Drak

The final finish formulation (after 10+ shots over the years) was this:

Catalyzed Laquer, 4 coats applied within an hour.

Let dry for 3-4 days, then sand all the way back to level (pore-filling, oil sealing stage)

2 more coats of Cat-Laq, let dry for 3-4 days, sand level with 400 for a physical bond, then 1-2 more light coats of Cat-Laq.

Then carefully sanded flat/level as possible. These coats are more oil sealer coats. Even tho it doesn't re-melt with every shoot like regular nitro does, the oils still seep up, but WAY less than with regular nitro. Every coat of Cat shot is bringing the oils to a stop, and as soon as possible. Each coat is like another oil-locker. I shoot these Cat-coats pretty thin. I can tell how much the oils are seeping by looking at my sanding pads when sanding level. Clear=great, yellowish= oil seep.

The catalyzed lacquer does not allow the oils from the C-B to seep up into the top coats, no one told me about that at first when I started out with regular nitro, and after a few months, the finish was so dark I could barely see into the wood. I was very dissapointed after my first few attempts, and I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on.

After sanding the 3 coats level, on to regular lacquer and normal procedures.

I couldn't use Cat-Laq for the whole thing because Cat-Laq, if applied too thick, has a weird milky appearance (lots of solids content) and it doesn't have the clarity and shine of regular nitro.

I read about putting regular nitro over Cat in some magazine when I was still looking for 'the answer', probably Fine Woodworking Magazine.

The weird thing that threw me hard at first was that when switching from Cat to nitro, I expected the nitro to go on and look good right from the first coat, and when it didn't, I got freaked out.

I found out later that when you shoot nitro over Cat, it is acting like shooting your very first coats onto wood, they look all dull and lifeless until you get several coats built up. I thought there was something very wrong at first...

So it's a hybrid. Cat-Laq fills pores quick, seals in the oils.

Regular nitro gives me the gorgeous see-thru gloss and shine.

Catalyzed Lacquer is extremely dangerous health-wise, and you have to protect yourself much more than with regular nitro, and you have to clean your guns after every single shoot session, and very thoroughly too.

But for this oily wood stuff, it was worth it, the colors have not darkened at all, the bright yellows have remained, I'm very happy with it. Pain in the butt tho.

Here are some shots of it pretty much done.

I lamed out on the wiring last night, doing that today, but this is the final look.

Hope ya like it!

Lindy Fralin PAF in the neck

DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge

Knobs in order:

Volume

Tone

EMG Afterburner pre-amp (pull up to activate, roll up for gain)

Strat-style recessed output jack (lower side)

I also have a Gibson truss-rod cover I'm putting on it just for the hell of it.

Coco-Bolo Shark 1

Coco-Bolo Shark 2

Coco-Bolo Shark 3

Coco-Bolo Shark 4 (Headstock pic)

Coco-Bolo Shark 5 (Pkp hole Shielding)

...and a third way...FWIW...

I take a piece of masking tape and stick it across all 6 holes on the back.

Then I take a ruler and pen and mark a straightline right thru the center of them all, just like you mark a centerline on a guitar body top.

Then I press one in place with my thumb to get the locating mark, measure the distance, and just mark the other five the same distance and drill 'em out.

Marking a centerline on tape assures they will all be uniformly lined up, and you only have to find one mark, and can drill all 6 off of that one mark.

That's the way I do it...

It's a pretty rare occasion that I complete 2 guitars within a month of each other (actually probably the first time)

I just finished up the Drakulator just a few weeks ago (now re-named Lenny, 'cause that guitar has let me know it wants to play nothing but clean, it has a gorgeous natural resonance to it that really leans to playing clean Ronnie Earl Strat-Jazz)

But tonight it's time to burn the candles late and finish up the Rhoads/Rosewood Shark Vee. Metal Mayem is about to break loose!

