AlGeeEater

OK, anyone got any P-90 dimensions? I routed out the P-90's but I was looking at some things and I think I may have to deepen the cavity to about 3/4". Anyone got have any say in this? Thanks, Chris

Well, I figure i'm going to lose 2 pounds on the carve (maybe), so the body would be abouy 6 pounds or so, and the neck won't be that much. I really can't figure it until I get the neck cut out and such, but i'm figuring on the 10-12 pound range. Anyways, most Les Pauls are around 12 pounds.

OK, 10-12 pounds. A nice leather strap and a few gigs he won't even feel it on his shoulders!

Right now the body (even with those 2 small chambers) weighs in about 8 pounds, so I figure the whole thing together will be about 12 pounds. You have to also realize i'm going to be taking a lot of the top off for the deep carve i'm going for. Ah well, the guy i'm building it for has strong shoulders, he's a pretty big guy.

You know, I've always fancied Santana's. I think that'll be my next project, but first I want to finish this. No pickgaurd on this thing, it would be a shame to cover up such nice flame.

Fine! I'll go with the abalone.

I thought about that too Mike, but in the long run the white binding is cheaper, easier to work with and would compliment the binding on the body/neck/headstock really nice. I even considered binding the back of the body, and running a strip of binding down the back

OK well here's the little bit of progress I made yesterday. I drilled the hole for the toggle switch and rounded over the back edge of the guitar. I spent most of the day getting the body thicknessed and everything to the correct dimensions (mahogany = 1-3/4" thick + maple top = 3/4" thick). That took a while! As you can see, when I started to thickness the top to the correct thickness, a gap between the tops started to appear. I suspect this has to do with how the top flexed when I glued it onto the body from me trying to get it flat. The edges where square when I joined them, but they must have flexed a bit. No big deal, i'll just buy some thin binding and run it down the middle of the top. Hell, I think it will look pretty cool honestly. Round Over Another thing, make sure the edges of the pieces you're gluing up are square and 90 degrees, not rounded over from sanding. (hint, take a look at the lower right hand corner of the pic where the maple top meets the body ) Good thing i'm installing binding and not doing natural binding. Peace Chris

Yes, they're very necessary if your compressor uses oil, or sucks up some dirt partiles that pass through the filter right into the tank then to your gun. Keep in mind, the cold air that passes through the line will usually cause condensation inside the line (I believe), which goes straight to your finish and may cause blushing or bubbling. I wouldn't spray without them hooked up to my rig for sure.

You compressor should turn itself off after it reaches a certain PSI. Then, once you start using the air, it'll automatically kick on and supply air to the tank, atleast mine does anyways. How big is your compressor? If it's a small pancake compressor you really have no choice but to leave it on, they're only a few gallon tanks, but if you have a bigger compressor like a 10 gallon, you should have no problem with filling the tank up and spraying a body before the compressor kicks on. I wouldn't leave the compressor running if it was located in the room you're spraying in though, but leaving it on during spraying is fine.

Get a poly-bowl filter. It's basically what Drak and Doeringer suggested but it filters out dirt and oils also from reaching your gun. I'm not sure if just a standard water trap gets rid of dirt and oils. I use two of them, one at the gun and one at the beginning of the line (at the compressor).

I'd say buff it, but that's just me. You can scuff sand it and let it sit for another week if you think that's going to make it cure more. 5 weeks is plenty of time for nitro to flash off and cure the solvents, i've buffed out guitars with nitro in less than a week after spraying. You have to keep in mind it takes a long time for nitro to fully, fully cure. It's taken 7 months for some guitars i've sprayed to fully cure and evaporate all the solvents. Hell, I can smell the black strat I sprayed around November-December and 7 months later it doesnt smell. Keep in mind I buffed it out after 2 weeks using a heat lamp.

Go get one they're pretty cheap.

David, you can buy the flap sanding disks at Home Depot, they have the 4" and the 4-1/2" sanding flaps. I just picked up my makita 4-1/2" angle grinder today with a few sanding flats along with it. It's awesome! I bet Drak has somewhere else he gets them though. Project looks amazing as always Drak, loving the top!

