ToddW

I'm going to be ordering some inserts for a bolt on neck, and since I've never done this before, wanted to know what size you guys would use. I thought probably 10-24, but wanted thought I'd check to make sure that wasn't too big or small. http://www.mcfeelys.com/search/steel+threaded+inserts Thanks, Todd

Thanks for the ideas. I used my scapers today to take out some scratches and they do need to be re-burnished

Hey Bluesy, Flatten and smooth it before you burnish a lip/edge onto it. I used the glass plate and wet/dry sandpaper I have to sharpen planes and such, then just burnished with a screwdriver shaft, but I think the smooth part of a large drill bit is what I'll try next. I'm finding it's a usefull tool. Especially on figured maple. Todd

Router or a hand plane . . . both would take care of that quickly. Even a random orbital sander and some 60 grit would. But dugg has an interesting point, and since it's a pointy guitar, maybe you should consider leaving the spine, and fluting it or something Just a thought . . .

In almost any schematic, both will work fine. The only difference you "may" notice using a 250 instead of a 500k pot, is that is will bleed a touch more high frequency to the ground. It won't be a huge difference. Todd

Alumitone pickups have a very low impedance, and just one turn, don't they, and then they use a transformer instead of a powered preamp. I'll have to go read about them somemore. Todd

Did I say their employees sat around 80% of the time Maybe it's more. Either way they have HUGE overhead and slim margins. You need a model more like amazon's for MOST of what they sell. Todd

Starting a business isn't hard, but running it successfully and growing it is. I tend to agree that you aren't likely to make a fortune building guitars, but you also talk about owning a store or chain. If you do that part well, you can make money. But there are a lot of stores already selling guitars that are well run, so if you want to compete, you'll need to understand how they do what they do. You also need to know what the market is like, can you see any opportunities, what are you entry barriers. . . Lots of stuff. You're 16, so you probably aren't going to open your business tomorrow. Go to some local music/guitar stores, talk to the owners about their market/customers, competition, the industry. Then go look at the big guys and see what they do. Maybe get a part time job at one of the stores and talk to the customers. If you figure out what the customers want and can deliver it better than the Guitar Center, you might have a shot. I just ordered a small gig bag from Sweetwater. Nobody had it in stock, and Sweetwater's site didn't say OOS, so I ordered one. They called to tell me it was out of stock, wouldn't be in for at least a month, and offered to cancel the order. I said no big deal, I'll wait. Got two more updates and two emails to keep me informed, and then a follow up email to make sure the item arrived. I think they had the factory drop ship it to save time. That would never have happened with Musician's Friend. When I ordered something from them in November for my daughter, I received an email saying the item was OOS and wouldn't be shipping until January. Bit late for a christmas present . . . You can guess who I'll order from next time if their prices are equal. So here's a question for you, did Sweetwater simply utilize free employee time for all that effort, or did it cost them more because of the extra effort? I know that the guys in the Guitar Center are just sitting around 80% of the time . . . I don't know how well Sweetwater is doing as a business, but I'll try to use them in the future. My point, slow as it is to arrive, is that you need to study the business environment. Learn the basics about customer service and business operations . . . And make sure you read "Why we buy.", "Influence", and a good book on running a small business. Good luck. Todd

So how would they compare to the Lace Alumitones? Those are similar in design minus the added preamp, aren't they? Todd

or shellac

Man that's a bummer! Guess the lacquer solvent is the same as paint thinner in this case It was looking good pre-crinkling! Todd

Stunning figure on that neck! Are you worried it'll move given the crazy grain pattern? Todd

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. . . Or I use the back of a drill bit that is a little smaller than the screw. Sometimes it works, sometimes . . . I don't have a screw extractor

