https://youtu.be/cXlUPneR7dM
Only took about 50 goes but here is an attempt at showing the sparkle after this mornings clear coating
Dots in. Had the pilot holes perfectly aligned on the front, but they still ended up slightly wonky after i drilled them out to 6mm. Annoying, but not super noticeable... I guess the test will be having strings on.
https://i.imgur.com/MLLEzAS.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/bAYzGja.jpg
Loving how this is going. Very impressive work.
What's the plan for smoothing the step between the sparkle and non-sparkle on the sides?
Cheers Drew, plan is to build up a heap of clear and block it back. It’s going to take a while, but I can see some areas filling up on the front of the guitar after about half 400g can of clear.
Dots cleaned up, initial radiusing done, I think I'll give it another pass before I move onto frets. Also made a start on the slot for the nut.
Few more coats of clear on the body, but doesn't look substantially different yet.
https://i.imgur.com/YiRLiTG.jpg
Dry enough for a quick mock up. Long way to go with the clear coating!
https://i.imgur.com/6zkJstT.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/q8r7TER.jpg
WOW! The body looks great. The neck looks amazing - I really like the fretboard wood pattern.
How many clear coats have you given to cover the sparkle?
Well so far there is about 3/4 of a 400g can on there. I'm thinking probably another two cans.
Decided to have a go at the pickguard today to get a better idea of the finished look. It's pretty eye catching...
I made a little 'follow bearing' arrangement for my dremel. Worked Ok, will need a tidy up and I still need to bevel the edges.
I also ordered a 'Mr Sparkle' decal to go between the pickups :D.
https://i.imgur.com/YLBGFfD.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/v3fsK72.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/jObDTBq.jpg
I like the Dremel follower idea!
Looking very good.
Thanks Simon. Progress on spraying has slowed due to two weeks of crappy weather. It's definitely getting there though and probably good for the initial can and half of clear to cure a bit.
Got the frets in today. Went pretty well. As much as I like being able to say I built the necks from scratch, the time and messing around don't really make much sense with pretty much the same thing available from Pitbull for ~$80. I'd really like to do some more unique inlays and neck work, but I'll need to invest in some better equipment to get to that stage.
https://i.imgur.com/UQZ5XKN.jpg
Oh and my 'Mr Sparkle' sticker rocked up with a few others as it's cheaper the more you buy. Redbubble.com.au if anyone is after any.
https://i.imgur.com/lZAKlim.jpg
Bit of neck carving today, weather is still rubbish.
https://i.imgur.com/nQNwH2C.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Z0Qjot0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/izm0vrv.jpg
Mmmm...Proper. Nice work as always SM.
Cheers. Shame about that dark blob in the wood that revealed itself.
Really nice work, and don't mind the dark blob at all, just a bit of character.
Sent from my 2201117SG using Tapatalk
Finally some decent weather to spray in. Body is getting close now. Still a ways off, new job and various other pressures are eating a lot of time.
https://i.imgur.com/3U2Jyzl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/oH55QIm.jpg
Looks fantastic
Reminds me of a very expensive kitchen worktop (meant in the nicest possible way).
Should come up absolutely fantastic when polished.
Nice work. I was just wondering about the MDF cap on this one yesterday, in relation to my many projects. The evidence suggests it’s going ok so far.
Seems fine. I've done it twice before, on the flying v semi scratch and the white offset tele thing. Seems to hold up fine, although I don't really play those guitars much.Quote:
Originally Posted by dozymuppet
Cheers!Quote:
Originally Posted by vh2580
Lol. Yeah I can see that from the photos, looks like granite or something.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Guitar looks stunning Sonic.
Thanks Col.
Been a while. Progress has been slow, just chucking a clear coat on every now and then. I painted the head stock a pearl white (which is very hard to photograph). It looks nice with the pearl pickguard. I think I got the last clears on the neck today and I started polishing the body.
I'm kind of hoping to have it done by the 15th of Oct for a big gig, but I'm not sure it'll be sorted in time.
https://i.imgur.com/H7R1RT4.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Hs118C5.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Hs118C5.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/lhZ1dHY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/IOdBTDF.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/g7n5KiR.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/M6D6LWK.jpg
you should think about going with a 2k clear sonic i found acrylic lacquer wasn't stable over a .008 or .014 flake on wood as needed way to many coats to get depth, also think about putting a bit of flex agent will save you headaches you will have long-term what did you use for the medium to shoot the flake?
