Dward13 Posted August 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2023 Came up with a set-up to install fretboard inlays after the fact. A carbon fiber plate with an opening to hold the router. I only had 2mm carbon fiber so I used carboard shims to hold up the carbon fiber so it stays flat under the weight of the router. Made the template from some left over Kydex, but plywood or anything would work. One problems is that the bit for the inlay tool isn't very long so the router base can't be more than a 3/8 in. or so above the fretboard. So, template material can't be too thick. Made a tool to match the sizes of the inlay guide ring and bit to use in aligning the template. Once the inlay was glued in, the Dremel and router base cut in down. Made for a pretty subtle 12 fret marker. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 4, 2023 Report Share Posted August 4, 2023 so... back before I joined the dark side of cnc... i had thought about a similar jig. for me... i wouldn't be doing inlay after frets... but I wanted to do it after radius. what I was thinking (mentioning on the off chance it adds to the conversation) was to remove my router base altogether and replace it with a piece of reinforced plexi with risers (very similar to what you have there, but not attached to the table... ie moveable, but mounted to the router). the neck would be clamped like yours... the router would hover above the neck and freely move around supported by removable risers. removable risers so I could set dif heights (LP vs strat etc). Base would need to be say 4" wider than the neck so you could reach to the edge of either side of it. solves issues of bit length because the base wouldn't need to be any thicker than typical router base. I have a dremel base much like yours.. planned on attaching similar reinforced plexi - say 6-8" wide with risers on either side for detail work. using the holes for the two "posts" that attach the alum base to mount the plexi. plexi would allow you to 'see' where you are w/o the need for a big hole where the router might be 'unsupported' hanging out over the edge. anywho... just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dward13 Posted August 7, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2023 Can't just have one project going so I'm getting started on the next one. Using the same Stratlike body with a flame maple top. Back is a birdseye backbone with mahogany wings and walnut/bubinga accents. Plan on doing a burst finish Blue-Green-Yellow. I used the two color stain method on my 2006 build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 8, 2023 Report Share Posted August 8, 2023 Congrats for the GOTM well earned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dward13 Posted September 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2023 Starting to look like a guitar. Finish pretty much done, even took the time to install side dots. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dward13 Posted September 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2023 Got a new shop helper: SuperMax 16-32 Drum Sander. I've had a Delta X5 sander since 2004, but it's been a constant pain as it was a very bad design. Funny Story: I used the Delta sander for a couple years then these gears that raise and lower the deck broke. At the time Delta was merging with some other company and wasn't supplying parts. It took like 3 years to get the parts. By that time I was not going to use it anyway so it just sat. After moving I managed to get it working but not for long. Finally decided that I'm too old to mess with some tool I need and use so I popped for the new one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 16, 2023 Report Share Posted September 16, 2023 On 9/14/2023 at 10:14 PM, Dward13 said: Got a new shop helper: SuperMax 16-32 Drum Sander. I've had a Delta X5 sander since 2004, but it's been a constant pain as it was a very bad design. Funny Story: I used the Delta sander for a couple years then these gears that raise and lower the deck broke. At the time Delta was merging with some other company and wasn't supplying parts. It took like 3 years to get the parts. By that time I was not going to use it anyway so it just sat. After moving I managed to get it working but not for long. Finally decided that I'm too old to mess with some tool I need and use so I popped for the new one. Very, very envious. There's not a chance of me getting one into my teeny workspace but boy would it make a difference if I could! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 16, 2023 Report Share Posted September 16, 2023 Guitar looks great, by the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dward13 Posted September 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2023 Punched out the holes for the pots and switches. Now, to figure out how to cram all this stuff in the control cavity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted September 17, 2023 Report Share Posted September 17, 2023 Hoh, that looks funny without pickup cavities! Not bad by any means, it's pretty as can be. Just makes one want to take another look to believe their eyes. Do the wires in the cavity need to be that long? Or are they ready made to a given length and too difficult to reinstall the connectors without special tools? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dward13 Posted September 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2023 10 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: Do the wires in the cavity need to be that long? Or are they ready made to a given length and too difficult to reinstall the connectors without special tools? Everything in the GraphTech kit is prewired with the connectors. Probably would be a little tricky to shorten the leads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted September 17, 2023 Report Share Posted September 17, 2023 57 minutes ago, Dward13 said: Probably would be a little tricky to shorten the leads. Little time consuming perhaps but not tricky, if you have proper crimping pliers. With regular pliers it’s painful job. And of course you need correct size crimp connectors too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 20, 2023 Report Share Posted September 20, 2023 I'm assuming this is the Ghost Acousti-sonic and Hexpander? Are you planning/do you have enough depth to stack them? Makes quite a difference to the real-estate they take up if you can (and I think from memory that it takes a 2-connector multi-wire cable out of the equation). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 20, 2023 Report Share Posted September 20, 2023 On 9/17/2023 at 9:35 PM, henrim said: Little time consuming perhaps but not tricky, if you have proper crimping pliers. With regular pliers it’s painful job. And of course you need correct size crimp connectors too. Personally, I wouldn't. Having fitted this combination in a number of my own guitars I class it in the 'great idea but much too hard' category. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dward13 Posted September 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2023 7 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: Having fitted this combination in a number of my own guitars. Andyjr1515, have you by chance ever used the GraphTech system alone without any magnetics? I'm installing all the switches etc. just in case someone wants to add magnetics in the future. Also, now that I've got a working drum sander I stated playing with my stash of top woods. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 20, 2023 Report Share Posted September 20, 2023 2 hours ago, Dward13 said: Andyjr1515, have you by chance ever used the GraphTech system alone without any magnetics? I'm installing all the switches etc. just in case someone wants to add magnetics in the future. Also, now that I've got a working drum sander I stated playing with my stash of top woods. Beautiful wood! I've always used the graphtec set up with magnetic pickups too because I used to find that the blending of the piezo emulations with the standard passive pickups added depth and/or cut-through power to the sound in the mix, especially with the acoustic emulator. That said, the 3 way toggle allows mags only/both together/piezo only and so also used to often play with the piezo emulators only. I ran the hexpander through a Roland Guitar Synthesiser (G35?...may have mis-remembered the model designation). That gave a stunning range of effects, designateable to each individual string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 What a lovely piece of wood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dward13 Posted October 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2023 I've been working on learning how to work with stain. Been thinking of a Blue-Green-Yellow burst type pattern. Got some Keda stains, the liquid kind, don't really like the "Amber Yellow", doesn't mix with the blue very well to make a green shade. However, with a sanded back light brown base, it does make a nice goldish color, looks kind of vintage. Ordered some of the Keda powdered stain to try those as well. Been trying the Angelus stains, having a little more luck. I was initially thinking of airbrushing the stains, but after watching a bunch of YouTube vids, I'm starting to see how you can blend colors with just a cloth applicator. In several videos they talk about "the steel wool trick", what's the deal with that. As far as I can figure it's helps blending colors, or fading specific areas that are to dark maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted October 25, 2023 Report Share Posted October 25, 2023 9 hours ago, Dward13 said: In several videos they talk about "the steel wool trick", what's the deal with that. Tried to google for that and all the primary results were about making iron acetate for making the wood darker. Or making fireworks... But it might also work for blending, especially from dyed to bare wood as it's subtler than sandpaper. Using steel (or nylon) wool for applying oil finish is common, the slurry acting as a pore filler. However, that's not recommendable for water based dyes as the steel particles will get trapped and rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dward13 Posted November 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2023 Got a start on a new body. A four layer sandwich: 3/8 in. figured maple, 1/4 in. walnut, 3/4 in. white ash and hard maple backbone, 1/4 in. walnut with center accents. Should give the appearance of bindings. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.