MIMF

Greetings MIMFians, I'm making a 5-string fretless and considering wiring with a passive/active switch or push-pull pot. Do you recommend this? What products would be a good match? From reading this forum and basschat I gather that this requires passive pickups and onboard separate pre-amp that coul...

This thread is great. I am looking for a spray finish that is less toxic and more natural feeling than Nitro. I'm very much a novice. I am huge fan of Lowden guitars and their finish is a nice lustrous non-gloss--hard to describe if you have not seen it. I hear it's a poly base finish now, but my gu...

This is most excellent help. Thank you very much. We'll see how it goes today.

Greetings, I'm helping a student finish a guitar, but I'm an acoustic guy and have only a little knowledge of wiring electronics. (I can solder). Can you help us figure out what goes where? He bought used pickups from ebay in a HB/S/S configuration. Here's the guitar and a picture of the electronics.

Thanks Darrel. No idiocyncracies? I'm kind of terrified that I didn't put it together correctly and that when I turn it on it will grind to a miserable end. Have you ever torn the machine down to clean or work on it? Bob, I don't know what you are talking about. Cool site, but what does that have to...

Great Scott! What a beautiful shop. I now have a patch of drool on my shirt and don't care a wit because seeing your shop is worth it.

Man, that's some good advice. I'll probably get or make some out feed/in feed rollers. I don't have a large enough space for a permanent large setup. I'll take your advice on the care. So far, great feedback and thank you very very much.

So my machine of choice is a used Shop Smith. It gives me a drill press with 4" travel. Table saw. Lathe. 12" disc. And can take a jointer, small band saw, and other addons. I purchased it for $450 and brought it home in my Honda Civic. If I had more room, I'd love a 3-phase cabinet saw an...

I purchased this planer in pieces. Delta 13" 22-580 planer for $75. The former owner couldn't get it back together after a cleaning because he has Parkinson's. I felt bad, but he was happy to get it to a new home where it could be happily used. I've put it back together and all the pieces are a...

My first guitar I split almost to exact dimensions. A little squaring with a plane did the rest. I found this to be fun, though not the fastest I'm sure. I don't know if this is a better way or not, but I'd expect that if there is not a lot of run out and it's pretty nicely quartered, split verses c...

I'd like to split my own braces out of billets. Is that the preferred method you all are using and if so, where do you source your billets from? How much should I expect to pay for brace wood these days. I'm really embarrassingly out of practice with my instrument building, but I want to get back in...

Yes please! That's nice Nick. I'll look forward to seeing more later.

It sounds like you have found lutherie therapy. Those are lovely guitars and at web resolutions perfectly flawless. I struggle with the finishing of anything, so I'm impressed by your drive and the complexity of your design and details for first guitars. Thanks for the inspiration.

Wow! This thread is hopping. Mario, I think I misscommunicated above, but maybe not. With bridge pins, angling the holes makes sense. I was talking about stringing the guitar from inside with holes just large enough for the diameter of the strings. No pins. Are you saying you do this already? I'd be...

Thanks Jeff, How well do you think it worked for sound and longevity? I think that a small hardwood "inlay" in the bridge plate where the ball ends would stop might be good on a steel string. Then I could make a little string well for each ball end. I think drilling at an angle either away...

Hey all. This is a very interesting discussion. I was wondering if anyone strings their guitars from the underside of the soundboard. I put a sound port in the side of my guitars and it would be easy to string from inside. Just a very small hole and the ball end would fit snug against the bridge pla...

Thanks Dana, No problem on joining the party late. It's still a party for me. I've learned a lot on this log: how to sharpen a chain saw, what works for end sealer (Anchorseal) and what doesn't (white glue), and that I shouldn't forget there is a trailer on my car. That last one is humiliating. I wa...

Alan, that is a beautiful pocket. I'm envious. It boggles my mind how you would shape the piece to fit and get the binding channel cut. It looks very advanced.

Thanks Mario. I have no idea what you are talking about, so I'll have to look into it. I have sharpened the chain and it seems to cut alright for about 5 min. then I'm struggling again, so I think I need to figure out what the chrome layer is. Randy, the 2.5' length was only a test to see how barkin...

Oh, I forgot. I'm pretty sure the tree is an eastern black cherry. Prunus serotina Ehrh. var. serotina? It's present in the right half of the US and British Columbia (not sure why it's just in BC but no where else on the west coast).

Cheers,
Seth