argytar

Doing some nitro sealing work. Pores seem to have been filled.

7 minutes ago, Drak said:

I love old-school German guitar build characteristics.

So I'm a fan of your big block inlays, looks like a very German 'thing' to me.

I decided to put some Höfner elements in the final mix! Hope it turns out ok!

After final sandind I decided to go with some nitro sealing...

And.... on this set neck guitar the neck is set!

Big moment for the build.

These hollow bodies feel light! I love it!

On 5/19/2021 at 9:22 AM, Bizman62 said:

Thanks for sharing the video! No matter the type of the truss rod, the little bow allows for keeping the truss rod under tension in most every situation, even when the fretboard is dead flat. I suppose loosening the rod to zero or adjusting it for even more relief would result an unpleasantly high action. So simple, so logical!

Happy to share!!

I like Dan’s vids very much!

I did the neck profile.

.89" inch at the first fret 1.1” at the 12th"

I like the way hot hide  glue holds the fretboard in place. Seems to tap nicely!! Very vibrant!

Time to glue the neck to the body!

So after watching this video

I decided to glue the fretboard onto the neck with hot hide glue.

I knew I had approximately 40 seconds before the glue gelled up, so I rehearsed the procedure for like a dozen times using a stop-watch and when I had it down to 30 seconds I took the plunge and seem to have nailed it on the first actual non-drill time!!

Very happy about it! I feel as if I have acquired a new skill!

In a couple of days I will glue the neck to the body!

A bit busy lately with all the med work...

did manage to install my silver onion logo though! Used some clear epoxy.

Next stop: finalizing the specifics of the neck joint and gluing the neck to the body...

Wow!!! Sunburst for the win!!!

ok , I guess it is more vintage vibe-y after all!! 
 

I thought about it because I loved how the grain looked too!

Cool then! I will give it a go!!

On 5/6/2021 at 9:35 AM, ShatnersBassoon said:

Yes superglue can be hell, I used it as a finish recently and the blowback was unreal

Ive found that Gluboost isn’t half as bad though. I think the cheaper stuff has more nastiness in it.

Looking awesome!

Yes! Especially when I added baking soda as a catalyst to fill some gaps quickly, I amost burnt my finger, thank God I was wearing gloves!

Thank you!!

So I scraped the binding and liked what I saw!

I had to make a teaser photo to see where I was heading at! I think I like it very much!!

Put some maple lam on the headstock too. Then added some binding to complete the set.

I am thinking about a two-tone metallic finish... Blue for the top and back and black metallic for the sides and neck.

Matching headstock.

Then again a 3-tone sunburst would not be that bad either...

Decisions, decisions!

10 hours ago, ShatnersBassoon said:

Great stuff! It’s funny but I was pondering doing that kind of block inlay myself recently, running all the way to the sides. Looks really tidy

I copied that from old Höfner and newer Rivolta guitars.

It was easy to do on the miter box too!! Very clean result cutting both the margins and the pearloid!

I decided to bind the f holes too.

Too much superglue makes your eyes misty!

1 hour ago, Bizman62 said:

It seems one of those cylindrical routers is slowly making its way on my shopping list.

The channels look very nice! Do I see right, will there be some fine adjusting needed with a chisel near the lower f-hole?

I got this palm router like 6 months ago and I tend to reach for it for most of the tasks!!

Good eye! That is actually a shallow line I made with a gramil the previous day... Never experiment on a workpiece!! I should have used something else but I thought I would give it a go! I will sand it off! I will of course do some filing and use sandpaper here and there before I put on the binding!

Did the nibs! Wow that was a lot of work! Less super glue next time!

More sanding is of course needed!

Also used my existing neck tenon angle jig as a base for the router.

The binding channels are ready!

On 4/29/2021 at 12:08 AM, mistermikev said:

like the headstock shape, like the creative use of bending stock, like the inlays... nicely done!!

Thanks a mil!!

Did the binding ala Gibson after I installed the frets!

1 hour ago, Bizman62 said:

Do the picture angles play tricks with my eyes or is the headstock really of the 'Approved by The Royal Paddle Club' type? I like the shape of it, there's hints of various classics without being significantly one or the other.

Hahaha it looks like an oar , right? Yeah it photographs weird but up close it is proportional...

(I think).

I used a Gibson 335 headstock for the first contours then followed the center line with a strat template to mark the tuner holes and finished off with some rough pencil drawing.

I was afraid of what would come out of it , I tend to like it for now!

Did some headstock work and radiused the ebony board.

Started installing the frets. I am going with Hosco M3 they are similar to the Dunlop 6150.

Did the pearloid installation. This thing lights up if you try to shape it on a belt sander so beware bevare take care.

Looks like a face-hugger with the mini clamps.

I used two part epoxy transparent glue.

will add binding after trimming.

Did some more work.

I cut for the neck tenon.

Then I glued some ears to the headstock.

Next I started routing the fretboard for the pearlood inlays.

And so I have started making a binding jig. I used the plywood margin I made earlier that holds the guitar flush, glued some poplar sticks on the side with some washers and screws and it now is stable and ready to go under the router bits. 
 

Next stop: making a base for the hand-held router.

Did the bridge pup route.

Tried on the TVs but I think I will go for the radiator buckers for a more Gibbie feel and more split/parallel/ series options...

7 hours ago, FINEFUZZ said:

I ma really liking the geometry of the f-holes, body contours and the control layout.

Hey thanks so much!!

I hope she turns out to be as I imagine her! Twangy, yet warm with a vintage-oriented sound!

Before I start building a binding jig I figured I would cut frets.

This one will sport a zero fret as per many oddball guitars!

3 hours ago, JayT said:

I have nothing of value to add, anything offered would expose my skill level  -- but your work is sire impressive. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Keep the pictures coming!

Thank you so much for your kind words! The people from this forum have helped A LOT with this project!!

The top is on! Closing the box! After careful alignement I used fish glue which has a longer open time to glue the top on!!

Yesterday I tried to continue with the aluminoum bridge construction.

Needs more work but I think I am slowly getting there!

The glue worked great! The bracing seems stiff!

Time to plane it!

All set!

Next: drilling for the switch and pot holes..

Ok so I tried my luck with hot hide glue for the kerfed bracing glue-up.

I warmed everything up and it seems to fit tightly!

If it succeeds I will use the glue for the neck joint too!