#3 Is A Single Cut

[chops1983]

Looks great Scott, a nice touch adding your initials. Inlaying with hand tools wouldn't be the easiest but it looks good. The chips have made all the difference, saw dust on large gaps just doesn't cut it, even with a grain blending method like you have done. Can't wait to see this all done!

Chad.

[Dean]

Scotta, I give it two thumbs up with a Z snap and a loved it on top.Your stuff is the snizzel,keep it comming.

[ScottR]

Thanks Chad and Dean....that has a nice ring to it--Chad and Dean-Chad and Dean--must be the similarity to Jan and Dean that I'm hearing.

I'm always being asked why I don't sign my wood projects....and the answer is I forgot. When I remember I usually carve my initials and fill it with CA polished flush. That leaves a very subtle sig that you can only see in the right angle. This time I remembered from the beginnig and always planned to inlay it on the back. On the back because it's my first attempt and because there really isn't much open real estate on the headstock. The cocobolo initials looked pretty cool just about anywhere I moved them on the back. But I wasn't real keen on cutting into my pristeen back.

Right about then was when my wife walked up, having just returned from spreading money around town. (She calls it shopping). "That looks awesome" she gushes. "I don't know why you haven't done that on everything". Well, I guess I'm going through with it on this one. I'm much more comfortable with carving tools than I am with free hand routing. With the carving tools you only mess up one little chip at a time. I think what got me was bracing the tool on one edge of the cut while working on the other side. That rounded and spread the edges a little here and there, and when I cleaned them all out, I squared up some rounded edges which had the effect of widening the channel. Lesson learned. And it really looks fine in person.

Deano, you been hangin' with Snoop or sumthin'?

SR

[RestorationAD]

Right about then was when my wife walked up, having just returned from spreading money around town. (She calls it shopping).

Mine does the same thing... she says it is because she is bored while I am working in the garage. Yet when I offer to go she says "Nah. You work on your stuff..."

[Dean]

Thanks Chad and Dean....that has a nice ring to it--Chad and Dean-Chad and Dean--must be the similarity to Jan and Dean that I'm hearing.

I'm always being asked why I don't sign my wood projects....and the answer is I forgot. When I remember I usually carve my initials and fill it with CA polished flush. That leaves a very subtle sig that you can only see in the right angle. This time I remembered from the beginnig and always planned to inlay it on the back. On the back because it's my first attempt and because there really isn't much open real estate on the headstock. The cocobolo initials looked pretty cool just about anywhere I moved them on the back. But I wasn't real keen on cutting into my pristeen back.

Right about then was when my wife walked up, having just returned from spreading money around town. (She calls it shopping). "That looks awesome" she gushes. "I don't know why you haven't done that on everything". Well, I guess I'm going through with it on this one. I'm much more comfortable with carving tools than I am with free hand routing. With the carving tools you only mess up one little chip at a time. I think what got me was bracing the tool on one edge of the cut while working on the other side. That rounded and spread the edges a little here and there, and when I cleaned them all out, I squared up some rounded edges which had the effect of widening the channel. Lesson learned. And it really looks fine in person.

Deano, you been hangin' with Snoop or sumthin'?

SR

Man, Snoop an't got nothing on me.When I was growing up we called it cutting.I was one bad ,long hair,southern,white boy...I could cut people to pieces.This was way before rap came to be.Float like a butterfly ,sting like a bee, rumble young man rumble...AAAAaaaa I could make Shaft blush,and he was a bad mother#@$.One ,two ,three, baby you and me,and a well spent quater keeps me free.I whoops him bad masser,he not come back no's more.Your girl said she loves you best,cept maybe for that circus fellow.hahaha

[ScottR]

As I've gotten into the habit of weekly updates, I'll continue the trend, at least for another week or two. I got some much appreciated advice recently. It wasn't really earth shattering....and yet it sort of was. In a nutshell it was a reminder to to pay attention to the details. Well executed details are what separate the men from the boys, so to speak...no offense firefly. So for the past week, I've been doing just that at least in regards to pore filling. RAD remarked that leveling CA is difficult. It is. I've noticed that if you have a little extra here or there, it creates a slightly darker area on the surface of the wood. It nearly disappears with clear finish but gives a slight blotchy look, if you know it's there.So I've been filling and leveling and filling and leveling all week and weekend. It's just about done. I got really tired of it and went out to play with my dog...instead of rushing through the last stages. I've just got to clean up some CA that found it's way to the front. There's no pictures of this because they really don't look different from the ones already posted. The next week will see me going over the frets one last time just to verify their level and dress the ends since so far they have only been beveled. Then a couple of very light thin wash coats of shellac...and we should be spraying before the weekend is done.

SR

[RestorationAD]

At least you confirmed why I don't really like CA as a filler. The patience will be rewarded. Excellent update.

