Drak Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 One of the Steerheads almost done now. This is an early pic depicting the Quilted Maple top in a standard Chevron pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oblaty Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 Very nice top.. What colour will it be or it will be natural? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 Thank You. It will be this color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!!METAL MATT!! Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 man oh man oh man thats niccccce!! !!METAL MATT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 Wow, I might have to build myself a wicked Tele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 ooh, yummy! Personally I'd prefer a lighter burst, closer to the natural colour but that red-burst is definitely more...erm...sunsetty what's the neck pickup going to be, what electrickery...& will it have a scratchplate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 No, I never use pickguards, and the neck pickup will be a Jason Lollar Mini-Humbucker (in gold). Here is a pic of it after the initail 1500 wetsanding first pass, it is now wetsanded to 4000 grit and ready for the buffer and buffing compounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 Looks real nice!! What controls are you having, 5 Holes and a switch slot got me wondering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 Thanks Wes. Top row front to back: Volume, Tone, EMG Afterburner pre-amp. Bottom row front to back: EMG EXG, EMG SPC EQ Pots. Switch will be a 4-way Tele switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wylde1919 Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 dude you always have the sweetest frickin top woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElysianGuitars Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 man i'd love to have that top on the V i built, flip it the opposite way, itd look plain badass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 lovely, lovely piece Drak. Great figure, great burst, very clean work. I dig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 Oh wow, with that maple, that burst, that longhorn... That tele makes me want to pour BBQ sauce all over it. In a good way, of course. In the wetsand picture, does anyone notice the switch slot? It looks kinda... funky. Looks great in the first picture, though, so something in me says it's the nature of the picture that's playing tricks on me eyeballs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 Thank You wylde, Elysian, and Setch. Xanthus, you know, I noticed that too. I'll have me a looksee later on but as far as I know, it's just digital skullduggery shadows and mirrors going on, the slot is fine as I remember. Final shaping of the slot is part of the final assembly anyway, I get a small jewelers file in there and clear out the lacquer overspray to give the switch room to slide freely and not get hung up, so even if it were weirded-out, it would get addressed/shaped by the final assembly anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted December 9, 2006 Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 I`ll say it again. "You do the sweetest work!"I look foward to all of them. Do you still do CA glue clearcoats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted December 9, 2006 Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 You know I'm gunna have to drive up and play this when it's 100% right? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted December 9, 2006 Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 Drak, very cool. That sunset burst and steer design would go for a lot down here in Texas. Your wet sanding prep appears flawless. Shows me how far I need to go to get my finishes to that level of preparation. I'm inspired. On the burst, it appears there is a yellow bit in the middle - if not yellow then at least a lighter bit that really enhances the sunset effect. I know David Myka has done finishes like that and he does so by wiping on dye I believe. I think you spray your bursts, so what was your approach? Looks great in any event. Listening to some Bonnie Raitt right now. I keep thinking about her playing this tele. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Your wet sanding prep appears flawless. Shows me how far I need to go to get my finishes to that level of preparation. I'm inspired. Thanks! It's funny you mentioned that, as coincidentally I have been taking close-up detailed pics of all my wetsanding processes lately, because I rarely ever see pictorials done on exactly how to wetsand out a finish, so sometime in the near future I will spell out, with detailed pics, exactly how I do it and what products I use. On the burst, it appears there is a yellow bit in the middle - if not yellow then at least a lighter bit that really enhances the sunset effect. I know David Myka has done finishes like that and he does so by wiping on dye I believe. I think you spray your bursts, so what was your approach? Looks great in any event. Yes, you are correct. That finish went like this: Dye the wood a dark reddish brown, then sandback Apply yellowish-amber basecoat color (wiped on entire top uniformly) Airbrush the reddish 'sunset' colors on as a burst style Clearcoat the body with clear lacquer until I can level-sand it Shoot the dark edge-burst on as a shader coat mixed in with the lacquer (black pigment and brown dye) Clear coats over the whole thing until done Thanks as always for the nice words, they are appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted December 10, 2006 Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Your wet sanding prep appears flawless. Shows me how far I need to go to get my finishes to that level of preparation. I'm inspired. Thanks! It's funny you mentioned that, as coincidentally I have been taking close-up detailed pics of all my wetsanding processes lately, because I rarely ever see pictorials done on exactly how to wetsand out a finish, so sometime in the near future I will spell out, with detailed pics, exactly how I do it and what products I use. Oh I vote for this one--and sooner than later....I've been stumbling forward the last couple of weeks trying to finish a guitar...the wetsanding part was still a bit of a mystery --your pic clears up a lot of the questions I had... Not all though-- in your photo, there are still a few shiny bits visible...do those disappear during the buffing stage? Reason I ask is that I'm finding it impossible to get rid of every last shiny bit...but if that isn't an issue, I can just get on with it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oblaty Posted December 10, 2006 Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Oh my god.... That´s all what I say, because the finish is...oh my god!!!I´s so beautiful!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted December 10, 2006 Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Oh I vote for this one--and sooner than later....I've been stumbling forward the last couple of weeks trying to finish a guitar...the wetsanding part was still a bit of a mystery --your pic clears up a lot of the questions I had... Not all though-- in your photo, there are still a few shiny bits visible...do those disappear during the buffing stage? Request seconded for a Drak-torial. But finish this guitar first It's coming out amazing...ly. Is that a real word? Not like I'm an English major. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted December 10, 2006 Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Drak, thanks for the finish sequence explanation. That must have been a lot of airbrushing. Were you airbrushing dye? I hope you do the wetsanding tut. That will be very useful. I'm trying to get my finishes improved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 That must have been a lot of airbrushing. Were you airbrushing dye? Yes, waterbased anilyne dye thru the airbrush onto the bare wood for that step. Well, actually the burst was airbrushed over the already existing yellow basecoat. It actually didn't take more than 10-15 minutes once the airbrush was loaded and ready. I typically don't do things this way these days, and it gives the guitar's color scheme a completely different 'look'. Look at any other burst I typically do and you'll notice that when you airbrush the colors directly onto the wood this way, you can't remotely begin to see the line where one color ends and the next begins, it's a completely smooth graduation between colors, which I guess helps the 'sunset' look, as it appears to be a perfectly natural looking fade job. On most of my other ones (and most bursts in general I think) you have the basecoat color, then the outer burst, and you can usually easily see where the burst edge begins, but not here, the airbrushed part is like an added step sort of... The reason I don't usually do it this way is because it's harder to control the dye in this scenario, it's a lot easier to completely screw it up this way, but I thought this chevron pattern called for it, and thankfully it worked out OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 +1 on the wet sanding tut! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 The reason I don't usually do it this way is because it's harder to control the dye in this scenario, it's a lot easier to completely screw it up this way, but I thought this chevron pattern called for it, and thankfully it worked out OK. Exactly what I was thinking - harder to control and easier to screw up. As you say though, the burst is a continual gradual transition as you described vs a more defined transition. Looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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