Started a T-type

[Bizman62]

It may or may not happen that I'll strip this finish off. There's at least one spot on the top where a spot the size of a fingerprint looks like a hundred tiny burst bubbles. As it doesn't show at all angles it must be in some inner layer. There's a couple more questionable spots but I've decided to finish the build to hear how she sounds before even thinking of a refinish. After all this was meant to be a "cheap" build with just a couple of bargain rattlecans for finish and now I'm on my sixth can and still not happy. Still within two digits for the lacquer but not within a single tenner as I had planned.

[ScottR]

On 4/16/2022 at 11:43 AM, Bizman62 said:

It may or may not happen that I'll strip this finish off. There's at least one spot on the top where a spot the size of a fingerprint looks like a hundred tiny burst bubbles. As it doesn't show at all angles it must be in some inner layer. There's a couple more questionable spots but I've decided to finish the build to hear how she sounds before even thinking of a refinish. After all this was meant to be a "cheap" build with just a couple of bargain rattlecans for finish and now I'm on my sixth can and still not happy. Still within two digits for the lacquer but not within a single tenner as I had planned.

I wouldn't.

Based on your original intentions, focus on the playability and to hell with the glamour.....glamour was never your intention and playability is the most important  aspect of a musical instrument. I make some pretty flashy instruments and pretty much all of them have a bubble or two (hundred and fifty) buried in the clear coat somewhere. I never see them and never hunt for them. No one sees them and so they look pretty sporty and play like a dream. Mission accomplished.

Take what you learned from this build--bargain rattlecans  give you a crappy cheap finish ( I know, I've done it too), and move forward.

Even the most flawless finish starts to wear out the first time it is played. Doesn't have the slightest influence on how it sounds or plays.

SR

[Bizman62]

Thanks @ScottR for helping me make that decision. I was already leaning in that direction, it's good to hear others share that line of thought.

 

[ADFinlayson]

The blemishes you notice will be invisible to 99% of players that look at it. Get some strings on it. 

[Bizman62]

The neverending saga continues...

Last Saturday I finally got the tuners attached, Gotoh staggered locking ones, two heigths. For some odd reason the bass end trio sits a bit deeper than the treble side three. Either I've managed to drill aligned holes in triplets or the short shafted ones have a different body. Doesn't look too bad and can only be seen if you inspect closely so no big deal. Also put the strings on and filed the nut slots with my trusty roughened feeler gauge set. And found out why the 43 mm neck was too narrow: On the bass side the fretboard widens like a wedge. I could file it a bit but again it's just a mm or so. And the treble side of the neck has a slight arc inwards but again nothing that prevents playing. I know several ways to make them right, the biggest issue seems to be that I don't trust my sawing skills and cut them a bit oversized. And all drawn lines vanish with sanding!

On Sunday I thought I'd shield the control cavity. After an hour's unsuccessful search for my roll of copper tape I finally took my bottle of Crimson conductive paint and noticed that it had mostly solidified and the watery black stuff that came out after poking and shaking didn't want to stick. By smell I'd say it's pretty much similar to the online recipes of mixing selected coal dust and regular white glue. So into the kitchen I went and took a piece of the thicker aluminium foil. Pressed it into the cavity to get it shaped and used some spray adhesive to attach the alu-cup. Not pretty but does the job.

The electrickery has now been done. There's good news and bad ones: There's no hum which means the shielding works properly. But the pickups need magnetizing, the bass side of the neck pickup is very silent and a couple of poles in the bridge pickup as well. Veijo checked them with a screwdriver and noticed that the silent parts were barely magnetic. When I told about the issue to my friend who wound them at school he wasn't surprised. Apparently the magnetizer at the Ikaalinen School of Luthiery isn't too good.

But I got a sound of the guitar and the sound was good where it came through! The acoustic sound is good as well, nice and mellow. When I strum all strings and put my ear against the body I can hear the notes ringing for half a minute so there's sustain as well. And it's lightweight, with all the hardware installed it's 2.27 kg or 5 lbs!

And the finish simply sucks. I have to take the acrylic rattle can lacquer off at some point, it seems to melt either because of sweat or body heat to a tacky matte mess. 

