The Hub

Hey folks! I picked up a neck relief gauge from Doug in one of the earlier batches, maybe the introductory run? Some of the small feet caps that thread onto the moving legs of the tool have cracked, broken, or become worn down. I contacted StewMac about purchasing replacement parts, but they don't sell subparts for the relief gauge and otherwise won't help me. They appear 3D printed, so I was wondering if anyone with the means to print s…

(for background context, I'm probably in the dozens of fret jobs so far, and no I don't let frets leave my house like this) When I got started getting interested in building guitars, I got the StewMac bundle of fret files/book, which comes with the concave toothed file. Over time, I ended up getting both the Narrow/Medium and Wide/Jumbo files. I don't do it often, but occasionally I do something like shown in the picture, where I'm clearl…

Let me start with this; I'm trying to find the root cause of difficult fret wire installation of two different SM fret wires. I've spent a lot of time gathering dimensions and experimenting with techniques wich could cause the problem. I enlisted the help of a colleague who arrived at a similar poor performance. His solution was to glue the fret ends/ beat the frets in. My "rather" is to find the root cause so I don't have to go thr…

So the first real "full build" I'm doing is a Stewmac 000 kit. I was wondering about the back brace shape. I'll was planning to taper the ends at the side joint to about 1.5mm. Should I do some scalloping of the braces? Suggestions and comments are welcomed and appreciated. Regards, Gerry Images

Hi There, What is everyone using for solder fume extractors such as the ones in the links below. I’m interested in one that has a hose that I can connect to my Solder Monster from Stewmac. Thanks in advance! https://www.amazon.ca/Extractor-KUAIQU-Filtration-Adjustment-Soldering/dp/B0GMDV64N4/ref=sr_1_7?crid=8AI4JPLS2W0R&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Vcf_eo3BIJ1dUWCRgpIXHdUnBZiCbmerplijZ6mMWa1x5iMsWwU3SV_IwWI2yTpowxyH0YdiCWbGP4mgsaohXIe2XaDw…

Greetings, I'm doing some research on suppliers for Brazilian Rosewood. I see there is more available than I imagined but pricing is all over the board. I came across a group named HanoverBrazil Marketing and Trade. Looks like they import product from Brazil legally apparently from stumps which are CITES certified. Anyone have expirience with them? Or, any recomendations for a reputable vendor for Brazilian Rosewood "000" or larger…

I'm fast approaching the finish coating of 2 acousitcs. The sitka spruce tops are really bright. I'd like to tone them down a little and have been scouring the web for methods. Seems like adding amber toner in either the sand sealer or more likely the first set of nitro lacquer coats might be the the ticket. I see Stewmac has a Colortone stain called "Vintage Amber" that can be mixed into the nitro. Anybody have expirience with this pro…

Hi everyone - I recently ran into trouble making new nut for one of my necks that needed to be trued and re-fretted. I roughed in the nut as usual and then, with the bass guitar fully assembled and strung up, I started cutting the slots to depth. I use the StewMac digital nut slot depth gauge and have had good results in the past. I marked the nut's lowest points (radiused) using the guitar nut scribe tool (first time using this!) and c…

Santa heard I had a challenging year so he got me a 3d printer for Christmas. I’ve been printing like crazy, learning the machine. This has resulted in a bunch of tools that either don’t work for me, were attempts at mixing colors, or have very minor printing blemishes. Two lots up for grabs to anyone in the US who wants either. I’ll mail to you for free. First one to claim each gets it :) First lot has parametric nut and saddle sanders…

I've only built a handful of necks and most of them have been roasted maple fretboards. This time around I am using a beautiful and incredibly stiff/hard piece of ebony. I am doing a light hammering in of the frets to get them seated and then using the hand-held vice clamps from Stewmac with the correct fretboard radius to push them down evenly the rest of the way. This process works just fine on roasted maple. It's just a softer wood t…

Just joined the group and have only built 3 guitars so far but just ran into trouble on my latest project. Long story short: I built a '57 LP Jr that came out fantastic but the neck was set incorrectly and was nearly unplayable. I cut off the body and made a new one and applied the burst and a few coats of clear before gluing in the salvaged neck. To finish up the neck joint with a bit more black, I dusted off my 20 yo Paasche airbru…

I've seen the Elevate Luthierie jig, and it seems simple enough. One thing I don't like about their explanation video is the handwaving around "set the joint length where you want it"...feels like even with the jig, you have to do too much measuring to make it fit exactly (or within the tolerance you want) Given I can model well enough in Fusion and have a 3D printer, feels like a challenge to take on! As far as I can see, the jig is just…

Is there a Pneumatic Fret Tang Nipper out there or did anybody ever combined a Tang Nipper with a pneumatic Plier? Or maybe it is possible to take the Stewmac Tang Nipper (i like the new version) and modify it? I always make 20-40 Sets of frets ready so i can make a lot of fretboards ready in one day. But after a while my hand really hurts. Thank you

What kind of pore filler do you use? I usually use aqua coat, shellac/pumice or stewmac water based mahogany grain filler. Interested in other methods, including zpoxy.