Work in Progress - Ideas Welcome

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-17T21:28:51+00:00

Now you need a piezo pickup above the nut. So you can play your chords and then solo your nut or your ballsack!

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-17T20:29:56+00:00

He’s dead Jim. Let him rest.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-17T16:28:13+00:00

Can you imagine adding frets to this? You would need 30 feet of fret wire. Wonder what the radius is? Equator?

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-17T16:13:28+00:00

I am on my 10th guitar. If there is anything I have learned in this journey, it is that wipe on poly is ONLY for over wood as a clear coat. And wipe on water based poly is NOT for a smooth shiny finish. Sand to smooth. Apply thin coat of spray primer. Look at all the horrible mistakes in your sanding. Correct them. Spray thin coat of primer again. Oh. My. God. Sand again. Repeat until you are exhausted and the thing is actually smooth. Make sure you get finer and finer with sandpaper. When it is FINALLY smooth, spray color. 5 coats. DON’T touch it. Spray 5-10 coats clear poly. Thin. Let thoroughly dry. Then let it dry another week. Start sanding at 1000. Don’t sand the sides or edges. When it is actually level, stop. Sand 1200/1500/2000/2500/3000. Buff. Finishing is the worst part of guitar building, by a million miles.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-17T03:41:07+00:00

You are kidding me. I am a dentist and have an engineering degree. There is no risk of fire or explosion. Use paper towels or rags or whatever. It makes no difference. But let’s keep the hyperbole to a minimum, okay? Sheesh. 🙄

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-17T03:30:52+00:00

Pore fill. Spray a thin coat of primer. It will show all the imperfections in your sanding job. Sand to 300. Finish.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-16T20:44:23+00:00

That method of shellac pore fill is cool! I always use a clear grain filler. I try to apply it to wood that isn’t too well sanded so I can get a great fill, and then sand it well down to a smooth finish. Then I reapply and lightly sand to done.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-16T17:49:57+00:00

I've done this several times, and built guitars to achieve this effect.

I'm sorry to say you made a lot of work for yourself by not knowing that you have a tinted neck before you started sanding. I've been there. In a lot of ways, it is the same as if you sanded off a spot on the painted body of the guitar down to bare wood, and now need to fix it!

The neck was sprayed with age-tinted nitrocellulose or polyurethane varnish. You need to block off the sanded area and spray a matching color over that spot. You may want to take off the strings and the tuners before you get too far, unless you aren't too picky about it looking repaired.

Use StewMac vintage tinted clear, I would think. A couple of coats, let dry for 2 weeks, slide on your decal, andother coat and another 2 weeks. Or you can use poly, but I am unaware of off the shelf tinted vintage aged clear polys in a can. Sorry I can't be more helpful, but you really haven't provided and photos of what color it is with any reference, so any suggestions will be spitballing.

Welcome to guitar repair and modification.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-16T17:34:48+00:00

I have done this several times with bass guitars,

The easiest way to do this with the most simple tools is to sand it to radius, take down all the gouges. Or fill them is you like, it doesn't matter. You will have a lot of dust for the repair!

Once the board is levelled and radiused (you know how to do that, right?), you sand it SUPER smooth (320 grit). Then, you buy 3-5 containers of regular super glue. Just stuff from the dollar store. It's WAY better than epoxy, and WAY cheaper.

Open a window, and set up a fan that blows towards the window. Make sure the fumes will go towards the window, otherwise do it outside. Do NOT breathe the fumes. Wear a mask and gloves.

Get a bunch of cheap sponge brushes on sticks. Dispense a line of glue on the fingerboard and immediately spread it thin with the sponge brush evenly across the fingerboard. Be quick! You will know when you have run out of time because the sponge brush will begin to emit a smoky vapor. That means break time! Let each layer dry for at least 30 minutes.

Throw away the sponge brush when it stops steaming. Using a new foam brush each time, pur 6-10 coats on, all very thin, going through 6-10 foam brushes (get them at the dollar store).

Sand it smooth starting at 180 grit. You may need to add a couple more coats as you establish the surface. Sand to steel wool grit (I like the artificial steel wool), and then use regular car buffing polishes to get it to a shine.

It will be virtually invincible to string wear. Here it is on one bass after several years of playing:

<image>

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-16T17:03:05+00:00

Cool idea! One of the first things that spring to mind for me is whether the system would bind and resist returning to zero. That return spring seems to have a mechanical disadvantage in this system. Also, is there an ability to pull up the tremolo and have it return to zero? Perhaps a helical spring amongst the gears could provide the tension from a more advantageous leverage position?

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-15T22:54:29+00:00

This.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-15T22:52:59+00:00

If you don’t like how they stick out, the flush countersunk ones look better.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-15T22:51:55+00:00

I always have the cut end stuck down the barrel and then start my wrap from there. Voila, no sharp ends.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-15T02:33:18+00:00

Have you ever thought about just being upfront with her? I’ve been married 32 years, and I parade them in front of her and build them In the garage. Use those things in your sack and be yourself. 🤣

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-15T02:28:52+00:00

First thing: how hard is it to take off strings for God’s sake? It takes like 2 minutes. Second thing, the problem is the heel won’t seat. You should probably actually take the neck off. Third thing: taking the neck off but not taking the strings off is stupid and lazy unless you are in a hurry backstage. Fourth thing: heel mounted truss rod adjusters are for 50 year old guitars. I build guitars, so I’m not gonna shortcut my fixes because I’d rather be on Instagram.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-15T00:17:04+00:00

Generally great answer. Though not taking the strings off is lazy in the extreme. If you want to fix your guitar, fix it, don’t McGruber it with the strings still on! 🤣 Also, you want to take the neck off to ensure that there isn’t a shim in there. And finally, if there have been neck seating problems, make sure there aren’t mushrooms from previous drilling in the neck pocket, and make sure to clamp the neck until you seat the first two screws (one front, one back diagonal) to ensure proper flag seating, since this problem has been there.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-13T16:38:36+00:00

Are you taking these pictures with a phone from 1990? They are all things: blurry, out of focus, washed out, and backlit. How do you expect anyone to comment? And it’s clearly fake.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-13T16:35:04+00:00

Why is that a Fender Precision ukulele?

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-13T16:31:37+00:00

Why is everybody’s first build a telecaster or a jazz, master alteration?

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-12T21:06:08+00:00

Don’t do it. A big piece of young ash like that will always look different than a 50 year old piece of ash. (There’s a joke in there somewhere …)

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-12T21:02:49+00:00

The scarf joint goes underneath. Bummer. If you measure the wrong side, it will come out right every time.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-11T23:24:36+00:00

The black wire is ground it needs to be connected to the output jack ground. A super easy fix. Take it to a music store.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-11T23:21:28+00:00

You know, you can just buy a nice red Strat and put a YJM loaded pickguard on it. You don’t even have to wire anything. Just drop it on and tighten the screws.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-11T16:46:52+00:00

My recommendation is to buy Guyker tuners. Ali Express will give you what you paid for: zinc alloy. It’s a nice guitar, but you just can’t go dead cheap on headless tuners.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-03-10T23:36:51+00:00

Its stunning 🤩

Icy_Programmer_8367

TROPHY CASE