Jehle

I've been playing around with BeAR's technique for making logo's on transparency film. Some things have worked better than others. I tried 3 different techniques: 1) photocopy reversed logo onto transparency 2) inkjet reversed logo onto transparency 3) laserprint reversed logo onto transparency The photo copy was okay, but the ink could be scratched off too easy with a stray fingernail. The inkjet behaved the worst out of the three. It printed okay, but once the silver pen touched the plastic, everything got ugly. The silver ran everywhere. I couldn't stay in the lines. So, the best of the three was the laser printed version. It did something to the plastic. It baked it so the silver didn't run on it at all. Here's a photo of the best one so far. I colored in making several small dots with the silver pen. I tried to "write" with it, and it was too messy. Go slowly and take your time (just like everything else in this business). Now, I'm going to try to attach this baby to a piece of scrap wood. I found some Deft clear gloss lacquer at WalMart. Given that Deft is Brian's brand of choice, I'm pretty sure it'll be a good place to start. Wish me luck.

Farther up in the thread, Brain mentions Deft lacquer sanding sealer. I have not been able to find that brand. I've found one by Plaid, and another by Rust-o-leum. I have not tried either one of them. As for what it is, according to StewartMacdonald (www.stewmac.com) a lacquer sanding sealer is a clear lacquer with twice as many solids. So, one coat of sealer = 2 coats of clear lacquer. Like Brian said before, you can just use the clear coat, but you will wind up having to use several more coats. Hope that helps.

That's pretty cheap. I have access to both a laser printer and supplies here at work. I'm going to try both techniques though, just for the learning experience. If one works better than the other (I suspect Laser will be the way to go), I'll know for the future. I guess I should call mine the JELLYCASTER.

Well, I'm a non-Jem player here. I'm even a non-whammy player. I've always been addicted to Fenders. I've had occational affairs with ESP, but I always come back to the Strat. There's no doubt that Steve Vai and the Jem guitars have changed the electric guitar as we know it. And while I don't really want a Jem, I enjoy watching what y'all do to your guitars so I can apply it to what I want to do.

Bear, did you use a laser printer or something else to print yours? I only have an ink jet at home. While that's fine on paper, I'm not sure it would stick to the transparent film (let alone stand up to the torture of laquer). I'm curious to see how your logo stands up to finishing. Brian, this would be a great tutorial once this method is perfected. Anyone with a computer and a printer should be able to do this.

Like I said before, you could use the same technique to spell anything. I couldn't resist this one. Just need the transparency film (5-finger dicount from work) and the silver pen. I drew a set of Bezier curves over the Fender logo, and then mutated them to spell my name. I used an old version of Corel Draw for this.

I have to admit, I've never thought much for swirl paint jobs until I saw this one. I'm impressed. Any chance of showing some pictures of the swirl painting process. We're all waiting for that paint tutorial.

I thought that waxing the ends was done for wood that was air dried, and that that sort of thing took 50 years or so. I don't have that much time to wait around. If the wood is kiln dried I would think that the plank should be usable. If the piece of Walnut is highly figured, it might not be suitable for a whole body. I thought that highly figured woods were slightly weaker, and that they were better off to be used as a laminate. Just my 2 cents. I really don't know much of anything about woods.

I think you have to inflate her first. There's chips and salsa on the table, and beer in the fridge. Happy Birthday Alex.

Shouldn't your Fender logo be upside down then? Sorry couldn't resist. I'm a stones throw from GEJones. Right off the Tennesse River near Huntsville, Alabama.

Yeah, it is easy with the kits. I've used them on several things before. I think the marble finish is best for "rock guitar". Ouch...

Ah, what the heck... Jehle's gear and stuff all crammed into a spare bedroom.

This is just the sort of thing I was suggesting for Bear's strat project. If you're going to make a logo, serial number and all, why not give the number some meaning. Why not have a cerealnumber? Or, write in really tiny letters "Nosey little bugger, aren't you?" )

That's sweet. I would be proud to have that as a first restore project.

Alex, I was able to download something! It's a little slow from this end, but at least it worked. I have nothing bad to say at all. You have good tone, solid skills, and the arrangements are nice. What more could I ask for?! Once I finish this kit project of mine, I'll have something to post. Delaying the gratification is tough. How you were ever able to make one from scratch in 2 weeks, I'll never know.

Vernon Reid used to play a guitar with a similar finish. The video for "Cult of personality" comes to mind. To me it looks like the guitar has been painted a solid color several times. Each color just goes right over the previous one. And then a sander is used to partially strip the colors off to reveal the under coats. Then I guess you would put a clear coat over it. That's how I would do it.

With my luck, if I did this, I'd wind up with a STARTOCASTER.

That's an odd animal for sure. Reminds me of Adrian Legg with that combination of acoustic / electric works. I'm also trying to figure out what the top is. It's flamed, but it also looks like its multiple planks. Good looking guitar. Nice job, eh!

The old turn the drill press into a lathe trick. Actually, that's a pretty cool idea. I just happen to have some scrap bits of maple around from another project too. I'm in like Flynn. Thanks for the suggestion on turning my own dowels. That'll be my next project before I start applying the finish. I want to get the holes correct before I start finishing.

Ah, well that makes sense then. I'd be tempted to play with the serial number. I'd encode my name in it (like the old calculator trick where the numbers upside down spell my name 314377718).

BeAR, you are the master of Bezier curves. The only thing that I have to wonder about is why you've chosen to copy the Fender logo. You could make it say "Fodder" Reminds me of the fellow who took his Marshall stack and turned it into an "arsehole" stack. Still, I like the technique. It looks fantastic. I'm curious to hear how the finish goes.

I was just about to post a question on this very topic. I was just going to follow the material finish directions, and substitute the paper artwork. I have a nice big sheet of some MC Escher sketches that I think would look cool. Wish me luck. Oh, and Brian, where do you get the Deft Lacquer Sanding Sealer? I'd rather use that than Modge Podge.

Whoa... That's cool. The first thought that comes to mind is the Ripley stereo guitar that was out in the late 80's. You could pan each string separately. You could probably do that with these pickups. This is a really cool concept here with the ability to move each pole up and down the guitar body. I'm not sure how practical it is. I wonder if they have some sound samples of it on that page. I need to dig a little deeper.

I'm at a point where I'm test fitting the neck onto the guitar body. The neck has been installed on another body previously, so the holes in the neck don't match up with the holes in the body. I'm going to have to drill new pilot holes on the neck but they are going the be close to the exising ones on one side. I'm worried that the neck screws won't have enough material to dig into and hold the neck in place. What I would like to do is fill the existing holes in the neck and drill the pilot holes again. What do y'all suggest I fill the holes with? Toothpicks and Titebond II?

More links... http://www.geocities.com/dan_paolino/log.html http://www.si.edu/lemelson/guitars/noframes/eg08.htm And the interview... http://www.planetjinx.com/les_paul.html