Norris

7 hours ago, ScottR said:

Dude.........that is so sexy.

 

Damn.

 

SR

 

It's the way it's provocatively reclining in the chair, isn't it?

I might just press a few frets into it next week 

Inspired by @ScottR I went through the grits

(Slight knot flaw either side of the 15th btw)

It will be left raw with just a wipe of lemon oil

3 hours ago, mistermikev said:

wobble

I meant wobbling the inlay to find out where material needed removing. The SM router base is actually pretty stable when everything is tightened down

3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

The logo looks tip top, @Norris :)

Thanks. (I'm out of reactions again!)

@mistermikev you need something to rest on or you wouldn't have a base The SM isn't too bad for visibility but there was a lot of look/wobble/assess/nibble operations going on. It could use a plunge function, and I have to lock down both legs to stop it wobbling loose. Tilting the base was fine though for the small depth I was routing 

16 minutes ago, FINEFUZZ said:

in my mental preparations, I was planning on cutting the profile out of my ebony veneer before gluing it down to the headstock, as apposed to routing it out as you have.  Do you see any disadvantage to my approach?

Interesting idea. I did something vaguely similar when I bound the veneered headstock on my Nozcaster build. Except of course I took the material away from the outside. The only issues I can see is cleaning up the glue squeeze-out, or if the veneer changes shape slightly as it's applied

Having just sent this photo to the future owner I realised I tend to take shots of little details rather than the whole guitar. So I thought I'd share the current state...

1 hour ago, Splintazert said:

Very nice and very brave with the font, that 'S' looks like a nightmare to do.

So what's the story behind the 'O' design then? 

The S was actually a large cut out. A big circle with a hook on top. I'd never have been able to leave any wood behind, even with such a small bit.

There's no real story behind the O. I just kind of copied an RAF roundel in red,  white and blue because it's kinda British . The red is "coral"

The chap who made it for me is an artist - I've mentioned him before, but I'll do it again... Small Wonder Music. He said it was one of the more challenging jobs he's had 

I never do things by half, do I?!

To sand it back I wrapped a strip of masking tape around one end of the sanding block 

Then I could sand the inlays without taking too much off the headstock 

...and now after sanding back...

That last photo is extreme closeup. You can see the epoxy in places, but it's about 0.5mm wide. Fairly chuffed with that

Edit to say, that's down to about 240 grit. I've still got the tuner holes to ream out, so there will be a proper sanding session to come later 

Actually it must have been my eyes playing tricks, so it's time for the mega photo update. So where were we?...

The fretboard inlay was a bit of a sod to scribe around. The headstock inlays were even more intricate, and being full thickness would have been nigh on impossible. So after a few test routes over the past few months I settled on printing an address label with the design on it to use as a guide. Early attempts made me realise that the inlays had been cut by hand, so the original artwork wasn't going to be much use.

I arranged the letters on top of a print of the artwork to get the alignment and spacing correct. Then a strip of masking tape to hold them together and onto the scanner to suck the actual inlay shapes back into the computer. A bit of techno wizardry later, including adding a thin border (the red bit), I had something I could print on a label to stick in place

Taking the trusty Dremel with Stewmac router base and a nifty 1mm end mill bit, I set about it

Plunge cuts were much easier to do than actual lateral routing, so a series of those followed by a few router passes got it somewhere close.

I then spent some time fettling each letter: test fitting, wobbling it about and nipping bits off by eye until it fitted snuggly 

Eventually we were ready to glue, so I mixed up some epoxy and added ebony dust to make a paste. Old credit/gift cards are really useful. I trimmed a sliver down to a point so I could get glue in all the nooks and crannies, spread the glue and pressed in the inlays with another strip of plastic 

Finally I scraped away the excess squeeze out 

I got the headstock inlays in last night. However this is only a mini update as I've yet to clean it up. Unfortunately I noticed this morning that in my enthusiastic cleaning up of the (wet) excess epoxy, I've managed to drag some of it out. So that means another fill after the initial scrape back.

Hopefully you'll get some photos in the next couple of days. I don't want to show the messy stage without a decent "reveal" at the end

Having used them a bit more now, the end mills I linked are much better at plunge cutting in solid material than actual routing. My current technique is to plunge cut with the end mills like you would with a forstener bit, then trim round the edges like you would with a router

3 hours ago, mistermikev said:

looking good!  btw I bought one of those irwin saws... not sure if I'll use it for frets as I prefer to just buy that but I wanted something smilar to my dewalt for chopping off slabs for control covers... but longer.  nailed it!  thanks again for the heads  up.  Need to replace the heel... how did you get yours apart?  (was thinking a hammer might do it!)

