My Taylor T5z 12-string does not come with a pickguard.

My design skills suck, so I am sending this off to the interwebs for ideas.

I will be using an adhesive pi k guard until I finalize the design.

what action and measurement on the 12th fret for 1st high e and 6th low e the best on eletric guitar?

This all I got made currently, like half the body and a neck

Hobby builder. Bought a couple of planks of pau ferro, an old chunk of Honduran rosewood and a walnut board with an interesting grain. Resawed the pau ferro and added ears for width. Carved a walnut neck and made a Honduran rosewood fingerboard and bridge. V-braced a redwood top. Tung oil finish. Fortunate to have my friend Suzanne Frank playing it. Recorded on my phone. https://youtube.com/shorts/zBCgYNDH6YM?si=jrBbInCVNFhC_otG

Been woodworking for a bit now and always thought building a guitar would be cool but the project always intimidated me. Finally got the guts to do it and this is how it turned out! Was definitely NOT without its bumps in the road. Got ahead of myself with the epoxy stuff and routed the design and poured before knowing where the hardware needed to be. So ended up making an entirely new body. Same with the neck and fretboard. Routed the truss rod channel on the wrong side of the neck and messed up cutting the frets on the fretboard. So I have essentially an entire second guitar worth of “lessons learned”. First time doing a cerused finished, first time working with epoxy, first time building a guitar, but absolutely not the first or last time I learn a few lessons while working on a project! Body is red oak, neck is maple, and fretboard is purpleheart.

Picked up a cheap DIY SG kit to get into building guitars. Used an enamel spray paint that’s refusing to cure. Will baking at 170 degrees F cause issues on the fretboard? Have let it sit for about 2 weeks and still have a tacky feel to it.

Thanks and don’t roast me too hard, just starting out lol.

I got this poor telecaster body from a student. After some retooling I was ablek to get it back to the classic telecaster body shape. Before I got it the guy had not paid attention and didnt glue the book match correctly.

Since its already a reject I decided to customize it. Im adding some extra thick binding to both the front, and back. So far the front is done. Im working on the back.

Once its done im going to do a 1/2" round over instead of the standard 1/8" roundover

Any advive for a noob would be much appreciated, its my first time doing this kind of body work, am just figuring it out as I go

its covered with a spray on putty, since the wood was shit anyway I just roughed it out with files then covered it with the spray on putty so i can finish it without worrying about removing to much material, as i can just put it back on, it also gives really clean edges and is fairly easy to work

Hey everyone, I'm struggling to find a plate joiner jig that fits backs for acoustics. Many of the backs I've bought are 230mm x2 each, but the joiner I have from Guitars and Woods only takes up to about 215mm x2.

I know i can just cut them but I'd prefer not to cut, join, then cut again. I'm hoping to find this style of joiner which has a much wider possibility. I can only find it from US sellers. Anyone have a good source for plans for this?

Need some help repairing my electric, brought it into a shop and got a simple setup and to level the frets. I requested to have my volume pots swapped, didn't like the new setup so I swapped them back.

Ever since then my bridge pickup hasn't worked. I tried re-soldering the wiring, since the positive one looked damaged. No luck, but today while practicing I noticed there is some sound being picked up from the bridge. (FYI neck pickup works perfectly)

Don't have a multi-meter so can't check the continuity, but I suspect the issue is the 3-way switch I have. Any input before I put money down to fix this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Edit.
Have always had a problem with the pickups since I first got this guitar.
Meaning I would swap the position of the switch and it would go silent. Would wiggle it for a bit and then produce sound.

Hello, I have a 60’s fender Strat that we picked up cheep. The reason was it has been refinished with a paint that is chipping off really bad. I think it’s a 61 or 62. I found two dowels on it one by the input jack and one by the top horn of the pick guard. The paint is coming off so bad that I want to remove it carefully but mostly under the neck joint. I’d love to be able find something delicate that will help keep in tact anything written under it. There are streaks of the old paint under it that look like Olympic White. I’d like to remove the chipped paint and see how much of the original is left underneath. Any ideas?

Hi! Having some electronics issues, would greatly appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. I followed the attached wiring diagram for an SH configuration. I used the option shown in the box, and also added a resistor (going from neck pickup to ground) so the single-coil pickup sees the pots at around 250k.

