(Part 2) Best products from r/luthier

We found 25 comments on r/luthier discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 241 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.

Top comments mentioning products on r/luthier:

u/MateriaMedica · 2 pointsr/Luthier

Totally worth fixing it up. I'm guessing it's a Vintage Modified series Jaguar, which are on the nicer end of what Squier produces to begin with. As long as it isn't broken, new strings and a setup should give you a totally playable instrument. If you want to upgrade parts you have plenty of options at different price points.

First of all, this four part series of acrticles should be requiered reading for any Jaguar/Jazzmaster owner. Lots of helpful setup tips and general information in there.

tl;dr- Shim the neck and use heavier (11/12 gauge) strings, as that was what the guitar was designed for. I have 11s on my Mustang and they feel like 10s do on longer scale guitars; not unreasonably stiff. I've even been considering going heavier.

Hardware:

  • Personally, I like the vintage style tuners that come stock on the VM Jags. I'd only replace them if they give you tuning trouble, and even then I'd just swap in some Klusons in the same style. I like that it doesn't leave you with sharp string ends; very clean and orderly. (How to String a Guitar with Vintage Style Tuners)

  • You can swap the Squier hardware for a Fender Jaguar/Jazzmaster tremolo and a Mustang bridge. Some people have issues with strings popping off of the saddles on the stock bridge; the Mustang bridge's saddle design seems to help. If you get a Classic Player tremolo system (I think, might want to double check) it should have a screw-in collet, so the arm will mount more like a Strat. Other models use the traditional push-in arm/collet, which some people find to be too loose.

  • You could get a Bigsby with a Vibramate if that's more your style. That may get a bit expensive, but I've done dumber things to cheaper guitars, so I'm not one to judge. Stetsbar would be a similar option, but I think it would require chopping off a bit of the pickguard around the bridge.

  • If you don't mind spending as much as the guitar itself would go for on the used market, you can get a Mastery bridge and vibrato. I bought a set for a Jaguar I was working on at the time and it feels much better than anything else I've tried. When I sold the Jag, I kept the Mastery. I ended up selling the tremolo and stuck the bridge on my Fender Mustang and really like it; better sustain, no string binding when using the vibrato, much more stable overall. Just ludicrously expensive, unfortunately.

    Electronics:

  • You can get a wiring kit like this one from 920D, or use it as a reference to part one out yourself, which might be a bit cheaper. You may need to modify the bracket on the upper horn and sand away some material inside the cavity to get the larger pots to fit. If I remember right, the bracket dimensions on the Squier Jags are different due to the smaller potentiometers they used.

  • There are plenty of traditional options for aftermarket Jaguar pickups, as well as a few non-traditional options. All the big names in the boutique scene make a Jaguar pickup (Curtis Novak (He also does a Jag-sized Lipstick Pickup), Lindy Fralin, Jason Lollar, The Creamery (UK based and can have long lead times, but some very cool options), Porter), as do a number of less well known pickup winders. I've worked with both Buddha Pickups and Sunday Handwound Pickups and both have been great. There's also Seymour Duncan, a good solid aftermarket pickup choice for pretty much any project.

    Fun Stuff:

  • Another pricey part, but I recently picked up this Hagström Tremar style trem from a supplier in Germany. It's weird and I love how it looks, but it's more or less the same as a normal Jaguar trem in terms of feel and functionality.

  • If you want to get creative with your wiring, Faction Guitars make a bunch of different control plates for whatever your needs may be, including hardtail adapter plates if you don't want a tremolo at all. I've also found their Slider Switch Spacers to be helpful on some builds. It makes the switches less immediately accessible, but also less likely to be engaged while strumming.

  • The two way slider switches can be found in black, white, and occasionally red if you want to color code them like some of the old Japanese-made department store catalog guitars did.

    Also, come visit us over at r/Offset. We love all guitars with offset body styles (Jaguars, Jazzmaster, Mustangs, oddball guitars from the 60s). Lots of good insight over there.

    Edit: Formatting and spelling mostly
u/lightsource1808 · 3 pointsr/Luthier

If the wood has a decent grain that you'd like to see - dye it rather than paint. StewMac is probably your best source there.

If you want a solid color base, look into airbrush colors like the Createx Auto-Air line - you can get some fantastic metallic and iridescent colors, and they come in candy clears so you can do cool things like a sparkle base coat and shoot a transparent color coat on top and get whatever shade you want. Auto-air is water based (although there are special reducers that make it better) and you mist on light coats (then air dry with a heat gun, or heat lamps) between coats - build up slowly and don't get in a hurry.

