SIMpleONe89

29 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

Okay, cool. You have experience with the product nailed then which is the important thing. It just comes down to time.

Waiting for a project to cure is possibly the hardest task of the build! That's why we move on to another project.

1 hour ago, Prostheta said:

Depends on how the solvents have built up inside. If they're trapped it leads to the usual softness people associate with acrylic. This is why I highlighted Scott's tip about scuffing the surface to break the skin. It's all about how the application allowed outgassing between layers, and unfortunately that's only a question you can answer through feel. I'm very conservative with drying times because I can be. Which brand did you use?

I'm using a local automotive acrylic http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/SCA-Aerosol-Paint-Acrylic-Clear-400g.aspx?pid=288522#Recommendations

I've been using these for three years and have had great results. The guitars I finished them with are still holding up and they're quite scratch durable. 

The thing is I've used it for 2 projects with solid colours and 3 cans were more than enough (body and neck) and I had no sand throughs. The last time I did a stain using this was a year ago on an ash body. I can't remember how many cans I used but I remember it was a pain leveling out the ash body but I had no sand throughs. 

So I'm partly confident that if I wait long enough, maybe a month until my next project is finished, the finish would have cured by then and I can buff it to a high gloss. But looking at the mahogany body it is very uneven (partly because I didn't level sand in between coats) and fingers crossed I don't get a sand through. 

Yes I was worried about sanding through especially on the back. I didn't do any level sanding in between because I thought in the end all layers will fuse and I can just sand at one go.

I already put about ten layers above the decal and previous experience tells me that's enough.

So what should I do? Wait a bit longer and wet sanding carefully? Or wet sand in a week and lay more coats? I should've done some leveling in between. All I did was sand off dust and drips.  

The headstock is quite challenging to get it flat all around. At the moment the bass side is 2mm thicker and I'll have to work on that. 

Thanks Scott! I've learned to appreciate the beauty of the bookmatched figure.

Ok the weather has been kind to me the past few days, so I managed to complete all the clear coats. I used a total of 3.5x400ml cans of clear and from past experience that should be more than enough. I normally used 3 of the same cans for previous projects, but hopefully this is enough and I won't get sand throughs! 

Now I'll have to wait minimum of 2 weeks, but I'll wait till I finish my next project. By then it should be sufficiently cured. 

14 minutes ago, curtisa said:

The wider dimension is vertical, so you'll need to find a 4mm diameter router bit to cut the channels. The channel needs to be exactly as deep as the rod so the top surface is flush.

Cut them down length with a hacksaw. The CF will ruin a regular handsaw, and replacement blades for hacksaws are cheap.

Round over the ends on sandpaper. Avoid the dust it generates, nasty stuff. Watch out that you don't spread the dust on any critical timber surfaces as it can be difficult to get the stains out.

Glue them into the channels with epoxy. The last thing you is for them to either rattle around inside the neck, or not actually couple to the timber and offer no support whatsoever.

Thanks! That's great info. 

On 07/04/2016 at 4:27 PM, curtisa said:

Hi Curtisa, I bought these CF rods from the supplier you recommended. How should I align it? I can't tell from the pictures if you installed it like |  | where it's 6mm deep and 4mm wide, or -- -- where it's 6mm wide and 4mm deep. Does it make a difference how it's put in? Thanks.

Hey 10pizza, when I was working on my zebrano guitar it chipped a lot especially in two places where the upper horn and volume pot hole were. I carefully cut out a matching section off some scrap with a coping saw blade and glued it. After finishing it I can't even tell where the repair was. The hard part is finding a section that matches but it's quite fun seeing how zebrano has interesting figure. 

Oh I'm using acrylic lacquer btw. 

Thanks. I'm in Sydney and we do have a supplier of nitro toners but they're too pricey for me.

Toner coats would work but too bad I don't have spray equipment and I can't get toner lacquer cans compatible with the clear. 

Can't neglect the mahogany back! It looks real nice actually.




 

Got everything glued up!

I actually glued the pieces in little steps because I didn't dare risk something going out of alignment with 5 pieces sliding around due to the glue.

