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Bizman62

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Posts posted by Bizman62

  1. 6 hours ago, Asdrael said:

    ones with plastic pads on them. They are soft hardish and don't seem to mark anything.

    The ones I've bought have always had the padding but the ones you tighten with the screw tend to lose the protective caps. The top covers split and the rotating caps wear from the inside as the 'bearing' doesn't rotate too smoothly.

  2. 8 hours ago, Asdrael said:

    I insist on using MDF plates to spread the pressure when clamping the joint but given the relatively small surface, I should rather simply go ahead and clamp it down directly.

    I tend to do the same to prevent marks on the surface. But as you said there'll be another layer to hide them.

    Let me suggest you a workaround combining the best of both worlds: Attach cork pads to the clamps! For the upper jaw of the F you can simply glue that on the iron (after having cleaned the glue squeezeout remains off, that is). For the round rotating parts you may want a big larger diameter pads which should become sturdy enough using 3-6 mm thick plywood (Nordic Birch) under the cork.

    • Like 1
  3. 11 hours ago, ShatnersBassoon said:

    There’s some tiny scratches in there. Will try some machine buffing instead of just doing it by hand like I have been doing,

    I've used a random orbital on flat surfaces and it may help leveling without major scratches. But if you've already got somewhat of a gloss it might not help too much. According to what I've heard and learned through experience is to choose a grit less coarse than the depth of the scratch and sand across until the scratch vanishes. Then change direction again and sand with a finer grit, change direction and use a finer grit etc. until the spot blends in with the surrounding gloss. And in case I've forgot to mention, don't use any pressure! Look at @ScottR's Green One for reference.

    Those pads look similar to the 3m pads I've bought at the car paint shop. The foam can hold lots of water which makes them ideal for wet sanding.

    • Like 1
  4. 10 hours ago, ScottR said:

    Use no pressure on the sanding block, which is a pretty dense square of foam.The point I was most interested in is doing my best not to introduce any deep sanding scratches. 1500 micromesh as a starting point should do the trick. And it didn't really slow the leveling down as much as I would have thought.

    Isn't it somewhat counterintuitive to see how well even a fine grit sandpaper/mesh/whatever cuts through the surface, leaving a satin sheen without scratches with much fewer strokes than you'd think? Seeing that miracle happen is always fun, seeing the faces of other people after having instructed them not to use pressure for best results is hilarious!

    • Like 1
  5. 1 hour ago, sadclevelandsports said:

    Maybe it was shellac with wax that was incompatible. Okay this helps a lot, so if I use a poly based spray, the 2k compatibility shouldn't be an issue?

    Wax or oil don't behave well under any coat. Shellac should work as a middle man but you won't know until having tested with your stuff. Also, when mixing different coatings one thing to remember is to let the previous layer cure properly. Any fumes that may emit from the previous layer can do things to the next one. I was going to say "less desirable" but then I remembered crackling which used to be very popular among house decorators not too long ago.

    21 minutes ago, sadclevelandsports said:

    So in a characteristic lack of patience on my end, I sanded off epoxy, and made it a fun hand burst project with my 7 year old. 3rd time's a charm, finally got close to what I wanted in my head.

    Fun projects with kids are the best. Looks nice too!

    As they say there's many ways to skin a cat.

    • Like 1
  6. Shellac is said to be compatible with most anything.

    I'd say 2k is guaranteed compatible with 2k.

    The question that now popped into my head is, were you going to spread the 2k by hand of from a rattle can? If the latter, then I'd consult the vendor to ask if they could add some pigment to it. After all, 2k paint is just 2k clear with added colour!

  7. Is this the final stage? Or will I reseat the neck at an angle, continuing this saga sometime in September? Time will tell...

    WP_20240323_009(Medium).thumb.jpg.187c5e12d51fe14b454d47c013bbce30.jpg

    Having decided to follow Veijo's suggestion to lower the trapeze I started by carefully marking the bridge location for intonation and the area to be modified. The low angle plane seemed to be just right for the job but like all blade tools in the workshop it didn't chew material off, at least not in a manner I could control. A rough file didn't seem to work either, the oil treated pine is surprisingly hard to carve!