The issue:
- It was working fine for a few hours and then started acting up
- All positions now sound like the high end has been filtered out, as if the tone knob is rolled all the way down. However, that’s with the tone knob wide open, and it gets darker as I roll it down (tone pot behaves normally, but overall tone is incredibly dark and muddy, not how it was at first)
- Volume does not completely cut when I roll the volume pot all the way down. There is still audio coming through when the guitar should be completely silent

Relevant observations:
- The middle position (and the humbucker) are noise canceling as expected
- Because the guitar sounded normal at first, I don’t think it’s a matter of wiring it incorrectly. it’s not the cleanest job, but I made sure all connections are secure and used heat-shrinking tubes (and some blue tape) to keep any exposed wires from touching each other

Has any of you encountered this particular set of issues before? I’m wondering if the volume pot is broken internally, which could account for it not going silent when all the way down, but could that also be darkening the tone of the guitar?

Thanks

Hello. I'm a collector of banjo ukuleles, and I've recently been working on one with a sunburst neck, possibly maple, finished in what appears to be nitrocellulose lacquer.

While adjusting the nut, I put some hobby masking tape on the back of the neck, assuming it would be safe. Unfortunately, when I removed it, it pulled off two small paint chips from the black section of the sunburst. Thankfully the chips were quite small.

To repair them, I used a Hycote Gloss Black Touch-Up Paint (brush applicator) to fill the chips. After it dried, I lightly levelled the repairs with very fine-grit sandpaper, but this has left a few lighter patches around the repaired areas, as shown in the photos.

I'm wondering if there's a way to improve the appearance of the finish now. The original "sunburst" wasn't particularly refined to begin with, so I'm open to carefully blending or refining it rather than simply hiding the repairs. Given that the finish appears to be nitrocellulose lacquer, I'd appreciate advice on the safest way to restore the gloss and blend the repaired areas without causing further damage.

Hi everyone,
I’m currently 19 years old and studying violin performance (Bachelor, 5th semester) in Germany. My current German level is around B1.
Lately, I’ve been realizing that neither the concert stage nor teaching is the right path for me. However, having played the violin for about 14 years, I have a very deep connection to the instrument itself. I find myself increasingly drawn to violin making (Geigenbau)—I love the idea of working with wood, creating something tangible, and getting immediate, physical feedback (unlike endless practicing).
I have a few questions for the luthiers and apprentices here:
1. The Transition: Are there people here who switched from violin performance to lutherie? Does our musical background actually help, or is it a completely different world?
2. Worry about hands: My mother is very worried that woodworking and tool use will ruin my hands and make it impossible to ever play the violin again. How do working luthiers protect their hands?
3. The path in Germany: How realistic is it to find an apprenticeship (Ausbildungsplatz) with a music background and B1 German?
I would be hugely grateful for any advice or personal stories. Thank you!

Hallo zusammen,
ich bin 19 Jahre alt und studiere derzeit im 5. Semester Violine (Bachelor Musikperformance) in Deutschland. Mein Sprachniveau ist zurzeit B1.
In letzter Zeit merke ich immer mehr, dass weder die Konzertbühne noch das Unterrichtenzimmer der richtige Weg für mich sind. Da ich aber schon seit rund 14 Jahren Geige spiele, habe ich eine sehr tiefe Verbindung zu dem Instrument selbst. Mich zieht es zunehmend zum Geigenbau – ich liebe den Gedanken, mit Holz zu arbeiten, etwas Greifbares zu erschaffen und ein unmittelbares, physisches Feedback zu bekommen (im Vergleich zum endlosen Üben).
Ich habe ein paar Fragen an die Geigenbauer und Azubis hier:
1. Der Wechsel: Gibt es hier Leute, die von Musikperformance zum Geigenbau gewechselt sind? Hilft uns unser musikalischer Hintergrund, oder ist das eine völlig andere Welt?
2. Sorge um die Hände: Meine Mutter macht sich große Sorgen, dass die Handwerksarbeit und der Umgang mit Werkzeugen meine Hände ruinieren und es unmöglich machen könnten, jemals wieder Geige zu spielen. Wie schützen arbeitende Geigenbauer ihre Hände?
3. Der Weg in Deutschland: Wie realistisch ist es, mit einem Musik-Hintergrund und B1-Deutsch einen Ausbildungsplatz zu finden?
Über Ratschläge oder persönliche Geschichten würde ich mich riesig freuen. Vielen Dank!

