ScottR Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 31 minutes ago, birch said: Very nice! I love the look of the vertical grain with the burst. The hard part is deciding which colours will look good with the colour it is now as well as the colour it will become over time. I'm definitely going to do some testing Black or black to dark brown would work with both the orange you have and the medium brown it will become in time. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 55 minutes ago, birch said: I think I have enough glue surface to account for the loss. One thing I haven't figured out yet is how to effectively clamp the body to the sides of the neck heel while glueing. I'm going to have to make some funny shaped cauls to clamp against. I don't think inwards pressure would be productive. You're more likely to damage the body that achieve any useful clamping pressure. If the tenon is sloppy in its side-to-side fit, that isn't something that clamping pressure can fix. Any chance of a look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birch Posted March 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 16 minutes ago, Prostheta said: I don't think inwards pressure would be productive. You're more likely to damage the body that achieve any useful clamping pressure. If the tenon is sloppy in its side-to-side fit, that isn't something that clamping pressure can fix. Any chance of a look? One of my previous posts has pictures of the joint. It's tight enough to hold together without glue so that shouldn't be an issue. So you don't think I need to clamp it sideways then? That's good, saves me some work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 You shouldn't need to. If it's a light friction fit, great. You should never have to force a tenon in or have it loose. Sounds good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birch Posted March 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 (edited) Trial fitting the Sperzels and taped in bridge posts to check string alignment and started working on an inlay design. Paduk with maple outline on the Ebony fretboard with thin Ebony binding. Just loose pieces sitting on top at the moment. Edited March 28, 2016 by birch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 Awesome cat! There seems to be a lot of free string length beyond the nut. That may express itself as phantom overtones as they vibrate in sympathy with the other strings. A bit of foam rubber might be handy if this happens. The string paths themselves look clear enough. How are you feeling about it so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birch Posted March 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 2 hours ago, Prostheta said: Awesome cat! There seems to be a lot of free string length beyond the nut. That may express itself as phantom overtones as they vibrate in sympathy with the other strings. A bit of foam rubber might be handy if this happens. The string paths themselves look clear enough. How are you feeling about it so far? Lasha, the cat, was a stray we found half starved hanging around our house. She's taken to indoor living quite well. The end of the fretboard you see in the picture isn't the nut, it's the zero fret with about 5 mm behind it. There is still a nut to go on behind it so hopefully that will close up the gap enough to prevent overtones? I'm not sure about that inlay design yet. I'm mulling it over before I do any routing. It's a bit more "shouty" than I originally intended... So far I've made quite a few mistakes, changed my mind a bunch, and done things in the wrong order but overall I'm think my first build is going better than expected. I'm happy with it I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 Overtones happen on all instruments. Springs rattle in the back of Strats also. Anything that is taut tends to vibrate in sympathy. The shorter they are, the higher the overtone but the less they ring out. It's the longer string lengths that can be discerned. Very good of you to take in a stray. We have three cats, however we took in two of them from homes that couldn't take care of them any more. Our third is an old girl, a pedigree. "My" cat Spit is a Norwegian Forest Cat/Siberian cross whilst Malkovich is a Russian Blue with something else in him which manifests as a white chest patch and amber eyes. When I start publishing videos, I am sure they'll make themselves quite known. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 I think that the inlay works. The two parts next to the body follow on nicely with the body's own curvature and movement. Was that intentional? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birch Posted March 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 24 minutes ago, Prostheta said: I think that the inlay works. The two parts next to the body follow on nicely with the body's own curvature and movement. Was that intentional? Very good of you to take in a stray. We have three cats, however we took in two of them from homes that couldn't take care of them any more. Our third is an old girl, a pedigree. "My" cat Spit is a Norwegian Forest Cat/Siberian cross whilst Malkovich is a Russian Blue with something else in him which manifests as a white chest patch and amber eyes. When I start publishing videos, I am sure they'll make themselves quite known. 26 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Yeah the alignment of the inlay with the upper body contours was intended to keep the flow of curves going up the neck. I like the bottom part but I might rework the part nearest the neck a bit. In addition to Lasha, we also have a Maroon belly Conure, Gypsy, a Mastiff, Magrat, and a Parrotlet, Uma, who we got from people who didn't want to keep them. All females, leaving me quite outnumbered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 Full house....! At least Nina only gets so crazy cat lady with three climbing over here on an evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birch Posted April 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 Making tools today. I'm trying to find a router base for my Foredom rotary tool to do the fretboard inlay but not having much luck with affordable options. I thought it can't be too to make a simple one. Has anyone made one for a Foredom? There's loads for dremels but not much for any other type of rotary tool. In the meantime, I found a picture of a hand router plane that may or may not work well on Ebony. It's a pretty simple design and requires grinding an allen key into a chisel blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 Yeah, I've seen that done a number of times. I don't think much to that method of keeping the blade in place though. It's worth altering the steel's properties to make a better blade if you're going to do that. Grinding it till it glows, quenching in water/oil and tempering works nicely. Difficult to monitor metal colour with that black