Source for Createx Paints (you can get it elsewhere, that's just the one that was on the top of my head. Bear Air is one, just Google Createx and you should be able to find sources) - I can buy this locally at Texas Art Supply, so you may look at local art, hobby and craft supply stored depending on your market.

You can top coat Auto-Air paints with Watco Lacquer (which you can normally find at a local hardware store. If you want to spend a little more, Stewmac sells Behlen in nitro, but the differences are pretty minor and the Behlen is more expensive and harder to acquire... at any rate, I'd go for the Watco and practice a bit on scraps before shooting the finish products. It thins with off-the-shelf lacquer thinner. A light mist coat first (to give the surface a little tack and help prevent runs), a medium coat or two after about 15 minutes, then wait for the recoat window and spray fairly wet coats until you're satisfied with the depth. If you get runs,or drips, you'll need to wait a day or so and wet-sand them out (gently, you don't want to sand through the clear) then fine steel wool the entire surface, wipe it down and start again.

The biggest benefit of lacquer is that it dries super hard, and will polish to a glass-like finish with much less effort than it takes to polish urethane paints. Expect to spray anywhere from 6-10 coats, and read the can for the recoat window - if you wait too long between coats, you may need to steel wool it to break the surface so that a new coat will stick; if you do it within the recoat window, the coat will just melt into the one below. Too soon, and you risk bubbling or cloudiness of the underlying layer, as the solvents will not have a the time to flash off, and will get trapped underneath the next coat - this is "blushing" and you probably don't want that.

—————————————

Another good option (for solid colors) is the House of Kolor automotive line. The range of colors is amazing (same as above, solids, pearls, metallics and candies), and it's a catalyst hardened automotive paint, so the paint on the surface won't absorb vibrations like traditional urethane paints (like those from a rattle-can).

The downside here is, you need special reducers, hardeners, and a good quality respirator (think misting superglue into your lungs) to apply. They can be somewhat expensive once you add it all up. Also, ideally they need to be clear coated with HoK top coats, which are excellent quality, but harder to polish than lacquer. Again, expensive and time consuming, but will net you a show quality finish that will last for a lifetime.

edit: if you're doing a neck paint, do yourself a favor and investigate 3m Fine Line masking tape - best product on the market for hella clean lines...

u/Alexis_ · 1 pointr/Luthier

Pretty much any job can be done with a good template bit, but unfortunately you may need different length bits for different jobs (long ones for routing body shapes, short AND medium ones for routing pickup cavities, etc.)

I ordered several "Yonico" bits from these guys: http://www.precisionbits.com/template-trim/ and got them sent to the UK. They are fairly cheap and they've done an excellent job, cut well and are well balanced.

As a starter set, I'd recommend

  • bottom cleaning bit with a bearing - for thickness planing with a router, really useful for headstock thicknessing, neck blank and fretboard thicknessing, as well as cleaning up neck pockets, etc. It also doubles as a template bit for the first step of routing cavities
  • Medium length template bit - For finishing the cavity job (routing to full depth, as the shorter bit won't have the reach) and can also be used to trim the edges of necks, fretboards and headstocks.
  • Long template bit - For routing body shapes.

    I also got 2 roundover bits with different radiuses, a dedicated and much larger bottom cleaning bit, a smaller-sized top-bearing bit (useful, but usuall not strictly needed as 90% of jobs can be done with the template bit), a chamfer bit and a couple of straight-cutters which came with my router. I use my template bits more than anything else, followed by the cheap-o straight cutters. The rest of the bits are niche tools that usually only save a bit of time, and do jobs that could be done by hand in a pinch (like rounding over a body edge).

    They do offer a specialized set of bits for luthiers, but it's not in stock right now, but it's actually a well picked set, and gives you an idea of what the most useful bits are


    PS: Make sure you buy the right sized shank bits, and if you haven't bought a router yet, GET A 1/2" one!
    I HIGHLY recommend Triton, if only for the fact they have a built in router lift, so you can build a DIY router table in about 5 minutes (I built mine by cutting a hole in my workbench and then created an insert plate out of 8mm acrylic. it's SOOO nice to have a router table!)
u/philroyjenkins · 2 pointsr/Luthier

I bought this and barely used any

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003IGK1OI/ref=sxts1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482985846&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

You'd be fine with the small container but I'm glad I went with this. It's a better deal and I'll be finishing a few more guitars for friends with it in the future.

Same goes for Tru oil. I got the 32oz but you only need the smallest one for one guitar.

E: also I don't mind at all. I'm glad to help. Once you get the body you should make a post here and let us know what kind of finish you are trying for. Pictures and examples will help.

