Mattia Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 Ben: lookin' good! How absurdly heavy is that, though, exactly? Seriously, until I tried a scraper I was wondering what the hell people were on about. I mean, piece of steel, squared up and rubbed with screwdriver shank or whatnot, right? Wrong. Some of the most useful tools for cleaning up surfaces, and refining shapes you could possible imagine. Thicker for stock removal, thinner for finish work, shape dictated by the shape of the thing you're working on (gooseneck and regular rectangle are the two I use most, with the good old rectangular one getting about 80% of the workout). I'd reccomend getting a couple of scrapers, Veritas (Lee Valley) makes nice ones (I think those are what StewMac carries, incidentally), but my local mom and pop hardware store has an old box of Sandvik scrapers as well. All you need is a decent bit of tool steel. Ignore all the fancy schmancy tools for burnishing (old carbide router bit shank and a scrap of wood to hold it = perfect) or holding. I'm sure they're nice, but they're not necessary. I'd reccomend getting a rectangular .8mm scraper as a good starter, for wood removal, maybe even a 1mm (cheap enough, after all), and a .6mm set of 'shaped' scrapers. Get used to those, and if you like them, go ahead and get the thinner ones as well, and start using less sandpaper for finish-sanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 Man, I cannot wait to see what this thing looks like with some finish on it. As you said, you don't see the bevel like you would with the finish on. I can see it perfectly, but with the finish it will be so much more distinct and sharp. Well I got a little curious and rubbed a little danish oil on the front, (I've sanded it off again now though), and I'm also optimistic about how it will look when finished- the danish oil gives it a nice, more amber-ish colour and really makes the figure stand out. The fact that it makes it shinier does indeed make the bevels more visible too. Ben: lookin' good! How absurdly heavy is that, though, exactly? Cheers, its not that bad weight-wise thankfully. I was initially planning to plane it down to 1.5", but then I realised that it had to be at least 1.6/1.7" ish for the trem, so it ended up thicker, and I was worried about the weight. The carving removed a lot of wood though, and there's still the trem cavity to route, so its only going to get lighter. Obviously it will never be a light guitar, but its looking like it wont be uncomfortably heavy either. And I too am now a scraper-convert. I'll definitely be buying more in future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 I thought I'd try to get a few photos that show the bevels a little better, but my camera decided to focus itsself on my neighbour's house in the background instead of on the guitar, so theyre pretty blurred. They still show the bevels better than the other photos though, so I thought I may as well post them anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 Wow man looks awesome =D I got to steal that shape lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 I think that you should work more on the top. Just to get the bevel like in the rendering. in the pics looks like if it is a little bit rounded, versus the rendering, they look sharp and flowing with the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 I think that you should work more on the top. Just to get the bevel like in the rendering. in the pics looks like if it is a little bit rounded, versus the rendering, they look sharp and flowing with the body. Which bevel? the big one? I'm not finished yet- I still have a fair bit more routing and sanding to do, and I will be scraping that bevel a little more too, but its pretty close to how it will be when finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 Wow man looks awesome =D I got to steal that shape lol Thanks! And feel free to use the shape if you like it! I can even email you my cad drawing if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 -Routed control cavity -Made a cavity cover (Fits pretty nice and tight) -Routed for tremolo on top surface ~ not done bottom yet. Ignore the nail holes on the back and the blotchiness on the front. I used nails to hold down my templates- but I made sure the nail holes fell in the areas that will be routed away anyway when I route for the trem- and the blotchy stuff on the front is just the remnents of some danish oil I put on there, which will be sanded off eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted August 5, 2007 Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 Yap, the big one. I like the way it looks in the pic, very sharp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 (edited) Minor screw up today... I was routing the trem cavity deeper than normal to relieve weight... but forgot that I had also routed the pickup cavities deeper to relieve weight! So I ended up routing into the pickup cavity :S OOPS I had a few ideas of what to do... either: 1. just clean up the hole and leave it... it just means a bit of the pickup will be visible... not the end of the world really. 