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When I was learning I went down to a kitchen counter shop in my town and asked for some scrap Corian. Its a bit soft for a good nut, but its free if you ask and you can make perfectly serviceable nuts until you get it right. Also, I recommend the variable string spacing rule that StewMac sells. Really a time saver for nuts and saddles.
Originally Posted by Spook410
Bill
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02-24-2015 04:04 PM
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On the truss rod topic, (wow I created a monster, didn't I) here's my so called secret...
I put on the new strings and I lay a nice pricey straightedge along the frets:
Precision Straightedges | stewmac.com
I then stick a feeler gauge under the strings at the 12th fret
Amazon.com: OEM 25025 26-Blade Master Feeler Gauge: Home Improvement
Pardon the decimals, because I'm at work -- but basically I have it taped off to 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20. I know that somewhere between 0.10 and 0.15 is perfect for me. I ignore all the other feeler gauges, they're taped off in fact.
I don't trust myself to "eyeball" anything involving such fine tolerances.
As far as action goes, once the truss rod is set and the guitar is tuned, I fiddle with the bridge. I'll normally start with a handful of the strings buzzing a tiny bit and turn in very small increments (re-tuning each time) until the buzzing stops. I eyeball the radius -- no big deal and my hand tells me what works or not when I do some test playing.
As far as pickups and soldering go, it's pretty darn easy once you watch a few videos and you MUST have the right gear including little clamps to hold stuff in place so you have a fighting chance of keeping stuff stuck together. One thing that's amazing about pickup soldering is how tiny and seemingingly crappy pickup wires actually are. We spend all this darn money to get the perfect guitar and the actual WIRE that our tone passes through is about as big as a few threads wound together in a gob of gooey silver solder.
World's a funny place like that
Oh ... ps... the Alnico Pro II neck humbucker seriously trumps everything I've played in recent months. I got that guitar setup with the TI GB flat 12s and the Alnico Pro II and it was just sounding lovely through my amp. Wow. So warm and rich. All this from a cheapo import now properly set up! Good times!
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For some of us it is a virtual necessity to work on guitars. For others it is an optional joy.
I learned on cheaper guitars and suggest the same to others. Plus have a good teacher.
It is helpful to get the opinions of others on a forum such as this.
I have a couple specific comments though. I agree on going easy on the truss rod adjustments. In Michigan it's necessary about twice a year due to humidity changes, even in a humidified room unless you keep the humidity at 60% during the winter. But small adjustments in tension are all that is usually necessary. Wood has a little elastance and will flex to a small degree. But Jabberwocky is right about the wood compressing.
I remove the harnesses on my guitars when needed and do my own soldering. The hardest instruments to do this on are semi-hollows, especially Heritages, which are not quite as deep as Gibsons. I do this work because it is challenging yet not really dangerous. It's a great feeling to succeed at it. The Gibson and Heritage workers taught me how to do this. I've done it about 10 times through the f holes, and it still takes me 60-75 minutes to change pickups on a 335 style guitar, which is twice as long as someone who does that for a living.
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I have the string spacing ruler.. just have to do one without it to fully appreciate it. Great tool. Originally Posted by Socalbill
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I'm not sure what you mean by "that often," but I find that I have to do it twice a year, tightening them in the winter to compensate for the radiators coming on and humidity dropping, and loosening them in the spring when the reverse happens. "Must" may be too strong a word for this, since the guitars are playable without the adjustments, but doing these adjustments keeps relief and feel consistent. I agree, though, that one shouldn't use the truss rod to adjust the action. That's what bridge adjustments are for. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
John
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I used to think I "setup" my own guitars..
Then I took one to a tech. I fell in love with the guitar when I got it home.
I don't setup my guitars anymore.
Thanks, Joe D
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Agreed. I've made minor adjustments when I get some buzzing but nothing I can do compares to my tech. And it's only like $50-60 once or twice a year. Well worth it. Originally Posted by Joe DeNisco
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On the whole "do I do my own set ups or go tech?", I think it is ultimately your nature to do it yourself or not. No judgements, its just some folks like to roll up the sleeves and others don't. My advice as a hobbiest luthier is this; do it yourself if you feel you would enjoy it, or if economics are such that you have no choice. Find a good resource for information (like this place, or StewMac) and do your research. Don't pretend you know what you're doing, arm yourself with knowledge. Then work on crap guitars for free for awhile. There is a lot to learning set up and repair that just requires you to do it over and over until you feel it.
I once watched Frank Ford (famous repair guy in Northern California) refret a Martin. His tools were old and simple. He didn't use any fancy jigs or fixtures. He just knew where to hit the fretboard with his tools so that when it was back under string pressure it was perfect. How does he do it? Experience.
Bill
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I have ended up doing my own work out of necessity and interest i.e. the necessity came from being screwed by supposedly competent guitar repair persons and living in rural areas most of my life. Over the years, I've purchased the proper tools and learned via through trial and error and with help from mostly Dan Earlwine's material . The only thing I don't do is finish work. Don't have the skills, patience or tools to do it properly.
Most basic work, e.g. truss rod adjustment, intonation setting, tuner replacement etc can be performed by anyone with a modicum of mechanical aptitude, the right tools and workspace.
Before heading into management in the early 80's I worked as a machinist and mechanic in several shipyards so I'm pretty handy when it comes to this kind of work but it just isn't that difficult if one has the right tools, takes their time, and takes the opportunity to avail themselves of the large amount of instruction material available today. The suggestion I would make in addition to tools and workspace is to pick up a used Strat or Telecaster copy and use that guitar to hone your skills.
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