MIMF

I finished a J45 ish guitar a while ago. It’s pretty ok but when I pick the open B there is a very short jangle (jingle?) right at the pick attack. It’s driving me crazy. I have examined and filed the nut very carefully and can’t seem to figure it out. The string is not vibrating on the first fret. ...

I have now tried all of these methods. There are nits, streaks, bubbles (from applying with fingers), unevenness, etc. Whatever is left requires scuffing/leveling to the point of zero build. I’m done. Question: all the way back to wood 100% for sanding sealer/nitro? I will say that the truoil applic...

I am applying coats of Truoil to an acoustic guitar. Scuffing between coats with 0000 steel wool. Over and over and over. I have had to sand it completely back twice. My wiping technique needs help I think. I have seen demonstrations where folks put it on fairly heavy and wiped it "smooth"...

I'm interested in the tenor guitar plans. The instructions in that area link to the index page and tell me to look for yellow donate button. Not finding anything...

Hi all, I am looking to repair and set up Martin bass guitar for a friend. I haven't checked the label yet but likely 70's vintage. It is definitely in need of a neck reset and likely a bridge doctor. I have done both jobs on a 70's D35 before. I haven't checked the truss rod yet to see if it works ...

Hi all I am rough fitting a bolt on neck. Holes are drilled for barrel nuts and bolts. As I remove material from the bottom of the heel to get a good neck angle I’m having trouble with the bolts starting to be angled such that that when I tighten them the neck gets pulled down and doesn’t want to ke...

Well never say never. I made try wood again :) I found that where it turned towards the neck at the upper bout it needed hard pulling at the top edge to get tight to the body. I had to put clamps in various spots to get it tight and it frustrated me a bit. It DID get in there though and does look pr...

Well that’s the last time I’ll use wood bindings for a while. What a ton of work. And I really need to learn how to sharpen my scraper! No matter how I try I just get dust instead of shavings.

For what it’s worth my top rings at Ab when I tap it. Dunno what that means but it’s certainly better than what it sounded like when the binding channels were cut! Probably a good thing that it’s not tapping at one of the open string pitches.

That's good to hear and interesting. I guess solidly gluing the bindings is important for tone? Does this mean wood bindings and plastic bindings have different effects on tone?

Cut binding channels today. I haven’t worked on this guitar for a while and the closed body has been sitting around. Shop humidity is under control. I gave the top a tap as I usually like to do and it sounds tight as a drum. The plates rang nicely before assembly. Dead as a door nail. I have an old ...

Thanks, Bob. That's very generous. I am just starting a fiddle so it will be a while before I get to making a bow. I'll definitely let you know!

Anyone have a book on how to make a violin bow? I'm not finding much.

Thanks, all. I'm going to work on stabilizing the humidity and let it all rest for a good bit. I found this thing TH220_C.jpg Might spring for it. I also need to empty out the shop, line the walls with poly and put sheathing over it. It's just studs and insulation now. Rigid foam on the ceiling. Fir...

I seem to have got the humidity under control. I’m running a small humidifier now. Thinking about buying a plug and play humidistat. In any case, this back that started out flat has a obvious desire to be curved in one direction not the one I wanted. It was all nice and flat all summer, stickered an...

Yes. It got unseasonably cold and all hell broke loose. I just got the back off and it has reached its full potential in the wrong direction. Quite spectacularly. My hygrometer has been reading 40-60 with a lot of swings. I did use a dehumidifier until a couple weeks ago. Then it got very cold very ...

Took spool clamps off just now after gluing the top on last night. Thinking about setting up for binding channels and I see that the back radius is gone flat across the bouts. It’s still prominent end to and but the braces appear to have flattened out somehow. It was braced in a dish under a go bar ...

lol yes a little warmer and it's fine!

So I got some fish glue a few months ago and like it a lot. It's a little slow but that's great for me. I used it about a week ago and all was fine but last night I tried to use some and it was like slooow jelly. The thermostat in my shop is set at 45 deg. when I'm not in there just so nothing freez...

I recently discovered Wayne Henderson's work (and pickin') on YouTube. Holy cow. I think he originally used a pocket knife for EVERYTHING. Wow.