MIMF

I have been asked to replace the fret(s) on a Mexican vihuela owned by our school district and used in their mariachi band. It has five nylon frets - one has come untied and there is not enough material to retie it (they are apparently cut very close to the knot after tying). The present frets measu...

You might contact Neil Harpe

http://www.stellaguitars.com/

I'd love to see some pictures - I'm a big fan of ladder braced 12 strings and have built one.

Unlike most plans, the Antes ones are drawn as tho you were looking thru the top (X ray vision) while most of them are the back of the top. It is fairly easy to build a guitar with the tone bar running in the wrong direction - ie a left handed bracing. Don't ask me how I know this.......

Thank you. I looked at LMI's site and it seems that they no longer offer the parlor kit (?) but they will bend sides to that shape (the Antes plans) for fifty bucks. That's pretty reasonable if you buy the wood from them and if you want to used wood binding they will also bend that for you. https://...

I have built 000, 00 and a parlor (which I call an 0 but its probably closer to a Martin size 2). There are pictures of the parlor in the thread about parlor plans. If that's the size you want LMI does have plans and a kit which you can customize any way you want - mine was one of those kits. If you...

I must have blind stupid luck because my first turned out very well and after nine years is still my daily player. A kit, so I didn't have to worry about bending sides or mitering the fretboard, but I had enough challenges. I wouldn't change a thing http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f387/Freeman_Kel...

Joel, welcome to the wonderful (and somewhat intimidating) world of building your first guitar. I built my first nine years ago and it is still my daily player - my old Martins mostly sit in the closet. Since then I have built 14 more, including classical, electric, resonators, 12 strings... I've ad...

I would build the neck at this point. There are two critical dimensions - the width at the nut and the width at the body joint - the latter has to perfectly match the width of your two cutaways and the neck heel needs to flow into the body there. I build the neck tenon first, then route the mortise ...

The Scott Antes parlor plans are close to a Martin size 2, although the shape is more similar to a Washburn guitar. I built a little guitar from the Antes plans. Be aware that the bracing is shown as though you were looking through the top, people sometimes miss this and build a lefty. It is also t...

Thanks Freeman. I was wondering what I should fill the Koa grain with. Is it clear or dark? This is my wooden tricone - KTM-9 over clear Zpoxy. You can read about using it as a filler at LMI http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f387/Freeman_Keller/Tricone/Tricone_2.jpg Along these lines, I also have a...

You've had good advice on the thickness - I'll just add that consider using Zpoxy when it comes time to pore fill. I've built two Weissenborn's and a resonator out of koa and the zpoxy really popped the grain

Noah, first, traditionally nylon strung guitars do not have adjustable truss rods. Some times they have a reinforcing strip in the neck, but at least the classical designs do not have a rod. They do, however, have relief planed into either the neck or the fretboard - there just isn't any way to adju...

I have had Cedar Creek build cases to fit my odd ball guitars (like a 26.5 scale 12 string). They are slow, expensive and in my opinion, worth it.

I have been asked by a friend if I could build him a baritone guitar. As a first step, a set of plans would seem a good idea, but I've tried the obvious (Stewmac LMI etc.) without success. Can anyone point me in the direction of a good set of plans, and any help regarding body size, variation in br...

Mark, it sounds a bit like it needs a reset and unfortunately, old Yamies can be hard to get apart. They either used glues that don't separated easily with steam or the joints are very tight - either way if you scan the literature you will see that some people think they are easy, others do not. A r...

I've replaced the head on an old SStewart banjo ukulele and after tensioning it the chromed head ring is about 1/16 of an inch below the plane of the head. I believe it should stand proud of the head by a 16th to 8th of an inch - is this correct? I'll replace the head if necessary but want to make s...

I am in the process of putting a new head on a very old banjo ukulele. I can find both goat and calf skins (and instructions for installing) - which would be preferable and why? The old head was torn and has some signatures and drawings that were done by family members - it will be kept for its hist...

should I do a template? a plywood template? a paper one? I hope to copy this model a few times, but I'm still not sure if this exactly shape, I don't know if it will be comfortable or work at all ._. How should I get the design out of the computer? I can print it on actual size along with the measu...

One thing that might limit your choices of kits would be importing to Ireland. Most of the big suppliers know how to do this but it might limit wood choices.

Thanks everyone for your help. I think I will start with a kit and while I'm doing that, practice some of the "from scratch" skills/processes on scrap material as suggested by Adam. Ah well, the baritone will have to wait. Now the only question is what kit? Ciaran, I'll jump in here again...