westhemann Posted August 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 On question did the template for the bridge pup slided out while routing or is the position of the guitar in the pic? yes..it slid just a hair..but it will be under the ring.luckily i didn't have any problems at the neck because there will be no ring there. But the common grain fillers are easier to level I think and will leave a thinner layer not dampening the wood as much. What's your reason for choosing the epoxy? Super tough finish? they don't create as nice of a prepped surface.and the dampening wood stuff is just a bunch of b.s. created by ed roman i think.i always take that sort of thing into consideration...but right now i can knock on the body and feel it vibrate through my fingers on the neck...it is justas resonant and "live" as any of my others. ever play a goth lp?that's what this feels like i wanted a very tough finish and i am looking into all types of durable but nontoxic finishes...so far i have applied all of this inside my house with no mess and no headaches or crazy solvent fumes like you get with everything else.i just open the window in the room i apply it in,and it is fine. Choosing the right epoxy is critical in this process. Some epoxies harden rock solid, and are impossible tough to sand.....while others are designed to be sanded down. West Systems Epoxy e.g. has perfect sanding capabilities. It was specially designed for this in the boat building world. (mostly these type of epoxies are not structurally as sound as the more tougher sanding ones.........so you won't see Composite airplanes and so being build with these kinda epoxies - at least not on structural components). My impression is that Wes is using it as a grainfiller......so sandability must have been high on his list. perfectly correct.choose carefully...i found the best luck using the 5 minute stuff(1500 psi strength) in clear,coloring it,and reducing it with the denatured alcohol...it makes it sand "reasonably" well...but yes..it is hard.it is almost as tough to sand as a polyester finish..which i think bodes well for durability...and i know that this type of epoxy does not easily chip(i use it at work for several different applications.mostly aluminum handrails) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 Wes, have you ever heard of Devcon? They sell it at home depot and lowes. I know a guy in the navy who did maintenence on destroyers, and they used the stuff to fill holes(with stripped threads) in engine blocks. They even drill and tapped into the Devcon with excellent results. It comes in two parts like epoxy. If I remember correctly, though, it can handle like 5 or 10 times the PSI that those epoxies can. That would be one durable finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackZ Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 thats very impressive work, you did a good job shaping that body, looks great! do you have some photos making the body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 Wes, have you ever heard of Devcon? They sell it at home depot and lowes. I know a guy in the navy who did maintenence on destroyers, and they used the stuff to fill holes(with stripped threads) in engine blocks. They even drill and tapped into the Devcon with excellent results. It comes in two parts like epoxy. If I remember correctly, though, it can handle like 5 or 10 times the PSI that those epoxies can. That would be one durable finish. ← yeah i have heard of it...but it is not too flexible if i remember right...great psi strength but very brittle.i suspect it may chip. might be worth looking at,but if it is not at least a little flexible i think the expansion and contraction of the wood will crack it. i think it is just ultra hard epoxy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 thats very impressive work, you did a good job shaping that body, looks great! do you have some photos making the body? ← http://westhemann.com/my%20music/pics/esp%20f/IM000056.JPG http://westhemann.com/my%20music/pics/esp%20f/IM000057.JPG http://westhemann.com/my%20music/pics/IM000051.JPG http://westhemann.com/my%20music/pics/IM000055.JPG i have these...but i did not take alot of pictures unfortunately...i routed,gluued in the neck,sanded,drilled and grainfilled all in one weekend...so i really took no time at all for pictures.i was in a rush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 yeah i have heard of it...but it is not too flexible if i remember right...great psi strength but very brittle.i suspect it may chip. might be worth looking at,but if it is not at least a little flexible i think the expansion and contraction of the wood will crack it. i think it is just ultra hard epoxy... Well, I use auot epoxy primer(followed by sandable primer) that's sprayed from an air gun when I'm painting opaque. I have a pretty good ventilation settup and a really good mask. Since I'm only painting small pieces, my exposure to airborn vapors is minimalized as well. I've never actually used devcon, so I cannot testify to its flexibility. Although now I'm inclined to buy a bottle just so I can find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 yeah i have heard of it...but it is not too flexible if i remember right...great psi strength but very brittle.i suspect it may chip. might be worth looking at,but if it is not at least a little flexible i think the expansion and contraction of the wood will crack it. i think it is just ultra hard epoxy... Well, I use auot epoxy primer(followed by sandable primer) that's sprayed from an air gun when I'm painting opaque. I have a pretty good ventilation settup and a really good mask. Since I'm only painting small pieces, my exposure to airborn vapors is minimalized as well. I've never actually used devcon, so I cannot testify to its flexibility. Although now I'm inclined to buy a bottle just so I can find out. ← it all started for me with