[Drak]

The initials inlay is really quite sexy.

It fits and blends in perfectly, like it belonged there the whole time.

Spectacular.

:D

[Blackdog]

Wow Scott !!! What a sexy guitar you've made there.

The contouring/carving flows very well, I love what you did with the neck joint. Every thing integrates very well.

I thought many times about a control cover that would follow the carve. Your implementation is very tasteful. Not too sure about the deep screw holes, but I guess you need to hold the cover solidly in place for the carving, right ??

The initials on the back are a nice idea. Looks very elegant, and the fact that you used wood keeps up with the visual theme of the build very well. You should definitely adopt it.

It's a very beautiful instrument, congratulations !!

[Blackdog]

At least you confirmed why I don't really like CA as a filler. The patience will be rewarded. Excellent update.

I have always used Rustins pore filler for my builds so far. Messy stuff, but somewhat controllable. I have the impression that CA can be a real pain to use as pore filler... How is it supposed to be applied ??

[RestorationAD]

At least you confirmed why I don't really like CA as a filler. The patience will be rewarded. Excellent update.

I have always used Rustins pore filler for my builds so far. Messy stuff, but somewhat controllable. I have the impression that CA can be a real pain to use as pore filler... How is it supposed to be applied ??

I think the answer to that is however it works.

Drak and I have talked about this numerous times (as he is the master) and I use his method. I usually use a foam brush and work as quickly as possible. Also I try not to overlap strokes as that causes high spots that require extra sanding.

The only time I really use CA for a sealer is on soft woods like poplar, buckeye burl, or spalted maple. For a project using walnut of mahogany I would stay away from it because of the possibility of uneven coloring.

I have yet to find a wonderful all purpose pore filler.

[westhemann]

I use business cards or razor blades.I just leave it in the pores and sand off the rest.it just keeps the finish from soaking in so much on porous woods like bubinga.But the finish i use hardens in 15 minutes and cures completely in 24 hours,so that helps too

[ScottR]

The initials inlay is really quite sexy.

It fits and blends in perfectly, like it belonged there the whole time.

Spectacular.

:D

Thank you kind sir. I like it too.

Wow Scott !!! What a sexy guitar you've made there.

The contouring/carving flows very well, I love what you did with the neck joint. Every thing integrates very well.

I thought many times about a control cover that would follow the carve. Your implementation is very tasteful. Not too sure about the deep screw holes, but I guess you need to hold the cover solidly in place for the carving, right ??

The initials on the back are a nice idea. Looks very elegant, and the fact that you used wood keeps up with the visual theme of the build very well. You should definitely adopt it.

It's a very beautiful instrument, congratulations !!

Thanks Blackdog. You are correct about the deep screw holes but the main reason is even more basic than that. I have to hold it firmly in place to even begin the carve. I know in general what the carve will look like....but I do not know the exact amount of material that will be removed. The carve itself tells me when I'm done, if you know what I mean. So I have to set the lip of the cavity pretty deep and set the screws as deep as I can to insure they clear the carve when it's done.

I only hope it comes close to looking as nice as yours when I'm done.

At least you confirmed why I don't really like CA as a filler. The patience will be rewarded. Excellent update.

I have always used Rustins pore filler for my builds so far. Messy stuff, but somewhat controllable. I have the impression that CA can be a real pain to use as pore filler... How is it supposed to be applied ??

I don't know if there is a preferred way to apply this stuff. Some say to use old credit cards. Drak likes to use foam brushes. Everything you use is very temperary as the glue builds on the edge and leaves ridges...which are what make it difficult. I think I'm actually getting the hang of it. I went from small squares of folded cloth to foam brushes back to the folded sqares of cloth. What ended up working best for me was filling the pores with fine sanding dust as described and working quickly with cloth pads. Be sure to wear disposable gloves on both hands. The thinnest CA worked best no matter how big the pores. I found if you work quickly you can get quite a bit spread before the cloth hardens. If you are quick enough to add glue ahead of your wiping stroke (two handed attack) the cloth will stay wet till it runs out. It's sort of like French polishing only faster. For areas that are very run prone you can pour glue right onto the cloth and wipe. Do not go over any area twice. You leave leave ridges at best and part of the cloth at worst. If you miss a spot get it next time after leveling. The trick is to leave as smooth of a layer as possible and level it with the finest paper you can--I was using 600 grit. I tried not to get back to bare wood as this tended to open some pores back up. On flat surfaces, this is actually pretty painless and yields quite good results. It's the contoured areas that want to accumulate varying thicknesses and take more effort to level. Keeping the layers thin, suppressing the desire to rehit areas I missed and leveling with fine enough paper to not cut all the way through made it pretty successful in the end.

