ScottR Posted October 19, 2019 Report Share Posted October 19, 2019 This is still a spellbinding build! I see you have a few voids, similar to some I found in my first build using quilted maple. What is your plan for dealing with them? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 19, 2019 Report Share Posted October 19, 2019 I had adventures with my RS tremolo. I milled a hole through both sides of a neck-through blank and glued in a shaped Oak block with inserts in place. The cavity is RS-shaped, but without the convenience of the hollow body and ability to put cavities in there easily. Still, it's a fun job. Race ya! (once I do a small repair....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted October 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2019 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted October 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 @Prostheta I can type again! Also, no way I’m gonna race! @ScottR Til now, my plan on that void had been to ignore it. It’s also more substantial (deeper) than I thought. Since I’m planning dye, I’ll need to be careful. What did you do? I’ve checked all my scrap for a good donor piece but matching the quilt will be tricky at best. Push comes to shove I can plane it down but that will lower the top more than planned. There is plenty, but the trem block is now fixed in place. Then there’s the chance I could uncover others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted October 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 Slow but sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 I dyed the top for sand back and filled the void with epoxy. And the sanded back and finished like normal.. The top was red with a black burst and the voids were nearly invisible. I called them bear claw marks, expecting to be able to see them. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted October 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2019 Pocket is perfect, everything aligns, action looks like angles are working out. Rabid beaver has started attacking the HARD ebony neck. Its considerably lighter even now. I’ll take a break from the neck, and put the beaver on the body to really get moving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 25, 2019 Report Share Posted October 25, 2019 3 hours ago, komodo said: Rabid beaver has started attacking the HARD ebony neck. Have fun with that! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post komodo Posted October 26, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Routed outer ledge for depth, figured some kind of a carve map and let the rabid beaver at it. I’ve always used the flap sander / angle grinder method. This is a lot of work, but satisfying and kinda hard to mess it up as it’s SO slow. The Chinese Ibex copies are the bomb. You can also see the beginning of the ebony tailpiece tremolo cover. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted October 27, 2019 Report Share Posted October 27, 2019 Wow that’s a deep looking carve, how thick is the cap? It’s a stunning piece of wood. The maple really pops against the ebony. What are you doing for fretboard, are you planning to bind it? I’m just thinking anywhere where you can add maple over the ebony would look great. really enjoying watching this one progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post komodo Posted October 27, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted October 27, 2019 No binding, but I’m considering a thin layer of maple between the fretboard and neck. Cap is/was almost 1”. More carve done, and an angled route for the tremolo cover. I’m desperately trying to get this done to spray while I have a chance at good weather. But I’m taking my time to get it right. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted October 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 27, 2019 Report Share Posted October 27, 2019 That is seriously kick ass.....and so is the stout! 2015? what patience you have! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted October 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2019 Thanks @ScottR, I’ve got a 2012 and 2013 as well. Total respect to you and all your carving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted October 28, 2019 Report Share Posted October 28, 2019 This already is pretty stunning. And I have a feeling it's going to end up super, super stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 28, 2019 Report Share Posted October 28, 2019 4 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: This already is pretty stunning. And I have a feeling it's going to end up super, super stunning! Me too. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted October 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2019 As always, I’ve got vision in my head - some is clear, some is “I’ll figure out as I go”. For the tailblock/tremolo cover, this was the case. Mostly, I wasn’t sure how it would resolve with the body carve. I made the carve ‘swoop up’ to the block, but it’s just not resolving, so I will remove that wood and make it a regular carve and shape the tailblock based on this sketch and iphone mockup I made during meetings at work. It adds a kind of Ferrari-like vent that allows a small peek into the cavity to reveal the springs of the special tremolo. I guess I’ll have to polish them up or put LEDs in there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 30, 2019 Report Share Posted October 30, 2019 1 hour ago, komodo said: As always, I’ve got vision in my head - some is clear, some is “I’ll figure out as I go”. In my book, that's the only way to go! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted November 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Carving, shaping, scraping, forever. Then a crap ton of routing. Then more scraping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted November 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Finally had the cajones to settle on a control layout and drill straight through the body to commit. Ha. I’ve used the same cavity templates as my earlier dragon guitar. Partially as a nod to myself, partially out of sheer laziness and why not. I’m not sure how I made that cavity so messy using a router template, but I’ve since cleaned it up. My cavities usually look like robot vomit, my goal for this one is to have one of those uber clean layouts that beg for a clear cover. Sort of like that last pic (not mine). I mean would ya just look at it?! They polished the pots. Also, I had decided I didn’t want six switches to do a full Red Special wiring and went with three on-offs. But then today found full Red Special using three on-on-on switches, so thats the plan. (phase-off-other phase) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Gotta love that macassar up against the ash. I can't imagine being OCD enough to make a control cavity look like that. It is nice to look at though....like an exhibit in a museum. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted November 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 3 hours ago, ScottR said: Gotta love that macassar up against the ash. SR I’ve been contemplating the finish (again), and have gone back and forth on dying the maple edge or leaving it blonde to go with the ash. The top will be dyed black/purple, light burst. Kinda like this one: Problem is, I don’t know how to do it. I’ve been doing tests, not really close. My guess is that guitar is straight black, sanded back, but when I do it it’s flat and blotchy. Then it looks like either a light trans purple wash or sprayed, and then black burst sprayed. I don’t have an airbrush, so dyes would be sprayed with my gun or maybe tint some nitro? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 3 hours ago, komodo said: I’ve been contemplating the finish (again), and have gone back and forth on dying the maple edge or leaving it blonde to go with the ash. The top will be dyed black/purple, light burst. Kinda like this one: Problem is, I don’t know how to do it. I’ve been doing tests, not really close. My guess is that guitar is straight black, sanded back, but when I do it it’s flat and blotchy. Then it looks like either a light trans purple wash or sprayed, and then black burst sprayed. I don’t have an airbrush, so dyes would be sprayed with my gun or maybe tint some nitro? that looks killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 The original RS control layout is comprehensive but has many redundant and non-useful combinations. If I ever get the Firebird finished, three phase switches and a 6-way Freeway for pickup on-off combos seems less work. That could even be reduced to two phase switches I guess. The real trick with distilling combinations is finding out what works best in a player's context, so I imagine a change up will happen at some point. I think in your own design, two phase switches might look more streamlined. Depends on how it balances I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 5 hours ago, komodo said: Problem is, I don’t know how to do it. I’ve been doing tests, not really close. My guess is that guitar is straight black, sanded back, but when I do it it’s flat and blotchy. You may want to use some other colour than black for the grain pattern to pop. A dark wood colour like brown, maybe. Or something that goes with the final colour, like dark blue sanded back and covered with purple. I even recall hearing starting with pink or yellow sanded back and continued with darker colours. There's also a difference between water soluble and spirit stains and how they interact with the previous layer. For some hints in stains look this and maybe some others there: https://youtu.be/3DwkpsUFdLg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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