Recent content by Barnaby

Very, very cool! This is shaping up to be a great instrument. On mine, there's no preamp, but I did get a Hartke box. The idea was that I could use it for all sorts of instruments, whereas an onboard could only be used in one. That...and the fact that it was less than $50 secondhand at a local...

Awesome!!! I'm a big fan of hand tool builds and this is a good one. Nice work!

I'm an amateur builder and do repair/setup work as well. On my own instruments, the fingerboard finish depends on the wood. Maple and heart pine get lacquer, whilst rosewood, ebony and others generally get one coat of a Japanese oil varnish, followed by Briwax. Once a year or so, I clean with...

Best of the holiday season to all!

Another great rule: clean and sharpen all of your tools before putting them away. I also like to put a little Briwax on freshly-sharpened chisels and planes, just to keep the rust at bay.

Very interesting! In essence, that's how I do accurate edge radii with hand tools. Personally, when working on a new style of instrument, I shape each neck to an approximate profile, then string up the guitar and continue to play and carve. I try to get a player or two over as well, and we will...

I agree. That is the best aesthetic choice so far to my eyes. Personally, I prefer it without the 'muffin top' headstocks. I liked the initial shape.

I agree that the holes look better lower down, but would seem to be more effective higher up. For me, perhaps #3 is the best compromise. Love the design overall, and the piano pins are killer.

As a guy who builds completely without power tools, I certainly appreciate this point of view, but also have to say that I think there's a lot more to CNC building than is commonly supposed. I have huge admiration for people who build guitars that way, and they can often make some astonishingly...

Very cool! I will try this myself next time. I use the little shield things, but hold them with one hand while filing with the other. Stewmac brought out a version with notches for a rubber band not too long ago, but your idea is better to my mind. More protection and easier all the way down the...

Me too. I suspect this file might well from the same place as the Stewmac one, although I can't be sure. I have the Stewmac version and it is good, but can get clogged up. The waterstone trick sounds worth trying!

Love Vegemite on toast in the mornings - food o' the gods! Sure, it takes a bit of getting used to, but here in Japan I eat much weirder stuff all the time. Eel heart, fried locust, raw horse meat...once even had salt and lime spider in Cambodia. A bit of Oz toejam hardly rates by comparison.

In my first build, I learned that it is not as hard as you think it will be, and the sheer joy of building carries you past the tricky stuff. Also, I learned that the cost of building an instrument is higher than making one, especially when starting out and buying lots of tools. In my 2nd to...

I have just come back from Malaysia, where I met Jeff and had a really good chat with him. He is a fantastic guy and his guitars are amazing, although I didn't have a chance to try any of his basses. This has been discussed at length on another forum. Full details of my recent trip are...

Really impressive builds - I love your designs and clean lines. This is a great use of CNC engineering, too.