Drak Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 This is a placeholder for the moment, but I assure you it will pick up speed shortly. When I posted a few finished guitars around the end of 2018, there were several requests for 'More Steerheads!' (cue SNL cowbell skit) Well, I didn't forget and I'm working on a Steerhead right now which prompted me to address this somewhat dated request. So I'm going to post a boatload of Steerheads here, all in one thread, until the topic is exhausted. The Good, the Bad, the Burnt, the Broken, the re-negotiated, the starters and the benchwarmers, the playahs and the poser-boys. The Brazos Valley contingent...the Rio Bravo brigade...the Badlands Pistoleros...the Compadre Cavalcade, the whole Corral cut loose. Coming soon to a theater near you, please observe proper seating distancing and wear your damn face mask! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 I'm glad you are doing this Drak. The last time I went hunting for steerheads, photobucket was holding all your pics hostage. Didn't get to see a one. And I felt so deprived. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 never really been into steerheads... more of a cattleskull kind of guy... always have been... you don't have any of those do you? also, no idea what this is about... but I support it... whatever it is... and pretty sure I want to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 I Googled 'cattleskulls' just to be sure I knew what you were referring to. Google popped this up, is this what you mean? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 11, 2021 Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 5 hours ago, Drak said: I Googled 'cattleskulls' just to be sure I knew what you were referring to. Google popped this up, is this what you mean? oh @Drak, fatal mistake of taking me seriously! i was trying to be funny (cattleskulls vs steerheads)... yes that looks to me to be a cattleskull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 6 hours ago, mistermikev said: oh @Drak, fatal mistake of taking me seriously! i was trying to be funny (cattleskulls vs steerheads)... yes that looks to me to be a cattleskull. Then I believe we are each in alignment, where steerheads and cattleskulls can co-mingle in harmony. You then, sir, will not be disapointed, is my forecast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 11, 2021 Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 18 minutes ago, Drak said: Then I believe we are each in alignment, where steerheads and cattleskulls can co-mingle in harmony. You then, sir, will not be disapointed, is my forecast. noice... looking fwd to it! (note to self - would be cool to incorporate a cattle skull into future guitar build pictures... maybe some tumbleweed...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted February 11, 2021 Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 And the coco shark! And the WOD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 Haha! The W.O.D... Komodo, we only talk about the W.O.D. in silenced, hushed whispers in the dark, vacant, dank, and rarely accessed corners of the dark web. And I still remain the midget...with a bucket and a mop...in the dungeon of despair where I rule in the darkness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 OK, let's get the party started... I had just been kicked out of an anger management class earlier in the day...hahaha! <I kid, of course...but maybe not!> 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 Trail Boss with different pickups/hardware. Old Trail Boss went through at least 5 makeovers in the years since he was a calf... There are three different pics already up and old TB has a different look every time out the gate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 Ever see the movie Inception? Yeah, its like that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 Some never made the cut far enough to get named and inevitably had close personal contact with the W.O.D.. This is one such unfortunate creature, you will see many more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 There was potential there, to be sure, but I can be a hard taskmaster...= toast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 Skinned alive! Here's a refin I did using a heat gun to remove the first (lacquer) finish, Chevron Sunset. The old girl is still with me to this day, this was probably oh, 8-10 years ago? But, each pic has a steerhead in it, so we're good to go. And, its interesting! You can see Both the dye On the wood, and the dye In the lacquer (my typical shoot scheme, a little of both) Pretty damn clean strip job if you ask me, no burns, no digs, no mistakes. This first shot, my hand is pulling that strip of lacquer up and off the wood, you can't see my hand in the pic. You can also see that 90% of the burst is done right on the wood, the dye in the lacquer is just the last 5-10% of the job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 11, 2021 Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 i don't know what kind of insanity pills you are taking that you would strip that one... no doubt you'll make it look great again but man... she really looks beautiful in the "B4" pick. gonna be pretty hard to top that! so many lovelies there but that one and the blue "articulated" one are my favs!! did you hand rub that one? would love to see your technique. also... how do you feel in general about the tele format? (hehe, this is a joke) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 3 hours ago, mistermikev said: i don't know what kind of insanity pills you are taking that you would strip that one... no doubt you'll make it look great again but man... she really looks beautiful in the "B4" pick. gonna be pretty hard to top that! so many lovelies there but that one and the blue "articulated" one are my favs!! did you hand rub that one? would love to see your technique. That strip job was done a loong time ago, here is the refinished job, might have different pickups in it now. I kind of laughed when I was done, for the time it took, it looks very similar to the first rendition. And it was completely stripped and sanded back to raw before the refin. But its more 'contrasty' now from light-to-dark. Basically, wound up being an improved version on version one, ...almost like putting a contrast filter over No.1. Arguments could be made for either version, really, version 1 looks a bit more 'traditional', version 2 looks more 'rock' if you ask me. I don't do hand-rub dye blends, my bursts are done with an airbrush (or my regular spray-gun sometimes). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 12, 2021 Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 1 minute ago, Drak said: That strip job was done a loong time ago, here is the refinished job, might have different pickups in it now. I kind of laughed when I was done, for the time it took, it looks very similar to the first rendition. And it was completely stripped and sanded back to raw before the refin. But its more 'contrasty' now from light-to-dark. Basically, wound up being an improved version on version one, ...almost like putting a contrast filter over No.1. Arguments could be made for either version, really, version 1 looks a bit more 'traditional', version 2 looks more 'rock' if you ask me. I'm tempted to do it again, with even more contrast the next time... I don't do hand-rub dye blends, my bursts are done with an airbrush (or my regular spray-gun sometimes). I have pics of the airbrush process done on another guitar somewhere... ok, admittedly... you eclipsed it. very nice. odd coincidence I use an airbrush too. it has so much better control. I've never tried with a detail spray gun but I like the fact that you accomplish the burst in several passes with the airbrush. really nicely done there. i like how there is just a tiny hint of darkness creeping over the edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 I think you and I use dissimilar terms for the same thing (i.e. cowskulls/steerheads) When you say detail gun, I think you mean (what I call) a pint gun. If true, that's my normal spray gun, I never use quart guns, don't even own one. Although I do have two detail guns, one with a big(ger) tip for clearcoats and one with a finer tip I usually use for the bursts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 A shot of how I layout my (active) 5-control scheme. And a shot of how I cut my switch slots (this was asked about in a recent thread) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 Jamaica-Caster! It has different pickups in it now. This is a traditional Tele, non-active controls. This is a 1/4" Oak top over chambered Cherry core, pore-filled with black Timbermate pore filler. The headstock is taken from a roll of Oak veneer I have, same process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 Another group shot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 12, 2021 Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 Is there only that round hole behind the steerhead in your sandwich versions? Easy to store picks in, a pain to get just one out during a gig... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gogzs Posted February 12, 2021 Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 This is why I keep coming to this forum... I didn't even know how much I love steerheads until I opened this one. Amazing job, damn, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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