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mpeg2

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  1. Sorry: Been away for a while. Color is still good (not much change). The finish is pretty hard - I wiped it on - it was a bit thicker than I'd like, but OK. Rich
  2. I actually tried this experiment - took some freshly sanded pieces of Padauk & tried a few different finishes (Tru Oil, Teak Oil (which was supposed to have some UV resistance) and Spar Varnish (meant for boats). I left them in the back window of my car for a few weeks. The only one that didn't turn brown was Spar Varnish - which is what I ended up using... Rich
  3. I'm speaking from no experience here - but it seems to me that if you wire a dimmer in series with that bulb, you'd have quite a bit of control over temperature (at very little expense). Rich
  4. Is there any functional purpose for body binding - rather than looks? I'm starting to think about trying my hand at an acoustic build from a Stew-Mac kit (done more than enough solid body electrics) - the only step that looks awkward to me is the binding... Rich
  5. Try www.ax84.com tutorials & more there... Rich
  6. I just looked back at some of the earlier posts - one from flickoflash caught my eye: "Seems you didn't read the tech sheets on how it is done . First the temperatures are dropped to -300 which realigns the molecular structure & then it Is Heat treated after to lock it in." From basic principles - especially for Face Centered Cubic metals like Copper, the statement above is purely backwards. Generally speaking, changes in a crystal structure are very temperature dependant, happening faster at higher temperatures (especially for FCC metals). This means that changes will happen faster at room temperature than they will at -300. Since (if I recall correctly), the kinetics are quite slow on this kind of thing until you reach a significant fraction of the melting point (expressed in degrees Kelvin) - for Cu, grain growth (which is the primary thing that would affect conductivity for relatively pure Cu) is very slow (almost non-existent) at room temperature. At cryo temperatures, it would be exponentially less. For most changes in metals - you heat the metal to make the change happen and then cool it to lock it in. Once again - Steels are a different category because of the mobility of carbon in the iron matrix. Cryo could certainly harden steels, but hardness isn't much of a consideration for most parts of an electric guitar (except maybe the trem). Rich P.S. Its kind of fun talking about this stuff again. I left materials a while back & moved to digital television (I'm currently immersed in making DTV work)...
  7. Superconductivity is somewhat outside of consideration here (unless someone is contemplating playing their guitar in Liquid Nitrogen). Rich
  8. By all means, use cryo bits if the customer demands it. However, you might want to CYA by noting that these parts were not designed to be put through that type of thermal cycle and therefore, you can't warranty their longevity once they leave the shop. By going real cold, there could be some interesting stresses put on the internal due to thermal contraction. Cryo treatment is definately below the minimum storage temp specified for most of these parts... Rich
  9. One thing that's missing from this thread is any form of science. One of the basic premises of this treatment: cooling to change the atomic structure and then heat treating to lock it in is exactly back-asswards - especially for most of the materials used in guitars (Copper noteably). As a 1st year materials engineer would know, changes in the crystal (grain) structure of a metal happen quicker as the temperature goes up (and conversely, slower as the temperature goes down). As an example - if one wanted to increase the conductivity of Copper, you'd heat it up to a fairly high temperature and then cool it slowly (anneal) to allow the grain structure to grow. Cooling it to cryogenic temperatures would make no change in structure. Steel is a bit of an exception - it undergoes a ductile-brittle transition at low temperatures (think of the Liberty ships in the North Atlantic during WWII). Rich BTW: If you're wondering about credentials, I would think that a PhD in Nuclear Materials engineering with a significant amount of research in the kinetics of phase change in rapidly cooled metals might count for something...
  10. I'm getting pretty good results using Spar Varnish. Not the easiest finish to apply (meant for brushing) - but it's designed for marine uses (sitting in direct sun all day) and has pretty good UV protection. I've used it on Padauk with good results. RIch
  11. I built a 12 string "strat" style with a Wenge body. It was a bit of a pain to work with - splinters & pores. Using single coils, there's a lot of the Rick jangle happening. The guitar is beautiful, plays & sounds nice - but its tough on your back (quite heavy). Rich
  12. I've built a few guitars out of Padauk - really like the appearance and sound. I've had no problems with working or gluing the wood. I didn't take any special precautions before gluing with TiteBond & have had no problems. A few points about finishing: 1) Padauk produces a very fine, reddish orange dust when sanded. If there's a laminate happening, especially with a lighter colored wood, the dust will "bleed" through. 2) Padauk takes an oil finish beautifully. 3) The color changes with Padauk are not due to oxidation - rather due to UV (sun exposure). I've looked at pieces that were cut off the blank that have been sitting in the basement for 6 months - the fresh surfaces are still pretty much the same color as when they were cut. One guitar I built has been sitting in a stand where one side gets a little indirect sun exposure - it has darkened considerably compared to the other side, which is more shielded. I've been experimenting with different finishes that claim UV resistance (partially coated piece of wood sitting in the back window of my car for 2 weeks). Teak oil (which does claim UV resistance) seems to do very little to keep the wood from darkening (from orange-red to a rather dull brown). Part way through the cycle, Spar varnish seems to be resisting the color change. Rich
  13. I'm in the process of building two solidbodies out of Padauk. Padauk is fairly sensitive to sun (UV) exposure - going from an orange red after sanding to a deeper red after finish and then with sun exposure, changing to a rather uninteresting dark brown. My normal finish is Tru Oil, which does very little to retard UV color change. After doing some web research, I tried Teak Oil (which was supposed to have some UV resistance) and found that the color change still happened. I'm a few days into an experiment with Spar Varnish (leaving a partially coated sample in the back window of my car) - it's looking like Spar Varnish is significantly retarding the color change (if not stopping it). The problem is that Spar Varnish is a brush on type of finish - I've always used oils. Any suggestions on how to get a good finish with this?? Thanks, Rich
  14. I'm about to embark on a new build - a solidbody made from Padauk. This wood changes color with exposure to sunlight (UV), going from an orange-red to a darker brown. I usually use Tru Oil for finishing, which does little to block UV. Can anyone recommend something that will block the UV to allow the body color to remain constant?? Preferably, it would be something that could be applied and then Tru Oil used for the final finish... Thanks, Rich
  15. I've been contemplating throwing together a guitar that I can take with me when I travel by plane - esentially a minimalistic electric guitar, with removable neck. I'm not after anything fancy in tone, but something that I can use to work scales & practice some music when I'm on the road. The intent is something that I can toss into a briefcase as a somewhat protected carryon - thus the removable neck. I'm still working out the body ideas (anywhere from a 2x4 sized thing to something a bit more elaborate). Electronics would be simple - one pickup, no controls - run into a POD or equivalent & then headphones. One thought that I've had was to replace the normal neck mounting screws with some screw in studs (screwed into the neck). These would go through the body holes & neck plate - then be attached with wing nuts (for easy removability). Has anyone played around with this type of design - offer any suggestions? Thanks, Rich
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