Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Like yourself, I couldn't justify a commercial drum sander. But my hand tool skills weren't good enough to do a good job entirely by hand. So I made the following for about $300. 26"wide, 2HP motor, 5" drum (MDF discs on a 3/4" steel bar). Drum is velcro backed. It lets me do things I just couldn't ...

kiwigeo wrote:Rocket if this is your first re-fret job then I'd recommend you get your hands on the "fretwork" book from Stewmac.......

Rod - now that we know we live near each other - I have this book. You are welcome to borrow it. I found it very helpful.

I used the blowtorch in the pipe for my first, but found it unpleasant to work around. Since then, I bought a pencil shaped heating element from Hotco in Cheltenham (Melb) - cost about $60. I got a short length of 2" copper pipe and distorted its shape to get different different radii. I fill the pi...

Rod - seeing that carved top gets me pretty excited. I'm in the finishing phase of 2 steel strings at the moment, but my next project will be my first archtop. My mind is already thinking it through, though I will be using Benedetto's book pretty much as my guide. I play an archtop in a jazz trio - ...

What glue did you use? Presumably, a bit of scraping and sanding will still be needed to prepare sides for finishing - won't that take care of it? I have only used plastic bindings once. While I would stop at P320 on the wood, I think I went a few extra grades on the plastic to remove the scratches....

...ignore previous content - got my threads mixed up...Frank

Frank, I'm wondering if you've done a wash coat of shellac before pore filling when using LMI's water-based filler. I use that method to keep the filler from staining the non-pore wood. Pat Pat - sorry for not replying to this earlier. I never tried that, but it makes sense. My main issue with this...

Thanks everyone for your feedback, especially Allen for the detailed process. It even looks like I will be able to get this done in Melbourne's June if I pick my days. I have not used a retarder before, but clearly I need to have some of this if spraying this time of year. If I do add 10% retarder, ...

I have looked at the Mirotone data sheets for Mirocat and Mirolac but I have learned not to assume that their limits on things are firm. I'm trying to determine whether I can use this stuff with my current equipment and home situation. I also need to figure out how the application procedure differs ...

Stu -had a look at the product info for 3220. I am not up with much of the terminology re finishing products. The term "nitrocellulose" does not appear anywhere in this product spec. So is it a nitrocellulose?
Do you use this on acoustics, or electrics.
My application is dreadnoughts.
Thanks. Frank.

Bob - it's helpful to see how you store this stuff. I haven't had quantity to deal with, but recently picked up enough Blackwood from an Orbost sawmill for about 20 backs & sides. Its already cut to 8mm. I can see I need to improve the way I store it, as it will take me a decade to use this stuff at...

I need some nitro lacquer and have purchased from Durobond in Sydney up until now. But again, shipping costs more than the product. Does anybody know of a Melbourne supplier. I noticed that Sherwood paints have a nitro lacquer called Excelac, but there is no info re its suitability for guitars. All ...

Tonight, I just read Kim's horror story highlighting the OHS risk in using epoxy. Like a lot of other builders, I thought all my pore filling problems had gone away a couple of builds ago when I tried it for the first time. I was planning to use it on my current two dreadnought builds this weekend. ...

I also don't have NGR experience with bindings, but recently had the same experience with Wenge bindings on a hot pipe. I broke about 5 of them. Another attempt would be almost finished, and then "snap" - not necessarily on the tight curves either. I succeeded in the end after introducing the metal ...

I use Autroglym 02B and 03B exclusively. 03B is a medium-coarse cut that I use first, the 02B is a fine cut that I follow with. ..... Total sanding and buffing on a guitar once I'm at this stage is around 1 hour. Allen - can I just clarify two things... - that you move to these Autoglym products af...

Thanks gents - I will continue the normal practice. But it does surprise me that someone with Benedetto's reputation would advocate such an approach if it does not deliver excellent quality. Perhaps it is an attempt to keep the process simpler for inexperienced builders/finishers.
Frank

Up until now, I have used wet/dry all the way up to P2000 or micromesh to do final rubbing out of nitrocellulose finish, followed by a polish. I have been reading Benedetto's book "Making an Archtop Guitar" as this will be my next project. I was intrigued to discover in his finishing chapter that af...

Thanks gents - I will proceed in the usual way!

I am about to fret a neck and am reviewing techniques etc to do it better. I am reading the stewmac book called "Fret Work Step by Step". The few fret jobs I have done to date have simply involved a small taste of titebond on the tang. I was intrigued by a section in the book which discussed the opt...

Might just be my eyse but isnt the whole headstock slightly cupped?? This would suggest veneer isnt the problem. Just my ten cents worth. Yes - that is the case. I can see that the veneers drying out are at least part of the cause, but wondered if the lamination up the centre of the shaft loses som...

Thanks Kim. Unfortunately, I haven't read anything much on veneering, so I was unaware of that one, but it makes sense now. As far as a hot room goes, my 'shed' is fully insulated but not air conditioned, so it would have been pretty hot and dry in there on some of our hot Melbourne summer days. I w...

I prepared these necks many months ago but just discovered this cupping of the headstock. It is most pronounced on the edges. The left shaft is Fijian Mahogany with a Wenge strip up the middle - the cupping is more severe in this case. The right shaft is Blackwood with Silver Wattle strip up middle....

...thanks everyone-got the message. But it will be interesting to the testing at some stage. I need some spruce bracewood. I have managed to do 6 guitars with the spruce & mahogany billets that came in the 2 kits I bought from LMI when I started a couple of years go. Who do the australians purchase ...

matthew wrote:This is how to cut tonewood. The real deal.

...I'm sitting here flabergasted!! What a great clip.

I just glued the fingerboards to dreadnoughts 6 & 7 and used a different process again, which might be of interest to someone as I haven't seen it elsewhere. But for a laugh, here is a summary of my evolution on this front over the last 4 years. Dread #1 - freehand gluing to pencil lines - say no mo...