Official Luthiers Forum!

Don't know if this fits here or not, but...
The bad news- I have completed my first scrach build(electric). Now I have nothing to build. I've spent nearly a year and a half building this thing, and enjoyed every minute of it, even when I screwed up and had to fix it(several times). Money's tight, so it will be a while before I can begin another. I'm jonesing really badly and about to go nuts. Don't really know what to do with myself.
The good news- It plays and sounds great, and I'm really enjoying playing it. Plus, I've gotten lots of compliments. I look at it and think,"I didn't do too bad. If I'm diligent, my work can only get better." A good place to be, IMHO.

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

hey mike, why not look through the lumberyards and find some wood,
for another build?
if you go acoustic, a lot less layout for da whole project.
those electrics are expensive to build.
go acoustic!

I really can't relate to that scenario.

_________________
Say what you do, Do what you say.

Alan, I have considered going acoustic several times. However, the same lack of cash that prevents me from jumping into another build at this time also prevents me from controling the humidity where I would store wood. Humidity for a large part of the year has been well above 60%. I'm just not certain I could consistently build without the thin plates of the top and back of an acoustic guitar warping all over the place, or splitting like crazy when the humidity finally does go down.
Add to that the fact that I build mostly on my front porch on a Black and Decker Workmate, and you begin to see my dilema. The large, thick pieces of wood that make up an electric guitar are much less susceptible to swings in humidiy that a thin acoustic plate.
I have some wood I can use to build with. I have another neck blank I glued up from the wood I made my first from. I also have another cutting board(which is what I made the first guitar from). My problem at the moment is that my zigsaw gave up the ghost making templates for this next build. Purchasing a good replacement would probably cost in the $100 range, unless I buy used, which I'm reluctant to do because I have no clue how badly abused a used one might have been. I have a friend who says he has one I can use, but I'm not sure what he has, and if it's stout enough for the job. Hate to end up owning him a saw. I'll check it out soon, though.

Also, I'd actually like to build a chambered body this time around, with a top braced like an acoustic. I figure if I get the top wood in early and let it sit a while till the beginning of winter, when the humidity drops, i can brace it and glue it up under low humidity and be safe. I plan to use an acoustic bridge and saddle, and a UST pickup. But I'm in search of a drill press i can get access to, along with some forstner bits to make that process go faster.
I've got a little time to do this, so hopefully it'll all come together pretty quick. I'm just having a problem finding something to do in the meantime.

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I successfully defended my thesis on Monday and now have a PhD in business/marketing. When I called my wife to tell her that the defense went well, she told me that she just had a car accident (only vehicle damage, and other driver was at fault). Since we're planning to sell our 17 year old car in a few weeks and get a new(er) one, we may very well get a 'deal' out of that accident

Christian

Christian, congrats on the PhD, and thank God your wife nor anyone else was hurt in the accident. That's always good news.

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

When I cut,scratch, nick the skin of a finger without realizing it, and leave a blood stained fingerprint on my wood. I just HATE that.....

That's a signature. It should make the guitar worth ALOT more.




It must be "00 sale week". I took a just strung up Adi/African Mahogany 00 to a gig last night. Another guy playing at the gig liked it, and bought it, paid for it, and played it at the gig. I played his old D18 during the gig. I love old D18's but I feel funny playing other brand guitars on stage.


Added: I've got a Dtar Wavelength that's been in 4 or 5 spec guitars that I've gigged with. I take it out when I sell the guitar if the client doesn't want a pickup. It's gone now, I guess I'll have to buy another. (I hope Rick reads this LOL)

_________________
I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/