avengers63

Mahogany neck, rosewood f/b, white f/b binding, 22 fret, curved-side trap inlays (don't know how else to describe them), 24.75 scale, 3+3 Gibson-ish headstock. It'll cost me $65-$70 shipped. By super-carved, are you meaning a really deep carve, or something else entirely?

That is very nice. I like it a lot. It looks just as good in blue as it did in red.

Just because I haven't posted any pics in a long time. Avenger Prototype http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/av...apele/a0105.jpg http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/av...apele/a0106.jpg Redwood Burl The last dose of Polycryl went on last night. Now, it sits for about a month. The redwood is really stunning. It will make some spectacular tops. http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/av...0burl/wip02.jpg http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/av...0burl/wip01.jpg African Mahogany & Limba LPjr I think the limba top will look really nice with the orange-ish african mahogany stringers. Other Planning http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/av...ymapleblank.jpg Nothing spectacular here. Just a mahogany blank with maple stringers. I have some woods coming in that should make an interesting body. On hand, I have a 1.25" thick piece of sapele, but it's only 10" wide. Coming in is a 4"x2" piece of yellowheart which will be the core and an accent laminate stripe. Tipping the wings will be purpleheart. Yellow & purple with a dark brown base shouldn't look too shabby. I just won a couple of neck auctions. One is a brand new Danelectro 19-fret '63 re-issue, the other is an 80's Westone with the tuners. Together, they were just over $80 shipped.

It took me long enough, but the thing has been completely re-painted and the last of 4 coats of poly was finished up last night. Now it needs to sit for a couple of weeks to cure, then it can be buffed out and put together. The re-paint is seen next to it, and it's in the same status as the Tulip.

Everything has been filled & leveled. At this point, I'm waiting for the neck. It should be in my hands next week.

It's a lot more plentiful than mahogany, too. The grain is a lot more pronounced, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The rich, dark chocolate brown limits it a bit as to what you can match it with, but again, the color isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are some nice ribboned pieces as well, but they're harder to find, and staining/dyeing them like figured maple isn't a viable option.

I'm making a lot of my bodies with sapele too. Taylor is using it in their high-end solid-bodies. Isn't it great to work with?

Tulip & Re-Paint The 4th cost of poly is almost done. It gets finished tonight. Then, it's just a matter of letting them sit for a couple of weeks to make sure they're cured. No pick - it's just applying the finish. Zebrawood-Top LP Everything is all filled & leveled. At this point, I'm waiting for parts. No pics - it's just filling & sealing. Redwood Burl The mold spots sanded out, only to reappear. Any suggestions that won't ruin the color? Two bathings of Polycryl are done with a third (and last) to come before the weekend is over. After that, they need to sit for a couple of weeks and completely dry. No pics - I'd rather wait until this step is finished. Other Planning I have the back of an LPjr cut from African Mahogany. Last night, I started glueing together the top: White Limba with some African Mahogany stringers. I needed the stringers to widen the pieces a bit. I started glueing up another blank as well - 3" wide pieces of Mahogany with a Maple/Mahogany/Maple core of about 2.5". I'm not sure yet if it'll be an Avenger to sell or abother PRS. If I get ahold of an appropriate wood for a top, I may try making a chambered body. There are probably a few weeks until I can get to the actual cutting, so we'll see what happens. No pics - it's just glueing up some blanks. Avenger Prototype I added a belly-cut and a kind-of forearm contour, the control cavity was hogged out but not routed, and the edges of the knob recesses were smoothed out a bit. I have my eye on an auction wil nearly all the hardware in one swoop, including some Washburn pups. We'll see what happens. No pics - I'm just lazy like that.

I have no reason to doubt you. I've read that in a few other places, I just haven't seen it for myself yet. It might just be something hokey with the network at work. I have a LOT more time to do the research here than I do at home. I guess I'll have to give it a whirl when I go home in 2 hours. Sorry if I got snippy. My ex always talked down to me and assumed I was an idiot, so I'm really sensitive to that sort of thing. Nothing personal.

