ToddW

This thread should help you find Erik: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...mp;#entry372389 As to allergies, it is unlikely you will be allergic to the guitar once it is done. Very unlikely. It's the dust that you need to watch out for. So while it isn't impossible to be allergic to an "unfinished" cocobolo fingerboard, I've never seen it or heard of it. Just be careful to limit your exposure to the dust as much as possible and it probably won't be an issue. -Todd

During my marketing studies in B-school we watched videos of individuals trying to pick the Stella Artois Beer from 3 glasses of beer. People were pretty sure they could tell which was the Stella when there were 3 glasses. But after they got their first guess wrong, they were even more confident between the last two glasses. In other words, the differences in taste between the two remaining glasses made it easier, right? Of course all 3 glasses had identical beer in them, and none were Stella Artois. The problem is, expectations influence perception. Now I've never said neck wood had no influence. I just think trying to figure out what the effect is, is still pretty close to voodoo once you add in all the other variables. I do wonder if there's any way to do a blinded test on whether you can actually pick the neck wood by ear? Maybe take 3 otherwise identical strats . . . with different neck woods . . . but same neck finish . . . same fretboard material . . . PUPs . . . blindfold the player . . . Until I win the lottery, I'm not going to set it up, but tell you what if I ever do win the powerball jackpot, I'll set it up. Todd

It's all relative Zyonsdream. Maple dust makes my nose run too, but this laminate is orders of magnitude greater. It also makes my arms itch but only if I'm sweaty and not using the DC. I've taken to showering right after I sand this guitar for a while. Since I'm moderately atopic, if it doesn't make me wheeze, and I'm not getting a rash, I figure bfg and I'll just be careful. We're way off topic now, but are you in a medical field? Just curious since you're listing symptoms to look for. Todd

It's funny that cocobolo has the rep of being a bad allergen/sensitizer but no one here is bothered by it. I know that either bubinga or purple heart makes my nose run and I sneeze a lot from it, but I can't say which of the two does it because I'm sanding a laminated piece. Doesn't happen if I use the dust collector and wear a mask, or even if I just use a mask. You might want to buy a pre slotted and radiused fretboard. I just ordered two from Erik, and I have a fret saw and stewmacs fret ruler thing. I just figure I'm more likely to mess that part up than anything else on the guitar. Todd

I didn't want to discourage you from trying to build what you want. I actually think your choice is quite workable, and having an experienced carpenter to teach you how to plane/joint/glue etc will help a lot. Do some reading in the tutorial section and maybe get Melvin's book, you'll have a blast! The only thing I "wood" avoid is trying to put a spalted top on your first guitar unless your "advisor" has experience with it. You could do it, but I think it'd be really hard for a first guitar. And if you decide to work with irritating hardwoods, make sure you wear a dust mask and do all your sanding using a dust collector or outside. You don't want cocobolo dust in your home Regards, Todd "That sort of stuff is very personal though and everyone is different." Yeah, some guys here even like pointy guitars

There's a lot more to getting the tone you want than just what wood you choose. The fretboard you linked to is cocobolo. Nice wood, but I think it may be pretty toxic to work with, or at least a lot of people are allergic to it when they sand it. Some questions though. Have you built a guitar before? Do you have a lot of woodworking experience? Are you going to buy component parts, ie) body, neck ... and put them together, or are you planning to try building from scratch. If you're going to try from scratch, you need to rethink this. I'm not bad at wood working, but I'm not going to try and work with spalted maple any time soon. Quilted chips/tears easily enough without being rotten! Don't want to discourage you, just think you need to tell us a touch more detail. Regards, Todd

Check soulmate too. There's a thread from 4 weeks ago on Warmoth and Soulmate on this forum. Quartersawn wood only costs that much if you buy it as a neck blank. If you go to the hardwood store with some mineral spirits and a rag, you can find a quartersawn board on your own. It all depends how much you want to do on your own. Buying a neck is definately the safest bet. Todd