I just took everything apart and re-buffed the finish again. I had to drill out some more wood in the control cavity to fit the 3-way Gibson pkp toggle switch, and it made a mess of what I had done so far, so I ripped everything off of it and polished it up one more time with the buffer.

...And now it's time to really drive this one home to completion, I'm logging off and the game is on. I'd bet I'll be up 'till about 1 or 2am tonight.

A weird thing I picked up is that when this time comes for every guitar I build, I kick on the 1931 classic 'Dracula' (duh, go figure!). The very first guitar I finished, that is what I was watching that night, and when No. 2 rolled around, I decided to watch it again, and it has now become a really -weird- tradition with me.

I think I decided to call it 'Mr. Crowley'. Pretty stOOpid, eh?

PS, Bela Lugosi Rocks!

The 'halfway inbetween' -sawn, where it's not flat or quartered, is called riftsawn.

OK, first speaker post!

I like to buy and try lots of old weird speakers I find on e-Bay in my amps. I also don't like to pay very much for them.

So I hunt down the ones that have slight tears or rips, 'cause they always go for cheaper. Especially if it's only one speaker (most people are looking for matched pairs) So a single speaker with a slight tear or rip is right up my alley. Cheap.

This is really a recipe for doping the surround of a speaker, be it new or old, but it also works perfectly for repairing small holes/tears as well. Forget that napkin/silicone/paper towel stuff. This is sooo much better.

Weldwood Contact Cement, RED label, says 'original formula' on it (they have a few different ones) mixed about 50/50 with some Naptha. Use a smallish paintbrush to apply.

If I'm doing the surround (that's usually where the rips/tears are anyway) I hold the paintbrush still and rotate the speaker on it's back around in circles, lightly keeping the paintbrush on the surround and re-dipping into the cement mix when needed.

This formula looks -very- professional, not like a lot of goobered-up silicone-blobbed speakers I see that have been repaired. This stuff looks like it came from the factory that way, and you can thin it as much as you want with the Naptha, so if it only needs a very thin coat, you can mix it down more.

It's also great because the thinning allows the cement to really meld into the paper fibers and bond extremely well, not like some big blob of black goop or silicone...

There's my speaker tip.

I have saved literally hundreds of dollars by buying speakers like this, and it has allowed me to experiment with some really old and extremely toneful speakers of yesteryear for very little investment.

Once it has a rip or tear in it, all the big-money bidders look the other way, ...I love it.

There is a transparent dye made by Lockwood (powder form) called Silver-Grey that is a really neat color dye and goes great with a black edge-burst, or the PRS-style 'natural' binding look. It comes in both alcohol and water soluble forms. I like using water-based for the 'wiping directly onto the wood' basecoats.

I think PRS has done some like that.

Wow.

Those gits are purddy!

Yeah, I'd stay far far away from that. I'm not sure it's really even do-able (my opinion only)

1) I've never ever seen it done before, probably for good reason, although I have seen lots and lots of solid-burled bodies. That tells me something.

If it was do-able, someone here would have seen one by now. Burl is not a new option, it's been around forever, and I use a lot of burl myself, but in all the guitar-building sites I inhabit, I've never seen one done by anyone, anywhere, and I think we all know why.

2) Truly burled wood has no grain, no inherant strength, no quartersawn traits, that thing could literally take off and warp in any direction imaginable or break at the drop of a hat.

3) Burled wood can often be 'punky' or have soft spots within it like spalted wood does.

Now, a piece of wood that has a few spotty inclusive burls here and there might be a different matter...

But having said all that, I'm all for pushing boundaries and being creative, but I'm also used to experiments not working out= firewood

Are they dents in the wood or actual small spots of missing wood (holes)?

Dents should steam out.

Holes...well, ya gotta be creative sometimes. I also feel a little weird about the way it will accept stain using filler.

I'd sand it 'till it was right unless they're really deep. It might be the most labor-intensive option, but also maybe the most worthwhile one.

Quartersawn Spruce gets my vote.

Or some sweet Figured Koa.

