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A hybrid pocket


daveq

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OK, here's my first attempt at posting pics -

I took a body that was going to have an RG type neck pocket and decided to do something similar to a AANJ but not exactly. I used a 5/8" spade bit to drill the holes for the ferrules using my drill press (as I held my breath and heart pounding):

drill%20pocket%20ferrules.JPG

The side view shows that this is not a typical AANJ design. I think they are mostly flat, right?

pocket%20ferrules%20side.JPG

Now, on to the bandsaw:

bandsaw%20pocket.JPG

A little sanding:

sand%20pocket.JPG

Pop those babies in for a look:

ferrules%20close%20up.JPG

The front (hard to see the figuring, but it will come out looking real nice in the end):

front%20pic.JPG

Boy, I hope those pics work. Let me know if you don't see them or a passwrd is required or some damn thing like that.

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From what I could tell, the JEM pocket's (AANJ) are not recessed. Take a look on jemsite - neck pocket. They appear to me to just kind of flow from the body instead of the "square" pockets which do seem fully recessed. So after looking at them, I thought it might be a good thing to leave some wood on the bass side since it doesn't really affect the access that much. I might try one like you are describing later on - I just don't want to take any more chances with this one.

Glad to hear the pics are working.

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Those photos are excellent. And the guitar looks sweet also. What finish is it going to have?

Thank you very much. I was thinking of a blue/black dye or stain with nitro for a clear. I know it's hard to see in the pic, but the figuring is really nice and I'm considering just going with something natural but I don't know much about doiing that yet. Any ideas?

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fair enough, i guess different players prefer different rear recesse's there isn't really a "better" shape,

and ya, excellent quality and lighting on all the pics! i often have troubles with that

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Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars
Those photos are excellent. And the guitar looks sweet also. What finish is it going to have?

Thank you very much. I was thinking of a blue/black dye or stain with nitro for a clear. I know it's hard to see in the pic, but the figuring is really nice and I'm considering just going with something natural but I don't know much about doiing that yet. Any ideas?

With that top? CARRIEBURST!!!

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wow dave, that's super beautiful dude. B)

what woods are they?

the photo are really excellent, looks really professional. i like your neck joint too. my friend has one similar to yours on his washburn, except it isn't angled and it has a plate.

as for a finish, any stain and laquer would make it look exceptionally beautiful. it seems everyone stains and laquers their axes though. that's because it looks the best! :D it really accentuates the grain patterns. why cover up beauty that has taken decades, if not centuries to grow.

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You have done such an *OUTSTANDING* job on that, man, what quality! :D

It would help to know what kind of finishing materials you have on hand already, what kind of finishing you've done before that you're already comfortable with before we throw out a bunch of different finish ideas to you.

Have you done any natural finishes?

Have you done any stain and sand back types of finishes?

Have you seen a finish you really love in a pic on-line somewhere you'd like to use as a reference?

This will be a good starting point.

Only you can really decide what finish you want on it. You could spend an entire day just searching pics on-line for reference shots, pics of different clear maple finishes, Carvin has a color sheet showing all the different transparent dye colors, I'm sure most popular joints have the same thing. It's kinda like you have to decide what your final destination will be, then we can guide you there as to the 'how to's'. And it's different for every kind of 'look'. So once you decide on a finished look, then you map out the way to get there.

Jeff seems to be really good at hunting down a color if you find one you like (he did the best job hunting down the Carriburst pics for sure :D )

Even if you have an outstanding piece of maple, if clear finishes don't really move YOU, then it's not the choice for you or your guitar. I look at a piece of clear maple as an artist looks at a blank canvas, it's just waiting for something to happen to it, but that's just me. I mean, who would clear coat a blank canvas? B)

But that's just me reacting to what I feel inside. Others feel differently. You have to decide what you feel, what you like.

I would spend the time looking at colors/pics until you make a decision which way you want to move with it, then go from there.

Here are a few personal viewpoints, others can disagree with me as they see fit, everyone has a different viewpoint...

Stain (black normally) then sand back - this is a very 'in your face' finish, really jumps out at you..

Body done in clear, built up to sanded flat, then colored toner coats shot over the clear - this gives a somewhat more uhh, 'classy', 'delicate', 'refined' look. Not so 'in your face'.

A combination (what I usually do)

Water-based anilyne dye basecoat color applied directly to the wood.

Then clear coated to flat film finish.

Then colored toner coats (as a burst) applied with alcohol-based dyes mixed in with the lacquer.

Then more clear coats until done.

They all look different.

PS, Maple end-grain is some of the -toughest- end-grain to sand color back out of once you've stained it, it is a huge pain-in-the-arse, so please be pretty sure what color you're doing before you approach the body with a stain rag.

That is gonna be one killer guitar!

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daveq, where did you find the screws and ferrules?

The screws are from Warmoth - they sell the shorter ones (NS2B). Teh ferrules are from stewmac - supposedly there are other suppliers for them, but I couldn't find any (maybe AllParts?).

Drak - thank you for those comments and suggestions. I was originally thinking if a blue/black stain or dye. The blue would match something I'm doing with the neck (I'm trying to keep it a secret until it's finished but I bet many can guess at what I'm doing). I'll look around as you suggested and see if a natural finish is really what I want. I think for the end grain, I was going to tape it off and leave it natural.

Page_Master - the woods are eastern flamed maple and alder.

Scott - thank you very much for the info you have given me over the past months. I did use your tutorial for the bending of the top. I'm really happy with the results.

Thanks for the kind remarks everyone, I hope to be posting a few more pics of what it will look like put together soon (with the neck).

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Dave and Drak, regarding the end grain/stain issue, I am (sometimes) working on a maple top that I will stain and it has binding, so I'm not worried about the that part. BUT, I have a cap of bookmatched maple on the headstock that is not bound. It's about 1/8 inch thick and I am going to leave it natural ala PRS body binding. All this leads me to Dave's idea of taping it off for staining. I don't think the tape will stop the stain from bleeding through to the sides. (end grain)). So my plan was to tape off the top of the headstock, shoot a few coats of nitro on the sides to seal things before I stained. Drak, have you tried something like this? I'm not using dark stains, but if Dave uses the blue/black thing, I would think the bleed issue becomes even more of a problem.

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I haven't done a PRS natural binding thang, but I have a video by Dan Erlewine that shows the technique to do it, and you, sir, have nailed it! :D

He tapes off the main body using a good non-bleeding tape (some 3M product available at an auto-parts store) and a grocery bag cut to shape and shot 2-3 coats of clear nitro just on the edge first (with an airbrush, BTW), just as you described.

He also said that when doing the 'stain black then sand back' which is usually part of the PRS finish, you will wind up sanding off some of the clear finish from the edge, so I think he said be rather cautious when sanding your black stain back down not to go back thru your clear on the sides.

Shouldn't be too hard to do on a headstock tho...

Can't remember which 3M tape product he recommended, but he said it was far superior as far as the non-bleeding issue was concerned...bleeding under tape completely sucks.

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most people don't use the deep tenon necks because they are by far the toughest way to go and i don't think anyone really believes ed roman when he says they are superior.just my take on it but i think a proper set neck or a neck thru gives the same benifits with a much easier fit.

but alot of people prefer the bolt on approach.maybe you are refering to the deeper heel of the bolt on method used on jems?

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