Dadovfor

Like this ...

And this ...

I'm still confused, what do you mean by water decal?

I'm guessing he is using water slide decal paper.

I have some A4 sheets somewhere ... some are clear, some are white. You can print a logo (or any image) on it using a printer or photocopier; cut out your logo; immerse it in water; and the top very thin plastic sheet slides on to your headstock ... just like those temporary tattoos you could get as a kid.

In my experience you need to shoot A LOT of clear over them to get the edges to disappear. One trick is to cut as close to the edge of your logo as possible so it's less obvious.

I don't understand Danish ... but I understand what is on this site.

... hope you've clear coated the sig!

I wondered the same thing ... are you going to bury it under some clear?

Great work, by the way!

Yeah ... happy birthday.

P.S. Which one is westhemann?? Is he a regular around here??

If a Corvus was being beaten with an ugly stick you'd probably think it was just two Corvuses breeding.

P.S. What is the plural of Corvus? Corvuses? Corvi?

P.P.S And what is the collective noun? An embarrassment of Corvuses? A disgrace of Corvi?

Struth!!

Something's not working?

I can't vote for it for GOTM??

Can a mod assist???

I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.

And if you want to endear yourself to fellow PGers, I suggest asking some insightful questions about sustainers.

Now that's just cruel!!!

All in all - it's not a good discussion as it always turns people into blathering voodoo botherers.

True dat!!!

I fixed it.

You had me confused for a moment with the disappearing typo.

Good old Wes ... clearly as compulsive obsessive as I am!!

I'm lovin' you're recent builds.

Why can't I edit my previous post!?! Specifically, the embarrassing typo!!

My tapered Rhoads.

You're an enigma k!!

I'm lovin' your recent builds.

Now I just have to wait for someone to call me a smarta$$ for giving you the EXACT information you wanted, despite that it's in the other thread.

I'm Australian John so I think you're a smart-ar$e ... as do the UK guys on the forum.

Does that count?

Yea time sorta got away from me. It turned out ok in the end. I used a 7 string strat trem. I think I might block the trem but cos I dont like it..Ill try post final pics tonite...Wheres the progress on this one turtles???

Didn't you have problems with the paint Floody, my man??

Pics and an explanation please.

lol sorry ....

This has got to be one of the best responses I've ever seen when a poster has been picked up for some transgression or other.

No arguing ... no flaming ... just a succinct apology.

I chose not to try the spray paint idea. If it didn't work out, it'd be a mother getting the paint out of all of the holes.

Given the intricacy of the design that seems like a sensible decision. I'm guessing it would have been near impossible to get the inner edges covered with any degree of uniformity.

That said, you've done a beautiful job.

What about the birdies??

I have 3 completed builds and 2 more on the go. But they're all for my kids so I ain't getting paid a cent!!

Thanks for the link Crusader. It's always good to see build posts as well detailed as that one is.

I was given a piece of jarrah by a guy at work (14cm x 4.5cm x 103cm) and damn, is it heavy!! I was thinking perhaps a laminated neck ... but maybe chambering is the go?

A spray adhesive may be the way to go. That will give you the flexibility to lift the image and re-position it if you're not happy with placement.

You'll also need to consider the thickness of the medium that you print on to as your clear coat is going to have to built up to that plus some to give you an even surface ... with no ridge at the edges.

I've heard of people spraying the fronts of posters and photos with several coats of nitro or other lacquer; letting that dry; and then carefully rubbing away the photographic paper until they have a thinner poster. Once you secure that to your guitar and shoot more nitro, it will burn in securely. I'm sure that's been mentioned on here somewhere ... good luck with searching

But you might want to consider water slide decals. I'd get a sheet of white (as opposed to clear) and print your image on that. It's very thin; it's easy to slide into your desired position; and you can go over the top with nitro.

I've used auto lacquer and nitro over water slide decals ... but if I had to recommend just one it would be nitro.

Should I use a plunge or fixed base?

When starting at the top with my template and 1" bit do I route the whole 1" or do I set the depth at about 1/2" and then reset the depth at 1" before I flip the body over and finish up?

???????? Schappy, take a look at my previous post.

I use a plunge router. Put your 1" bit in and plunge it to the full depth and lock your router in place before you start. It'll be easier to control than manually plunging.

Route the whole 1" in one go. But take it slowly ... don't force the router and dont try and 'cut it out' in one go ... shave the sides off.

You really need to look at your humbucker in profile ... as well as the specifics of your build and the proposed action ... and then measure how deep you need to route to allow for the depth of the humbucker and also for the ears.

I generally route the cavity deep enough for the body of the humbucker (plus a couple of millimetres) and then carefully drill a few millimetres deeper at either side for the ears.

Are you using a mounting ring? If so, you can route as deep as you like as long as you don't have a tremolo cavity on the other side or you don't route all the way through the body

No ... you don't need it and it would be next to impossible to line it up with your routing from the top.

In effect, your 1" deep routing from the top creates an accurate template that your routing from the flip side will ride along. As long as you are using pattern bits (where the bearing and router are precisely the same size) you can't go wrong.

Take your time and think about each stage as you do it ... you'll be surprised how straight forward it is.

Just to clarify some things from an earlier post ... when you route from the top, make sure that the shank of the bit is fully and securely locked in the collet of the router. And then make sure that the guide bearing through the base of your router by the same distance as your template so that it will ride along the edge of your template. Don't plunge the router as you go, lock it down in the correct position and eyeball it before you start routing.

Then when you're sure you've got it all lined up, start routing.

But something that may have confused you ... you're routing will be consistently 1" deep through the thickness / side of the body if you've locked your bit in properly ... okay. But depending on how closely you cut out your guitar shape, there will be a quarter inch or so that will be visible past your template when you view if from above. That's the bit that people are telling you to take gradually.

If you use a half inch bit, don't shave more than about a quarter of an inch at a time. I'm sure your router will let you do it, but you'll blunt your bits ... that's all.

Go for it ... and post some pics if you want to double check anything.

So if the body is 1.75" thick and I use a 1" bit(with bearing on the top) I use the router in 1/2" increments then flip the body over and finish the remaining portion with another bit that has a bearing on the bottom.

Does the bearing ride on top of the template?

Will I have to make a template for the back of the guitar as well as the top?

Schappy ... trace your template onto the blank in whatever you think is the best spot (for grain, flame, etc) and cut out your shape just outside, but very close to the outline. Then attach your template to the body (double sided tape works) and use your 1" bit with the top bearing. The bearing rides along the edge of the template and the bit is shaving an inch all the way around the side of your blank. Depending on how close you managed to cut out your blank in the first step, shave back with your router in passes so as not to overload your router bit. Keep going until your bearing is riding smoothly along the template.

Take your template off and you now have a perfectly shaped body ... but only 1" through your 1.75" blank

So flip the body over and use a 1" pattern bit with the bearing at the bottom. That bearing will now ride along your perfectly cut body and it will clean up the final .75"

Make sense?