    WP_20240323_001(Medium).thumb.jpg.f6ff6c727bf425aa76cb26979e02b08d.jpg  WP_20240323_002(Medium).thumb.jpg.a52cbcdd8c5985193321b2d66c9657f2.jpg

    So I taped a loose saw blade on the top for an angle guide and taped the end of the sanding block as well and it seemed to work better. Still not too happy. But then I remembered I had bought an Iwasaki rasp  and that made things happen in the pace and accuracy I liked!

    WP_20240323_004(Medium).thumb.jpg.eb5b7325d3ac8d11cb63333f4f39eb67.jpg  WP_20240323_005(Medium).thumb.jpg.7443a6ed29c0fa89dbc72c99b5739218.jpg

    After having finished the slope I then re-inlaid the trapeze endpiece and bent the bottom end of it to better match the roundover of the bottom of the body. A drop of oil blended the newly revealed surfaces to the existing finish. And as no guitar is finished until the strap buttons are installed I decided to get rid of the hook. Notice the real leather pad: Salvaged some leather from the trash bin of the workshop and punched a dozen of pads out of it.

    WP_20240323_007(Medium).thumb.jpg.77d0b80c4f8ae3814acbe32f39493e6a.jpg  WP_20240323_009(Medium).thumb.jpg.187c5e12d51fe14b454d47c013bbce30.jpg

    Has the angle changed at all, it's hard to tell. But now everything has been done at that end so if need be resetting the neck for a taller bridge is the only option left. The neck feels nice and nothing rattles or squeaks, not even when bending the dusty frets so guess that can be called a working guitar.

    WP_20240323_011(Medium).thumb.jpg.23e66f0898d71c65e7f6683c9f77351b.jpg

    And here's a final view of the entire instrument:

    WP_20240323_014(Medium).thumb.jpg.9511cadae168ce7206a5b8d74a376522.jpg

     

     

    • Like 1
  8. I've sprayed a burst using 2k poly once, following the advice of our tutor Veijo who is a trained Master Luthier and has been in the business since the mid eighties so he should know.

    Anyhow, the procedure was as follows: After having sprayed a layer or two of poly and sanded it level up to some 400 wet I sprayed another thin layer of the 2k. Then when it was still wet I sprayed alcohol based dye for the burst.

    And while that was still wet I noticed that the overspray was way too intense so I took a rag soaked in solvent and wiped it all off! Much, much easier than sanding back to the first clearcoat!

    So, reapplied a mist of 2k to provide some grip for the dye, cleaned the spray gun (model very cheap, sub €20) and sprayed the alcohol based dye. This time the result was pleasing so I continued with 2k, wet on wet, to seal the dye between layers of clear. The last layer of clear has to be thick enough for level sanding without fear of sanding through the burst. Wet on wet was the trick, allowing the previous layer solidify just enough to prevent runs but not too long to build a skin. That would not be a major issue, though, it just means you'd have to wait for the 2k dry properly and sand it matte for subsequent coats.

    Later I've learned that you can also mix 2k and solvent based dye in which case you don't need the mist coat to start with.

    • Like 1
  9. 39 minutes ago, MiKro said:

    I know from experience that one should use a radius on the top and some form of bracing.

    What would you think about making a flat top with braces heavily radiused to the inside? Lacking the words let me draw it:

    image.png.0adc80d1507b4156db4f63a0cb476ed2.png

    Would that be enough to keep the top from sagging or do you think the overall curvature with braces radiused against the top (and maybe bottom too) would be more rigid?

     

     

  10. 7 hours ago, sadclevelandsports said:

    Guitar staining is a surprisingly deep skill set.....

    Indeed it is. That's why scraps of the very same pieces are invaluable and why you should perform the exactly same procedures to them as to the actual workpiece. And you'd still be prone to surprises as the properties of wood can change within half a foot especially cross grain, sapwood v.s. heartwood that is.

  11. I've also used just CA as it's widely available and relatively inexpensive depending on where you buy it. Bending the binding to shape with moderate heat also helps.

    Canopy glue used by RC hobbyists is an alternative. I haven't personally used it but have heard good reviews about it both from RC and guitar builders - Jerry Rosa liked it much as the excess can be wiped off with a damp cloth. According to him it's like a mix of Titebond and CA glue. Pacer ZAP Formula '560' was the brand he used but there's others, just do a Google search for 'Canopy glue'. The price tag for those seems to be a fraction of BindAll.

