Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Epilogue I thought I should post back the results of the job.. The only photos of the finished job were on my phone and they do leave a little to be desired. I apologise for that. The main objective here was to turn it into an accessible instrument for a beginner [the grand daughter of the original ...

You need to match your fret slot to your fret wire, knowing the hardness can affect the seating of the fret and potentially cause back bow as you mention, if the slot is narrow. A careful approach will manage these issues and the result is a very hard-wearing fretboard. Cheers, Jeremy. Getting righ...

I used several Cooktown Ironwood fingerboards a few years ago and it is very dense, hard and unyeilding. It is so hard that the fret tangs would not bite into the wood so much as expand the slot putting sufficient pressure on the neck to cause a backbow. I've steered clear of desert hardwoods as the...

Got a project underway for export and need to use a fingerboard that will not attract problems with customs. Pau Ferro looks like a good candidate.
Any one used this stuff?
Anything to look out for?
thanks

I concurr with previous poster that it is a likely hand made project body. I would guess that it's been built around an ibanez neck. It also could be as you say an early Yamaha or more likely an old Ibanez but dont see anything that confirms that. Before you do anything I'd suggest finding a neck to...

How about one of these?

https://mcjing.com.au/categorybrowser.a ... oryid=1481

Brittons timber south dandenong have a huge range of timber - not as easy going as mathews though where you can walk around and pull boards out of the racks. with brittons you tell em what you want and they pull the boards for you. WR Timbers in kilsyth sometimes have some interesting stuff.

I have no idea in what conditions it has been stored - probably warm and dry - _ i added some steam to a plastic bag and bagged the uke for 48 hours - it has hung in the neck cupboard in the workshop since debagging it. My workshop holds between 50- 60% humidity most of the year round. Should be ok ...

I have a block plane and cabinet scraper by Veritas - wonderful tools to work with and both standouts in my collection of planes

thanks for the tip off on the Koa. No binding on the back so it should come off reasonably easily with a bit of heat and a sharp knife if it goes that far. If no koa is available I have plenty of well dried blackwood. I like the idea of neo magnets to pull up the cleats. I wont be using superglue an...

Had a look for half an hour re wedge repairs and could not find anything specific. I have an idea of how it goes and seen info on it somewhere but where? Any one got a link?

I don't work on acoustic instruments often [pretty obviuosly] but its just wood only thinner bits.

Thanks for the considered response. The back is slightly arched but there is one transverse brace just below the rear of the sound hole. The crack begins in front of the brace. The issue with this crack is that the back has warped around the crack and in elevation looks thus: http://www.carltonguita...

Not exactly sure which is the best way to tackle fixing the split in this lovely old uke. Dates back to the 1920's as far as the owner can tell from her family history. It is beautifully built and weighs next to nothing. Seen a couple of these listed for sale at around the US$950 mark so well worth ...

not slippery enough is the problem - he has another of mine with the same finish no complaints on that one - dont think he uses that one for playing out though Its a mirotone 30% but by the time I've done it with 1200 grit and buffed it with paper towel it is almost a gloss. Thanks for the advice I'...

mickeyj4j mate if you look at my quote you'll see the last line says "not great for acoustic instruments" I wouldn't recommend it especially for the sound board - this stuff soaks right into the grain structure and would assume it to have a deadening effect. Having no experience with acoustics I am ...

Just had a client who recently acquired a new one of mine and come back with a request to strip the finish off the back of the neck. He tells me it is very sticky. He is a high profile player who I have a lot of respect for so I am taking this pretty seriously. I have finished an awful lot of necks ...

Welcome to the forum. Aussie humour is a little tricky at first but it is mainly about p1ss take. You should try Kiwi humour

the thing about this forum I enjoy apart from the serious approach and quality of the information is the lack of mindless banter.

beautiful piece of work Rod. I bet it sounds as good as it looks. BTW the mirotone satin looks perfect. That stuff has such a silky sensual feel to the hand and gives the timbers a rich glow that full gloss often detracts from.

I get the same feeling with the lowly craft of electric building. I never let it be heard until it is fully set up. The hard thing is to not allow your expectations to cloud your perception of the tone coming off the guitar. What you're hearing as opposed to what you expect to hear may be completely...

I have bought single boards of this from Brittons in Dandenong. Found it be excellent for necks.

I appreciate the time you have all taken to respond to my question and thanks for your excellent advice which I'll now follow.up on.
cheers to all

Recently I built to order a very specialised and expensive instrument. A 33% deposit was lodged and parts etc were ordered and work begun. Obviously this was a mans dream that was to be finally brought into the real world. The kind of instrument that cost way more than it would sell for in the open ...

just built a double neck and used the gotoh 12 string bridge. It is a very good bridge btw. The best way is to have the ferrule holes staggered. Attempting to line them up in a straight line on the back of the guitar and have them staggered on the front of the guitar will cause you a bad headache. I...

I use Milsomes in ferntree gully - they carry a good range of wood lacquers as well as a comprehensive array of auto finishes and finishing accessories such as sealers, sand paper, spray guns, cutting compounds etc etc. - they'll mix you up a 500 mil tin of any colour you want including metalics and...

Martin I know your pain - nothing worse and you momentarily think Undo! Delete! Go back! then swear throw things around and scare the bejeesus out of the dogs as you realise how hopeless the situation is - then torture yourself for the rest of the day and night - next day go and build a new neck rea...