mistermikev

i'm not really a modern guy... but that's a nice build.  good job.  typically p90s do get a 500k and singles a 250, but looks like you got it on the run.

On 10/21/2021 at 10:18 AM, sandman said:

Thanks for the advice.......... Can the hazing be buffed out, or would sanding and reapplying the lacquer be better?

there is some spray... well just watch this video (i believe it's butle cellusolve(spelling!!))

I don't know if this would have saved you completely... but a while back i saw a video comparing a number of commercial/diy end grain sealers... and the jist of it was that elmers white glue (not wood glue... the kind you use with glitter!) was better than many and almost as good as some of the expensive options.  Been using it to seal my end grain since.

afa top twist... i haven't had to fix twist but I have def fixed cup.  I've done the sprits of water followed by weight and repeat... but never submerged them.  Typically this has fixed them a little, but never completely flattened them... and I just ended up clamping them flat to cut a join and sanding out any leftover irregularities.

The best thing I've found is just to leave them sit for a long time with a bunch of weight on them and dry.  that takes a long time and may not completely fix the issue, but it's a lot less effort!!.  

I can confirm... yonico is def chinese.  that said... they are really great bits... been using them for a while.  You wouldn't expect them to last like whiteside and they don't... but when they are new they sure cut like whiteside.  I would wager they last longer than the bosch or other "mid grade" bits.  

cool thread and a lot of detail there... I do mine by cnc now but had considered this route a while back... I'm guessing this will be a very useful thread for many.  cudos.

6 minutes ago, kczuk said:

oooo okay! Great ideas. I'm going to look into printing the decal on some clear waterslide material. Would I still be able to finish the headstock with the oil afterwards, or would you recommend applying the decal at the very end once the headstock is finished?

in one of my builds here... sweetspotblue... I did an all tru oil finish.  did a waterslide for the headstock... used tru oil on ebony.  used acrylic to coat the decal so ink wouldn't run... built up tru oil on headstock and got it glass smooth, put on waterslide, then burried it in tru oil.  no issues whatsoever.  i don't know about other oils as tru oil is really more of a varnish than an oil... but it will def work with tru oil.

that is most def due to humidity.  common issue.  worst is... freq you can get blush from humidity that shows up a year later.  Doen'st just happen to nitro but it is pretty infamous for it.  Things you can do to mitigate: warm your lacquer and do extremely light coats that you let dry for longer than normal.  if using a compressor def want a filter on it/water trap.  other than that... it's really best to wait to lay down paint till you have lower humidity.

16 minutes ago, ScottR said:

Frisket is the masking film used for airbrush illustrations. Very thin and semi transparent with light adhesive, you lay it over your illustration and use a razor knife to cut windows into it to airbrush that area whilst keeping everything else clean. In other words it is the stuff made to do what you used vinyl for.

SR

i actually looked it up after that post... my take-a-way - what an odd name!!

i have no idea what a frisket is... but I like the word. hehe.

have never done this myself... but have often thought about it.  if I had to do it... I would probably do a scan of my inlay and get it into my computer, then print out those lines on my vinyl inkjet paper, use a sharp fiskars detail scissors to cut the lines carefully... and then tape it on carefully.  all easy to do.

another idea might be to use flex-all or other rubberized paint... use a detail brush to paint it on... spray over it... rubber should just pull right off the inlay.  

I think the frisket (whatever the hell that is lol) could work just as good... the trick I think is going to be nice clean lines.  I have recently used vinyl as mentioned above to do nat binding and it worked very well.  was super easy and I got nice crisp lines.  Painting something on... gonna require a real steady hand to get those kind of lines... but doable.  

hope something there helps.

coming together nicely.  when I saw the bown dust above... I thought "jeez I better save some of that" - hehe.  old habits and all hehe, then I noticed the cup lol.  Might want to store that away from the coffee!  

17 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Body program on the CNC coming together. Rear tremolo cavities and electronics, drilled for press-fit inserts.

 

Fingerboard milled on the CNC. Inlays were slightly enlarged and cut slightly shallower. No problems with the eyes this time! I spent ten minutes with a pin and needle file inspecting each pocket and perimeter using magnifier goggles. Safe!

 

Inlays wetted with plain casting epoxy, heated plus the fingerboard was warmed also. Again, a lot of time with a pin and magnifiers checking for bubbles and filling/popping.

 

 

I took off a small quantity of the epoxy....

 

....then filled it with glow pigment until it became "chalky", then added a little epoxy until it wetted through with heat. Maximum pigment content.

 

 

Drop filled over the inlays. The pigment crashes through with a bit of heat and displaces the lower density straight epoxy through gravity.

