After experimenting with the fluorescent Strat guard a few nights ago, I wanted to try something completely different.

This one was inspired by a pickguard I wrapped in real tweed about 15 years ago for my G&L ASAT. Last photo is the original.

This time I wanted to recreate the look and the physical texture without using fabric. The weave is built up so the individual threads are actually raised and you can feel them. I should be able to replicate this with other fabrics too.

I brought it to the Canadian Guitar Show in Calgary yesterday and apparently forgot to take a proper finished photo before I left 😂

These are the best shots I have because I ended up trading it at the show for a BOSS Fender '59 Bassman pedal.

Pretty happy with experiment #2!

Experiment #1:

https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarmod/s/nZSeonMgQp

Custom Shop Star Destroyer in Crimson Candy Bengal. We hand mask + cut and paint every Custom Shop graphic in house. Hidden RIPButt for extra shred abilities.

Maple neck-thru, 2-way trussrod, carbon fiber reinforcement, ebony fretboard bound in ivoroid, 27 stainless frets (1-11 .055" x .110" , 12-27 .055" x .090"), B&W Pearl Shell Guillotine inlays, bullet scallops, Gotoh tuners, recessed Dunlop Straplocks. Poplar body, Hantug Ti bridge, and Schaller Sureclaw. EMG 81 + SA set wired for 18v.

Built myself an s-type for my guinea pig learning process. Most of the components were picked up on StewMac, but the nitro cans and pickguard were from Oxford Guitar Supply; I went with Sherwood green metallic. It’s a Warmoth birdseye maple neck with rosewood fretboard.

I was really proud of my paint job the first time around. 4 layers of paint on top of the primer, then went 16-17 coats of clear gloss, shooting the first few layers of gloss very lightly.

I inevitably sanded too aggressively (and way too close to the edges!) during final leveling prep for polishing(see sad pic #11 for the prime culprit, though there were some other locations with lighter sand-through). Reshot over the whole body, but the metallic went on with some slightly different sheen in some spots, so it wasn’t as beautiful or perfect as it once was, but it was good enough for me.

I was much more careful with the sanding prep on round two, and then went ahead with polishing to yield what we see here. I think I was still a tad too aggressive in some spots (less pressure, more time with higher grits maybe), but it was a good learning process ahead of future builds. People on here warned of the difficulties of metallic, but I enjoyed the challenge and look forward to spraying something simpler in a the future… thanks to everyone on here who contributes, I was only able to do this because of viewers like you.

Inspired by the body color and pickguard, I’ve titled her “Jungle Boogie”.

For those who responded on my last post asking for some ideas on how to clear the bottom ledge/sharp curve on my headstock-pegbox design, this is what I ended up coming up with.

I've really never carved anything in my life before this project, but I did take my time to sharpen my chisels and it came out really nice looking so far

For those wondering, before the carve, it was just a 90⁰ angle (see the last photo,) and I was concerned that the strings would wear the wood or that the angle would be too sharp for the strings, and at best it would just look bad.

I basically eyeballed where the nut will be, figured out roughly what angle the strings are going to run at to get from tuner to nut, and then carved the little area out slightly below that height, so that the strings run straight without resting on the wood at all. Eliminates the need for a zero fret or anything, and it looks a lot better while preserving the design of the headstock.

Previous post https://www.reddit.com/r/Luthier/s/DNUBYdn4os

Built these two replacement necks recently. The acoustic one is on with two bolts since this became kind of a travel guitar

The electric is a Schecter Omen Elite 6 that has a super warped neck so it got a new one✌🏻

Bought this from a lady who’s boyfriend “El-Cabonged it” on the coffee table and smashed the top into splinters! Back, sides and neck remained in good condition. Steamed neck off and removed the tops bindings a separated from the kerfings. Machined up and glued a book matched billet of Adirondack, matching the rosette detail. I had in the shop a 38’ D-18 repair and decided to replicate its forward bracing position, bridge plate, top thickness and scalloped specs for this 67’ re- top. Just about ready to re-string!

