guitman32

Although I cant vouch for the straplocks in the ebay auction, I can tell you what I use. I only use these Schaller Strap Locks. They are much beffier than the Dunlop variety, which I dont like. At 13 bucks from Warmoth (which is where I order mine from-usually included in batch orders I place), they are reasonably priced in my opinion. If you want to go simple and dont mind not being able to remove the strap, I would go the washer route.

Interesting links RGGR, thanks.

Yes I would imagine it to be very easy to sand through 1/42" What technique would one use to glue such a thin veneer onto a body top?

Amazing! I think this will be a good addition to my current project. I ordered an alright body blank from LMI, as it was my first and didnt want to invest in great woods to start. The project is turning out better than expected, however, so I think I might make up for the somewhat-sub-par-wood with this laminate. You can check the guit out in the in progress section. So Drak, what would constitutes a "great" veneer in your opinion? The question is by no means incendiary in nature...I just want to learn from the forum greats is all. In my opinion, bubinga is one of the most appealing woods. It combines the rawness of nice mahogany with the beauty of a sweet maple. I just love it!

Interesting, as I wasnt going to use grain filler on the body. I figred the tight grain adler wouldnt need it. My plan was to start with s+s, then prime, color, and clear. Also, I didnt know of the existence of spray putty...I assume it is in rattle can form??

I emailed the seller, and the laminates are 1/42" thick. I didnt know people used laminates that thin on the tops of guits. I think I might pick up some laminates if that is the case. Such a thin piece, if sanded correctly, would look nice as a tiny accent strip around the body. Anyone heard of this before? If so, any pics maybe?

Isnt that a little thin for a top???

jay5: Thanks! The wood is alder actually, which I ordered from LMI. Unfortunately, that tearout you see was there when I received the body blank. In all fairness to them, I did order their cheap body blank, which is listed as "3 and 4 piece" on their site. Overall, I am happy with the quality, despite the tearout. It seems they compensated by sending me a quartersawn flamed maple neck blank, when all I ordered and paid for was a standard blank. To fill the tearout I am not sure waht method I will use. I think its too deep for grain filler, so its either a wood putty, wood glue mixed with sawdust, CA, or something I am not familiar with... What method would you all use to fill in tearout such as this?? Thanks again EDIT: There are also 2 small knots on one side of the body...I need to fill those as well. I doesnt matter what it looks like as I am going to use a solid color.

If you have a Dremel, use it with a cutting wheel to trim the frets...I found that it works much cleaner than the end nippers. The only reason I do this is that it makes filing the fret-ends down a bit easier since the ends are cleaner.

So to carve the forearm rest I used only my spokeshave. The curve is nice and smooth, and all I need to do now is level it out a bit, which I will do when prepping the guitar for paint. As you can see from the pictures of the pickup template, I made it thicker using 2 pieces of plywood, and then taped it to the guitar with some double sided tape. I then took most of the wood out in the cavity using my drill press and a forstner bit, remembering to take the depth of the tip into account when setting the depth stop. After that, its just a metter of using your router to clean the cavity up and take the depth down gradually (I used a plunge router for this). To make the neck holes, I first marked the holes on the body joint by laying the ferrules in the proper position and puching a mark into the wood. Those marks were then drilled out to be slightly bigger than the neck screws being used. The neck is then placed in the neck pocket and clamped. Being careful not to move the neck, I used the neck screws to mark the hole positions from the back of the body by inserting them into the holes drilled in the neck pocket and tapping them with a hammer. Then, using the drill press I drilled out the holes in the neck heel. One thing to do very carefully is set the depth stop properly. I made sure of this as I didnt want to drill through the FB and ruin the neck. These screw holes have to be slightly smaller than the diameter screws being used in the neck...I almost (ALMOST!) forgot to change my bit from drilling the holes in the body neck pocket. That would have sucked. The last step was to drill out the neck pocket holes in the back of the body for the neck ferrules. This was done using a 5/8in forstner bit, again remembering to carefully set the depth stop on the drill press. To shape the AANJ I used the robosander to start, and finished it off with good 'ol hand sanding. I would say it came out pretty nice...does it look ok to you all? The next decision I have to make is what control layout to use. I dont like conventioanl setups, where the vol. pot is under the bridge pickup..I would rather it be behind the bridge pup, with the pup selector switch being close to my pinky finger. I going to use a 3-way LP style switch, BTW, not a conventional one. What I am leaning to right now is to use the control configuration on my V (you can find a link to at the beginning of this thread), which is perfect in that the 3-way is right there next to my pinky for those fast bridge-neck pickup changes when soloing. Cheers.

What kind of FB wood is on your ESP?? If its ebony, there shouldnt be anything on it. The fact that it is really smooth is due to the wood and the sanding done when prepping the FB. On the guitar I am making, I sanded the FB down to 1200, which made it highly reflective and extremely smooth. Unless you are using maple, dont finish the FB or fill the grain. Just radius it with a rough grit, then when you almost completely done, start switching to higher grits. Say you are using a 150 grit to do most of the radius work. Once you are at (or just a little shy) of the radius you want, switch to 220, then to 320, 400, 800, 1200...That is the progression I used, and the results were quite nice. Once you get to 400 and above, you are basically polishing the wood, and not taking much off. If you are using a maple board, do the same as above, only once the neck is done, you need to finish the FB along with the rest of the guitar.

