A perfect joint requires almost no force and should be seamless. Don't forget wood swells as it absorbs moisture, so when you put glue on the surfaces you might create some sort of "hydro-lock" if you don't take the extra clearance into account.. A very, very mild chamfer on the bottom edges of...
Guitarbuilding also includes crucial woodworking skills, of which one is being able to true a piece of wood. You can find used no.6 and 7 planes quite cheap. It's quite easy to learn actually. Besides your plane you need a straight edge. This is a crucial tool in guitar building, fine...
A n.6 or 7 is what you need for the perfect joints. The routing method only works for shorter joints, since it is difficult to find a perfect straight guide (uneven pressure when routing is enough to have a less than perfect joint).
Sanding should never be used to shape something, only to...
I almost lost all interest in guitar building after I finished my friend's Oly White Jazz Bass. I can still tell from memory where all of the dark specs are ruining the perfect white finish. Just knowing that each time you spray another coat of clear specs might appear is extremely frustrating...
Superglue is the easiest and fastest solution imo. Just be careful when applying, you don't need lots of it. From my experience, acetone results in a poor adhesion between the binding and the wood.
Roughly 1.5 - 2cm should be fine indeed! Make sure to predrill with a drillbit slightly smaller than the strapbutton screw, and run the screw through some candlewax before installing it. Also be careful when drilling the hole, as the lacquer might chip/check a little around the hole.
All of these radiusing jigs are really nice!
Though I just use my nr.6 handplane, only takes me 15 min to thickness and radius a board (including the sanding) :D
(but I must admit, building a radiusing jig is something on my "jig"-list)
Here is what I would recommend:
- Spindle sander for creating templates and thicknessing headstocks. Edge sander is cool, but not necessary imo.
- Bandsaw for cutting out bodies and necks, templates etc. If possible, you could get one big enough to resaw blanks. However, a good handsaw works...
+1
There are three different kind of handheld buffers, the rotary one is the most effective and most dangerous one. This guy explains the differences:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjT5gtmn9vQ
You can often rent professional handheld buffers from body shops (where you find fine grit...
Flash coat is the way to go I believe, Roman Rist once wrote a tutorial how he does it. I believe he level sands with 400, then sprays 1 or 2 flash coats and buffs.