More questions

[Cookie man]

Hey guys

I was wondering what material you like using for head and tail blocks. I've heard and read that mahogany gets used a fair bit, but if there is any (cheaper) alternatives that would still work well?
Also has anyone made their own scraper blades before? If so could you kindly share how you did it.
What do you find yourself spending more on: tools, wood or something else such as replacement parts?
Oh, one more question: How do you work out where to place the bridge?

Thanks very much, so far I am really liking the support and sense of community around here. hopefully once school's done I can start my first build...

[Allen]

For tail blocks I've used all kinds of wood. Qld. Maple, Mahogany, Blackwood and even spruce. Now I'm using some quality plywood as it's a lot stronger and very unlikely to split should the instrument get dropped on the tail.

I'd hate to calculate how much I've spent on either wood or tools. It would be a tough call on which was more.

The bridge, or more exactly the saddle is placed according to the fret scale plus the compensation for that particular scale, type of strings and instrument. There are various ways of figuring this out, but a real handy one is on Stew Macs web site.

I use jigs to accurately place the bridge in relation to the nut and the fret board for all my instruments. Worked out some quick simple methods so that when we've got over a dozen students we can be sure that the bridge goes in the right spot without any fuss.

[charangohabsburg]

Also has anyone made their own scraper blades before? If so could you kindly share how you did it.

Only once when I was in Peru because there was no way to buy less stiff scraper blades than those used for stripping old paint.



It worked well but cost more than three scraper blades (which was what the kitchen palette yielded).

[Alastair]

Old handsaw blades, make good scrapers.

Ifyou can get one from a 2nd hand place, or auction, it would have a lifetime of scrapers in it

[woodrat]

I found some very heavy duty spring steel strapping on a building site some years ago. It was about 1 1/2 inches wide and was blue like a gun blued gun barrel (usually a sign of good steel) . It has made excellent inexpensive scrapers as it is very good steel.