Popular Post Lumberjack Posted December 3, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 Hey guys, it’s been a while! Finally got some time for another build. Vaguely 1980’s inspired, I just needed something slightly less figured and stabby to play with my friends (classic rock and 1980s/1990s covers, my usual pointy quilted maple schtick doesn’t match the vibe). Specs: - 24 ss frets, 25.5” scale bolt on. - Alder body, baked maple neck, bound ebony board with plain dots. - Gotoh Floyd (1996T), Hipshot tuners, DiMarzio Rainmaker/Dreamcatcher humbuckers. - Solid color painted body, matte baby blue/daphne, natural matte neck. -White pickguard, all hardware black. - 1 volume, 3-way toggle, that’s it I haven’t been too thoughtful/deliberate about pictures, just sorta snapping random stuff so here goes. First time doing a multi-piece body blank actually. I almost never use opaque paint so I never had a reason/excuse to do multi-piece bodies, but I kinda wanted to try it. My extremely professional joining method. Band sawed out. Shaped up. It’s been at least 12 years since I routed for a Floyd, let’s just say I’m glad I’ll be painting this body and get to use primer and a few coats of opaque paint to cover everything up! This is about where it stands, very similar to my usual shape but I plan on continuing to soften up the points and edges a bit. Not exactly a classic look I guess, but at least SOMEwhat less pokey. I’ve been doing faux binding on bodies and wooden binding on necks for a long while, never used this plastic stuff before actually. What a pain! So much more annoying to work with than wooden binding, or maybe it’s just that I’m not used to it. Couldn't rig up a decent clamping situation so I ended up using rubber bands and bleeding CA glue in. Worked fine but come on…. How do you guys do the plastic stuff? Do you heat it up? Any tips? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted December 3, 2021 Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 2 hours ago, Lumberjack said: How do you guys do the plastic stuff? Do you heat it up? Any tips? I've only done it once on a guitar body. Well, actually twice since on the first try the router bearing made deeper grooves on the side than what the binding was thick so I had to reshape the body 1mm smaller all around... But yes, heating helps getting the curves right. Or straighten the springy plastic for the fretboard. A hair dryer is safer than a heat gun as especially the traditional material can easily burst into flames. For obvious reasons I don't own a hair dryer but the heat gun worked fine when used with extra care and some distance. The smell told that there was a risk of fire, though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumberjack Posted December 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 5 hours ago, Bizman62 said: But yes, heating helps getting the curves right. Or straighten the springy plastic for the fretboard. The springy part was exactly the problem for the straight sides, very difficult/squirrely trying to get it to lay down - I’ll try heat next time. And… I’ll probably just build a jig. Jigs seem to solve all my life problems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted December 3, 2021 Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 Looking good so far! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted December 3, 2021 Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 10 hours ago, Lumberjack said: Hey guys, it’s been a while! Finally got some time for another build. Vaguely 1980’s inspired, I just needed something slightly less figured and stabby to play with my friends (classic rock and 1980s/1990s covers, my usual pointy quilted maple schtick doesn’t match the vibe). Specs: - 24 ss frets, 25.5” scale bolt on. - Alder body, baked maple neck, bound ebony board with plain dots. - Gotoh Floyd (1996T), Hipshot tuners, DiMarzio Rainmaker/Dreamcatcher humbuckers. - Solid color painted body, matte baby blue/daphne, natural matte neck. -White pickguard, all hardware black. - 1 volume, 3-way toggle, that’s it I haven’t been too thoughtful/deliberate about pictures, just sorta snapping random stuff so here goes. First time doing a multi-piece body blank actually. I almost never use opaque paint so I never had a reason/excuse to do multi-piece bodies, but I kinda wanted to try it. My extremely professional joining method. Band sawed out. Shaped up. It’s been at least 12 years since I routed for a Floyd, let’s just say I’m glad I’ll be painting this body and get to use primer and a few coats of opaque paint to cover everything up! This is about where it stands, very similar to my usual shape but I plan on continuing to soften up the points and edges a bit. Not exactly a classic look I guess, but at least SOMEwhat less pokey. I’ve been doing faux binding on bodies and wooden binding on necks for a long while, never used this plastic stuff before actually. What a pain! So much more annoying to work with than wooden binding, or maybe it’s just that I’m not used to it. Couldn't rig up a decent