mistermikev

32 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

On the plain side the seam is barely visible at the lower bout, by the waist and the upper bout it would be hidden under the pickup cover. The heartwood side has more character but the grain direction change at the seam is more visible. Not badly, though, I've seen worse factory built ones. A burst would hide most of what could be seen outside the ashtray.

As I'm a no-pickguard guy, the possibilities using one for hiding any misalignments didn't pop into my mind at the first glance.

thanks for reply.

I'm not really concerned about the actual join... once the opaque finish is on... I think it would hide it well.  I was more concerned about the heartwood on either side showing up after getting a finish, and being a visible contrast to the center lighter wood. 

afa pickguard... well this would be a broadcaster/black-guard type so... you'd really only be able to see the last 4 inches.  Just not sure if it's a bad idea to use contrasted wood like that. 

anywho, i appreciate the input.  I'm going to join up another piece next and perhaps when I see that one it'll change my direction.

so as I'm sitting around waiting for nitro to cure... I'm working a little bit on my next build(s).  tele time!

anywho, I made up this blank intending to use the heartwood side as the side that would face a top on the thinline I'm about to build.  looking at the heartwood - I really would hate to waste it by covering it with a top.  was planning on a butterscotch blonde tele with no top anyway but am unsure how such an uneven piece would work in that application. 

On the one hand, the mohawk nitro I have used on my current blonde does seem like it would even things out quite a bit.  also, dark wood grain would likely show through such an opaque finish well esp after some grainfill.  on the other, I think I'd end up losing the part I like anyway... and am beginning to think perhaps I shouldn't use it for that?  Have posted this somewhere else too, but hoped to get some more feedback on it.  what say you? 

should I use this piece for butterscotch blonde or should I cut another piece more similar to the plain side for that?

heartwood side:

plain side:

first off, just want to say ... how bad can the other side be?  such a beautiful piece of work would seem a huge shame to dismantle it.  couldn't you just flatten the top with a router sled and put a new top on?

I'm certain your not looking for advice from me... and you can weight my response with my experience, but looking at it and thinking "what would I do"... I think I'd put this on my router sled and take off all the material behind the neck, get a better look at the joint... then perhaps hand saw up either side of it, then use a jig saw to rough cut the body away from the neck, then begin cleaning up the neck with router/hand tools.  just a thought... I'm sure there will be better/more-seasoned ideas along shortly.

33 minutes ago, Splintazert said:

Even later to this, but many congrats on the win @mistermikev, it's an excellent guitar.

thank you @Splintazert - just restrung it last night and played for a while... just thrilled.

getting close on the blonde version too... did my wiring on monday.  waiting for the nitro to cure.  should be about 2 wks before I can shine it up and start assembly.  then I'll have to start thinking about a demo video.  that reminds me... I need to find some osh-kosh-b-gosh coveralls!

that is the positive lead for the battery... both pickups have to have pos leads touching battery... if not... they no worky.  how you connect them... wire nut, solder/shrink-tube, just twist them... is up to you. 

3 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

 

Devin used to blow his voice out regularly on tour, and then around (2001, the time Terria and the first DTB album I think) he started to use his voice correctly instead of putting his foot to the floor every night. Still, the sacrifices made to get the recording of City done was nothing short of amazing. Total jet engine vocals.

I wore out two tape copies of Operation: Mindcrime when I was a teenager. Still an awesome album from start to finish to this day. Geoff Tate can't quite hit the mark these days but still has that distinctiveness.

not surprised... i listen to kingdom over and over... my lanta that guys voice still gives me chills every time.  I wore out my tape of touching tongues... no idea what he's saying but man alive can he sing.  back then I didn't even realize he played guitar.  rarely a singer that sounds equally good with that screaming tone as with a smooth note.

afa queensryche... one of my fav recordings of him was "We're stars" in the 80s... "Hearing aid".  only a few bars but man... I don't think he got enough credit for his powerful voice.  another guy who can just scream or go clean and equally great. 

42 minutes ago, ScottR said:

I usually use small brads. These were a better fit and no worries about cutting through them.

SR

right on... looks like a pretty rock solid way to do it.  perhaps more effort than typical but looks like it would result in more precision than typical.  I'm going to keep it in the back of my mind.  I usually use penny nails, just drill a hole through once I have it clamped and push the nail in... then pull them once glued... but the nails do somewhat get in the way of clamping.  Long story short... I like your method!

some beauty work there.  very clean looking.

looking really great!  pretty elaborate method to keeping your fretboard straight.  nice work.

that guitar is really nice... i esp like the back.  something really attractive about it.  so it plays better for you... mark that down as a win!

