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A mans home is his castle, as the saying goes. But homes today dont normally feature ramparts, drawbridges, moats and six-foot thick stone walls to keep out unwanted visitors. Today, a house alarm, and preferably a managed home security system, is needed to ensure your homes security. Not only does installing a home security system improve the safety of your family and possessions, but it can also decrease your home insurance costs. The Top Ten House Alarm and Home Security Devices list highlights ten devices and features of home security systems that can make your house a safer place.

The Top Ten

10. Talking Devices help you to understand the status of your home and monitoring as well as program the system. Some security systems feature talking master control panels, key pads or remotes. The talking feature may not result in great conversation, but it will help you understand your system a little better.

9. Some home alarm systems include extras like Key Fobs and Remotes to control the system at a distance. Somewhat similar to a cars key fob, home security key fobs include buttons to activate and deactivate the house alarm system. Some even include a panic button that activates the house alarm and alerts the proper authorities in the event of an emergency. Remote controls are similar and often larger. The features of remotes vary greatly and can include a full key pad, a talking feature and a panic button as well.

8. Yard Signs and House or Window Decals advertise your homes protection. The Greenwich Study of Residential Security found that homes without alarms were 2.7 to 3.5 times more likely to be burglarized, and that the most effective deterrent was the alarm monitoring companys yard sign (SIA Research Update, Security Industry Association, October 2001). Some choose to post the signs to deter possible break-ins without actually installing a home alarm system. While this effort will lower the odds of an attempted burglary, a yard sign alone cannot fully protect your home.

7. A Back-Up Power Supply is important in maintaining home security even during a power outage, when the risk of break-ins and looting is increased. Your home alarm should be effective even when your power is not. The easiest to maintain back-up power supplies use standard size batteries. Look for a model that uses rechargeable batteries to lower your maintenance costs.

6. Smoke Detectors add another layer of protection to your home, especially when they are integrated into the home alarm system. Not only do smoke detectors indicate a fire and give you time to escape safely, but when included in a home security package, they automatically notify the managing company and the fire department. Some systems even integrate the power supply to the smoke detectors. That means you dont have to change the batteries ever!

5. Wireless Systems protect your home without adding extra cords to trip over or extensive installation of in-wall cords. In wireless house alarm systems, each sensor or keypad communicates with the master control panel via radio frequencies or existing wiring in your home. A burglar will never be able to disarm the system by snipping the wires. This ensures the system is fully integrated and monitoring all parts of your home without using up your outlets or creating an obstacle course of wires for you.

4. Extra Key Pads are also important. Exterior mounted key pads can provide secure keyless entry to your family. Some systems also offer remote control key pads which are lightweight and portable. A home alarm system that features a security code with a key pad increases the security of your home. A monitored system can also lock down entry after several repeated, failed attempts at entry which indicate a possible break-in attempt.

3. Key pads may not always be enough to keep burglars out. Sensors on Windows and Doors reduce the risk of a burglar entering undetected and are a key part of a home alarm system. Motion Detectors within the home also increase the level of security. The most sophisticated motion detectors include a feature to ignore pets movement to avoid constantly setting the alarm off inadvertently.

2. Installation, Monitoring, and Repair Services increase not only the level of safety but the convenience of keeping your home safe. A house alarm alone cannot notify the police or fire department in the event of an emergency. The most complete systems include buttons to notify police departments, fire departments and medical help instantly. Another advantage offered by the best monitoring companies is live customer support and full service installation and repair of the system by employees who have been background checked, licensed and drug tested to ensure your safety. Finally, some companies even offer relocation services to keep you secure even when you move.

1. The classic Master Control Panel is vital to any home alarm system. The central hub of the system, the control panel is usually wall-mounted in an easily accessible place. The panel receives information from all other sensors and key pads, computes it, and transmits relevant information to the monitoring company. If you choose to arm the system from the panel when you leave the house, the master control panel also receives the disarm code when you return home. Some can even be disarmed by telephone!

Of course, this list is not comprehensive, and the needs of every home and homeowner are different. For more tips on choosing the right home alarm system and features to protect your house, I recommend visiting alarmoneinc.com.