Nice job! Maybe someday I'll be brave enough to try an acoustic. Todd

Doesn't matter how long you wait with Shellac, the alcohol in what you apply will disolve the coat under it. I think you have two problems. One, you are tinting the shellac black but want the grain to show. I don't think you can have black mahogany where the grain shows, the wood simply doesn't have that much contrast in the grain. You might have more luck with stain than dye, but I don't know. I think your problem with the shellac is that you are applying 1/2# cut using a rag and sanding. It's so thin, that you're not getting enough built up and you're simply disolving the entire coat thickness each time you add a coat. Because the second coat is going to disolve itself into the first, don't sand between each coat, just lay a couple of coats down with a very soft brush first. Once you get some thickness built up, you can sand. Or, if you like using the rag, you may want to mix a 2# cut. With the 1/2# cut, you'll need to move very fast. Just wet it, wipe on a quick wet coat, and stop until it's dry. If you rub more than once, you'll simply wipe off the shellac you put on earlier because the alcohol you're adding will have disolved the lower layer. That's part of the beauty of shellac, you're multiple coats melt themselves together. Have fun, Todd

I think I'd be embarrassed to play the guitar that becomes. Maybe it's all those junk/spam threads that popped up yesterday, but it kind of gives new meaning to the term "wood porn" . . . *ducking*

Is that a turtle playing guitar? Cool.

Yeah, a washcoat is simply a super thin coat of finish. It'll sink more into the places that would have absorbed more dye or stain, so when it dries it evens out the absorption a bit. Regarding shellac, remember that if you buy it pre mixed, it's much much thicker than 1/2#! I don't remember if it's 2# or 4# cut, but it's thick. Better to get flakes and a can of denatured alcohol. The stuff lasts for years unmixed, but only a few months mixed. On the down side, it's not the most durable finish when used alone. There's lots of good info on shellac online, probably because it's so simple. Just flakes and alcohol. Same thing with glue sizing or wash coating. Unfortunately, there's lots of BAD info on other finishes. That's why Flexner's wood finishing book is wonderful. He actually put the time in to speak with the companies, chemists, and also experimented and tested stuff before writing it. Good luck, Todd

Agreed, but shellac is easy, fairly non-toxic, and washes off easily with alcohol. Want something really easy to try, Bluesy? Do a test piece with a wash coat of 1 part wood glue and 15 parts water. Let the wash coat dry and see if it stops the blotchies. Might work, might make things worse. Regards, Todd

+1 on both. If you want to stain or dye this, a wash coat with 1/4 or 1/2# shellac will help decrease the blotchiness. The shellac will also soak in and harden the wood a tiny bit. I used it before lacquer on a basswood body and it did wonders to decrease denting. Course I did more than wash coat with the shellac, I put on several coats, and while I wouldn't drive nails with it, it was pretty dent resistant when done. And shellac is easy to use!

Well that was easy, but it's a bit of an odd measure because it depends on how little thread you're willing to leave in the adjustment slots and when you think it looks silly So with the screws just a touch below flush with the top of the saddles, the height is .44. there's still .13 or .14" or so of thread left, but at .48" height, it's starts to look silly to me. Hope that helps, but if I wanted it at .48", I'd probably put a .05" piece of wood or black plastic under it, screw it all to a board, and trim the pad to fit with an Xacto knife and then some sand paper.

Haven't read the entire thread cuz I'm on a conference call, but I have that bridge, GBST3 in a bag in the other room. I'll measure it. I assume you want the height to the bottom of the saddle slot, lowest and highest settings. Todd

Looks like you're headstock won't line up with your string slots. Might, but to my eye it's off a touch.

I just decided not to put an adjustable truss rod in my daughter's guitar, because it's going to be a 22 1/2" scale neck with only 21 frets. But I wouldn't leave out some sort of truss rod even on a short mahogany neck with wenge laminates. So I'm going to put a 1/8X3/8" carbon rod where the truss rod would go, and two 1/4" x 1/4" carbon fiber rods lateral to that. You don't absolutely need an adjustable truss rod, but it sure increases the likelyhood you'll be able to set up the guitar with a nice action after it's done. Regards, Todd

Mattia, Do you just scuff sand the z-poxy before you lacquer, or do you need something in between for adhesion, like shellac? Thanks, Todd