avengers63 Posted March 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 The binding went on (almost) without a hitch. I thought of Drak as I took some 150 on the palm sander and took it ALMOST all the way down. I did the final evening out of the binding with a chisel. I slowly pared it level with the top. The neck is matte black, so I'll be buffing the body with steel wool to match the sheen. Since I'm not doing any significant amount of sanding, I figure a can and a half of rattle-can poly will do the trick. Since poly cures so dang fast, do y'all figure 2-3 days to cure would do the trick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorgo Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 IT CAME IN!!! The sheet of Formica in Aqua Boomerang I ordered 2 weeks ago came in today. I'm REALLY excited now. just a sample pic, not a scan of the actual sheet. OK, so here's the plan.... I have a template I made a few months ago in anticipation of being able to do this. It's a trimmed down version of the Danelectro "bowtie" shape. (Not-so-)Coincidentally, I just so happen to have a Dano neck on hand. Hmmmmm. I also have some Gretsch pups on hand. Hmmmmm. Is it possible that I got them specifically with this in mind? I ordered a bunch of parts today - enough to make this guitar and to make another at the same time. One is for me, the other is going on consignment at a local shop. I'll be making three bodies concurrently - one for me, one for the commission ax, and one for eBay. artist's rendition - not an actual guitar STATS: Ash body, possibly hollowed out a bit. Not positive yet. Gretsch pups on mine, Artec/GFS Gretsch clones on the consignment white pickguard - top routed body - p/g mounted electronics 3-position switch concentric vol/tone neckplate, not ferrules white minding on top & bottom And the whole dang thing - front, back, & sides - is covered in Formica. not as cool as what I'm going to make How did you do that "artist rendition"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 How did you do that "artist rendition"? http://www.nymphusa.com/kisekae/kisekaeE1.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 There's really nothing to report on, but I feel that I should be reporting in anyway. I can't explain it. Anyway, I spray 3-4 coats of poly per day, giving a few hours between coats. The next morning I level the back a bit with some 400-grit wetsanding. Tomorrow morning, I'll be completely leveling the back & sides, then hitting it with a number of coats of matte poly. I want a dull finish on the back to match the neck. From there I'll be giving it a final leveling, then a final coat or two of matte. From everything I've read, this is the path to a nice matte finish. Also, I'll be able to NOT buff it out, saving me a full day's work. Then it's just wait for it to harden up enough to handle. Considering it's poly, it should only take a day or two, most of that is just insurance. While it's curing a bit, I can pre-wire the pickguard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Is that sand through on the rounded edges? Not at all keen on the black with the green top pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 No sand through - it's reflection of the lights. The top is turquoise. It's a hair to be split, but I'd call it in the blue family. Anyway, I figured black is nice & neutral, and it'd match up well with the black Dano neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 This is working out extremely well. I wet-leveled it all out, then hit it with some matte finish. It's PERFECT! After I empty the can on the back/sides, it's on to assembly & wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 You have GOT to be f'ing kidding me. The pup height screws that came with them don't fit the dang bracket holes. Now I have to go hunting for them tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 ALL DONE!!!!!! The guitar is BRIGHT. The Gretsch pups are on the high end anyway, so combine them with an ash body and it just twangs like there's no tomorrow. It's a tad neck-heavy, but not to the point of fighting it. Go figure though - look at where the strap is. The Dano neck plays very well. For a Chinese made piece (it even says so on the back of the headstock), I'm very surprised at how nice it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) I guess I'll be the first to ask - why didn't you shape the neck where it meets the heel of the body?.. ..also.. it looks kinda funny in a cartoonie-sorta-way.. Edited April 2, 2009 by Cactus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wood is good Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 ummm, all bolt ons are like that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donovan Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Nice job! The front is very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Wow this is one cool guitar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 (edited) ummm, all bolt ons are like that... No. Look at this picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...olt_on_neck.jpg The shape of the neck goes closer to the heel, whlie on the Retrotron it looks to be about an inch or so off. Edited April 3, 2009 by Cactus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 It's cause it was a prebuilt neck and that's how it came. That turned out really John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 That turned out really John Yep. It's really John. The long heel is because on Danos, the neck usually meets with the body around the 14th fret or so, despite having a 21 fret neck and in some cases almost no cutaway. It doesn't feel odd or get in the way at all, so aside from looks, there's no need for me to re-shape the heel. Maybe some day when I get a wild hair I'll take it apart and smooth it out some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 its one of PRS's secrets of tone aint it.... huge heels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 its one of PRS's secrets of tone aint it.... huge heels PRS's secret and working girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 its one of PRS's secrets of tone aint it.... huge heels PRS's secret and working girls That one took me a second. DANG! Good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 You're a guitar-making machine, John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 You're a guitar-making machine, John. One of the few benefits of being out of work: plenty of time to work on these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 I'm starting to re-work this one. I'm in no hurry at all since the prototype still works & plays perfectly, so this is a "when I don't have anything else going on" project. The basic guitar will remain the same, but there will be a couple of changes along the way. First up is the neck blank & fretboard. I had a piece of flatsawn maple that probably would have worked just fine, but I wanted it to be quartersawn. Cutting up the piece and gluing it back was a very inefficient use of wood, but I'm more interested in a better product. It still hurts my brain to know that a bunck of wood was "wasted" that didn't really need to be. So here it is with the end-access truss rod in place.... ...and with the white oak fretboard. Yes, you read it right - white oak. I might be ebonizing it, I might not. It's not like oak isn't hard and durable enough for a fretboard, so why not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andronico Posted May 25, 2010 Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 Yes, you read it right - white oak. I might be ebonizing it, I might not. It's not like oak isn't hard and durable enough for a fretboard, so why not. I´m not sure but Brian May didn´t use oak in his guitar ? He ebonized his fingerboard but are you sure that you will do that ? This oak looks nice in natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted June 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2010 I had some spare time yesterday, so I went ahead and did the headstock. It's a variation of the classic Danelectro "peanut" shape. I exaggerated the curves a bit and reversed the top. Instead of a scarf, it's a drop-down. I know some folks here have said/will say that a 3+3 doesn't look right on a drop down. Tough crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 No pic, but I'm gluing the formica onto the top today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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