clamping situation so I ended up using rubber bands and bleeding CA glue in. Worked fine but come on…. How do you guys do the plastic stuff? Do you heat it up? Any tips? that is really a lovely piece of alder... shame to paint it (you should have used something with a big knott if you didn't want me to whine!! hehe). no doubt it will look great w paint. binding.. I dunno, I never really even though about it when I did neck binding. def never had to use heat but I guess it would depend on how straight you binding is. mine was fairly straight despite coming in bit wound up "roll". I just kept going 3" at a time... bend it back, put ca glue in... .and tape it closed. even with the overhang over the top... tape seems to keep it nice and square/flush to the bottom. I think binding is one of those things that is uncomfortable no matter how you do it and you just have to figure out what works for you. looks like you came out ok so... not sure I'd take my advice if I were u!! glad to see you back and look fwd to seeing your progress. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 4, 2021 Report Share Posted December 4, 2021 Ah yeah man. This is right up my current obsession street! Binding was never one of my strong suits, however years spent applying edge banding to weirdly-shaped things like ship radio station desks taught me a fair amount. Guitars are easier I think. A hair dryer doesn't apply enough heat directly enough and it's easy to concentrate it too much via overcompensation, causing one hot spot with cold binding either side. The upshot of that being you overcook the bend area and leave the areas either side cold, causing stress whitening within the material. The simplest way is to use a heat gun which puts out enough heat that you can warm up a larger length rather than risking "dwell" with a hair dryer. Obviously don't overcook one area! I'm going to try experimenting with hot water bending plastic next time. There's a limit on that heat which seems like it should help rattle out the overcooking fun times. I wonder how Gibson et al do this? They're geared for rush manufacture, so I presume they have a secret to tell on how that binding gets worked. On furniture I made a variety of cauls to roll and press banding into and around curves. Heat guns were useful for relaxing the banding before application, taping it in place, then relaxing again before retaping under higher tension. Fiddle farting to the max! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted December 7, 2021 Report Share Posted December 7, 2021 On 12/4/2021 at 9:08 PM, Prostheta said: I wonder how Gibson et al do this? They're geared for rush manufacture, so I presume they have a secret to tell on how that binding gets worked. On furniture I made a variety of cauls to roll and press banding into and around curves. Heat guns were useful for relaxing the banding before application, taping it in place, then relaxing again before retaping under higher tension. Fiddle farting to the max! I found this. Looks like they have people who do nothing but binding all day. Takes two months to learn to do it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 7, 2021 Report Share Posted December 7, 2021 Yeah, I've seen that at Gibson multiple times now in different videos. It's great when companies keep staff on long enough to become masters at tasks such as this, however Gibson have famously had high staff turnover in recent years. You just can't do that with staff who need high skill levels like this. I must have forgotten how they use acetone and binding goop as glue. The acetone will soften the binding strip, making it easier to bend. That little nugget must have gotten pushed off the far end of my attention shelf by me piling too much on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted December 7, 2021 Report Share Posted December 7, 2021 1 hour ago, nakedzen said: I found this. Looks like they have people who do nothing but binding all day. Takes two months to learn to do it. a while back I had the opportunity to live in memphis for 'puter training... I visited the memphis factory at that time and actually saw exactly what you are showing there. its pretty crazy to see in person, and left quite the impression on my mind. that said... binding the body/headstock is a whole 'nuther animal. Like prostheta I did abs edging as part of a cabinet making outfit and I guess for that reason that part has come fairly easy to me... bending 1/8" abs around a 3" radius corner is while supporting an 8' piece is a lot like juggling! for me... afa binding... a variable temp heat gun makes all the dif in the world. you get the heat just right and the binding will go "limp" and it's just a matter of not stretching it at that point. Not that I'm an expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 7, 2021 Report Share Posted December 7, 2021 Each different material works differently as well....even the "same" material from different manufacturers. The ABS I used on my Invaders guitar is very nice, however it soon whites out under stress. The next job is material that I can't even remember buying....let's see how that works! What I can say from this discussion is that everybody finds their method. Hair dryer, heat gun, solvents. You've just got to get your hands dirty and develop a feel for what works and what doesn't, using other people's info as a guide for boundaries. Like @Bizman62 mentions....not starting a fire is a good sign. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumberjack Posted December 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2021 Lots of awesome info on binding here, thanks so much guys! I really do appreciate it. I'll definitely be referencing your replies the next time I have a run in with the plastic stuff, and I think I will because it's looks so crisp and bright next to the ebony. Got some progress done, some of these photos were ripped from cell phone video I took so they're pretty janky. Got the trem and control cavity covers made. Infamous "no bolts" neck joint tightness test. ^ This and the next couple pics below are the janky ones. Simple dots. A few coats of color and the neck carved and inlayed. Really liking the color of the baked maple. I initially had a very matte top coat in mind for this guitar, but now that I see the color shining a bit, the idea of gloss has sort of made a come back in my mind. What do ya think, matte or gloss on this guy? It will have a pickguard of sorts, and I think that will be the same as whatever the body ends up being, i.e. matte or gloss. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted December 10, 2021 Report Share Posted December 10, 2021 A glossy guitar with a matte pickup would be my choice... I've seen and posted jankier pictures on this forum, no need for excuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 11, 2021 Report Share Posted December 11, 2021 Damn, that's a tight looking set of radii on there. Did you have much trouble keeping them sharp? They look somewhere like a couple of mm (3/32"?) which is damn hard to do. Well done that man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted December 12, 2021 Report Share Posted December 12, 2021 Dang that is clean! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted December 13, 2021 Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 That blue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted December 13, 2021 Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 I'm not generally a paint guy, but man that's so clean it's sexy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 I agree - that's looking really nice @Lumberjack. Beautiful colour. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gogzs Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 I can only imagine how hard it is to get such a flat color to look that good. All the surfaces need to be perfect, curves continuous etc. great job, love that tone of blue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumberjack Posted December 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2021 Thanks for the kind words everyone! The color did come out well, better than I had hoped honestly. On 12/11/2021 at 10:22 AM, Prostheta said: Damn, that's a tight looking set of radii on there. Did you have much trouble keeping them sharp? They look somewhere like a couple of mm (3/32"?) which is damn hard to do. Well done that man. I'm not sure which radii you mean, the horn tips, or the edges or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 21, 2021 Report Share Posted December 21, 2021 The edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumberjack Posted December 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2021 On 12/21/2021 at 5:21 PM, Prostheta said: The edges. Oh yeah, they're pretty tight - I didn't measure them, but kept them as square as possible throughout the whole body building process and knocked off the hard corner with some 220 right before sealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumberjack Posted January 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2022 Back to work: I ended up going with a matte finish for both the neck and body. Neck bound, inlays in, frets pressed, but still have all my fretwork to do yet, along with plenty of other stuff. Pickguard scroll sawed out. Back covers done. Pick guard finished. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 16, 2022 Report Share Posted January 16, 2022 That matte baby blue with shiny pure white plastics... So fresh! That looks like something Esa Pulliainen could use if he went metal! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumberjack Posted January 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2022 Got all the fretwork done today. Jescar stainless steel has been an absolute game changer - I love the stuff! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gogzs Posted January 17, 2022 Report Share Posted January 17, 2022 Damn lol, looks so unreal, CGI levels of uncanny how perfect it is. Great job man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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