Skip the trem king, get some PUPs from Ebay or from Bill and Becky at Bill Lawrence, and you cut a few hundred off the price. Search the grizzly.com catalog for fret wire, switches, pick-guard if needed, and a truss rod. Lots of sandpaper at grizzly too (don't order a plane from them) . . . Carvin has good prices too. My wife can't park in the garage because my tools are out, yet still supports my woodworking and amp building habits, so yours has competition Regards, Todd

Not sure I'd risk bleaching it either, and I don't like dark woods in general. If you do decide to try and bleach it, You could mask everything except the inside of the control cavity and bleach that. Two part wood bleach +/- adding some oxalic acid after application would certainly lighten it and probably show the grain pattern more, but . . . Can't find any good info for you where I am now, I'll pull out my Flexner book and a couple of others later and see if there's anything in them that might help. Regards, Todd Sorry, nothing in Flexner specific to rosewood bleaching. Todd

Sorry to bump this thread. Just thought this link was worth adding to the thread in case someone searches it out again. Todd http://www.whitemountdesign.com/ShootingBoard.htm

Or a hand plane with a shooting board. Very useful if you don't have a jointer with a good fence, and everyone should have at least one well tuned hand plane. They're just so satisfying to use. . . shhhrippp . . . . curly ribbon of wood. http://www.whitemountdesign.com/ShootingBoard.htm Todd

Is it the higher/raised grain that isn't taking stain. Could be your band saw/planer/jointer or such burnished the wood a bit. I agree that sanding it all down and trying again is worth the effort. I'd go to 180grit or 220 for the test.

Yeah, and they're local for me. I've thought about it, but I don't think I want the sound of maple in the body. That seems to be all they do. Maple is stiff and strong and Carvin adds carbon fiber rods to their necks. Other's might differ, but I wouldn't worry about the maple having an adverse affect on sound. Just choose your PUPs and tone controls appropriately. My first useful project was a 17" scale one PUP neck through for my son who is now 6. I had very little space, no bandsaw, no jointer or planer . . . and not a lot of knowlege. But I did make friends with the guys at the university cabinet shop, and they planed and jointed several boards for me and gave me some decent advice before I got my own tools. If you're in school, see if the school has a shop. I'd also bet that someone you know has a jigsaw that you can borrow. To do a decent job on a custom body, you'll want some way to plane board edges flat and straight for jointing. You can actually make an amazing joint line using a router and a straight edge and cutting the two edges at the same time, but if you buy a neck through, I wouldn't recommend that. And with minimal tools, I'd buy the neck. It'd be way too much work for me without a jointer and such. But to make a beautiful body, all you need is some wood, template material, your router, sharp bits, a coping saw, a couple of files, LOTS of sandpaper, some creativity and patience. oh and one more thing. BUY A DUST MASK

That's a pencil line down the middle... An eraser should take care of that before I stain the body Sorry, my bad

I like it, but the glue line on the body bothers me. Since it can't be hidden, do you think it might look better if you put a binding strip there that matched the headstock facing wood? Todd

Thanks for the clarification. That goes with what I've understood and with what Scott does when he kiln dries wood. Todd

Boy, some exceptional stuff. The multi-scale is beautiful and creative. The stratobastard is exceptional. The one I'd want to built. But I decided to go with the little rocker even before I read the build thread. an ambidextrous travel guitar Designed the tuners and head stock end himself and milled out most the metal parts with files, saws, and a dremel tool? Built the effects board. Wow, I think Andronico deserves a MacGyver award.

Rich, Can you explain why you say kiln drying is not a hot process? I was in a kiln last summer to check to temperature and humidity of the wood with a guy who has several shipping containers that had been turned into wood kilns. Temp/humidity controlled venting, monster fans . . . He can control the drying rate so it's very slow at first. It was sweltering inside! On an 80 degree day it was at least 120 degrees in there with the doors open. I'm guessing it was hotter before the doors were open, because those big fans were on and must have vented some moisture and heat when we opened the door. With the doors closed, it would have been unlivable for a human very fast. Bugs may be tougher, but isn't kiln drying is an accepted method to kill pests in imported wood. http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/mba/oct96/eradic.htm http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/verpack/holz/export/ispm15.pdf Regards, Todd

Yeah, I don't use a dust collector when I make cuts on the chop saw, just a mask, and it does smell awful when you cut it. If you want a stiff and pretty smelling guitar Jatoba is similar in weight, strength and stiffness, has nice figure, and smells like cinnamon and cherry when you cut it.

