JayT Posted March 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 One arm contour 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 That looks really nice especially from the top, it follows the belly carve nicely and even the grain pattern looks like following the contour! Now before doing anything else, let your subconscious work on the subject whether you'd like that edge on the top or would it look even better if the contour was blended in. Both are valid options, the difference is only in the general looks. If you still have the offcut right beside the contour, you can make the blended carve on it to see how the grain behaves visually as it's continuous to the top and thus the pores are in the same angle, shifting the light in a similar manner. Did that make sense or was it gibberish? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 Useful reference would be the Jackson Kelly. Can't recall if they have arm contours or not. Looks good man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted March 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, Bizman62 said: ...whether you'd like that edge on the top or would it look even better if the contour was blended in... At the moment it's sort of in-between a hard edge and a blended one...the lighting in that other pic makes it look harder than it is. I think I'm going to shoot for a harder line/edge, and I have to flatten out the contour as it has a bit of a hump that I think is visible in this picture. I viewed a video of someone achieving a flat angle by sanding with a whole sheet of sandpaper glued to a piece of plywood or mdf. 9 hours ago, Bizman62 said: If you still have the offcut right beside the contour, you can make the blended carve on it to see how the grain behaves visually as it's continuous to the top and thus the pores are in the same angle, shifting the light in a similar manner. Did that make sense or was it gibberish? I'm sure I have the offcut in my scrap box...but I confess I not sure what you mean exactly as I'm still a novice at all this. 9 hours ago, Prostheta said: Useful reference would be the Jackson Kelly. Can't recall if they have arm contours or not. Looks good man. Thanks! I couldn't find any images online with one that has an arm contour. Don't most/many bodies in the Explorer style have that "back fin" a chamber? Anyway, I've been looking at the The Fender Meteora for inspiration and think I may take the contour further down the tail side, almost to the centerline. Will have to overthink this as usual Edited March 5, 2020 by JayT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 2 hours ago, JayT said: I'm sure I have the offcut in my scrap box...but I confess I not sure what you mean exactly as I'm still a novice at all this. I'm not talking about any "master" stuff here, not with my skill or experience. It's just logical thinking about which sacrificable part would be most similar to your guitar to be used as a test piece. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 Arm carve looks good but I agree a sharp edge would look better. how did you make the contour? In my experience hand planes are great at doing contours whether soft or hard and flat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8caster Posted March 6, 2020 Report Share Posted March 6, 2020 Jay - awesome work on this. I'm about to embark on my first build and seeing your progress is pretty inspirational. Can't wait to see these beauties finished! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted March 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 On 3/5/2020 at 2:53 PM, willliam_q said: how did you make the contour? I suck with planes...used my rasp-saw and rasp-file mostly...also used cabinet scraper a little. The 2nd one went faster and with better results (of course) but I also reworked the first one too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted March 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 On 3/6/2020 at 4:36 PM, n8caster said: ...I'm about to embark on my first build... Good luck! Since I'm not yet finished even one I have limited advice -- but the members here are full of wisdom and are super helpful. Looking forward to seeing your build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 First coat of primer...really shows the imperfections & grain that I guess I didn’t fill quite enough. Going to fill again & sand back a bit before next primer coat not too terrible I can work with these 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 I hate it when that happens . It’s my most impatient part of the build but also the most important. The finishing phase is not about hiding your sins, it usually reveals them. It will particularly reveal where you have sanded different grits of paper if you aren’t thorough enough. I’ve also found in the past that if I didn’t seal it well enough before sanding back, wet sanding would seep around join lines and make them visible through opaque paint. Some people might say that to finish a guitar properly takes the same amount of time as it took to actually build it. Puts it into perspective. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 The neck on the blonde one seems to be upside down... But the extension tube is genious as it allows for turning the guitar around! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 2 hours ago, willliam_q said: It will particularly reveal where you have sanded different grits of paper if you aren’t thorough enough. Yep, I've got a bit of sanding ahead of me yet. 2 hours ago, willliam_q said: ...that to finish a guitar properly takes the same amount of time as it took to actually build it... I hope not, it seems like the "simple things" are taking me the longest. I've omitted my 3 attempts at carving/sanding a well fitting nut. Also, nobody gave me a heads up on how much bone stinks when sanding! 2 hours ago, Bizman62 said: The neck on the blonde one seems to be upside down... But the extension tube is genious as it allows for turning the guitar around! One of the many failed neck carves...and on good wood that one. At least it found a purpose. I can't take credit for the tube-in-clamp idea, I saw it in a few YT videos...but it is way helpful to be able to spin/turn it while spraying. Especially since I was spraying towards an exhaust fan pointing to an open door (not visible as I'm standing in that spot for the pics) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 2 hours ago, willliam_q said: Some people might say that to finish a guitar properly takes the same amount of time as it took to actually build it. Puts it into perspective. If you count sanding as finishing, I'd say that is easily true. To be fair though, some of the lengthy finishing time is literally wathcing the paint dry....or lacquer cure etc. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 10 hours ago, JayT said: First coat of primer...really shows the imperfections & grain that I guess I didn’t fill quite enough. Going to fill again & sand back a bit before next primer coat not too terrible I can work with these You've got some nice geometry going on here. But now I have to know.....Dude, is your shop in your living room, or is your living room in your shop? SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 4 minutes ago, ScottR said: Dude, is your shop in your living room, or is your living room in your shop? Ha, my family does say I live down here but my "shop" is actually the laundry room in our basement. I've stored the old couch here (translation: I'm too lazy to take it to dump) that comes in handy as a 2nd soft, anti-dent surface for in-progress projects. Plus it has sentimental value as my daughter was practically birthed on it 14 years ago...I leave the details of that delightful experience to your imagination (you're welcome) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 It's actually genius for a soft surfaced place to put in progress work whilst other parts of the build need attention. I often have need for just that. Also a good place to kick back with a beer after a few hours of sanding....just to refuel you know. I've got one birthing burned into my mind for 35 years now. Just substitute the couch and I'm set, huh? SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 5 hours ago, JayT said: Also, nobody gave me a heads up on how much bone stinks when sanding! Yes, yes it does 6 hours ago, JayT said: it seems like the "simple things" are taking me the longest. Finishing is not a "simple thing". Slow, frustrating, awkward to get right, but certainly not simple (Ask me how I know!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 My dog goes nuts when I start filing down a bone nut, it's like he turns into a mad hunting beast. I can't stand the smell personally so I make sure the belt sander has a vac on it and I wear a mask if I'm hand filing it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted March 12, 2020 Report Share Posted March 12, 2020 Also I think it's worth saying if it hasn't been said already - Given the title of this thread, it's starting to look a lot like you know exactly what you're doing. Good job, looking forward to seeing it finished. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted March 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2020 First coat of paint on. I ended up using Rustoleum semi gloss and so far looks ok. Black and Ivory Bisque (which is pretty close to vintage white) I plan to do min 3 coats, wet sanding in between. Then probably use Minwax rattlecan polycrylic....thoughts? No going back on the color but I’ve not bought poly yet. I have Truoil for the necks, planning on doing entire necks even painted headstock with trueoil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted March 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2020 painting/finishing advice needed. With the semi-gloss paint I'm doing a coat a day (on 3rd) and in between coats I'm sanding back the orange peel & dust bumps. As a test (wondering if I'll ever get a smooth surface) I wet sanded an area up to 3000 grit and love that result. But is that the way to go if I want a protective finish? Like poly? Can I poly on such a smooth surface, will it adhere? If so, how far should I wetsand? I was planning on up to 5000 grit but not polishing/buffing the semi-gloss paint but rather buff the poly finish. Or will the Rustoleum semi gloss be hard enough once polished and curred? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted March 18, 2020 Report Share Posted March 18, 2020 It's enamel, isn't it? Basically it should suffice by itself, the clear coat is "just" for protection. If you don't sand through the paint, you should be fine. As it's semi gloss, putting a glossy clear coat might actually ruin the effect! It should work the other way around, a matte clear coat would make even a glossy paint matte. A car painter once told me that you can buff a matte paint glossy. Just thinking aloud... Anyhow, in guitar building there's a belief that the thinner the layer on the surface the more resonant the guitar is. Crimson uses a thing called "Flashcoat" which according to my used-to-be-inside source told is simply a semi gloss clear poly/lacquer/whatever it's called with a gallon of thinner, sprayed once. It's touch dry in a couple of hours, looks similar to a dozen layers of oil but is more durable. The same with nitro, the layer is super thin. I'd say just sand them down to 3000 or even higher, let the enamel cure for half a year and apply some wax to protect the very surface from sweat, beer and other organic spills. If it so happens that bare wood (or primer if you used some) is revealed, go back to 400-600 and repaint. Be cautious and lucky! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted March 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Bizman62 said: let the enamel cure for half a year and apply some wax Wait, what? I can't play this for six months? ... and if I decide to do that, should I wax after the curring? Next time I'm going to nitro, live & learn I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted March 18, 2020 Report Share Posted March 18, 2020 Didn't someone tell you that finishing takes the longest? You can play, it does good for the wood. Avoid spills and dents, wipe with a microfibre cloth after playing etc. Doesn't that sound like no gigging? Then, if needed, resand with 6000 grit or so or use some light rubbing compound to make the surface uniform and protect it with wax. It's the same with all finishes, even 2k poly. They all take a surprisingly long time to fully cure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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