GUITARmole Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 That's one beautiful looking LP...I especially like the fretboard work!! Hopefully after some practice I'll be able to start building necks that look as flawless as yours. I can't wait to see more pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPA or death Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Really nice work on that guitar johnsilver. I'm slowly accumulating parts and wood for a LP style guitar myself, and I'm sure this project and many others will help me immensely. I'll be tuning in here regularly I think. Just as an aside, because this is Supreme related--and not to hijack your thread--how are the controls installed or replaced in a Gibson LP Supreme? I know the jack has a rectangular opening instead of the usual drilled hole, which would help, but imagine a pot going bad and having to be replaced. Or worse yet, the 3 position switch. Your version uses a control access plate, so you won't have to worry about that, but I'm curious about the Gibson version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wylde1919 Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 i just wanted to add to the guy who commented about using the sandthrough to your advantage. It may actually look pretty cool if you did like a sandthrough burst on the guitar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted August 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Plus, you tell me where you can get a guitar of this spec for the money you've spent. So far, this one has cost me $42,153. That's $40 dollars of wood and $42,113 from Stewmac. Just kidding. Chunkiebuddy, thanks for the encouragement, and you're spot on about the investment for the future. Guitarmole, thanks for the comment about the fretboard. I was hesitant about gold MOP, but I must admit that I'm very happy with it. BTW, the neck is hardly flawless, but that's the objective for when I grow up. I'm just hoping my guitar playing son won't notice the deficiencies, or at least, won't tell me. IPA or Death, wish I could help but I've never actually seen an LP Supreme except in pictures on Gibson's website. So, I can't help. Anyway, good luck on your LP! Wylde et al, I haven't yet given up on the possibility I can "hide" the sandthroughs. If all else fails, it will either be a solid color (gold top and bottom ) or solid black. Speaking of sandthroughs, I spent several hours today mixing and trying alternatives for dye. I made up a blending board of yellow dye and amber dye to see where in that spectrum I want to try the base color. I'm now thinking something like a 1 to 1 ratio of yellow to amber instead of straight amber. I then tested some colors to use in the burst. I decided I liked the Colortone Medium Brown. It makes a nice blend with amber and seems to darken up nicely and maybe enough to cover the sandthroughs. I still need to do some more testing. Anyway, here are a couple of pics of my tests. Please ignore the deficiencies in my test bursts. The blending between the amber and brown is too abrupt and there is overspray, etc and lots of other problems. I realized very clearly how much I'll need to practice technique once I've settled on the colors. That's the next step. Med Brown on 1:1, 2:1, 4:1 yellow to amber dye Med Brown on straight Amber Anyway, my new touch up gun arrived (yes, from a company that shall remain nameless). So, I'll get it fired up tomorrow along with my airbrush and play around. I'm having a nice glass of red wine, and listening to Gregg Allman solo CD. Both very good....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted August 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Today I took one of the scrap pieces of maple and cut it out in the shape of a 1/2 LP. I went through the finishing procedure I am testing at the moment. It was a useful lesson in both the finish procedure and bursting technique using a jamb gun. I learned a lot. Overall, I'm pleased with the learning effort but need to practice more technique. The dark area intended for the edge got a bit too big for my liking so I'll try to cut it down next time. Also, I didn't get the shading even all the way around. The good thing about this scrap is that I can use both sides for tests, then sand it back and use it again. Overall, its progress and I believe I'll be able to hide the sandthroughs effectively. The finish looks very vintage to me. More like what I've seen on acoustics or hollow bodies. Maybe it will be better when I narrow down the dark edge to about 1" or 1 1/2". I'm thinking about whether I like it. Thoughts? And please ignore the orange peel - this is just a test for color. burst on test piece test piece sitting next to guitar I'm off for some boiled shrimp..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 You are coming on great guns - i have to practise bursting myself. I've heard that the burst definately softens when you spray the clear so keep that in mind. Good progress either way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 (edited) it looks good but the burst is a bit thick on the bottom, look at Les Pauls all you need is enogh to cover the defect, not too wide. Like you say, between 1- 1 1/2" Edited August 21, 2006 by Maiden69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted September 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 Well, its been a while. I continued to practice bursts and got closer. The pic below is close but still a bit too wide in the burst area. I have a better feel for it though so I'm proceeding on the guitar. So far this weekend, I made a back cavity cover from scrap maple and sanded the entire guitar to finish grit (220 for me). I dyed the top and back the amber color and sanded it back and dyed it again. After it dried, I sprayed the entire guitar (not fretboard of course) with a wash coat of vinyl sealer. After that dried overnight, I masked off the top, back, binding and headplate then applied walnut brown oil based pore filler. Messy stuff. It'll have to dry so I won't do any more until next weekend. That means I have tomorrow off. Here is the progress. Happy Labor Day holiday. Burst getting closer Top dyed and with a sealer coat Pore filler applied Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 