About the Author: Boyd Norwood is a web content specialist for 10x Marketing. For more information on house alarm and home security systems, please visit alarmoneinc.com.

"Win $4000 dollars an hour with my roulette strategies" , just another typical headline, when you type roulette strategies or roulette systems in to a search engine. I have been a gambler all my life and I am amazed at the presence of roulette strategies. I am even more amazed by the people who fall for these headlines and buy these roulette strategies, some times buying one roulette system after another.

Roulette is a mathematically perfect game. No matter what bet you place, the wheel cannot be beat in the long term. The more spins a wheel makes the more money that casino will make. No roulette strategy can ever change the odds or turn them in your favour.

Roulette strategies have probably been around as long as the game itself. The oldest of all the table games, roulette is easy to play and a big win at roulette is a great feeling.

Betting on a single number on a roulette wheel will pay you 35-1. There are 37 or 38 numbers on a wheel (depending on where you play - american roulette wheels generally have zero and double zero). So the odds of hitting your number are 36 or 37-1. The casino always have an edge.

Mouth watering sales copy of these next great roulette strategies are the hook that catch the gambling fish. Gamblers are addicts, the very nature of the word entices you to keep going back. that is why you lose. The people selling these gambling strategies know you will lose. If you knew of a roulette system that made you $4000 an hour why would you right a book and sell it as a roulette strategy for a few bucks when the time would be better spent at the wheel.

My life as a gambler has bought me in contact with all sorts of scams. Gamblers very rarely walk away so are always easy targets. My writing career has taken me down the road of exposing these scams as it is important to protect gamblers and gambling at these times of government legislation.

Roulette strategies are just the tip of the ice berg but you must start somewhere. If you have are thinking of buying a roulette strategy you may want to check out this review first.

James Gregor is a professional gambler and author for numerous gambling magazines and gambling websites. He has amassed personal gambling winnings in excess of $2,000,000. Read his FREE REPORT and learn more about roulette, how to be a winning gambler and scam roulette systems . For your Free Roulette Report visit...

http://www.roulettereviewed.com

There are number of social networking sites that have become extremely popular on the World Wide Web. The reason behind the popularity of social networking web sites is that users can save the links to various web sites of their interest. Here are six key ways to social networking.

The first way to social networking is choosing a social networking web site that has a high traffic and good circulation. A social networking website with good number of visitors can turn out to be an excellent place for marketing your products.

Second way to social networking is creating a bio or a home page on the social networking website that is attractive. This will attract number of visitors. Adding images, graphics, and art work can also help.

Third it is important that you take an initiative to target your audience at the social networking web site. Do not wait for your probable consumers to approach you first. In turn make an effort to find out people who are searching for products and services that you deal in.

fourth way to social networking is to offer some freebies to the members by giving in links of some urls that offer the products that are linked to your business or products. This will help in increasing your circulation.

Fifth, be diligent in selecting the content of the social networking web site. The content should be impressive as well as comprehensive. Also make sure that the data you use can be used by any body so be a bit aware of the data you send.

Sixth, visit other social networking web sites and find out the latest trends. Go according to the likings of the people and at the same time try to innovate something new and catchy. This will attract more people and increase your social networking idea.

Want to learn more about it? Download the free ebook, Steps to Article Marketing Success.

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Ecommerce or the use of internet and other computer networks for the purpose of commerce has taken the internet by storm and it has surpassed all expectations some positive and some negative. But it took the internet to a totally different perspective that has implications beyond what we can predict at this point of time.

Ecommerce was once considered as the doomed, flawed and as a superfluous application of technology by online psychics and arm-chair pundits which people will not be interested in. They also compared it with the dot com bust and tried to sideline the immense potential of ecommerce only to find themselves in the wrong side with ecommerce and allied applications getting referred, adopted and implemented by millions and millions of sites all over the world.

It is the successful prediction of ecommerce trends that has cushioned the balance sheets of many successful companies and failure to sniff upcoming trends triggered the death knell for most of those who went under during the dot com bust in the 90s. Sensing upcoming ecommerce trends is one of the top priorities that you have to invest your time and effort into and it pays in multiples of 10 and 100s.

