mistermikev

1 hour ago, MiKro said:

Another thing is this when cutting the edge of the center line with your CNC do each edge on the opposite side of your cutter. This will take in account any possible tramming issues in that axis. Similar to cutting a piece in two if that makes since?

MK

cut.pdf 42.47 kB · 2 downloads

1 hour ago, MiKro said:

Another thing is this when cutting the edge of the center line with your CNC do each edge on the opposite side of your cutter. This will take in account any possible tramming issues in that axis. Similar to cutting a piece in two if that makes since?

MK

cut.pdfUnavailable

makes perfect sense.  It'd be nice to cut both sides at once and mirror any chatter but that could get dangerous pretty quick.   Think I'm going to try some version of this on my next blank glue up. 

was thinking... it'd be really cool if I could get it going with the cnc and get comfy with it.  then instead of doing a straight cut... follow the grain pattern.  do a mirrored cut on the other side... hopefully following a grain line as well.  then joining them should disappear pretty easily.  Something to think about anyway!

3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Only just catching up with this.  It looks excellent

For the top, you will find the Osmo Raw excellent.  It really does work.  On the darker wood it needs to be super, super thin and even coats otherwise the whitener will show.  Wipe on, wipe off works well.  Even with such a thin application, it won't need many coats but do let them dry at least 24 hours between each.

thank you sir and thanks for the info.  ever since I saw that one bass... been wanting to use that stuff!!.  have been half debating whether I should try to do a light pink sandback on the top before finishing... to expose the flame a bit... but don't want to ruin the 'white' look of the wood either.  just have to see how it strikes me.

thanks again for the reply.

On 12/31/2020 at 8:49 AM, ScottR said:

I forgot to mention the new music (to us) we've listening to....Annie loves it!

 

SR

guys like him, colter wall, and tyler childers offer a lot of hope for the future of music.  not that "all that new music is crap" is my thing... but just love the idea of the new take on more traditional sounds. 

she's looking nice and smooth there.  the hair almost looks like it's moving.  lovely work as always.

bizman has you pretty well covered there... but a little trick that I recently learned that you might find useful in case you opt to trace your actual schecter...solder actually works better than a contour gauge for capturing the neck profile... provided you don't move it.  simply form it to the neck at the 1st and the 12th... then trace onto paper.  voilla. 

also... you'll learn a lot building your own templates.  Plus you'll have the option to change things you may not like.  highly recommended.

immediately reminded me of this pine table from the 1940s at my family cabin.  That was not light either.  much higher quality pine than you typically see and quite a bit harder - table still in good condition last I saw it in the 2005ish.  Had a very 'shiny' quality to the actual wood... which I don't think I've ever seen before on pine other than that table.  so, that gets my vote

so... feel like I didn't accomplish a whole lot this weekend... but I did spend a lot of time designing necks, jigs, finishing my body plan... and I glued up two blanks.

you know... it's harder than it looks!  Plenty of times I had the perfect cut... but the wrong grain... or visa versa. 

I kept getting a very slight (about the width of a human hair) pocket in the middle - which is odd and could spell danger.  I wonder if my fence has a slight bulge there.  Will have to inspect it a bit and perhaps clamp on some wood fence on the outside to see if I can improve it.

anywho... ho hum... body blanks.  one turned out pretty decent, one turned out 'ok'.  both have a rock solid joint... just not spectacular on the grain match.  Good news is there is plenty to learn yet!

lotta nice on that.  good job.

yes, congrats. well earned.

19 minutes ago, MiKro said:

look at shars.com. cutting tools square end mills go to bottom of the left side for lengths

https://www.shars.com/products/cutting/end-mills?cutting_diameter=1%2F4&end_mill_category=Square+End&overall_length=4

even though the flute lengths are only 1". so It is imperative that you are trammed correctly. I use the 3 " in 1/8" Ball nose for drilling through holes  on hardtail bodies

mk

fantastic resource.  I'm going to have to place an order with them.  thank you so much for sharing!  hey also - happy new year!  good things your way in the new year - I hope you wife is doing good and hope you are surviving taking care of her!!

8 minutes ago, MiKro said:

I have 4" end mils in 1/8" and 1/4" and a 6" in 1/2" diameter it all depends on the flex of the machine and the tramming..

MK

if I may... where do you source a 1/4" x 4" end mill?

37 minutes ago, MiKro said:

I have been at this for a long time Grasshopper.

If the join looks wonky when done, use the 30* again on the line very faintly and fill with pearl powder and clear epoxy or CA.

mk

i know master po - you are full of good ideas!

23 minutes ago, MiKro said:

Just a little knowledge that can make a project go from very nice to wow.

another thing you can do is dye the insert first, then it is easy to dye the inside edge after it is cut out as binding without the problems of bleed.

mk

 

that is a very interesting idea.  lot of potential from that one trick.