I didn't dismantle it myself, but I think the handle is detachable 

I didn't get around to posting earlier this week. Just started a new job, after 15 years at my old one, so catching up with the member builds has taken a bit of a back seat. 

Anyway, to aid with the inlay positioning I drilled the initial holes for the tuners. They are rather strange sizes, so will be hand reamed to final size later 

The rest of the evening was spent positioning the inlay and doing the initial routing. I ran out of time to clean them up and glue in place, so that will be in the next update (photos on standby)

9 hours ago, ADFinlayson said:

I love scrapers too, I'm just rubbish at sharpening them! It's one of the things I really struggle with, watched several youtube vids on sharpening them but just don't seem to be able to get a good  edge on them. These curved ones are especially awkward 

Try to find an Arno Carbur2 burnishing tool. Nothing else puts a hook on a scraper like it. Not cheap, but will save you hours!

Lovely Build btw. I'm also admiring your little "S" scraper - I thought it was an inlay you hadn't told us about at first

8 hours ago, ADFinlayson said:

I can't find a 1/2" bit

eBay is your friend. I bought an imperial bit recently for the very same job. The supplier was UK Drills and it wasn't very expensive 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F260761111806

Hopefully that link works

If not, search for "UK Drills blacksmith reduced shank"

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

And actually, I've never thought of doing that.  Full marks @Norris . Another idea for me to steal.

Thank our friend Colin Keefe

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Don't miss @Norris 's advice of putting it onto a gent saw handle to hold it stiff and straight.

Colin fitted it into the handle of an old Hosco fret saw

2 hours ago, mistermikev said:

but what I meant was - are you using hand tools or a router, or razor scribe - how did you cut it (that's really the magic there IMO.

I stuck the inlays on with double-sided tape, scribed round with a scalpel (x-acto knife) and rubbed in some chalk to see what I was doing. Then I used my Dremel with Stewmac router base and the 1mm end mills I linked in your other thread. Finally they were glued in using epoxy mixed with ebony dust.

I'll do some more detailed photos when I do the headstock inlays shortly

4 hours ago, mistermikev said:

that DW... looks like it was cut on cnc.  very nice.  what do you use to cut inlay?

A chap who is very good at cutting them by hand.

http://www.smallwonder-music.co.uk/shop/

1 hour ago, ScottR said:

Yes, there has been an impressive display of meticulous attention to detail here for going on two years.

SR

That's it - I've reacted twice today already and can't thank anyone or like anything any more 

So, thanks. I do what I can in the time I have and like it done right 

1 hour ago, Prostheta said:

Wow, very very neat inlay work! Onwards and upwards.

The tricky one is coming next...

1 hour ago, ScottR said:

Mighty kind of you to say so Sir Norris.

Did I just bestow a knighthood upon you?

Don't tell the queen.

SR

For services to procrastination

Fabulous (as usual!) 

Congratulations!

Nice work. Lovely curve on the top

What a difference a sharp blade makes. I got the rest cut to depth last week using the saw that my instructor uses - an Irwin dovetail saw blade fitted into a gent saw handle for stability. The kerf is very slightly narrow for fretwire, but with a little filing with a triangular file they fit nicely so he says. The good bit is that they are much, much cheaper than most fret saws. I filed the slots afterwards.

https://www.irwin.com/tools/handsaws/dovetaildetail-saw

Anyway on to this week. Hacking about with a blunt saw meant I'd managed to put a few scores in the board, so it needed tidying up again. I had to get at it with the 80 grit, so it was back out with the radius gauge and straight edge. This time I took along a laser pointer, which made checking for gaps much easier. Luckily it wasn't out by far

Once it was in shape using 80 grit, I then went through 120, 240 and 400 grit. That's about as far as I need to go 

Next week we're onto drilling the holes for the tuners, then the headstock inlays 

I had a quick look through my current build thread and realised I'd not shown the bits I used for my inlay. Being in the UK they are metric, but these look close to what you are looking at

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0757M9FDW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The shank is approx 3mm to fit in my Dremel, with a 1mm cut