MIMF

On another note, I've acquired a very nice headstock overlay reproduction of the traditional bound and pearl inlayed Gibson headstock from ebay. The problem is that its overkill. I'm sure I'll use it some time but it is inappropriate for this model LP. If anyone knows of a source for the lower end ...

Must have had it too thick- I did as Barry suggested, added more water and reheated, and it was fine the second time round. My tipoff the first time should have been that it was more like corn syrup in consistency, rather than runny and drippy (I usually make rather a mess with the stuff). I think m...

Historically, Gibson's truss rods from their introduction in the early Twenties until World War II were curved "backwards" from what one would expect, or what statics tells us would be effective. Maybe the idea was to plant the anchor deeply in the heel; I don't know. Anyway, from WWII thr...

WTF? I use HHG only sometimes, for certain joints (neck/body, bridge, fingerboard) but go with AR the rest of the time so I don't often fire up my Proctor-Silex "glue pot", and I'm still using the same can of Behlen's hide glue I bought sometime in Nineties. But today something bizarre hap...

Got it. The reason I'm thinking HVLP (also not expensive from HF) is that allegedly they waste a lot less material than HP guns. And, yes, I realize that the sprayed finish is just the raw material for sandpaper and elbow grease.

Thanks. Any recommendation on nozzle size?

OK, the game just changed. I have the use of a compressor now, and a gun if I want it (or I may buy a Harbor Fright HVLP gravity gun).

Now- what pressure and cpm should I be using? What nozzle size?

If you're going to sand, why bother with FP? The whole point of FP is to produce a mirror finish without cheatin' (I still have to resort to plastic scratch remover at the end, but I hope to be able to get past that).

<snip>The rule with FP is that you can get halfway from where you are to 'perfect' by putting in as many more hours as you've already spent. If you're halfway there after 10 hours, 20 will get you to 3/4, and another 20 to 7/8, but you'll never reach 'perfect'. They call that asymptotic French poli...

Mohawk sells rattle can nitro as does Reranch. I haven't used either but many folks here have. Not knowing were you are makes it difficult to advise you when and how. The basics would be to shoot outdoors, warm up the guitar and warm up the rattle cans in a dish pan of hot water. Thanks, David- alt...

It is nice to get the right pickguard, but it was never really made in the 50's just a couple of examples, so for me, not an important detail. however for you may feel different. While the Moderne wasn't made, the Flying V and Explorer were and therefore there is a "correct" p/g material....

My current project has to have a nitrocellulose finish. Not acrylic, not poly, not waterborn: nitro. I have no spray equipment nor the budget to acquire it. I had thought to use rattlecan Deft, but the recent thread about Deft put me off that idea. So what suggestions are there (incl. brands and sup...

Refretting doesn't really *require* many tools at all, and you may already have the essentials. A small hammer (brass or steel) , with one face polished to mirror gloss. A good metal straightedge. A new 25-30 cm mill file, dead flat. A couple of jewelers' ("Swedish") files, usually sold as...

FWIW, the 12AX7 in my one homebuilt is a "very used old stock" Sears Silvertone, '60s vintage, and it does fine. It came out of the '30s floorstanding radio my grandparents used until they finally bought a portable transistor circa 1970.

Hmmmm: Barry, you may be onto something there, even for inlaying a fretted board in situ. Just cogitatin' here, but what about a jig which holds the neck level, with fixed rails on both sides for the router base which are just a whisker higher than the fret-tops in the center? That way you have soli...

I've used Everclear, which used to be legal here and which I can still get just over the state line. Never noticed any difference in process or result from hardware-store denatured, and even after decades of FP with the stuff I don't think I'm any more brain-damaged than I was before. And it's *much...

While we're at it, can anyone point me to a source for 4-ply WBWB pickguard material like Gibson used at the time? All I can find is 3- and 5-ply

Don't knock 'em- original Klusons are worth quite a bit on the vintage market.

On the underside of the base, do they say "Pat. Appld" or "Patent No."?

I'm in the final-planning stage of my long-considered attempt at an "authentic" Gibson Moderne- that is, one made as much as possible as a genuine one would have been had it ever existed. When it comes to hardware, however, there is a limit to "authenticity" vs. budget. I could, ...

Ok, never mind. I got it, from a photo of a somewhat battered Junior. The slot was filled all the way up with the top fillet, and then the access pocket was bored.