18 minutes ago, MiKro said:

You can always do the f-hole binding this way. Using a 30* v-bit, carve the f-holes to size. Now using the same v-bit make male inserts that glue in (inverse of original v-carve). Once done use a standard end mill to cut the edge binding by the offset needed.

Here is a PDF file that shows the dimensions of v-bit cutters from a side view.

MK

 

V-Bit Chart.pdf 60.73 kB · 2 downloads

that is a very interesting idea.  I think it would be a little more work so might not use it for this... but I could see some very cool applications for combining maple with wenge or other colored binding.  Def putting that in my trick bag for later - thank you for mentioning!! 

17 minutes ago, curtisa said:

It probably isn't, but the fundamental backbone of Carl's theory behind the angled claw thing is to match the tension of the strings with the springs. So to test his theory you can try equalising the tension on both sides of the tremolo by using a set of strings that exert close to the same tension across all six.

And you get to try a new set of strings that you otherwise wouldn't have known about

Interesting factoid - the Carl Verheyen signature string set from Dean Markley was gauged 9-12-16-26-37-46. He appears to have also (later?) had a signature set with DR which replaced the 12 'B' with an 11. Both string sets are quite unbalanced tension-wise (try inputting the string gauges into a string tension calculator to see the effect) and just adds weirdness to his claim that he's equalising tension with the claw.

And a happy new year back atcha.

hehe, well in carls defense I think he is evening out the tension... just not where he thinks it is.  the even tension strings.... the concept doesn't seem possible.... but what do I know!  I'm in... I'll try it!!

25 minutes ago, curtisa said:

Oh God. Not again

OK, here's another thing to try - buy yourself a set of D'Addario Balanced Tension strings and install them on one of your trem-equipped Strats. If there's any merit to this whatsoever (and I suspect there is none, and what most people are experiencing is nothing more than the power of suggestion), if you straighten the claw you will have identical tuning stability performance to a normal set of strings with an angled claw. Conversely, if the theory holds water, if you leave the claw angled with the BT string set you'll see poorer tuning stability.

well... balanced tension strings... have not heard of them.  Will have to try that.  again, I'm not certain that it is anything to do with the strings themselves... you and other folks have quite convinced me of that... given that I've observed a difference... and tested it by trying to straighten the claw and consistently had less stability... there must be 'some' explanation.  anywho, I very much appreciate the reply!

also, happy new year!

56 minutes ago, ScottR said:

Nice! Good thinking.

SR

well thank you sir... borne out of lazyness... can't see taping off the binding and f holes... hope it doesn't come to that!

1 hour ago, Gogzs said:

I'm always mesmerized when a CNC churns out such a beauty. A nice tool put to awesome use, can't wait to see it completed. Curious how contrastful it'll be when it's varnished. 

well thank you for saying so!!

technically this one is not going to change!!  I'm going to use osmo polyx raw... which in theory is going to keep it almost natural and actually lighten it if anything... but I have another 8' or so of this maple so... I'm sure I'll do one with stain sooner or later!!

On 6/9/2019 at 5:25 PM, curtisa said:

Now try setting the claw straight and adjusting spring tension so the same degree of float is achieved. Retune if necesaary. Change nothing else. Does the trem still stay in tune as well as with an angled claw given the same amount of bar usage?

 

Judging by the quick and dirty hunt I went on yesterday evening regarding Carl's video (it's quite an old story, actually. The video is over 9 years old) a lot of people seem to be getting hung up on the intervals thing behind his trem setup. Almost all trems will bend those three strings by the amounts specified given enough up-pull clearance. There is no magical adjustment you can do on the claw that changes this. There is also no adjustment you can make that will change the relative intervals of each string. If the trem is adjusted such that the G string can be bent upwards by a minor 3rd, then the B will always go up by a whole tone and the E always by a half tone. The physical properties of the strings themselves govern this behaviour, not the trem. This is also the reason why when you do a double-stop bend on the B and G strings, you get a whole-tone bend on the G while simultaneously getting a (approximately) half-tone bend on the B, despite the amount of lateral displacement on both strings being equal.

I have three guitars here with different trems - a PRS with a 6-point bridge, a Tele thing with a Wilkinson VS100 2-point trem and a pointy stick with an original Floyd Rose. The PRS has four springs, the other two have three. All are strung 10-46. Claws are straight. On each of them I can get the same intervals (minor 3rd, whole tone, semi-tone) if I raise the bar to the same degree.

Carl's video glosses over a lot of the true technicalities of his setup and omits key information. His claim at 1:53 that, 'string tension on the top needs to equal spring tension on the back, and once you do you stay perfectly in tune' is perhaps a poor choice of words on his part as it implies that floating the trem is the key thing that guarantees in-tuneness. It is further mudied when he suggests that angling the claw is responisble for the bend intervals at around 2:55, when it's easy to demonstrate that it's not. Again, I assume that's actually not what he meant and his explaination wasn't well-worded. It's what he's not telling you about how the guitar is set up that will be more important.

