Guess what I'm making

[dmraco]

Here is how the neck joint looks; I forgot to post this one.

nice work...I hate sanding that part.... :help: :doh:

 

[mayfly]

Here is how the neck joint looks; I forgot to post this one.

I love it!

Hey Greg - I can see your reflection on the back of the neck!

 

[mayfly]

Another piece of the puzzle arrived today:

I can very much recommend Chandler for all your pickguard needs.

 

[Cagey]

It's nice that you got what you want, but I'd guess you had to have taken an incredible leap of faith to order it. That web site leaves a lot to be desired. I'd like to replace the pickguard on my Melody Maker since Gibson doesn't seem to know how to make them, but I'm sure I need a custom fab.

 

[stubhead]

It takes a maximum of maybe two hour's work to make an ordinary pickguard - using hand tools. And believe me, hand tools are greatly preferable. If you think about it, every single way to goink a pickguard involves removing too much material too fast. All you do is measure stuff, cut it out and round and bevel things. This stuff is really fun too:
http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2004113/7913/baltic-birch-plywood-3mm18-x-12-x-12.aspx

$45 for a custom wood pickguard? Here's 42 pickguards for $45!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Baltic-Birch-Plywood-1-8x8-1-2x11-42-pc-Lot-Good-2-Side-/310428006304?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4846f377a0

http://www.petermalinoskiart.com/frames/main_frame.html

 

[mayfly]

It's nice that you got what you want, but I'd guess you had to have taken an incredible leap of faith to order it. That web site leaves a lot to be desired. I'd like to replace the pickguard on my Melody Maker since Gibson doesn't seem to know how to make them, but I'm sure I need a custom fab.

Actually, the purchase involved a lot of back and forth with chandler.  I placed an order, then they contacted me with "are you sure? there are a pile of variables depending on year etc".  We ironed out all the details in great, er, detail before we pulled the trigger.

Not a super website, but super people.  Very old school talk to you types who know a lot about pickguards. 

I'm very satisfied.

Oh and I'm sure I'd screw up a pickguard even with hand tools

 

[dmraco]

I have used them several times with great success.  Best bet is to call.  They are easy to reach.

 

[Cagey]

Oh and I'm sure I'd screw up a pickguard even with hand tools

You and me, both. I've tried doing it by hand more than once in the past, and had unsatisfactory results. It's much easier with templates and a router, but you have to make a template and that's just not practical for one-offs.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

... but you have to make a template and that's just not practical for one-offs.

But it is fun and gives great satisfaction. After all - that is why we go DIY on all this guitar stuff in the first place.

Actually I started making my own pick guards because I tried to get Chandler to do one for me. All though they listed the pick guard on their website they still wanted an outline and whatnot. So I figured ... how hard can it be?

I blew the first one badly ... learned a lesson ... and have made 5 or 6 (different one-offs) since then without problems. Plus the ones where I just bought a strat "blank" and did the "internal" routing.

 

[Cagey]

After all - that is why we go DIY on all this guitar stuff in the first place.

True enough. I may end up making a template for this one after all, because I'm sure I could sell a few on the sites that are more Gibson-centric. They made 1,800 of these Melody Makers (600 each of 3 colors) and the 'guard is just punched out black; it's not beveled/finished at all and it's not standard so there are no color/lamination choices or properly made ones in the aftermarket. I gotta think I'm not the only one who'd like something a little more aesthetically pleasing.

 

[reluctant-builder]

Not a super website, but super people.

The former may be the understatement of the year; they must have made that website in 1995 using Microsoft Front Page and never invested another dime in it.

USACG's site is another horrible one ... Warmoth's vastly superior web-interface is a major reason I chose them for my Jazzmaster build and the neck I recently ordered.

It baffles me why companies won't invest the fairly minimal outlay for a professionally designed and marked-up website. I'd think a better web experience would only increase their proceeds. I know for sure that garbage-looking and hell-to-navigate e-commerce sites will never get my business, nor that of the like-minded web developers I know.

Once, I tried to make a deal with the proprietor of one website: that I'd redesign his site and write new markup for it in exchange for a couple of guitars, which would have cost him significantly less than my total billable hours. He said he couldn't afford the outlay, either in cash or in goods. His website continues to be a dinosaur POS.

 

[stubhead]

USACG's site is another horrible one ... Warmoth's vastly superior web-interface is a major reason I chose them for my Jazzmaster build and the neck I recently ordered.

It baffles me why companies won't invest the fairly minimal outlay for a professionally designed and marked-up website. I'd think a better web experience would only increase their proceeds.