 

A second drop fill and liberal amounts of heating to lower viscosity and encourage sedimentation crashing.

 

Whoa, brighter than the first test set! Now it's a waiting game for the epoxy to chooch.

that fretboard looks awesome.  the gobs of green goo look like quatrophonic lung butter tho.  hoik.... patewey.

right on... little blending and "ninja vanish".

1 hour ago, Bizman62 said:

Three quarters of a year gone and you're the first one to notice that! Unfortunately I can't edit that post any longer. But you're right, nut slotting is what the feeler gauge set is for.

well... it just struck me when I saw it... was thinking "well I bet that would take a looooong time"!

above... first post... you say "Fret slotting files can be very expensive. Mine cost about €5 (yes, it's a feeler gauge"... I think you mean nut slotting... and if not I would very much like to see how the hell that works!!  

some great ideas in this thread from all.  I imagine this to be a solid resource to others so... here's small contribution:

for shooting they make these been bag rests... it's the perfect neck rest!  $7.99 and best of all - zero effort!!

https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Support-SandBag-Holders-Photography/dp/B07WDW92WQ

sanding beam - well another option is a machined level.  generally $20 from hardware store and decent precision... I still use for lower grits.  That said - I've found an actual precision bar is very much worth it here for the final leveling - ymmv.

some great details on this build.  nice work.

2 hours ago, kczuk said:

ALRIGHT. It's been a minute, but I've finally acquired all the things I need (or at least most of them, to start working on the body).

I've got a router incoming today with bits, and I'm going build a jig/sled so I can use the router to plane the pieces to the right thickness to combine. A few questions:

• What would be best to finish the neck with? It's a maple neck from Warmoth
• I'd like to put a decal on the headstock, what kind of paint would be best for applying that before finishing?
• What would be best to use to finish the body to keep the "unfinished wood" feel once I sand it down?

The only other thing is that the templates I got are for 6 string parts (neck pocket and humbucker templates), so I'll have to mark out the correct sizes and slide them around a bit when using the router.

so... little late to the party so forgive if it's been addressed... but at 1 1/4" that's going to be rough afa clearance.  I think a 5 - way switch might just sneak in there but a tremolo is usually going to require 1 1/2" minimum unless you get something really low profile like used in the sabre series.  

ok, that out of the way... jem - cool.  is on my bucketlist to build a jem.  have a 77fp.  one of the best guitars I've ever played, and easily one of the best sounding guitars ever.  

best neck finish: well... best for feel in my experience is tru oil.  just feels like a raw neck despite offering pretty good protection.  best for sealing/stability - probably poly.   necks that are well sealed tend to fluctuate less with the humidity and for some this is a huge thing... others a small thing.

decal - have an inkjet or laser printer?  get some clear waterslide decal stock.  You can whip up the logo of your choice, print it, spray a few light coats of clear acrylic on it... and slide it on just like a model airplane.  if you want to get fancy... you could print it out reverse, paint in some details with gold paint marker, add clear add very light clear, flip it and slide on.  or... you can try your hand at screen printing.  you can get screen/ink from many art stores as well as paper you can print, apply chemicals... and parts that aren't printed will dissolve.  stick to screen... and you can squeegee on a logo.

lots of options anyway. 

body finish - well same as neck... tru oil is just the best for a raw feel imo.  osmo poly x raw is another I've learned from folks here that is just great.

2 hours ago, Crusader said:

I'm so confused

well, that actual original purpose of this thread was to confuse mr crusader... mission accomplished!!  hehe.  

2 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Gorilla Glue is just a brand, and not a very good one at that for the sort of thing we do. I don't rate their products at all beyond basic domestic DIY. ZAP epoxies are pretty good, but again they're a brand. I use the Z-Poxy 30 (PT-39) and have had excellent results, plus it's pretty forgiving. The 50:50 ratio makes it easier to mix than say, West System.

I put both bottles into a container of warm-hot water to reduce the viscosity of each component before mixing. Mix more than you think you need to, scrape the sides and be thorough. Cocktail sticks are great for dotting the stuff.

CA tends to leave crispy white burn marks from the fumes. Not the best if you end up having to clean it up, plus CA has a poor habit of fracturing whereas epoxies tend to retain a very slight plasticity. That helps with any shock the workpiece might encounter that might shear the dots off.

double thanks... there is some good info here and endorsed by mikro as well so... taking it to the bank.

34 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

I think the error is mine entirely, not your language. The recon stone looks like it's inlaid into the wood....in which case I guess we're talking wood to the bobbin. Still epoxy is the best choice. I'm so skim-ready at times that I remember 20% of what I see and forget the important stuff

Just thinking about clamping. I bet a few small magnets would do the trick!

yes, recon is inlaid and will secure via ca glue there.  epoxy - I'm thinking more and more this may be the way to go.  I know it will hold just about anything and I have real concerns that this piece doesn't become a nuisance.  thanks for the recommendation on the zpoxy... 

