Ace Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 I have this nice laminated Samick body that is a tad smaller than a normal strat body. Also, it has the pickup routing funny and no standard jackplate routing. Since I have no pickguard for it, I had to come up with a design. But I'm not good at designing if I can't see what I'm working on, so this is what I did: I took a clear document envelope (need the exact word for it but I think you know what I mean),cut it up so that I have enough material to cover the whole body, taped it to the top of the body and used a waterproof pen to draw my pickguard design. When I get my pg plastic I'll use that as a template. here is what I have in stock at the moment: This is the fretboard blank I got off of ebay (the replacement one), along with a piece of rosewood he sent for packing purposes, so I'm going to use that one for practicing my inlays. Now I had that stuff sitting around for quite some time and didn't get to fitting the necks on the bodies etc. Today I talked about the guy who wants guitar classes from me and he told me that he doesn't have a guitar at present, so I thought that would be the ideal motivation for me to get one of the partsocasters finished. So I took the sunburst fiberboard body and made the first modification: The body came with the pickguard, but after I mounted the pups and pots I noticed that the Pots didn't fit into the routing, obviously there had been mini pots before. Since I didn't want to desolder the whole thing again, I took the dremel and carved out a little more of the cavity... here you can see where I let the carver sit a bit too long... it's all covered by the pickguard...speaking of which... the problem is that I don't have screws for those pickups, that's why they are affixed with isolation tape for the moment, I have a set of squier pups with screws so I'm thinking about using those at the moment. Then I took the neck that I had decided to use, the AXL one (china made, read player deluxe). I fit it snugly into the neck pocket, clamped it in place with a vise and marked the drill holes. They were so far off of the original holes that I didn't dowel those up The smaller holes are the new ones I put in there. After I was done, I started sanding off the headstock, mainly to check how deep the logo did go into the wood or what it was made of. It came off quite easily. Unfortunately I did scratch the machinehead ferrules a bit so for the real sanding I'm going to have to tape them off. I don't want to loosen them, dunno if they're glued in or anything. that's how it came out. Now what kind of lacquer do you recommend? I want to make a logo by printing out on mylar, can I use my inkjet or do you recommend using a laser printer? I know that what I've done so far is piece of cake for you guys, but this is the first time that I'm doing that kind of stuff, so bear with me so long ace /€dit: humm weird, the second picture should be visible, I have checkd the URL 3 times and I can access it in my browser under http://www.yellowstudio.de/bilder/pgdesign%202.jpg ... wth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 No pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 whoa thats better! that looking great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 What are the questions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 AAAAAH sorry.... I was editing my initial post...in the meantime you already visited. Okay mind you, none of these bodies or necks are made by me, they're all parts bought off of ebay. this is the logo I'm going for, was the one pic that didn't fit in my other post ACE - Absolute Custom Equipment (BTW my initials are A.S. which is the German word for ACE, hence my handle), okay absolute custom is a bit exaggerated for those prototypes, but still... 1203 - 1 is for december 03, 1st item ever built as you surely figured out ;-) so long ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespresence Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 Looking Good! For my logo I run matte finish transparency film through my inkjet and have had no problems. When I did my first one I was going to use my laser but had second thoughts when I considered the heat that a laser uses to set the ink. There is transparency film available for lasers that can take the heat though, so if you go that route make sure you get the right stuff. nobody needs a laser printer full of melted plastic..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 So Inkjet worked fine for you? what about the ink reacting with the lacquer? No problems? That would be a good thing to hear. How did you affix it? Photo-Mount? laid into half-dried lacquer? so long ace oh btw the guitar is supposed to be done by tuesday ;-) if all else fails I'm gonna save the decal thing for a later model... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 on a side note the tuners are not glued in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 no the tuners are screwed in, I was thinking about the ferrules...then again, the lacquer is slightly cracked around those, so I suspected that they were hammered in already... so long ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 those types of tuners the "ferrules" are just pushed in.the tuner is put in first from the back and the nut(ferrule)is pushed or screwed on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Yes they were press fit in and if you take a small flat bladed screw driver inside from behind you can usually tap them back out, just take your time and rotate around or you'll end up taking a chunk out of the finish in front. Yeah been there done that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespresence Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Inkjet worked fine for me. I was considering doing the next set in color but it all depends on the finish I'm going to end up with. The lacquer did not affect the ink. I printed it on top of the logo. When I set it I gave a quick shot of lacquer on the headstock, dropped the logo on and slid it around until it was in place. I then sprayed the rest like normal and had no runs or smearing in the ink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Okay, more pictures in here. Let me resume this day in brief: This morning instead of going to a very boring lecture I went to our version of Home Depot and bought one of those Dremel copies. My Dad's burned out yesterday (not the motor, only