Drak Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 I've had this top set for probably 7 years, sitting here because I could never quite figure out what to do with the 'cat's eye's bark inclusion. Well, I figured if I just started it, the answer would unfold itself somehow. I still don't know what I'm going to put in there just yet, but I did get the guitar started. It is a Buckeye Burl top over a chambered 1 inch Cherry core with a 3/4" Mahogany back...strange sandwich I agree, but the tap tone is good. For some strange reason, once I got some finish on it, it kept telling me it's name was Forbidden Planet. Must be something about the wood, but the name has stuck for the past several months... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted July 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 A few early progress pics. 1. Router template double-taped down, ready to route to shape. 2. Body being routed to shape 3. The beginning of the pore fill process, which is quite laborious with Buckeye burl. What you're seeing is the first application of CYA glue to start to fill the thousand little holes Buckeye Burl has. We're just getting started... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted July 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 More CYA pore-filling, it takes a long time. I much prefer CYA glue for this as opposed to epoxy 2-part because epoxy just basically sits on the surface. This wood is like Balsa wood, and really benefits from the ability of CYA to seep into all the pores and tighten everything up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted July 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 Filling the cavities in with 2-part epoxy. This is just a temporary move to fill in the void until I install some sort of inlay over the holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted July 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 The headstock lam and the backside. The backside mahogany has also been pore-filled with CYA glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted July 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 The body sanded back and dyed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted July 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 About 7 coats of lac applied, then a few days later sanded back to semi-level status. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted July 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 ...And your up to date. I need to level sand the back and sides a bit more to get them dead-level, then I'll shoot a toner coat of color similar to the top to match, and probably a very thin edge-burst to blend things in, but I don't want to cover up any more top wood than I have to. I can get most everything done to it before I need to commit to the inlays, just need to get them done before final clear coats go on. I haven't decided what kind of bridge pkps it will get yet, it'll be something interesting to go with the rather unusual look of the wood...black hardware most probably... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormLeader Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 Whoa, that picture out in the sunlight is AMAZING. I think that takes the cake for the best top I've ever seen. -Stormy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 That top is amazing. I am almost wishing you had routed for pickups before you put the top on so you could hide them underneath to have the top showing and not disturb the figure in that area. Simple black tune o matic with strings through and one or two knobs, very minimalistic to not detract from the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 You know, I saw a burrl just like this one online somewhere. It could be the same one. I had a hard time seeing anything I could do with it and thought "hmm... I wonder if drak could do something with it" and here it is I'm glad you filled in the eyes. They looked kinda stupid before lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reinhold Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 I think some of those Lace Alumitones in black might look nice with this. Gorgeous top! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 Beautiful work from you and from mother nature, acrylic blank might be nice for the inserts if you can find some with matching colours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 Love the Forbidden planet references... that is such a great movie. The burl looks sick. Can not wait for it to be done. I say P-90s. And it really only needs one... in the Bridge. I will gladly wind it! I haven't done a Buckeye burl before... is it going to sound Warm or Crisp or Dark or Bright? (need to so so I can create a nice P-90 for it)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted July 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 Thanks everyone for the kind words, let's see if I can take it to the finish line w/o any major drama. I say P-90s. And it really only needs one... in the Bridge. I will gladly wind it! I haven't done a Buckeye burl before... is it going to sound Warm or Crisp or Dark or Bright? (need to so so I can create a nice P-90 for it)... Buckeye burl is basically late-stage spalt, which means it really has no tone at all, I consider it a tone-sucker wood, which is one reason I used Cherry under it...but I chambered the Cherry to downplay the brightness and rear-capped it w/ Mahogany as a tone 'evenizer'. Thanks Muzz for the idea...I've been pondering that question for seven freakin' years now. I have an interesting idea for the pickups, I'll post it later on...remember Gort? "There's no limit to what he can do. He could destroy the earth... If anything should happen to me you must go to Gort, you must say these words, "Klaatu barada nikto", please repeat that." Yeah, it's like that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted July 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 OK, here's what I think I had in mind for the pkps, tell me what you think. I love Mini-Hums, probably my favorite over-all type of pkp, as with the active EMG system I use the versatility couples up really well. Anyway, I present GORT! I bought these Mini-Hums off of Ebay last winter. I think under the wrong conditions, they would look pretty cheesy, but I think on this guitar, they will just damn cap it off for a guitar unlike anything I would typically build, something very different looking, which is what I'm looking for. I think you can see the Gort reference pretty easily, and I was thinking of taking the neck pkp apart, removing the smoke plexiglass cover, and airbrushing some sort of red dot to represent Gort's 'Death Ray' viser look. Probably a stupid idea... Even if they suck as pickups (they were pretty inexpensive really), I could probably replace them with a higher quality unit and keep the covers and smoked plexi grills... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Drill a hole thru the bobbin, between the middle two pole pieces, and stick a red LED under it. Awesome guitar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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