djhollowman

Ah right! I thought that might be the case, thanks for the info! DJ

Simply stunning work and finish! Absolutely love it! Can't believe I hadn't been following the build before - I came across it in GOTM. When you say you "swirl in black and clear", is there anything other than black paint on the water? I mean, is the "clear" simply the gaps between the black patterns, or is there a clear substance used as well? Thanks, DJ

Actually, the more I look at it, the more squint the grain orientation is on this neck! It runs along the neck in a slight diagonal. DJ

You're right, it's a laminated heastock. There's a scarf joint right up through most of the headstock. If you look at the 2nd photo you can see where the original scarf joint was on the left side of the picture. The break has happened near to that join on the left side. I did wonder about cutting the broken neck end flat, and re-scarfing an entirely new head on. This might still be an option, if what I've done doesn't work sufficiently, but I thought I'll try re-attaching the old one first! DJ

Yeah, I remember reading about exactly this scenario in Melvyn Hiscock's book! I think he was talking about rounding over the body sides actually, but it's v.similar. DJ

Yeah, surface checks are what I'm talking about. Nothing serious, but obviously I don't have the broken splinters to reset, which would have helped. It's particularly the little areas like that which I will need to fill. Perhaps the flash from the camera makes the joints look worse than they actually are! I want the joined areas to feel smooth under your hand. I used white Evo Stick wood glue, and I realise now that I should've cleaned it off better before it dried, oops! I'm pretty sure the joint is tight - I can lift the entire guitar by the broken end from lying flat, keeping it still flat. Also, the frontal re-veneer will add strength. DJ

Hi all, I'm currently repairing a Crafter electro-acoustic which had a broken headstock. I've cleaned and glued the head back on, and it's worked amazingly well. I have a very strong join now! The front will be re-veneered, so there's no finishing issues there, as it will all be re-done. However, what's the best way to complete the repair on the back and sides of the head? I've achieved quite a good join: I don't mind having to refinish the entire neck. It's what to use to fill the cracks I'm struggling with. The neck is mahogany, should I fill the cracks with mahogany dust and glue? I have looked around the forums, but I find the search function almost useless TBH. I just can't seem to get it to work how I want! Any help appreciated, DJ

What type of wood is the thin black veneer, and where can you get it? Thanks, DJ

Beautiful craftsmanship there! How is stainless steel to work with? Will the fingerboard end be shaped in some way? (ie. not just cut straight across) DJ

Excellent work Neil!! Especially with it being your first - v.impressed!!! Really reminds me of my own Capricorn R7t (see the link in my sig) That's not a shamless plug BTW, they really are very similar guitars. I love the headstock, I also found the headstock on mine divided opinion!! I'm a huge fan of guitars that look like they could actually kill you Reckon I would have narrowed the points on the headstock a little, to match the body horns better, but that's just an opinion. Regarding the neck thicknessing - I had the same situation. I ended up taking more wood off and re-shaping the neck on TWO occasions just to get it thin enough for my playing tastes!! You'll be amazed how much you need to remove from the sides to get it down to Ibanez proportions. When you mention "professionally levelled" are you referring to the fingerboard, or the frets? Watching this one with great interest, Neil. Good luck with 'er! DJ

Is that enough clearance for the tuner button of the G string? DJ

I have only one crowning file, and it seems to me, that, in a perfect world, you'd need one for each different fret width and profile. If the crowning file is narrower than the fret, the fret width will be reduced to fit the inner concave size of the file. If the crowning file is wider than the actual fret, it will tend to flatten the top and not take much off the sides, and tend to flatten the fret, unless, as I do, use the file (which is wider than the fret) on each side of the fret alternately. I first run the file over the fret with a small amount of pressure to the right, thus bring the left inside of the crowning file in contact with the LHS of the fret, then I do it with pressure to the left, thus doing the other side of the fret. By adjusting the angle the file is held at, you can vary the amount taken off the lower sides and nearer the top of the fret, so you can make some adjustment to the profile of it. Yeah, that's kinda how I do it too, and I get good consistent results that way. (The method of using it on one side first etc, I mean!) Although I still honestly prefer just using a 3 corner file for crowning. I come from a background of jewellery manufacturing, so perhaps I'm simply more confident and comfortable with a "normal" file!! I don't often have to worry about how long it's taking me though! And yeah, you do get crowning files graded by the width of the frets on which it will be used; medium, jumbo etc DJ