Yeah I just don’t have anywhere to set up to do paint properly. The flake is literally just glitter I sprinkled over the base coat. Agree that it’s way too many coats to get decent coverage, but it works ok.
Little bit more progress. I want to give it a final polish before I finish it up.... but I might just say near enough is good enough.
Neck pickup alignment is probably .5-1mm out. not enough to really worry about I think.
Comparison with the OG here as well.
https://i.imgur.com/kFMabN3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Uzc3kKp.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/JRU6Jm2.jpg
Wow.. great work! This build looks stunning!
What body shape (and headstock) is that? Is that your design or is it based on something?
Yeah this is one of my own designs. This thread covers a couple of different iterations if you have a look back through. I got very into the idea of producing my own guitars for awhile there. This is kind of my R&D for that. A big upheaval in my life has meant taking the foot off the pedal for a bit, but I’m still chipping away.
Bit more tinkering today. Some fiddling required to get everything in but working OK. The bridge holes have lifted the MDF a bit, probably should have drilled them before finishing. Actually probably should have done a total assembly before finishing, but I was impatient for sparkles!
You can kinda see the pearl here with the camera focused through the clear
https://i.imgur.com/wzdyDKt.jpg
Tuners in
https://i.imgur.com/3MKhW15.jpg
Bit of recessing required in the cavity. You can also see some of the swirls still in the finish.
https://i.imgur.com/og1hILH.jpg
Benson pickups installed
https://i.imgur.com/1kxysww.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/boexUbp.jpg
Sick! I love everything about these. Great work SM!
Looking fantastic Sonic
Thanks Guys :)
On the home stretch now. It's wired and assembled and strung up. Intonated with no dramas and sounds like a classic strat through my Hot Rod. Very very happy overall. I have some dead spots past the 14th fret, but I really only did a cursory level so I'm pretty happy with that. It plays fine everywhere else. Low E and probably A nut slot need to come down a fraction and I need to put a string tree on B/E.
Should be able to get it largely sorted this weekend, maybe another quick cut and polish, and then let it rest for a bit. I'll try and get some glamour shots and a sound test vid up soon. Going to be nice to be able to demo thru a decent amp for you all.
Fairly tidy wiring. Pretty simple layout but the knob vs cavity meant a bit of fiddling around. Next version everything drops in from the top! I'll make an aluminum plate/cover to put over this eventually.
https://i.imgur.com/57d6gEH.jpg
I knew this cavity was going to be a little shallow. Plan is to 3D print a slightly raised cover, but it's no biggy (and I usually have that cover off on my other ones anyway...
https://i.imgur.com/QxVBX8y.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/x0LI6Xf.jpg
All buttoned up
https://i.imgur.com/kqBe4Rv.jpg
All strung up. Its funny how at this stage the imperfections sort of drop away as the whole thing comes together. And no matter how much mocking up and dreaming I do, there is nothing quite like the reality of making a working instrument.
https://i.imgur.com/dNprNZB.jpg
Sound test after I dial in the setup a bit better. The pickups are Benson Custom 54's neck and middle (moved to bridge position) I had them in my washburn for a while and they are gorgeous. Really looking forward to trying this one out with the band.
https://i.imgur.com/QI2attU.jpg
That’s all come together really nicely. Congrats [emoji322]
It’s the depth of the body that’s too shallow for the depth of the trem block used. A deeper trem cavity wouldn't do anything for that. You could file the trem block down so it’s not as tall.
The angle you’ve drilled the trem claw screws in at hasn’t helped in keeping the springs sit lower at that end. I use a pin vice to drill my trem claw screw holes as you can fit the whole vice in the cavity and drill it pretty much flat. It’s quite a slow process as you can’t grip it very well or apply much pressure, and I find you need to use a small drill to start off with and then enlarge the holes.
Looks great!
Looks stunning Sonic.
Look forward to hearing how it sounds.
Looks amazing. Gets me excited about starting another build.
Looking really good there.
Thanks guys, here's some quick noodling for you. Just straight into the Hot Rod with a little reverb, recorded on my phone.
https://youtu.be/y15dOlZ37tM
EDIT : The buzz when I start strumming is my son cooking bacon lol.
Sounds lovely. Those Bensons do a great job.
Sounding very sweet.
Had it's first gig outing last night and performed beautifully - cool venue too!
https://i.imgur.com/cuZ1xIW.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/g3sVBUo.jpg