demonx Posted March 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Question: What oil do you use to finish your guitars with, and do you let a film build or do you let it soak for a half hour or so and then wipe the excess back off? SR I've been using Danish oil, only because I can buy it locally. First coat I put on thick and I stand there wiping until it is thoroughly soaked. Let it cute until I cannot smell it, scuff/sand the guitar and then repeat but with much thinner coats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 So the oil stage is done and we get to the polish and assembly! I took this pic and then realised I'd wired them wrong! Here is a pic I snapped yesterday of the new cavity I'm using. This is Kade's space guitar. It's the same circuit as my old one, but I've allowed a bit more space in cavity as the old one was lacking in that area. Another new design feature, which also looks cosmetically cool is I've added a sweep in the output jack area. One thing on my older builds that happened a few times was I'd accidentally drill the tone and output holes too close together and then when the lead was plugged into the guitar it would short out on the tone pot! I've added space so this can never happen again! The thick copper plate is dual purpose, it is a cavity shield, however it also acts as a group earth to keep the guitar silent. It's more work than a normal wire and shield job, but I like this method. The volume pots is a 550k CTS (even though it's stamped 500k), the tone is a Bournes 500k pull/push which coil splits the neck humbucker. The 3 way selector is switchcraft as is the output jack. The capacitor is a NOS Russian paper dipped in oil (PIO) .022uf. You may notice the new recessed cover plates are now timber and feature an engraving. This is held in by three hex bolts screwed into copper inserts. You may also notice that I leave the pickup cables with a bit of extra length on them. It is extremely annoying when you repurpose pickups and someone has cut the wires right back, it serves no real purpose other than cosmetic, so I leave a bit of length there for your future convenience. So there you have it. The cavity explained. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygtr Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Looks tidy and nice. And of course makes sense to have a plate to solder all grouding wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 very nice. I always liked wooden cavity covers, but for some reason mine always warp on me. Now I try to laminate cross-grain two 2mm pieces (with epoxy since the water in titebond seems to encourage warping) and I get a reasonably stable 4mm piece. How thick are these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 How thick are these? Just over 4mm. I can't see them warping any time soon. They've been sitting around the workshop for about a month without any sign of movement. Maybe the timber you used wasn't quite dry enough? What moisture content did it test at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 How thick are these? Just over 4mm. I can't see them warping any time soon. They've been sitting around the workshop for about a month without any sign of movement. Maybe the timber you used wasn't quite dry enough? What moisture content did it test at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Your cavity er, your instrument cavity looks very clean and roomy. I like plenty of room, and the reduced weight from a bigger cavity does not bother me at all. I really like the top on your space themed guitar. There is nothing exotic looking about it all, and yet it strikes me as looking exactly like it is supposed to. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Finally got around to taking a few snap shots of the "Space Scene" guitar. I hope you guys like it! The Specs: The fingerboard inlay on this one consist of: Rosewood, Cocobolo, Bocote, Black Limba, Paua shell, Black Mother of Pearl, Gold mother of Pearl, Abalone, White Mother of Pearl, Malachite. Guitar specs: SS6 Flat top body: African Walnut top, Flamed Maple center over African Mahogany with Rosewood stringers and a full width USA Ash back. Maple neck with Cameroon Ebony fingerboard Oil finish Floyd Rose Special with Fatblock upgrade, Grover tuners & Straplock system Bareknuckle Pickups - Aftermath calibrated set 16" radius 24 frets using dunlop 6150 fretwire 26.125" scale Stainless steel truss rod 2x Carbon fiber neck rods 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted March 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 I've been accused in the past of only building "metal" guitars - well, whats wrong with that? Here is something that will turn out a bit more "old man" friendly, but still with my fingerprints all over it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 You must always be friendly to us old men, You're going to be one yourself someday. So what are those timbers? I love the fretboard....the wood the design of the inlays/markers all of it. It looks very western like the stitching from a fancy saddle or cowboy boots. You keep showing us that you've got some serious art and design chops. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted March 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 You must always be friendly to us old men, You're going to be one yourself someday. Well apparently I'm already going grey. As a product of the 1970's I guess it was going to happen some time soon. So what are those timbers? I love the fretboard....the wood the design of the inlays/markers all of it. Thanks! Black Walnut body with lots of knots and a Goncalo Alves fingerboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 Top looks great, how long did it take to carve on the CNC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 Top looks great, how long did it take to carve on the CNC?That CNC top program ran for an hour and ten minutes, that is profile,cavities and top carve, then I flipped it and the rear program ran for about twenty or thirty minutes, I can remember. However after that you need to add time for hand sanding out all the router but marks and so forth. Also the top carve I had to finish by hand as I don't quite have the CAD skill