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KnightroExpress

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Everything posted by KnightroExpress

  1. KnightroExpress
    Another productive day at the shop! I wasn't digging the 2+4 headstock I came up with, so I decided to behead and rehead this neck. Also, I added a bonus slice of pau ferro for a bit of extra flavor. Next up- holes for bridge mounting and strings: Since these pickups are going to be direct mounted, I wanted to come up with a solution to retain a bit of height adjustment and eliminate stripped threads in the body. I'm using tiny press-fit flanged inserts that take #2-56 machine screws. Finally, I drilled the opening for the jack. I love electrosockets! So here's where I finished for the day: As I type this, the fretboard is currently glued and clamped to the neck, so I'll be able to get rolling on fretwork next time I go to the shop. Thanks for looking!
  2. KnightroExpress
    Ah, good idea! I'll keep that in mind.
  3. KnightroExpress
    Thanks Scott! Matt- the one maker space I've found locally has a laser cutter, but it's barely big enough for a fretboard. I'm still searching though!
  4. KnightroExpress
    I'm a big fan of lasered acrylic templates, I use them as often as possible. The cost is definitely a factor when considering them, but I feel that the accuracy and durability more them make up for the price.
  5. KnightroExpress
    I wish I had a laser cutter! I'd do all sorts of fun stuff. I use Pololu for custom laser cutting. They take my CAD files, cut the templates, then ship them to me within a couple weeks. I'm looking for a local business to cut my next set, but no luck so far.
  6. KnightroExpress
    Thank you! I'm happy that a silly little thing I whipped up can be helpful to others. As for the templates, you could definitely laser cut them at home....provided you have a laser cutter in your closet
  7. KnightroExpress
    Still waiting on that tool....international shipping is killing me. On the bright side, I'm now a part time employee at the university wood shop, so I should have a lot more consistent work time. Tonight, I decided to get the padauk guitar back on track. Routing the pickup cavities: The fretboard and heel cap are some deliciously dark pau ferro and I wanted to make a matching cavity cover to use as much of this wood as possible. There was a bit of lighter wood along one of the edges, so I did a little slip match to make a nice bold streak. And finally, I routed the control cavity ledge. Thanks for looking!
  8. KnightroExpress
    NIce! To echo what Scott and Carl said, your experience is easy to see in the quality of your work. I'm looking forward to seeing more!
  9. KnightroExpress
    Wow! That is seriously beautiful.
  10. KnightroExpress
    Thanks! Yes, that piece is laser cut. It's actually the waste portion of the pickup cavity route from my main template, so I'm making use of something otherwise useless. Hahaha as for the Katana, I have this terrible habit of not actually explaining what in the hell I'm talking about half the time (ask my wife, I drive her crazy). It's an adjustable fret leveling tool made in Japan. Essentially, it's a machined aluminum beam with a truss rod inside. You adjust the beam to match your fretboard's contour under actual string tension, then use it to level the frets. Here's the website if you're interested in taking a look. I don't know that it's any better than a traditional fret leveling job, but I aim to find out! Actually, since it was so expensive, I think I'll write up a review and assess its value after I use it.
  11. KnightroExpress
    Extremely minor update: I have the guitar strung up and settling into proper relief. I'm currently waiting on my Katana so I can try some fancy fret leveling, which, of course, requires me to keep string tension. In the meantime, I decided to make a baby jig to assist in the drilling of pickup mounting holes. This piece is the interior of a pickup cavity from the templates for this guitar. I simply marked out the mounting holes and cut the shape down so I can easily pull the jig out of the cavity. The holes are 1/8" so I can just use a transfer punch to mark the hole location. The Katana is supposed to get here some time next week, so I'll have something cooler to talk about at that point. Thanks for reading!
  12. KnightroExpress
    Well, now that it's officially 2016 I suppose I'll make a new thread. Minor update: I drilled the tuner screw holes and installed the hardware to make sure everything lines up properly. Tomorrow, I'm going to make a rough nut out of a spare blank I have floating around and get some strings on this baby. For now though, pics:
  13. KnightroExpress
    That is simply gorgeous.
  14. KnightroExpress
    Congratulations! So.... what are you thinking for the next one?
  15. KnightroExpress
    I love this guitar.
  16. KnightroExpress
    I'd go chrome to retain the old-school car vibe, but black would look killer as well.
  17. KnightroExpress
    I'd love to see an article on photography.
  18. KnightroExpress
    Sublime!!! This is a really cool build.
  19. KnightroExpress
    Happy holidays, everyone! The shop is closed for winter break and the lead-up to Christmas was super busy, as expected. I was finally able to take some time today and finish fretting. Here's a holiday health and safety tip- make sure your wife is totally cool with you cutting up her yoga mat. What can I say, it made an excellent table protector.
  20. KnightroExpress
    Alright, time for the latest set of progress pics. Drilling the bridge holes Drilling the bridge ground, which was only lightly stressful... I'm going to source a better bit before the next time I do this. Everything worked out fine, though. I made a quick little template thing inside the cavity so I could thin out the switch area and keep it looking nice. This is a few chunks of maple to provide walls for the bearing and a padauk bridge for the router base to ride on. Yes, I'm currently designing a permanent jig in AutoCAD. Quick test fit for the bridges (yep, they fit) And of course, back to fretting. Thanks for looking!
  21. KnightroExpress
    It's not a problem, I appreciate the help!
  22. KnightroExpress
    Thank you! When did you sign up for Dropbox? As I was reading on their site, I found that user accounts created after 2012 do not have the option to create a public folder unless you pay for a Pro account. In any case, I'll just keep uploading directly to PG. It was super fast and easy to manage.
  23. KnightroExpress
    Ok, I'm gonna try this direct file sharing thing! Here's a few of the pics from my intended post above. Flush mount Straploks and Electrosocket: Fretboard, plus a few frets. No finish added, this is just the result of working up through 12,000 grit Micromeshes. Aaaaand black pearl dots.
  24. KnightroExpress
    Apparently, the Public folder isn't an available option for newbies like me. I copied the so-called 'shareable' links for each image, but no dice, as you guys can see. Well....can't see, haha.
  25. KnightroExpress
    You're not kidding! Photo hosting has been awful this week no matter where I turn. Looks like these images don't show up for anyone across any forum, so it's not isolated to PG. I'll fix this post up when I get home from work.
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