avengers63 Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 The f/b inlays are bloodwood, just like the cap. dragon inlay scribed dust blower rigged up too hard to see - filled in the outlines with chalk hole routed & inlay sitting in place white dots drilled out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 Getting back to the body....... f-hole stencil pattern spray-painted onto the inside of the body beginning to cut the dragons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 this is starting to look pretty damn good. i am not keen on the headstock but other than that i think its really good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 I agree, the desire to succeed trumps all obstacles. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 this is starting to look pretty damn good. i am not keen on the headstock but other than that i think its really good I agree, the desire to succeed trumps all obstacles. Thanks guys. It means a lot coming from the veterans. It's really odd. Making the Dragon and the LPjr right now... I've made a few guitars now. I've made quite a few bodies and sold them on eBay. That has led to a few commission bodies. I've even taken two commissions for entire guitars. I've been overconfident, in over my head, hoping that I can pull it off, and just went for it and flew by the seat of my pants. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. None if them came out exactly like I intended. But these two... It's the first time I genuinely feel like I know what I'm doing; like I have the entire situation under control. There hasn't been a single surprise so far - nothing that I either wasn't expecting or didn't have a contingency plan ready for. Even with my first neck over on Junior, things turned out just like they were supposed to. It's really strange. I just have a brand new calm confidence that I finally have it all together. Now having said that, both bodies are going to spontaneously crack in two or burst into flames or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guernica Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 ...the f-hole design is awesome, ...looks tough to cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 Guitars bursting into flames isn't necessarily a bad thing, I rather fancy it occasionally. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 (edited) Guitars bursting into flames isn't necessarily a bad thing, I rather fancy it occasionally. But you make yours into cinders on purpose whenever you get pissed off at them. I'm looking at spontaneous combustion here when things seem to be going good. ...the f-hole design is awesome, ...looks tough to cut. All it took was a scroll saw, a thin spiral blade, and a bit of patience. I also rigged up a zero-clearance cover for the scroll saw table. We don't want any tearout on the face, now do we. Edited May 15, 2009 by avengers63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guernica Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 (edited) All it took was a scroll saw, a thin spiral blade, and a bit of patience. I also rigged up a zero-clearance cover for the scroll saw table. We don't want any tearout on the face, now do we. ...awesome! How does the zero-clearance cover work? Im trying to pick it out from the pics and im not getting it (please scuze my newbishness)...thanks. Edited May 15, 2009 by guernica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 How does the zero-clearance cover work? Im trying to pick it out from the pics and im not getting it...thanks. You can't see it from the pics because the guitar completely covers it up. A zero-clearance insert fits snug into the hole the blade goes through, almost right up against it. As all power saws cut down, the opportunity for tearout from the blade is on the bottom of the piece. Without the insert, there is a large gap under the wood what can allow tearout as the blade passes through the wood. The zero-clearance inserts support the wood so that tearout is virtually, but not completely, eliminated. Another benefit of the insert for scroll work is support of thin cuts. I've learned through experience that when the wood left fets narrow, it can be broken off when the blade is cutting on the other side of the thin little piece. With what was done on this guitar, look at the line between the dragon's head and it's horn, and between the body and the wing. The vibration and force of the downward cut could break that thin piece out. The insert supports it so the blade won't break it. FWIW: My "insert" consists of a large piece of fiberboard with an 1/8" hole drilled into it that was clamped to the table. And now, back to the show.... dragons all cut out smoothing out the cuts & finesse shaping I used various bits with the Dremel - fine carving, sanding disks, sanding pads, etc. Because this was done 100% by hand, there are minor variances with the two sides. All things considering, I think I did pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 But you make yours into cinders on purpose whenever you get pissed off at them. I'm looking at spontaneous combustion here when things seem to be going good. Not true at all. You may think that if you wish, ...but that is not the case. I use a mental fractional equation to see if a body is fit for Nebuchadnezzars' Fiery Furnace or not. Mistake / time needed to fix, proportional to (=) expectations of final result. If a mistake is unrepairable to the point that the final