Although my guitar is cheap (harley benton st-20) it never really had too big issues with fretbuzz and not so long ago my thin e (or high e, i dont know which one is the correct naming) broke while i was tuning up from d standard back to e standard, i didnt really have any issues with that because i rarely use my high e string but now after like 3 days of it being not there some strings just started to buzz for some reason? Do you know if it will go away once i buy new strings (i didnt buy new strings yet because im soon gonna replace most of stock electronics with a preloaded pickguard) and restring the guitar? Any help is appreciated!

Saturday night, the gig was going great! $20 a head included a drink ticket, a run through the haunted house, a night of great costumes, good company, plus some pretty good live music: A solid rhythm section, two strong guitarists and decent four-part vocal harmonies.

Nearing the top of the hour, I made a call out for Honky Tonk Women to close the first set, so I quickly hung my FMT Tele on the stand and grabbed an axe from the opposite side of same stand that was tuned to open G (for, ya know, Stones) and slung it on. As I readied myself, I watched in slow motion as the Tele took a head dive off the stand onto the concrete floor. It made a God awful noise, mingling with the crowded room, without even being plugged in.

I wonder if the weight difference factored in on a stand anomaly - Tele is very light, while the ‘G guitar’ was a large, solid slab of mahogany. Prob >10 lbs.

Band took a moment before the song while I regathered my ‘Blondie’. She was hurt. Bad.

I shrugged it off (professional dissociation for “The show,” right?) and sang the Stones song, just as if I was into it. Then we took a break as a couple of bandmates gathered around, offering their condolences and their $.02.

I spent the break loosening and clipping the strings off to eliminate the tension. I put it in the case and played the second hour… as if everything were fine. I’ve never seen any issue with that Salvori guitar stand, so am baffled. This morning I removed the tuners, assessed the damage and am rather sad. I think it must have impacted right where the bottom E string set in the nut, ‘cause when I removed the string, it was somewhat crimped by the nut slot. I suspect I may need to replace that nut, or maybe just file. (Any recommendations for the nut?) I’ll also need to fill the little finish crater above the nut, to regain playability. It’s precisely on the thumb’s default position, which means I need to really smoothe that out! What would that process be: super glue and fine sanding? Or drizzle some urethane, then sand and buff?

Yeah, broke out the clamps and the Titebond, but she was CLEAN. Cleanest electric I’ve owned in years, and my all around go-to guitar for flexibility and playability. I’ve got another gig next weekend that I’d love to have her fixed for. Probably won’t happen if I swap nuts.

You know a spooky coincidence? The next morning, my best buddy who traded me this very Fender Tele for a ‘64 acoustic Gibson 12er, just got hauled off in a Life Flight helicopter.

May they both recover fully, to make music again, soon!

A google image search brings up lots of similar options but can’t get an exact match. Thanks!

Hey! I’m hoping this is the right place to get advice - searching online for answers has been hard to navigate.

I ordered a custom from a seller in Europe (I’m in the UK - I would rather not name the business to avoid any grief on their side). I formally requested a refund and agreed a date with the trader (which is today). They have told me that they do not have the funds to refund me.

I had offered a reduced amount for them to process to try and make things easier on their side, but have them being adamant on the refund being in full. They’ve stated that I can proceed with going through court if needs be, but with being located in the UK, the way to go about the situation is confusing.

Has anyone else had a similar situation and would know how to go about this?

I recently bought an older Traveler guitar and I want to add an arm carve and fret access cutaway to make it a little more comfy when I play it for longer periods of time. I am all set with tools and experience removing the material, but I do have some questions for refinishing the exposed wood afterwards.

I have reached out to Traveler to ask what finish was used, but haven't heard back. I assume it's a thin satin poly of some kind over a black stain. I might use a dark or black grain filler of some kind then I was going to put clear back over it.

I prefer to use home-mixed shellac for finish and I am wondering if I can butt this right up to the existing poly (given that there will likely be some overlap at the edges of the carves). Will this work or will it cause interaction issues?

If it might, could I simply sand off the poly on the entire top and then use shellac over it?

Also, this guitar has seem some rough painting and scapes/dents already before I got it, so perfection is not necessary, just want to get it more comfy and then protect the wood afterwards.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I have the StewMac fretboard for a 13 7/8" scale length mandolin (52mm wide, fret slots cut but the board isn't tapered).

