Xanthus

Thanks for the info, Quarter! I was secretly hoping you'd chime in Those lap guitars you build are always beautiful. I did the filling already with grain filler, so now it's just building coats. I'll get a few old shirts to lay down on the bench, then. Also, I made a big mental boo-boo, haha. For some reason I was thinking that the oil can I had was a screw-off top, and it's a squirt top (I knew it was, I don't know why I thought otherwise), so the brush idea is out the window haha. I guess I'll either cut up some more shirts or get some cotton pads like you mentioned.

I see Wez I like the look of the finished product. The white dogears look out of place, definitely, but it's that strange quirky kind of way that works. Typical wiring scheme, I assume? And you said those were custom....... warpigs? IIRC, and I could be completely off here. In either case, let us know if you get audio clips up.

By "smudging the sides" I mean, you oil the top of the guitar, then do the sides. Then to do the back of the guitar, you flip the body over. Do you just lay the oiled front on your work surface? I would be worried about sticking or smudging the oil coat. Or maybe it's an unfounded fear, who knows?

Hey guys, I'm digging up an old thread, I know, but I had a few questions about the oil application. -I bought a few fine brushes to do my staining, but never used them. Would they be advisable to use for applying oil, or would I not be able to get an even enough coat. -How are you applying oil to the whole body in one go without smudging one of the sides when you put it down? I have blocks that I'm going to stick in the pickup cavities to elevate the front, but I don't know what to do about the back. -Is the steel wool done with the grain, in circular motions....? -How long is typical to let the oil set in before wiping it off? -Doe tru-oil require a final buff before assembly? And if so, what/how? This is my planned schedule: -wipe-down with naptha to eliminate oils -thick coat, 24hrs dry -normal coat, 2hrs dry -0000 wool -2 more coats, 2hrs in between -0000 wool, 400grit wetsand with oil -2 coats, 2 hrs, 0000 wool, wetsand -work up the coats in sets of 2, and up the grits to micromesh Thanks all!

Shameless bump. New pics are up, outside shots with one coat of grainfill, prior to sanding at 400 and application of grainfill #2. The first coat of oil goes on tomorrow. I'm so glad I didn't stain that sucka; that shade of amber is just stunning. I'm heavily drawing from this thread for my finishing schedule: -wipe-down with naptha to eliminate oils -thick coat, 24hrs dry -normal coat, 2hrs dry -0000 wool -2 more coats, 2hrs in between -0000 wool, 400grit wetsand with oil -2 coats, 2 hrs, 0000 wool, wetsand -work up the coats and grits up to micromesh

Is there going to be a veneer on the top of that headstock? *crosses fingers*

Sweet Carvin's necks are godly. Happy building!

I've been looking around for an old sewing machine (stealthily; don't want to alert anyone that I might embark on yet another crazy project) that I could cannibalize into a pickup winder. They're easy enough to find, but I'm trying to think of what I could use to count the revolutions when it spins, so I could monitor the winds....

Wow. That is one snazzy top.... This should be a pretty interesting-sounding build as well, cedar on ash with a maple/rosewood neck. I really don't know how to envision it sounding, but I'd sure like to find out. Any specs on the pickups? And where did you get that LP plan? It looks very spot-on. Good luck!

@aidlook: Test piece indeed I'll start one today. I know for a fact I'm sanding down the first coat, so I'll have some time to whip together a piece before the second coat is done. @matt: oil-based grainfill, oil-based tru-oil. I'm assuming no compatibility issues. The test piece I did earlier didn't blow up on me, but I only did a thin layer of grainfill and a wipe-on coat of oil. I'm using this old thread that you were a part of to get me started, as well.

And yes, I DID do a thorough search :D So anyways, I'm done with round 1 of grainfilling my build. I'm going to sand it with 400, then fill the grain again as a "just-in-case" coat. Here's the stupid question: Would I have to sand it after the 2nd coat before I tru-oil it? The grainfiller gives the whole guitar a beautiful amber patina, which I know I'll lose most of when I sand. However, I'm unsure whether leaving grainfiller on the body, not just in the grain, will prevent the oil from penetrating well. I don't want to lose that awesome amber shade before tru-oiling it. For reference, I'm just using run-of-the-mill Benjamin Moore filler.