The rules were recently changed to 4 pics per post. Ah! I didn't realise that, thank you! that is what I was talking about 2 months ago... Yeah thanks, I knew what you meant back then, I just hadn't found a prefabricated solution at that point. And I wasn't confident about making one myself really. Isn't it useful that you can buy one, rather than try to make one? I also gave serious thought to PSW's suggestion about inserting a metal block from underneath. DJ

Thank you! I also love following projects like these, so I thought it might prove interesting and/or informative for others if I shared what I was doing with this one. DJ

Right, back to the jack socket, as promised. So, problem was this: how do you drill a big 20mm hole into the side of the body but at about 45 degrees?? Can't use a spade bit, cos the centre tip wouldn't even touch at that angle; same problem with an auger bit... So, I came up with this solution: Attach a pre-made block to the side, which will present a perpendicular surface for a Forstner bit! (Blue tape is depth guide, obviously!) And it worked perfectly! The block held the bit at the right angle, exactly as intended. Result: (Stuff ya, I put in a 3rd pic! ) DJ

Thanks! Trem-wise, I'll likely just go with a copy for now, I can always swap it for a better one later, and I don't wanna go megabucks on this one! Although, I am planning a sustainer pickup for it.........

Also regarding the leaning FR posts: I'm not surprised to hear they're leaning after fixing with epoxy - exactly the same happened to me. I've just posted how I fixed mine in this thread. I too seriously considered a total body remake. In fact, I might even do it yet, sometime in the future. A good neck is always worth saving IMHO. Saying that, I've never tried refretting a scalloped neck.... Lots of good stuff here though: as you say, it's all practice; reusable hardware; good times!! Please post photos, including ones of how it looks now. DJ

Meanwhile, the headstock will be repainted and re-logo-ed. I had it painted before, but I just wasn't satisfied with the masking I had done of the logos, so..... I had a local graphics/signmaking company make a new JEM logo sticker for me, and they did a great job! OK it cost me 5 bucks plus VAT, but it was worth it IMHO! I sourced an Ibanez logo on the 'Bay. (I have decided to keep this axe, so I have no qualms about the branding, or about telling everyone it's really a Chibanez!) BTW, I should explain: I did have this guitar "completed" already. But with the bridge posts still being a probem, I just decided that I should get it right, hence the End Of Part One and onto Part Two scenario. Also, one of the bridge saddles just will not keep a grip of the string, and since it's an awful bridge anyway it will be replaced. I was genuinely amazed at how good the stock pickups are! Plenty of output, nice range of tones available. DJ Oh yeah, I know why it's necessary (and I agree!) but sometimes this "2 pics per post" rule is a bit of a pain...

Next on the agenda was the rear of the monkey grip handle, which was missing the flat area: Oops! Took a little too much off, so had to add a thin shim of wood to make up the thickness.... And onto the jack socket, which is in totally the wrong place for a Jem: I'm getting my mate at work to make me some CNC-cut perspex routing templates for (amongst other things) the jack socket arrangement. (He did a fantastic job on the Floyd Rose templates I had him do!) More on this to follow....stay tuned! DJ

So I removed an appropriate thickness of wood from the "shelf" where the bushes live and had to widen the existing holes a little, with my router: and this is what you end up with: Lovely! Once touched up with a little filler, and after painting it'll be great. DJ

Trem solution: whilst browsing UK site Axes R Us for replacement trem bushes I found this: "A Floyd Rose lockdown solution"... Perfect! (and only £5.50) DJ

The bridge studs are still not right: In fact, the trem edge is catching the woodwork, because the entire unit can move so far forward!! Eek! So: it's time for Part Two!! Yay! DJ

Bump! Right, some progress here! I'm thinking of it as End Of Part One.

Answers (given already, but WTH): 1. yes 2. 650mm from nearside of nut to centre of bridge post on high E side 3. 653mm from nearside of nut to centre of bridge post on low B side 4. yes, the saddles on my bridge have about 8 or 9mm or travel, which is enough to intonate the low B string perfectly Basically, if you make the low B string side of the bridge 2-3mm further away from the nut, you should be fine. My scale length is 25.5", which works out at 648mm, but remember that the bridge posts are in the centre of the bridge and are not necessarily where the string will be touching, and it's the string length that's the critical thing here! Hoping this helps you! DJ