to program it exactly how I want, but I've got it as close as I can and then I take it from there the old fashioned way. Also because my profiling bit has a couple chunks nicked out of the side of it the profile takes a fair bit to clean up by hand. It's a $140.00 router bit that I damaged by running it into a metal bracket the first week I had it, but I'm going to keep using it for now as I don't want to buy another one just to wreck it too until I get all my mounting sorted out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 A few assembled pics of my latest build - "Michael's "Runes/Mjölnir" SS6" I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a soft spot for this one. Built from some of my all time favorite timbers and the simplicity of it is right up my alley. At first I was a bit skeptical about Michael's choice of Chrome and White hardware, but in the end it turned out pretty nice! Victorian Blackwood top and elec cavity cover. Queensland Maple neck and body Queens Ebony fingerboard Tiger Myrtle binding 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Hippy bathday, Allan you old fart/old fart in progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 I trust Michael is happy? I can't imagine otherwise. Great timbers and I love the way the neck grain appears to twist along the length. And I like the way the timbers you selected allow the artwork on the fretboard to be the center of attention....at least until it is plugged in! What is that shiny trem cavity cover? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 I trust Michael is happy? I can't imagine otherwise. Great timbers and I love the way the neck grain appears to twist along the length. And I like the way the timbers you selected allow the artwork on the fretboard to be the center of attention....at least until it is plugged in! What is that shiny trem cavity cover? SR Yeah, he's stoked. The trem cover is just an off the shelf plastic one. Due to the 40mm body thickness I can only do a recessed timber cover if the trem block is upgraded to a shorter version and this guitar was done on a tight budget so there were limited upgrades. Some of the upgrades I did for free just to experiment and the customer let me have that freedom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted April 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2015 Moving onto sanding: 1pc Mahogany Radius top with floyd route hot off the press: It's twin with a Hipshot: Rosewood with Brass inlays: One for the twin, in Maple this time with black inlays still to come: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted April 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 Now filled: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookit! Posted April 8, 2015 Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 I like the maple with black inlays! What material did you use for the inlays? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted April 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 I like the maple with black inlays! What material did you use for the inlays? I made my own by cold casting resin and black pigment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted April 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Been a while since an update, so here we go... This one has made it to paint process: This pic shops it covered in clear grain filler but I ended out sanding it all back and deciding on spraying this one without grain fill. It's supposed to be a "relic" themed guitar so I decided a sunken look on the paint would suit better. Wish I had have come to that conclusion BEFORE grain filling as it's a real pain to sand off. Spent some time assembling new shelving, this is the neck blank area with a few bits and pieces thrown in: Ebony binding on the Maple board looks great with the black Numerals: Installing truss rods and carbon fiber. Acoustic net finally glued to the body: Fretwork - this pic is fresh bevelled and before they get milled and dressed. More fretwork: More fretwork: Starting another Acoustic. Redwood top with Plane-Tree back and sides: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted April 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 The last week or so has been spent processing timber, I bought three ute loads (Americans call them trucks) of various tone wood, sorting it, labelling it and storing it took quite a while! One highlight of the haul was this English Walnut which was salvaged from a 100 year old tree that died in the local area. I picked up about fifteen slabs of this Walnut: One of the other loads was mostly quartersawn Blackwood and Redwood from more old growth trees that were all salvaged: I got around to sanding and coloring one of the SS6 radius top's I've been building, here is the cavity cover, the body is the same color: Scraping the binding on the Acoustic build. I've invested a lot of cash into specialized acoustic jigs and tooling and the next acoustic build will be a lot better than this one, but flaws aside, I'm pretty happy with this as a first acoustic build. Paint process started on the Acoustic, you can see the "flame" or "fiddleback" as some people call it popping out. Two more guitars started this week also, both will be SS7 flat top's with Floyd Rose trems. These are the neck blanks: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 but flaws aside, I'm pretty happy with this as a first acoustic build. Are you kidding, I'd be ecstatic with that as a first acoustic build. That thing is gorgeous! Nice haul of timber too! You've put together a nice operation over the last few years. Is your customer base growing nicely too? I'd be very surprised if it wasn't. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck_Chill-Out Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 (edited) I agree with Scott, That is a great acoustic build. I like the shape of it, something about the cutaway... Since I am a "Noob" with acoustics, would the sweeping cutaway affect the tone of the guitar? I was thinking it just depended on the cross bracing, but wasn't sure. Edited April 30, 2015 by Chuck_Chill-Out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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