I had a great glue joint and it should look good after cleaning it up.

7 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

I'd agree with that. Unless you are confident in what you're doing, don't back track and cause potential problems. Take it forward to your next build instead.

How would one prevent the maple from acting like that? I read up and people have used wood conditioners, shellac, some people lay on some water first and other ways. I actually sanded back the areas last time where the brown wouldn't absorb to lower grits but they still wouldn't get as dark. 

Thanks guys. The top is indeed very pretty and well bookmatched.

I was able to get two coats done today, then it started to drizzle a little.

Starting to get real shiny! 

I was contemplating spraying some transparent brown or black around the edges, because the dyed burst is pretty uneven due to the grain of the maple not absorbing as much in some areas. This left me with a few dark areas on the upper horns and lower curves. But the cool thing is when viewed in different light, the brown burst can be visible, just that the dark patches make it look really uneven.

I figured out the best way was to live with it and appreciate the beauty of the figure. I don't want to mess it up since I've come a long way. 

Thanks Scott! Hand tools also help me believe I don't have to go to the gym.

Looking good. You probably have to rub really hard and fast to generate enough heat to buff the scratches out. Best way would be to use a buffer or some sort. But I think you should leave it lest you burn through the clear coats. 

For the ferrules, I think by sticking out they may affect playability. I wouldn't want to feel them against my thumb or palm at all. 

For the neck screw threads I think super glue should help seal the threads. 

Whoah glad you still have your fingers. Sometimes I get complacent with routing and I need stories like these to tell me they're still killer machines! 

With the neck laminates all roughed out, I then proceeded to cut out the QLD walnut veneer.

Test fitting all the laminates together:

And this is how they all look like:

Hopefully the rain will clear soon!

Then I transferred the outline onto the mahogany blanks. Since the maple was thin, it started to warp a little but nothing too serious. 

Then I cut out the shape with a hand saw and a jig saw.

Music helps keep me sane when cutting by hand.

The jigsaw struggles a bit with such thick wood, that's why I like to stay clear of the line, using relief holes and cuts, and let it rest after cutting for prolonged periods.

With the headstock template completed, I traced the outline and the dimensions of the neck and body onto my maple blank.

Then cut it out to shape.

To make the neck straight, going from 15mm at the first fret to 19mm at the 12th fret, I used a long straight piece of MDF as a template and routed. 


And also cleaned up the headstock. You may notice I left a huge hump there. That will be the volute and I left plenty of meat so I can get creative and carve up something nice. 

Then I made the headstock side profile template.

I managed to get the top of the headstock flat by sanding. To get the bottom part flat, I routed using a straight piece of MDF as a template.

 

With the terrible storms raining upon us in NSW, I couldn't spray any more coats of lacquer on my second project. Rather than waiting around doing nothing, I decided to start on my third project, wait for the rain to die down, then continue with the lacquer.

This is a rather ambitious build for me, but I've been thinking of how to build a neck through bass for months now - ever since I started my first project this idea has been popping up in my head non-stop! So I had to do it, with the limited tools that I have. 

For starters, I think the ideal way to build a multi-laminate neck through guitar would be to glue all the blanks together, profile them square and cut out the shape. However, since I don't have a bandsaw, planer or jointer, I have to make do with a lot of hand tools and simple power tools. Time to get creative!

For the bass, I plan to do 6 strings (5 strings was the original plan but why not have an extra string to play with? ), with a narrower string spacing at 16mm at the bridge and a 52mm nut. I plan to taper the neck all the way to the body, ala Wynn bass style without the tapered laminates. I also grew to like single cut basses. 

Seeing that they weren't any plans for 6 string single cut basses, I had to design my own. 34" scale, 24 frets, with a tapered neck to body.

Enough of the rambling and here are some pictures!

I later found out that the fretboard blank was too narrow, so I'll be using some rosewood binding to extend the edges plus that will help hide the fret tangs!

With my plans in hand, I traced the dimensions onto some MDF to make the headstock side profile template.