kpcrash Posted December 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 If my years of laundry experience counts (from bakeries) it has great staying power on organic and inorganic surfaces (cotton/nylon). I have several aprons that are quite colorful, even after using bleach. Of course red is the worst. I'll do some more research to see what's out there compared with what I'm experiencing locally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 cool...what happened with the prototype carving...also...with dying...have you considered the effects of glue and glue absorption...are you considering dying veneers before gluing up...anyway...just curious...carry on... pete +1 on food dye, not sure about UV fastness but on anything you don't want it it has remarkable fastness... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted December 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 I had to pause the carving to prepare (read: help wife) for Christmas. My press however is inside, so the lam is slowly coming together, layer by layer. As for UV, I can say that display cakes I have decorated will fade in sunlight in a period of months if not protected - sprayed with any kind of UV protection negates that effect. There is a cake (I didn't decorate it) in the lobby of a Williamsburg, VA government office that has been there since the mid-90's with no color loss other than the inevitable absorption by sugar. I've got a few colored pieces in the press right now to see what happens with gluing. I'm use a cold press veneer glue that is supposed to limit bleedthrough. I've used it on a couple of smaller projects and so far... so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuge67 Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 of all the threads on this forum, I find this one the most interesting. I never thought of dyeing the laminates prior to laminating. I'm very interested in seeing your results. I've got a few plywood bodys going myself. Next month should bring more progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 food dye??? aint it funny how ideas always come around again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 food dye??? aint it funny how ideas always come around again Agreed, I will leave it at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhorst Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 To add something to the discussion on other materials than wood: Over a year ago I purchased a bass guitar. The competition was between a standard Fender Jazzbass and an Ibanez Ergodyne EDB600. I bought the last one (judged by comparing the sound of the too). It's quite heavy and I associated it with wood. I discovered a week later that it's made out of Luthite, whatever that may be it's synthetic. So there I was, the guy always saying "guitars should be made out of wood" buying a 'plastic' bass LOL. I use it for demo recording mostly and it suits me fine. (Although with basses, the Jazz and Precision are such icons in their world, I dare say even more than a strat or LP, so in that respect, maybe a J or P would've been better. I think I just ran into a mediocre one at that shop). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted December 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 Luthite is the equivalent of MDF It's basically wood and acrylic epoxy combined into a moldable substance. Ergodyne's are (in)famous for this. I should have some new picks up later tonight of belly carve and neck part 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 You why plywood rocks? Because it's dirt cheap! I have nothing technical to add but yeah, gotta love the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 KP ive been following this thread, and never had anything to contribute until now... GET THOSE DARN PICS UP ALREADY WILLYEA? hehe, no pressure though, just all us folks waiting to see how it looks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted January 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 I know! I'm sorry - got wrapped up a bit on holidays/work. I've already started cutting the neck, pics when I get home from this trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 You why plywood rocks? Because it's dirt cheap! I have nothing technical to add but yeah, gotta love the price. ...unless you're recycling scrap, I can get solid wood (basswood, ash, african mahogany) for less per board foot, in better quality, than ply. Don't know about you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 i did a few searches and came up with three suppliers of colored laminations however 1 of them caters mostly to gunstock sized blanks http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Tu...ed_Blanks?Args= http://www.rifle-stocks.com/laminated_blanks.htm http://www.rutply.com/products/index.html just thought i would throw it out there if i were curious about making my own laminations how would one impregnate epoxy into the wood..since this seems to be the commonly accepted method of doing it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Ok, ok, I know it's been a while - between holidays, work and making plywood I haven't had a ton of time to work on the prototype, but here she is as things stand today. The neck is still in rough shape, but coming together. I made a lam of maple, walnut veneer and douglas fir. Hopefully, sometime this week, I can finish carving/shaping the neck. The neck lam worked out rather well as I was trying to keep some of the lines of the ply in the body going all the way back. Mind you, these shots were taken straight out of the shop and nothing was wiped down beyond a dry rag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted February 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Back agian! This damned work thing is really getting in the way! Here are a couple of update pics carrying on the plywood prototype. BTW, the make-your-own plywood is under construction.... 3 layers at a time, each layer about 1/42". I plan to make a core out of some scrap mahogany I have that's about 3/8" thick. The pickups are angled slightly (1.2 degrees) so my fingers don't hit them Otherwise, neck is ready to go for fretting, which I still think will be "fretless" with veneer filler on the slots just to keep with the plywood theme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted May 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 So........ maybe it's time for me to finally post some completed pics since it's been quite a while and I've actually played this bass quite a bit Simple oiled finish. Was working on making some lam, but seem to have an issue with really dry layers. Had it all glued up and it sort of "splintered" when cutting, so... back to the drawing board on that one. Otherwise, nice to finally be able to get back in the groove.