MIMF

Thanks for all your thoughts and input! Because I couldn't stand the thought of finishing a new guitar and already have cracks on it, I went ahead and removed the finish and sanded it.....but I didn't really see any cracks that needed repair! The center seam was palpable but no real visible cracks t...

I had the wood back and side set for at least 4 years prior to starting the build, stored also in the basement. The humidity in my basement shop varies usually between 40- 50%. No I never check wood MC. So would you suggest sanding down the finish, repair the cracks again then respray? I'm starting ...

Here's a pic of one of the cracks

I've got a figured Narra acoustic I started in 2011 working to the point of closing the box. I got back to it again in 2013 when I noticed several cracks mostly along the grain on the back, none in the sides, as well as some irregular flattening of the radius. I sent ahead and took off the back, rep...

thank you

Thanks Mark. I'll try the alcohol method first and then sand if necessary. Is it typical not to epoxy the top/spruce? Wouldn't there be a color difference then between the top of the binding vs the side? Also, I was thinking the epoxy would help to strengthen/harden the spalted maple rosette (I reme...

So I'm continuing on with my acoustic guitar build and just finished gluing the binding, scraping and sanding. I used the method of taping the bindings first, then wicking thin ca glue to secure everything in place. Beforehand, I brushed on dewaxed shellac on the binding ledges to prevent ca glue di...

Oops! Sorry my pictures posted upside-down! (I swear they had the correct orientation on my computer). David, I'm glad to hear that those fretlines will come in handy after all. I haven't played with it enough yet to get anywhere near comfortable with intonation, but it should come with practice. An...

A few years ago, I cut up a bunch of wood to use for acoustic guitar bindings. Most of them I prelaminated a contrast veneer before cutting into strips. Unfortunately I didn't do this with all of them, so now I have a bunch of koa and ebony strips that are plain, but when I bind the guitar(s) I'd li...

Hi Jim.. Here's a closeup of the truss rod access. It's not really necessary since it's a bolt-on (think Fender strat), but it's convenient, allowing adjustment without having to take off the neck first. I basically routed it out using the template, then made a thin matching maple cover to fit. I be...

So here's a bass I finished fairly recently: 34" scale fretless, with flamed-maple-topped alder body Flamed maple neck with fretless lined wenge fingerboard, with LED side markers Fender precision pickups, passive tone and volume controls Tru-oil satin finish I worked on this bass simultaneousl...

Here's a couple better closeup pics of the bass, including the tailpiece

A few weeks ago my wife and I went to San Diego and took a side trip to visit the Taylor factory and had a great experience seeing a large scale operation. Anyway, we got to see some very nice BTO (build to order) guitars, with various inlays and other "custom" features, which inspired me ...

Well, thanks to you guys I went ahead and took off the back of my guitar (with much trepidation) and it surprisingly came off fairly easily, but with a couple issues, including a huge 4" crack while I was removing the braces and separation at the midline by the endblocks from overheating with t...

Hans, this is about the only "in-progress" pic I could find, but it gives a different view of the EUB. You can see in the upper bout how I integrated the preamp, so that only the adjustment knobs are showing. Battery access is in the back. The piece in front is the solid maple tailpiece, w...

Thanks guys! Yes, unplanned inlays are my treatment of choice for covering mistakes, unexpected cracks, and "discovered" wood defects and mineral deposits during carving. Works great and their unexpected locations give them added interest (I think).

Hans, here's the closeup of the inlay. If it seems like a strange place for an inlay, yes it is and it's because it wasn't planned. When I first routed out the rear cavity, I went ahead and also drilled out the pot shaft holes from the rear; but when I looked at them from the front, the holes didn't...

I did use specific short-scale strings on this, but you could use regular strings. The advantage of short-scale strings I think is that the length is already correct and the ends are wrapped to prevent unwinding

Sounds good. That's what I'll do

Here's my attempt at an electric upright bass 42" scale Body: Figured maple top with chambered basswood body; maple tailpiece; standard double-bass maple bridge, trimmed to size Neck: Bolt-on, figured-maple Fingerboard: Ebony with wood vine inlay; LED side markers; ebony nut Electronics: K&...