MIMF

Long ago, I had the small Ryobi drill press. I broke off the table pressing frets. Replacement parts were available. I fixed it, sold it, and got a beefier press. Now, I have the Nova Voyager floor model. It’s too big for you, probably, but it’s a great tool. It’s tight and the variable speed featur...

If your fingerboard is good and your frets are good, how about the nut? I don’t care to get in a long discussion on how to do it, but I will share what works for me. Using 20 pound copy paper as a feeler gauge (a sheet is .003” thick), I file the nut slots so that when fretting at the third fret, I ...

With almost any method and almost any order, there are multiple ways to make mistakes. When you level the frets with a long beam sanding along the string paths, errors in your process might show up with grossly uneven amounts removed from some frets. If so, you might be able to figure out what happe...

I usually cut the slots before I radius the board—it’s easier to handle on the table saw sled when the fingerboard board doesn’t roll. I have a jig for the drum sander for radiusing the board. Both my slot indexer and my radius jig hold down the board with screws through the portion that will be cut...

That’s really cool! Is it like sweating pipe? Do you use regular plumbing solder? Or, is it more like brazing?

Anything I can play has strings, but I keep getting tempted by the trombone. I know better—it would be another instrument in my collection that I don’t play.

I don’t think you’ve solved the problem of the neck pickup rout taking the strength out of the joint. You can experiment with cheap wood until you get something you’re satisfied with.

I wouldn’t do anything until I was sure it was properly humidified. Dry instruments lose their dome on a flattop and probably some of their arch on a carved top. The past few weeks have been quite challenging for maintaining humidity in a home.

It sure looks like the standard Gotoh tuners that StewMac sells. It wouldn’t cost much to replace the whole set of tuners if the fit is the same.

I’ve used it on some of the fretless basses that I’ve built. It works well in that application. I use pin bridges. The breakover angle at the saddle on mine is such that I think it would wear the bridge fast if it were hardwood.

Wow! With this number of respondents, it’s almost a sure thing.

Often, sales taxes aren’t charged on a business to business deal. It is assumed you will collect tax when you resell. Some of my suppliers charge me sales tax, some don’t. I do charge sales tax on everything I sell and remit to the state quarterly.

You might totally loosen the string and make sure there isn’t a kink or bend in it. I chased a buzz for a long time until I loosened the string and saw the bend. A new string fixed it.

I got the 20/20/20 in 64”lengths, I think. It goes all the way around with no joint, not that the joint is difficult. A descending scarf is invisible.

Thank you for posting. I didn’t know him but I have appreciated his imagination for many years.

When LMI ran out of the purfling I used before they closed, I contacted Gurian Instruments (https://www.gurianinstruments.com/) and they made a batch for me. I had to order in quantities that used whole veneer sheets. I might have a lifetime supply and it didn’t cost very much. Aside from having to ...

Yep, I learned a lot here. Thanks to all for keeping it running.

Ooh! The suspense. I hope it goes well and doesn’t impact your dinner.

You might try to figure out how to clamp guides to the neck on each side of the saw blade so that the blade has no choice but to cut where you want. I know freehand is tempting, but that blade wants to dance and it will get what it wants sooner or later. If I were doing it, it would be worth my whil...

Many factory built instruments are quite overbraced, so you’re probably okay. On that instrument, your experiment wouldn’t cost too much even if it failed. If you’re going to keep the existing pin bridge as a string anchor, worry about the break angle on the new bridge being high enough to keep the ...

The height of the frets is a variable depending on the frets you select. So, the specification has to be to the fretboard face. Stop short of your desired depth so you have room to adjust. If this is your first time, you might want to carve up a 2x4 section first just for the experience. Hard maple ...