"But the tone of the Floyd-Rose had more lows and highs and the “Strandberger” (had to name it that…) had a more pronounced mid range." I'm all about the midrange. Sign me up, sir! I'm really surprised at the difference in sound. Very impressed. If you do get a production of these going, I think we'd all appreciate some ordering/pricing information. There seems to be a ton of interest here! I really want to congratulate you again on this undertaking. This is one of the threads on the forums that has captured my constant attention. I really like what it transpiring here

Do a Warwick-style tenon. Just mount the tenon in on the back, instead of the front. Who looks at the back of the guitar, anyways? I mean, seriously, the best looking wood on my current build is on the back, and I've got some nice figuring on my maple neck..... on the underside That, to me, seems the best way to do it. Then, you can make the tenon as long as you want, too.

http://public.fotki.com/Xanthus/misc/bodymasurements.html Those are the dimensions of my Explorer. But, those dimensions aren't exact to any factory model. They're probably closest to the Gibson dimensions.

"Jambi" by Tool, definitely. Not much happens in it as far as a huge Frampton solo, but the atmosphere definitely fits the song. And as for the Steely Dan song... I didn't know you could reamp with a talk box effect. Cool!

..... Do you think 2" is too thick for a still-mostly-solidbody? I'll be carving down my tenon to 1-1/4" and putting a 1/2" top and back on, with a thin veneer in between each. I didn't mention that I'd be carving down the insides of the top and back to about 1/4" or so. Structurally, I don't think I'd feel safe were it any thinner than that, because it's not a laminate, just regular wood. http://www.blackmachine.net/assets/884bL.jpg http://www.blackmachine.net/assets/Snake2.jpg I like the way BlackMachine raises up their bridges. In most pictures I've seen, they just cannibalize Wilkinson bridges and steal the saddles hahahaha. Maybe an idea for you. Pretty pictures, if nothing else

Update: Finish sanded the whole thing to 320, and ate some delicious food and got a sunburn while doing it Finishing schedule, please correct me if necessary: -wipe with naptha, leave to dry -grain filler (small sections, leave 15 minutes to soak in, then wipe off) -sand to 400 -grain filler again -lightly sand level at 400 again -tru-oil, one thick "soak" coat -0000 steel wool -regular coats + steel wool -wetsand with oil and micromesh every 4 or 5 coats -final sanding -buffing/polishing?

Inlays with a story are always better I don't see what's wrong with using a CNC for the repetitive stuff, fretboards, body blanks, and the like. But where everything, or most everything, is customizable, yeah I can see the difficulty in doing so. I wish I were good enough to give your shop a hand. Maybe 5, 6 years or so, hahaha.

Looking good! Throw on a volute at the nut and a longer neck tenon and it's right up my alley.

That's a pretty tight-fitting contour template. Looks like you carved it right to the mark. Looking good, Rick!

Dude, Pro, this project is going to be insane! I'm pumped about everything except maybe the headstock shape, but that's neither here nor there. Are the bridge pieces high enough so that the fretboard doesn't sit flat on the body? I myself don't really like the feel of the strings being so close, and I really don't know if the two thicker strings are going to make that harder to play. But then again, you've made more 8-stringers than I have It's funny, I'm planning a very similar build at the moment. 6-string RG-style hollowbody, 2" thick, all mahogany body, top, and back with maple/walnut/maple neck and Kahler trem. You move much faster than I do, though, so I may be forwarding some questions to you, if you don't mind. Such as... How much are you leaving from the sides, when you hollow it out? I'm planning on leaving about 1/2", and your mockup looks nearly the same. I can't decide whether I want to cut out the wood behind the bridge or between the pickups. I'm aiming for more of a jazzbox feel than a full-on acoustic, like you are. Good luck! I'll be keeping my eye on this.

All the more reason why I'm so disappointed that no big company makes them. The concept just makes so much more.... sense. On another note, was the 29 frets the customer's decision, for practicality or aesthetics? It looks better than angling the fretboard with the frets, but I don't know if I'd ever need the extra. Then again, tuning the guitar to D, I guess it isn't all that bad.

I wonder if the reason it is a custom shop is because it's a silverburst. I didn't think Epis did silver. shrug. In any case, it's pretty amusing. I see what you mean about the grain filler. Some of the curves on my V are so porous (combination of the angled bevels and endgrain) that they singlehandedly would have convinced me to grain fill it. But why not do a grain filler anyways if you're doing an opaque finish, if only for extra security? I mean, maybe not on that alder, because it is so even, but on others. I might dig out my youtube password if it means the possibility of semi-exclusive videos

Ok, I follow now. I would have never thought of that, hahaha.