ScottR

Huh. I'm still learning something new every day. I wonder why it works that way. One would think that more hardener would come out more harder...if one didn't know any better.

SR

I decided to test out a couple of finishing products/techniques as I have this need to have projects, but am not quite ready to begin my next guitar. One was Tru Oil, as I really like the way it looks when done well on this site. Mostly Quarter's exquisite lap steels come to mind. Gun stocks look nice too. The other is Z-Poxy which is mostly used in our world as a grain filler to the best of my knowledge. I have used it in that capacity and I have used it to fill the eyes of my bear carving. As bear's eyes it polished up like glass. I'm wondering how close to Rustin's plastic finish it is.

I had a piece of fire wood I had been saving back for a couple of years because it appeared to have a nice curl in it. It also had some spalting. I sliced a slab about an inch thick out of it and sanded the sides down. The curl didn't show up as well as I'd thought it would. It did show some burl like figure here and there. The spalt looked nice. Here are the two sides before I applied any finish.

Then I proceeded to apply Tru Oil to one side and Z-Poxy to the other. The Tru Oil is going on and building up about the way I expected. The first coat of Z-Poxy went down nice and cured up hard. The second coat cured up very nice and shiny; it looked like a bar top, but it was some what soft. I polished it anyway, while going though the Process up building up the Tru Oil. It polished nicely but marred too easily. So I tried a couple of experiments. You are supposed to mix equal amounts of resin and hardener and it is supposed to be forgiving enough to mix by eye. Since my last batch was soft I mixed a small batch with a bit more hardener than resin. It came out soft and slightly sticky. So I mixed up a batch with more resin and less hardener. This came out rock hard. That seems counter-intuitive to me. Has anyone else come across this phenomena as well?

I sanded off the soft layer and mixed the next two at roughly3/2 ratios of resin to hardener. It has a longer working time and flows out fairly nicely and the nearly all the bubbles pop. Here are the sides in the middle of the process.

This side has Z-Poxy

This side has Tru Oil.

When they are completely finished and polished I'll through the final pics.

SR

Just another update.

I know this CNC crap is boring as hell.

Nope, not at all. I for one, enjoy seeing a problem laid out and then systematically solved. I doubt seriously if I'm alone in this.

Carry on.

SR

As long as you don't go deeper than the lowest dimple you should have plenty of clear left.....That sounds like I'm stating the obvious . Ths pics don't look like the clear was pulling away and leaving fisheyes. It just looks like you've got more leveling to do than you're used to.

So, I hope that wasn't the new process you were speaking of....

SR

You got enough headstock material for a 24 stringer.

SR

Yeah, I think this dye job came out better than the first one even when it was fresh. I just realized that you are clearing this before you have drilled for your pots. Do you always do it that way?

So, was Mrs. Paulie happy with the blue strat......and what not?

SR

First check your black parts for the blue tint without the laquer. It is very common for black pigments to have a blue cast or a red cast or a green cast or a....well, you get the picture. Also check your clear on other colors --particularly white--although it is common for white to have a blue cast or a yellow cast as well.

Odds are very good that whatever is causing it will not gas off. If it is in the clear, then leveling and buffing will help, just a little because it will only be because you are reducing the thickness of the coat therefore removing a little of the blue along with it.

On the bright side, guitars spend most of their time indoors under artificial light, so odds are you will not see it too often.

SR

Hard to tell without a pic, but hairline checks in burl walnut is not uncommon. If the wood is dry and seasoned, and being that its going to be laminated to a stable sub surface, I'd say wick in some water thin CA and call it good.

I agree completely. I fail to see how glueing a piece of wood to itself ala fixing a crack can affect sound any more than glueing one piece of wood to another--which happens everywhere is guitar construction.

SR

Finish looks great! Nitro is interesting stuff. It can be finicky and forgiving at the same time. But dang don't it polish up nice.

SR

Not much lol. Inlaying is a PITA.

Also, weddings prevent progress lol

I thought you were already married. You've mentioned "the wife" a few times.....I just assumed it was "your" wife you were referring to.

SR

Oh, I'm totally married!

2 friends I set up in college are getting married, and my wife's cousin is getting married.

Thanks for bringing the thread back up though! I have time to work on it today

Yeah, I know. I'm just poking at you. Two friends you set up huh? That's some pressure for you.

I had to bring the thread back up. You can't just be mysterious and then walk away and leave us hanging. That would be wrong.

SR

Not much lol. Inlaying is a PITA.

Also, weddings prevent progress lol

I thought you were already married. You've mentioned "the wife" a few times.....I just assumed it was "your" wife you were referring to.

SR

so... colors?

If the woods you are using bear any resemblance to your mock up, I'd keep them pretty close to natural. A mild amber tint would look nice on both the front and back with a mild burst on the front of a shade that ties to the bubinga in the neck. The padouk is going become closer to that color in time. Speaking of which, you are going to have to work very carefull to keep orange dust out of your maple.

SR

Pretty sure its African Mahogany.

What have you done with the "art"?

I see that stuff all the time around here with high price tags to sell to tourists. It is really terrible. Don't understand what the tourists see in it.

There is lots better real African art around. Look out for the Ndebele art. We had a Ndebele artists finish off some of our Afri-Can Guitars and I believe Billy Gibbons has one now. Not sure how true that is though.

Keith

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...c=43011&hl=

Alright Narc.

What's going on with this?

SR

Your rendering makes the neck profile appear trapezoidal....is that the plan?

SR

I'm with Spoke. Thin CA.

SR

Dude That's AWESOME

SR

I like what you did with the feather. And the bridge mount looks very cool. I'm looking forward to the finish.

SR

Thanks. It was a challenge to make. Not perfect but not bad for a first try at something this complex.

I have some black walnut, 2 inch thick by 18 inch x 8 ft long. Thinking about making this guitar in black walnut.. Carved 1 board Face and Back, black walnut neck and ebony fretboard... Lots of dark woods.. I'm thinking it would look pretty cool.

That is a serious plank of walnut. I agree it would look pretty cool. You could also make a one piece out of that...if you're looking for another challenge.

SR

Dammit Man! That's beautiful. I love all the individual bursts you did.

Awesome.

SR

The spalted maple would probably look best IMO. The scarf accent will be balanced by the other wenge accents you're going to have. That combo will look nice.

SR

You can use a straight bit with a shaft diameter that matches the cutting diameter as a pattern following bit as long as you insure the shaft is the only part that touches your template--just like the bearing is the only part that can touch the template. This has been shown in some of the guitar building books....though I would imagine the shaft would eventually burn and wear out faster than a pattern bit with a bearing.

SR

This one will definitely pull into the station.

SR

I am still not 100% sold on the volute on the back of the neck. The maple wenge maple looks weird and may come off.

You might consider taking another 16th" off the back of the headstock and volute and adding a wenge backstrap. It's probably going to take another wenge accent elsewhere on the guitar to balance it and make it look like it belongs though.

SR

I seem to remember a guy, Henry I believe, that made a nut from a moose bone he stole from his dog. Your rib bone should work. Let us know if you get an irresistible urge for BBQ every time you play it.

SR