sdshirtman

Very cool project. I'm looking forward to seeing you build the trem.

The humidity finally dropped down to acceptable levels so I got to put some color on this. I mixed about 20 drops of lemon yellow to about 4 oz of a 70/30 mix. I was hoping for a much brighter yellow but the maple is dark so this is as bright as I could get it. I did a mild burst using 10 drops of amber, one drop red and one drop med brown trans tint dye in a 50/50 mixture. And a quick vid of the back showing off the chatoyance of the sapele. It dances pretty good. I'm pretty happy with the way turned out.

I dont enjoy hearing about alcohol abuse like that.

Thats lookin very pretty. Nice chunk of wood you picked up too. Pity its too small for a top.

After 7 coats I sanded this flat with 220 and everything is sealed up. Lets hope it doesn't pull back in 6 months. I was looking forward to spraying the color and burst on this over the three day weekend but its 90 degrees out with 78% humidity. I guess this is going to be a golf weekend.

Tough month to choose just one. I went with the Royal for the inlay work.

Thx for the affirmation. Life is fun when you start second guessing the choices you've made.

And you're using Mohawk correct? I filled with the timber mate. You dont think that will be enough? I didnt have any shrink back on my last two but then again I shot it with a layer of sanding sealer first and was using a different product.

I used some putty in the ferrule holes because I had a rough time with them last time. First time I've tried it though. The tuner holes I'm not worried about because I'll just clean em out with a reamer when I'm finished buffing. If anything I'm thing it probably helps to seal em up a bit against any water damage when wet sanding. Carl I'm still finding my stride on grain filling wood. I wanted to try sealing with lacquer, filling then sanding back but I'm shooting this build and refinishing my last so I wanted to keep things simple and use the same filling method for both since one was getting direct stained. I cant stain over lacquer. I opted to use timber-mate again but I thinned it down a bit more than I did last time and took more care sanding back. After shooting three coats last night the african mahogany I'm refinishing hasn't completely filled in but did much better than when I used rattle cans last time. The Sapele on this build sealed up much better and has already developed some amazing chatoyance all on its own. I didnt stain the body on the current build but I did stain the one I'm refinishing with water based dye after grain filling. I'm wondering if the H20 dye didnt pull some of the timber mate out of the grain during staining. Its surely a possibility. I've read things about adhesion problems while using sealer so I opted to just shoot straight lacquer on this. I've been advised that by using this method I'll have to shoot more coats to completely seal it up but in the end my clarity will be much improved.

You've got some monster equipment there.

I was scrolling through your finishing pictures saying to myself, "meh" . . . . ."eh" . . . . ."meh" . . . . .then I saw that last pic and went Ooooh! Bold choice you made there. It came out beautiful. Nicely done and looking forward to seeing this one all polished up.

After some experimenting with the HVLP gun we have some first coats to show the figure in this. I plan on spraying tinted yellow over this. and And a good shot of the east side of my mancave.

Looking great. Where's its new home going to be?

Fair enough.

I tried some Acetone and lacquer thinner but it started making a mess. Had some citristrip here and didnt even think of it. Bingo. Been putting it off for a while and I gotta say I'm not enjoying chewing my cabbage twice.

I went to cut a nut for this and realized the blank I bought was about 2mm too short. I dont remember who posted it but someone here cut blank nut material from a dog bone from petco. I had picked one up a few months ago and now it was going to come in handy. I'd heard how bad this stuff smells and now I know first hand. The bone I bought cost me 3 bucks and I got 5 blanks out of half of it. Here it is finished up. Bridge is on and the build portion is finished. Its grainfilled and just waiting to be sprayed. I'm just waiting for my other one to be stripped so I can spray both at the same time. See my earlier thread. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/topic/45648-my-second-build-attempt/page-23 I hope to be spraying this weekend.

This build book is done but I'm adding another chapter. Those of you that followed this know of the nasty curing problems the deft lacquer gave me. Well the day of reckoning has come. WARNING -this isnt for the squeamish. Digging into this burst was very hard for me to do. Hopefully it will have a better chance at longevity this way and I'll finally be able to place it into a case without leaving marks on it.

Man after my own heart. And succeeded nicely. Get your mojo back? She's nicely feminine from the front, very fine curves. Is she comfy? And good news for us, based on your lacquer purchase, you've got several more builds in your future. Are you going to spray the neck? SR I guess I did and yes she's very comfy. I left the neck just a hair thicker than intended. I like super thin necks but they can be tiring after a few hours. I do in fact plan on spraying the neck. Six of one half dozen of the other. Strange that its a different cost where I am but then again its two different suppliers.

Are you just trying to give yourself time for the inlay? I'd think twice about gluing the fretboard after finishing. Sounds like a recipe for a refinish. Just my 2 cents.

If you do the French polish method please do document the process for us.

I was going to suggest some Aztec symbolism pieces because so much of it was done in turquoise but I cant wait to see what you do with Sitting Bull.

And I almost forgot. Speaking of finishing. I acquired some new toys. One of my neighbors is long term loaning me a 33 gal compressor with hoses that was gathering dust in his garage. I also scored some HVLP guns from a friend who bought them to paint a project his garage and wont be using them again. Moving forward I decided on some Mohawk stringed instrument lacquer for this. A local supplier here has it for $48 a gallon but was sold out and wouldn't restock it for 2-3 weeks. The next closest Mohawk distributor was 35 miles away but they had some in stock for $36 a gallon. Better yet they had a delivery van that went down to San Diego a few times a week and they could drop it off for me no charge. When they delivered it they brought Behlen and the not Mohawk I thought I ordered. The delivery guy told me its the same thing. I called Mohawk customer service and they confirmed its same exact formula. The only difference is the label. I guess Behlen is targeted for consumers and Mohawk is targeted for industrial guys and they have sell it like that because of the laws governing distribution of solvents. So in case anyone has ever wondered, Behlen and Mohawk stringed instrument lacquer are exactly the same. Just thought I'd share. Who knew right? I've logged quite a few hours using high pressure guns when I was younger but that was a while ago. I haven't picked one up for 25 years. I've never used an HVLP gun. I'm sure its not that different but it should be interesting to figure out. I've got some experimenting to do.

Thank you and I hope so. I did another magnetic truss cover. Ebony on top of cream ABS. It went a little faster this time but not by much. I'm going to have to figure out a jig to make it faster and easier to do this. I used a number 7 gouge and a beer to get it to the rough shape I wanted and then switched to a surform and a grinder. I was trying to get an ergonomically friendly shape while still tying into the contour at the butt end by the cavity cover. I need to install my bridge and I'm ready for finishing.

Looking very nice. The colors and wood grain on that reminds me of a boa constrictor.

That's the hard part. Building is easy, selling is not. LOL I've sold a couple on eBay, but i really need a dealer. Any suggestions? I wish I had a good answer for that question. I can say I don't think eBay is the best venue to maximize revenue you deserve for the time and work you've put into this build. Somewhere theres someone out there who would be willing to pay some big $$$ for this though. Carl just started a few business sections that would be good for that question.