oxide though. Never made tools for a Foredom, however they are a million miles better than Dremels. You say you're wanting to make a tool...? A lot of people re-purpose old dentist's burrs so maybe a new collet is a better option. Dentists throw them out like anything, and carbide tools are a song, man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birch Posted April 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 Yes I concur the blade retention design is hokey at best, but seems to be a common method in the DIY designs. There is also a depth stop collar and set screw arrangement for the top of the blade that could be used for blade support I think. I really just want to make a router base for the Foredom for routing inlays. I'm at a standstill until I can get the pocket routed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodkingzog Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 On 19 February 2016 at 6:37 AM, birch said: I'm contemplating a neck joint that I've been thinking about but haven't been able to find any examples of its use so I'm wondering if there is a good reason that I'm not aware of... I want to do a set neck but my neck blank is not long enough to to a traditional tenon so I'm thinking about glueing it in through the back of the body. This would allow me to avoid a heel and carve a smooth transition from neck to body and make a nice flamed maple accent in the back of the body. I think it would also provide enough surface area for a strong glue joint. Is there any reason why this is a bad idea? Late to this thread but Warwick have used this for their set necks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birch Posted April 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 Nice! It actually works really well on mine. I guess a long enough tenon must be the key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birch Posted April 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Sanded the body down to 360 grit and wetted it down to raise the grain 5 or 6 times. It looks fantastic wet. I'm hoping to shellac it tomorrow to seal it up while I decide whether to finish it with varnish or poly. I don't like lacquer at all and I'd prefer to spray so I'm leaning toward 2 part poly. I want to use the shellac as a grain filler by sanding back multiple coats but I have never used it before. Is it effective that way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Sorry I was a bit slow in responding! Shellac is a fantastic grain filler, however not on its own. The general method of using it is to apply it with a little pumice in the same manner as French polishing. It's far more sense to watch this video rather than me rehash the same information without the visual aspect: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 On its own, shellac doesn't easily fill up the grain. It simply works as a binder for a slurry, same as how we'd do it with Tru-oil or egg whites. I mean, eventually the shellac will fill the grain however it's not too efficient by itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 You'd probably have more success with Timbermate, however colour is the issue since there are many to work with here. A sealer of shellac (optional) fill with Timbermate and shooting your clear is an easy win. See how that French polishing video strikes you; if it's not your thing (it's an acquired taste) then go the more "standard" route I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 I've started using tru-oil slurried with fine grit sandpaper nowadays both as a grain-fill/sanding seal/final finish or as a grain-fill/sanding seal/base for final poly-finish. I'm sure nitro reacts like crazy on tru-oil, but I've never had a problem personally with polyurethane over it. This has had the tru-oil-slurry-then-buffed-off as a final finish ...and this has had exactly the same treatment, followed by a few coats of polyurethane varnish: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birch Posted April 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: I've started using tru-oil slurried with fine grit sandpaper nowadays both as a grain-fill/sanding seal/final finish or as a grain-fill/sanding seal/base for final poly-finish. I'm sure nitro reacts like crazy on tru-oil, but I've never had a problem personally with polyurethane over it. This has had the tru-oil-slurry-then-buffed-off as a final finish ...and this has had exactly the same treatment, followed by a few coats of polyurethane varnish: That looks great. So you spread the oil on and then sand through the wet oil to create the slurry, then let dry and sand flat? Does it take more than one application? I want to use shellac for this guitar simply because I read an article that found shellac kept the colour in paduk the longest as compared to other types of finish. I'll try your method in the future though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 The way I do it (I have to state that, since Tru-oil is very flexible in terms of usage) is to flood the piece first to let it "take" as much oil as it wants. Some people prefer to only do a thin sealing coat. Again, very personal from builder to builder. For the first half hour or so, I top up areas that go dry. After an hour or thereabouts I wipe everything off and let it cure. From thereonin, it's a case of wet sanding the wood using Tru-oil as a lubricant. The sanding creates a fine dust which the oil turns into a slurry, which starts to pack into the pores. A rubber squeegee run at 45° takes off the surface slurry and helps pack it in. If you go with the grain it can pull the slurry back out of the grain/pores. Repeat this a few times until the surface flattens itself out and you're good to go. I'm unsure on the validity of shellac maintain the colour of Padauk, however its an interesting idea. Shellac and pumice is a hardcore old school kind of technique in comparison to Tru-oil which is far easier in terms of difficulty, acquisition of materials and learning curve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Ever since I started making guitars, people have asked the same questions about Tru-oil simply because there is so much conflicting information online. I'm sure you've noticed that. The thing is, many of these conflicting viewpoints are actually correct. That's the nature of Tru-oil. It's just worth figuring out how best to make it work for yourself. I haven't used Tru-oil for a couple of years now. I do remember how annoying it is to get off your hands though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 I have used the Tru-oil slurry method of grain filling with shellac and found it to be very effective that way as well. it basically substitutes shellac and wood dust for the pumice that Prostheta's method describes. And Andy, I've found that lacquer sticks to Tru-oil like a champ. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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