FINEFUZZ

I took some measurements.

Firstly, the shell is actually measuring close to .125" thick,  it just seemed thicker to me.

For the two images above: measuring 1.279" compared to 1.290" = .011" difference (this is not exact)

For the two images above: measuring 2.840" compared to 2.842" = .002" difference (this is not exact)

I will take a picture of the bronze piece sitting inside the silicone tool at some point to give a visual sense of the shrinkage.

Now that I look at these images, I really should have taken the measurement of the distance between both bridge post hole locations. 

57 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

What's the theoretical percentage? It'd be interesting seeing how close that ties up. I'm curious as to whether shrinkage introduces distortion as well....after all, the negative in the sand doesn't shrink and I imagine the cooling metal would pull that apart.

I honestly do not know what that number is, but both the wax and the bronze experienced a percentage of shrinkage. 

I can measure the distance from the bottom flat edge of the bridge pickup cutout to the center point location of one of the bridge stud holes to get a number that will give me a good enough idea what the difference is.

I do know aluminum's shrinkage it is .0156" per inch.

1 hour ago, Prostheta said:

In all likelihood, yes. haha

How did the shrinkage work out? Have you calculated that yet?

It shrank in a very uniform manner and didn't potato chip much at all. 

I haven't measured the shrink yet, but I will take a look at that this evening by comparing it to the master.

10 minutes ago, ScottR said:

How thick is that bronze shell? Presumably thick enough to have plenty left after leveling the surface...

SR

Is seems to be around .250" thick (at the most ) in places now.  Once I get the outer surface defined, material will get hogged out of the inside with the goal of achieving a .125" wall thickness.  When I picked it up from the foundry it weighed eight pounds, but it needs it to be closer to six pounds.  This weight was prior to having the sprue bases removed and flash ground off however.

9 hours ago, Mr Natural said:

wow- this has been an education. How many hours do you have into that top/body now? 

bonus points for the foggy geezer in the shot above- how was it?

I have not been keeping track of the hours too well.

maybe

60+ in modeling it on the computer

25+ preparing for casting

20 in sanding grinding

I usually only spend an hour or two working on it every other day, and lately the work has started demanding more muscle.  After a couple of hours my hands a beat, and to tired to practice the guitar.  I would like to do a demo of this guitar when it is completed, but I need to greatly increase my playing skills before that happens.

The Foggy Geezer is a very well rounded IPA, and it is my favorite IPA at the moment.  Although War Pigs it is a collaboration between 3 Floyds and  Mikkeller (two of my favorite brewers), it seems like it will be a permanent release.  The Geezer is definitely hazy and dank ( but not resiny) and it is also fruity and very easy to drink.  Their Lazurite is also good.  Highly recommended!

12 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

Man, those bronze filings are still going to be turning up twenty years down the line you know?

Maybe that's what I have been picking out of the palms of my hands at work today.

Lots of filing to get surfaces back to a smooth plane where metal shrank to form concave areas.
Now that I have the top surface established, I can define the edges of the surfaces that surround it.

Beautiful skull skills, the grain is awesome!

One way to trick the eyes it to create a gap all the way around the edges.  It is much more difficult to decipher discrepancies when two edges are not contacting one another.

55 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

That looks a very satisfying pursuit. I doubt that you'll get the old metal flu from grinding her up or lose your sense of smell, but hey!

Yeah, I  am not messing with that.  I wear a respirator. 

I can't decide if aluminum welding fumes are the worst I have experienced, or if it is the exposure to burning and sanding super glue.   

But yes, I may end up with no sight, no sense of smell, and one or two less fingers at the end of this process.

Will I be too crippled to play a guitar?

Grinding in low light is proving to be preferred method.  Out in the sunshine, the reflections cause temporary blindness. 

The goal is, however, to cause temporary deafness.

I bought a pencil grinder to remove material from the inside of the casting.  I like this tool, it is proving to be quite effective.

Bronze is soft, so I will rely on hand tools (files and sand paper) to finish the outside.  I have a foredom tool (with a foot pedal) to grind on the inside surface.  I may have to invest in a pencil grinder that can hold larger mandrels than my foredom will. 

All the supports were added in wax, but bronze TIG welding would be the process that is used.  If I do encounter any large voids of porosity, I may need to enlist the foundry to fill them with that method.  I see some porosity, but nothing that cannot be dealt with by burnishing/ peening the surface with a hammer.

No, the existing surface finish won't remain.

There will need to be considerable grinding, filing, sanding on all surfaces.  You can see oxidation forming from my fingerprints I left on it yesterday, and without treating the surface, it would quickly dull.

At least I can work outside now

Is the burst just a higher concentration of the same color?  It would be cool to see a video of the movement in the quilting.

Now it is time for the fun to begin!

The level of gloss is inspiring.  

So, out of the builds you have done, where would you rank this?  Is it one of your favorites?

I think the burst turned out fantastic.  The tuning machine choice really compliments the headsock too.

On 4/8/2018 at 3:05 PM, Andyjr1515 said:

I know that awesome is an overused expression -  but I remain in awe of this proect.  Can't wait to see the resultant casting

Thanks!

Right now I feel like a kid excited for Christmas morning, but this kid doesn't know when Christmas day is.

Paul

I am digging a lot of what you are putting down on your third build here

I've seen the technique of using hot sand to add shading on furniture inlay.  That would be an interesting application for giving the oak leaves dimension.

The guy at the foundry seemed to completely understand what I was doing.  He did caution me that the piece will most likely distort some and will have to be reshaped.  It sounds like the piece may curl like a potato chip a little, but it is nothing a press can't solve.

I dropped the wax part off at the foundry today.  I was spending too much time fiddling with it, now it it out of my hands.

Beautiful build!

I love the sheen of the wood, how did you finish the padauk?