mistermikev

1 minute ago, Frankdemariany said:

Okay great thanks! I have a lot to do but am excited. Is it cool if I post the progress when I begin? 

I'm guessing the general consensus among regulars here would be "go for it". 

13 hours ago, curtisa said:

The 'Epiphone' logo is more likely to be a decal. It should sand off once you get through the clear coat layers. Epiphone are unlikely to have invested time and labour on an inlay job for the logo on the headstock.

I think I stand corrected.  I was thinking of my es295... i think it has inlay anyway... but relooking at this special... likely just paint/decal.  good call curtisa.

def that fender logo is not genuine... looks like the typical diy waterslide.  headstock def doesn't seem to have come from the std fender neck as mentioned.  my guess is someone rebranded something else - just fair warning: fender has been known to give forum admins a hard time about displaying pics of guitars that are branded with their name that are not obviously made by them. 

afa switches... you aren't likely to find a diagram for this exact variation, and even if you did find one for 6 switches you couldn't be sure these 6 are doing the sm.  you could take it apart and analyze them but not sure it'd be worth it.  personally, I would find it hard to remember how to get back to a sound I liked but it def would have flexibility and to each his/her own.  you want to take it apart and post lots of pics - assuming it's not a rats nest - probably could give you an idea of what's going on.  I'm guessing 3 of those switches are on/off for individual pickups... the other 3 could be phase, perallel/series, split... any number of things.  If the wiring is problematic... probably better off starting from "what would I like it to do" than to try and reverse engineer (I shudder using that term here... but it's somewhat appropriate) .  If it were mine I'd buy all new electronics and rewire it.  you can spray pot cleaner on pots but there is some grease from the factory that will be cleaned out when you do that... that grease collects dust and prevents scratchy pots... removing it will usually result in a scratchy pot a few weeks down the line.

not likely.  it's probably inlay so it'd require you to lam a new piece of ebony or paint over.

16 minutes ago, Frankdemariany said:

Gotcha. And do you think there is a white or grey base under it?

i honestly do not know.  not sure why it would matter.  either way I'd put down some primer of a different color, do some sanding to see where hi and low spots are... get it smooth... primer a final time and paint.

in my case... I don't think it's consistent enough to really qualify as 'desireable'... but it's close.   I could def see finding a piece with some more of it and liking it for a front.  def pretty for a back.  will have to take a look at the rest of my stock of it and see if there are any more spots (the first blank had none).

15 minutes ago, ScottR said:

Now that you mention it....

I'm beginning to believe this is somewhat common to ash.

SR

I've seen it a few times around here for sure.  kind of something to watch out for if you are trying to do a finished side.  then again, it's pretty in its own way.

not sure I'd try sanding thru the stickers if that's what you mean.  they'll gum up and ruin lots of sandpaper.  since you are going to refinish anyway... I'd use some goo gone and peal/clean it first.  No obvious chips so... should be pretty good candidate to leave the finish and just paint over. 

easily one of the best headstock designs ever.  love yours.  the curve at the end is not only beautiful but I bet it makes that headstock very rigid.  form AND function... nice.

1 hour ago, ScottR said:

I was looking in the middle.....never saw a thing.

SR

thank you for the feedback.  I'm fairly happy with it.  Did you see those X in the grain?  kind of faint... but it looks like chain link fence.

tru dat.  all part of that measure twice, cut once school of thought. 

this template is especially complex because I'm trying to set it up to where I can make one template and be able to do a thinline, and a deluxe,,, so 4 knob + toggle vs 2 knob + 3way... tremolo bridge vs tom style.  lot going on!  Every time I step away for a sec and come back I think of some new detail I need to re-work... so until I run out of new thoughts... keep iterating!

stu I'm reading your post while I was working on my drawing at the 'template level'... I was thinking I might take a look at the f hole with this style but smaller - like you suggested - just to see how it looks... but my photoshop template is setup such that it isn't easy to switch back and forth between this view and my template view... so I'll have to revisit that. 

I'm not sure a smooth straight line headstock is what I'm after... but you've made me start thinking about another thing I might try to lock it all together - so thanks for that!

I very much appreciate your feedback.

I think I'm using this for the back of one... and it will be black stain... so it probably doesn't matter anyway... but yeah, I think your right side arrow is pointing right at the grain I was looking at.  it tapers out about 2" from the edge.  I think I see what you mean on the left... the lighter grain of the top piece stops abruptly.

hmm... it's funny, we are looking at the same sort of artifact but I think I'm seeing it in a different place.  I'm seeing exactly what you are describing... but not on the left.

17 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

It was quite challenging but knowing there must be one I found it.

 

I have some pics with the line pointed out via photoshop... but was interested in seeing if anyone could find it before I post them...

there IS  a telltale mark that I know to look for, sort of a "if it's there you know that's the split"... just curious if you see that.  Can you describe where you see it?

 ok, round 2.  def improved my join I think... is it easy for anyone to spot it?  Also... looks like the marks there are from the sm fence I've seen on a some guitars around here (ehem). 

31 minutes ago, Frankdemariany said:

Thank you. Speaking of the wires, once I snip them do I need to get new wires? I guess I never thought of the hardware outside of the pickups. 

not necessarily.  if you have enough lead, you can just cut them real close to where they connect, then strip it back a bit and reconnect them.  I like to leave some color connected so it's easy to see how they reconnect.

the tricky part is the studs... lots of good methods for that ( @ADFinlayson ) so perhaps a washer and a piece of pvc or pipe to get those out... something heavy and a screwdriver to top off the nut (cut first along edges with razor to prevent chipout), probably some wrenches for the tuners, screwdriver for the screws... that should be about it.  take a photo of your elec cavity then snip the wires.

I imagine if you did that... it'd result in a perfect neck every time... but I def don't have the time for that.  Perhaps i'll get burnt.  Still good to know I'm not alone.  I def wouldn't buy wood and then cut it into a neck... I've let all my wood sit in my garage for at least 6 wks before doing anything.  if I then cut it and let it sit for a week and see anything more than say 1/32... I'm moving on to another piece.  it's way too much work to build a neck to have to toss it!  Good advice above and I appreciate you sharing it!

heck, turn it into a feature... maybe some inlay there... some mop dust in a pattern around the controls.  ultimately tho... you gotta do what's gonna make you happy.

1 minute ago, Frankdemariany said:

Thank you. And this could be done by hand as opposed to a sander?

sure, I think if you are really just scuffing up the surface it's probably better by hand.  that said, if you have any big divots it's going to be a lot more work by hand.

you COULD sand it to the wood.  if you are just repainting, you probably could save yourself work by just roughing up the finish and perhaps deeper sanding where you might have dings and such.  You might want to do a primer over the old finish to ensure the new finish stays on well.  just 2 cents.  good luck!

24 minutes ago, ScottR said:

If your finish is truly opaque, I would not worry at all about using the heartwood. If you are worried about opacity, use a pale grey or white primer under the finish color..

No sweat.

SR

thanks scott I really appreciate it.  I plan to use mohawk toner blonde which I suspect will be a lot like the champagne frost I'm currently using but more yellow.  with a thin coat it is pretty opaque and I plan to do a little thicker for an aged broadcaster look. 

I'm pretty well convinced at this point that it will be fine but you never know so it's good to get some general feedback from the experts!  thank you all for that!

I imagine finland and wisconsin are a lot alike.  my family has a cabin on lake michigan that is from the 20s... all logs.  I have similar memories of staring at wood ceilings.