More and more companies are moving into virtual world a considerable part of their business investments and this is supplemented by the ever increasing number of people who have successfully bought or sold products or services online. To take your business online has enormous potential with the saturation of conventional markets and buyers who are within a geographical limit. Taking it online effectively dilutes all those bottlenecks that costs you dearly.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide

Download it free here: Internet Article Marketing

Do you want to learn how to build a massive list fast? Click here: Email List Building

It may be superfluous to elaborate on youthful levels of a major hormone such as hGH to provide realistic benefits. It has been covered very well. In addition, we may observe a teenager or a twenty-something years old person to see for ourselves. A cocktail with youthful levels of hormones ~such as hGH and DHEA~ are intimately connected to health. However, scientists tell us that something grows proportional to our negligence and lack of knowledge: human growth hormone danger.

It may also be superfluous to point out that hGH human growth hormone danger is realistic if carelessness and ignorance ~individually or combined~ are present during supplementation. Both may push past a safe limit imposed by nature. However, I believe that that there is a point, and it has not been made clear. I will give you a comparative example to represent that point.

If a car has transmission problems, break pads and tires are worn out, the A/C does not work as intended by the manufacturer, some light bulbs are burnt out, the electric system has a short-circuit, the alternator is not charging the battery, and the radiator is leaking so the engine is over-heating, we could change the oil; but the otherwise critical Engine Oil will not provide much benefit because that car is in desperate need of major repairs or replacement of parts needed much more urgently before an oil change provides benefits.

The same conditions occur with your body or mine.

Should your body or mine be desperately craving for nutrients from a good diet or from a formula which includes much more than Vitamins & Minerals, it does not receive quality sleep for long enough, it does not get enough water to help eliminate unwanted matter, it is exposed to a hectic life style, it is subjected to aggravations and / or preoccupations on a periodic basis, it breathes indoor air which is not renovated often enough, its muscles and respiratory system are seldom exercised correctly and for long enough, its intestines lack the much needed Friendly Bacteria, fiber and they are over loaded with matter not often evacuated, it receives prescribed or over-the-counter drugs on a regular and long-term basis, it is affected by health conditions or illnesses as a result of a neglected and weak Immune System, it is exposed to too much smoking and / or alcohol, it receives a diet deficient in nutrients.

Would you say that a body with some of the above conditions may be exposed to hGH human growth hormone danger and no benefits? Of course it may. Just like the oil change in the imaginary car above, that body is in desperate need for a higher state of health. What that means is that either benefits or danger of hGH human growth hormone are ~to a meaningful extent~ dependant on favorable health conditions to be present on a long-term basis for youthful levels to be beneficial or not.

It all leads to deduce that supplementing with hGH may not be dangerous in itself. It may turn dangerous because our body does not meet favorable conditions needed. Well before we consider supplementing with a major hormone, we must first gain knowledge in "preparing our body" to be receptive to youthful levels. Should we be wise enough, it is then likely that we avoid hGH human growth hormone danger; and gain benefits.

Our body can be rewarded from these marvels of nature, but to stay away from hGH human growth hormone danger we must be clever enough to remember that "we should first give nature what nature wants"; and what nature wants is a body receiving what nature intended it to receive. Likewise, we must ~to the extent possible~ stay away from conditions that will lessen its qualities, make it sick, and shorten its life.

About the author:

George Josserme is the Editor-in-Chief at Fountain of Wisdom

He also is the author of Your Health Your Choice. An e-book where he makes his readers aware that there is human growth hormone danger, but it depends which side of the fence the reader positions himself on. The side of those who acquire knowledge, or the side of those ignorant on what nature inescapably mandates.

All women need to be aware of their vaginas health. Keeping it healthy means you will avoid infections and also have a pleasant odor and the tips enclosed will ensure that you have optimum vagina health

A healthy vagina is home to a huge variety of minute organisms. Normally, they live harmoniously in an acidic environment that prevents the overproduction of any one species in the vagina and helps combat foreign bodies that can infect it.