guitar will be inferior, or 'Grade B goods', (piece of sh**t) or it will simply take too much time to fix while I have other perfectly good projects underway that also need my attention, it is (to me) not worth the time (value) to throw good hours at a foregone inferior project. Some people are simply willing to spend countless hours and still accept a crappy end result, I don't. Some people just don't give their own time much value, or are still on the learning curve, where time spent learning IS the value. My value is the finished product. But a guitar burning is still (in Terrible Ted Talk), a helluva lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guernica Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 (edited) How does the zero-clearance cover work? Im trying to pick it out from the pics and im not getting it...thanks. You can't see it from the pics because the guitar completely covers it up. A zero-clearance insert fits snug into the hole the blade goes through, almost right up against it. As all power saws cut down, the opportunity for tearout from the blade is on the bottom of the piece. Without the insert, there is a large gap under the wood what can allow tearout as the blade passes through the wood. The zero-clearance inserts support the wood so that tearout is virtually, but not completely, eliminated. Another benefit of the insert for scroll work is support of thin cuts. I've learned through experience that when the wood left fets narrow, it can be broken off when the blade is cutting on the other side of the thin little piece. With what was done on this guitar, look at the line between the dragon's head and it's horn, and between the body and the wing. The vibration and force of the downward cut could break that thin piece out. The insert supports it so the blade won't break it. FWIW: My "insert" consists of a large piece of fiberboard with an 1/8" hole drilled into it that was clamped to the table. ...ah, thanks. I think i can see the set-up you mean in your 'dragon' inlay pics. ...makes good sense. .....the f-holes look great, btw!! Edited May 15, 2009 by guernica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 Dude, those F-Holes are freakin sexy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormLeader Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Dude, those F-Holes are freakin sexy. I am so,so,SO tempted to make a comment about that, but I'll keep quiet. Looking great Avenger! -Stormy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 It would have been better if i winked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 (edited) dang I think I like it better when the f-hole is winkin' at me. Edited May 16, 2009 by avengers63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 you've done a really good job on this one john, especially joining the top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Lining up & drilling for the controls There were two tricky parts in this one. The first one was easy: make sure the 5-way switch was on the same angle as the two pots. The other was a bit more risky. The top wasn't thin enough for the shafts of the pots, the 5-way lever, ot the screws to the 5-way. The inside of the top had to be thinned out with forstners until they could be put in there. As you recall, the top isn't that dang thick to begin with, so it would have been easy to accidentally punch through. But... would I be posting this if I screwed it up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 o.O Damn, that's scary close! Good job though! The force is with you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 I can't wait to see this done. It looks awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 o.O Damn, that's scary close! Good job though! The force is with you! You ain't kiddin! I was really nervous. I can't wait to see this done. Me & you both, buddy! But I'm a LOT closer than I'm allowing to be shown right now. Slow & steady posting gives me a HUGE buffer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 They make long shaft pots, you know. I've also found with the 5-ways I used on my build, that I could replace the bolts with slightly longer ones, and while I still needed to recess a bit for the switch toggle to clear, I didn't need to recess quite as much. When you're going for a very tight fit like this, remember to account for finish thickness! Looking very nice so far! Very nice work on the dragon cut outs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 I was waiting for someone to mention long shafts. I have some here - they left the knob sitting WAY too high off the face. Longer screws on the switch wouldn't have helped - the lever wouldn't clear. The point about the finish thickness hadn't been thought about. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 You put a nut on the back of the pot shaft,and adjust it to whatever "height" you wish...then it is double nutted and very stable.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJE-Guitars Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 You put a nut on the back of the pot shaft,and adjust it to whatever "height" you wish...then it is double nutted and very stable.. +1! You sure do . . then the switch I route or drill (if Gibson style switch) on the inside of the pocket rather than the top - doing this keeps the switch lever higher out of the body top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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