Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

routout wrote:I was wondering about introducing wax into the wood and then trying to put a finish over it ?

The way I was tought was that you only put wax on the front part of the sole when makinging your finishing passes. That way the wax is cut away.

I ordered all 4 . I can't resist adding things to my cart when I am shopping on stewmac.

Are the trade secrets books worth it? I've got them (2 volumes) and they're full of lots of useful tips and tricks, in these days of google, youtube & forums, most are probably available with a bit of a search but it's handy having them all together at your workbench in two books. It's been some ye...

The hardest part about ordering from Stewmac is hitting submit on the checkout and realising you forgot something .

Are the trade secrets books worth it? I am definitely grabbing the finishing book.

Can you lay them all up together on their side and use a hand plane on the edge (or possibly even you drum sander)?

Wow thanks so much for the responses. I think I will see if I can get it up here than. Sounds like the one weak spot is the fence, hopefully the locking mechanisms work OK and I can beef it up a bit. What blades are you guys using? Maybe something like this http://www.bunnings.com.au/diablo-305mm-80...

Thanks for the reply Allen, Yeah I kind of figured that (size wise). It's not any smaller than what I was considering buying anyway. I was more concerned about the accuracy of the blade and the fence. Little hard to tell how solid it is. It's not really the money that I am concerned about, more that...

Hi Guys, Wondering if it is possible to draw on the forums expansive collective knowledge and experience yet again? :D . I have been offered a table saw. It was my grandfathers and I think it is probably from around the mid 80's. I have searched around and cannot find any info on it. It is a McMilla...

Hi John,

No experience but have you seen this article?

http://www.doolinguitars.com/articles/bridgejigs/

Thanks everyone. I a managed a respectable fix with CA. I am going to be a lot more careful next time!

The Gotoh tuners will work fine with a 10mm hole straight through. However, they can tilt a little under string tension, which means tightening the ferrules more than you'd want. The "get out of jail" card is to go to Bunnings and buy some 10mm aluminium tube. It has an 8mm bore. Cut short lengths ...

You could use a different tuner. Hipshot use a 10mm hole straight through. Thanks Allen, great suggestion. I had looked at a few brands but never thought to look at Hipshot. Whats the best place to source these? I really like the look of the partially open back models they have and have considered ...

Hi Jeremy, I also made a mistake like this when drilling holes for Mandolin Tuners. Luckily I have a lathe, so I turned plugs to fit my stepped holes. I'd already stepped the holes to accept bushings. I used scraps of timber the same as the headpiece and prior to 'turning' I laminated the same face...

Hi Mark, Thanks for the reply. Not sure a picture would help. Basically Gotoh tuners call for a stepped hole for installation. 10mm from the back of the headstock and 8mm from the front of the headstock. I have gone and reversed this and done 10mm from the front face and 8mm from the back. I was thi...

Hi Guys, I am currently building my third acoustic. Its a left handed l-00 for a friend. It has been an absolute nightmare from day 1. Today I finally got it to setup stage, did a light fret dress and went to install the tuners. Turns out somewhere along the line I drilled the stepped holes around t...

On my first guitar I used stumac 3 on a plate restoration tuners. I spent days tracking down a rattle. Turns out one of the ivoroid buttons needed to be pulled off and and re-glued in place.

That looks brilliant. Do you know the brand name for the ones that you used? I will check it out on my next trip to Bunny's Hi Mark, Pretty sure it was these guys but I think any would work. http://www.bunnings.com.au/3m-tekk-protection-disposable-ear-plugs-10-pairs_p5820581 It worked surprisingly ...

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the reply. I think that is the strategy that I am going to go with after speaking to a few other people. I had another look at it last night and it is nowhere near as bad as it looks in the photo.

To me, that simply looks like what mirotone looks like when it chips, which unfortunately happens quite easily. When I use Auto 2k I can smash a drill bit into it wrecklessly and it's hard enough that it's still perfect, mirotone you only have to look at it sideways and this will happen. To answer ...

Hi Alex, No its mac ebony. I don't think it is adhesion problems, just my own stupidity (and inexperience). I have been reading up on frets.com and a few other places and i think I will try and do some drop fill sessions with a fine paint brush after re-masking that area of the fretboard. Hopefully ...

Hi Guys, I wonder if I could get some advice. I was pulling the masking tape off the fretboard on the guitar I am building and have got some chip out in the finish. I scraped the edges with a razor blade first but I wasn't being careful enough and didn't realise how much finish was on this area. I w...

Hi Guys, I don't know if this is an original idea or not. I really hated cleaning out tuner holes after finishing with gloss lacquer so I decided to try and plug them. I purchased some disposable ear plugs from bunnings, rolled him into a small cylinder and inserted them into the tuner holes. Once c...

I love following your progress Allen. I was looking back though the earlier builds on this site and I was impressed by the fact that you had your own unique voice even from the start. You are really hitting your stride now, its inspiring to watch. A true artist.

Thanks Wayne, Blackwood bindings. I picked up a couple of nice sets of Zircote when the dollar was good. This build is for a friend and I kept the nicer set for myself :). Spewing that it is left handed I would have liked to kept it for a few months. It is going to end up in Melbourne so hopefully i...

Finally started the finish on my l-00 build. Has taken for ever. Left handed and my first cutaway.