Vaginal infections are common and occur when the delicate balance is disrupted can cause discomfort in the area and unpleasant smells.

Firstly, the health of a womens Vagina and the smell are influenced by overall lifestyle, diet and weight.

If you follow the tips below you can ensure a healthy vagina so here they are:

1. Your Overall Diet

Eat a healthy diet. Cigarettes alcohol and drugs should be eliminated if you can or cut down, as should heavily spiced foods and junk food.

Try and eat as naturally as possible (food free of additives) and make sure you drink lots of water. What you put into your body comes out in its secretions and the vagina is the same. Ever noticed how your sweat smells differently after eating spiced food, then you will realize why this is so important.

2. Cleaning

Odor-producing bacteria can thrive on the vulva and need to be cleaned off regularly to prevent vaginal inflections and prevent odors.

Washing the genital area daily with a simple, fragrance-free soap is normally enough to keep the vagina area clean and fresh.

Your vagina self-cleans itself so douching is not required.

Furthermore, douching upsets the delicate balance between good and bad bacteria in the vaginal ecosystem and can actually be harmful.

Because infections such as yeasts are found in the intestine, it is important after going to the toilet to wipe front to back i.e. you need to wipe the vagina area first and the rectum last!

During sex it is also very important to avoid contamination of the vagina area with organisms and bodies from the bowel, or rectum area.

3. Clothes to wear

To prevent vaginal infections and keep your vagina healthy make sure your clothing allows the area to breath. To do this avoids tight garments and fabrics containing a high percentage of synthetic fibers such as nylon.

Remember, that tampons and diaphragms left for too long in the vagina can create a very strong unpleasant odor as well.

4. Safe sex

Finally, if you dont know your partner very well, always Use a condom and a spermicidal to reduce the chances of infection and disease.

If you are unlucky enough to get an infection, the symptoms are outlined below of three of the most common ones.

The good news is that to reclaim a healthy vagina is easy, if you are alerted to the problem and take action.

1. Bacterial vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) accounts for more than 50% of all vagina related health visits.

About half of all women with BV vaginal infections have no obvious symptoms.

The most common symptom is a thin, white to light grey discharge with an offensive fishy like smell that is extremely unpleasant.

The odor is strongest when the discharge is exposed to any alkaline substance and this includes soap and semen, it will therefore be at its strongest and most obvious after cleaning or sex.

BV is easy to treat and is normally treated by a course of antibiotics prescribed by a doctor.

2. Yeast

Although yeast infections are probably the most common type of vaginal infection, many women never bother to seek help.

Most simply recover naturally and others treat themselves with anti-fungal vaginal creams available without prescription from the chemist.

Symptoms of yeast infections include:

Vulvar itching combined with irritation in the vagina area and redness.

If the urinary opening becomes inflamed, urination will increase and discomfort will be present. If the infection is severe, the vulva will swell and fine breaks, called fissures occur. This causes vaginal discharges to become thicker and whiter.

Yeast infections are the result of excessive growth of a family of fungi that normally live in any healthy vagina, but when they increase the balance of the vagina is upset and problems occur.

The most common infection is vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), which is usually caused by a fungus named Candida albicans.

There are two types of VVC:

Uncomplicated, a mild infection that responds to therapy. Or recurrent which, is more severe and often occurs in women who have diabetes or are infected with less treatable forms of yeast, such as Candida glabratia.

Recurrent VVC, normaly occurs more than four times a year and needs a long initial treatment of around two weeks and then a follow-up therapy course for up to 6 months or longer.

Certain factors are common causes such as nylon and Lycra clothing that traps heat and moisture, so be aware of our clothing tips for a healthy vagina we noted earlier.

Other common causes include:

Obesity, pregnancy, diabetes and suppression of the immune system during illnesses, the use of oral contraceptives, and eating excessive amounts of sugars, starch, and yeasts.

If you do have a yeast vaginal infection, your doctor will ordinarily treat you with either prescription or nonprescription antifungal creams and suppositories referred to earlier.