[ADFinlayson]

5lb that's quite impressive. I don't think I've managed to even get one of my semi hollow builds close to that. 

[mistermikev]

3 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

The neverending saga continues...

Last Saturday I finally got the tuners attached, Gotoh staggered locking ones, two heigths. For some odd reason the bass end trio sits a bit deeper than the treble side three. Either I've managed to drill aligned holes in triplets or the short shafted ones have a different body. Doesn't look too bad and can only be seen if you inspect closely so no big deal. Also put the strings on and filed the nut slots with my trusty roughened feeler gauge set. And found out why the 43 mm neck was too narrow: On the bass side the fretboard widens like a wedge. I could file it a bit but again it's just a mm or so. And the treble side of the neck has a slight arc inwards but again nothing that prevents playing. I know several ways to make them right, the biggest issue seems to be that I don't trust my sawing skills and cut them a bit oversized. And all drawn lines vanish with sanding!

On Sunday I thought I'd shield the control cavity. After an hour's unsuccessful search for my roll of copper tape I finally took my bottle of Crimson conductive paint and noticed that it had mostly solidified and the watery black stuff that came out after poking and shaking didn't want to stick. By smell I'd say it's pretty much similar to the online recipes of mixing selected coal dust and regular white glue. So into the kitchen I went and took a piece of the thicker aluminium foil. Pressed it into the cavity to get it shaped and used some spray adhesive to attach the alu-cup. Not pretty but does the job.

The electrickery has now been done. There's good news and bad ones: There's no hum which means the shielding works properly. But the pickups need magnetizing, the bass side of the neck pickup is very silent and a couple of poles in the bridge pickup as well. Veijo checked them with a screwdriver and noticed that the silent parts were barely magnetic. When I told about the issue to my friend who wound them at school he wasn't surprised. Apparently the magnetizer at the Ikaalinen School of Luthiery isn't too good.

But I got a sound of the guitar and the sound was good where it came through! The acoustic sound is good as well, nice and mellow. When I strum all strings and put my ear against the body I can hear the notes ringing for half a minute so there's sustain as well. And it's lightweight, with all the hardware installed it's 2.27 kg or 5 lbs!

And the finish simply sucks. I have to take the acrylic rattle can lacquer off at some point, it seems to melt either because of sweat or body heat to a tacky matte mess. 

looking good.  

afa magnetization... get a c clamp and some 3/4" N52 magnets.  I've used the sm to flip polarity w/o issue.  you do have to be very careful not to pinch your fingers tho!  you also might want a compass to ensure you do the neck rev to the bridge.  easy peasy... attach magnets to the c clamp seperated just enough to fit pickup through, pull em out... pass em through the magnets 2x, check em and voilla.

[Bizman62]

Thanks for the suggestion Mike. Veijo promised to do it in the near future. He already has the tools needed so for the price and time it would take to get a c-clamp and the magnets he'd do a professional job. Heck, I don't even know where to buy magnets outside evilbay and that would take half of the Summer!

 

[nakedzen]

22 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

Thanks for the suggestion Mike. Veijo promised to do it in the near future. He already has the tools needed so for the price and time it would take to get a c-clamp and the magnets he'd do a professional job. Heck, I don't even know where to buy magnets outside evilbay and that would take half of the Summer!

 

You can get magnets for everything from supermagnete.de. Good product, nice people.

[Dave Higham]

15 minutes ago, nakedzen said:

You can get magnets for everything from supermagnete.de. Good product, nice people.

I agree.

[Bizman62]

Thanks, good to know an EU place!

[Bizman62]

So... The pickups are now re-magnetized - it's possible that the pile of neodymium magnets salvaged from hard drives in the drawer below the shelf where I stored the pickups for a couple of years did something, or that they interacted each other being in touch for that long. But they now work!

The finish is a self-relicing mess, it seems to melt by touch. I'm teased to strip it away and spray a 2k on it. But for now it will be as is at least until the class starts again.

[Nicco]

Looks really cool in that photo, mate. Well done

[nakedzen]

That's a tight vote, honestly expecting this to win. Looking great!