Yes, you can do that, but if you're -not- doing a 'stain black then sand back' (which I don't think you would be with this) routine, then you should just bleach it first before you do any dying.

I have done what you are talking about to some Crotch Walnut that was stunningly beautiful, but just too dark. I bleached it, then stained it with a slightly reddish toner, came out great!

The 2-part bleach is made by Klean-Strip and is simply called Wood Bleach, and is pretty easy to find, and it will bleach that mahogony just fine.

It contains 2 pint bottles, you take a mixing cup and mix them together in equal parts in the mixing cup just before you apply.

One bottle is peroxide, I can't remember what the other part is...

It helps a bit to wet-wipe the wood, let dry, and lightly sand first tho, 'cause it will raise the grain...

It doesn't go down that deep, so if you don't like what it did, you can just sand for awhile and you'll be back to square one.

The 1/2" thick already-booked tops ...sounds like you should check out Gallery Hardwoods. That's what he does.

Well, normal lumber stores aren't really what your looking for for starters.

You're looking for more of a hardwoods specialty store, and I'd bet there's one near you, you just have to search it out. There may not be many, but I'd bet there's at least one close enough.

OTOH, I now buy on-line quite extensively, my local guy doesn't have the selection he used to carry years ago, and I had to adapt (at least for my fancy top woods)

If you are adept at doing on-line searches, which is an art unto itself, you'll find what you need. Be prepared to spend several hours searching, hunting, and bookmarking.

One of my regular e-Bay sources that has a good variety is Cook Woods, but there's lots more, and I have all my favorites bookmarked.

I have some for burls, some for nothing but Koa (all in Hawaii), some for Myrtle, some for figured Walnut (all on the West Coast), some for veneer, there's really tons and tons of sources out there. But you have to spend the time searching out what you want, it won't grow legs and walk to you. But it really is all out there at your disposal. And figured Maple would be one of the easier ones to find, it's pretty popular.

Look up Gallery Hardwoods for starters, he's a really great guy and has booked tops already cut and planed and ready to go if that's what your looking for.

But really there's tons of sources out there on-line.

It's all about the search engine and knowing how to do good detailed searches using the right words and leaving out the unnecessary ones that'll get you what you want, and the time put in searching...

But if I can buy locally, I always do, to be able to hold it and turn it myself, and to save on shipping fees...

This was my 'recipe' for the blue Lacewood...

1) Regular old 'stain black then sand back' routine. I normally use Behlens' Black Solar-Lux Alcohol stain for this. It is darker black than any other black I can make...

2) Then, after sanding back, Bleach the top. The Lacewood is a light brown, and I needed it to be really light/white to accent the blue. Blue over brownish wood looks like 'Dogpile Dinner Dee-lite'.

(Secret here) 2-part bleach only reacts to the natural colors of the wood, it doesn't affect anilyne dyes (well, maybe a leedle bit, but really not much)

...So you can bleach the natural wood colors out over top of your anilyne dye and not effect the anilyne dyes already applied. I learned this trick from 'thoroughly' reading the 'Finishing Bible', 'Understanding Wood Finishes' by Bob Flexner, the best book in the business if you ask me...when it comes to wood finishing, Bob is Jesus...he explains all the myths, all the hype, all the facts...

'Cause if you bleach 'First', then stain black then sand back, you will wind up with uneven surfaces, as the bleach doesn't penetrate all that deep, and as you are sanding back from the black, the surface will wind up uneven, as some parts will remain white, other parts will go back to the natural light brown, so I wait to bleach until I have done that part of it.

Then I (wipe-on) apply the blue, and my blue recipe is usually the Stew-Mac water-based blue mixed with the Stew-Mac Metallic Blue. After experimenting with both, I find that I like a 'blend' of both for my favorite blue hues.

Although on some (maybe most?) occasons I will drop in a few small dabs of red, and I think I might have done that on this one (done years ago, I can't remember!) as it does have a very slight 'purplish' tint to it.