If you have a problem get professional help and you will soon have a healthy vagina. Do not ignore symptoms or think they will go away get help quickly.

3. Trichomoniasis

Trichomoniasis, or "trich," is a sexually transmitted vaginal infection suffered by a huge amount of women worldwide and this runs into tens of millions. While infection with trichomoniasis can be uncomfortable, it is not in anyway a serious threat to overall health.

The symptoms are normally vulvar and vaginal burning and itching. The burning is normally at its height after intercourse.

In addition, there may be vulvar swelling and frequent and uncomfortable urination. There is a heavy vaginal discharge, usually yellowish or green, which may or may not have an offensive smell.

The trichomonad is a minute parasite. It has three tails at its narrow end and swims with them and the white blood cells of the body follow.

These blood cells literally chase down the trichomonad and kill it by eating it.

Symptoms occur only when the body's natural defense are swamped by with sheer number of reproducing trichomonads and the white blood cells cannot cope.

Trichomoniasis is usually easily diagnosed and antibiotic treatment cures it in the majority of cases.

Follow the tips above for a healthy vagina and if you do have a problem dont worry or be embarrassed simply seek help quickly and clear up the problem, in the vast majority of cases treatment is quick, easy and painless

MORE FREE INFO

On all aspects of health and more on womens issues visit our website for a huge resource of articles, features and downloads and at http://www.net-planet.org/index.html

Mortgages are a complex borrowing and along with the monthly payments which we all expect to pay, there are some other costs which are not so obvious to take into account. As this type of borrowing is not one we do that often, it is often easy to miss or not understand some of the additional costs that may be incurred. Reading the terms and conditions is a good place to start, as most of the time it is here you will find in the small print any other charges.

When you take out a mortgage, one thing many of us fail to consider is what would be the consequences of ending that particular mortgage deal. With remortgaging becoming more popular and banks and building societies constantly reminding us of that better we could be getting if we were to switch a huge number of us are doing exactly that, remortgaging to get that better deal.

If you think you might consider remortgaging in the future then look into any exit costs that may be applicable. Though at the time you take out the mortgage deal the interest rates may seem very attractive and competitive, what could be a downside is how much money you will be required to pay the lender if you decide remortgage.

Some lenders may charge a fee for you to have the privilege of taking out a mortgage with them known as an arrangement fee. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to a percentage of the amount you want to borrow. So this could add up to a huge amount so it is may be worth looking at other lender options.

An attractive interest rate with a particular lender may be one of the reasons you decide to borrow from them in the first place. Be sure to find out exactly how long this special rate is applicable for and what happens after that special rate period. To give you an example a two year deal with an exceptional interest rate might seem like a great option, but after that period the interest rate moves onto the standard variable rate which means your monthly payments go up considerably and you are tied into it unless you want to pay the penalty fee of exiting early. So what seemed liked a good option may turn out to be a costly one if not careful.

Please visit Mortgages UK for more information.

As soon as you get a website of your own you realize that it will do you no good unless people see it. The biggest problem you will face on the internet is getting quality traffic to your website. In this article we will look at buying website traffic as one method to get visitors and the advantages and disadvantages of getting traffic this way.

When you buy website traffic you have to consider the type of traffic you are getting. A targeted visitor is worth more to you than a visitor that happens on your site for no apparent reason. You will see ads telling you that you can buy 10,000 hits for $10. This type of traffic is not really targeted and in the long run may be worthless or virtually worthless.

Buying targeted traffic could come to you in a couple of ways.

1. Pay Per Click Traffic

Pay per click advertising is a method of advertising where you target specific keywords and bid on each word. When someone clicks on your ad you get a visitor.. The more valuable the keyword is the more you will pay for each click. This is good traffic to buy because it is targeted. The people clicking on your ad want to do so because you have gotten their attention with a good heading and a well written ad.

The downside to pay per click advertising is click fraud. People who are searching will click on your ad just because they are in the habit of wondering aimlessly around the web or even worse they want to take your money because they are jerks.

