innerware

I too suffer from last thread-idous. So don't worry Micheal. I seem to end more threads than I begin. But anyway, I am of no significance. I am just glad this place is here.

For now it has no truss rod. I have other means to adjust for play. That and the guitar shouldn't tweak at all because of its design. But I haven't yet installed a way to adjust the neck. For now the fret board isn't permanatly attached. As for the patent, if we feel it necessary we will file a provisional patent. Haven't really gotten much feedback yet and we don't want to waste the dough even though they are cheap. It has been documented thoroughly through the process and there are many witnesses to its creation. I'm not too worried though. I would like it if it was something that others wanted made. I am just glad that you all haven't hated it. Sometimes it is hard to see the trees through the forrest. I have been so invloved with it for so long now I feel like I lack any perspective on its design likeability. So, thanks all for the kind words. I still have to find the time to upload some video or sound. I haven't forgotten.

The Parker is a pretty guitar. Even though it is an electric. Don't get me wrong. All musical instruments are beautiful and amazing. But when you get into electrics the nuances are all in the electronics. I know two guys who build electric solid bodies and the body is so easy to make it is sick. It is easy to make a good electric is what I am saying. Well, compared to an accoustic anyway. There are so many damned variables with accoustics to consider when building one. To name a few: Sound chamber size, sound hole location, material choice, material thickness, overall depth, bridge location, saddle height, finish used, etc etc. I wish I could say I built the best guitar out there. But who believe me? I know I woudn't. But this exersize has taught me a lot. I have a ton of respect for luthiers now. A also know why pretty much all accoustics follow the Torres design. There are so many variables to get wrong that it is just easier to stay to a proven design. Oh, and no travel guitar(accoustic) sounds as good as a full bodied one. Blanket statement as it may be it is true. You just need the size to reproduce the sound. As for electrics they do make nice small ones that sound equally as good as full sized ones.

Wow, I have known about this scam for years and I can't imagine how someone would fall for it. I just read the link that Mikelly provided and I certainly can't imagine having fallen for it and going to Nigeria too. There are certainly some gullable people out there.

Thanks for the positive feedback. I designed it with a friend of mine and he is really pushing for us to try and get it built and sold. I will also post a sound clip or maybe a video clip soon. We entered it in the IDEA design competition and also the ID magazine student design competition. Remarkably it sounds pretty good. I have yet to go thru the fine tuning of the guitar and yet it is still playable and sounds fine. I am really pretty excited since it is my first instrument that I have built. It has taken so long to design and build too. We started designing it a year ago. I then took an incomplete in the independant study I was deisnging it for. I ended up taking some months off not working on it at all. Sounds like my Z. Anyway I got lucky a lot with materials. Technically this was my first time doing any kind of hand lay up of fiberglass and carbon fiber. There was a ton of research in materials and resins. The carbon top is held together with Vinyl Esther resin as it is good to 240 degrees F. before it starts to chain slide. The back was laminated with an industrial epoxy which I thought to be really strong untill I learned about the vinyl. It is still really strong though just stable up to 140 degrees not 240. I made the carbon top in one shot hand layering all materials with resin in between. This was done between two sheets of glass with mylar taped to them as a release and then I stacked about too hundred pounds of weight on top to squeeze out all the extra resin. First try and it worked. Oh, and the whole thing is hollow intill the third fret. That is where the head that plugs into it ends. Anyway, I'd love to show it off to any member who is interested in seeing it or playing it. I am just keeping my fingers crossed I win something for it cause I'll be looking for a design job soon and that would certainly help. I guess I need to teach myself how to play now. LOL

Just thought I would share what I have been doing. Just finished it. It is a travel guitar that a friend and myself designed and I built. The rhino rendering is his and the actual guitar I built. It is a three piece hollow neck composit travel guitar. It is a one piece back (fiberglass) one piece carbon fiber top (5 layers with baltic matt) and the head was carved out of hard wood and plugged in and painted. As a one off prototype proof of concept I am very happy. It sounds great for it not being totally trued and the action isn't fully set yet. The sound hole was a pain in the *** to cut, but we dig the way it looks. This was my first time making an instrument and I had a lot of learning to do. Well, anyway here is the link to my album: http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=617 I'd love to hear what you all think of it. Thanks for looking, Kyle

I'll be moving to the Boston area the end of the summer. Hopefully the car will be road worthy then to drive and show off. It will be nice ot know some other Z's out there too.

