Ricky Anderson

you found it?

I didn't see any of them that uses this system

now I'm thinking about machine screws bolt-on.

wanna try a lot of things, only one guitar to build.

yeah, it looks complicated, and I think they're the only one who uses that method.

I checked their site yesterday and found nothing about this system, even on their guitars and basses.

still confused about that bolt since they said "the neck is held in place by the pull of the strings alone".

still waiting for the bridge and some woods.

and flight ticket to go back home, dang expensive

I might try Covered Neck Fixing that I read in Martin Koch's book.

but I can't find any info about that system on the web.

anybody tried it before?

is there any (dis)advantage from that system?

it looks like this:

it says the neck is held in place by the pull of the strings alone, but there is a bolt on the pic

if I can't figure it out until building time, gonna stick with bolt-on

thanks in advance

wreck, the OP, is an alien...

he (they?) came here to show us strange technique in guitar building, then left us wondering

same effect that we get from crop circle.

ok, I read too much sci-fi during high school

what the heck is that chambering style?

you're crazy dude

now let me flip those pics. so I can look at them correctly

@OP: in your first post in this thread, you said fboard is ebony.

but that looks different.

in my country, we have wood that look similar like that, mostly for fboard, called nibong.

it looks like this:

sorry, don't have pict of mentioned fboard

creepy

I think I get it now.

so the color that will come up is the result of that method, right?

this is a really cool staining method that i learned from a blacksmith in west Virginia a couple of years ago. the first time i saw it i was amazed, not only are the results beautiful, but the process is just cool to watch. you start with a solution of 10% nitric acid and water (doesnt need to be exact just diluted considerably). i got nitric from the guy who taught, he used to work in a big chemical plant so he has a ton of it, otherwise im not realy sure where to get it but im sure you can find it somewhere. the acid has to be neutralized, the stuff i have was neutralized using steel wool. the solution will be totally clear and just look like water. once you make the solution here is the actual staining process.

ok, so in this step, did you put any colour stain or just that solution?

or is that an option to put colour stain?

you start out by wiping the surface down with the solution, it doesnt need to be drenched but should have an even damp coat across the whole surface. after that you let it set until the surface is totally dry. the guy who taught me said to lay it in the sun to dry, i dont think this actually does anything but help it dry a little quicker though. when the guitar is dry it wont look any different than when you started but that is where the heat comes in. the guy who showed me was staining knife scales so for heat he just used a red hot piece of steel, for a luthier a heat gun is much more practical. start in one small area of the guitar and work it with the heat gun. i dont know the exact chemistry behind it, but my understanding is that the heat triggers a reaction between the nitric acid and the sugars in the wood. as the wood begins to heat up all the sudden before your eyes it will start to take on a beautiful amber to honey color gradually getting darker and spreading with the heat. keep the heat in one area until the color stabilizes and stops getting darker. When one area reaches a stable color move onto the next area until you get the whole of the guitar complete. after words i will coat it with danish or linseed oil.

then we still have to apply oil, right?

though i have only just begun experimenting with this staining method i love using it becuase it gives great depth and transparency to the wood and gives you that sense of being able to almost look into the finish.

the final result is like 3D effect?

what if we use nitro instead of oil?

last one, instead of heat gun, can we use hair dryer?

thanks a bunch mate, I love to learn new technique in finishing

"In keeping with this, I used a very old staining method which involves heat and nitric acid to bring about a reaction with the natural sugars in the wood."

Interesting

ok Shad (quoting ae3), since this is project guitar and I think there's no secret here, are you gonna tell us how??

I'm sure everybody here wants to know

talking about natural sugars in the wood, is it gonna make any difference(s) compare to regular staining method?

I mean, are the sugars gonna build a layer on the surface, kinda clear film?

I saw you on another board

and like they said, your price is crazy (in a good way)

btw, that's not the final design since I requested 2 pivot points trem instead of 6 screws mounting type.

after months of discussion with Aldridge, he came up with couple of designs for my trem.

here they are:

1st design----------------->

2nd design----------------->

I like the 2nd one, because once I put it on my guitar, it won't look like multiscale trem, so people will think it's just another standard trem

the most important thing is, this trem is one of a kind, I'm gonna be the only person who has this (at the moment)

maybe I'm gonna start with most important thing (to me) in this build, tremolo bridge.

first, I take a standard bridge design from Aldridge Empire, then put some (crappy) editing:

after that, I drew my own design, like these:

wait a minute, that's just the trem block design

after thinking for a long time, I decided to go with the one on the right.

then I made my trem design:

first design---------->

second design--------->

I prefer the second one, so once I put it on my guitar, nobody will realize at first glance if it's a multiscale trem

ps.

some people literally laughed at me when I showed them those trem designs, but I think now I can laugh at them...

I'll explain later

still remember this?:

exactly 1 more month before I come back to my country, I already have plan to build another guitar

so this build thread will go very slow, since I won't start the building process 'till I get home

my concept this time not to different from my previous build, just make few changes, such as:

- 6 stringer

- shorter scale (24.75"-25.5")

- tremolo bridge (major point on this build)

- my own pickups, built by someone else actually, but wound to my exact specs

design wise, I still use the same design, only a little bit smaller.

and I try to use local material as much as I can.

wish me luck

wow

that big horn bass looks like elephant

eh, is that gonna be like hunter's guitar?

fanned frets

huge (those pics )

I don't do binding of any kind. You will have to ask one of the other guys...

how about fake binding?

fake binding when you use waterbased colourstain, not paint.

I still don't know how to avoid colour bleeding (masking tape won't work).

and yeah, scarf joint as well

cheers!!!

strandberg, anyone?

oh, myka as well

how do you rout straight cornered pockets? (as a router bit has a radius)

chisel?

I did neck pocket like that

it was PITA

KPCrash, I just used whatever kind of paint I could find in my country.

we have very limited option here.

I've tried some paints: synthetic paint, oil based paint, automotive paint, wood paint.

for my latest swirl, I used wood paint, basically oil based paint.

if I could get testor, I might try it as well.

last time I tried to take some testor home, the UCBP took them away from my luggage at LAX

Thickness that a neck will allow has a lot of factor going into it. Fretboard thickness, type of truss rod, etc. I can't just answer "yes, you can do a 18mm neck with this." That said, all things equal besides the carve, if you can do a normal carve with the neck in question, you can do a trapezoid carve with it too. And "more meat" means yes, less wood is removed in the carve. I mean, draw out a trapezoid and a C-carve and compute the area. But my guess would be the trap has more cross-sectional area.

Chris

PS: Ricky, my guitars are on here as well. Not that I know which you're referring to or what other board (I'm on a couple)?

I'm talking about TGP

and for OP, could you show us (or me, in this case) how to do this trapezoid neck profile, step by step.

I might try it in my next build.

cheers!!!

and how about the feel when you're playing it?

I mean the edges, do they affect your thumb position or you just feel it like traditional neck?