Setch

the ones I make are 3/16"

Oh, now my interest is piqued!

Are you machining a concavity into the fret face of the caul, and if so, how? I've made a few aluminium cauls, but I couldn't find a satisfactory way to groove the fret face, hence getting the stew mac ones...

Thanks JMR - that's exactly what I needed. Soapbar - I'll have a look for that article, I have a set of welding clamps awaiting conversion into Jaws, it might be very helpful.

I need dimensions for the Stew Mac fretting cauls - I'm making an arbor for them and want to finish it before I get them ordered. Also, if anyone in the UK is planning an iminent order, I'd love to piggyback on it...

Thanks in advance!

which is probably why peole here dont like me ( along with other reasons)

I don't think people dislike you, they could just live with out the meladrama you occasionally roll out.

I think the headstock looks pretty great, and that's a very pretty piece of veneer you used - good job. I think you could make the headstock transition a bit more flowing - you seem to go for a squarish look to your heels and head transitions which is less fluid than I like. Is the neck carve finished yet, or are you going to tweak it more not that the fretting is done?

Here are some photos of some of the hardware, including the bridge, tailpiece, Kluson style tuners and Grover style tuners (during construction):

Prick your ears up, and in the distance you might make out the 'thud' of my jaw hitting the ground!

Great work, absolutely fantastic attention to detail. I take it you have access to a lathe and milling machine to achieve those results, not to mention some serious machining chops!

You get a big old gap at the end of the heel, and an ugly mechanical addition to the back of the guitar.

I'll pass.

There are a great many people accomplishing the same end, with far more elegance.

Awesome!

I'm gutted you beat me to it, but it's super sweet!

The halfsize is particularly impressive - I'd love to see some closeups of the tuners and bridge.

Like Wez said - a domestic iron will do the trick. No water, no solvents, just heat.

You can scorch pale woods, but RW is pretty resistant to scorching, and usually will bubble oil as a warning well before it discolours.

Or, you could just use a file/sander with dustprotection and clean up with a shop vac. Do you also shape your wood with a wetgrinder to avoid making dust?

If you are mounting to a copper covered board, are you isolating the pots from the copper somehow?

Old Stanley are good, as are Record, Sargent and Miller's Falls.

Nifty!

psst...you're supposed to go build an acoustic one of these days real soon now, remember? Make some acoustic nifty of your very own!

All in good time. I've taken the most important step - I have 20(!) RW back and side sets from Allied Lutherie filling the shelves in my bedroom. At my current rate of progress that should last me until the apocaylpse...

Nifty!

I've just drilled the knobs for a setscrew, and tapped the hole as if it were metal.

Sure, it'll split if you overtighten it - so don't overtighten it!

Hmmmm - my page seems to be AWOL at the mo. I'll look into it!

Mixing your own is easy as pie. In fact, easy as instant coffee or cup-a-soup might be a better analogy.

Get shellac flakes.

Cover with solvent of choice (everclear/grain alcohol/meths).

Wait till flakes dissolve.

That's it!

It depends. If you are drilling a pilot hole for a screw, you want to drill the size of the core, and let the threads cut in themselves. However, if you are drilling a clearance hole, for a screw to go though before going into a second piece (like when drilling though a body/neckblock), you want to drill the first piece to the diameter of the thread, so the screw can turn without biting in the first piece, thus pulling the second piece (the neck) up tight.

Geo, be carefull not to overtighten the screws on you neck, especially if they are countersunk. Driving a countersunk screw too hard is just like driving a little wedge into your headblock, and can split it very easily.

How does one install this kind of bolt? I'm afraid pliers would mar the machine-screw thread that the nut is going to go on.

Thanks again to everyone.

I'd run two nuts onto the threaded portion, then lock them against each other. Then, you can use a spanner of socket to screw it in.

Ah - I should have guessed it was a M&T joint - I was imagining a screwed butt-joint* which is why I questioned it.

*Stop sniggering at the back

How far do the screws extend into the heel? It doesn't look like there's much meat for them to go into, with such a shallow heel...?

Next I see a mod is logged in. Next, mod leaves and same spam porn is still there.

could have been me too - I often look in briefly in the morning, and don't have time to actually can any spam without being late for work... like now!

I'll bet it's Rick's absence which has caused the sudden glut - that boy's a spam-canning machine I tells ya!

I like crazy glue. I put a tiny bit on the piece I have, put it in, wait, and try to back the screw out.

Um, has this *ever* worked? I'm guessing no, with a capital *NO*.

EZ outs and screw extractors can work, but are really intended for removing broken machine screws or larger diameter, which have sheared in tapped holes. I tend to either:

-Make a plug cutter and drill out the screw, then plug the hole with a dowel. Use a bit of hobby shop brass tube, slightly larger than the threads of the screw, and cut teeth into the end with a file.

or:

-Drill a second hole to one side of the screw, and force it sideways into the new hole. Then grab it with snipe nose pliers, pull it out, and drill out larger and plug.

Not all woodglues are created equal, and the reason titebond is so popular is because it is a tried and tested product, and is widely available internationally. I have used a variety of different PVA/white/aliphatic etc glues for various woodworking projects, and they have different cure times, hardness, and handling properties.

IMO, not sticking with a known good product is a false economy, that's why I use titebond original for all luthiery work (unless I'm using a different type of glue ie: epoxy poly etc). I also like the fact I can identify how old titebond is, since it is date coded.

If there's a couple of guys who are doing most of the reporting of the spam posts, turn them into mods, or modettes.

So simple, I shouldn't have to say it.

That was exactly how we selected the last 2 mods... nothin' new under the sun.

Problem for me is, the 'report post' function is utter, utter, crap. I have *never* recieved one, despite seeing dozens of reported posts every day. I'm not able to judge who is reporting a lot, or I'd nominate them!