the fitting where you insert the bits) and when I saw that one for 11,95 I had to pack it in. I also bought clear nitro lacquer in liquid form as well as in an aerosol can. I also bought chrome effect lacquer which I'm itching to use ;-) After that, I went to the office store and bought inkjet overhead film. After lunch, I hit the workshop with sanding in mind. My plan was to take the tuner nuts out, but after trying with various contraptions (to no avail) I decided to sand around them. THAT, IN RETROSPECT IS A VERY VERY DUMB IDEA! Well, I wanted to start sanding with the newly bought Powertool and a sanding cylinder, but instead my Dad whipped out his triangular sander and started with that one. Quickly we noticed that this was only good for preparation as it was too much of a motion and damaged the wood some, also I didn't get around the tuner nuts, obviously. I started to do the elbow job with 180 grit sandpaper and after some time I decided to give my Dremel clone a try. Unfortunately this was pretty unround, too and it took off way too much wood in one pass, so I stuck with hand sanding. If I could have used a power sander (without the mech nuts in the head) I'd have been done in like 30 minutes, but instead I spent about 3.5 hours, scratching up the nuts included. Anyway, the outcome was this: while I was upstairs for grabbing my cam I made those two pics: In reality, the decal looks pretty good, the edges are very fine and I think it's going to look great on the neck. I then taped the neck up with an old newspaper and masking tape: Behold my impromptu mini-spray-booth, made from a ladder and a page from the newspaper (that one dude in the picture is Ozzy btw, the other guy is a German Showmaster) and here's the headstock with the first coat, one minute old When I get back home tonight after rehearsal I'm going to spray the 2nd coat and put the decal on top of that... so long ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 When you fit the neck to the body and drilled holes, did you make sure you got it positioned right for intonation? I was messing around with spare parts a few years ago and decided to try a maple Ibanez neck (from a Roadstar) on my Hagstrom III. I had to move the bridge back a good inch to get proper intonation. It worked fine and the end result was what I called a "Haganez". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 I'd measured that before and I think the neccessary adjustments can be made by the bridge saddles. Well, here's more progress, when I got home the lacquer had had about 5 hours to dry and it said "oversprayable after 2 hours". I took the decal, cut it out on the edges and gently placed it onto the first layer of lacquer. It stuck to it easily so that I could hold the neck up while spraying it. Then I sprayed another healthy serving of lacquer over the headstock. I'm spraying over the thuner nuts, too because I want to protect them from corrosion from my scratching in the sanding stage... My dad handed me this strange cap and said "wear this while you spray" and since I think Daddy knows best, I wore it...somehow I think I goofed it up, tho... so long ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespresence Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Nice hat! The project is looking good too! Think of that sanding ordeal as "experience". That's how I look at my mistakes so the next time I make them I recognize them faster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 oh man..i hate to tell you,but that isn't a hat... it's a jockstrap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renablistic Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 oh man..i hate to tell you,but that isn't a hat... it's a jockstrap LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 You mean that's why I'm scratching my head all day long? EEEEK! so long ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Brown Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 hahaha, nice hat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardlyneeded Posted December 13, 2003 Report Share Posted December 13, 2003 Not trying to crap on your parade, dude. Dig what you've got going just wanted to point something out. I found this browsing: http://www.ace-guitars.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 13, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2003 Seen that before...he's over there I'm over here, I don't give a fsck() but thanks for pointing it out anyway. I wanted to go for AKG, Absolute Kustom Guitars, but it's taken, too *lol* so long ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2003 Faaaaargh....I'm dumb. I had 3 coats of lacquer on the headstock when I decided to sand in between before applying the last coat and I took 240 grit sanding paper which was obviously much too rough, so I basically destroyed the last few days' work. I peeled off the decal, roughed it up with the 240 grit good and went over to plan b...Images tomorrow, I think it's not too bad for a plan b but I don't wanna tell too much in case I manage to screw up again... so long ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 Okay, my digital camera is at my friend's place so I'm gonna get it later today...Yesterday I applied a second coat of chrome effect lacquer to the messed up headstock, assembled the pickguard and completed the body, so I'm waiting for the headstock to cure and gonna mount her together tonight. On a different note, I went to that plastics supplier today and ordered myself a white PVC blank, 2000 x 1000 millimeters (minimum ordering size) for 35,- €. I'm gonna get at least 8 Pickguards out of that I think but as I'm not going to need that many in the nearer future I'm willing to part with half the blank for 15,- if we can work out transportation somehow. While I was there, I took a peek at their Plexiglass assortment and they were kind enough to give me two chains of Color testers and there are some awesome colours available. I only fear that I'll have to buy tons of blanks, but I'll try and ask them nicely if they have any scrap pieces...photos of the color assortment as soon as I get my digital camera back. so long ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snork Posted December 15, 2003 Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 MAN ACE THAT WAS A CREEPY PIC! TRY SMILING! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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