hello sirs, im dre and im from qc. 31. im really interested in learning much about woods, techniques, etc etc. i signed up earlier after reading some super interestng threads like finish, food, powertools and so on. id like to ask some advices or im hoping you can share your knowledge for a newbie builder like me. and yeah, i like building guitars. 🙂 been doing repairs for a few years now and im proud to say ive already built one guitar from scratch all by myself just by researching the internet. and im so glad i found a forum because i love DIY. i love making jigs for my router, dremel, even diy clamps. but reading your posts, man, i feel like im such a rookie. i need to "tambay" more here!!

first, regarding wood, i heard lauan is calle philippine mahogany but not really a mahogany. been looking for a genuine mahogany for quite sometime now and still no luck. where can i get nice hardwoods that are tonewoods as well like mahogany(honduras,african,etc ) , maple, ash, rosewood, walnut, cherry, PINE, for kamagong, i read its prone to warping and warping aint good for guitar building and i heard its illegal to get kamagong na lately. nato is also a tonewood which yamaha guitars used on their guitars. hope someone can help me in resourcing these kind of woods. but my priority is a genuine mahogany. mahogany is a favorite for guitars because it produces warm clear tones. 🙂

second, i also want to learn about wood finishing. i painted a few guitars but im only using anzahl urethane paint for the base and anzhal clear coat. i like using anzahl because in just a few hours, the finish is dry and rock hard. a hard fast drying finish is a must in guitar building because a guitar is something you hold against your body. years ago when i was starting to experiment on paints, i used pylox, rj, or bosny spray paint. but after a few mos, the finish is still soft. thats why i chose anzahl for finishing now.
- with anzahl as my color coat and clear coat, what sanding sealer can i use? im afraid if i use acrylic sanding sealer, the urethane will react and just ruin the finish and make me start all over again.
- can i just use the anzahl clear coat as a sanding sealer?
- any recommendations on what sanding sealer to use that is compatible with a urethane color and clear?
- how about nitrocellulose lacquer? how easy is it to use? is it fast drying also? again, its really important that the paint gets hard fast so the guitar can be used in 1-2 weeks time after buffing the clear coat. a soft finish is really not an option.

third, im planning to buy a drill press with 16mm chuck.. i saw one less than 7k pesos.powercraft ang brand nya. anyone with experience with powercraft brand? i just need 1/2 hp but with 16mm chuck. and powercraft is selling one. im kinda interested. any suggestions on where to canvass drill press? drill press is important in guitar building because i can chuck up a sanding drum abd convert it to a robosander. or a circular planer bit for drill press and make the drill press a planer also.

i saw a bandsaw also in sulit.. the ryobi one with a 6mm blade. its kinda thin imo. but my question is, can this bandsaw cut a 2 inch ash hardwood? i have experience with hard rock maple and ash, and yeah those woods are tough. and how about the blades of that ryobi bandsaw? are replacement blades available here in manila?

sorry for the long post. im just really curious on these stuffs. my passion really is guitar building and customizing. i studied industrial design in college but ended up as a graphic artist and as a photographer for a couple of years. still doing those pero freelance na and i wanna use my industrial design knowledge naman para di sayang tuition. hehe. ang sarap kasi maging craftsman sa totoo lang.

TYIA!! 😉