MIMF

I have an old (1970) custom made flat top acoustic steel string guitar. It needs a neck reset which I can do myself. My question is: If you have to tilt the neck downwards at the headstock end, how do you deal with the angled gap that will be created under the fretboard extension over the body? I wa...

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this. I build ukuleles mainly and use ungeared friction keys, usually Gotoh. The lacquer around the tuning key holes fractures and chips very easily. When I install the keys for the first time and then remove them, the area around the holes chips and cru...

Thanks for all the replies. Never thought of finishing the sides of the fretboard. I'll give it a try. Strange how the best answer is usually the easiest and most obvious one. Don't know why I didn't think of it!!
Steve

Aloha all. I build ukuleles here in Hawaii and I have a question about dealing with the raised lacquer line when masking tape is removed from the fretboard after the final coats have been sprayed. I tape off the fretboard in preparation for spraying, including the edges of the fretboard and the exte...

Thanks to all for your responses. I know it's relatively cheap and I still don't like to waste it but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. The results of using HHG for me are well worth the extra effort involved in preparing and applying it.

Steve

Just started using HHG and am very happy with the results. I have some mixed HHG in the fridge that has been there for about 4 months. This batch worked well and I put it in the fridge right away after using it. Is it still OK to use now or should I make a fresh batch? It's Behlen's HHG and I made t...

Are you using flexible metal like stainless steel to support the bend? I've also used aluminum flashing with success. For really tight bends I make a "binding sandwich", with the binding between two strips of metal. The top strip helps to prevent fractures and the bottom strip helps to pre...

Thanks Dick and Michael for your insight. I stripped the top lacquer from an affected instrument, sanded, and sprayed on some Behlen's vinyl sealer. I resprayed lacquer today so I'll see if this is the solution or not. Humidity could also be the culprit but I store my wood in a humidity controlled c...

Thanks for all the replies. I've been thinking about switching to hot hide glue for some time now so I guess it's time. The line appears to be sunken rather than raised so I'm assuming that the glue is shrinking or is reacting with the lacquer as Alan suggested. I don't use old Titebond but I'm wond...

This is a problem that has plagued me off and on for a few years and I'm not sure of the cause. After the final coat of about 12-15 thin coats of lacquer, I let the finish cure for at least two weeks. I then wet sand until I'm satisfied and then buff out the instrument. After about a week to ten day...