  12. I've only used 2k twice for my guitars and haven't used any sanding sealer.  After a decade they still are perfectly flat even at the ends. The need for filling may depend on the wood, though. Mine were maple and alder, both of which have quite tiny pores. And I did a proper sanding after the first coat so the 2k acted as a sanding sealer.

    The burl is porous but based on the pictures you spread the epoxy quite liberally so there should not be too large gaps. Again, I'd test with a scrap piece.

    • Like 1
  13. That looks stunning! Like travelling in a space ship through the Milky Way.

    I was going to say that yours looks purplier than the role model but then it occurred to me that the photos are taken under different conditions with different cameras. A google search revealed that on some photos the Majora Purple guitars look just like your scrap piece.

    Did you have any of that turquoise on the test piece? If so, it hides itself well! If not, you may encounter surprises.

    Another thing to test is the finish over the dye. The clearcoat will enhance the figuration somewhat similar to your last wash when wet. But it may also add some yellow/orange to the mix. Boiled linseed oil or shellac are also commonly used to highlight the patterns but they have an even more of an amber hue which may give a surprising end result. Even a clear lacquer may not be totally clear, it can be 'cold' or 'warm' which can do tricks. Or it may have a hue that vanishes. Some years ago I rebuilt our floors, new pale pine, and the lacquer looked purple in the bucket! When spread on the floor it looked just wet, emphasizing the figuration some. Years of daylight have darkened the pine but there's still no evidence of any purple hue, even the palest sections are natural golden similar to untreated light exposed wood.

    • Like 1
  14. The final stages take forever!

    The nut was way too high so I filed the slots and did the 3rd fret pressing procedure to check the action. So of course the grooves unexpectedly became too deep and started grabbing. Guess which version of the files worked better! You guessed it, the €20 Temu set has the looks but the feeler gauge was both faster and smoother.

    WP_20240317_002(Medium).thumb.jpg.33c19ce6cf2bc449b162db15d86b0d28.jpg

    Reshaping the nut was next on the list. Started with a file but in all honesty the sanding block with some 80 grit worked much faster. For the record the nut popped out during the slot filing process and knocked a chip off where there was the tiny drop of super glue. Despite having been sold as bone the chip that broke off didn't look 'organic' so I suppose it's bone dust and epoxy. Still much better than a hollow piece of plastic!

    WP_20240316_001(Medium).thumb.jpg.ee7bd0b34497d2ff54a72cf69df1bec6.jpg

    And finally I spot leveled the ends of a couple frets. They were too easy to find, playing chromatically two adjacent frets produced the same note. Not a major issue, they were on the dusty side and only affected one string. Used the grooved cheap crowning file and finished with the nail buffing sponge. The action is now low without buzzing although the fret rocker clicks here and there, again in spots that only affect one string.

    WP_20240316_002(Medium).thumb.jpg.3e8200e9661049c840911cd7f093c8b7.jpg

    Flying by the seat of my pants can cause unpredictable issues: Originally I was going to use a hardtail but then a fellow told that he has some trapezes from guitars he had modified which led me to make the scrapwood bridge. The height is right for a good angle but the string angle is too much on the shallow side for my liking. Most likely because of that the sound is metallic like a tin can and lacks the low end. Removing the neck and re-routing the neck pocket to an angle and adding height to the bridge would be the ultimate fix but I'd rather try something else. When discussing the matter with Veijo he first suggested screwing the trapeze down against the body but that would make changing strings a bit clumsy. Then he suggested reseating the end plate, even carving the top a bit. That might work, worth giving it a try next Saturday.

    WP_20240317_006(Medium).thumb.jpg.b81ebac2c17e71a302eb92d81e7356fb.jpg

     

    • Like 2
  15. 1 hour ago, henrim said:
    5 hours ago, peachtree said:

    plan in AI

    For a moment I thought you really shouldn’t go that route but, I realized you must mean Illustrator and not the AI that gets a lot of press these days 😂

    Whew, thanks for that clarification! 😅

    • Haha 1
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