westhemann Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 **** happens. Yeah but you got an awesome workshop out of it.When stuff happens to me it usually ends up in divorce,death,or a cut Achilles tendon... Or explosions...I get a lot of explosions 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 I'm pretty happy with the workshop, bigger would be awesome but it's so much better than what I was using. The floor space is 9m x 15m. When I'm in a good mood I see it as an awesome workshop, when I'm depressed I see it as the second mortgage I struggle to pay! Im a on call/casual worker. Have had the last 4 weeks of not getting work as the factory closes over Xmas so have been living on credit card. I live in a high unemoyment area so i consider myself lucky to even have this job. Got a $55 parking fine yesterday and I dont have the funds in my account to cover if! I'm not stressed as the factory started production again this week, I've been called in for one shift already so thats a sign I should get plenty of work. I just need to work as many shifts as they throw at me and get on top of my credit card again. Back on topic though, I'd really like a drum sander for my workshop. That and a CNC would really make it a bit more complete. Maybe a bigger band saw too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 This pic is part of what my workshop used to look like: To the left of what you see in this pic was change rooms and entrance etc, that is now been stripped back and is my paint room and storage To the right of what you see in this pic used to be the weights and fitness area, that is still weights but I've sold all the other fitness equiptment etc trying to pay debts. All the mats etc etc are all gone for the same reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Bit of basic progress today. Layout the rough shape: Plane the back so it's square on the bandsaw table: Having a quick look: Knock the front flat with a hand plane and a rasp around the neck area: Get a center point on the rear of the V: One of the reasons V's are awesome to make - the edges are straight! Today I did notice a screw up. I accidentally skipped a step by putting the wings on before I'd cut and planed the headstock tang, so this meant that I had to cut the tang and plane it very very carefully by hand rather than just running it ovr the jointer. I was worried there was potential I'd screw this up major - I winged it and it's all good. No pics. I was busy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I reckon it takes me longer to mark out the bevels than what it does to file them! The guitar is kind of in a limbo position. Theres a heap of jobs on it I want to do but I'm waiting for the inlay to cure in the board before I can laminate the board to the neck, so I'm just fiddling doing odd jobs like pickup route, bevels output jack position etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Layout for the output jack in the upper wing: A few holes with the forstner bits: This guitar has no electronics cavity, so the hole for the pickup wire is nearly 10" long! The drill bit I use for this is flexible, so all I can do is mark it out the best I can, try and be consistant with my angle and pressure and hope for the best. I had to pull the drill bit right out of the chuck to extend it to about a 14" long bit, then I put a few layers of tape over the timber so if the chuck bumped it wouldn't make dents in the surface. Well... I was aiming for center, but this is good. It didnt bust out the top so I'm happy! I've looked at less flexible drill bits for this job but they are about $60.00 EACH so I've put off buying one for sometime. Maybe it should be on the cards this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I think the bits with more shaft and less auger are stiffer, aren't they? They do need regular waste removal though. I wouldn't mind my own V one day. Still hankering for my "modified Jim Martin V". Shame the business went under. My former Muay Thai teacher runs his own school in the UK now. It's a very low profit and fragile business, i know. Thankfully as defending UK middleweight champion, he gets the high profile and loyal business. Was also the singer in our last band :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I think the bits with more shaft and less auger are stiffer, aren't they? They do need regular waste removal though. I wouldn't mind my own V one day. Still hankering for my "modified Jim Martin V". Yes they are, it is one of those I want, but they are 3 times the price. It's on the wish list along with many other things. Shame the business went under. My former Muay Thai teacher runs his own school in the UK now. It's a very low profit and fragile business, i know. Thankfully as defending UK middleweight champion, he gets the high profile and loyal business. Was also the singer in our last band :-) Fragile business alright. Very political and full of backstabbing and bullshit! I was teaching at a club with other instructors in the '90s under an association when a heap of the students convinced me I should teach them outside the club as the association goverened what could be taught and I wanted to teach things they didnt approve of (in other words other styles and not so traditional)... Anyway, I started out teaching after hours in my backyard as it was summer, then in winter it moved into my garage. After a while other people wanted to join in training so I rented