2. Make a plate to cover the hole 3. Make a plate to cover the whole trem cavity I tried option 2... ... and I think it hides my screw up pretty nicely! Also, since I made the plate out of black anodised aluminium (I was going to make it from card, but something just seemed so cheap and half-assed about sticking a piece of card in there ) - at least I can ground the plate as well for extra sheilding. anyway- other than that, everything else went to plan. So now its onto sanding and fine tuning the carving, then finishing, then its time to move onto the neck! Edited August 5, 2007 by Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted August 5, 2007 Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 certainly not ideal but not the end of the world either!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 This is the lovely amber colour it goes when oiled The thing in the trem cavity is my inlay (there's not many inlays you can cut out with an electric drill and a chisel! ) And for maiden69, heres some proof that I'm sharpening up those bevels: That isnt the final finish in the photos btw, it still needs some sanding in places and stuff... but because I find sanding so damn tedious, I'm going to do it gradually bit-by-bit while I move onto... Stage 2 : The neck expect progress soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Wow man that guitar is looking insane =D Want to post it to me once your done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Wow, Ben! Nice job! I knew this guitar would be cool from the start, but this is just awesome! Can't wait to see more. CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Wow man that guitar is looking insane =D Want to post it to me once your done? Thanks, and no. Wow, Ben! Nice job! I knew this guitar would be cool from the start, but this is just awesome! Can't wait to see more. CMA Cheers, I cut out the neck today, and routed the drop down bit on the headstock and routed the truss rod slot. I forgot to take any pics though and I'm feeling lazy at the moment but I'll take some tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Oh yea Ben you live in the U.K right??? Where do you get your wood? And do you get a decent price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Ben, with your routing hole going into the trem cavity, at least you have a cheap route to wire your earth to your hardware.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Oh yea Ben you live in the U.K right??? Where do you get your wood? And do you get a decent price? Indeed I do- I got it from craft supplies (call / email them to get their full catalogue) The zebrano was £40, the Wenge neck was something like £9 and the fretboard... maybe £5 or £6 (cant remember exactly but it was in that region) I've read bad reviews of craft supplies before, but the wood I got was good... nice figuring on the zebrano and the wenge is perfectly quatersawn. Ben, with your routing hole going into the trem cavity, at least you have a cheap route to wire your earth to your hardware.... Hah, yeah that did cross my mind- one less hole to drill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Craft Supplies can be fine, and can be a bit hit and miss. I reccomend calling the guys at the wood store (call the number, ask to be put through) and asking/telling them exactly what it is you're looking for and what you expect, and you usually get served well. Dave Dyke is probably the best tonewood dealer in the UK when it comes down to getting you exactly what you want/need, although he's often a little bit more expensive. Well worth it, though. There's a pinned list of EU suppliers in one of the sections that includes details on several... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 David Dyke's prices seem reasonable to me. Body blanks from around £25, but i dont buy figured wood from any of the UK ones regularly - its just so overpriced here i have also had excellent wood from craft supplies but it is hit and miss. They do tend to have a lot of zebrano and wenge in stock usually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 David Dyke's prices seem reasonable to me. Body blanks from around £25, but i dont buy figured wood from any of the UK ones regularly - its just so overpriced here i have also had excellent wood from craft supplies but it is hit and miss. They do tend to have a lot of zebrano and wenge in stock usually] Huh, thought it was a bit more. To be fair, you always know you're getting quality from him, and even his figured wood's not too bad, pricewise. The flamed sycamore top for this guitar came from him, cost 75 quid: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 AHha, there it is, the red one that I have been mentioning the last few months!! I believe I saw that shortly before I had to stop building for a while. I love that dang finish, uhh just beautiful. When contemplating the finish I want I thought a color like your red one or blue like the darker blue part in the ocean burst that was finished recently. Probably will do the blue on this first one and then red on the next. Anyway, glad you showed that, I love that dang guitar, just beautiful, that is nice figure as well. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Thanks guys but website? contact number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 http://www.luthierssupplies.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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