The community is super helpful here. Someone will be able to help you even more than I could. I'm still pretty new to this myself :)

u/RamblingMutt · 1 pointr/Luthier

I would suggest:

u/catdumpling · 1 pointr/Luthier

Good job (although I don't think you'll need that much maple ;) .) And hey, if you're crafty and feeling like making some guitar tools, you can use some of that maple, epoxy and a single-cut file (medium or fine) to make a fret-leveling file! I always keep some pieces of HD maple laying around, it comes in handy for all sorts of projects (plus it's strong and cheap!)

BTW, here's a link to Keda Dyes on Amazon, although they're available from their own site as well. The packets are small, but it's super concentrated (as are most powdered aniline dyes), so a little bit goes a long way. For $13 shipped, you might be interested in trying them out.

Here's a link to Fiebings Leather Dye, if you're considering giving that a go. Note that it's alcohol-based, so you can thin them out with alcohol if necessary (they're pretty heavy colors, so thinning would probably be a good thing; you can always add extra coats, but you'll have a lot of sanding to do if you put on too much!) Woodcraft and Rockler both carry some dyes as well, and Woodcraft is just a great place to shop anyway.

u/MojoMonster · 3 pointsr/Luthier
Not gonna lie, that's an extreme angle, but if it works for you, go for it.

Moving the strap button is relatively easy.

The primary problem is that for the screw angle to be correct, the neck will interfere with the drill.

Easiest solution is to get a drill that has a right angle built into it or a right angle attachment(these can be a bit tricky to use, so get assistance).

First tape off around the area you are drilling. I like to drape a towel to protect the finish, as well.

Take the screw out of your current strap button and get a dill bit anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of the diameter of that screw. Just don't use a bit that's roughly the same or larger.

Put some tape on the drill bit that's about 3/4 the length of the button strap screw to mark how deep you need to drill.

Using the screw, make a little indentation in the finish so the drill bit won't wander around as you start drilling.

Go slowly.

Once you've gotten to the correct depth, you're golden.

If you have a bar of soap in the house, just run the screw across it a couple of times to pick up some of the wax(or you can use a candle).
This will make it easier to screw in.

Because of the neck you will probably need a right angle screw driver, although a shorter scerwdriver might work too.

I would do this by hand and not use a power tool just to be on the safe side.

Attach the button to the screw and screw that puppy in.

Profit!

)
Good luck!
u/ExcerptMusic · 2 pointsr/Luthier

Basically. Think of the paint and clear as pieces of clear paper. You just keep stacking it. You have your primer, paint, paint, then clear, then sparkles, then clear, clear, clear, clear.

The more clear, the more depth. Too much clear and it starts to get hazy, unless you wet sand really well between coats.

Also do yourself a HUGE favor and get this spray clear. Once you use the hardener, you have 48 hours to spray more coats which is plenty of time.

u/miserybob · 1 pointr/Luthier

That's a tough one! The lefty-shorty combo made it impossible to find.

This looks like a great resource for left-handed guitarists (especially kids).

You could buy a super cheap kids lefty electric and just strip it for parts. The neck won't be great, for sure, but you can build out the rest as nice as you like. You can design any body you like, just make sure the distance from the nut to the 12th fret is the same as the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge and you'll be in the ballpark.

Good luck!

u/shredtilldeth · 2 pointsr/Luthier

That kit is probably fine for now but if you see yourself using it more than a few times I'd be looking at an upgrade. I might strip back that wire a little bit but you might not have to if it's in good shape. Speaking of which, that's a good thing to have, a wire stripper.

No matter your price range one thing you really should look for is a proper solder basket like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FP3P74Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_QR8nDbJ8HB2P7

You don't have to get that one specifically, and some irons even come with one like it. They're FAR safer than using that teeny little stand like the one you linked comes with. I've seen irons go flying more than once with the punch out stand. The basket holds the iron in place on the table better and if the iron does get knocked over the basket keeps the iron from getting too close to anything.

u/Sloloem · 2 pointsr/Luthier

For $25 you're not going to get a lot of plane. I bought this plane a few years ago and it's...pretty OK. If you can get the iron really sharp it does decent work but the adjusting is a bit crap because instead of a single wheel like more expensive planes it has 1 screw on either side. I also have a brand new and fairly expensive SB #7 that is having a shit-ton of problems with the adjusting lever and I haven't been able to get much good work out of it. If you can find an old plane on ebay or an antique shop or something for that cheap you might need to do a lot of work to it...though you can get lucky. I got an old SB #220 in perfect condition for like a buck.

