MIMF

In 1982 I made my first guitar, which was supposed to be similar to John Lennon's black Rickenbacker. I used two DiMarzio pickups and it was full scale with a neck-thru body. The finish was old Standard Brands spray lacquer. The pickguard material had white plastic on one side and tortoise shell on ...

I might be a tad late on this, but the best method I used was the very first. I had a small portable drill press and used a straight 1/4" router bit. The holes were flat and clean.

Anyone remember Pascale Guitar Tools in New Jersey?
The best fret hammer I ever had came from them. I haven't seen one close to it.
They were the first place I bought any guitar tools from in 1982.

Thank you.
I like the idea of laminating 1/4" pieces.
Mortising 10+ holes is not something I'd want to do.

I'm going to make some cam clamps.
What's the best wood to use?
I'm concerned about it splitting.
Thank you,
Mike

Aren't Gibson and Fender truss rod tight fitting and likewise, unable to move? Most double action truss rod are encased in a plastic covering and will keep any glue from the gap in the rods. At some point the rods are no longer moving and solely exerting forced to the underside of the fingerboard. Y...

Shouldn't a single/double action truss rod be as effective, regardless if the channel is full of glue?
How would any glue stop the rod from exerting force?
Thanks.

With a few coats of shellac.
Very different grain but the fit was spot on.
African (current) on top of Honduran (1982)
Battle scar.

I decided to take the advice and simply made a new cap. A simple template and some sanding gave me a near perfect fit. The grain was close but not an issue. The body has a light shellac finish but not the cap. Oh, after seeing a mahogany acoustic with rosewood binding, I think I might go that route....

Excellent.
Thank you.

With Indian rosewood binding on a mahogany body, does the rosewood need to be wiped with any solvent/thinner to remove the oil?
What's the best glue?
Thank you.

What the easiest way to removed the rust?
Hand sweat keeps getting it rusty.
Thank you,

I think you're right. I was trying to save as mush of the original wood and that just made the "patch" too complex. I will route more and square it off to make a tight fit much easier. The edge doesn't matter as I am going to add binding to both sides. 'Can't chose between white plastic, c...

Bob,
Do you mean something like this, where I can inlay some strips of mahogany into the route channel?

Would something like Timbermate be a simple solution?

Hello. I just got back to working on this guitar. Lots and lots of distractions (and a horrible case of the shingles), but I'm back ready to get to work. The black dot is the area that the truss rod breaks through if there is any pressure on the rod. The wood is less than 1/16" thick there. Wha...

Hello. I just plugged the rear pickup cavity to an old solid body electric guitar. I used poplar and made it just shy of the back surface so I could inlay some thin mahogany for a flush surface. The mahogany came out okay. I had some gaps between the cavity and the thin mahogany piece. The cap was c...

Hello. For those in the Los Angeles area, I have some steel string guitar sets for sale. I've had them for over fifteen years, so they are nice and dry. I am no longer building an acoustic guitars. One is a very highly figured Koa I bought from a supplier in Hawaii, sanded to 3-4mm One is Indian ros...

Thank you guys.
What about with water based top coats? (No spray equip)

Got it. Thank you!