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If it helps, Fender finishes over the tops of the frets, and then levels and crowns them. So if you just scrape or sand the finish off the fret tops and then round over slightly (a couple of sandpaper swipes), it'll look authentic :)

Nitro lacquer is what Fender has always used, same gloss as the body. But note that lacquer wants a month or so to cure before playing, or fretting will wear it rapidly.

Hell's teeth! You do make lovely stuff, and so quickly too.

One other thing to try, an easy one. My own system sometimes drops out wifi between boiler and controller, as there are thick walls in between. Usually fixable by moving the (portable) controller nearer the boiler to re-establish the connection. Also there is a box on the inside wall next to...

I'd sand to 240 or 320. And remember the end grainbof the curl sands slower than the long grain, so is left higher unless you use a hard sanding block. But even then, finishing will likely raise the end grain in the figure so it feels rough again. I do what @baldkev suggests - a coat or two of...

I was thinking further and came to the same conclusion - plus I'd really need to see it to assess if I could repair it. I suspect the decorative route is the answer, good luck!

A 3/4 bass is a real thing - most you'll see are that size, I think 4/4s tend to live only in orchestras. This is comfortably twice the bulk of a cello. For that money I'd take it off your hands if I were closer, and restore it - I only have an electric upright bass! Any idea what a courier...

That's a mortice and tenon joint. Your plan is to make what is known as a loose tenon, cutting a new mortice (hole) in the seat sides. It should work. However, you do need a pretty precise fit, otherwise the joint will be loose and will fail quite soon. From what you write, it sounds as if...

I just found a 12 gauge guitar string (0.012 inches, a hair over 0.3mm) - it's really stiff over a length of 6mm and could do for the rungs. Should cost around the NZ equivalent of £1, or free if you can find a guitar player who is changing their strings. These are nickel coated steel, and I...

That hinge weighs only 10 grams, so I doubt it would hold 14-30 kg! Someone who remembers vector maths could calculate the hinge load if the object is dropped as far outboard as possible, but I'd guess it might be 50kg plus. I think that kind of load would need support under the shelf, and...

When choosing wood, think about grain orientation. Vertical grain will be pretty stable, any wood where you can see curves in the end grain will probably cup like mad with the humidity unless encased in epoxy.

From my experience bending guitar and ukulele sides, you need to try to avoid runout. Ideally, looking at the thin (3 or 4mm) side, the grain lines should run the full length of the strip. If they are angled so they meet the sides, that's where it might lift when bent. The steeper the angle, the...

A delayed shutdown sounds like overheating - will it start again immediately, or do you have to wait 15-30 mins? If so, check out the heating pump as most likely suspect. A test could be to run it in oven only mode - if it's fine then, something about the heating has gone wrong.

Probably you :) I've been there, still go there from time to time. When you relax/let go your front hand, focus on keeping down pressure at the back of the plane until you feel the board disappear from under it, and only then lift it up. I think what happens is that your brain sees the toe...

Jointing takes quite a bit of practice. A short plane makes it even harder. Three suggestions: 1. Clamp the boards and plane both mating surfaces together. If you're not planing exactly at 90 degrees they will still match. 2. Plane a slight hollow in the middle of the boards. Then take very...

My woodworking requires a lot of resawing, to make acoustic guitars and ukuleles. Unless I buy the wood ready sawn, which (a) is expensive - around £100 for a guitar if I stick to non-figured timber, (b) means I can't recycle timber, and (c) means I can only use what's commercially available...

I've been thinking about a frame saw - in the UK I can find *annealed* spring steel in a roll, and *tempered* in flat form. Do I need annealed? And do I need to temper it after filing? Also, thin but wide plate is hard to find - for a roughly 4 inch deep blade, what thickness is ideal?

Grain direction makes a huge difference! Look at the edge to see which way the grain runs. In one direction you are planing into the ends of the grain lines, and your iron will try to dig in. Don't do that! Plane the other way. Eg, for this board viewed at the edge (exaggerated), plane L to R...

A simple 5 minute check you can do yourself: Turn off power, unscrew switch plate, check that all connections at the back are screwed tight. Sometimes they work loose. Beyond that it's hard to advise at a distance, bur if you can check the light fittings for loose connections then do that too.

I recently glued oak to mahogany using Titebond Original- no visible glue line. So I guess it's something in your PVA reacting.