Arguably a #7 is more useful for luthiery since the craft lends to needing a lot of large, flat surfaces. You can do the same thing with a #4 which is significantly cheaper for something that works more-or-less but it takes a lot more care than a #7.

u/Col_Dom · 1 pointr/Luthier

>Unless you're seeing something in the pictures I'm not



Nope. I was just looking at the condition of those tuners and thinking "As cheap as tuners are, I would replace them all." Something like this:



https://www.amazon.com/Classical-Guitar-String-Machine-Quality/dp/B0092X7AOK/ref=sr_1_28?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1496734951&sr=1-28&keywords=guitar+tuning+machines



>This may be a really stupid question, but what would the best way be to clean and polish the metal bits?



I'm not sure what part of the world you're in, but I've found that just stopping in at my local hardware store and asking the guys that work there what products they have, usually gets me good results. Because, you'll want a product that you can dip some of those parts into to remove the corrosion, but for other parts, you'll want something that you can rub on/off with a soft cloth to polish the metal and make it shine again. And, some of those parts (like the socket-head cap screws in the tremelo) you can just buy new replacements for. As for the corrosion on the pickups, I would suggest taking a more cautious and controlled approach, and use a combination of a mild chemical cleaner (again, something from the hardware store) and some high grit sandpaper or scotch-brite pad to remove the corrosion without damaging the pickup.



>Thanks so much for the recommendations



You're very welcome. I'm always willing to help someone out.

u/Not_A_Bovine · 2 pointsr/Luthier

Not at all. While it's not impossible to use a cheap soldering iron and get a good job done, it will save you a TON of hassel by getting a good one. RadioShack irons are more trouble than 2x what they're worth. My soldering jobs have been a pleasure to do since I upgraded, and I solder often so that's important to me. I use the Weller WESD51, and it's an absolute joy to use. If your on a bit more of a budget, my friend is a professional luthier and he's never complained about the WLC100, which is also from Weller.


Do it. It's worth it.

u/livebrains · 1 pointr/Luthier

It's a little small. It has a 208 mm swing, which is 8" in Freedom Units. That means its maximum depth is 4", which is too shallow for some bridge posts.

If you're looking to go cheap, and you're building from scratch instead of performing repairs and general shop projects, a cordless drill attachment will work for you.

There's only 6 or 8 holes to drill on a standard 6-string guitar, so while a drill press is very useful, it's not an absolute necessity.

That being said, having a drill press is awesome, and it's worth paying for a larger used one if you decide to invest in one. I have a used one with a 14" swing and it's an ideal size.

u/sambooka · 2 pointsr/Luthier

helping hands wont work .. needs a very solid grip on the nut
I don't use the stewmac vice but I do use a vice mounted to my work bench with a couple of strips of wood not to damage the nut.

Nut files: If you are going to do this a lot or for a long time it is worth it to invest in good files (stewmac or luthiers mercantile). If you want to go on the cheap at first most hobby shops have exacto saw blades the right gauge for the high e/b and you can use a set of blowtorch tip cleaners. http://www.amazon.com/US-Forge-Welding-Cleaner-00802/dp/B000UVR0NO/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1375875973&sr=1-1&keywords=US+Forge+Welding+Tip+Cleaner+%2300802

This guy seems to have it down but I didn't watch it all (15min and I already know how to make a nut ) but he seemed to have all the main points down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKO4hat7oJE

u/alephnul · 1 pointr/Luthier

A little Simichrome polish and some elbow grease will take care of that. I know it says metal polish, but polish is polish. It works great. Follow up with a coat of Renaissance Wax and Bob's your uncle.

u/B0bTerwilliger · 2 pointsr/Luthier

Thanks. Apparently they're alnico 5 i got these ones. FLEOR Alnico 5 Guitar Pickups Set... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0744MTPSK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

u/vincientjames · 1 pointr/Luthier

You can buy an attachable jig for a hand drill like this one

u/rackmountrambo · 4 pointsr/Luthier

If you end up having to make a nut, I have a great cost saving tip. When making one, you require nut files, they are crazy expansive. You can buy a set of orifice cleaning files/tip cleaners and they will do the same thing for a lot less money. they come in all the sizes you need for nut slots.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-Oxygen-Acetylene-Torch-Tip-Cleaner-Kit-KH575/100341101

https://www.amazon.ca/US-Forge-Welding-Cleaner-No-00802/dp/B000UVR0NO

I have built many guitars and do luthier work regularly and have not seen a need to buy actual nut files yet.

u/georgetd · 6 pointsr/Luthier

You do not need, and probably do not want a top tier soldering iron for working on a guitar. The big gains on expensive soldering irons are digitally controlled temperature, faster heat up, more tip options, and a lot of extra cost.

The orange Weller is $40, and does everything you could want for working on a guitar.