metalwarrior

This guy seemed to have no problems cutting through aluminium to make his jig to cut multi-scale fingerboards: http://www.doolinguitars.com/articles/novax/

I didn't win anything. After reading the other thread I'm not surprised.

When I shielded my guitar I managed to kill the sound completely. I had an EMG 85, 1 volume, battery and a stereo output jack all wired up and working correctly, but when I touched the pickup with my finger there would be a buzz so I decided to shield the pickup cavity as well as the control cavity in the back. When I did there was no sound at all, unless I unplugged the cable most of the way, then there would be sound, but the volume control seemed to be bypassed as the volume didn't change no matter where on the dial I turned it to. When I pulled it apart I tried it again with the volume control hanging out the back, but with everything still wired up exactly the same, and to my surprise it worked again, the only difference being the volume pot was no longer in contact with the shileding paint. After searching here on pg for similar threads I see that it might be caused by a ground loop or wiring things to the wrong place - and that's what it turned out to be. I am using a flush mount output jack that came with no instructions so I had to guess which lug was which. When I switched two of the wires around it worked in reverse to how it had been before ie, when touching the shielding paint it would now work when the cable was plugged all the way in. The only thing that still confuses me is the ground wire between the volume pot and the out put jack - it makes no difference if it is even connected or not. I tested the guitar before connecting it (so only two of the three output jack lugs were connected) and it worked perfectly with no buzzing or cutting out. I connected it any way and it still works with no problems.

I have both of the stewmac ones too. For most of the neck shaping task I use a much coarser rasp though (I think it's Nicholson brand from the local hardware store). Then I do the final bit of shaping with the coarser of the two stewmac ones before sanding. The finer of the two never gets used.

I'm half way through building a guitar that needs some pick ups. Maybe if no one else enters I can win by default.

I used shellac primer / sealer, followed by PPG Dulon white acrylic lacquer, and finished with a top coat of Rustin's Plastic Coating. It seemed to work quite well together. I think I read somewhere that it is meant to be compatible with just about everything.

Your pics aren't loading. It is putting the "..." in the address rather than the full address.

I originally decided to go with the ferrule option to save me $5 on a neck plate, and have come to love the look of them. You can carve away more wood to give better access to the upper frets. They are no harder to install than a neck plate as long as you have the right sized drill bit. As for sustain... this particular guitar doesn't have the best sustain, but I'm not sure it's the neck pocket that's responsible. Here's a pic:

The Kahler has a string lock which goes right behind the nut so the strings are still locked. It stays in tune pretty well so far. The only problem I have had with the Kahler is the screws that come with it are so soft they get shredded very easily, and replacement screws are a dolloar each! One of the ones to screw it into the body is beyond repair, and I haven't replaced it yet, but it isn't a major concern.

The body might end up an 80s style fluoro yellow or green, so I'm not too worried about it looking a bit flashy I'm hoping by having the letters there I will finally learn where all the notes are, and what notes are in which scales / chords etc. I could go with plain dots but I would prefer the letters as well so I will email Doug when I figure out the measurements.

It sounds pretty good, the Earvana does make a difference at the first few positions. The reason for the input jack so high up is so when I'm sitting on the bed the cord can still fit without getting jammed into the mattress. I'm not sure I have it wired up correctly though. The first time I wired it up the volume control did nothing, the volume was high whether I turned it up or down. After rewiring it, it now goes from 0 to 10, but stays really low and then turns up quickly all at once. I think I have read this can be caused by using the wrong type of pot (log / linear) but I am using the one supplied by EMG so I assume it's the right one.

Although this was not the first guitar I started building it is the first I have completed. I'm pretty pleased with it. The body is based on the Ibanez 540p, aka 540 Power. I always loved the look of this guitar since Joe Satriani was pictured with one on some of his earlier albums. The headstock is a reverse ESP style. Hardware: Kahler Hybrid Tremolo / Behind the nut stringlock Earvana Nut Fender Tuners EMG 85 - 1 Volume Flush Mount Input Jack Dunlop Straplocks

I have an inlay idea, but I am not sure if it is doable, even with CNC. I want to inlay the names of the notes in their respective positions all the way up the neck, using a different colour for each letter: Here is a totally out of proportion mock up: Is anyone able to do this? Or should I just forget the lettering and find some coloured circles and inlay it myself?

I bought the Z-vise from one of those shows, and although it is the best vise I own, it isn't as good as the guy at the show makes it look. One thing you need to consider is he doesn't actually clamp anything down tight and put any pressure on it. When you use that vise in the rotating / swivelling mode, you can't actually clamp a guitar neck tight enough to stop it from moving when you go to work on it. Other than that, if you just want a vise that adjusts easily and can be removed from the bench in seconds it's not too bad. As for holding guitar necks in a vise with non adjustable jaws, I just wrap it in a sock.

I was looking for the same thing a few months back. You can get ones that aren't behind the nut, but I think they are new old stock or something. I saw them on ebay, and they were going for about US$70 each, which is why I still don't have one.