strummer2k

How many 1/4 or 3/4 inch tops can you realistically get out of a 2 inch billet (like the Grizzly site has). I assume there is some waste when re-sawing the stuff?

Also check out Warmoth. They have a somewhat similar bridge that they use on their "VIP" bodies which are a PRS lookalike. It is a Gotoh 510

Also, USACG makes carved top tele's and strat's. WWW.usacustomguitars.com

I have been told that you can print decals out on your home computer, so that is what I will attempt for now. I assume either Word or Photoshop will handle that. Again, thanks for your help.

Sweet! Thankyou very much. That is great! Can I ask how you did it? I was trying to use "S"'s & "C"'s in Photoshop and invert them and rotate, but I couldn't get it to look very good.

Canadian Strat - if you meant that since I posted it on the web, I should be able pull it into to Photoshop...well yes, I do understand that, but my drawing looks like crap. What I meant was for someone to take the sketch as a starting idea and create something much better looking than what my limited drawing abilities can generate. Maybe even expand on the idea. Whatever, I just wanted something better looking is all. I only know how to do very limited things in Photoshop and thought someone could help me out.

First off, if this is an inappropriate place to put this thread, let me know and I will post somewhere else. I have very little talent with designing artwork or anything like that, so I need some help. Here is my basic idea for a headstock logo . I would like someone to take the idea (doesn't have to be exactly like the drawing) and produce something that I can pull into photoshop and change colors or whatever. The middle section doesn't have to be solid either. I prefer not to put my name on a headstock, but this is kind of a play off of my initials (S & C). I am willing to pay a modest fee, but we can discuss that through email. Thanks.

I didn't see any mention of quilted maple, can he get that as well? Thanks for the info.

May I ask what kind of price range are we talking about?

I am about to use ReRanch S&S on the guitar I built. I have just spent a whole lot of time scraping the bindings with a razor blade to clean them up after staining the top and doing some final sanding on the bottom(seems the sanding just drove bits of sawdust into the friggen' binding). I don't have any scrap binding left or I would test it, but will Sand & Sealer dirty up my bindings again? Thinking about "if I had to do it again", do most people put the bindings on after staining and/or sealing? If so, how would you keep any excess glue from ruining the stained wood?

2 kewl dude!

One good quality of nitro is that is burns in well to the previous layers. Another way to put it is that is will sorta melt into the layer you are spraying onto without leaving witness lines. So as Librero said, gently sand it back and then depending on how big it is either drop-fill it with some clear for a small spot or respray if it is large(doesn't sound like it is). www.GuitarReRanch.com also has great tips for working with Nitro.

Drak - do I have this right? In your pics: for example, the tele looks like you dyed it purple, sanded back and then dyed it blue? Is that what you're trying to show with those? But it looks like you have black in there too. I am confused about what the sequence is supposed to be showing. However, the end result looks great as usual.

It definitely has a couple of places where it is brown. Not bad, but I have been wondering all along what effect they may have. I believe I will try the bleach. I'll head to Lowe's tomorrow and pick some up. Thanks everyone for your input. I always get great advise here.

Alright, thanks, I will keep looking for the wood bleach.

Home Depot didn't carry the Wood Bleach. I know you mentioned Wood Bleach for a reason, but will diluted house-hold bleach work at all?

Drak, both powders are from ReRanch. The label says Transfast, Homestead Finishing Products. The black powder is alchol soluble and the blue is water soluble. I have laquer thinner, but no denatured alcohol. If I can achieve your results with these two, I will give it a go. But if you say it won't work, I will just reorder some new stuff. I am just being careful since I only have a few small scraps left. Again, thanks for your help. This guitar is for a friend of mine and I want it to look killer.

Thanks Drak. I have seen your work in the past and I know you are the king of making a quilt come alive and was hoping you could help me with your recipe. I know you have posted it before. I just wasn't able to find the right thread. In some of your posts, you mention using metalics from Stewmac. Do you think that is necessary here? I am asking because it looks like I will have to reorder something. I have the blue water-based dye right now. I also have some black alcohol dye, but since they aren't both water-soluable, I might get some funky results.

The scrap I am using isn't representative of what is actually on the guitar - the guitar definitely has a better quilt. Ok, refining the method a bit. - How far back do you sand after applying the black? - After the black, how many coats of blue? - Please tell me what grit works best for doing this? Thanks.

Ok, I know this has been covered before by Drak and others, but I cannot seem to find the right threads. Here is exactly what I am trying to achieve: blue_matteo sample I am practicing on scrap, but am running out of scraps. I have the blue powder dye from ReRanch and this is what I have after staining once, sanding back with 220 grit and then staining again. Granted, it doesn't have any laquer on it yet, but I don't think I am headed in the right direction. Questions: - Do you sand back more than once? - Are you supposed to use a finer grit than 220? - I know some people start off with a black dye, but looking at the blue_matteo sample from PRS, do you think that is how they achieved this effect? Thanks for any help, I want to make this quilt look great.

Good call on the neck pickup, Litch, it is a Phat Cat. The other is a Jerry Donahue Tele bridge pickup (Seymour Duncan). Don't know what it will all sound like when it is up and running, but I can't wait to find out. BTW, I also hollowed out the body, so it is a sort of thinline tele.

Disclaimer: first project I am embarrassed to even post this, but I would appreciate some advice on the best way to fix this. I made a pretty decent mess of cutting a switch slot in a maple capped tele. So I am trying to figure out the best way of covering it up. I know the first option is to go buy the tele control face plate and use that, but I have already cut an access hole through the back with the idea of not covering up a bunch of the maple. It has some pretty nice figuring. The next idea I thought of was to create my own small switch plate. I don't have any way to make a chrome one (which would be my first choice), but I was able to rough one out of some scrap maple. Here are some other angles: What do you think? Should I go with something like this, or just go get the tele control plate and be done with it? Or, are there other options? (EDIT) Here is what I did to the back of it, something different for the string ferrules.

Awesome, thanks.

I looked on ebay, but didn't find what I was looking for. I would like to get a piece of mahogany to use as a control cover plate on the backside of a guitar. The piece would only have to be about 4" x 8" x 1/8". I don't have enough scraps to glue something together. Any suggestions?

Jehle, awesome idea. I am just sitting here wondering why I didn't think of it! I am using the Stewmac tele bridge pup template which has the strings holes drilled in it already. So, since I can reach the outside holes with my drill press, I will have two holes to line it up with on the other side. It seems so obvious now that you have pointed it out. Thanks.