56 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

Now please help a non-English speaker here: Are we discussing the best glue to stick that wooden plate on the bobbin or the best glue to stick the turquoise dots on the polepieces? Or/and maybe gluing the sides of the turquoise dots to the wooden plate? Which are apples and which are oranges and are there peaches involved?

i've tried to post this reply about 90 times now... something with chrome maybe?

anyway, this is for bobbin to wood.  the turqoise i will secure via ca glue as I'm using that for finish too.

1 hour ago, Bizman62 said:

For Tele pickups both the traditional flatwork and molded single piece plastic bobbins are available. The latter are much easier to use since the pole pieces will be inside insulating tubes - that enables even swapping pole pieces as you don't have to worry about damaging the coil when pushing a pole in. The flatwork of traditionally made pickups is vulcanized fibre i.e. heat treated compressed cellulose. It belongs to the plastic family but isn't plastic like Tupperware. Carving a smidgeon and burning it should reveal the material by smell. Even burned vulcanized fibre is dangerous emission free so it should smell like burning paper or cotton cloth. Burning plastic on the other hand has that dark oily toxic aroma...

had no idea that vulcanized fibre was a type of cellulose... good to know.  

1 hour ago, Prostheta said:

Gorilla Glue is just a brand, and not a very good one at that for the sort of thing we do. I don't rate their products at all beyond basic domestic DIY. ZAP epoxies are pretty good, but again they're a brand. I use the Z-Poxy 30 (PT-39) and have had excellent results, plus it's pretty forgiving. The 50:50 ratio makes it easier to mix than say, West System.

I put both bottles into a container of warm-hot water to reduce the viscosity of each component before mixing. Mix more than you think you need to, scrape the sides and be thorough. Cocktail sticks are great for dotting the stuff.

CA tends to leave crispy white burn marks from the fumes. Not the best if you end up having to clean it up, plus CA has a poor habit of fracturing whereas epoxies tend to retain a very slight plasticity. That helps with any shock the workpiece might encounter that might shear the dots off.

I was under the impression that gorilla sort of popularized polyester glues so... when I say gorilla that's what I mean.  I am well aware that their wood glue sux but their poly glue works very well for the right application.  solid for 

16 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

I'm a bit late to understand that you actually wanted to get the wooden part to the plastic bobbin...

As has been said epoxy is a good choice and CA should also work.

And then there's ZAP/Pacer Formula 560 Canopy Glue which is designed to glue plastic to wood... It's available everywhere from Amazon to Walmart so it's not difficult to find. It's good for plastic bindings as well. And you can wipe the excess off with a damp towel when wet.

 

right on... not familiar with that zap but as I understand gorilla glue is very good at plastic to metal or wood/metal/plastic.  that said... I'm not sure the bobbins are really plastic so not entirely convinced that would be a good hold.  I don't know much about bobbins... but as I understand in the pickup world they often use ca glue to hold the bobbins in place for winding.  

55 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

Epoxy is likely as good a choice as it gets. Sanding the poles should be enough to key them.

thank you.  I need to find a good source for epoxy - if you have any recommendation - I'd love to hear it.

20 minutes ago, Charlie H 72 said:

Whoa these knobs and that bobbin cover are awesome! Still loving all these details you bring to the build. So worth it. I'd try CA glue first- It won't be obvious if it doesn't go quite as planned and you need to try something else. Maybe score the surface of the bobbin first with an xacto? Gorilla glue I'd have to think there is no coming back from with all the foaming. High temp hot glue could also be good, and removable should the owner ever want to swap pickups. 

thank you Charlie.  very much appreciate the pos feedback.  the thing that attracts me to gorilla glue... is that it will expand and fill cracks and that might give it some 'grab'.  I'd rather it not be removable because there will be nothing else holding it on there... so really want it positively secured.  Last thing I want is it becoming a nuisance.  scoring is def a good idea and that is advice I think I will def employ.  I think bobbins are some sort of variation on fiberglass no?  I know they use epoxy there so that is another possibility.  

anywho, thanks again for the reply.

3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

I've never seen that done before.  If this site did 'Wow!' awards, I would award you one 

well your kind feedback is worth more to me than anything else - thank you very much for the positive response!!

some more tiny details... took me 3 tries to get this... well... semi-right.  

any thoughts on securing it?  I was thinking just thin ca glue as that's the finish I want to go with... but perhaps gorilla glue?  I'm not sure what would stick well to the seymour bobins.  Pickup experts???