Another problem with pay per click advertising is the cost. Buying this kind of website traffic is not for the faint of heart. You can quickly burn through a month's ad budget in one day if you are not careful. You are better off to bid low and learn the ropes first. Google Adwords and MSN Adcenter have two of the best PPC ad programs.

2. Classified ads

Running classified ads is a cheap way to by traffic to your website. Paying one monthly fee to a quality classified ad service can bring you immediate traffic and all month long. A well written ad can be picked up by a search engine for a specific keyword and bring you traffic that way as well. A couple of the best classified ad companies are Adland Pro and USFreeads.

Buying traffic for your website is a fact of life if you want immediate traffic. Buying hits, traffic exchanges and other forms of non targeted traffic will help, but spending your money on targeted website traffic relating to the theme of your website is the best way to do it.

Written by: Tom Dahne and Paul Martin
Website: http://www.linkdirectory.com and http://www.prolinkdirectory.com

Tom Dahne and Paul Martin are the owners of the very popular directory called Link Directory which is 100% SEO friendly and Human edited, and it accepts free and paid submissions for any quality website so feel free to submit your website today for inclusion.

We all have cabinets in nearly every room. The kitchen, the bathroom, the living room and yes, even in the bedroom we store things in cabinets and it is easy to dress them up with some new knobs. Add a shabby chic look to a white cabinet with some green milk glass knobs or a modern look with some brushed silver ones.

No matter where the cabinet is you can find knobs to match the dcor by shopping online. There is no need to dig through half empty bins to find enough of the style you want, simply shop online and youll have all of the drawer pulls you need with the click of a mouse. From bug shaped knobs to colorful jewel shaped ones it has never been easier to refresh the dcor of a room.

Cabinet knobs com e in any shapes, sizes and colors, but before you decide on your favorite it is important to determine what look you are going for in the room. A retro 1950s look would mean knobs made of industrial material such as stainless steel, nickel copper or brass in geometric shapes. Going for a Victorian look? Then try solid wood, ceramic or glass knobs to complete the theme.

Choosing a theme might be overwhelming what with knob styles ranging from colonial to art deco and everything in between and beyond, but choosing the right one should be a fun challenge. There is also a variety of materials that knobs are made from including brass, copper, steel, and wood, glass, plastic and ceramic. Each style and material produces different effects from a modern or contemporary feel to a more traditional look. The best way to see thee many different kinds of knobs available is to dive right into online shopping. Youll be able to see all the many different sizes, colors, materials and styles that you can choose from to make over any room without replacing the cabinets themselves.

So, make redecorating a room a little easier on your wallet and replace the cabinet knobs before you replace the cabinets. Youll love the adventure of finding just the right ones to match your new motif. Cabinet knobs can have a great effect on a room. They can enhance the style of the room or clash with it so bad you dont want to look at it. Dont let this happen to you. Knowing whats out there can help you make the right decision and add a significant amount of style to your room. Sure large pieces of furniture make a statement in any room, but we often forget that it is the little details that can really pull a room together or push its design apart. Cabinet knobs, big and small, round or square can truly make your room over in the style of your choosing. And all it takes is a few moments to install them and your room has gone from plain Jane to kitschy cool.

As an owner of many home decor sites, Jennifer Akre offers product reviews and information on hardware, giving the online consumer help finding a variety of cabinet hardware and cabinet knobs. Decorate your home in style - your way - Click today: drawer pulls

For those amongst us who play guitar and are fairly adept with their hands, the thought of building your own guitar must have crossed your mind at some point.....go on, you know it's true! Probably, like me you shrank back from the very thought of having to work to the peak of perfection to a standard that you never dreamed you could achieve. But there are a few secrets, and the best one I reckon is that each stage of the build must be approached with precision, each stage an individual project in itself.