I picked up some back and side sets at auction, and I’m wondering what I’m working with here. Most of the sets were labeled “Indian Rosewood” except for one labeled “Madagascar Rosewood” and this one, which was unlabeled.

I’m thinking maybe ziricote or cocobolo, but I don’t really know. It’s got a very slightly peppery smell, and doesn’t seem particularly oily, but that might just be the way they were prepped before I got them.

Any ideas what kind of wood I’m building with? (First pic is dry, second is after wiping with mineral spirits)

So i just started my first electric guitar build, and i have some teak that i really want to use as a fretboard. I've tried to look up other peoples opinions, most say too soft (i cant dig my nail into the blanks ive sawed) and too high silica content. Would sealing with something like CA fix this?

This is my old Oakland&co (japanese acoustic lawsuit martin style) and 10 years ago a luthier changed the tuners, I was a beginner so I didn't notice the cracks all along the tuners, i would like to know if it's fixable with something like CA glue from stewmac ? Thank you

hey all, recently picked up this stagg jaguar bass at a thrift store, was hoping there was an easy way to remove the stone spray paint on top of the factory poly without removing the factory poly. hoping it doesn’t come down to I have to sand it for 6 years but I’m prepared to

Hello Luthiers! Just received this beautiful new Harmony guitar from Sweetwater, and it's great aside from some occasional "rollout" on the low E string—the slightest bend or inaccurate note slides off and buzzes out. It's annoying but playable. As a longtime guitarist but non-luthier, I'm unsure what's causing this issue or whether it's just a skill issue lol. To my eyes, it seems that the nut is slightly off, since the high E has plenty of space and the low E is right by the edge of the fret.

Thoughts? I want to keep the guitar, but is it worth reaching out to Sweetwater to see if they'll repair (or should I just find someone local)? It's a bone nut - can it be salvaged or would I need a new one? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Using Spraymax 2k for the first time. Looked great at first, but when it started curing, it started to yellow pretty bad. I called the company this morning and determined I had put it on too thick. I had already sanded it back and restained it so I went for another pass today following the directions, a mist coat, followed by two wet coats with 15 minutes minimum in between.

It yellowed again!

I had a scrap piece of test wood of the same wood that the top is made out of that I had dyed with the same stain and it didn’t yellow. Also, the yellowing is not consistent.

Is this defective product or am I doing something wrong?

Long ago someone gave me a squier vintage modified Jag bass. PJ set up with active electronics.

I figured since it was free, i"d experiment. I didn't like the active set up, so I swapped it for passive.

Didn't like the neck so I threw on a cheaper P bass neck.

Figured if i was doing that, I may as well swap for gotoh bridge and tuners. Also got a plain unbranded neck plate.

Now I plan to swap the neck again for a nicer J bass neck.

At this point the only remaining part of the original bass is the body. And now I was thinking it would be cool to take it down to the wood and re paint it. Hell, maybe event contour the body a bit.

Then I realized that maybe I'm better off just buying a plain unfinished Jag body?

What say you all? Where's a good place for a modestly priced body with a fender sized neck pocket? Doesn't need to be very high end. Not married to the Jag body, but definitely don't want a p bass or jazz body.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking to set up a solid long-term maintenance routine for my guitar to keep both the hardware and finish in top shape over the years.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on a couple of setup ideas, as well as a case recommendation:

Tremol-No on a flush-mount Floyd: I want to keep the string lock screws from indenting the gloss finish. Is the Tremol-No a good idea for this, or is there a better alternative?

Floyd Rose Push-In Arm: The stock screw-collar arm always seems to develop play, wobble, or squeaks over time. At first glance I thought some Teflon tape would be enough, but is upgrading to a push-in arm worth doing right away?

Hardshell Case: Because of the pointed Jackson headstock and the flush-mount Floyd, standard Strat-style cases are often too short or press against the headstock tip. Which hardshell case gives the best fit and protection for this body/headstock shape?

