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#3 Is A Single Cut


ScottR

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No he was not good, Gary was a God. Easily one of the best ever.

I am in 100% agreement with you here.

(Sometimes I go in for the understatement thing).

As far as the checks go, neither are more than 1/4" deep. The one along the back will get carved away....and the other should become invisible, or so I hope. I'm so used to carving from whole logs that filling one of these is routine to me. All my carvings have them somewhere. Maybe I should be freaked about it...but I'm just not.

You know, I grew up where black walnut was so common they used to cut it down and build barns out of it. But I've never seen the kind of tree that produced that piece. I think they grow in California....everything looks a little different out there. :D

SR

I have seen some funky lookin stuff come out of the root balls of beech trees, dont find it very often as most of the mills tend not to be bothered cutting them up here. But man there can be some freaky lookin stuff in there.

As for walnut, its not that common here. But we have more ash trees than we have blades of grass :D

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So now the top is cut out and the mating surfaces of the top and body have been sanded flat on the iron table. I clamped the top in position on top of the body and marked locations for the neck and bridge and most importantly, the pickups. I countersunk some pilot holes and screwed the top into the body in the spot for the pickup routes and outside of the neck tenon.

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With the top screwed firmly in place. I use a pattern following bit and route the top to match the body...using the body as the template.

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Now we locate the neck on the body, and build routing guides out of some 1" acrylic that I happen to have.

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Pocket(mortise)routed. I had a bad spot in my acrylic guide that I didn't see. It will get filled with epoxy and buried.

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This might turn into a guitar.

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SR

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Now I've got to finish the neck, everything but the blending of the join to the body. time to polish up the fretboard and headstock. Man don't you just love cocobolo?

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I ended up going back and getting medium tall fret wire from Stew Mac. They come straight so I built a little fret wire bender based on posts here on PG.

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Fretted.

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I found some new (to me anyway) 3M blue paint mask that is formulated for delicate surfaces. It is very thin and sticky and yet peels up easily and cleanly as it turns out. Good Stuff!

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SR

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And finally for we set the neck. I could reach the tenon just off the end of the fretboard with a clamp, so I did.

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Then I covered the tenon with a thin piece of polycarbonate (plastic) and placed an off cut just smaller than the tenon on that. and laid some thick acrylic across that to clamp against.

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Gettin' late time to quit for today.

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SR

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Man don't you just love cocobolo?

No question. BUT......

Unless you seal it, the oils & resins WILL bleed up to the surface. This will make the wood darken and look like crap. Your best bet for sealing up cocobolo is shellac. Just a couple of coats will still leave the wood feeling natural if you rub it out with steel wool.

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Man don't you just love cocobolo?

No question. BUT......

Unless you seal it, the oils & resins WILL bleed up to the surface. This will make the wood darken and look like crap. Your best bet for sealing up cocobolo is shellac. Just a couple of coats will still leave the wood feeling natural if you rub it out with steel wool.

I'm thinking more along the lines of wiping it down with lacquer thinner and then rubbing in a coat of danish oil. I don't mind if it gets a little darker...it's a bit busy.

IMG_1129.jpg

SR

Sweet. Amazing.

Why do customers always ask what I offer as an alternative to coco??? I got news for you meatheads it doesn't get much better than cocobolo.

I dunno.

It is easily one of my very favorites. The look, smell, feel, the way it polishes up is just beautiful. I even like to take small pieces and amaze the neighborhood kids by showing it sinking in a glass of water. Wood that won't float just cracks me up.

isn't the dust from cocoloco some harsh stuff ??

I haven't had any problems with that personally. I do make a point to blow the dust off myself and the work area frequently and take precautions not to breath it. I used to wash up carefully after working it, but have forgotten to without any issues. No doubt that it bothers some people though.

SR

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I haven't had any problems with that personally. I do make a point to blow the dust off myself and the work area frequently and take precautions not to breath it. I used to wash up carefully after working it, but have forgotten to without any issues. No doubt that it bothers some people though.

SR

Funny enough probably one of the few rosewoods I don't have an issue with. My sinuses hate pau ferro and some others.