Yes, the logic is that an angled headstock puts the correct amount of string pressure on the nut, thereby eliminating the need for a string retainer. A possible advantage for this is that you eliminate the additional friction associated of the retainer, allowing for better tuning. There are no implications with reagrds to the trem.

Ragas, your guitars are beautiful...I have one question. Can you maybe post some shots of the backs of your guitars??? Would love to see em.

Sweet laminate sexybeast...Im sure youll get it squared off no problem. So just to clarify, you are planning on making an AANJ, right? I think thats going to bring the whole guitar together nicely!

ME!! Thats how I got into building...ROCK ON LEFTYS!!! Great looking bass! Reminds of Beetlejuice for some reason.?.

BIG UPDATE! Today I carved the forearm rest, routed the bridge pup cavity, drilled the neck screw/ferrule holes, formed the AANJ, test mounted the neck, and began caving the tummy countour. Here are the pics: All the body needs now is a control cavity and holes for em. Then its finishing time--for the body, anyway. I am consdiering my options regarding spray rigs. After posting a topic in the finishing section, I have decided on either a SATA minijetIV, or a Devilbliss. For a compressor Im gonna go for a ~20gal...problem is I dont have the space for anything bigger, and the models I am looking at run at around 5 CFM@ 90psi. I hope this is big enough for these guns...any input? I will post descriptions for the above pics a little later, but I have to run some errands. THanks again!!

I really like your rivet method Maiden69, but I dont think they would fit under my hipshot. I will contemplate using maybe a brass or SS fitting so they sit flush...thanks for the advice! Guitfrenzy: That method rocks! I dont have a 1/2" router, so I dont think I could find a 1/4" shank bit that long to rout the whole body in one shot. Also, I used a router on my headstock without issue. I think I wont next time though, cause I did have that rather large chip in the body when routing. JTM45: To make the template, I printed out a drawing file of a JEM, traced it onto a piece of plywood (you can use any material that suits you ie MDF), and rough cut it with a bandsaw. I think used hand tools (rasps, files, sandpaper) to get it perfect. One thing to keep in mind is that its easier to get a 1/4in template perfect than a 1 3/4 in body. I heeded this advice, and need minimal sanding on my body, as the routing process yields a perfect surface.

Depends on the wood. Dark woods like ebony, rosewood, pau ferro and other do not need finish. Maple, on the other hand, does. If you search around you should be able to find some resources on this topic. Try the wood refernce chart pinned in the Solid Body Tutorial and Reference Section.

Dude, read the setup page. Yes..it will make a big difference. Assuming you are using the SAME gauge strings and the SAME tuning as before, there is no reason for this to be happening. Also, try fanning the springs, that should help.

Before you tighten the spring retainer, add more springs, or change the spring configureation (ie fan the springs)! Read up on setting up Floyds before doing anything drastic. Jemsite tech page

I was working out the logistics of mounting the bridge, and was wondering if you use ferrules on the front of the gutiar when mouning a string through bridge such as a Hipshot hardtail? I have these ferrules, item # 0173 for use on the back of the guitar. Would I mount the ferrules without the little lip (item 0196) onto the front of the guitar, under the bridge?

I think its the pictures that make the pup cavity look off center. It measures out to be centered on the neck pocket. Also, when I lay a pickup in the rout, it sits totally centered to the neck. I dont mount the pickups until last, however. I like to mark the pickup mounts with the bridge and strings on the guitar, that way I can make sure the strings will be centered over the pickup poles. I should mention that to route the pickup cavity, I used an acrylic template purchased from Stewmac for $5. This alone wasnt thick enough, so I taped it to 2 pieces of 1/4in ply, routed them out (thereby making a 3/4 in template...1/4in acrylic template + 2 pieces of ply) and then taped that whole thing to the body. This allowed me to gradually take the depth down using my plunge router, after clearing most of the material with my drill press and forstner bit. I am using a cheap ($80) Skill plunge router I purchased from Home Depot. It has a 1/4 shank, which is just fine for me. My main bits are a 1" template bit, a 1" flush trim bit, and a 1" straight bit. Your Dewalt router will be moe than adequate. You dont need a long bit. What I do is I use my 1" template bit to route a little more than halfway down the body (with a handheld router, this would mean the template is glued to the body, and the body is facing down, with the template facing you). Then you flip the body over, switch to your flush trim bit, and use the routed section of the body as a template for the other side. I first built everything from parts also. Once you do that sucessfully, youll be ready to get right to building your own guitar from scratch. One thing I found though, is that putting a good finish on the guitar is as hard, if not harder, than building the guitar.

Duff, that Vee is looking sweeet! Cant wait to see it finished, I think that top is going to look killer...now all we need is that laminated neck, and youre set for GOTM!

How about some lefty teles!!!!!! Lets see some equal opportunity craftsmanship

korge, this project is glorious, simply glorious. Speaking of glorious, your new avatar is also glorious. The funny part is that at first glance it looks somewhat normal sized in the pictures. If I may give my personal opinion, I think you should order the wood for a full sized project. I think you have demonstrated your ability to perform, at the very least, basic woodworking. Unless you are very set on finishing this mini project to playable condition (I for one, would love to see this become playable), youre effors can be directed to the real thing. In alot of ways, everything from this point forward would almost be easier on a full size guitar, such as routing a truss rod cavity, and installing frets. I for one, hope to see a "Project Telecaster, a tele bigger than your big head" in the near future!!!