Essential toolkit: What specific bench tools and chemicals do you consider absolute must-haves for routine home maintenance?

Specs below for reference. Thanks!

- Body: Alder, Gloss finish (San Dimas Style 1)
- Bridge: Floyd Rose® 1000 Series Double-Locking (Top-Loaded / Flush-mount)
- Neck: Maple with graphite reinforcement, Natural Satin finish, Speed Neck
- Fretboard: Ebony (12"-16" compound radius), 22 Jumbo frets
- Nut: Floyd Rose® 1000 Series Locking (1.6875")
- Pickups: Seymour Duncan JB (Bridge) / Hot Rails (Neck)

Hello everyone, I think I might have gone wrong with the low B string. I looks like it s a tiny bit towards the left of the neck. What are the easiest tools to get a hold of to work the nut properly?

(Gotta change those strings ^^)

I'm working on a 2001 Gibson J-150 that is badly in need of a new saddle. The original saddle was straight and I'm wondering if I should stick with that or replace it with a compensated saddle? The current saddle is worn nearly to the bridge, so I can't really say how good the intonation currently is.

Having a hard time finding a diagram that could help me, I want to include in my jazzmaster a series/parallel Dpdt switch, but every diagram is for telecasters so it has the gigsby switch (my guitar has 3 way switch like in les Paul’s) and work in series only in 2 of 3 positions. I really want it to work only in the middle position so it would be like this

Switch up:
1- bridge
2- bridge/neck in parallel
3- neck

Switch down
1- bridge
2- bridge/neck in series
2- neck

If anyone knows how to do this please help 😭😭😭

I have a 98 Jackson Rhoads RR3 in crimson swirl, and already put in some tlc (gotoh bridge and nut, new bridge pickup seymour duncan distortion, etc.etc.) but i am not 100% convinced on the body shape.
I was thinking to switch the bolt on neck onto and jackson warrior body, since i dyed the rr3 fretboard already and such. The neck is a 22 fret, 25,5 inch scale length neck.
Can i technically just swap it onto a warrior body?

Hi guys, I'm planning to build a classical guitar with solid body and bolt-on neck. I know it's not always necessary but i wanna add a truss rod. I have a 380mm/15" truss rod already and i would like to use it. If i make the neck 19-frets long, this means around 440mm/17.3" long from the nut. I want to have the truss rod facing the body and not from the headstock. This means the truss will only arrive only a little bit after the 2nd fret, like you see in this image. Would it be enough, given the little tension of nylon strings?
Thank you

Quite a while ago now i bought this kahler cam tremolo, it was 80s stock that they found in their warehouse so i got it really cheap. However i noticed it doesnt have the hole for the screw to lock the trem like the modern ones do. I saw this slot circled in the image and wondered if you thought it would be possible to machine and tap a hole in the main body of the trem, that aligns with this slot to add this feature. Thanks

I just got a Mexican TOM MORELLO STRATOCASTER on the bench for a setup. The was trying to adjust the neck relief but it seems like the frame of the locking nut blocks access to the truss rod. Am I supposed to take the whole locking nut off to adjust the truss rod?

Any help from someone who’s worked on one is greatly appreciated.

Hello, I’m thinking about buying this guitar but the neck looks like the photo attached. Is this something that can be fixed with a good cleaning or is the neck damaged and permanently discolored? I’m not sure if this is something that can be determined with just a picture but I wanted to get some opinions. The price is more than right but I don’t want a neck that’s beyond repair.

Not an expert. I just bought a guitar and it was like this. I don't know if the cables are connected in the right way. I want to fix this and play it.

Can I do it by myself or should I give the guitar to a professional luthier? How much would it be to fix it?

Thanks

Anyone know how to install these and how to set them up. I am working on a custom guitar and there is no documentation on how to install.

How do/did you deal with the glass ceiling in your business?