Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

What do you think this one? Quite a bit cheaper than getting a Stumac or Pax one. https://www.guitarparts.co.nz/tools/saw ... -53mm.html

Cheers
Richard

So, just so I have it right as a beginner, as I have used a bit of titebond, I can just carefully pull out the frets - no heat as it won't really soften and doesn't adhere to the frets anyway. Is that the consensus? I didn't mention but this fretboard is ebony not rosewood. Does that require a slig...

So, just so I have it right as a beginner, as I have used a bit of titebond, I can just carefully pull out the frets - no heat as it won't really soften and doesn't adhere to the frets anyway. Is that the consensus? I didn't mention but this fretboard is ebony not rosewood. Does that require a sligh...

I also read that you used titebond on the frets? Titebond isn’t suitable for fretwork. It’ll adhere to the fingerboard but not the fret. It needs to be CA/superglue. Have acetone handy for cleanup too as you’ll need it. I take the view that the water from the Titebond swells the wood surrounding th...

I don't think there is much of a gap under the frets, if any, but the slots may be too narrow as well as you point out. Only having fretted one instrument means I haven't got much of a reference point to know if it is too tight or not, but that one went perfectly and I have had no trouble at all wit...

Good idea on the tang-less fret wire. I guess i assumed, being professionally slotted, it would be correct for the wire provided. Lesson learned. I had really hoped to avoid pulling the wire before the thing even gets finished, but i suppose if there is no-other way...dammit. This build has been a b...

Thanks, do you mean if it doesn't clamp down, try CA? I'd be surprised if it does clamp down but can give it a go.

Cheers
Richard

Hi all I have had a bit of a disaster on the fretting front on my second build :cry: . I didn't notice till it was too late so just kept going which was, in hindsight, a mistake. Obviously, from the pic, they are not seating properly. Most are fairly similar, some slightly better than others. I'm no...

Thanks guys. Doing nothing is my preferred option :D . I have some fancy paua inlay in the peghead so cant really add another full layer on top. I've been working on the bridge today. Opted for the traditional compensation route. Unfortunately I have routed the saddle rebate a bit wide for the 1/8" ...

I suppose another alternative is a nicely shaped 3 mm thick ebony fillet glued behind the nut?

Hi again. I have done something a bit dumb, planing the peg head veneer to get the correct 15 mm overall thickness resulting in a ledge rather then a recess for the nut, if that makes sense. Does the nut need to sit in a pocket or can it sit on a ledge with some epoxy holding it? Other option is I c...

I still can't say I completely understand the way the geometry is arrived at as the angle of the heel block must change as it is shaped and contoured due to the undercut, as you mention, so the initial adjustment of the heel block will be undone after carving. That's something for me to ponder and ...

Ah, OK, thanks. I get it now. Can you confirm that the fretboard is 6.5 mm thick and I have interpreted figure 18.39 correctly (i.e. it refers to the thickness of the edge of the fret board not the centre-as it's stated as 5 mm thick).

Thanks

Richard

Hi Martin. The fret board is already tapered so a little trickier to align with a router. The other option is to mount the nut directly on the neck, but I like the idea of a ledge. I might forget about the compensated nut on this one. It's really a trial to see if I can get close to mastering the te...

Thanks Trevor. Well, with significant fiddling I've managed to overcome the above fitting problem and now have a functional bolt-on-bolt-off neck. I still can't say I completely understand the way the geometry is arrived at as the angle of the heel block must change as it is shaped and contoured due...

Hi Trevor Thanks for the reply. Yes, I misinterpreted the paragraph about yaw and pitch adjustment. I fixed the yaw only. I guess the plan indicates that the neck is completely square and it shows the position of the mortise relative tho the square tenon - and I still cant quite picture how the bolt...

First a couple of principles to remember: 1) In this style of construction, the neck is set co-planar with the upper bout. So no gaps between a straight edge placed on the neck blank (no fret board) and the upper bout 2) The projection of a straight edge over the upper bout should clear the saddle ...

Hi All. Well, I'm the proud owner of a square 3/8 inch hole. All has turned out well. I visited a friend with some heavy equipment. Of course, the collars supplied with the mortise kit didn't fit either drill press he had so turned up some that did fit one of them. Then he gave me the drill press :c...

and..yes, the hand chiselling route may have been the quicker option. I have a mortise chisel that would have done. In fact, I imagine only the one face needs to be flat so could have ground the brass bar to a D shape to fit.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, just found the video. I wish mine worked like that. I have sharpened as best I can and honed the outside of the chisel to a mirror. Its set up correctly and I have got it to work after a fashion (cut a small square hole in pine) but it will break my drill press if I heav...

Hi Trevor OK, thanks, I'll have another look at it...at least I don't need a heavy-duty drill press. The drill bit makes a small hole and the 4 points of the chisel make dents and that is it. The drill press is a bench mounted one and not even bolted down so I can't exert a huge amount of force, but...

Hi again well, I have invested in the 3/8 Carbatec mortise chisel to add to the Carbatec set. I've just installed it on my rather undersized but faithful old Ryobi drill press that has seen much action over the years. I can't get it to do much more than make a small dimple in some soft pine. So, I'm...

OK, thanks. I dont think metric are available. Can always make a 3/8 brass bar marginally smaller.


Cheers
Richard

Hi again. I recently finally got a Carbatec mortise kit to do the neck mortise. It came with a 1/2 and 1/4 inch mortise bit (I'd asked for 3/8). How critical is that square hole - is a 1/2 inch hole too big? I suspect it'll be easier to find 3/8 brass bar (have yet to look) but just wondered how cri...

That looks great. What did you use as an inlay in the main logo?

Cheers
Richard