Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

main thing is not to overthink things - Leo was a man of action and expedience and that was the key to the success of this particular design - Use what is at hand and if it is top quality and built carefully it'll work. here's a decent layout of a model T neck i PDF format - if you get that printed ...

did you ground the bridge? get the earth and hot reversed at the jack? regardless of the shielding you should get negligible buzz with that type of pickup. the shielding should be uninterrupted and continuous in the cavity, cover and the pickup route - the cavity cover should be shielded and earthed...

Not so great when you compensate at the nut. I know some use a compensated zero fret but making one of those must be just as much work as doing up a nut. Yep i'd agree on that but I don't accept that compensated nut is necessary to get a sweet sounding electric guitar or bass with saddles that are ...

any one have any experience with Behlens WB pore filler?
https://www.guitaraust.com.au/finishing ... iller.html
Guitaraust have an interesting range and I find myself looking in there more and more of late

Congratulations on your bass builds - they look bonzer and I bet they both will sound super. When you say Australian Ash, do you mean Vic Ash? Or is there another species? look sorry to hark back to this question when the basses are almost finished. Vic Ash I have used for both necks and bodies. Ver...

A great way to build a neck and not used a lot because of guitarists phobias. IMO it is a better system than a finicky nut

Dont discount Australian Ash which works well as a bass body. Resonant hard and some boards are light if you scoot through a rack. If you get a dense board and chamber it with a fancy top you will have a great sounding bass as long as you have decent pickups. i have also used Fiji mahogany to build ...

Any one having problems with Hosco strat bodies. Got a new one here I and the trem route is 1/10" too far back making modification necessary. A real PIA and not the first I have had like it.

The Plek ahh imagine what you could achieve with all that money ,I have worked around some pretty slick Machinery in my time that one is some ,if it aint broke don't fix it type Machine .I do think there is some great innovative gear out there for guitar repair and manufacture but with a limited re...

Is there any cooling on the Carbatec drummies? no but there is a savage cut out switch that shuts it down as soon as you start running it too hard - running mine for 5 years and done a deal of work with it - you do learn to keep the feed rate and bite size reasonable or you spend all day waiting fo...

just to add my 2c worth to this info packed thread. wiping varnish recipe: 3 turps 2 varnish thats it either wipe on thinly with a soft cloth and leave to go off or use a wide very soft bristle brush again applied just enough to wet the surface 3 or 4 coats is enough - it wont fill grain some else m...

Fanny fret I do like that :[) There are probably good reasons supporting the use of a multi scale fret board apart from making them desirable to players with too many guitars and too much money. I have been playing straight fret guitars for over 50 years and never felt I needed any better intonation...

Paulownia...what CANT you do with it??? Build a quality electric guitar, Yep like a lot of others when the americans started going gang busters about teles built out of it i had 3 meters sent down from NSW to try it out. I couldnt bring myself to waste the time on a single blank. Too soft by far. I...

I use Korg rackmount tuners -an old one in the workshop in a loop between the bench and the amp - a newer version of the same one in the office. Both are quite accurate with a wide sweep and 3 tuning modes from coarse to strobe. For non amplified instruments i'll use a clip or if I am repositioning ...

lemon oil is good
don't use boiled linseed oil as it has hardeners in it - it will go sticky and set over time like a slow drying varnixh

I know a bloke who has built an amazing electric guitar out of carbon fibre - Once I got over the shock of the lightness of it, playing that particular guitar is a very nice experience. For me if it looks and plays nice it doesn't matter what its made of. Whether alternative materials will take over...

http://www.carltonguitars.com.au/posting/IMG_7603.jpg 6.35mm [1/4"] od brass tube with some points filed into the bottom which makes a nice mini hole saw - or i guess plug cutter - when i got to depth the plug just broke off and pulled out screw and all. A neat trick that I had seen years ago somew...

http://www.carltonguitars.com.au/posting/IMG_7600.jpg Not quite sure what to do here - the screw is snapped off just below the surface - diamater is 2.7mm x 25mm long - too big for the stewmac doo hickie - blue tape marks the back of the bridge - is there a way to retrieve it or am I wasting my tim...

AFAIK AMS stocks it in which case your local music shop can order it in for - if you like i have a sheets which you can have for cost + post
it is quite thin stuff and will only go on a lacquered surface successfully - it is sticky on the back

Not the first gibson or epi i've seen that has the bridge position slightly off. Usually you can get it close enough and when explaining the implications of moving the bridge the owner will usually opt for close enough. A photo or two of the guitar its model number etc is always very helpful . Allan...

Those marker dots look a bit too round I reckon I was pretty close :mrgreen: yairs but i didnt want to give too much away at that point of the proceedings at the end of the day they are just too big and I'll get another board cut :x meanwhile any one looking for a nice curly maple fingerboard for a...

thanks for looking at this for me - your comments are very much appreciated - the fret markers are oversize - 6.8mm I made a fingerboard by hand with a radius beam - not a deep radius but it still took a lot of scrubbing with a radius beam to get the profile in even using 40 grit - I hate that job s...

i'll leave it a bit longer and see if any one can hit it
not sure whether i am game to say what it is now this was a major freak out for me on quite an expensive instrument

GLAAARRRGHHH!!

one a them days - here she is:

A few years ago I bought in some native NZ timber in my suitcase. I declared it and the customs blokes never even looked at it. They were far more interested in what might be in the tread of my shoes.