willliam_q Posted January 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2020 Thanks @Bizman62 for the stain advice. I wonder if I went a bit heavier with steel wool on that particular spot after staining it might lighten it up enough to hide the darker line? otherwise I might attempt as you mentioned the crayon trick, didn’t know about that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 14, 2020 Report Share Posted January 14, 2020 50 minutes ago, willliam_q said: the crayon trick, didn’t know about that one No wonder, it may not have been used much for woodworking. It's a make-up trick to hide wrinkles and other shadowy things using a highlighter. Ask your wife/girlfriend! Note that stain doesn't stick to oil/wax which is what crayons are made of. Chalk might work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted January 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 Only got around to working on this guitar again today. Have been busy with life stuff. One of the projects the wife asked me to do was fit sliding doors on our wardrobe. now that’s done I’ve bought myself a bit of time to myself sorted the control cavity cover, I think it’s the best one I’ve done yet. It slots in and out very easy but by the time I add oil to both cover and guitar that might swell out a bit and make the fit too tight. I might have to make it slightly smaller. I’ll have to drill for the screws and counter sink. I don’t think I’ll go with magnets this time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 9 hours ago, willliam_q said: Only got around to working on this guitar again today. Have been busy with life stuff. One of the projects the wife asked me to do was fit sliding doors on our wardrobe. now that’s done I’ve bought myself a bit of time to myself sorted the control cavity cover, I think it’s the best one I’ve done yet. It slots in and out very easy but by the time I add oil to both cover and guitar that might swell out a bit and make the fit too tight. I might have to make it slightly smaller. I’ll have to drill for the screws and counter sink. I don’t think I’ll go with magnets this time. I did not enjoy doing magnets myself... pita... but I have to admit... it's nice when I need to get in the ctrl cavity. anywho, you cover looks nice and tight. I'd stain it and go light on the edges. can always sand them a bit after. be a shame to take a chance on ruining the great job you did there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 I'm with @mistermikev here. If the cover swells and gets too tight, the right time to address the potential issue is after you've confirmed it. Don't fix what isn't broken! I slightly envy guys like you who can make such clean cavities and covers! Mine always have a bit of a Flintstonian look... One hint: If you have to make a cover smaller, do it in an angle, sort of wedge shaped. That will make it fit yet leaving the seam tight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted January 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2020 What is it about sanding that I’ve come to dislike? This guitar has been ready for final sanding for the last couple of weeks and I just can’t motivate myself to finish it. I’m forcing myself to go out tonight. I think it’s the amount of dust generated that goes all over the clothes and into various orifices. I’m talking about nose and ears best of it is it might only take an hour or so to get it ready for finish. I have a mask and I’ll wear it but it still doesn’t make it any more pleasant. speaking of dust, my wife’s gym equipment is in the same, reasonably large, garage and it just gets covered. Any tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 29, 2020 Report Share Posted January 29, 2020 2 minutes ago, willliam_q said: speaking of dust You need a sanding block that can be connected to a vacuum cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted January 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2020 I have an orbital sander for most of the heavy work, I can connect that to vacuum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 29, 2020 Report Share Posted January 29, 2020 6 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: You need a sanding block that can be connected to a vacuum cleaner. you cracked me up w that one. 3 minutes ago, willliam_q said: I have an orbital sander for most of the heavy work, I can connect that to vacuum I have similar issues in my garage. All my camping gear is just covered. Could really use a dust collector altho when I was young and working as a sander with a industrial dust collector I still got full of sawdust. I 'spose connecting a vacuum to the sander might help but I suspect a lot of it is going to get airborne no matter what you do. Just part of the drill. Maybe if one sanded IN a vacuum... but that might kill you so not sure it'd be worth it (hehe). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 29, 2020 Report Share Posted January 29, 2020 13 minutes ago, willliam_q said: I have an orbital sander for most of the heavy work, I can connect that to vacuum Sure. However the orbital will spread the dust also outside the disk. With a handheld manual sanding block there's no centrifugal blow. Search for "vacuum sanding block"s, there's plenty available in all price categories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 29, 2020 Report Share Posted January 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Bizman62 said: Sure. However the orbital will spread the dust also outside the disk. With a handheld manual sanding block there's no centrifugal blow. Search for "vacuum sanding block"s, there's plenty available in all price categories. totally thought you were joking... and now am not sure if you were... looked it up... it's a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 30, 2020 Report Share Posted January 30, 2020 10 hours ago, mistermikev said: totally thought you were joking... and now am not sure if you were... looked it up... it's a thing It is. A fellow builder has one of the Mirka brand armed with Mirka Abranet sanding mesh. According to him it allows for clean sanding even in the kitchen without any negative comments from the wife. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted January 30, 2020 Report Share Posted January 30, 2020 Well, now I know what my next shop/tool purchase is going to be! