Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Noice!
Can't wait to see it when it's done. Keep the pics coming.

Thanks Mick, the southwest US look was unintended but I noticed it too. There's a little bit of fine detail in that area that doesn't show up until the sealer coat, I hope it shows up. The fret markers are a signature of my builds, these are made from jarrah and silver wattle. Hah! Those pill fret ...

Wow! That timber, binding & bridge are really going to make it unique. (not to mention a PRS-shaped headstock on a tele body!)
Very cool. Watching with anticipation.

Noice! I like the way you finished off the lower bout with the parquetry.
The overall design has a South-West US feel to it. (to me anyway)

How about a closer shot of the fretboard? I think I see some parquetry on your fret markers, is that right?

Cheers,
Mick

All good stuff. I do like the TUSQ nuts. I've put them on a few recent builds and mods. Also, I only just noticed you're in the US, so any of the Stew-Mac stuff is definitely more economically feasible for you than us "down here". Between the crap exchange rate and international postage, I have to b...

That's great Lillian. If I hadn't already acquired the one from McJing, I certainly would have jumped on the Stew-Mac sale. I checked it out last night and the sale price with the planer, extra bits and postage was about $89AU. I paid $75 for mine with no spare bits (they don't sell them) so Stew-Ma...

"StewMac has a sale going on until May 21."

Hah!!! Story of my life. A day late, and a dollar short! Hopefully the shipping won't make it cost-prohibitive.
Glad I could help (??????)

Just thought I'd post another "thanks" to Bruce and update for others. I ordered the Safety Planer last week through the link Bruce provided. To my amazement, I ordered it Tuesday morning and it arrived the next afternoon! Can't complain about that service! They even threw in a diamond deburring/sha...

I think it ticks all the boxes for me: availability close to home; price; 1 litre quantity; performance; ease of use. Just wondering if others have tried it and what their experience has been. A had a friend that shot some some pre-cat Mirotone for me a few years ago. It worked great and I really li...

That's interesting about the TR bridge pickup. I've had them drop right in on MIM Fender tele's. re: PBG, the body & neck on the tele in my profile pic came from one of their kits. (pretty much everything else got pitched and upgraded) When I get brave enough to tackle a scratch build, I may look in...

Great project, and nice work. Can't wait to see it when it's done. I've yet to tackle a complete scratch build, but I'm working towards it. (someday!) The Tonerider pickups are great value and sound fantastic. Good choice imo. Cheers edit to add: Where did you get your templates? The box they're sit...

"Nicely executed and I'd like to see more built this way." Thanks Kirby. If I play a standard tele body (sans front & rear contours) it just feels weird now. Especially sitting. That top edge just sticks me in the ribs! This one is very comfy, sitting or standing. The ash tele in my profile pic is a...

Wayne, from what I've seen of you acoustic work, a solid body electric would be a walk in the park for you.
And thanks.

Very nice. You must be a great teacher!

Thanks Mark! "The blue “looks like a tele but set up like a strat” is an interesting creation. What is going on there?" That is my "Stra-Tele"! I really dig the tele body shape but also love the strat pickup configuration. It's sort of a spin-off of the Nashville Teles (3 pickup). The one thing I do...

As a newcomer, I just thought I'd share a couple things I've done recently.
These are parts built not scratchies, but they came up okay and play & sound great.
Thanks for looking

That's amazing! Can't wait to see it finished with a nice clear coat.
Keep posting pics.

Thanks all. I'm starting to see who the "regulars" are here.
I hope to go well beyond a lurker.
Look forward to seeing some of the instruments from all of youse!

Nice work Wayne. I haven't (and probably never will) graduate from solid body electrics. I certainly appreciate the skill it takes to build acoustics. I don't play much acoustic so I suppose it narrows my focus. Not to mention I'm still expanding my skillset within my own realm. All the best to you ...

Hah! Great work Bruce! That's perfect. I too will have to deep dive their catalogue and see what else I "need". After all, I just saved some money on a Safe-T-Planer so I can spend it elsewhere, right? BTW, I used to live in Canberra. Did quite a few gigs around there too. I wonder if we ever crosse...

Thanks Lillian. From what I've seen so far, the Woodtek ones are the only alternative to Stew_mac (or the old Wagners). After calculating the shipping & exchange rates, Stew-Mac is the least expensive option. I'm not sure the router planer bit would work for my set up, but thanks again for the sugge...

I have drum sanders for the drill press that I use a lot for contouring and other tasks, but I did a job recently where the planer would have been very handy. I got it done but the planer would have made it quite a bit easier. Like you, it's not something I would use every day or every job, but when...

I've been considering a Safe-T-Planer since I upgraded my drill press last month. Other than the one from Stew-Mac, I've had zero luck finding anything even close domestically. Anyone know a place in AU or NZ I could get one? (I've seen the Wagner model was discontinued a few years ago) I can get th...

Thanks Mark.
I tend to have something on the bench quite regularly (my own or otherwise) so plenty of opportunity to share with the group.
Cheers

Hi All. Just joined and got activation yesterday. I only discovered the forum on the weekend whilst searching for finishing info. I consider myself a builder much less than a "Luthier". I leave that title to the ones that craft instruments completely from scratch! My builds consist of (mostly) solid...