Hi, You said the tree was cut down before you started building guitars, but you joined almost 2 years ago. So was this actually a dead tree for a couple of years? If it was, I don't know how much of it will be usefull wood. Heck, maybe you'll wind up with a bunch of beautiful spalted maple tops, or maybe there will be lots of internal checking. But either way, if it's been dead for a while, I do some research to see if you should consider kiln drying it to kill any critters that may have set up shop in it. Todd

Hey, she's 8, and I think the bleached bubinga they dye for some drums sets actually looks pretty cool. As for the wood, the Hardwood Store of North Carolina had a web special. 15 square feet of 1/4" delivered by UPS for something like $30. Apparently nobody ever ordered it until I called and asked for some bubinga and some maple. I live 30 minutes away and it was easier than driving there. Turns out they hadn't realized they forgot to specify domestic lumber, and didn't know the special was still online, but they'd honor it. The offer was gone from the web site by the time my package arrived two days later. 5 8.5"x4 1/2' consecutive boards and I had no clue that the figure was unusual. So of course I wasted one board as laminates, ruined another trying to make a jewelry box, and cut one down. That cut down is what the fingerboards came from. The two boards that are left aren't really waterfall, but they are pretty and they're bookmatched, so I'll use them for a top. I chalk it off to a $30 learning experience. Todd

HomeDepots aren't at all consistent on those closeout deals. Our's puts the closeout stuff on a table at 15% off I thought about getting that dewalt at the regular price, but nobody had one in stock around here. Wound up ordering the Milwaukee two base kit. Got their 2 1/4 hp EVS kit for $220 delivered, and love the thing, but for $150, that kit was a steal! Congrats on the find. Todd

+1 vote for bubinga. I'd look for some with a swirled or waterfall figure. That's what my daughter is going to use on her mini tele fingerboard. Of course she wants to bleach it and then stain it purple Walnut is too open pored. Great wood to work with, easy to cut and shape and all, but it doesn't sand down as slick and shiny as bubinga without a thick finish or pore filling. Todd

Hi Mattia, I'm not arguing against the neck having an effect. In fact I am sure the neck wood has some effect, but there are so many other variables, I think it's probably minimal and that we make too much of the tonal differences. Is it a bolt on, set neck, or neck through. Does the neck have carbon fiber rods inserted, is it 1 9/16" at the nut or 1 3/4" and is it .75" deep or .8" deep, are all factors that will have an effect. And the big issues other then the player are really pickups, strings, the amp. Heck, I'd bet the size of the cap on the tone control and the Pot being 250k or 500k will probably have more effect than the 10 or 15% difference in density or stiffness between maple and mahogany. And even among one wood, from one tree, there's variations in stiffness and strength. Now it may be that you or Perry have actually build two identical guitars other than the neck wood. I wouldn't be surprised if Perry has. But I haven't, and I haven't seen any data that would make me think wood species is a huge factor on tone. I basically think choosing a neck wood based on 3 S's and one C makes more sense: strength/stiffness/stability and cosmetics. Best regards, and please don't take this as argumentative. And thanks for your advice on all those other things where it's helped me. Regards, Todd PS) Plus one on the feel issue though, like Rick says below. My friends tele has an oiled mahogany neck. Feels nice. Not super slick, but nice.

What does "warm" mean? Tone wise I can't see the neck wood making a huge difference, so are you guys talking about looks? If that's the case, I'd laminate bubinga and maple, just because the bubinga alone might be a bit heavy. Shouldn't have to grain fill either. Todd