RVA Posted May 5 Report Posted May 5 I don't expect it to be too much different than the Tele builds I have done but I may approach it different. Specifically, no drop top. I am considering this slab. It is ambrosia maple on the outside wings and red alder up the middle. What do you all think? 1 Quote
Asdrael Posted May 5 Report Posted May 5 I think it looks good as it is now but before committing it might be worth trying out a finish if you plan on a transparent one. I think alder and Maple will react quite differently and you might have a hard line than you wished for. 1 Quote
Bizman62 Posted May 5 Report Posted May 5 12 hours ago, Asdrael said: I think it looks good as it is now but before committing it might be worth trying out a finish if you plan on a transparent one. I think alder and Maple will react quite differently and you might have a hard line than you wished for. True. My first build has a maple top on an alder body, finished with glass clear 2k poly. The alder is significantly darker. That said, as such the colours don't argue too much, yet the border can easily be seen. If you're going to use a transparent finish I strongly suggest you to try it on scrap pieces to see how the colours change. "Clear" finishes often have some sort of a hue which doesn't actually add anything but can strongly emphasize what's already there. Both woods look great on their own. If that was my build I'd be tempted to make the center block narrower for a neck-thru look. And maybe even adding thin contrasting strips to separate the alder and the maple. But that's your build, not mine. 1 Quote
RVA Posted May 5 Author Report Posted May 5 Thanks fellas. I will take a cutoff from the bottom and spray it to see what pops. Quote
RVA Posted May 13 Author Report Posted May 13 I was not inspired by that project at this moment. I have replaced it with this pile of wood, which included my unfinished quilted maple neck 3 Quote
Bizman62 Posted May 13 Report Posted May 13 Sometimes it's better to take a time-out. And when you have such gorgeous woods at hands you don't have to think what to do with your spare time. 3 Quote
RVA Posted June 8 Author Report Posted June 8 I played with some color on the back of the top. The recent beautiful green guitar build was an inspiration. The bottom is green over sanded black. I cannot achieve a deep black to get the desired contrast. I will try wetting the top first as was suggested here recently. Above that is straight green. I may do green/black on the edges and straight green in the center in a burst fashion 4 Quote
RVA Posted June 8 Author Report Posted June 8 Trying my best to adhere to the principle that you can't have too many clamps 3 Quote
Asdrael Posted June 8 Report Posted June 8 1 hour ago, RVA said: I played with some color on the back of the top. The recent beautiful green guitar build was an inspiration. The bottom is green over sanded black. I cannot achieve a deep black to get the desired contrast. I will try wetting the top first as was suggested here recently. Above that is straight green. I may do green/black on the edges and straight green in the center in a burst fashion Not sure how dark you want to go, but maybe you could add a bit of black in the green before applying it? Then once applied and dried, go over it with steel wool. You'll get a darker dark color and a lighter light color compared to what you have here. Figure looks awesome by the way! 1 Quote
RVA Posted June 8 Author Report Posted June 8 9 minutes ago, Asdrael said: Not sure how dark you want to go, but maybe you could add a bit of black in the green before applying it? Then once applied and dried, go over it with steel wool. You'll get a darker dark color and a lighter light color compared to what you have here. Figure looks awesome by the way! Thank you! I just want more contrast. I will darken the black, apply and sand back multiple times, and pre-wet the wood and see if that helps. Quote
RVA Posted June 9 Author Report Posted June 9 (edited) Well, I had some significant tear out when routing. I simply cannot read the grain pattern on such a busy figured top. Next time, no routing table for figured tops. I recovered the pieces but they were no longer a good fit, so I decided to sand my way out of the problem! This is now a strat-ish guitar build (which was pretty much inevitable). Edited June 9 by RVA 4 Quote
RVA Posted June 29 Author Report Posted June 29 Did a bit of routing today. A few holes remain in the neck pocket from the Forstner bits used to hog out material before going to the router. Although it will be hidden ultimately, I think I will go less deep next time. I went with a tele heel since to match the neck I am pairing it with 1 Quote
mistermikev Posted June 30 Report Posted June 30 top really looks good w that green on it, not the green black. black just always looks a bit dirty. that said... you could take a page from scott r and do about fifty different colors of sandback, then green. that always works out so nice for him. that said... it'd be hard to improve on just the simple green for me. good, you gave in and got a top... if it's worth doing... it's worth doing w a top. was gonna suggest at least a nice laminate but you got it going in the right direction, cudos. 1 Quote