But haven't I heard a lot of you guys flaming rustoleum products here? It seems like a really easy and fairly fast approach. But what of the paint choice?

If you have the patients and time to learn you can make a three part mold that you can then pour silicone into for your part. Platinum cure silicone will handle temperatures of up to 6 or 700 degrees f. It comes in a variety of shore hardness. You can make a mold using gypsum, or platinum cure silicone. PLatimum silicone can easily be contaminated causing surface curing problems. But blah blah blah. Just to say you can make one yourself if you knew how. I wouldn't recomend it to the novice at mold making since it is a more complex part. If I wasn't so damn busy I could. I've been doing this sort of thing for a while. If you had someone do it for you custom I would imagine it costing around 1K to start. So not too affordable either.

How long has it been non running? It could be so many things. Obvoiusly you checked fuel. It woudn't hurt to put a pressure guage in line to check the amount of pressure you have. Also start with verifing all the easier things. Check for good spark at the plugs, check the distributer cap and rotor. Make sure the fuel filter is good, your wires aren't arcing out anywhere. Pretty much I would do a good once over the whole system. It usually ends up being something easier than you think. Your injectors could be all gummed up or the electrical connectors could be corroded so as to give a pore signal to open them. I don't think that the throttle being not hooked up to the pedal would matter. But by giving it a good tune up will be a good way for you to familliarize yourself with the car and its systems. If it doesn't fix the problem than no harm it is good to do these simple things when you first buy a car. For me it sets a level playing field. I know that it then can't be something simple I am overlooking. Hope this helps at all, good luck

What verson of autocad you using? I can get you some plans of garages. Nothing fancy mind you. I have a set of drawings I did for friends and they have a three car garage. I also build architectural models and have some plans at the shop. I don't think I have any sections though. But let me know what you are looking for and I'll look.

mine leaked at the windshield gasket. It came in and ran on the passenger side of the dash board. I noticed a little streak of water at that spot and the hole was at the corner of the windshield where the water would sit. I used clear silicone in a syringe to apply it and problem was solved. Can't hurt to silicone the windshield anyway. At least you will know if that is or isn't the problem. Good luck and stay dry. I bought a can of desicant to leave open in the car to soak up the moisture.

I have used a primer that is made by evercoat. It is there featheredge primer and it is a two part polyester system. It is like 50 bucks a gallon and sprays and sands real well. It is two part and catalyzes so will block moisture. My paint guy likes it and so do I. Just thought I would share.

Nice looking. Was this part of the NASA deal? If so had you ever heard back from them or did they just ship them? I have emailed countless times after Ernie left them and no one has emailed back. Just looking for any tips if that is where you got them. Thanks

Friend of mine was riding his mountain bike cross country and pulling a trailer. He was eating over 8,000 calories a day and was loosing weight. His idea of a snack was snickers bars dipped in peanut butter. He ate multiple ones at a time. He said it was really hard having to consume that many calories in a day and that is where most of his money went. guess he could have used the manwich.

Years ago with my 1980 Toyoto Corolla rear wheel drive car. I used studded tires. I do blame a small pin hole leak in my fuel tank from throwing a stud. Don't know if this is possible. Might have been a coinsidance but I always blamed the missing stud for the leak that happened just behind and above it. They were good tires though for the snow and having rear wheel drive. Just my thoughts.

Thanks. I have been using epoxy resin with fiberglass and carbon fiber in a composit accustic guitar I have been making. I was just trying to get epoxy paint so everything was the same. Plus, reading all I have here on this board it seemed that many were using epoxy paints in there automotive applications. Where as in reality it was either two part polyester, or urethane paints. I ended up using a single stage black urethane for the guitar. It looks great and has a nice thickness to it. I guess I just didn't realize how rare epoxies were in its use in automotive applications is all since the term was used a lot. Thanks for all the clarifications I recieved on the subject.