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ShatnersBassoon

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Everything posted by ShatnersBassoon

  1. In a slight quandary regarding the string gauge to choose for this guitar, being that it’s a 24 inch scale length. I know that technically you can get a lower action with heavier strings, but the lighter ones feel more slinky. I like ease of bending but I also don’t want a situation where the strings are rattling against the frets when I set it low. Hmm…maybe 10’s? I like 9’s on a 25.5 scale, or 8’s if I’m feeling adventurous…although the bass strings sometimes feel a little loose.
  2. It’s dealing with the drips in the epoxy that is becoming a bit of a chew! I will get there though
  3. Might be slightly hard to make out on the photo…but I’ve been working on making the finish more of a ‘matte’ affair. I think it is looking a lot classier than the dipped in plastic look. Obviously, the bridge is off kilter…just placed it there for the photo
  4. Gorgeous! I really like how you kept the natural shape of that burl piece. Your talent obviously isn’t limited to beautiful guitars
  5. Wouldn’t mind seeing it! Admittedly epoxy lends itself a lot more to flat surfaces, like tables I do like the fact that if you get it right, you sometimes don’t even have to do sanding!
  6. I have no idea! I’ve been getting it from a friend of the family that works at a carbon fiber company. I get the leftovers The best epoxy I have used though is Epodex. It’s more clear and you can get a glassy look really easily with it.
  7. So….after lots of prep work I started putting a ‘finish on’. I say finish, I simply flooded it with epoxy Lots of titivating to do afterwards! The end result is quite amber, which wasn’t what I was going for…but fairly happy so far anyway. As an aside, I learnt a new trick the other day. Used a razor blade instead of finishing off the sanding. Actually worked quite well!
  8. Thanks Curtisa. Looks like the guitar builder Teuffel has employed this material in one of his builds. So it must be doable. As you say, would have to be on a non load/strain bearing area...this was one of my initial concerns.
  9. As usual I have been mulling over some crazy, possibly too off the wall ideas. I love the thought of using alternative materials. Wanted to utilise epoxy in a guitar body for quite some time but firstly it’s kind of been done to death now and secondly it’s extremely weighty. Anyway, some internet detective work brought up a material known as epoxy expanding foam. I wonder if this could be utilised? Anyone familiar with this stuff? Is it overly spongy or relatively rigid? Probably a bonkers idea, as is normally the case in my quest to become a mad scientist
  10. Well I play it for a while...and then invariably parts end up getting transplanted in to other builds. It’s a tough life of endless surgery with my guitars My Tanglewood Java Parlor acoustic has been the only guitar that hasn’t been affected by this. But I can’t imagine cannibalising an acoustic
  11. Brave stuff indeed working on that with hand tools. Looking great as always! incidentally I’ve always fancied making an ebony neck, something rarely seen. Ebony just looks killer!
  12. Yes, I kind of contoured everything in to the hole...if that makes sense I like the arty vibe I got from doing that.
  13. Lots of sanding etc to go but made a nice bit of progress this weekend. Changed the shape on the top horn slightly and it’s a bit shorter now. Down to 5.5 lbs now with the hardware all on. Changing the pickup to a nice chrome covered one- an Irongear Blues Engine. Tempted to make this a direct mount...unfortunately I’ve already drilled the screw holes for the pickup ring but that’s not going to be hard to cover up!
  14. Yes, I may well play it safe. Just dying to get a finish on there! Can get frustrating at times because that’s generally the last step and lots of little things to do before hand Incidentally I have some Polyvine Crystal Clear lacquer for the purpose. Will be brushing it on. I may try a foam brush for this. Apparently it’s pretty damn hard stuff. We will see.
  15. Just try not to make it Padauk...the ladies hate it
  16. A slight danger of neck dive coming up (the neck is on the heavy side) but I feel it’s worth the risk. After all, such aspects don’t bother me as much as some. Anyway...all the convincing I need! Cheers
  17. Not a huge amount to report, although been doing more contouring and there will be more of that to come. 6.8 lbs with all the hardware on it. I really feel it may be missing that little something...what do you think of the idea of some faux ‘F’ holes which may go all the way through the wood? Rough idea below...
  18. Yes, definitely worth following that guy. He reminds me a bit of the guy from Highline Guitars. Goes in to lots of detail, which I like. Been watching him on and off for ages now but didn’t realise I wasn’t subscribed.
  19. The top looked ok but I will check again. It definitely has a massive amount of relief in the neck. I also noticed that the string height was a lot worse on the higher strings than the low. Right up to the nut area. To me this suggests that the neck may be twisted. Really hard to play at the moment!
  20. I need a good belting to get my ass in to gear! Or arse to my British brethren
  21. I might replace the fretboard. It seems to be painted with a fairly poor quality black paint (maybe old nitro?) It’s rough to the touch and it’s flaking off in areas. Might be easier to replace it but would be nice to keep it original I suppose. And the guitar has a bit of a back story (from a semi famous family). Frets are very low and tarnished green, but maybe there is still some life left in them. We will see!
  22. I’ve recently come in to possession of a really old Hohner acoustic (I’m thinking 50s or 60s). Will be attempting to get this in to playable condition, cos why not? It was free and seems a shame for it to not be used. Importantly, it has no truss rod. At the moment the strings are sky high and the relief, well I would say it’s at least a millimetre, perhaps 2 Thing is I could straighten it, using a replacement fretboard clamped to it as a way of the neck conforming to the straightness (thanks Bizman). Or I could simply take the fretboard off, plane it flat and install a truss rod in there. Question is, with the warping/bending that has been happening over many many years, would that be an issue Decisions...
  23. So I got the bridge on today and strung it up. Still a bit more to do but I just couldn’t resist. Ignore the crappy winding, I was in a rush and just wanted a basic check haha. I really think there is something to be said about the carbon fibre laminate construction when building a neck. The sustain is really good, one of the best sustaining necks I have made for sure. The only neck I have built with a similar sustain was a wenge one with a baseball bat profile, sounded great but was a bit of a tank This carbon build is 21mm thickness across the whole neck. On top of this I’m getting a nice low action with minimal buzz. It’s easily 1mm on the high E, perhaps lower...I need to do a more accurate measurement. I know that low action chasing is sometimes seen as a bit silly, but it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling...what can I say
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