That's pretty much my 'M.O.'...

If you didn't bleach, the brown of the Lacewood would ruin any blue you tried to go with. It would wind up being 'Suck-Ass Blue'!!! HAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!!!

That's why Maple is so great, it's damned near white to begin with most of the time...

It's kind of hard to tell, but if they did use stain directly onto the wood, then I'd guess they diluted it quite a bit beforehand.

That's the 'ace in the hole' when it comes to staining directly onto wood, is the ability to dilute the stain down to the point where it really is just a 'slight toner' and not really a 'full-on stain' before actually wiping it on.

I've found that water stains really 'stand out', I call them the 'comic book colors' as they are really really colorful as compared to alcohol stains which I think are better for a more 'vintage antique' appearance, and preferrably blended with lacquer and shot on.

And guitars being what they are, unless you're building a sweet big-box jazz hollowbody, I generally like to use water-based stains for their 'stand-outedness', then come behind them when shooting lacquer with the alcohol stains mixed in with the lacquer for the 'slight antique toner' look...I generally wind up with a combination of both water-based for direct-wood applications, and alcohol-based or metallic stains for the toners.

If it was applied to the wood, I'd swear it was diluted significantly beforehand, else it would have been darker...

JM useless O...

Maybe these will give you a few ideas, maybe give you a few ideas of what NOT to do!

Here are 3 pics of my Warlock madness, FWIW.

First is just the raw body, which is solid one-piece Ash that has been chambered out on both sides (like a 335 I guess) and a Lacewood top added.

Second is the stained version.

B*tch still ain't done yet!

I may add that this finish wasn't 'good enough' for me (idiot!) and I stripped it off and stuck on a Coco-Bolo top, along with routing a Floyd bridge cavity for it.

Well, sometimes Coco-Bolo looks great, and sometimes not. This was one of those times. It still has the Coco-Bolo top on it, but it's coming back off, and I think I'm going to put another Lacewood top on it.

I should have left it alone...(sigh)...Oh Well! HaHaHaHa!!!!

Raw Lacewood Topped Warlock

Blue-Stained Warlock

...And this is the way it looks now (like steaming pile...) seemed like a good idea at the time...

Coco-Bolo Warlock

I've got Sperzels and Schallers.

Sperzels - the knurled tightener knob is kinda rough on the fingers compared to the Schallers (and thinner), but that's just being nit-picky, it isn't that big of a deal really.

The Sperzels are only available in 'satin' finishes (I'm pretty sure anyway).

It bugged me at first, but it doesn't bother me now. I think it looks kinda classy now actually, but I remember at first it used to really bug me...

Sperzels have a 'placement pin' that you have to drill out for on the back.

Schallers - I have these on a 3-on-a-side headstock ala Gibson. The knurled tighteners are bigger and smoother.

Schallers have one screw on the back that holds them in place just like the regular Schaller tuners have.

As far as performance goes, they all do what they're supposed to do. Schallers might be a bit heavier, not sure. I would use either really, no real preference between them, except I'm really starting to grow into the 'brushed' Sperzel look lately...

I have a separate compressor / holding tank scenario, and I use 2 in-line dryers, both sitting on top of the holding tank in a 'T' formation. One in front of the tank, the other after the tank.

Can't ever have too much protection against moisture in the line...

Moisture BAD, moisture BAD!

I have read that the heavy-duty freezer aluminum foil is about equal to 1-2 coats of the carbon paint, not as thick as the copper tape.

But that's just stuff I've read in the past, I can't swear to it.

I'd still like to know what to re-liquify my carbon paint with...Naptha? Paint Thinner? Water?

Well, you don't want to mount it so far down that you couldn't sit the guitar on the floor and wind up having the jack-end of the cord hit the floor...dig? But it comes pretty close usually.

But not so far up on the side that it looks weird...

Do you have any other guitars with the jack placed on the side so you could lay that guitar (basically) on top of yours so you can get the idea?

If I had to, I would do that also.