out a scout hall a couple times a week and started charging training fees, started advertising and making a go of it. We trained at this location for many years. I had guest instructors come in and teach sessions, for example a guy I knew who ws a Golden Gloves boxing champ came in for some boxing coaching etc. Other style coaches as well. BJJ, Muay Thai, you get the idea. The club grew to a size where I had to put on more training nights and find an even bigger location. I did a lot of research and decided to buy land and build a dedicated location. For some time I was running two training locations out of the scout hall and the newly built location, however I ended out killing off the scout hall to focus all efforts onto the place I had built. It was going well, covering costs enough that I put on a staff member, a guy who had a world title and pretty much every national title you could think of and was very well known here in Australia. I thought this would be a great business growth as he travelled from out of town to teach, so I didnt consider him a threat, I covered his travelling costs plus paid cash for his teaching time. I got many new students just by advertising his name. Long story short, I had the local govt trying to shut me down (which they did) for building codes that they decided to enforce years later even though when I sat with them before the place was even built they told me I didnt have to worry about them. I just didnt have it in writing. The local Govt wanted me to tear down the building, have the 4" slab demolished and an industrial slab poured. Total cost would have been nearly 100k, and for a business that was not massively wealthy hard that wasnt going to happen. Then the guy whom I trusted screwed me over, stole all my students, opened up his own gym in this city which is now very successful. After that I had to run it not as a business but a cash in hand "hobby", couldn't advertise, couldnt continue with the retail side of things I had been setting up, or i'd be in legal trouble. I still had my die hard students which I decided to keep teaching till they eventually dropped off which lasted a couple years until there was only a couple and I said to them "thats it"... I just gave up and I'm still paying the mortgage etc years later. It was then I quit a Martial Arts career that spanned about 25 years training. Gave me more spare time for things like building guitars which I never had time for, and here I am! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Wow, tough luck mate. Very harsh. It's horrible to deal with people that just want to stand on your shoulders and push you under the water just to get themselves up over it. Shame that legal recourse would probably have negative consequences also given that it generally costs more than it is worth merely to defend yourself even when you are clearly in the right. The club I came from had a lot of internal loyalty and solidarity which is of course essential for long term success. They just moved to their own premises also which I believe is progressing nicely, although I am too far out of reach to discern the internal politics which will of course be going on. I hope you dealt with it all philosophically, only partially alcoholically and in mostly good cheer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I've looked at less flexible drill bits for this job but they are about $60.00 EACH so I've put off buying one for sometime. Maybe it should be on the cards this year I use flexible bits a lot. I tried the less flekible ones for a while, They last a little longer & cut faster. but after a few I looked at the overall cost & just went back to the cheaper more "bendy" ones. The cheaper ones have yet to have a catastrophic failure either. The stiffer bit's dont flex as much & definitly dont handle the stress of being bent as easily. Iv hade one shear on me, pelted me with razor sharp bits of steel (thank god for safety glasses). & the guitar had to have a figured top put on it because there was just no way to remove the bit without stripping off 12mm of the guitar face. On the other Issue. I feel your pain man. The state hammered me about 12 year ago & shut me down. Fook all I could do, havent the resources to fight a government. As for getting dumped on by a collegue, I hate that. But when it happens I just think, Some day he will be changing a flat tire in the rain, on an unlight section of motorway at night. & some trucker will smear him all over the tarmack for about a mile before he comes to a stop. Or something less drastic. Whatever floats yer boat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I thought you were going to say "force him to pay for the ride". Still, alls good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I use flexible bits a lot. I tried the less flekible ones for a while, They last a little longer & cut faster. but after a few I looked at the overall cost & just went back to the cheaper more "bendy" ones. Do you have an idea why it broke/shattered? Sounds very nasty. I'm curious as I assumed this was the direction I wanted to go. Was it being forced or anything like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 I use flexible bits a lot. I tried the less flekible ones for a while, They last a little longer & cut faster. but after a few I looked at the overall cost & just went back to the cheaper more "bendy" ones. Do you have an idea why it broke/shattered? Sounds very nasty. I'm curious as I assumed this was the direction I wanted to go. Was it being forced or anything like that? Was not doing anything out of the ordinary with it, for me anyway. I was drilling from a truss chanel back into a body on one of my lotus builds, so it was bent up about 15mm over about 10 inch of its lenght when it just came apart. It was seriously hot at the break point. enough to mark the limba in the truss chanel at the sheared end. I was surprised, as I was of the opinion that the more expensive tool would ultimatly be better. Guy in the tool suppliers said he saw the same thing a few times. Unless you go with bits 24 inch or longer he rekons the cheaper ones will serve you better as they will just go blunt before they get to the point where they will snap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Was not doing anything out of the ordinary with it, for me anyway. I was drilling from a truss chanel back into a body on one of my lotus builds, so it was bent up about 15mm over about 10 inch of its lenght when it just came apart. It was seriously hot at the break point. enough to mark the limba in the truss chanel at the sheared end. I was surprised, as I was of the opinion that the more expensive tool would ultimatly be better. Guy in the tool suppliers said he saw the same thing a few times. Unless you go with bits 24 inch or longer he rekons the cheaper ones will serve you better as they will just go blunt before they get to the point where they will snap. Scary... I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Inlay done, sanded - turned out great. I'm happy with the way it turned out. Board clamped to neck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Do you wipe up your squeezeout, or if that just something you do after you snap photos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 I don't clean up glue until it's set. A lot of people do but glue has what's called shrinkage, if you wipe it back flush and the glue shrinks, what's holding the joint at the edges? I know modern glues don't shrink like old school glues, but I'd just rather do it this way. All the glue drips scrape off really easy with a chisel afterwards so it's not a big effort. You can see I layed green tape over the nut area so it didn't squeeze all over the truss rod slit there, I did remove that tape moments after the photo and I did wipe just under the fretboard end where it hangs over the body but that's it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 It's been a neck day today. How I left it off the band saw the other day: Attacked with the spoke shave to start getting some shape: More spokeshaving then bring out the large rasp: Freehand bandsaw the heel: Chisel, spokeshave and rasp the heel: Random orbital sander with 40 grit then a scuff with a bastard file got me to this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Board radiused to 16" and double checking it with a guage: Filed a "V" into the fret slots: It's the first time I've done this, apparently it's meant to help them seat that little bit better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FadeAway Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 nice, its coming along great man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Didn't get called into work today so I spent even more time out in the workshop. Frets in: Trialing a new fret leveling file. Verdict: I'm not too impressed by it. My home made one is better but I get sick of having to change the sandpaper all the time! I was starting the tape and clean up getting ready to shoot primer when I noticed AAAHHHH SHITE - forgot the bloody side dots: Side dots in, lucky too cause the little bit you see hanging out of the dot is the last I had. Just made it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 when I noticed AAAHHHH SHITE - forgot the bloody side dots: By a show of hands, how many has this happened to? It might just be easier to count how many have never done it. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 when I noticed AAAHHHH SHITE - forgot the bloody side dots: By a show of hands, how many has this happened to? SR Yea. Iv done it a few times. I even put the dots on the wrong side of a board once If im doing more than 4 guitars at a time I tend to have a check list for each build, helps me keep track of where I am on each. Things Could be worse than forgetting fret dots. Worst thing Iv ever done was build a pair of les pauls & put the floyd rose on the wrong one. I dig the way you do the heels on these things. slick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Nope. Never happened to me, except for when I have sorted through 30+ pearl dots looking for 12 that flash nicely or match well for 12th/24th. I found the cheapest source for plastic rod to use for dots a few years back also. A travel version of the popular game, "Ker-plunk". Lots of plastic rods in various primary colours. Sweet. How did the fret slot bevelling work out for you? It has always been a case of "better doing it than as not", especially given that the reasoning behind the step is sound. I'm surprised that so many builders neglect this step or merely haven't come across it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Prostheta: To be honest, I didn't notice a difference, but with that said I'll still keep doing it just in case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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