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I got some fibreglass rods from my local FG suppliers place. I use 6mm for most stuff but have some 8mm ones for heavy clamping. I put rubber stops on one end. That's all the SM ones are anyway. Why...

P.S., most people in the acoustic guitar building world are using bolt-on necks these days because it makes it easier to work on the instrument and change the action etc.
Dom

Just on set vs bolt-on vs through necks. There was a write up by a guy who tested each method in a recent Guild of American lutherie journal. It is in the fall 2007 edition and is called "Sustain and...

It looks from the pictures on the Carbatec site that the drill press we are discussing has changed. Mine has a solid square table and a big clamp for the post. It is very solid. In the pic and from...

Hey Deano, I have that model drill press and it is great. What can you say about them, they either work or don't. Action is smooth and the machine is solid. I am used to it now and it never gives any...

Hey Big Rich, banjos are cool. I play guitar but jam with a guy who plays one and want to learn it.
I am the kind of person who loves learning from books and they are a great place to start with...

Thanks guys. This is truely cool wood. I got it from ALS and when I saw it, I bought all the rest they had. I have another 4 sets very similar.
Thanks Andrew and happy birthday for the other day. ...

Hey, this just looks like a bit of rough end grain which picks up dust and gives the different colour. A rubber will just leave bits behind. Just sand it out like Deano says.

Hey, not much acoustic action here lately so I thought I would post a progress pic of one of my latest Dreads.
It is flamed PNG Rosewood or Narra. Sitka top and ebony bindings, walnut rosette with...

Hey Sean, the last half of these posts are on the money. I looked at soundproofing my jam room and the foam was no good. It is great for breaking up the sound in a room with flat walls to improve...

In the latest edition of Guitarist Mag there are relic issues of strats where people pay extra for that dull aged look you are seeking to buff away. Perhaps you should think about keeping it as is. ...

Gee, all these guys get plugged here over and over and probably do business with everyone on this forum. They should perhaps just advertise on here and save forum users the bother of both asking and...

Is that from a fossilized walrus? Or walrus that is now fossilized. Either way those guys at UBEAUT must be geniuses getting it to polymerize in Special Hard.

Contrebasse, they use this stuff for veneer where a weak glue joint would be intolerable.
I think you may be closer to the truth than you think with the barrel of idea. But for tops not sides.

Andrew, depending on the animal, it could be either really funny, really dangerous or both trying to collect animal urine. Maybe i could sneak up on the neighbour's dog.
I did the bending very dry,...

Thanks everyone. From the range of experinces it seems QM comes in many different bendabilities. I will try a few things. This place http://www.joewoodworker.com/ sells the supersoft stuff for...

Thanks Adam. I will try more water. I also read that you can make a solution of glycerin which like fabric softener takes the water into the wood and helps makes it plastic.
Cheers
Dom

Hey, I am having problems bending sides of Qld maple. Any one had any experience with bending this wood?
I use a fox style bender with a heat blancket. I wrap in paper with a bit of mist spray....

I use a diamond sharpening stone. It does not clog and cuts very fast and will stay flat with wear unlike a normal stone because it is on a steel plate. Not cheap though.
Dom

Hey Fresh, go for it. If you want it black, make it black.

You could try sanding it back to wood and staining it black first and then get some clear spray in a can and seal it in. As long as you...

Thanks Seb, its actually not that expensive according to this link.
http://www.fotoconnection.com/p58464-danby-dhcc6020-60-pint-dehumidifier-20-pint-humidifier-hepa-air.html

My problem is I have...

Contrebasse, most guitar owners go out of their way (or should) to maintain constant humidity by, among other things, keeping the instruments in a case, by never leaving them in the car and perhaps...

Hey, I am looking for a unit to help control humidity in my workshop and can find plenty of dehumidifiers which I might need occasionally but I live in the ACT and I am actually having difficulty...

I have this cool thing for my drill press called a wasp sander.
http://www.piricdesign.com.au/Images/WASP/WASP_Photo-01_Colourized.gif
The pic shows how it goes. It has a flat plate behind the...

