MiKro Posted June 2, 2018 Report Share Posted June 2, 2018 Hi All, It has been a while since I did a build. The past year I have been doing a full rebuild/upgrade on my CNC router. I made many changes to improve it's accuracy and function. So I thought of the lap steel as something that would be a good test for the CNC to shake out any problems. First, the design stage. Using Aspire 9.0 I drew up the cad files and came to this as the basic idea of what I want. Overall dimensions 33.35" x 6.25"x 1.5" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2018 So I picked out a 6 ft 4/4 Black walnut board, cut it in half and surfaced each to flat for gluing. Machined the basic outline and the head stock pocket. The close up is without any after prep. straight off the machine. I am pleased with no tool marks. Minimal sanding will be required. I will be using Gold hardware, I know old and whatever, I have a bunch leftover from some years back, trying to keep this on the cheap for this test. Will have 2 volumes no Tone or Switch, keeping it simple. LOL!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 good to see you building again. What scale length is this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 1 hour ago, Mr Natural said: good to see you building again. What scale length is this? 24" scale , I compromised from 22.5 to 25.5 Hawaiian Steels usually 22.5, Dobro styles 25" modern laps range from 23 to 25.5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 4, 2018 Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 On 6/2/2018 at 4:38 PM, MiKro said: I am pleased with no tool marks. Minimal sanding will be required. Wow, no kidding. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 1 hour ago, ScottR said: Wow, no kidding. SR Now that I know my time striving for accuracy and taking the time to do a proper setup for squareness and tram, I feel confident that milling non-ferrous metals will be much easier. I will be trying that later this week as I plan on machining a brass nut for this. mk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2018 Trying something different, I prepped the surface with clear coat to seal the grain I masked off the fret-board area with Oramask 813. Then V carved the lines and markers with a 60* engaving bit. Resealed the carved areas. then sprayed white in the carved areas. Mixed up some clear bar-top epoxy and mixed in some white pearl dust I use when spraying clear. Now to wait for it to dry, remove the mask and tape. Then most likely will have to take a surface pass of about 0.010" to level it. Should be interesting. HARD to tell because of the flash. but I think this may work. Will know in 24hrs. Most likely it will require at minimum 0.005" surfacing or sanding to clean it up. It does look a lot like MOP though in real life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2018 So I am pleased with the results. It does look a lot like MOP. Will look better when it has a clear coat on it. I did have a few small bubbles I missed. I can drop fill those with MOP Pearl dust and clear lacquer, so no big deal. Ended up taking off 0.020" to get past everything. While I did use white as the base color before the pour, I believe that maybe silver would have been a better choice. Will have to play with that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 11, 2018 Report Share Posted June 11, 2018 That appears to have worked out quite nicely Mike. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 I have decided to use a swimming pool route with a pick guard. This way I can use either single coil or humbuckers. Will be using a lipstick style single coil first set in reverse Jimi style. Damn, I banged the spindle hard earlier, you can see the results in the pocket cuts. I have to tram it again. CRAP!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 Other than the nut slot needing to be cut as well as make the pick guard, it is ready to start sanding and finish. I have not decided yet on the nut material, Was going to use brass, Not sure now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2018 Pick guard made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 13, 2018 Report Share Posted June 13, 2018 Nice. I like the way it is making highlights in your fret markers show up. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2018 OKay I have the nut made and the nut slot is done. Now to start the finish on the guitar. I also have to drill the tuner holes and I have to polish the nut as well. I used an acrylic Pen blank for the nut it is 3/8*' thick recessed 0.225" It will be 1/2" tall out of the body. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2018 Another crappy photo, 3 coats of 1/4lb shellac to look for any mill and or sanding marks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 17, 2018 Report Share Posted June 17, 2018 On 6/9/2018 at 8:08 PM, MiKro said: Trying something different, I prepped the surface with clear coat to seal the grain I masked off the fret-board area with Oramask 813. Then V carved the lines and markers with a 60* engaving bit. Resealed the carved areas. then sprayed white in the carved areas. Mixed up some clear bar-top epoxy and mixed in some white pearl dust I use when spraying clear. Now to wait for it to dry, remove the mask and tape. Then most likely will have to take a surface pass of about 0.010" to level it. Should be interesting. HARD to tell because of the flash. but I think this may work. Will know in 24hrs. Most likely it will require at minimum 0.005" surfacing or sanding to clean it up. It does look a lot like MOP though in real life. That's very clever stuff. Fascinating 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 Sprayed 2 coats of Satin clear, will level then continue. Not the best photo. Applied the logo, now to let it dry then start the clear coat mist on it. Then on to final finish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 Well the Satin clear is a Bust, after a few coats it makes the Walnut look Plastic. So sanding back and going with semi-gloss. Pictures soon.!! mk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2018 Well it still looks wrong, The color is washed and gray toned. Dammit not the dark walnut I am looking for. Oh well it is the prototype. Move forward and find the other problems. Make it playable and move forward. Next time it will have hardware installed. MK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted June 24, 2018 Report Share Posted June 24, 2018 I have used danish oil prior to lacquer (on walnut and mahogany) as that I have notice helps and avoids that bland washed out look.This is not the best pic- this is after first couple of coats of nitro lacq on a lap steel I did a few years back -the crotch figure top reflects light differently depending on the angle you look at it- but point is oil really helped bring the color to life on it and the mahogany body/neck. I let it dry for 2 weeks prior to spraying and only used a light coat- just enough to cover and highlight the figure/color . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2018 44 minutes ago, Mr Natural said: I have used danish oil prior to lacquer (on walnut and mahogany) as that I have notice helps and avoids that bland washed out look.This is not the best pic- this is after first couple of coats of nitro lacq on a lap steel I did a few years back -the crotch figure top reflects light differently depending on the angle you look at it- but point is oil really helped bring the color to life on it and the mahogany body/neck. I let it dry for 2 weeks prior to spraying and only used a light coat- just enough to cover and highlight the figure/color . I know I tried something different, I won't make that mistake again. Thx MK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted July 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2018 Hardware mounted, now to shield the cavity, add the electronics, and do a setup.. Sorry, another crappy picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 That's a fascinating headstock. Your pickup configuration has changed a bit. I s that now going to be a tele bridge pup? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted July 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 2 hours ago, ScottR said: That's a fascinating headstock. Your pickup configuration has changed a bit. I s that now going to be a tele bridge pup? SR No just a hot lipstick single coil. The headstock is based on the older 8 and 10 string pedal steels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 2 minutes ago, MiKro said: No just a hot lipstick single coil. The headstock is based on the older 8 and 10 string pedal steels. So, when I opened up this thread just now, it opened to the very post where you said that the first time. On 6/12/2018 at 12:07 PM, MiKro said: Will be using a lipstick style single coil first set in reverse Jimi style. I really did look back through your posts to see if you mentioned your pickup choice before asking the question....which obviously was a waste of time since I apparently cannot see. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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