Andyjr1515

Ahah! I stand corrected! Thanks for tracking it down

The irony, of course, is that Trini Lopez's Gibson didn't actually have the florentine horns and nor did the Gibson Trini Lopez ES-335 that they marketed. But then, they brought out the Trini Lopez Deluxe model that did have the florentines - although I'm pretty sure that there's no evidence that Trini Lopez actually played one. It is, to my eye at least, a very attractive feature.

It's been a bit 'head down and battle on' with this one. Added some luminlay side dots and top MoP dots to the fretboard: Made some knobs: Fixed the magnets to the control hatch and the flush-fit truss rod cover: I'll be staining the spruce under the thumbnail cutaway so it blends in better: Note the headstock swifts also added. The positioning was thought up by Jack and his good lady. I think it's great And that's the basic build done Still to do is the final finishing, the fret ends/levelling/etc and then just the installation of the hardware and electrics And so, just a couple of gratuitous mockups and then, sometime back end of next week, I should be able to show the completed guitar. Just hoping @mistermikev isn't just about to finish another one of his masterpieces for the December GOTM!!! Oh - and final projected weight? 8 1/4lbs (and 1 lb of that is the Maestro trem!!!)

Yeah...I'm interested in that too. The timing of me finishing my ebony 335 is now totally dependent on avoiding Mike's next entry

This is what I call an engineered build! Love the attention to detail and precision of that neck block...

That looks lovely. Excellent work.

Congrats! A very well-deserved win

I really like that carve detailing on the headstock. That is something special! I'm a bit of a heathen with my builds, but for the fretboard I would personally do a relatively dry tru-oil slurry (using wet and dry emery where the wet is tru-oil). I would then scrape the excess off with a credit card (across the grain) to fill the grain with the slurry and also clear the fret slots before it dries too much (best done within 30 minutes). I would then leave it overnight and then the following morning sand the residue off back to the pre-treated board. You should find that most of the grain has been filled fairly invisibly. If there's still some there, just repeat.

That's looking very classy, @ADFinlayson

Thanks, Mike No - decent ebony doesn't need any treatment at all - think violin fretboards/(older) piano keys. And it will polish up to quite a gloss if you want it to - don't I remember you, @ScottR , showing that on one of your fretboards? It is hard work, though...

I'm pleased with it. I've just applied the first coat of oil to the centre section which has toned down the 'Black Forest Gateau' look and I reckon it's starting to look pretty good. That said, it is definitely on the brazen hussey end of the scale

Steinberger holes drilled - so time for a gratuitous mock-up When sanded and buffed, the fretboard and headstock plate will polish up to the same sort of satin finish as the ebony on the body. The remaining visible neck laminates will darken with the application of the Tru-oil but will buff up to a similar sheen. They don't do the Steinbergers in nickel but I think they are far enough away from the main body. Only a few jobs left on the basic build and then I can move onto the final sanding and finishing

Ah - I understand Fear not. The plan is to just sand and buff the ebony. No oil or other finish. The tru-oil bit is just the walnut and neck

Intrigued! Not so much by how the hole was/could be formed as much as where this is going to be used in an acoustic build

And so to the headstock plate. Before gluing, a vital thing not to be missed - cutting the access to the trussrod: The cunning plan is to use the cut out above as the cover, fitted flush with magnets: There will be a shallow scoop at the apex as a finger-nail access (this will be a snug fit!) And no, you can't have too many clamps! The plate is presently oversize at the edges and will be sanded flush with the headstock once the glue has fully cured.

Hmmm...maybe not on this one. I have the Steinberg banjo tuners going on - which will be a diagonal line along pretty much the whole length and my gut feel, at least at the moment, is that it won't need anything else.

That statement must have one of those uniquely Tasmanian traditional references in it Yes indeed. To use a less unique Anglo Saxon traditional reference, I'm going to wing it Tru-oil slurry and buff. This will darken the timbers and bring out enough of the figuring of the walnut and will end up a very similar satin sheen and feel to the untreated ebony. I've got some more Tru-oil coming today or tomorrow so will be able to see if my winging works (and try saying that after a few pints of Titanic!) The plan is to finish the build elements this week and finish the finishing next. Mind you, you know about the plans of mice and men (origin unknown).

OK - I think we are on the final furlong With grandparenting duties done for a few weeks I have a fairly uninterrupted run to finish this off. Jack and I have been doing some work on the headstock arrangement and he has come up with a shape that I think works beautifully. It gives a respectful nod to the original but is its very own. This is a mockup, but later today I will be cutting and gluing on the actual ebony plate. At the same time, I've been experimenting with some ebony offcuts from the top wood to see how well a 'no finish, just sanding & buffing' approach (think violin fretboard) works. The trials went well and so I did a quick and nasty to see how it works on the whole top. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but...I reckon it works

Bring it on, Dave! Yes - very interested

Yup - looking very good

Fabulous build

I think this is coming along very nicely. That second shot is a nice flattening...

I like the decal too. Creates a very 3D vibe and is stiking against the black. How are you planning to flatten after the final coat? Watching with interest - I struggle with can-spray but it would be very useful in certain circumstances.

We're still fine tuning the shape of the headstock, but it is likely to be in the Firebird/Thunderbird ilk. The original Trini Deluxes seem to have had a number of variations but most appear to have had something like the Firebird. This will be fitted with the Steinberger banjo replacements so, within reason, the wood can be any shape. Also the neck carve is basically done. Jack took me some profiles from his favourite playing guitar and I've used those to try to gain a familiarity of feel with this build. I use a combination of spokeshave, micro-plane blade and cabinet scraper to creep up towards the shape: The chalk line along the spine is so that I never dig into the spine which would affect the neck depth. The neck carve is my favourite part but is often too quickly done and gone! And then the preparatory work on the finishing of the body. I use a rough version of the Tru-oil slurry and buff method early on to act as a: - grain fill / gap fill / sanding sealer - 'reveal coat' to show up any glue residue, sanding marks etc. To do this, I sand with some brutal 120 grit emery (with the grain always) used wet where the wet is lashings of Tru-oil. You end up with a slurry of wood dust that is then wiped off and allowed to dry. Even at this early stage, it's showing some promise