Then again I try to never work without a mask... or use the air gun to blow pieces off (always vacuum), or sweep the shop, or use the leaf blower to clean the shop without a serious mask... cocobolo dust is always a bit more sticky.

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Hey scott. How did you find using the blue tape ?

I had a roll of it from scotch, supposed to be ultra low tack stuff you could leav on for 14 days with no worries, But it tore out wood fibers from a rosewood board after just a single day, Needless to say it went into the bin.

Build lookin good, I have to get some progress piks up of some of mine soon.

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Hey scott. How did you find using the blue tape ?

I had a roll of it from scotch, supposed to be ultra low tack stuff you could leav on for 14 days with no worries, But it tore out wood fibers from a rosewood board after just a single day, Needless to say it went into the bin.

Build lookin good, I have to get some progress piks up of some of mine soon.

Hey Paulie. I have used that blue scotch (3M) tape that says you can leave it on 14 days too. I think it was on ebony and bocote and while I don't remember any fibers coming up, I did have a hard time getting all the adhesive residue off. This was a new formula--at least I haven't seen it before--called "for delicate surfaces". The adhesive reminds me of what's on those sticky note pads as much as anything. A bit tackier. It went on easy, stuck down well, and pulled up easily and cleanly. Of course it was only on long enough to level and crown the frets. It will get a longer test when it's time to spray.

I'm looking forward to seeing some of yours, it's been a while mate. The green beastie still waiting for you to get some free time?

SR

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Hey scott. How did you find using the blue tape ?

I had a roll of it from scotch, supposed to be ultra low tack stuff you could leav on for 14 days with no worries, But it tore out wood fibers from a rosewood board after just a single day, Needless to say it went into the bin.

Build lookin good, I have to get some progress piks up of some of mine soon.

Hey Paulie. I have used that blue scotch (3M) tape that says you can leave it on 14 days too. I think it was on ebony and bocote and while I don't remember any fibers coming up, I did have a hard time getting all the adhesive residue off. This was a new formula--at least I haven't seen it before--called "for delicate surfaces". The adhesive reminds me of what's on those sticky note pads as much as anything. A bit tackier. It went on easy, stuck down well, and pulled up easily and cleanly. Of course it was only on long enough to level and crown the frets. It will get a longer test when it's time to spray.

I'm looking forward to seeing some of yours, it's been a while mate. The green beastie still waiting for you to get some free time?

SR

I have used both the Suretape and the 3m blue tape. Personally if I am going to leave it on a long time the Suretape tends to stick better and come up easier. I haven't used regular masking tape in years. The 3m stuff I have sometimes leaves residue after a week or two in the Carolina heat but have yet to have an issue with the Suretape (cheaper as well).

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Heat will definitely affect adhesion...of just about anything....tape, T-shirts, bugs on the windshield :D. We see a bit of that here too. I wonder how much Paulie sees in Dublin?

I don't think I've seen that suretape before. Where are you getting it?

SR

I spelled it wrong... shuretape... duh. I think I have been getting it at my local Home Depot.... can't remember maybe it was Lowe's. It doesn't come up in the search on the website. That means it is a local supply thing.

Blue Shurtape

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Heat will definitely affect adhesion...of just about anything....tape, T-shirts, bugs on the windshield :D. We see a bit of that here too. I wonder how much Paulie sees in Dublin?

I don't think I've seen that suretape before. Where are you getting it?

SR

Ha Ha Ha :D heat in Dublin, not a hope in hell. Maby a few weeks in summer, it might get up to about 25c. but thats usually accompanied by 4-5 hours of rain a day.

As for the green thing. Im getting the finish polished up a little at a time, should have piks in a week or 2. since I put up piks of one of my Black Lotus guitars online I have been building nothing else, on my third one since december. Not that Im complaining B)

Building a Lotus/JS hybrid aswell. But enough of that, we need more piks of this single cut.

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Ok Paulie, here we go.

I cut out the neck slot it the top and routed wiring channels in the body....but forgot to take any pics. From there it's straight to glue up. I used almost every clamp I had and screwed the top back in place in the pickup locations. Not necessarily in that order.