SR

Edited April 11, 2011 by ScottR

[Dean]

Still loving this thing...it will have the demon mojo when done,I still see them in the top.hahaha

[pauliemc]

I don't know if there is a preferred way to apply this stuff. Some say to use old credit cards. Drak likes to use foam brushes. Everything you use is very temperary as the glue builds on the edge and leaves ridges...which are what make it difficult. I think I'm actually getting the hang of it. I went from small squares of folded cloth to foam brushes back to the folded sqares of cloth. What ended up working best for me was filling the pores with fine sanding dust as described and working quickly with cloth pads. Be sure to wear disposable gloves on both hands. The thinnest CA worked best no matter how big the pores. I found if you work quickly you can get quite a bit spread before the cloth hardens. If you are quick enough to add glue ahead of your wiping stroke (two handed attack) the cloth will stay wet till it runs out. It's sort of like French polishing only faster. For areas that are very run prone you can pour glue right onto the cloth and wipe. Do not go over any area twice. You leave leave ridges at best and part of the cloth at worst. If you miss a spot get it next time after leveling. The trick is to leave as smooth of a layer as possible and level it with the finest paper you can--I was using 600 grit. I tried not to get back to bare wood as this tended to open some pores back up. On flat surfaces, this is actually pretty painless and yields quite good results. It's the contoured areas that want to accumulate varying thicknesses and take more effort to level. Keeping the layers thin, suppressing the desire to rehit areas I missed and leveling with fine enough paper to not cut all the way through made it pretty successful in the end.

SR

Yeaaaa. So I can see that CA as a pore filler is an absolute fookin nightmare

Which is a bit of a pain as I was thinking of giving it a try. Maby ill just stick to the LMI stuff. Or no filler - just let the grain creep thru (my own personal preferance).

Still cant wait to get a look at this thing finished. HURRY UUUUUUUUUP !!!!!!!!

BTW Scott, Did I hear that you make decals ? or am I just out of it on paint fumes again.

[Drak]

Yeaaaa.

So I can see that CA as a pore filler is an absolute fookin nightmare

I consider it almost childsplay easy, very effective, and almost indespensible for great pore filling on all kinds of woods...and I've been using it for over 7-8 years now.

...but if you want to look at it like that, ...totally up to you.

[ScottR]

Yeaaaa. So I can see that CA as a pore filler is an absolute fookin nightmare

Which is a bit of a pain as I was thinking of giving it a try. Maby ill just stick to the LMI stuff. Or no filler - just let the grain creep thru (my own personal preferance).

Still cant wait to get a look at this thing finished. HURRY UUUUUUUUUP !!!!!!!!

BTW Scott, Did I hear that you make decals ? or am I just out of it on paint fumes again.

Hurry up he says. You're getting back at me for the grief I gave you in some of your past threads aren't you. Like the time you got us all hot and bothered with a sexy build only to finish it off and sell it before taking pics of the thing finished, huh?

As far as the CA for pores, I'm not ready to say it's a nightmare. I haven't used anything I like better so far. I can't say it's as easy for me as it is for Drak, but I will say it's gotten easier or I've gotten better the more I do it. It has a learning curve. Maybe when I've built as many guitars as he has (which ain't bloody likely ever going to happen)I'll find it as easy. I'll probably use it agian. You should test some on some scrap and see what you think.

And yeah, my company (it's not really mine, it's just where I go to work every day) makes vinyl decals.

Scott

[pauliemc]

Yeaaaa.

So I can see that CA as a pore filler is an absolute fookin nightmare

I consider it almost childsplay easy, very effective, and almost indespensible for great pore filling on all kinds of woods...and I've been using it for over 7-8 years now.

...but if you want to look at it like that, ...totally up to you.

OK, maby I will still give it a go then. I have another single cut just starting I was gonna try it on, Sapele back. Do you rekon the thin CA/600 grit sanding dust approach would work ? I was gonna spread it with a leather pad.

[pauliemc]

Yeaaaa. So I can see that CA as a pore filler is an absolute fookin nightmare

Which is a bit of a pain as I was thinking of giving it a try. Maby ill just stick to the LMI stuff. Or no filler - just let the grain creep thru (my own personal preferance).

Still cant wait to get a look at this thing finished. HURRY UUUUUUUUUP !!!!!!!!

BTW Scott, Did I hear that you make decals ? or am I just out of it on paint fumes again.

Hurry up he says. You're getting back at me for the grief I gave you in some of your past threads aren't you. Like the time you got us all hot and bothered with a sexy build only to finish it off and sell it before taking pics of the thing finished, huh?

As far as the CA for pores, I'm not ready to say it's a nightmare. I haven't used anything I like better so far. I can't say it's as easy for me as it is for Drak, but I will say it's gotten easier or I've gotten better the more I do it. It has a learning curve. Maybe when I've built as many guitars as he has (which ain't bloody likely ever going to happen)I'll find it as easy. I'll probably use it agian. You should test some on some scrap and see what you think.