This includes the planning of the whole project and that includes the selection of all of the components that go to make up the guitar itself. Dont worry about, for example, the tools at this point in time....do a seperate project when it comes to those...see where I'm heading? In this series of articles I will discuss the various requirements of the build and naturally, one of the critical aspects of your guitar will be the selections of exactly which tonewoods you will select for your creation. There are a couple of ways of going about the first build. You can decide that this guitar will be crafted from the finest of timbers that money can buy, thus creating the 'ultimate guitar" you know, the kind of Maton or Martin, Guild or Gibson that you will never be able to afford ( not in this lifetime anyway).the best of everything, spruce bracing, brazilian rosewood guitar sides, or classical tonewoods for your guitar, Japanese maple , ebony fingerboard or a Japanese or even Australian maple back and sides. Some of the more mentally afflicted amongst us may dream of Koa, the ultimate luxury I'm told. I even have a friend who owns a Koa Martin,how dare he?

On the other hand, there are many that think in a kind of negative way. "I'll knock the first one up out of Mahogany plywood, If I stuff it up, it wont be such a disaster,will it?" Well, personally, I reckon that's a built in attitude that will definitely put the mockers on it right from the word go. Use the best you can possibly afford but dont be blinded so that you pay out thousands from some unscrupulous mother that sees you coming, half a block away. Do some serious enquiring before you spend out those hard earned dollars. Even to the point where you may well, with the help of the internet, source your rarish timbers from another country or another State. They may well be a hell of a lot cheaper than you would ever begin to realise and many suppliers are keen to do business with you. You would not believe the difference in prices that I found when I was pricing up the timber for my Weissenborn acoustic lap steel guitar. It varied from about two hundred bucks for Mahogany to a thousand for the same thing!

So what are we looking at? The traditional tonewoods depend on the type of guitar you want to build. It will be very different for a Spanish style classical , different again for a weissenborn or slide and different again for a standard steel string guitar. A typical scenario would be close grained spruce for the soundboard, no imperfections or discolourations. Brazilian rosewood guitar sides or even East indian rosewood sides, Mahogany will also do very well here. I own a lovely little guitar made for me by a friend who just lives and breathes guitars. It is built from Californian Redwood, lock stock and barrel apart from the fingerboard which is rosewood. It sounds as sweet as a nut and looks so pretty too. So be prepared to encompass some different ideas too when selecting your wood. I was interested as to why the bridge should always be rosewood, ebony or a derivitive. I wondered why I couldn't make mine from Maple. I enquired found no reason why not and therefore did it. It works perfectly, the only thing I have to be careful of is that because it is sofeter than tradition hardwoods normally used, it can be dented when changing the strings. TIP: use a small spoon to lever the strings out of the peg holes.. it doesnt dent so much as when you use something else.

So, the finger board is also traditionally made from East indian Rosewood, A harder mahogany, Obeche or similar. However, for a weissenborn as the fingers never play on the timber, therefore wont wear it away over the years, a softer wood is an option. Usually a darker one is preferable as they do get dirtier quicker. Then again look at the blond Fender necks that are so popular of late! One thing I do urge you to do, look outside the square when selecting your timbers for your guitars. The timber that has been raped to death for guitar building are supposed to be in terrifyingly short supply nand therefore the prices are at a premium and the remaining trees are being threatened. I'm no greenie but good sense should prevail here! You can achieve a couple of blows for good sense at the same time if you choose alternative timbers that may well do the job required of them. Talk to people in the business, hear their views on certain timbers and reason out your choices. The internet is a great option here, just look under Australian Maple for example, its a great timber and I'm a stout flagbearer for it, Blackwood too, close cousins of the very rare and expensive Koa that seems to be disappearing fast. dont get sucked in or get in a rut, think outside the square, you will be amazed at what you can find! You can have a look and listen to the Weissenborn made of Australian Maple on my site buildaweissenborn.com see what you think!

Terry Buddell is a freelance journalist and a Marine surveyor, boat designer and shipwright, He lives on board his yacht "The Nicky J Miller' that he built himself on The Gold Coast Australia and has sailed his yacht up the East Coast to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. He is currently resident in Gladstone Queensland where he is building another boat for his collection of plans for sale on the internet.In his spare time(what spare time??) Terry, a keen guitarist has builtd a Weissenborn lap steel guitar!

Pictures for most of the articles can be viewed on the website below. ! Terry can be contacted on arcus1@bigpond.com or http://www.dolphinboatplans.com