a little water thin super glue into the fractures

and play the pup

happy playn

dr

while reading alembic's site i noticed in one of their shop threads

they mentioned they wipe cocobolo with acetone before gluing

i had also read that this wood was difficult to glue due to oils

i emailed them to get the skinny on it all

they were most gracious & replied that this is the secret

also they mentioned sizing or pregluing

as also being condusive to a successful glue up

happy playin

dr

is it a jackson floyd

i have one that has inserts at the contact points

as that one appears to have

also the string clamp screws are the same

happy playin

dr

I don't know 1/10 of what these guys know,but I put jumbo wire on my guitar and didn't change anything else and the sustain was a lot better.Much better.

Would a thicker or heavier headstock help sustain?

jumbo wire definately helps

all of my players have dunlop 6000 wire (.018/.058)

i could tell the difference in all of them after doing the refrets

i also find it easier to bend with larger frets

& can play with a much lighter touch as well

i also feel that heavier strings due to more mass

help sustain somewhat as well

dr

I think I'll pass on the slam thread

######Now off topic's over #######

Got any pics yet?

i have coupleahundred pics

i don't have a web page

don't know how else to load them

is there a way?

dr

try milling the face of the headstock thinner...milling channels & laying carbon fiber rods across the break...veneer the headstock with compatable wood to bring headstock back to original thickness...strong & clean...only visable clue will be the glue line on the side

dr

Both 1 or 3 work well.  I used them on the guitar below.  The binding channel for the carved top was cut with an improvised  router table (more or less exactly as you describe) and the back with the same bit in a plunge router.

Which ever way you do it be sure to trim very close to the line first, and use a very sharp bit in small increments.  The nature of the grain in the waist of the guitar makes it VERY easy get to tear out, and this is nightmarish to repair invisably.  Climb cutting can help, but be very carefull not to lose your grip on the router or the guitar, and plan every cut before you make it.

lovely piece of work

i use sanding drums of various sizes in my drill press for squaring

dr

dunlop will sell to you

i buy my wire by the tube

but i don't think they have a minimum order

makes a pretty fair wah pedal as well

dr

JIM DUNLOP

he's got the largest selection of wire sizes/materials i've found

dr

Yep, I know I became sold on the neck-jig when I first built one about 15-16 years ago. I recently added 3 dial indicators, and now even lift one end of the neck-jig workbench up, then slide bricks under it, so the neck-jig is jacked-up on one end, so the neck is in the exact playing position, not just tilted 85 degrees the one way.

I've heard people call the 'neck jig" a "poor man's PLEK machine" but I've yet to see anyone say a guitar done on PLEK certainly plays better than one that's been done on a StewMac type "neck-jig"

bottom line tho

is all about paying attention

if something doesn't look/measure correctly

then it's probably not right

& needs to be addressed before moving on with the job

the neck jig makes it much easier to

see what's going on

dr

well, the thing is about my guitar... is that its 2 1/4 inches thick. lmao. That floyd BETTER be the sickest sounding floyd ever or i'll be so upset!

you otta have sustain out the ying yang on it!

dr

got me wonderin...

how much this is gonna weigh

i'm building a laminated neck thru 7 string baritone

neck's bout 2" wide at the nut

purpleheart & maple in the neck

mahogany & purpleheart for the body wings

have a feelin it's gonna be a chunk to hang around my neck

maby i should stack everything on a scale...

might want to chamber it a little for weight sake

dr

I'm almost done building my homemade neck jig, I'm certain that it will give me a way more accurate fretboard and fretting job. I can see how someone would charge that much for a good fretting job, simply because refretting can be a pain. Before you get someone to do it for you, just ask them some questions to see if they use the best tools available to do a good job. Such as, do you press your frets in? Do you use a neck jig? etc. etc. etc. Also, ask for some credentials, and go play a guitar that he or she has refretted. That's what I'd do if it was mine.

that's what sells most of my work...

handing em one of mine

then showing photo documentation of the work when in progress

talks cheap...definately play some of their work

before leaving your ax

dr

lol My guitar is almost done! the neck is almost completly shaped. the bodies need a good sanding. i need to inlay and fret. Plus routing a wiring.

and the total weight is..... 15.6 pounds! OOOOO MAH GAWD!

this is either going to break my back or be a total sustain love box. either way... im going to break my back... I'm going to need to get a HUGE strap.

just "see" it mentally as part of your

weight training program

dr

From what I have seen in the past typical fret jobs can run anywhere from $200-300 depending on what area of the country your living in.

I've seen lower prices than that . And I've seen higher .

Binding, finishing, scalloping, etc etc , add more $$$

Also depends what kind of action you expect. If you are super picky , get someone who uses a StewMac type "neck-jig" or check out "PLEK" if you suddenly get a wad of extra bucks to spend.

Your location should make the price low, except if there's so few guys doing it, then they can charge more than if they had more competition near them.

The internet sure makes it more competitive

the average where i live is about $250.00

i have the stew/mac neck jig in my shop

it is a definate asset in doing fine quality work

dial indicators let me see everything that the neck is doing

as frets are pressed into place

dr

that was great, got any pics or a site?

i'm workin on a site

lots of pics from lots of projects

i've tried to load them on the forum previously

keep doin something not right

dr

How do people cut their frets? Use a mitre box and saw? A saw with a depth guide? Just a chunk of wood to keep the saw in alignment? Man, the questions just keep rollin...

i use a fret slot miter box from stew/mac

has depth controll...works good

if you'r doing a standard scale length they have tepmlates

that eliminate need for calculating & laying out dimensions

dr

I just found this beat up warlock on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...bayphotohosting and was wondering if its fixable it looks like someone tried to route the floyd cavitiy with a drill?? Any way it can be fixed??

depending on what they are

might be worth buying for the pickups

the one on the bridge looks like my dimarzio super 3

dr