a bottle of "famowood high build epoxy coating" which i have been using for sometime as a grain filler on my opaque guitars and one of my clear finishes that i wanted to darken a bit(the beast) it takes seven hours to harden though..and when cured is kind of "plasticy"...it works great and is very flexible.but for this guitar i wanted to experiment a bit,so i considered using epoxy only as the complete finish...but there is a problem...i started using the 5 minute stuff because it is in small batches and it cures quicly enough that i can apply it with the guitar flat,wait 30 minutes and flip it to do the other side...but the problem is that you have to mix the dye in at exactly the same ratio...which i couldn't get properly,so the front and back did not completely match... so i sanded it all level and used it as a sealer/primer/base coat and now i am using some waterbased laquer from stewmac which i colored in a quantity feasible for just this one guitar,and i am adding color coats...works very well. after the color coats,i am going to clear over it with the epoxy again and buff it up....this waterbased laquer seems too soft. after i buff it all up i will let you know if it feels okay...i don't want a sticky finish. if it grabs my skin too much i will put another topcoat of something else on top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2005 okay...so this guitar is going in a different direction that i originally envisioned....(as most of my projects do)..so instead of the original inlay i was going to do(which i later disgarded as too playful for such a serious guitar),i just went with simple abolone dots... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted September 11, 2005 Report Share Posted September 11, 2005 You should have done no inlays. That would look sweet with that guitar. I personally hate dots on prety much any guitar but hey it's not my guitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 11, 2005 Report Share Posted September 11, 2005 Dots? Com'on, that guitar deserved better! Are the 2 dots at the 12 closer together than the ones at the 24? Turning good so far, I just think that dots are too simple for that guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivin Posted September 11, 2005 Report Share Posted September 11, 2005 I dunno, I always kinda liked abalone dots. They are classy without being over the top. Mother of pearl dots are a bit too boring for me, but the paua abalone ones are just pure class I might have gone with smaller dots though is all. - Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 Dots? Com'on, that guitar deserved better! Are the 2 dots at the 12 closer together than the ones at the 24? Turning good so far, I just think that dots are too simple for that guitar. ← this guitar "deserves" whatever i choose to give it...no cheesy complex inlays just for the sake of impressing people who will never play it or have to look at it every day.no fancy top wood,no insane graphics to scream "pay attention to me!" just plain old fashioned playability,baby. besides,it's not your guitar. this guitar is all about simplicity.if you don't like my personal style choices,look elsewhere or build your own bolt on version with a premade neck. and of course the dots at the 12 are closer together...they are supposed to be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeiscosRock Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 this guitar is all about simplicity. ← Nothing simpler than no inlays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 this guitar is all about simplicity. ← Nothing simpler than no inlays ← so far i have done no inlays on any of my guitars.it's about time for a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 I think the abalone dots match the look of the guitar quite nicely, and I also like abalone dots. Course, I'm primarily a Fender type a' guy too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 this guitar is all about simplicity.if you don't like my personal style choices,look elsewhere or build your own bolt on version with a premade neck. , I will! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 AND fretted.(stainless steel,courtesy of perry..excellent stuff...i use it on all of my guitars now) don't worry about the wierd blobs on the body...they are super glue that i am using to fill scratches from my fret saw slip ups. the final color coats are not on,so it is no bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 this guitar is all about simplicity.if you don't like my personal style choices,look elsewhere or build your own bolt on version with a premade neck. , I will! ← good!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 on a side note...all of my bath towels are now covered in epoxy,super glue,and paint...good thing i have tough skin...they get kind of scratchy after a shower if i still had a wife,she would have already killed me for this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 wes, did you epoxy the whole neck, or just the headstock?? Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 wes, did you epoxy the whole neck, or just the headstock?? Curtis ← thw whole neck...it seals the grain of the mahogany and keeps the laquer from sinking into the glue lines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 so thats going to be a super smooth, very fast neck once you sand it down as far as your going and clear it, right? your giving me too many ideas wes, Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 so thats going to be a super smooth, very fast neck once you sand it down as far as your going and clear it, right? your giving me too many ideas wes, Curtis ← yeah,something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goth_fiend Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 its looking awesome wes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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