offricial DIY discussion thread

[LirvA]

check out these little tools I bought imo





bet they'll come in handy imo

[Pot Odds RAC]

Did this just turn into the DIY Dental work thread?

[LirvA]

[elbuennico]

Originally Posted by Pot Odds RAC

Did this just turn into the DIY Dental work thread?

aaaaarrrrrrggggg, You got me, I was about to post the same thing.

[LirvA]

So I'm having some issues with my strat.

You may remember I broke my whammy bar off in the tremolo block during a gig. I took it in and the store I bought it from removed the broken piece and gave me a new bar.

My issue is there's a lot of metal shavings down in there now, and I can't seem to get it all out. I've tried using a solder sucker, I've tried turning it upside down and trying to bang it all out, but every time I remove my bar after use, I pour metal shavings out with the little spring that keeps the bar from bottoming out. Another issue is, that spring that keeps tension on the bar and keeps it from bottoming out, when I move the bar down out of the way or behind the bridge to sort of reverse whammy it, I can get some scraping.

Any ideas?

[analoguesounds]

Ok so I have been looking at some kit guitars on ebay (australia) and wondered if those with any experience in kit builds could advise what I should be looking out for in these kits?

They are pretty cheap around $200-300 so they compare well to buying a fully assembled asian built guitar.

I would be looking to get either a ES335 style, Rickenbacker style or the Les Paul Jnr.

The 335 or Rickenbacker ones would be more pricey and possibly a little more complex.

Les Paul Jnr: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/LP-JR-Gui...item4ab2095d46

Rickenbacker: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DIY-Elect...item19cbd4b2a2

ES335: http://www.guitarmakersemporium.com/...itar-kits/#335

[jmitchell42]

[elbuennico]

Originally Posted by analoguesounds

Ok so I have been looking at some kit guitars on ebay (australia) and wondered if those with any experience in kit builds could advise what I should be looking out for in these kits?

They are pretty cheap around $200-300 so they compare well to buying a fully assembled asian built guitar.

I would be looking to get either a ES335 style, Rickenbacker style or the Les Paul Jnr.

The 335 or Rickenbacker ones would be more pricey and possibly a little more complex.

Les Paul Jnr: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/LP-JR-Gui...item4ab2095d46

Rickenbacker: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DIY-Elect...item19cbd4b2a2

ES335: http://www.guitarmakersemporium.com/...itar-kits/#335

If you wanna gain some experience in guitar build, go for one of those kits. This is a great start cause it's gonna give you a better idea of what a guitar consists of.
Of course don't expect the too much concerning quality of woods, fingerboard, tuning machines etc...
But definitely since it's really cheap, give it a try.
I don't have experience with kits since I made my guitars by myself but those kits look OK.

You should look closely at the trussrod and how to adjust them carefully and that's it.

[elbuennico]

also, try to avoid for your first build a set neck guitar. That could end wrong if using bad quality or inappropriate glue.

Give a try to a telecaster :
replace the tuners and buy some Gotoh ones
For pickups look at DiMarzio Chopper T, twang king or other hum cancelling pickups
Buy a fixed bridge for tele.

You could have a very decent guitar and quite versatile.

[elbuennico]

I didn't mention that you should ask them how the neck is built.
Fretwork won't be an easy part if it's not done yet.
And ask them if you'll have to work on fret levelling. Cause there you're not gonna be happy on this part of the build.

[guller]

That body for the lp junior kit is just ridiculous. Are those laminates even the same type of wood. Just buy the Epiphone version for way better quality. If you want to buy a build kit get pieces from a reputable company like Warmouth.

[Gonzirra]

Always start from the basics. With guitars I think it's better to start with learning setup and working your way back from there.

If you can wire pickups that's a step. Adjusting intonation is on the various bridge styles is another. Then learning how to adjust neck relief, level and radius fretboards, make and slot a nut correctly, etc, that will put you further down the line. All of this can be done on any cheap guitar.

Then if you're still feeling froggy, you can get a basic alder body + a maple neck for not too much, and learn all about sealing, sanding, painting and buffing. Good stuff.

Finally when that's not good enough, you can deck your shop out with some serious tools and go on a StewMac shopping spree and make your own from scratch. And then start carving your own maple tops and routing out binding channels and picking out purfing and all that good stuff.

Eventually, if you stick to it long enough, you'll wind up making multi-laminate, natural wood, fretless basses, which will have oddball shapes and curly horns. That's where it all leads.

[blkmagik98]

Originally Posted by dispatch87

Good news! That should work

That would be easy to fix. I'm a professional luthier, but most Gibson neck fixes are pretty easy. You would have to remove the tuners and put some wood glue (I prefer Titebond) inside the break. I usually use a small, thin metal ruler to push the glue far down inside the break. After that is done, apply two or three clamps, then using a slight damp (not wet) cloth, wipe off the excess glue that seeps out.

Michael

[dispatch87]

^^Awesome! I might do this today and I'll take pics and report back.

[blkmagik98]

As requested in the Introduce Yourself thread, here are a couple of pictures of the metal Telecaster that I built. Curly maple top on a mahogany body, trans black lacquer finish, and a maple neck with an ebony fingerboard, two EMG X Series pickups (81X in the bridge and a 60X in the neck)....

Michael