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted June 9, 2010 Report Share Posted June 9, 2010 I found some Mahogony plywood and Solid mahogony siding/flooring. Im really wondering if I can use any of this. If I were to cut the siding/flooring into laminatable pieces, and get an area large enough for a body, the thickness would be 1/8th inch for that square, and I would have roughly 3 more of those. So from maybe 3 dozen pieces of wood, I would have a 3/8th inch piece of laminated Mahogony, large enough for a body. Now, if all that was done, what could I do with 3/8ths of Mahogony? "Double" top it, and use it as a Core between two other cuts? Any ideas here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted June 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2010 I might suggest using it as a core unless it's strikingly beautiful in some manner. 1/8" might not make a big difference - but who knows??? Then again 3/8" might make a nice top - but probably painted since it's sort of "piecemeal". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted June 9, 2010 Report Share Posted June 9, 2010 If anything, Ive got thicker mahogony that I could laminate on. 1 1/2 + 3/8ths makes a decent thickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted June 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2010 Very true - sorry if I misunderstood. Seemed like you only a max. of 3/8" mahogany. I'll be starting soon on a new one that... right now... looks like it's going to have a bit of maple on top - waiting to see what other projects I can wrap up to make the mid/back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 9, 2010 Report Share Posted June 9, 2010 I make most of my guitars 1 1/2" thick total...one is 1 3/8" There is plywood and then there is plywood.The pine cheap stuff you get from home depot and such is not good for anything IMO.The good stuff(from birch,maple,etc)which is mostly knot free and much higher quality...well that stuff is at least not a complete waste of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted June 9, 2010 Report Share Posted June 9, 2010 Just sliced up all the flooring into usable pieces. I think I should have enough for a sheet 3/4ths inch. Also, I found more than enough mahogony for a full body. three pieces, when laminated, will become a single piece of 1 1/2". It pays to dig around a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 Interesting thread with good research and actual results. That makes a change :-) On a slightly different but related note - my current obsession is with blockboard, specifically to make my own Red Specials. Whilst not strictly plywood as per the definitions on the first page, it does possess many of the same properties; a composite core with two facings, also composite in many cases. This is as far as I understand it anyway. So taking into consideration the issues with crap being thrown into imported plys, voids and bad construction, I have decided to produce my own blockboard for my project. Now, how different is producing blockboard to our more familiar laminating/veneering procedures? The glues differ definitely, although I presume this is more down to the final products varied and more demanding applications. I am proposing making a butcher-block chopping-board style core of around 12mm square lengths of softwood (Aspen, Pine, etc. depending on available crap) faced either side with 3mm Birch ply aiming for 18mm overall thickness. This is consistent with the project specs. Given that I will be using familiar wood glues and clamping techniques (plus I may consider building a vacuum press for the veneer) would the qualities of the self-made blockboard differ hugely from the commercially produced equivalent? I suspect that in my application it wouldn't, as the blockboard was more to create the shape of the RS - not the core woods central to the tonal character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 Interesting thread with good research and actual results. That makes a change :-) On a slightly different but related note - my current obsession is with blockboard, specifically to make my own Red Specials. Whilst not strictly plywood as per the definitions on the first page, it does possess many of the same properties; a composite core with two facings, also composite in many cases. This is as far as I understand it anyway. So taking into consideration the issues with crap being thrown into imported plys, voids and bad construction, I have decided to produce my own blockboard for my project. Now, how different is producing blockboard to our more familiar laminating/veneering procedures? The glues differ definitely, although I presume this is more down to the final products varied and more demanding applications. I am proposing making a butcher-block chopping-board style core of around 12mm square lengths of softwood (Aspen, Pine, etc. depending on available crap) faced either side with 3mm Birch ply aiming for 18mm overall thickness. This is consistent with the project specs. Given that I will be using familiar wood glues and clamping techniques (plus I may consider building a vacuum press for the veneer) would the qualities of the self-made blockboard differ hugely from the commercially produced equivalent? I suspect that in my application it wouldn't, as the blockboard was more to create the shape of the RS - not the core woods central to the tonal character. I am not sure what holds a blackboard together but if it is similar to the US version (cutting board ... probably made in china) I wouldn't trust the glue holding them together. I would make my own using titebond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 Well, it's an attempt to duplicate a material that was manufactured quite possibly a long time before 1963 (when the RS was completed). The blockboard would most likely have been manufactured in the UK with relatively low-tech behind it. Probably not far off what we're capable of! Chances are the glue was some urea-formaldehyde crap though, so yeah....Titebond methinks! Wouldn't go to those lengths of "accuracy". Modern commercial blockboard is probably not very consistent or even dimensionally stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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