na, 2 others on the way and a bunch of parts, other wise I would have LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by neverwas
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na, 2 others on the way and a bunch of parts, other wise I would have LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by neverwas
Been trying to make some progress with this one, more adventures in inlay making.
Scanned and printed the sketch, cut out and glued to the pieces of white MoP shell.
Attachment 27532
Used a 2mm drill bit so could get the jewellers saw blade in to cut the inner shapes.
Attachment 27533
You may notice I managed to break off the pointy bit of the back of the B, oops, call it a design change.
Attachment 27534
Took three goes at cutting the separate flourish thing, not entirely happy but not willing to waste any more shell on it, should look OK from across the room.
Attachment 27535
In case you're wondering how much space gets taken up making such a small item
Attachment 27536
If that wasn't fun enough, now have to cut recesses for the 1.3mm thick inlay pieces, may take a while.
Grant
I believe it is not uncommon to break the MOP. It can be glued back together and fit in the recess. After I discovered about this I had a close look at the inlay of my Ibanez headstock and discovered that is exactly what they had done (never noticed before).
Yes DM, if the pieces were fully shaped and ready to go, then glueing together would be the way to go. My sawing wasn't as neat as would have liked, so filing a thin piece that's been glued together, it would most likely come apart again and the air would've turned more blue than usual.
Beautiful job, lovely finish that took some workQuote:
Originally Posted by neverwas
Thanks phrozin, still got more work to do, will get there one day.
So, had a go at cutting the recesses for the inlay pieces and all did not go well, thinking the B should stand for butcherous. Did the B first, broke off the small part that would go inside the upper loop of the letter, then did the flourish recess and as I was getting close to the right depth the piece of maple between the two cut outs broke off. Red mist descended, many many bad words said.
The raggedy mess, since cleaned up, should title this 'what an inlay cavity should not look like'.
Attachment 27681
Shell pieces in place
Attachment 27682
Used white glue to hold the inlays in place and then mixed maple sawdust with titebond to fill around the pieces (pays to keep any offcuts from headstock or body shaping, may come in handy for jobs like this). Because I'd done such a poor job, took two goes to fill the gaps.
Attachment 27683
Sanded smooth, the white flecks are shell dust which should clean out. Now to sand the rest of the neck, round over some edges where needed and get ready for stain. If the glue fill doesn't take stain too well can paint that section, it was always intended to be black.
Attachment 27684
Grant
Nice work on the custom inlay, that looks so good!
Congratulations on attempting the inlay. The glued wood bits won't take the stain - not without it being very noticeable at the very least - so I'd progress straight to the paint for that area.
Bugger! Good fix though. Nice design.
Thanks all.
Got the neck sanded to 240 grit all over and taped up ready for staining.
Attachment 27752
Following the same process as the body, black stain first then multiple coats of orange mix which pulls some of the black off onto the cotton swabs as you go. Can't really tell if it's the same as the body, but while it's damp it looks about right.
The glue fill around the inlay did take the black stain but as Simon predicted it is quite noticeable at certain angles, so will have to paint that section after all.
Attachment 27753
How the grain on the back of the neck looks, had pics of the edge of headstock but they're a bit blurry, looks similar to the edge of the body. Now just need a warm day to get some clear on to seal it.
Attachment 27754
Grant
Had a warm day during the week and managed to get a couple coats of clear on to seal the neck. Progress shots, still needs more clear and paint the recessed area solid black.
Attachment 27804Attachment 27805
Toying with the idea of glueing the neck in and then spraying the final clear coats, haven't done one that way before, which means need to have a way to hold the bottom of the guitar while it's hanging. Simplest way is to put a small cup hook in the hole for the strap button, just have to drill the hole first. Did that and while the neck was in couldn't resist a mock up.
Attachment 27806
Think I've mentioned earlier that Pabs made some dress rings for the pups and gave me a few options, brushed look (bridge pup) which I was leaning towards when I thought it would go for a satin finish, or mirror look (neck pup) that seems to go better with the gloss finish it has ended up with.
During this, had a D'oh moment when sitting the bridge pup in place. Made sure the neck pup would fit, may have neglected checking the bridge pup would sit in, should only take a mil or so off each side of the cavity to give clearance.
Attachment 27807
Just realised have the pups and wire but no pots, caps etc - parts order required.
Grant
this is looking great!
Shaping up very nicely :)
Very nice indeed.
Stain has come up a treat under that shiny clear coat.
Be-oo-tee-full
Thanks very much guys, apologies for not replying sooner.
Got the recessed section painted black, ummed and ahhed about trying to mask up the inlay and just left it, sprayed the black and using a hobby knife the paint scraped off the shell pretty easily.
