Norris

26 minutes ago, mistermikev said:

looks great.  now just legally change your name so you can keep it(it'd be worth it)!

My name is going on the headstock

I've taken a couple of days off work to use up some annual leave. So following the coldest night so far this winter, the fan heater has stopped working on the car so I can't defrost the window. Yay - nice relaxing day trying to fix that! Anyhow, I did knock back the epoxy around the inlay. 

I think that should look ok

Obviously I've still got a fair bit to take off the board while getting the radius sanded. That's the job for Monday night 

Tonight I did a bit of fettling with some fine chisels, then set about the "D" with the Dremel router 

It looks a bit rough and gappy until you drop the inlays in 

So with a mixture of about 60% epoxy and 40% ebony dust I glued those baby in

That will look nice sanded flat 

2 hours ago, Mr Natural said:

Here is the real kicker -in cleaning my workshop this weekend-I came across 3 jigs I had saved- and I have no freaking idea what the hell they are for. i sorta think I know what one of them is for- but- honestly-not sure and cant even remember what instrument I used it on. So there you go. 

That's where a Sharpie marker pen comes in handy

On 1/22/2019 at 3:23 PM, ScottR said:

I, for one, am not at all shocked that your first attempt came off so nicely. Did you cut the MOP as well (I no longer remember if you've already said so or not.....it's not as though I last read this thread yesterday)? If so, double kudos!

SR

No. I got a chap who knew what he was doing to do it

Beautiful

The key is to shield the signal wires somehow, and that can be achieved two ways. Either shield the cavity with copper tape / graphite paint, or use shielded wires. Using shielded cables is more of a faff for wiring up, which is why most people shield the cavity. Cavity shielding can give more coverage, but I certainly wouldn't fret about the exposed ends of shielded cables. As long as you keep the shielding braid as long as practical*, and connect it to ground, it should keep the hum down

* i.e. leave as little exposed signal wire as possible

Is there an emoji on here that encapsulates "jaw to the floor"?!  Absolutely stunning work!

A gentle "S" curve that is sympathetic to your body outline?

5 hours ago, mistermikev said:

looks like you are the pro now... how long is appropriate to wait before I start asking advice?  seriously, nice work.

Ha ha. Thanks 

I just wish I had more time to spend on it. Half the time I feel like I'm re-learning stuff I should know because I don't do it often enough to become familiar. I'm just glad that my instructor is on hand 

I wasn't too well last week, being shattered from being up half the night with a cough. Better this week, so finally made a start on my first ever inlay. Boy it's awkward trying to score round the inlays. Even with 3M double sided tape it slid around a little and left sticky gunk behind. Luckily that was soon sorted with a spot of white spirit. 

So, laying out...

And then the first rout done...

It needs a little fettling with a chisel, but not bad for a first attempt. The "D" might be a little more challenging, but I ran out of time this week to do any more 

Oh I should mention, I did it with my Dremel, Stewmac router base and a fine end mill bit

Could you split your centre lamination down the centre line, rout a rebate of half the truss rod width in each half, then glue it back together?

47 minutes ago, jgordonXXX said:

If allowed I can post a picture or 2 of cbg’s?

Welcome! As far as I know there are no rules. If you've worked on it, people will be more than happy to see the results of your labour - preferably with progress pictures if you have them

15 hours ago, 2.5itim said:

Absolutely stunning! The carve may have been awkward to do, but the result has got to be worth it. Looking forward to seeing it finished

I love the smoke/fire switch

That looks blummin' lovely

I might be able to persuade him to have an IPA burst. Then I'll be raiding @ScottRs threads for info!

Edit: I sent him a picture of 

I know my body wood is darker than the maple, but something close should hopefully be within tonal range 

12 hours ago, mistermikev said:

very nice work.  I dunno if I missed it... did you say what color?

It's "wood" colour at the moment. Goodness only knows what it will end up as

I'm still waiting for a decision from my guitarist on that. Current favourite is "tv yellow" 

Welcome! Nice work

Back in the workshop for dot inlays 

Following the advice of my instructor, I drilled 0.1mm deeper than the thickness of the dots (1.6mm). I then squirted in a bit of CA, waited a few moments then tapped the dots in with a small hammer, leaving them very slightly proud - just enough to feel, but probably less than a hair's width. That was enough to give a little squeeze out. They ended up a nice snug fit, so when the glue had dried I dressed them to the level of the fretboard.

Next week is the 12th fret monogram inlay that I've been procrastinating about

Congratulations!

21 hours ago, Hesco 2-3 said:

@Norris, I just got thru your build thread.  WOW! excellent work sir!  Your thread was definitely educational.  I have a Shinto Saw Rasp in my "save for later" on Amazon.  It may make it's way to the cart sooner than later.  Otherwise, I have very little tooling for woodworking.  Most of my tools are mechanic tools, gunsmith tools, and machinist tools (which still don't equate to many tools).  Thankfully I have a couple buddies that have pretty much everything I need.  I'll be doing much of the bulk work in chunks, like all the templates at once, then on to chunking the wood out.  Layout can be done at home as well as carving stuff.  I plan of getting a beginners set of gouge chisels and a spokeshave.  Tooling up at work is so much more fun because I don't have to pay for it! 

Hope y'all are ok with another long build like that!  I have 2 under two years old, Full time work, trying to move, and trying to get out of debt.  That leaves very little time for much else!

I've also found cabinet scrapers to be very useful. They are pretty cheap. What is a little more expensive is the ARNO Carbur2 burnishing tool - it's worth its weight in gold though!

Edit: Oh, and thanks! 

If it's any help at all, here is my first scratch build - a thinline telecaster. It only took 2 years!

(For some reason the photo that link always decides to use is NOT my guitar )

... and welcome!

I'm sure I had a couple of bits of that figuring in my Nozcaster. Not as pronounced as the examples above though