But I take a voltmeter set on resistance, and just check all the different areas with the probes, from the pot shafts to the control cavity, from the output jack cover to the cavity, from the pot shafts to the output jack cover, and all areas of the control cavity, etc. etc...

As long as I'm getting continuity everywhere between everything, I don't see the need to solder the tape. If I ever didn't 'get it', I would certainly do some soldering.

Long story short, if you have a voltmeter, you can possibly save yourself a bit of extra soldering in that dept...I would be a little worried about many little solder blobs in the control cavity, and one day one of them coming off and falling into the 5-way switch or something like that...Just me probably...

After using both, I've gravitated towards the copper tape.

I've read it is a thicker shield than the paint and I've just grown more used to it.

Something I heard on the 'by and by' is that you can find the copper foil tape at stained glass hobby supply houses for much cheaper than the guitar stores sell it, but I've never actually bought it that way...

By the way, what is the thinner for the shielding paint? I had a jar dry up on me a few years ago, and I don't know what to cut it with to re-liquify it. I still have it, but it's all dried up.

Anybody know? It's the Stew-Mac stuff...

Roli, I'm still experimenting with it and letting the tone it wants to give off 'sink in' with me. Been playin' it all day today!

It's really leaning to Ronnie Earl/Lenny/10,000 Maniacs tones in a 'big' way, but I've just been playing it thru my '73 Deluxe Reverb sitting on top of a 1-15 extension closed-back bottom-ported cab, running thru both, haven't tried any high-gain amps (or any pedals) yet with it, and I don't think it will be a good match for them by the sound of it either (to my surprise as well). Except I bet a chorus will sound tremendous with it.

When I roll up the pre-amp all the way with the Barden, it sounds pretty screaming Roy Buchanan-ish more than anything else. When I roll it up on the neck/mid, it does rock out pretty nice with a nice fat hard-rockin' rich riffy tone.

I've got the Afterburner in a few others, and the effect is quite different for some reason. With those, rolling up the A-burner goes right into heavily-overdriven completely-saturated endless-sustain Satriani-Land (I like) but this one seems a bit different...Hmmmmmm...I still like tho.

But it doesn't quite 'twang' like a genuine hard-core grittin' on Tele either, but then again I never thought Bardens did that as well as a real Tele bridge does anyhow...the Barden is a guest at the moment, maybe subject to change, but the Lawrences are just made for this guitar, they fit it perfectly for what it apparently wants to do.

Actually, the Barden is out of phase with the Lawrences, just the way the chips fell between them, I was going to reverse the polarity to make it right, but I've found in the past few hours that the out-of-phase tone with it's reduced bass gives me the most twang-tone, so I might just keep it this way...we'll see...it's good for tonal variety.

It's got the Stew-Mac 5-way Megaswitch, which gets rid of the middle-pkp only (pos 3) in favor of the bridge/neck 'Tele middle-position' sound. So I'm getting 2 out-of-phase positions right now (3 and 4), the best twang being the pos. 3 bridge/neck...

Jehle, I'm a moron when it comes to having my sh*t and grits together for recording and posting MP3's. I want to get hooked up for that, but always seem to be doing something else and can't seem (as yet) to find the time to get hooked up like dat...I HAVE to get it together on that front soon...

I'll post some pics of the Gibson version soon. I call it 'Bones' 'cause the top is highly flamed Walnut that looks like an X-ray of someone's rib cage.

Thanks!

This is really my favorite shape and I am starting to consider it my 'signature' guitar shape.

I've made a HB/SC/SC EMG 'Metal' Floyd-equipped version,

a thick-hollow 2-HB angled neck 'Gibson' version,

and there are 1 or 2 more on the way

I really dig the body shape. Can you tell?

This is kind of my 'cover-all-the-Fender-bases Tele-Strat-Fender' version...

After playing it for a few days, it's becoming obvious by the tone that it really is a 'Lenny' machine, not really for hard-rockin', but I got some others for that...