Prostheta Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Now that looks like a fun instrument! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Thanks! The first coat on the neck went great, I sanded with 800 and sprayed second one today, and that will probably be it. Looks and feels nice. Also, I made my own oil finish, equal parts mineral thinner, oil based varnish, and boiled lineseed oil for painting. Looks dark, but has almost no color when aplied. I've tested it on some maple, mostly to see how much yellow it adds to the wood. It's drying now in the shop, can't wait to check on it tommorrow. The pic doesn't show it properly, but I've basically flooded the maple, to see what is the drying time, absorption etc...I will then test the mix on actual walnut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 The mix adds some yellow to the maple, but not too much, I like it. I even skipped the "test on walnut" part. I've added a tiny amount of both varnish and lineseed oil to the mix prior to second coat, about 0.2 varnish and 0.5 oil. After aplying about 3 coats every 15 mins, I've rubbed off the excess oil, and left it to dry. I plan to keep applying just one coat a day for the next few days, with some 800 sanding every day. The sprayed part is OK, and will not need any more coats, just some touchups. I'll gently rub it down with 800 tommorrow to speed up the hardening, and leave it be for a few days. Now I have to mix the beeswax paste. Also, managed to finish the pickup template and make some shims to route it following the neck angle, but the phone ate that pic... I need an opinion - to oil or to lacquer the bridge? I would prefer to lacquer to make it stand out on the body, and for some added grime protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Routed out the angled pup cavity, went really nice, and skipped the yesterday's oil coat, it's got a nice sheen already, but it's not ready for sanding or buffing, so it will just sit a while to see where I'm at. I plan to finish the electronics cavity, and then start sanding the body, probably. Couldn't resist a new mockup! The headstock shows the future color of the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Somehow I get them impression that you are not looking forward to sanding that body. Once you get into the finer grits it will all be worth it. It's going to look great. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 It shows? Thanks for the encouragement! I'll do what I can with scrapers first, and then start sanding when I absolutely have to...The plan is to apply oil ASAP , probably during weekend, so it dries while I do all the detail work on frets, saddles, bridge etc...It doesn't look like much work, but I'll probably spend more time doing it than I can afford. Also, I'll have another one to finish just after this one, same materials mostly, just different shape, so more sanding ahead I made one ferrule today, took me about 20mins total, drilling, turning, polishing. Since I made a jig for it now, others should take less time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 This went quick, it was done in 15mins. Used some Fairy for lubrication, oil would mess up my workspace...just polishing left to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Nice work. The timber/grain in the headstock looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 I want to ground the strings, so I came up with this. I have a piece of copper, which will connect to ground, and it will be recessed into walnut. Also, polished the ferrules, and almost finished the strap buttons. I also need to make ferrules for the neck screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Cool! Did you just use a regular drill press for the ferrules? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Yes, actually a hand held drill in a drill stand, not ideal, but it works. I need to buy a real drill press, but something else always happens... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Made the neck ferrules! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Haha - that's crazy! None of that should have worked as well as it did! That swarf looks nice and stringy so obviously your setup was right on the money if you could peel it off like that. I think that if you GOTM this one, people really should know the backstory and the crazy work that went into it. You have my respect for making this instrument from the bare basics and embodying a proper project guitar. Plus you don't tidy up between photos which irks me a lot....clean workshops indicate a lack of work; either too much time wasted tidying up or too little time generating dust and crap! :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 thanks!!!!! Well, I spent about 20 mins on trials making just the first one, so when it came to the whole batch I knew what to expect. I did burn myself a few times, because alu gets hot fast, I mean HOT. Also, I had to make 2 wooden thingies to hold them in place, only the second one works, and not too good. I should buy one of those machinist clamp things that secure stuff under the drill, and definitely make a primitive xy table out of some particle board. I plan to make more of wood/alu bridges of different designs, so it should come in handy. Regarding the ummm...state of the shop, I do my best to clean up..sometimes...but I'm a hamster, I pile up stuff, and when I work, I see only the workpiece I did make a tool stand recently and it did make it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Regarding the ummm...state of the shop, I do my best to clean up..sometimes...but I'm a hamster, I pile up stuff, and when I work, I see only the workpiece Amen Brother! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Had another 10 min session today, just drilled for ferrules and shaped the heel a bit, probably a bit more tommorrow. The plan for doing the first coat of oil went down the drain, as I had a lot of house stuff to attend to, but I'm still hoping to have it at least drying for assembly in 15 days. BTW, what are your experiences regarding the oil drying time - I got it to shine nicely, but still feels sticky...what to expect? Any tricks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Imageshack had some problems, so here are the pics again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 I like your heel joint man, functional and strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Thanks, I wanted to leave the body thicker, because of its radius, so this added some nice lines to it while bringing the heel thickness back to standard. I'll blend the hard lines with sanding to make it more comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 indeed, nice heel joint. I do have a bass build hopefully planned some time down the road, taking notes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 Thanks, I hope this build is of some help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 Started sanding and final details on the body. I might lacquer the back, and oil the top, forming a faux glue line, simmilar to what I did on the headstock. I'm still planing a alu jack plate, and it will be recessed into the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 Fitted the jack plate (2 x 20mm alu strip), copper plate for grounding the strings, misc stuff, and sanded, sanded, sanded...sanded. I decided to actually spray the back, and will oil the front. One coat on, we'll see how many to go. I had some stray scratch lines pop up in one place, so I'll have to take care of that, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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