I use a follower bit and have never had any problems. I cut close to the template on my bandsaw first so the router is not taking too much off and has nothing to grab onto. If you are worried about...

I use the Stew-mac binding cutter and their new tower style jig and it is great although it would have been just as easy to make one. I have set it up on two slippery boards to carry to guitar on...

Jack, do you think that having a more symmetrical bracing pattern like yours makes it easier to control the sound? I read as much as I can find about this stuff and it seems that one of the benefits...

Thanks guys, The OLF'ers call it a 'magic tone enhancing super bar or something impressively American. In Australia we are happy to call it a brace running along the back of the bridge. I saw it...

Thanks Andrew, I had 4 tops to put rosettes in, a few walnut and Koa rings from LMI and some coloured strips and a few beers and went at it.

Here are a few more pics of what I ended up with....

Jack, I like the idea of not butting a square edge up against the X which I think would have some impact on the way the area responds. And I like your idea baout chamfering the edge to help against...

Hey, how do people position their bridge plates? Do you butt them up against the X braces or do you leave a little gap?

I am using the Kinkade book and plans as the basis for my building and he...

I previously said it was a good idea that Martin was posting his progress pics and how-to's so here is my contribution on how I am currently making an acoustic guitar laminated neck.

Disclaimer: I...

This thread has taken a weird turn. Heres my contribution.
The future for lighting is LED's (light emitting diodes) . Super efficient, virtually no heat, last for ever. They use them in traffic...

Hey Martin, I saw your post over on the OLF and by the response you
got there, I may have let you off too lightly. :D I at least assumed it was deliberate and was based on good old antipodean gut...

Hey Martin, that looks like radical scalloping just in front of the bridge. As i undestand it this is where the soundboard will dip down from the string pressure over time. I understand that...

Not sure about maple laminates but a drummer friend of mine from WA had these really cool drums (not a whole set) made of solid Jarrah joined like a cooper would join a barrel then thinned down to...

Hey Scally, Nice looking thing. I won't pretend I know what it is. But I am interested in your use of glycerine. Does this help soften the wood? There was a discussion about a product that softens...

Perry Ormsby had some nice looking flamed and quilted maple that looked pretty good. He posted a link here a few weeks ago. Most drop tops were around 50 - 60 bucks.

Hey guys, I got the thermostat and timer with with my blancket and don't have any problems with temp. To give you some idea I use a meat themo stuck into the sandwich to get the right temp. Around...

The instructions i got with the bender seem to work fine. I put the sandwich in the jig and give it 10 minutes on the timer. About five to warm up and the five to slowly do the bending. Then I have...

Hey martin, I have a similar setup but I got the Blue creek bending machine.
The first few sides i used it for were nice but had a few ripples in them. I wansn't happy with the tension on the top...

I grew some trees at my last place and was amazed at the resonance when you put your ear to the trunck and taped it somewhere. Always thought it would make good instruments.
Dom

Hey Ray, I had the same problem the first time I did a finger board. I stuffed around with the radiusing doing a bit at one end and then a bit at the other. I was using radius blocks about 8 inches...

I have been using the epoxy glue in method used in Dan Erlewines book. It is also discussed on the OLF forum.

First I make the slots a little wider, I just run the saw back and forward a few...

Looking good Martin. This is a really good idea, following a build through with photos. I am always keen to watch other peoples ideas and set ups etc so I guess I may as well post some of my own...

Hey, I am not at all sure if this would work but would it be worth this net community getting together to purchase a bulk load of wood, say 100 tops or something and getting some purchasing power...

Sorry, I meant, I assume the oil does not affect the shellac sticking. Very poor editig on my part. But I found that soapy water brings white residue from the sanded shellac into bare areas and left...

Good idea. I was using soapy W&D. I am assuming it does not affect the ability of the next coat of shellac to stick? I think in the end good preparation and application means these kind of problems...

Looks nice Greg. I used hard shellac on my first acoustic and on two explorers, one I tinted the shellac black.

At first i was using a brush with OK results but I had to wet and dry it a lot to...

Geez, $90US they want for 4 bolts, 4 inserts and a bit of polished stainless. :o