Attachment 27871
It then got 6 coats of clear. Looks like it will need quite a few more to fill the grain in the veneer and get a level finish, just have to let this lot dry properly first. Couple of pics
Attachment 27872Attachment 27873
Grant
This is going to look pretty amazing once it’s finished.Quote:
Originally Posted by neverwas
Love this headstock, that looks really good!
Thanks Fretty and VonScott
Grant
So this happened today
Attachment 28393Attachment 28394
But before that the neck had been sanded and given another four coats of clear.
Attachment 28395Attachment 28396
Grant
Wonderful build Grant! That gloss on the neck is stunning and that headstock came out beautifull.
That really looks superb.
Thanks Kick, good to see you are still around.
Cheers Andy.
Grant
Some things in my life required more attention this year. But I'm still alive and kicking ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by neverwas
shiiiiiiiinnnnyyyy😁😁❤️Quote:
Originally Posted by neverwas
Wow, this is really something. Well done.
Man, that's looking killer.
Thanks again guys.
Been a while since an update so here we go.
The back came out a lot lighter than the front and the more I looked at it the more I thought should do something about it. Sprayed clear tinted with black to try and darken it a little, was a bit cautious and could have gone a bit darker but it was enough to tame it down a bit. Not the best pic but you can see the difference on the binding where started cleaning it up.
Attachment 29865
Did try to mask the binding with vinyl tape, about 1mm of binding width and tight curves didn't work well and ended up brushing on liquid masking fluid. Worked great apart from where the solvents from the clear went through it and softened the painted binding. Then had to mask up and repaint that part.
Attachment 29866
Once that was done the whole lot got a few more coats of clear and left to dry.
Started the wiring by extending the wire from the bridge pickup in the hope of keeping it all neat when finished.
Attachment 29867
Wiring harness done, used heatshrink to keep it in shape and also if it ends up being seen then won't be as noticeable as the braided wire.
Attachment 29868
Clipped on the pickups and it passed the tap test, volumes work, all good.
I have used full size CTS pots and they fit into the f-holes fine....individually. How they will fit now they are all wired together with orange drops between them may be another story. Could end in tears, or therapy, or both.
Attachment 29869
Have just started sanding for final polishing and just remembered why my last two builds had a satin finish.:rolleyes:
Grant
Installing the electrical bits can add small surface scratches to a very shiny finish. Just need to be very careful and extremely patient as it may take a few attempts to install before it is all done and working properly.
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Thanks for the timely reminder Waz.
Spent a lot longer than expected final sanding and polishing but got there eventually. Fairly sure I got the ES-3 I did a few years ago polished in a weekend, this took quite a bit longer, not saying the end result is any, better just took longer. Now there are some 'pock' marks still here and there and while I'm moderately confident there is enough clear built up to sand them out, don't want to find out the hard way that there isn't at this point. Can try and sand them out later if I feel the need.
Attachment 30069Attachment 30070
Then started installing the wiring and heeded Waz's tip and used a couple layers of masking tape and strategically place cloths to try and minimise any scratching.
Attachment 30071
Don't forget the earth wire.
Attachment 30072
First time I tried freezing the bushes before knocking them in, worked a treat. Still used a M8 bolt in place of the actual bridge and tailpiece posts.
Attachment 30073
Next is fitting the machine heads and the very thirsty fretboard is drinking up the Dr ducks about as fast as can be put on.
Grant
Been a while and there has been progress.
Made spacer/mounting blocks for the pups.
Attachment 30594
Then final assembly and rough setup. The nut is a bit high and pickup heights and action are close-ish to where they need to be. Seems every time I touch this lately I scratch or damage it in some way so here are some pretty pics before it gets relicd from use.
Must say the pups sound quite good, wasn't sure if had the pot/ cap values right but seems all good.
Bit hard to get good pics to show what it looks like, in low light looks almost brown and in bright light the orange comes to life.
Attachment 30595Attachment 30596
Attachment 30597
A few more
Attachment 30598Attachment 30599
Attachment 30600Attachment 30601
Grant
Wow, looks gorgeous.
I'm not a hollow body guy, but I am seriously tempted by this kit. Looks like the body is a reasonable thickness and I really like the shape and headstock.
oOh man you are doing great on this... just started an FS1 myself. Was thinking about how to get that routed headstock vibe. THought about just carving the with chisels and sanding rather than routing. Looking at yours has me pumped
That is sensational. Well done.Quote:
Originally Posted by neverwas
Thanks Sonic, think you already know one of these are in your future:p
Thanks Steev3d, i went with routing as I had the tools to do so, can be done with hand tools would just take a bit more patience.
Thanks Woltz
Grant
That looks fantastic.
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Oh My!
That's stunning Grant, wonderful work!
Unless something unbelievable pops up the next GOTM is already over.
Absolutely stunning in every way