And yeah, my company (it's not really mine, it's just where I go to work every day) makes vinyl decals.

Scott

HA HA Good point. But its not my fault I let the customer take the guitar before I get finished piks. Oh wait, it is my fault I realy must stop doing that. Anyway, I cant give you grief on the time here, I mean how long have I been trying to finish my green JS

[Drak]

Maybe when I've built as many guitars as he has (which ain't bloody likely ever going to happen)I'll find it as easy.

Actually, I completely dig the way you morphed the usage of it, combining CA with the wood dust to pore fill, that's a pretty neat trick there, Mister.

[ScottR]

Yeaaaa.

So I can see that CA as a pore filler is an absolute fookin nightmare

I consider it almost childsplay easy, very effective, and almost indespensible for great pore filling on all kinds of woods...and I've been using it for over 7-8 years now.

...but if you want to look at it like that, ...totally up to you.

OK, maby I will still give it a go then. I have another single cut just starting I was gonna try it on, Sapele back. Do you rekon the thin CA/600 grit sanding dust approach would work ? I was gonna spread it with a leather pad.

Ithink it would work....it's working for me on this African (khaya) mahogany. The leather pad should do a good job too, but you have to remember that it will be a one use pad. Once the CA cures on it it's done as it will start making ridges. I used to or three small squares of folded up rag per application on the back of mine. And I would say 3 or 4 apllications is what I can expect for complete filling. Maybe that will get down to two one day

And yeah, that green JS is taking a very long time....it probably thinks you don't love it anymore.

SR

[pauliemc]

Yeaaaa.

So I can see that CA as a pore filler is an absolute fookin nightmare

I consider it almost childsplay easy, very effective, and almost indespensible for great pore filling on all kinds of woods...and I've been using it for over 7-8 years now.

...but if you want to look at it like that, ...totally up to you.

OK, maby I will still give it a go then. I have another single cut just starting I was gonna try it on, Sapele back. Do you rekon the thin CA/600 grit sanding dust approach would work ? I was gonna spread it with a leather pad.

Ithink it would work....it's working for me on this African (khaya) mahogany. The leather pad should do a good job too, but you have to remember that it will be a one use pad. Once the CA cures on it it's done as it will start making ridges. I used to or three small squares of folded up rag per application on the back of mine. And I would say 3 or 4 apllications is what I can expect for complete filling. Maybe that will get down to two one day

And yeah, that green JS is taking a very long time....it probably thinks you don't love it anymore.

SR

Ha ha yea. poor lonley JS. Not much time for it for the past while, have a few others on the go for clients.

[ScottR]

I seem to be making a habit of under estimating the number of details I want to clean up before spraying lacquer on this thing.I got the pore filling leveled and wiped on a couple of thin wash coats of shellac. And I dressed the ends of my frets and went back over them double checking to see if they are still level. I ended up tightening up the level and re-crowned them again. My plan was to get all that completed and take a couple of shots prior to spraying.....I didn't quite get to that completed part. I compounded the issued by smoking up some of my world famous (in my house anyway) Guamanian chicken, which required me to get out of the garage every half hour or so and wander back to the back yard to baste and taste my culinary masterpiece. While I was reworking the frets I found some small dings in the fretboard to repair so, I'm polishing the fretboard while I'm polishing the frets...again.

And when my dinner was done, I stopped and ate it. After all the guitar will wait, the chicken will not. So....my frets are in the middle of being polished, as is the fretboard. The shellac is not quite leveled enough to spray lacquer over. I've found that if I go looking for details to make sure I get right, I find them. it's not quite ready for a picture. I would say I'll get one up tomorrow or the next day, but I've been missing those predictions lately.

Soon.

SR

[ScottR]

I got my pore filling done. My wash coats of shellac are finished and leveled. I went ahead and took John's advice and put a couple of coats of shellac on the cocobolo to seal off the oils. since it was already fretted, that was a serious pain in the ass to clean up and level out...not to mention keeping the metal from the frets out of the grain. Oh well...I've learned to make that decision earlier in the game next time. I even put a couple of wash coats of shellac on the neck and head stock to keep everything even. The neck will not get shot with lacquer except at the join.Then that will be sanded/feathered and the neck will get oiled. So yeah the shellac will get mostly sanded back off the neck and back of the headstock. To what degree will depend on how the feathering looks.

Anyway, it's been several weeks since I posted any pictures, so here are some gratuitous shots just for the fun of it.

SR

[ScottR]

Here are a few shots reminiscent of Killemal....who has been missing for several months now.

I'm starting to like the toes shot.

SR