The Hub

The latest builds, repairs, and conversations from across Looth. Activity
Filters AND Search Customers× Reset all
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Schecter Banshee Mach 6 Intonation at the second fret

I have a customer with a guitar that has an intonation issue. It plays flat at the first and second fret on the D and G string. The factory spec says its a 25.5 scale but I measure from the nut to the 12th fret 12 5/8. I plugged the number for a 25.25 scale into the Stew Mac fret board calculator and the measurement is off from the nut to the first fret. Unfortunately I now longer have the guitar in my possession so I cant tell you exac…

5 replies
5 replies
LikeShare
Ian Davlin
Any way for you to get the instrument back for those measurements? One thing about the compensated nut, is it suggests some factory tinkering with intonation more broadly. It's not uncommon for intona…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Replacement for SC Johnson's Paste Wax?

Can anyone recommend a good substitute for Johnson's Paste Wax? We're down to about 1/3 of a can, and it appears that it's no longer being manufactured, and I'm not too keen on paying some of the prices I've seen around online.

5 replies
5 replies
LikeShare
Private member
We use it on fingerboards and bridges for conditioning. It also repels glue when you're doing a refret (just don't let it in the slots).
Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

Rozawood RB-11

I don't know when it's from. This one differs from the other one I did, which was much more traditional looking (down to the 70s martin hollow tube neck support). Nothing surprising... pocket is directly under the fret slot.

LikeShare
Private member Discussion3D Printing

Sub $400 3d printer

I had a Flashforge Adventurer 5m pro and liked it but it suddenly stopped connecting to WiFi. Customer support was super frustrating and I returned it. But i did like it when it worked, aside from wishing it had a larger print bed. Any recommendations on what I should look at in the <$400 range? I’ve been reading and googling but have yet to find any advice that seems to hit the spot. Thank you!

3 replies
3 replies
LikeShare
Private member
Hey Brian, Bambu Labs have the A1 at $399 at the moment. I bought the A1 mini (with the AMS lite combo) a couple years ago and it's been rock solid. Bambu has a great reputation in the community, especi…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

how to touch this up?

I have repaired numerous top crack on this instrument built by a customer at a guitar building camp. The bridge was off and warped. That has been addressed. After gluing with hide glue and splining the crack these top two did not closed as much as I would have liked. The bigger is about 1/32 at the widest and the other about 1/64. The crack is tight at the bottom. If I can help it I would like to fill it rather than spline it as I have…

7 replies
7 replies
LikeShare
Private member
I am pretty good at touch up on darker to med woods and air brushing some solid color touchups on electrics but as you said spruce tops with gloss are near impossible. I was hoping to maybe clean it…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Tiny fret slot blues

Hey lads I'm in a bit of an indecisive spot with a 70's yamaha acoustic refret. Pulled the original frets and the tang is .018" with no barbs just divots pressed into the lower edge. The slot is measuring .018". Struggled to find any suitable sized fretwire in stock in the UK that match what the customer wants that'll fit in the slot. Sintoms looked ideal but couldn't find any, so went with something with 0.20 tang and they're not pressi…

5 replies
5 replies
LikeShare
Private member
Yes, a dremel is not ideal. Ideally you want an air tool with tighter tolerances. Do you have any pawn shops or junk around your shop? Practice on something, you will get a feel for it.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Harmony H167 Neck Reset...

Hey everyone, recently I've been getting more requests for neck resets from customers, and up until this point I haven't been offering them since I don't have the practical experience. I'm keen to change this, and I've borrowed my fathers Harmony H167 that has seen better days. I've done an initial cleaning and assessment, the truss rod works although I may need to force it into a backbow to have a fully adjustable neck. This shouldn't…

5 replies
5 replies
LikeShare
Private member
Also you have to take into account how much flex the top has. If you could set the neck dry then clamp it and string it up you can start the calculations about how much you to take off of the heal. In…
Private member DiscussionShop Organisation

Lessons Learned from building out a workspace

Hi all. I'm in the process of working with a landlord to customize a space for my growing repair and building business. The space is approximately 800 square feet and broken into a major space (around 400 square feet), and 2nd large space (around 300 square feet) that I'm thinking of as a machine/sawdust room, and 2 smaller areas that I'm considering as a spray booth and a wood/guitar storage closet. I'd love to hear about lessons learn…

9 replies
9 replies
LikeShare
Private member
Here's some more tips. I recently remodeled my shop so this is all very fresh. I've been in this shop for almost 15 years and I have rented benches to other luthiers and apprentices in the shop so it…
Private member Discussion3D Printing

Pickup routing template for les paul?

Does anyone have a STL for a routing template that will sit square on a les paul body? I need to cut a P90 hole into a middle position, and it would be nice to use the router, rather than chiseling the edges...

4 replies
4 replies
LikeShare
Private member
Neat. Yes, that looks like exactly what I need.