Oh yes, the carve on this thing is going to be pretty awesome. Pretty much a blend between a PRS Singlecut and a Standard Les Paul, except the carve is going to be real deep (3/4" top). Should be pretty sweet! Thanks guys Chris

Here's what i've done so far. I've glued the top on, routed it flush with the body, and routed out for the pickups. Next on the adgenda after lunch i'm going to drill the holes for the volume/tone, the switch, and the strap buttons. Then just roundover the back, route the binding channel and that'll be it. Maybe i'll rough out the top today, maybe not I wan't to start the neck, and get it fit into the pocket. No, your eyes are not decieving you, the router bit collar slipped and moved up (all of a sudden, it seemed to be stuck for a few months right where I liked it) and took a whole bunch of wood out. Luckily, it didnt get the template AND it will be covered by the pickup rings. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/AlG...er/DSC02234.jpg Also, i'm sorry about the crappy pictures. I'm kind of in a hurry to get finished with lunch and run over to home depot to pickup a 4" angle grinder I'll get nicer pics later. Peace, Chris

Today I routed out for the p-90's and started to do the control cavity from the back. I'll finish the control cavity tomr, drill for the strap buttons and radius the edges (I wonder how binding would look, hmm) It's not bad, i'm just not sure if I like the binding idea. Maybe it'll grow on me, who knows. Pics tomr! Chris

No updated photos yet Mike, I just glued the top on today. Looks great, everything is still lined up, there's on gaps on the side of the body, everything came out good. Next on the adgenda is to send the body through a thickness sander to flatten the top, and get everything to the correct thickness. I'll probaly end up hand planing the top to get it flat and to the correct thickness because nobody around here has a freakin' thickness sander. I don't mind the work, I love hand tools but thickness sanders are just soooo nice I'll have pics tomr!

I got my 14" Ridgid at the Home Depot. Can't beat $350 & 10% off for the floor model, PLUS they did all the work to get it into my truck. It's the biggest bandsaw they sell in the store, but I believe you can get bandsaws anywhere online.

He obviously thinks somebody is going to spray his body for free, which is just a pipedream unless you bring the guys a 6-pack along with the guitar. Why can't you just wait until you get some money and spray the body?

Look in your local Yellowbooks for auto body shops, collision repair shops, etc, etc.

Thanks Mike. Yeah, I thought about the 10" Delta too, but then I realized I had the cash, and well a bigger bandsaw can't hurt right? Jon i've got it all mastered, set up and kick @ss now. I love this thing, it cuts like a hot knife through butter. Erik it sure does! I cut the top out for the LP on this thing, took me a total of 3 minutes to cut them BOTH out. With a jig saw it probaly would have taken me 30 minutes. It's definatly changes everything, time is money!! Chris

The reason it was twisting was because of many things. Mostly because this thing wasnt set up properly and to my liking (Home Depot probaly assembled it). I found that the belt connecting the motor to the wheel blade was mis-aligned, the guide blocks where improperly spaced, the support bearing was too far from the blade, and too much to the right of the blade (same things with the lower blade guides). I got it all set-up now, and it's running great. Just waiting for my new blades to come in.

Hey guys, just bought this bandsaw. It's a 3/4 hp 14" Ridgid bandsaw. It retails for 350$, but Home Depot gave me 10% off because it was a floor model, the only one they had left. So I bought it for 315$, and the service contract thing was 50 bucks, so I have a warranty on this thing for 7 years, for 15 dollars. Not bad eh? This thing cuts like BUTTER. I'm having a little problem with the blade twisting a bit when I cut, but this thing needs some adjustments anyways. Now I just gotta find room for it in the shop. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/AlG...er/DSC02212.jpg This thing is built like a ROCK. Real solid, real heavy (had to pull it out of the truck myself and move it to the garage myself, what a b!tch). I would totally recommend it to somebody who is just getting there first bandsaw (if they have the room). Great machine, i'm pleased. Chris

The benchtop one is nice, but if i'm going to even by one it's going to be an investement, and I wan't it to be soemthing big so I know it can handle what I plan to use it for. I will get one in the near future, once I get into a bigger shop/bigger operation. Until now it's either hand sanding, make my own or become good friends with a cabinet shop In time i'll probaly get the Performax 16-32 once I start making money doing this, and I have to room for it.