As I said before, I suspect that if there's any merit to the angled claw thing having any bearing on tuning stability it will be surrounding the equalisation of the forces being exerted on the fulrum screws that may be causing the trem to not return to equilibrium properly. Whether those unequal forces are enough to make a traditional 6-point trem misbehave in such a way that this is a valid method of fixing the issue, I'd have to approach with a degree of caution.

total necro bump here -as the kids say... but was thinking about this as the topic came up on the axe fx forum.

so... it would seem like this "shouldn't" work... yet for me and lots of other folks... it does at least 'seem' to work and I wonder why?  Was thinking that perhaps the tightening of one spring allows that spring to act as a "coarse adjust" of tension while the other spring acts as a "fine adjust"?  IOW perhaps it's just making it easier to zero in on the 'right' amount of tension?  have had success with it on a 6 screw, a 2 post, and even a fulcrum style tremolo.  I dunno... just a thought.

14 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

Ahh, alright, now I understand. That should have been a solid layer of abalone, the pieces are round and have a shiny flat surface but I had not opened the tube enough for the piece to fall nicely in. I guess abalone doesn't like hammering either? And obviously neither the abalone puck and the brass tube gives in a hair if the fitting is too tight. Other than that I didn't find it more difficult than a standard dot inlay.

oh, i wasn't saying your method... more the method of putting abalone dust/chunks in and then epoxy.  yeah, abalone/mop is surprisingly delicate stuff. 

well... technically 2mm does not fit inside 2mm.  it likely fits inside 2.05mm!  haha!

I had considered the abalone chunks as well.  I don't get what you are saying with the issue there?  my main concern with the method is you don't really get the benfit of a nice looking solid layer of abalone.  

well, looks nice.   a lot to potentially go wrong drilling twice on the face of the fretboard, and potentially into brass.

on a 6mm dot facing front you are def going to see it more.  getting that to work 10 times in a row seems like a lot of risk but in a pinch it would solve the problem. 

what I'd really like to find is liquid abalone! 

one thing I've considered: i have some faux abalone binding... could try taking short lengths of brass tube and pounding it into that.  maybe sharpen the edge of the brass and put it in the drill press and press it.  then chop off the end.  lot of work tho.

might have to do a little experimentation with a few methods.

thanks for the input. 

8 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

So I found the abalone dots and instead of dry fitting I used super glue. Either the abalone dots were a tad over 2 mm in diameter or the drill bit was a hair too thin. As I beat the dot into the tube with glue I saw a shard fly which most likely knocked half of the top off... Thus reaming the tube with a round needle file might be advisable as brass doesn't give in like wood does. Also I should have filed deeper as the bevel of the tubing cutter is still visible. An inexpensive pipe cutter starting from diameters of 3 mm (1/8")  can cut 8 mm short pieces of the thinnest pipe, very recommendable.

right on.  for me... I could cut the abalone dots myself with cnc and get a pretty close match on diameter.  but obviously taking epoxy and filling a brass tube with it, then chopping the tube into slices would give a tighter fit.  

If I can find a brass tube with the right inside diameter that might be best... just don't want a gap inside it because getting the hole centered could result in results I wouldn't like.  can be done... but can I do it 10 times without a mistake?  prob not!!

thanks for the reply!

6 hours ago, curtisa said:

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's not worth it. Any new technique that changes the way you do something to make a process safer is worth it, even if it takes longer. I guess I'm more looking at it coming from the angle of doing the jointing differently to begin with, and reserving the fancier tool for the fancier job. Pick your fights, if you know what I mean

well one of the things I thought it would buy me... is that usually when I cut with my router it takes a few tries to get a good join.  however I typically draw a line of where I want the grain to be cut for a good match.  so I rarely get exactly what I wanted after I cut a few times.  with the cnc, in theory it should be good first time thru... so it might actually give me a better result.  or at least a more predictable result.  

if/when/someday I will upgrade my spindle to one that accepts a half inch bit... that would def make it a sure thing.  bigger longer bit.  anyway... something to think about!

thanks again for your input!

1 hour ago, ScottR said:

That's purdy!

SR

thank you, thank you sir!!

1 hour ago, ScottR said:

That should be fun. Especially binding the F-holes! What are you going to do the headstock inlay with?

SR

well jokes on you jack... I'm thinking I'm going to stain the top, tape off the f holes, and follow the f holes with a small ogee bit.  sm with the body 'faux' binding... that is unless I decide that a dumb idea and do something else.  haha!!

headstock inlay is going to be abalone for the mv logo and then the gold transfer paper like I did  on the les flaus.

also planning brass tube inlays... I'd love to do abalone inside brass rings... but I'm not certain that won't end up being a pain.  might just do epoxy and something blue inside brass tube.... still kind of working that out.

thank you very much for the reply sir!!!!!!