Well, I agree with that insofar as businesses making their primary income on the internet ought to do better - the barter idea is a good one. However, there are a bunch of people who view internet Neanderthalism as a virtue, because they are old-fashioned hand-craftsmanship anti-Twitterish producers of product, not gasbag hot-air bullshitters. Just like there are still music producers who insist on bands recording their songs straight through, with band members all playing together. Knowing Tommy at USACG, I'm quite sure he'd rather be banging wood than fussing over font types.

And you have to respect that, too - like it or not, "the internet" has become associated with being a huge waste of time & energy (umm...) and people who want to make great stuff know that they personally need to be making it. What I've noticed flourishing in the guitar world are some stores and sites that take care of the internet end of things, so that luthiers can focus on luthiering.

Like the Premier Builder Guild: http://premierbuildersguild.com/about

And Wild West Guitars, Destroy All Guitars etc. It's just evolution - everybody's making it up as they go. And I'm sure that there are people who are attracted to a funky, disorganized website and view that as a sign of old-fashioned hand-crafted woodiness.

 

[reluctant-builder]

Just like there are still music producers who insist on bands recording their songs straight through, with band members all playing together.

I don't think the above is a commensurate argument. There are merits to single-tracking / piecemeal recording and merits to live recording.

Knowing Tommy at USACG, I'm quite sure he'd rather be banging wood than fussing over font types.

Good for him, I guess. He can bang wood to his heart's content and will never get my business. He could also delegate fussing over font types to someone else, wind up with a fantastic e-commerce interface and find himself with a slew of customers who formerly couldn't stand to navigate such a piece of shit website.

And you have to respect that, too

Nope, I don't. And I don't.

like it or not, "the internet" has become associated with being a huge waste of time & energy (umm...) and people who want to make great stuff know that they personally need to be making it.

And I'm not stopping them from making whatever is their bailiwick. I'm merely suggesting that they set in motion, either internally or through recruiting a freelance developer, changing a significant portal to their business from a frustrating cluster@#$% into a worthwhile user experience that will net them more business.

And I'm sure that there are people who are attracted to a funky, disorganized website and view that as a sign of old-fashioned hand-crafted woodiness.

USACG and that awful pickguard site that Mayfly posted about are not "charming" Internet equivalents of old wood-plank and barn beam workshops. They're Byzantine, decrepit, clapboard lean-tos moldering on the trailing edge of a medium from which significantly more potential could be derived for relatively little outlay.

 

[Cagey]

USACG and that awful pickguard site that Mayfly posted about are not "charming" Internet equivalents of old wood-plank and barn beam workshops. They're Byzantine, decrepit, clapboard lean-tos moldering on the trailing edge of a medium from which significantly more potential could be derived for relatively little outlay.

That's a good point. I don't care how good the food is, if I go into a restaurant that appears dirty/shabby and operates in a disorganized manner while providing sub-par service, it's highly unlikely they're going to get my business. The cook, who may be the owner, doesn't have to clean the men's room, decorate the dining room or run the cash register. But, he should see to it that somebody who's good at it does those things or the business is unlikely to do very well. Same is true of any business.

 

[Jim_H]

I spend hours hours browsing warmoths site, and I do it frequently.  It's a huge source of inspiration for me to continue building guitars of all kinds (warmoth and others).  There is zero inspiration to visit USACG, because there is nothing of interest there. 

Part of the satisfaction you get from making a purchase, is the experience. Whether it's online, or in a brick and mortar. 

 

[dmraco]

I spend hours hours browsing warmoths site, and I do it frequently.  It's a huge source of inspiration for me to continue building guitars of all kinds (warmoth and others).  There is zero inspiration to visit USACG, because there is nothing of interest there. 

Part of the satisfaction you get from making a purchase, is the experience. Whether it's online, or in a brick and mortar.

Too bad this is not a warmoth.  But a great axe in its own right.

You do make a valid point.  Warmoth has SO much more to offer over USACG.  Quality, finish work, diversity...etc....

 

[swarfrat]

there is nothing of interest there. 

Except a compound radius that starts at 7.25 instead of 10. But yeah, a well run web site really helps the imagination go wild.

 

[Jim_H]

Well,

My point is, if you are just window shopping, thinking of ideas, then Warmoth is a much better place for that.

If USACG has a specific item (the neck radius you mentioned, wolfgang body, etc...), then it's site is adequate (barely) for that.

I've been wanting a Wolfgang body for a long time, just to have one.  Every time I went to USACG site, and started filling out the online quote form, I got discouraged and said heck with it..

I finally ended up ordering a blank from Warmoth,and I'm going to dust off my routers and make my own.

 

[mayfly]

If you want to see a great site, check out the site for my band!!!

www.cornflowerbluemusic.com

Make sure you have a look at the 'store' page  :evil4:

Can we get back to talking about my Jr now?  :glasses9:

 

[Jim_H]

Nice site...

Might I suggest a way to turn off the music, so it's a little more work friendly ?

Or perhaps put the music on a tunes page?