This one's looking good! Nice job on the bookmatch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted September 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 Mikhail, thanks. When I tried to match the top, I struggled a bit with where to align everything since it wasn't exact all the way along the top (guess it never is). Anyway, I'm pleased to hear you think it came out ok. BTW, that wood was a find at my local hardwood supplier. They usually have some curly maple boards but very limited, not really very good and never more than 4/4. I was digging through the stack and found a board with nice figure that was 6/4. The guy didn't believe me they had a 6/4 board. In any case, I bought the whole board for maybe $40 and they resawed it for me for $10. I was able to make the top, the back, enough to use as finish sample pieces, and maybe some left over for a neck laminate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted September 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 I made some progress yesterday but not as much as I'd like. It was raining here all day and the humidity was high. I was fighting blushing problems in the finish. I did get a sealer coat on the whole guitar and let it sit overnight Friday. Yesterday, I scuff sanded and then applied a coat of amber toner to the front and back to even out the color. After that sat a bit, I put a coat of clear nitro on the front and back. Results below. I was going to do the burst today but won't be able to - have to make a quick trip to Louisiana and back. Guess I'll have to wait until next weekend. front after amber toner and 1 clear coat I'm happy with the color and the 3D - pic doesn't show much but you get the idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted September 10, 2006 Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 Looking great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted September 10, 2006 Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 I'm eager to see how this one turns out. You'v shown more patience than i've ever known and I know i would have been spraying this ages ago without enough practise. Good luck with the rest and keep us informed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted September 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 I was able to attempt the sunburst today. I mixed up some Colortone Medium Brown dye in lacquer (with some thinner and retarder - its so darn humid in Houston) to make a toner. I taped off all the binding (took a while) using latex pinstripers tape and masked the fretboard, then sprayed the neck and sides with toner to darken them a bit and make the color left by the pore filler a little more even. Then I tried the burst on the back, then on the front. I played around with it for a while, but then convinced myself to put up the spray gun lest I fiddle to the point of disaster. I used my small jamb gun set to a round pattern to apply the brown on the edges first. After they darkened, I opened up the pattern a bit to a fan and extended the burst a bit toward the middle of the guitar. That left a dark edge and a lighter blend into the amber. The lighter area appears reddish, but it is medium brown over amber. I then put a coat of clear lacquer to set the color. The pics below are after the lacquer and after I removed all the tape off the binding. I still need to clean up a bit after removing the tape. I'll to that tomorrow, then begin to build up the clear coats. I'm happy (and more than a little relieved). The front burst with 1 clear coat A side view showing the burst, the binding and the sides with toner The back burst A shot of one of the sanded through areas - coverage looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Very nice. Can't wait to see it lacquered and buffed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdstone Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Good job mate. I know from experiance how fine a line it is between perfection and disaster. Love the cavity cover.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 What a dad you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 That looks terrific. +1 on the nice cavitycover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted September 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Thanks guys. I appreciate the comments on the back cavity cover. It was an another product of my poor planning and poor execution. Originally the guitar was going to be a mahogany body with a maple top. I had a brown plastic cavity cover to use with the mahogany. When I found the inexpensive large maple board, I decided to put a maple back as well. I didn't think about making a maple cavity cover at the time and was just going to use the plastic one. Originally, the guitar was going to be amber, but when I sanded through and had to do a burst, I felt like a plastic cover just wouldn't work with a burst. I found a scrap of the maple that seemed to have similar grain and made the cover. Glad to hear it worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yahilltrade Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 wow i think my fav. finish is a tobacco burst and you nailed it....wow the fade is amazing. awsome work. keep it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radrobgray Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 That looks terrific. +1 on the nice cavitycover. wow i didnt even notice the cover and ive looked at that about 3 times now. great work, im excited to see this one finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 I didn't see the cover the first time either, which means it's a good cover doesn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matttheguy Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 It is indeed a very good cover. Nice job cutting that precisely. Question: How do real Supreme's do it? How are the electronics installed, and more importantly, if something like the switch or a pot fails, how are they repaired? This, in my opinion, is a much better solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Very nice! Well worth the wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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