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted January 30, 2020 Report Share Posted January 30, 2020 On 1/12/2020 at 7:56 AM, willliam_q said: Rear round over done and neck heel cut away to make it shallower. You glossed over the "neck heel cut away" part...any chance you can elaborate? I've never done this before. Did you just route down to desired thickness then round off the lip? That's my plan but like I said...I have little idea what I'm doing. oh, and great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted January 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2020 3 hours ago, JayT said: You glossed over the "neck heel cut away" part...any chance you can elaborate? I've never done this before. Sure no problem, I hadn’t done it before either so there might be more efficient ways of doing it. I first took a piece of MDF and cut a semi-circular arc in it in a shape I liked that I thought followed the contours of the guitar horns (to join them up so to speak). then, using a router cove bit (similar but a lot cheaper than this one Router cove cutter) and a template guide bushing attached to the router, followed the template to create the arc. This cut a large semi-circular curve approx 10mm wide on the body. i then used a flush cut bit and a router sled to remove/plane off the remaining wood to depth I liked. be careful not to take the edges of the inside of you curve when doing this, I pulled the semi circular template forward a bit to prevent the router going too far. I finished it off with 120grit sandpaper to get a smooth finish and refine the curves. Hope that makes sense, can be hard to describe process in words sometimes. 14 hours ago, Bizman62 said: A fellow builder has one of the Mirka brand armed with Mirka Abranet sanding mesh. That looks like just the ticket! Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted February 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 (edited) Bit of colour testing today, very rushed but think I’m decided. i used Crimson Colour Stain Shots, the purple and the denim blue, it seems slightly lighter in real life but I’m hoping some clear/oil over the top will make it look like in these pictures. It’s still wet in the pictures and has dried much lighter the smaller piece is basically just purple, not sanded back, and a small amount of blue over the top. Whilst it looks good in pictures the flame looks a bit flat due to not being sanded back. the larger piece is purple, I didn’t wait to let it dry and sanded it back a reasonable amount but still a bit of colour there. then applied the blue which made it too light. So I went over by one small layer of purple. I really like it, the blue and purple dance on the flame so I’ll have to remember my method when it comes to the actual work. for those interested, I liked the Crimson stain shots, the purple took approx 4x full droppers in a small amount of water. the denim blue is very light, I probably did about 5x full droppers but thought it still too light. I probably wouldn’t recommend it on its own but like it combined with this purple. Edited February 6, 2020 by willliam_q 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 6, 2020 Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 those both look like velvet. stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted February 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) Yes @mistermikev I love the way it turned out. I knew the flamed top was nice but didn’t realise how nice it would actually be. I got a bargain on that top too, I think it was about £40 delivered from eBay. cant wait to get this thing finished now that I’m this far...the impatience is starting to set in Edited February 7, 2020 by willliam_q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 7, 2020 Report Share Posted February 7, 2020 7 minutes ago, willliam_q said: Yes @mistermikev I love the way it turned out. I knew the flamed top was nice but didn’t realise how nice it would actually be. I got a bargain on that top too, I think it was about £40 delivered from eBay. cant wait to get this thing finished now that I’m this far...the impatience is starting to set in hehe, that's usually how I make most of my mistakes! mmmm steak. careful, don't blow it now! looks great tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted February 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Stained the headstock. this is the first coat of stain and not dry yet. I darkened the blue more so than in the test pieces and after putting that down put purple straight over the top. Grain looks a bit flat so might need to sand back a bit and stain again to pop it. I’m just nervous as it is a very thin veneer . Also notice the small line where a piece of veneer was joined with superglue. I’ll have to paint a black(or maybe a purple?) burst to cover it up. I’ve also lacquered the faux binding on the body and am waiting for that to dry before staining the top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted February 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 1st coat of purple on the body now, will let it dry and sand back. I’m surprised the repair at the pickup cavity is hidden more rather than being more obvious. Let’s hope it stays that way. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 Lovely job on the repair. What a gorgeous colour it is already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 I concur... I actually wondered if you put a new top or veneer over it. can't see it at all. nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted February 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 22 minutes ago, Norris said: What a gorgeous colour it is already Thanks, I’ve been wondering If I should even add the blue as I really like it also. I’m surprised at how nice the crimson stunning stain shots are considering people didn’t like their premixed stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 10, 2020 Report Share Posted February 10, 2020 On 2/9/2020 at 5:13 AM, willliam_q said: I’m surprised the repair at the pickup cavity is hidden more rather than being more obvious. Let’s hope it stays that way. Hell, I forgot it even existed. I'd call that a win. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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