Tools of the trade.
- Thread starter BGood
- Start date
Chubbles
Ambassador of Sarcastic Tone
Amazon has conductive copper foil super cheap. About 2 inches wide, 2 giant rolls (more than a lifetime supply for me) for under 25.00. I think it was 20 meters or so. It said conductive, but it wasn't very conductive. I just pressed down hard on the overlaps and checked with my cheap Harbor Freight multimeter.
DonP
Guest
My favorite goodies are similar to many already listed.
One of those metal credit card sized action & setup gauges is handy for slipping between the strings & headstock when filing nut slots.
Oh yeah, they're handy for checking action height too.
A set of automotive feeler gauges is good to have around too. They can be stacked as needed for just about any thickness.
A few different fully threaded screws for use as bushing pullers.
5/16 x 24 gets out Gibson tailpiece bushings.
10 - 32 pulls Gibson bridge bushings.
M8 x 1.25 takes care of the metric needs.
My calipers has been modded so I can get an accurate measurement of fret height.
A capo comes in handy too for keeping the strings from tangling, when pulling bridge pins to adjust saddle height on acoustics.
And don't forget my chain saw. I couldn't route anything without that...
Hey, mine does that measurement at the other end.
I taped-up my old 1987 Squire Strat in 2003 with copper tape from Carvin. It's still dead quiet. Now, I can't tell you if the adhesive is still good, or if the resistance is low, but it's one of the most quiet guitars in the studio. Frequently, I have to make sure the volume isn't turned off...Having said that, I never had to shield my Schechter....Seems ridiculous, to me, that this isn't done by Gibson in their guitars.
It's a little sad, in a way, that I can buy a Schechter, or a China made Jackson, and set up is perfect out of the box, no clicking, popping when the strings are touched...and a $900 Gibson needs potted pickups, shielding and full setup to be able to play with it live....
It's a little sad, in a way, that I can buy a Schechter, or a China made Jackson, and set up is perfect out of the box, no clicking, popping when the strings are touched...and a $900 Gibson needs potted pickups, shielding and full setup to be able to play with it live....
Last edited:
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
Grant U knucklehead. I have a dremel and had only used it a handful of times when right in the middle of a job fixing a client's front door, it died. I could not figure out WTF and had to finish the job some other way. Called up Dremel and they said send it back, they would fix it free or send me a new one as they are warranted for life. It turned out to be a bad switch.
To me that no questions asked warranty makes a Dremel product worth buying.
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
Dewesq55
Well-Known Member
The mahogany guitar that I just fixed the headstock on I shielded the control cavity with thin brass stock and soldered the seam in a few places.
I also nearly sliced my left index finger off when I was drilling the pot holes in the piece for the bottom of the cavity on a drill press and didn't have it clamped down. It broke free and srarted spinning at 1750 RPM. I needed 3 sutures to close it up and I had a gig in 5 days. I got it padded and wrapped really well and I was able to play bar chords for the gig. I still have a scar just above the first joint of that finger.
Last edited:
Alex_SG
Ambassador of Trippy Rock
My personal favourite tool is this: http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Types_of_Tools/Screwdrivers/Guitar_Tech_Screwdriver_Set.html
I got it a couple of years back for my birthday, and use it not only on guitars, but my recurve bow, my S&W Model 10-4 and all sorts of other things around the house and my workshop.
Last edited:
Dewesq55
Well-Known Member
I should say that pretty much all tools in my workshop - table saw, band saw, thickness planer, joiner, drill press, angle grinder, bench grinder, routers and router table, benchtop combination sander, oscillating spindle sander, jig saw, dremel with attachments, squares, levels and straight edges - are luthiery tools. In fact, many of them were originally purchased so I could build guitars.
Dewesq55
Well-Known Member
I think so. But what do I know?
Sérgio
Ambassador of CaliZilian Affairs
Neat Idea for a thread!!!!
My go to tool for everything
I got that too.
Well, I'm afraid I ain't got much knowledge for tinkering around.
So in my bench you'll find more oddities than proper tools, simce I use it mostly for set ups.
Anyway here's what it looks like:
jtcnj
Ambassador of the Crossroad
I got some cheapy double sided nut slot files off ebay. they are scary because i cant see the taper that well.
They are crap compared to the real set I borrowed from a friend a while back.
But, I had some binding / pinging on my acoustic and dressed the slots a bit more for width but dialed the depth in a little too and scraped some pencil in there yesterday:
WIN.
They are crap compared to the real set I borrowed from a friend a while back.
But, I had some binding / pinging on my acoustic and dressed the slots a bit more for width but dialed the depth in a little too and scraped some pencil in there yesterday:
WIN.
Dewesq55
Well-Known Member
Fretboard radius jig. I bought the plans on line. My daughter printed them out one to one on an architectural printer.
It is mostly done except for the router base sled, hold downs and rocking handle. It has pivot points for 4 common radii: 7.25", 9.5", 12" and 16". I have a concept for a pretty cool mod which I will discuss later if it works out. I also need to get a short length of 1/2 rod for the pivots. To test it I used the shaft ends of a couple of 1/2" router bits.
It is mostly done except for the router base sled, hold downs and rocking handle. It has pivot points for 4 common radii: 7.25", 9.5", 12" and 16". I have a concept for a pretty cool mod which I will discuss later if it works out. I also need to get a short length of 1/2 rod for the pivots. To test it I used the shaft ends of a couple of 1/2" router bits.
Dewesq55
Well-Known Member
Although nobody seems interested, I neglected to point out that so far I have built this so far entirely with materials and supplies on hand in my shop. Therefore, I am $19 in for the plans and thats it. For my mod concept I will need a large diameter (5/8"?) threaded rod and a few nuts and bolts. Prolly less than $10 additional.
Last edited: