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First Build - The "Nozcaster"


Norris

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Life has really been getting in the way so far this week. There hasn't been a moment when I've had both the time & energy to make any progress (a rather bad support callout for work helped. Having only 2 hours of sleep in a night takes a few days to get over these days).

Anyway, the postman has delivered shiny things...
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After scouring the Internet I found them at a very reasonable price. I hope they sound as nice as some of the reviews I've read

Edited by Norris
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I managed to find time to play around with the ink dye. First I got the wood sanded down to 600 wet & dry, then applied a thin coat with a monofibre cloth.

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Then I gave one of the pieces a sand back

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And just to see what would happen, used some red on top...

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I'll give that another sand back & re-coat it blue. I'll see how the purple blends in, but I'll probably just use a single coat of blue. It could be an interesting effect for the more heavily grained ash back though :). I'll also give them a few coats of lacquer, then set them up on the window sill part masked, to see how stable the pigments are and whether it fades at all.

I also coated the top chamber with just the red & sanded back a bit to expose the grain. You'll barely be able to see this anyway.

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The ink isn't that bad to work with. I left it for 24 hours to dry out between any coats or sanding. It goes on quite thickly, despite being very liquid, meaning there is some room for sanding back. The top chamber above took me about an hour to sand back, going through grits 80, 120 & 320 - but then it's a little fiddly to get in there.

Note to self: wear gloves next time when sanding back dye, it takes a lot of scrubbing off your hands!

Edited by Norris
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2 hours ago, a2k said:

The ink looks great. And having the red chamber peek through behind the blue is going to look really cool. Do you have any info on how the ink will hold its color over time? I've got nothing to go off of, but I'd be concerned about fading. 

I've spoken at length with a chap who has used ink on several occasions before, and he assures me it does not fade - evens reds, which are more prone to it. I'll set up a fade test, but won't have a huge amount of time for it to sit there before I'll want to get some colour on the body. I'll certainly let everyone know how it goes, because if ink turns out to be suitable you have a ready made palette of colours to choose from - and it's quite cheap.

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I've just found this page: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/250572-all-diamine-inks-mini-fade-test/

It looks like some of the inks are more prone to fading than others. I think I'll set up a proper test on the colours I've chosen to see how well they hold when on wood (bearing in mind that the above page was a 3-day, paper-based test). If it doesn't work out, then I'll just have to use conventional dyes :).

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Interesting stuff. I have to admit that I'm prone to the same doubt on the use of inks purely because luthiery tends to cause that. A difficulty accepting anything beyond the established norm. I did a lot of reading up on inks myself and to be fair I think they are a good shot. Most of the considerations are in whether it's a different product to work (alcohol based dyes can be pushed around and blended easily on the piece) and economy.

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Last night we got the lacquer out.

The main object was to coat the dyed inner chamber. When I rubbed it back I exposed some of the grain. Now that it's got a couple of coats of lacquer it looks almost like raw meat - the beating heart of the guitar :D. Purely by accident, but I like the effect.

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But I also sprayed my test piece, and am really pleased. I really hope that it stays this vibrant. It really shimmers in the light.

 

 

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I'll set this piece up as a fade test - I'll be a few weeks working on the body: carving, sanding, etc. That should give it plenty of time. Hopefully I'll be able to get it under a sunlight simulation lamp for a couple of weeks at least (it's a bit dark & gloomy here in the UK this time of year).

I also routed the truss rod channel in the neck, scraped in a curve (separate fretboard -> top-mounted truss rod), and then rough cut it on the bandsaw. I didn't bother with photos of that :).

Edited by Norris
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It also depends on what is degrading the inks. If it is UV then a lacquer containing UV (stabilisers? blockers?) will change the long-term result. If it is oxidation, I'm not sure whether lacquer will allay that. Nonetheless, this is a great real-world test and I'm liking the ideas.

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I intend to cover half of the sample with a cut down credit card, gaffa-taped in place, so it won't let any light through. That means the "control" area will undergo the same climatic conditions as the "test" area apart from the light exposure. The advantage of using a ready mixed ink is that I can quickly create a "brand new" sample to compare it to, to allow for any oxidation effects over the duration of the test.

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Hi, Norris

The build looks great !

Hi, to the other forum members also!  I'm the guy who Norris refers to earlier in the thread.  I've used fountain pen inks for some time on both veneered and solid wood finishes.  Rather than hijack Norris's thread, I'll start a new thread on what I think are the pro's and con's of using it. 

 

Andy

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Hi Andy! Nice seeing you onboard. A good amount of grist for the mill on inks as a dye alternative can only be a good thing. I know not all inks are going to be the same from manufacturer to manufacturer of course (especially on certain colours) but hey. I'm game for trying ink on my next top.

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2 hours ago, Prostheta said:

In terms of application or whether it is appropriate? It certainly works, but it's not my personal preference. I guess I enjoy applying copper foil for some strange psychological reason/dysfunction.

I was thinking of using paint so that I could cover the appropriate area of the top before gluing, then paint over the join line to connect them up. It's quite a big chamber and might prove awkward to connect up otherwise. I was thinking of doing the pick-up cable routes too.

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