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Out of the clamps, and it's looking like a guitar.

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I located the controls and drilled the holes, then flipped it over and routed the control cavity.

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Then I used a rabbiting bit and cut a lip. Thanks to Huf for this idea.

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SR

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Is that epoxy you used to glue the top on?

Yeah it is. I am very happy with the joints I have been getting with the T-88 epoxy from Rockler. I joined the top halves and the bottom halves with original Titebond and am not near as happy with those joints. They pulled apart just a tad at the ends. Of course I may not have done as good of job mating those pieces...but I went into the glue up thinking they were some of my best. The areas that well pulling apart were small and were cut away, but my joints with the epoxy have been great. In fact I had some drips on the back that I knocked off with a sharp chisel...and they pulled up wood anyway.

On a slightly different note, I forgot to mention that I was surprised at the porosity of the claro walnut. The epoxy squeezed all the way through 7/8" of top in 8 or 9 different spots right through the pores. I don't think that top is going anywhere.

SR

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Is that epoxy you used to glue the top on?

Yeah it is. I am very happy with the joints I have been getting with the T-88 epoxy from Rockler. I joined the top halves and the bottom halves with original Titebond and am not near as happy with those joints. They pulled apart just a tad at the ends. Of course I may not have done as good of job mating those pieces...but I went into the glue up thinking they were some of my best. The areas that well pulling apart were small and were cut away, but my joints with the epoxy have been great. In fact I had some drips on the back that I knocked off with a sharp chisel...and they pulled up wood anyway.

On a slightly different note, I forgot to mention that I was surprised at the porosity of the claro walnut. The epoxy squeezed all the way through 7/8" of top in 8 or 9 different spots right through the pores. I don't think that top is going anywhere.

SR

Yeah I noticed that Claro does that also had the same thing happen with the peruvian walnut.

How are the glue lines with the T-88?

How is the mixing and cure time (I think Wes used it on one of his builds)?

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Is that epoxy you used to glue the top on?

Yeah it is. I am very happy with the joints I have been getting with the T-88 epoxy from Rockler. I joined the top halves and the bottom halves with original Titebond and am not near as happy with those joints. They pulled apart just a tad at the ends. Of course I may not have done as good of job mating those pieces...but I went into the glue up thinking they were some of my best. The areas that well pulling apart were small and were cut away, but my joints with the epoxy have been great. In fact I had some drips on the back that I knocked off with a sharp chisel...and they pulled up wood anyway.

On a slightly different note, I forgot to mention that I was surprised at the porosity of the claro walnut. The epoxy squeezed all the way through 7/8" of top in 8 or 9 different spots right through the pores. I don't think that top is going anywhere.

SR

Yeah I noticed that Claro does that also had the same thing happen with the peruvian walnut.

How are the glue lines with the T-88?

How is the mixing and cure time (I think Wes used it on one of his builds)?

The glue lines have been virtually non-existent on this one, at least on the fretboard and the top plate on the headstock. The top join appears to be the same, but it is only sanded to 60 grit so far, so we'll see how it cleans up later. The mixing is pretty cool. It turns a uniform milky white rather quickly and much more smoothly than any other epoxy I've used. It is very sticky and clingy when mixed and has a working time of at least an hour. It may be longer, I don't think it actually states it anywhere. It does say that it keeps on curing and getting stronger for several days. It claims to be a structural epoxy adhesive. it also claims to be good for oily tropical woods, like cocobolo. I've always left it overnight, clamped as hard as you would for titebond, and found it clear hard and cured in the morning, but I don't have a clue how long it took to set up.

Wes was saying in this thread that he was using it join a top plate on his tenia short scale build, but I don't think he ever made another comment about it.

SR

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Hey Scott. Lookin good, Love the top on this thing. How are you gona carve it? PRS style, or some variation of your own ?

I think its way too thick for just a PRS type job. You have to go to town on that.

This is the single cut Walnut top gitar iv been trying to build myself for god knows how long. Was almost there untill I saw your figuring on that top. Just had to stain it then :D

JohnHiggins_20101106_11349.jpg

Anyway. keep it comin, this should be seriously cool when its done

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