dots or no dots

[BigSteve22]

I have an old Craftsman version of that portable drill stand. It's got a square base and a depth gauge, but no pipe/rod centering. I use it to make perpendicular holes in large surfaces, like plywood panels. Paired with a 1/2" drill, it does really comes in handy when you can't use a real drill press.

 

[Cagey]

I had one many years ago when I was a no-house, no-tools, no-money puppy that I misused as a router. It sorta worked. I mean, I accomplished what I set out to do, so there's that. But, just to be clear: drill motors with portaligns attached are not routers  :laughing7:

 

[TBurst Std]

Some fretboards are so pretty, you just don't want to disturb their natural appearance. Some Pau Ferro and Ziricote boards, among others, are that way. Others, just being clean looks classy. Ebony and Bloodwood fall into that category. But, depending on what you're playing, sometimes you have your nose right in the thing and face dots might not be such a bad idea.

Having had some discussion about this before, and having a buddy who has an Epiphone "dot" ES-type guitar that, oddly enough, has no dots, we've decided to do his with standard size centered dots and I'm going to do one of my dotless necks as well. Ordered the dots last night, so between the two of us we have a serious $9 investment here. Gotta make good on that, or I won't be able to sleep at night.

His neck is already fretted, so unless he asks me to refret it (possible, but unlikely), we're gonna find out what kind of mess installing regular dots on that one is going to be. On mine, I'm going to do the Godin thing, where they're just tiny (side dot sized) dots running along the low E side of the fretboard. I'm pretty sure that one's gonna be a walk in the park.

Wish me luck!

Keep us posted. I some necks coming
up.

 

[mayfly]

Always a fan of your work Cagey; looking forward to seeing your dots.

Speaking of dots, I'm a HUGE fan of dots!  Comes from an unpleasant experience on a stage with my bran-spankin' new Richenbacker 350.  A stylin' guitar, but with a heavy reflective finish on the fretboard under the bright lights I could Not... See.... The.... FREAKING..... DOTS!!!  Played out of tune a lot. 

that experience led me to love dots.  Very very visible dots.

 

[BigSteve22]

I had one many years ago when I was a no-house, no-tools, no-money puppy that I misused as a router. It sorta worked. I mean, I accomplished what I set out to do, so there's that. But, just to be clear: drill motors with portaligns attached are not routers  :laughing7:

I remember those days, in fact that's the origin of mine. I had that, a "real" router, (spelled Black & Decker), and a 7-1/4" circular saw mounted upside down in a folding, table type thingy, that passed for a table saw. Along with a few hand tools, I thought I was well equipped. And I was, for a 20 year old in a studio apartment anyway! :laughing11:

 

[Cagey]

I could Not... See.... The.... FREAKING..... DOTS!!!  Played out of tune a lot. 

That had to be frustrating. Maybe you should try one of my braille necks. I put a short, thin vertical metal bar every half-step along the length of the neck, so you can just sorta feel where you're at. Works pretty good, unless you're playing a lotta strings at once. Then, keeping track of the counts gets tougher. But, if you can do it, there's also another career you could pursue playing Blackjack...

 

[Cagey]

I remember those days, in fact that's the origin of mine. I had that, a "real" router, (spelled Black & Decker), and a 7-1/4" circular saw mounted upside down in a folding, table type thingy, that passed for a table saw. Along with a few hand tools, I thought I was well equipped. And I was, for a 20 year old in a studio apartment anyway! :laughing11:

Sometimes I think I'd like to be 20 again. Then I remember stuff like that, and being married to my first wife, and working 80 hour weeks, and living in Detroit, and the list of reasons why I'm glad those days are behind me gets pretty long.

 

[Logrinn]

I too will eagerly be looking forward to your dots endeavor. Always a pleasure learning more from a master like you ccasion14:

 

[genxyde]

With dots!
they make playing a lot easier.
:rock-on:

 

[Devin]

I could go either way personally, but I think I prefer it WITH dots.


Beautiful guitar, by the way. Can't wait to see the real thing