What I can't find is the set of 10 tuning pegs or 10 string bridge. I can find a 10 string tailpiece. Most I can find is fully made instruments.

OG = Old Growth Fir reclaimed from decommissioned Canadian Grain Elevators.

This was one of the oldest pieces of Fir we have found to date. The growth rings telling a story of many hundreds of years.

One of a kind.

TLDR: Bought an "all solid mahogany guitar", broke it, repaired it in stages, over multiple years, finally found out it wasn't an "all solid mahogany guitar"

So..... I bought my first resonator guitar in 2012 right before I got married. It was a cheap SX model from Rondo Music, but somehow I managed to be so inspired by the instrument that I recorded a track with it that played at our wedding procession. Hey, I got hooked dobro! Obviously that was not a fine quality instrument, so after doing a bunch of research.... around 2014 I bought a Gold Tone "PBS-M: Paul Beard Squareneck Solid-Mahogany Resonator Guitar". It advertised all solid-wood contruction, and while it was made overseas, I trusted that the US-based setup would provide a great upgrade. I wasn't wrong! It was a great guitar. I played it on stage and in the studio like crazy!

And then.... tragedy....

Around 2016 I started playing with a funk/soul band (not much need for dobro), but I got a special request to play dobro on the first song for a show. I'd love to!

We were just the opening act, but first set, first song, first note....strap slips and the entire guitar violently plunges to the stage, creating a sound that was a car crash combined with a mic drop if the car was made of wood and the mic diaphragm was made of aluminum.. If you could make a room full of people sound like a sad trombone... well, that was the response from the crowd.

I recovered and quickly tuned, and got through the tune, embarrasingly. I was so devasted about what I'd find after the set.

Afterward.... I appraised the damage.... the shock was mostly to the lower back....The tail block had basically separated in mulitple areas.... The back had a huge crack along the binding, the top had started to split in the center. While I could still play the instrument, the gaps continued to grow. It needed professional help, but I was unable to find a luthier locally that wanted to deal with it, being unfamiliar with resonator guitars.

It sat on a shelf in my basement for years.

A few years ago, I got an urge to work on it, so I removed the neck, stripped and sanded that. I removed the back to be able to get to the tailstock. Worked on the back a bit... lots of sanding sealer...

Life got in the way, but last year I had more time to devote to the project. I picked up where I left off, and removed the finish off the top. The sanding sealer was a pain, but eventually got it prepped for finish.

Next came the sides..... no amount of chemical stripper, acetone, or anything else but some good old sanding had worked for the sealer on the top and back, so I decided to go straight to the sides with 120 grit on the random orbital sander.  Soon I was through the finish, the sanding sealer, and starting to see the beautiful mahogany underneath all that finish.... and then..... a pale little circle forms.... and got bigger. I couldn't believe it! It was PLYWOOD!

I kinda froze.

I check the specs.... maybe it says solid-top and not solid body

Nope.... From Gold Tone's website:

Back & Sides Solid Mahogany

I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I went to the Wayback Machine on Archive.org as far back as 2012 and it has always been listed as having solid sides.

I'm a bit furious. I know it was my fault I broke the damn thing. I know they are not selling a guitar with expectations that someone wants to refinish it. But I wanted to fix it and make it look good again, and hey... I could just paint the sides and call it a day. But it just revealed something that might be pretty important to a company that's contracting with overseas builders. Was mine just a mistake? How many other so-called "all solid mahogany" guitars weren't made as such. It would be hard to tell unless you basically deconstructed/sanded it as I had, or maybe you can tell if you have drilled for pickup output jack and could determine if it solid?

I contacted Gold Tone and haven't received a response for a week. I posted my findings on one their Facebook posts and they reaplied assuring me I must have the plywood model... which doesn't make sense cause I have the snowflake inlays, maple binding, and solid wood top and back. I sent another followup with more evidence of my model's construction.

Anyways.... I'm leaving this here until Gold Tone responds. I'm not knocking plywood resonators. I've played quite a few that sound great, but don't upcharge me several hundred dollars for something I'm not getting. And hey, you could argue statute of limitations for how long ago I got it... but if this is a common occurence it could be class-action suit. Getting ahead of myself.... Just being mad. Be happy. Breathe.