A couple of weeks afo, I was paging through one of the guitar mags I subscribe to when I saw an ad for a new pickup from Seymour Duncan. I generally disagree with trying to combine too many features into one thing, but these P-Rails really intrigue me. I'd love to drop them into a high-end build, but at $130 (retail) each, I don't see it happening anytime soon. Has anyone had a chance to hear them yet? Trying to make an apple into an orange then into a pear like these profess to be able to do doesn't seem do-able to me. We all know that tapping a HB will only get you really close to a SC, but you'll never get all the way there. It seems a little too much to be able to promise a true HB, SC & P90 all in the same package. Yesterday, when I got home I found another mag waiting for me. I saw the ad for the new Schaller bridge and about soiled myself. I really want to check one out in person, but I know they won't hit the stores for another month or so. I'm scared to see what the price tag will look like, too. I'm sure it'll be well over $100. Innovative and cool-as-heck only goes so far with me at this point. I mean, I balk at $40 for a Gotoh hardtail when I can get one on eBay without the name brand for under $20 shipped. In any event, I'm itching to check out these new products. Maybe seeing/hearing them will justify the price.

Wow. I'd go nuts if I had a project lying around for 2+ years just waiting to be finished. So we're looking at what... March 2010 for the finished pics of this one?

I can only encourage you to test the whole thing on scrap first. I recently had a body all painted up and smoothed out perfect. Then I put some lacquer on it. The lacquer ate the paint like it was stripper. The whole thing had to be stripped down and started from scratch with poly on it. Granted, I was using Krylon, not car paint, but the point is that you won't realy know how the clear will react to the paint until it's too late. DO IT ON SCRAP FIRST!!!!!!!!

I've always questioned his hair too. I won't say he's wearing a wig, but there's definately something hokey going on up there.

Dangit. I've effectively glued on 4 tops at this point. Every time, I rig up a bunch of long scrap pieces and clamps ar cross-clamping presses. The whole time, I could have been using the template as a big press with a bunch of clamps around the edge. Why do the simple solutions always escape me? I overthink things waaaaaaay too much.

That sounds like a great reason NOT to pick up the Dremel. It sounds a LOT more time consuming, but if the results are less safer, then for my money, it's the logical choice. As usual, thanks for the input.

1) That link doesn't pull up anything. Neither does shortening the URL to the home page. 2) My Google search for "artec pickups" doesn't get that site anywhere in the first ten pages. That's why I asked. But thank you for the condescending tone. I deeply appreciate it.

I haven't been able to find it, a corporate website, or a primary American distributor. Little help?

Amen, brutha! I went through every entry page going back as far as there were still enough pics left to make it worth while. I saved a bunch of pics that really wowed me that I can draw inspiration from. Usually, my favorite wasn't the winner. Yes, these are just as valuable resource as the various discussions are.

So why didn't you put a PH veneer/plate/whatever on the headstock? That seems like the natural choice to me.

How do y'all cut the line for a fender-style blade switch? Do you use a teeny bit - like with a Dremel - and a straight-edge guide and some stop blocks?

TEASER!!!!!!!!

That, sir, is extremely useful imformation. What source can you provide to verify this statement?

Sure ya do, mule. Sure ya do. This guy, however... http://www.angelo.com/ ...shows us exactly what guitar ambidexterity means. On the other hand, he may have amazing technique, but his tone is stale and his melodies are bland.

JOB As I see it, there are three points to consider: 1) Pay. I'll assume that Sears pays better than Wal-Mart. Total wages is the flip-side, though. 40 hours @ $8/hr is worth more than 25 hours @ $12/hr. Of course, I pulled those wages right out of the air, but I'm sure you get the point. 2) Sears would allow you to re-enter socieity. Working midnights, never seeing the light of day, never seeing people... it's damaging to the psyche. Even if you're on the evening shift, it'd be an improvement. Unless you're an unsociable hermit. 3) Employee discount. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. You'd be able to get all your tools at a discount. YAY!!! You might just be handing over your entire paycheck to your employer because you bought too much. Bummer. GUITAR You're right - the transition doesn't stand out as strong as I suspected it might. As always, your choices of wood combos are great. The top & base are in the same color tone family, but there's enough contrast to make the top stand out. Did you mention already if you used woodweld or vaccuum pressed the top on? I have some lacewood veneer I've been thinking about slapping on a face, but I haven't been brave enough to try it yet. I'd have to use woodweld, so I was curious about the results.

If you're going in the completely WRONG direction like I think you're going, that would fall back to dominant hand as well.