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Build/rebuild Yamaha acoustic to electric


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Thanks, thought of it, but my customer just went trough the shop, and we decided on goldtop - much better solution to me, as it connects with gold engravings and brass bridge insert somewhat, and the pickguard won't get eaten by the surrounding black.

He brought his friend along, and I got another potentially interesting project, I'll just say it involves a electrified acoustic and a ...horseshoe :)

Pics soon ;)

 

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I've just leveled it and the pattern is still there. It's the only gold i've been able to find locally, other than acryl spray, which is just wrong :)  The stripes are normal for it, as the tiny metal particles float in it, and form the pattern, and the stuff around them levels itself.

It's oil based gold patina paint, somewhat greenish, but looks nice to me. My father in law is house painter and they use that stuff for antique looking staircase fences (there is probably a nicer word for those, but I would have to google it :) ). He said that it has something added to it that makes it extra hard, as it is under a lot of stress being touched by hands all the time.

This is just second coat, but the third (and probably final coat should add some interesting twists to this - stay tuned :)

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I wonder if the gold has a higher copper content....I recall having a conversation with ABM about their 24k gold parts looking different to the others. Specifically, the 24k gold plated bridges looked pale compared to the ones with higher copper content. I'd suspect that there is something in there for durability. Whether it is copper or not, unsure. Interesting info though!

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I do hope it will work, as it is a experiment of sorts, but might open a lot of possibilities. I was also thinking it might have some copper in it, that would explain it's greenish hue, I don't know how it comes out on your monitors, but in person it's very much like olive oil.

I have a very radical thing in mind to try, can't wait to see what happens.

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<_< Thanks!!! I guess it is a bit radical :blush

Here are the pics of the 1st half of 3rd coat, I've since leveled out some areas I didn't like, so it's perfectly flat. The pattern stays on with no problems, so it's really promising so far.

I've masked the top along the non-existing centerline, and did the pattern on that half, in a day or two, I'll mask it from the other side, to the line, and since I can't replicate the pattern totaly, I'll get a "glueline" on my faux bookmatch :) Golden Curly Maple TM :)

I'll try to make some birdseye patterns on some scrap next, but not for this guitar...

I think brass bridge insert I'm yet to make will match nicely with this colour.

There should be other metallic finishes in this line,  i should look them up.

23286773270_2f6b929458_b.jpg092-001 by Goran P, on Flickr

23214549599_6489aeda1e_b.jpg093-001 by Goran P, on Flickr

Edited by gpcustomguitars
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Second half is done, the faux glue line is visible as planned, and I've sealed it with 3 coats of lacquer. I'm cleaning the sides a little bit more, after a while I found some spots I didn't like. My photos are bad, but I think it's visible enough :)

Got myself a few new toys! Orbital sander, jigsaw, drill press holder with some new-to-me features, like drilling angle, and one of those mini battery drills from Ikea, which is very handy around guitars, due to it's size :)

23714749896_624f4bc094_b.jpg094-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23372928159_f8f7d79ffd_b.jpg095-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23740866385_ff74a33eea_b.jpg096-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23112724504_31bfdd0d50_b.jpg097-001 by Goran P, on Flickr

Edited by gpcustomguitars
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Thank you for the nice comments! I tried to do my best with this really weird project. :) This was certainly much more fun than the flat black top my customer first suggested.

I expected to have that problem with the level of the finish / binding, so I sanded down the edges of the gold paint flush to the binding between coats. Turned out well, even with just the first 3 coats and no sanding so far. I hope there will be no trace of it.

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On 12/14/2015 at 3:48 PM, ScottR said:

The glue line is a nice detail. Oddly enough it is one we work hard to make invisible......and yet, here it adds to the illusion.

Very nice.

SR

I agree. I think it's a genius move, and really well done.

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A new jack plate and a revision of the TR cover. Hope it looks better this way. Still needs polishing, but I had a parallel job last night, refitting a bridge on a acoustic, so this was all I managed. I'm also trying to produce some parts locally, so this is my first batch of strat pickguards, '63 dimensions as per some plans I found. Sides are still not angled, I'm making a jig for that.

23275441714_95d5161092_b.jpg0100-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23607940220_e5e3e23227_b.jpgIMG_20151221_201250-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23877537806_2a7b6ea23f_b.jpgIMG_20151221_201332-001 by Goran P, on Flickr

 

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Done with spraying!

I was one strap button short, and had some 10mm black acrylic plate scraps around, so I made a set, and polished them - shiny :)

First I added a bit of binding on, but decided I like it better without it. Just didn't polish as nice as the acrylic. Turning was done, as usual, on the drill press...

Some fine tuning was needed to sit the pup plate in it's place properly, so now I just have to wait for the lacquer to be ready for sanding.

23881656872_394eaf7ae3_b.jpg0101-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23963809376_1dbd7642a7_b.jpg0102-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23363083843_06d36fa926_b.jpg0103-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23363083743_459a325dc5_b.jpg0104-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23622042839_d41b8089ed_b.jpg0105-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23989916695_84c3324777_b.jpg0106-001 by Goran P, on Flickr
23881656452_930d502af7_b.jpg0107-001 by Goran P, on Flickr

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How many people so far have told you that this is an insane project? A lot of people get these ideas to rebuild trashed instruments and end up with nothing anyway....this is one of the rare few instances where something totally unexpected springs back out.

Goran, my hat is off to you. :peace

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Just about all the people that have seen it so far :) Thanks a lot! :blush

This is not very rational, but this has been a type of project I just can't resist - trashed guitar. I started building because my Dad was against me buying an electric when I was a kid, and since I was involved in tech section in school, my way of avoiding that veto was to build one. I always dreamed of finding a trashed guitar as a simple <_< way of speeding things ahead, so even now, if you bring me a guitar as a pile of bits and pieces in a bag, I start twitching...there must be a support group for this somewhere :)

My first (playable) electric was made out of a ooold acoustic I got from my guitar teacher, top was cracked beyond repair. I took it off leaving the binding on, piece by piece, and replaced it with some plywood, made an pickguard and a wooden, archtop type bridge and for a tailpiece used first thing that looked like it even remotely - a safety belt tongue (is it called that?) that a friend with a drill press drilled holes for strings into.

 

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