40 minutes ago, ZekeB said:

Not sure how I missed this thread.  I love design   To me the first picture was right in terms of the curve of the f-hole.  I like when the shapes parallel the curvature of the body like the examples urumiko posted..  You might try to put put the outline on a piece of paper and tie the shapes together first.  I find the off colors like two tones of whites and textures will trick your eyes before you establish a good balance of shapes.  I just overlapped some vector lines and started playing with the shapes.  Try and use inkscape (free) to play with the shape.  You just grab the little nodes and start bending.  I made a svg with the below model if your interested.  I'll send it to your email if you'd like.

 

def some interesting stuff there, esp like your take on the f hole.  fattening it up looks v nice and more than that would be a more practical design. 

originally my big problem was tying the headstock to the body more... but in playing with my design it occurs to me that there isn't much room for a logo with current headstock... so it seems I'm getting further away as opposed to closer together! 

13 hours ago, curtisa said:

I concur. How did he do it?

Nanyo business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*ahem*

we got a young jim carrey over here folks!

1 minute ago, Slumgigz said:

Holy mother of pearl! My planer is by far my loudest machine, I bet it's past the db limit human ears can handle. And that's just turning it on.

hmm, that's kind of what I was wondering and looking for... "does everyone else's planer get loud".  Perhaps mine isn't too bad.  When it's just running it's not bad at all... and depending on how much it takes off it's not loud... but you take a 1/16 and it's terrifyingly loud!  then again I have a marshall full stack in my office so... not sure my hearing is the best now! 

other issue is it doesn't have a dust/chip port... which makes for a lot of cleanup but I spose all my tools make for that.

Just now, Slumgigz said:

Yeah I should've said Hand Planer. I do have a mechanical thickness planer that I run my wood through first, it hasn't torn anything out yet, but it will put some nasty Sniping on the wood if I don't put pieces in front and behind the wood I'm using on the build. It's a DeWalt DW734 12 1/2 Thickness Planer.

right on.  i have a craftsman that doesn't have any issues with snipe... but it is VERY loud even when only taking off 1/64th so I wonder if it's not the best... also I have to admit it kind of scares me!  might be watching craigslist for something a little better.

26 minutes ago, Slumgigz said:

I was going between my No. 610 Low Angle Jack Rabbet and my 60 1/2 Low Angle Adjustable Block planers at the time. 

Since I would start the hand planing process at night after work and after my lady was asleep I was already exhausted but wanted to get it done.

I finally decided to check the blades and noticed multiple rolls on each. So now I leave my whetstone's out and ready when I need to plane anything.

But I would like to get a No. 7 or 8 Jointer soon, I bet that will make the process much easier in the future

hehe, had to read that first sentence 3 times before I realized it wasn't a mechanical planer.  hand planer... respect.  I might have to try that sometime... but for now I try to do it with a mechanical planer.  thanks for the response!

send them all to me and we will call it even

1 minute ago, ADFinlayson said:

Thanks for the useful tips chaps, and the lease of your thread @mistermikev 

 

still suing

roger that... thanks for the schoolin'

5 minutes ago, ScottR said:

I actually like to sand a grade or two after one week, a couple more after another week, and finish up after 3 weeks. In hot weather (something you get Mike, not so much for Ash) the surface can dry so fast that it traps the solvents underneath. Breaking the surface after a week helps any of those that may be trapped escape. (outgas).

SR

good to know.  I spose it's easier to get that initial level surface prior to full hardening too.  thank you sir!

If I were gibson... I would sue you for hijacking my thread... how unoriginal!!!!!

I will tell you that my experience thus far with nitro has been nothing short of "why did I wait so long"!  for me... it is auto leveling itself.  There will be wet sanding to do... but I've been spraying it much heavier than normal... and even lumpy... and it ends up much smoother when it dries.  the downside is the 3 week wait to wet sand.  if you burn thru... that is a huge setback... so I've been putting on 1.4 cans worth just for a top.  I think I'm ready to start the 3 week wait just today... "must... not... attempt... to... wet... sand... must... be... patient... can't... hold... out... much... longer..."

looks amazing.

looks great.  must'v been some work to get smooth lines/transition on the laminate.

that looks great! 

wow, nicely done.  I was drawn right to the dark spots and thought the grain match was outstanding... but apparently it was even better than that! 

not familiar with that guitar... looks a lot like an ibanez soundgear... one of my favs.  I take it that is ash?

you da man.

i saw this on one of the facebook groups and thought "well isn't that noice", shame on me for not commenting.  vnice!