Prostheta Posted February 24, 2020 Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 Laminate sheet doesn't look bad at all, so you'll be pleasantly surprised I think. Abalone is very good at hiding the transitions between laminae in inlays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted February 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Prostheta said: Laminate sheet doesn't look bad at all, so you'll be pleasantly surprised I think. Abalone is very good at hiding the transitions between laminae in inlays. The transitions between the layers is exactly what I was concerned about, it's a compound radius with the radius at the 12th fret being around 10.5" so I was concerned that I would get a visible line between laminates. But I have filed it pretty close to flush and begun filling the gaps with ebony dust, so far it looks pretty good in terms of transition. So keeping my fingers crossed for the final results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted February 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 It's getting there, the laminations seem to be ok, although it looks a little faded in that bottom left corner. I've still got some more tidying up to do - there are some more gaps that need filling, you can probably see abalone dust, that's where that gaps are so I need to try and dig that out and put more ebony dust in (could really do with a compressor to blow it out). I'm also not happy with one of the gaps between the pieces, it's noticeable smaller than the others do I'm going to scrape some of it away with a graver to even it out. Dots are in though too so it's getting there. I might tackle the headstock inlay tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 I wouldn't have noticed till you pointed it out! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted March 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2020 I've Sanded fretboard to 320 and some more dust and glue touch ups on the inlay. really happy with how it came out, it's of shine like I'd expect from a solid piece and loads of colour variation over different angles. After cutting the headstock logo and losing it in the messy garage (which warranted a deep clean of my workbench and floor) Fortunately I found it in amongst the sawdust and it was undamaged. It's not inlayed, just needs filing flush. You'll also notice that someone had a whoopsie when drilling the D string tuner hole, fortunately on drilled at 8mm so after plugging with an 8mm dowel and redrilling, the issue should be well hidden. This is not the first time I've done this and I doubt it will be the last. I can't fret yet as i'm waiting on a fretwire order, so I shall get the headstock to final thickness, file this inlay flush and finish shaping the moustache which is looking a bit sloppy at the moment. I seem to be flying through this build, I need to get on with some of the other ones I've already started, like the bass and the single cut 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted March 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 I've done a bit more work on the headstock over the last couple of evenings. Thicknessed the headstock on the spindle sander and carved the volute, it came out slightly taller than usual, quite like it though. Finished filing in the moustache And the inlay has been sanded back to 320. Really impressed with that abalone laminate. Fret wire arrived today so I'll be getting it fretted soon. Then I'll be getting back to the monkey one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 Good stuff here. I like the volute too. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 looks good. that abalone really pops against the black... fb and headstock. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted April 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2020 Forgot to update this one, I got the neck rough carved a week or so ago before the lurgy set in. It's currently 20.5mm at the first fret and 21.5 just before the heal which is generally right for me but this one is going to be stained and lacquered so I'm contemplating going down a little bit more to account from the build from the lacquer. Then night before last I reamed out the tuner holes and test fitted. These are Vanson locking tuners, very cheap for locking tuners at £30. So far quite impressed with them, they feel nice and sturdy and have smooth motion. Sorry that wasn't my best photography I'll probably leave the neck for now and finalise the carve on the body, I need to finish the pot recesses, and do all the cavity routes too. I've also got most of the parts for Matt's tele now, just waiting on pickups so I might crack on with the tele body. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted April 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 Got a bit more done on Matt's tele neck this evening. Had to have a think about process as I have limited experience building this kind of neck. I drilled out the tuner holes first so the brad point just poked out the bottom in the drill press, then drilled through the from the other side so there wasn't any tearout. Then I took the top off the headstock with the bandsaw and and saw, leaving a hair over 14mm thickness - I measured the hipshot tuners in a couple of bits of scrap and test holes to make sure that was right before hand. Then I got the fretboard radiused to 12" - Matt does a lot of tapping, so we figured flatter would be better, started off with a hand plane then used the radius block. Then I cut the fret slots, and the nut slot, used the plastic nut out of my mexi strat to test and measure. Wow I just shat my pants when I saw this photo, the centre line looks way off. Fortunately it's not, that's just how it looks because of the radius. Not bad at all for a couple of hours work. Next up will be inlays and binding. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted April 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 Got a bit further forward on the tele neck this weekend, used an offcut from the body blank, cut it out and inlayed it, cutting out went a lot better than expected, I had the super glue and activator on hand but managed not to break it. The fretboard has already been radiused to 12" at this point, I planned on routing the inlay channel with the dremel, so instead of worrying about getting everything flat, I decided to put the opposing curve into bottom of the inlay, masking tape and superglued a bit of80 grit to the fretboard and this was quite easy to do, just had to because not to snap it. Getting the channel just right was very time awkward consuming, not my tidiest inlay but I got there in the end I think this photos was taken after the penultimate dousing of superglue and ebony dust and after I recut the slots that I ruined. Then I prepped some walnut binding strips, again out of the body blank offcuts Then I used the worlds crudest makshift bending iron to bend the binding up by the headstock, there's a bit of discolouration on one of them but it's slightly over thickness so I think (hope) I got away with it. The mistake I made was leaving the head gun on while doing the bending, I should have just heated up the pipe and bet the binding round it, but it wasn't the best time of metal. This has got me thinking that I need to make/buy something a little more suitable. I left them taped up like that for a few hours to dry out and retain the shape, I've now glued on the treble side and I'll post the final result once I've glued the other side and trimmed them flush. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 20, 2020 Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 This is pretty much how I intend on bending the Walnut binding on my ongoing project. The bending pipe will be a short length of aluminium held above the bench with some allthread through it and nuts holding it tight. That should protect the wooden vise and give it additional height to work with. Not sure whether to go the route of a heat gun or a blowtorch at this stage. Electric doesn't need gas, but might not put out the heat that a gas torch can deliver. I'll have to figure out something to help support the outside of the bend also.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 20, 2020 Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 15 hours ago, ADFinlayson said: instead of worrying about getting everything flat, I decided to put the opposing curve into bottom of the inlay, I can't believe you're the same guy I tried to help not to do terrible mistakes. You're one of the rarities that only needed a nudge towards the right direction to find your true calling! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted April 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 4 hours ago, Bizman62 said: I can't believe you're the same guy I tried to help not to do terrible mistakes. You're one of the rarities that only needed a nudge towards the right direction to find your true calling! ha thanks Bizman, I have build a fair few guitars since then, and learnt from more than a few mistakes. Funny coincidence - my second build (the 30 fretter) which I'm pretty sure you helped me out with over on the crimson forum, I sold it today, a guy drove over from Essex and took it away to tinker with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted April 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 The neck is getting there, binding on and cut smooth, headstock thickness done - my usual way with a fence against the spindle sander, well the normal way I do the backs of heastocks, fender necks still feel a bit alien to me. I need to tidy up the end of that ramp and get it nice and round before the nut and I need to clear out the nut slot but it occurred to me I don'y have a flat 2mm chisel, I need to go and buy another tool. In this photo it looks like my binding might still just be a tiny bit proud so I probably need to go over it with a radius block one more time But first I need to sort out some mitres for the bottom of the fretboard I reckon there are a couple of frets I need to make deeper, not looking forward to dealing with jumbo stainless steel frets and binding. So I'll probably procrastinate there and get on the with body, or one of the other builds depending on how flat/dry the body blank is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted April 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 I'm still waiting for Matt to sort out pickups etc for his tele so I've decided to shelve it for a couple of weeks and I'm focussing on David's CU24. I finalised most of the carving on the top yesterday and routed the final shapes for the pot recesses. I had some nasty burn marks but they were surprisingly easy to scrape and sand out on this top. I've still got the area around the horns to finish and there are some rough areas in the middle that need a fair bit of sanding. I got them rolled over nicely with some 150 grit and drilled the holes I needed for the jack, pots and switch, the routed a control cavity and get everything fitted. The only real issue that I ran into was that I had to move the tone pot in slightly to hide evidence of where the router ate the top when I did the initial route, this meant the locator pin (cocktail stick) I used to hold the top in place while glueing is closer to the edge of the pot recess, fortunately it'll be hidden under David's knob. All in all, I think these are my best pot recesses to date, they're all sized consistently, smooth and not too deep which can cause the knobs to foul the body. At some point I routed the pickup cavities and cut the neck tenon too though I still need to reduce the height of the shelf that the neck pickup ring sits on. Then today I routed the shelf of the control cover to sit on and shaped the slither I cut off the back into the cover. I came up with a new method with the control cover (new to me anyway) because I've always struggled to keep it in place while carving in the past. I fitted the cover, then drilled my screw holes through it and plugged with cocktail sticks (no glue) so that I can pop it off my poking something through the pot holes. I cut the sticks flush and the cover was nicely held in place while I had at it with a no6 gouge Then again with a thumb plane to rough in the shape I'll blast over it with the orbital sander tomorrow to tidy up and get the top carve around the horns finished. David wants the maple neck to be stained the same colour as the top so I'm thinking to grain-fill the mahogany and seal maple sides prior to glue up to help prevent stain getting into the sides around the neck pocket, I might even stain and seal the neck prior to setting it, still mulling that over. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 The cocktail stick trick is cool! And your precision in fitting the cover is admirable! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 It is a very nice trick. Definitely one of the keepers that people should take note of! I might have thought that cocktail sticks were a little fragile against the shearing motion of the gouge, but clearly not. I guess the cover moves slightly until it contacts the sidewall? The first thing I thought (mostly from the method of popping it off from the front through the pot holes) was the use of slightly thicker sticks and drilling them back out afterwards using a guide template (say, 8-10mm plywood for keeping the bit 90 degrees). I'd have to re-review the thread to figure out how thick the cover is, since there is the hazard of cracking it down the grain. Worth bearing in mind, even if only to discount the idea....better that than repairing it afterwards! I've never considered doing a matching carved cover, however a variation on one of my favourite guitars had a double-carved back and front with a similar approach. No idea how it was manufactured, but being a factory instrument I'm guessing the covers weren't fabbed at the same time on the body. This is totally ScottR territory. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 20 minutes ago, Prostheta said: I guess the cover moves slightly until it contacts the sidewall? I had similar thoughts... And as a solution strips of paper came into mind. Masking tape might stay in place even better, or electrical tape for wider gaps. Tape should pose no issue with a gouge, however I'm not sure how it would react to an orbital sander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 3 hours ago, Bizman62 said: I had similar thoughts... And as a solution strips of paper came into mind. Masking tape might stay in place even better, or electrical tape for wider gaps. Tape should pose no issue with a gouge, however I'm not sure how it would react to an orbital sander. Electrical tape would be bad as it doesn't abrade well. Masking tape is okay, however the adhesive binds up with the dust to form sticky rubbery debris that can pack itself into the wood. Nothing that some alcohol can't remove, but that's not entirely a new thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 Thanks @Prostheta, you confirmed the very fears I had. Would a 0.55 mm veneer stay in the gap during sanding? At least it should act similarly to the surrounding wood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 I'm sure that it would. This is pretty much academic since @ADFinlayson is past the post on this, however this isn't to say it isn't useful reference for other people considering the same. Masking tape is as fine a solution as one can have with to-hand items, just perhaps less so if sanding comes into the equation. As demonstrated, cocktail sticks are simple and effective. I like it on that basis. No point in solving a problem that doesn't exist, but good to consider ones that might. Having re-read the previous post, the cocktail sticks were not glued in place....that makes more sense for removing the cover safely. I'd likely have glued them in with hide glue and re-drilled, and having skimmed this on the mobile this morning over coffee, I missed that detail. Oops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted April 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 3 hours ago, Prostheta said: It is a very nice trick. Definitely one of the keepers that people should take note of! I might have thought that cocktail sticks were a little fragile against the shearing motion of the gouge, but clearly not. I guess the cover moves slightly until it contacts the sidewall? The first thing I thought (mostly from the method of popping it off from the front through the pot holes) was the use of slightly thicker sticks and drilling them back out afterwards using a guide template (say, 8-10mm plywood for keeping the bit 90 degrees). I'd have to re-review the thread to figure out how thick the cover is, since there is the hazard of cracking it down the grain. Worth bearing in mind, even if only to discount the idea....better that than repairing it afterwards! I've never considered doing a matching carved cover, however a variation on one of my favourite guitars had a double-carved back and front with a similar approach. No idea how it was manufactured, but being a factory instrument I'm guessing the covers weren't fabbed at the same time on the body. This is totally ScottR territory. 3 hours ago, Bizman62 said: I had similar thoughts... And as a solution strips of paper came into mind. Masking tape might stay in place even better, or electrical tape for wider gaps. Tape should pose no issue with a gouge, however I'm not sure how it would react to an orbital sander. It's a fairly tight fit anyway so there isn't much lateral movement, but I did use an extra couple of cocktail sticks and the screws are going to be located in difference positions to the regular prs style control cover. The cocktail sticks though are there to prevent the vibration from the orbital sander causing it to work it's way up (which would mess up the carve) or jumping out. It also makes an incredibly annoying noise if the cover is able to vibrate while power sanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 3 hours ago, Bizman62 said: Would a 0.55 mm veneer stay in the gap during sanding? At least it should act similarly to the surrounding wood! I use a variant of that idea and stick a piece of shirt board or plastic in the gaps to hold it still. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 12 hours ago, ADFinlayson said: fortunately it'll be hidden under David's knob. Does David know you have plans for his knob? SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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