RVA Posted June 30 Author Report Posted June 30 (edited) 1 hour ago, mistermikev said: top really looks good w that green on it, not the green black. black just always looks a bit dirty. that said... you could take a page from scott r and do about fifty different colors of sandback, then green. that always works out so nice for him. that said... it'd be hard to improve on just the simple green for me. good, you gave in and got a top... if it's worth doing... it's worth doing w a top. was gonna suggest at least a nice laminate but you got it going in the right direction, cudos. Thank you for the compliment and the advice. Keeping it simple never hurts, I suppose! Edited June 30 by RVA 1 Quote
RVA Posted June 30 Author Report Posted June 30 I did some more routing and located the bridge ground channel. I stacked 2 templates so I could get a shallow route for the cover recess. I suppose I could have simply used 2 blcks of wood under the template, but this allowed a bit more flexibility. Question: The set screw for the bearing collar on my router bits protrude even when screwed all the way down. It mars my templates on deep routes such as the control cavity. . Is this because I am using inferior bits? It is very (very) possible I am doing something wrong. I suppose I could file the screw down, but it seems like this should not be happening. Thanks for any guidance. 1 Quote
Bizman62 Posted July 1 Report Posted July 1 6 hours ago, RVA said: The set screw for the bearing collar on my router bits protrude even when screwed all the way down. The answer is that the screws are too long. Or the diameter of the bearing is too short. Or both. As long as your bearing is at least of the same diameter as the collar, filing the screw shorter is a valid option. If the bearing is smaller than the collar you'd actually be using the collar as the guide instead of the bearing which causes inaccuracy. 1 Quote
Asdrael Posted July 1 Report Posted July 1 Your templates seem pretty clean, nice! And nice progress so far. For the router bit, just file it down. Although this should not be happening. Are you sure the set screw isn't resting on something between the ring and the shaft? Or is it maybe a very cheap bit? The cleanest option would be to simply replace the screw with a proper one but the right size can be hard to find. 1 Quote
RVA Posted July 11 Author Report Posted July 11 I am giving the FB a radius and getting ready to carve some curves in the body. I will go with straight green for the top, and maybe a light to medium stain on the back of the neck. I am beginning to think that this guitar will resemble my lawn! 2 Quote
RVA Posted July 15 Author Report Posted July 15 I don't want to put this top on the router table for fear of tearout. Any advice for getting the most uniform roundover by hand? Thanks Quote
Bizman62 Posted July 15 Report Posted July 15 5 hours ago, RVA said: Any advice for getting the most uniform roundover by hand? Facets, similar to carving the neck. Start by drawing two lines both on the side and the top, the outer line matching the radius you'd like to achieve. File a 45° bevel between the two closest lines at the edge. Then draw new lines between the existing line and the edges of the facet. Also divide the beveled facet to 4. File off the edges of the facet between the closest lines. If you feel confident, you can skip the second faceting and just start rounding. If you choose that route, draw a line in the middle of the bevel as a borderline you shall not pass. Doesn't that sound similar to crowning the frets? 2 Quote
RVA Posted July 15 Author Report Posted July 15 3 hours ago, Bizman62 said: Facets, similar to carving the neck. Start by drawing two lines both on the side and the top, the outer line matching the radius you'd like to achieve. File a 45° bevel between the two closest lines at the edge. Then draw new lines between the existing line and the edges of the facet. Also divide the beveled facet to 4. File off the edges of the facet between the closest lines. If you feel confident, you can skip the second faceting and just start rounding. If you choose that route, draw a line in the middle of the bevel as a borderline you shall not pass. Doesn't that sound similar to crowning the frets? Very logical and methodical. Thank you! Quote
RVA Posted July 28 Author Report Posted July 28 I used these drill guides to make my bezel recesses and the holes for the neck's threaded inserts. I find it safer than my drill press since my drill press table is not too big and tough to get the neck clamped just right Quote
RVA Posted July 29 Author Report Posted July 29 I have been using these "sanding cauls (?)" to round the body edges. So far so good, but tough in the horns 1 Quote
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