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I imagine being screwed flat against the body would negate any warping - but its one of those things you won't know until you try. Acrylic warps if its gets hot enough.
Using the record as a laminate isn't a bad idea either, with some other material supporting it.
Would be a fun in expensive experiment anyway. I may even have a crack myself at some point in the future.
Lots to think about thanks for your input guys. I just manage to liberate some poly carb sheet from the recycle bin at work its still in good shape so ill have a play around with that too i think.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e49fc51756.jpg
Oh yeah, that'll work. Leave the protective coating on it though while you play with it. You can buff it back up to flawless if you do scratch it, but might as well save yourself the hassle.
Polycarb can be a bit of a pain, but it won't crack as easily as acrylic so it'll be a bit more forgiving. Scrape the edges with a utility blade after you cut and sand it to shape to get rid of the rough junk that will be stuck there.
Ok no worries thanks for the advice Pablo[emoji106]Quote:
Originally Posted by pablopepper
We'll the first attempt with the poly carb ended up in the bin. I'll give it another crack. But I think i might just have to ditch the idea and be normal and buy a proper blank.
Just take it really easy. I've messed up heaps of acrylic making stuff. Its all a learning process. If you've got the scrap available, I'd keep playing with it and refine your technique.
Yeah just a little too much pressure in the wrong spot and it cracked straight away. I had the whole plate cut out just started cutting the pickup holes and bam.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Oh man, the amount of perfect work I've ruined by trying to recess a screw or something in acrylic etc is ridiculous. It's the nature of the beast. But the more you do it the better you get. If it's not costing you anything but time its a worthwhile pursuit. You might find it handy down the track.
Still a little rough but im basically just messing around a bit to get some practice with the Dremel. Gotta shelve it for now. The neighbors can get a little twitchy sometimes I don't think they share my enthusiasm for guitar building.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...483621338a.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Hah.. You should hear mine slam the windows shut when I start spraying.
We'll I've hit that point where i can't really progress. I've ordered water slide paper and I'm waiting on copper tape and neck finish. I put the last intensifying coat on yesterday happy to post another shot of the body if anyone is interested in seeing it.
I've also got my head stock artwork sorted thanks to Sonic.
I have decided to put aside the poly carb in favour of a proper material for the scratch plate.
So its the waiting game at the moment.
I'm sure i'm not the only one here that enjoys getting packages from Adam but i was excited today when i got home to find that My neck stain and copper tape had arrived as well as the waterslide paper i ordered ( yes small things like this make me happy)
Hoping to start staining the neck this weekend and putting the first finishing coat on the body.
I have discovered a few small blemishes in the last coat and i'm not convinced they will come out with just steel wool alone, can you sand a dingo tone intensifying coat with a really fine grade sandpaper or is this a no no?
Also should i wait until i have done both stain and final coats on the neck before i apply my decals and then spray with clear or can i apply the decals in between the stain and final coat and not worry about spraying any clear.
That decal company is really good. I paid the extra $3 for express and got it the next day.
I'm sure you saw my pile of fails, don't be sad if you wreck some, its takes a bit of practice to get a nice result.
I have no idea on the finishing questions, I haven't stepped outside my comfort zone with that stuff yet :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Yeah i was really surprised at how quick it came thanks for putting me onto them really happy there. Im prepared to sacrifice some paper in the name of getting it right i'm pretty certain i will mess up the first couple of attempts anyway.
I'm really liking the dingotone really easy to use. Give it a crack one day.
So i got out early this morning and started staining the neck.
I went colourless so i could keep the natural colour of the timber, happy so far with the progress.
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Spend money on a home gym,Use it to hang guitar parts ;)
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So i was going to start with a final coat on the body but unfortunately it seems as though some dust has settled on the body while my last intensifying coat was still wet and now that its dry it stands out like a sore thumb.I tried using 0000 steel wool to try and fix the offending areas but it did very little.
Up until this point the body was looking really good but now it looks pretty ordinary.Im not really sure what to do about that at this point but was thinking of wet sanding with 2000 grit and see if that works.
Give it a really good chance to harden up, then a light sand and buff should bring it back. Looks awesome in the pics.
Thanks mate, we have had a couple of 40 degree days in a row here now which has helped the curing it feels solid on top and has a nice shine to it already, its had 3 stain coats and 2 intensifying coats. Ill have another look at it tomorrow i might even try and lightly sand a small area just to see how it comes up but i can't really progress until i sort this out. Its frustrating but i'm getting a good lesson in being patient.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Loving that look Grubsta, sweet how that grain has really come up with the finish.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks Franky im really happy with grain bit of work to get it there but it was worth it.Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankenWashie
I was going to wait until tomorrow but i couldn't help myself so i wet sanded with 1200 and flattened out the blemishes it came out well and it flattened right out.
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So i cleaned it up and went ahead with a top coat.
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Oh sweet mercy, that’s pretty. Great job Grubsta!
Woo! Looks great.
Wow, im building one of these babies and yours has come up a treat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grubsta
Cheers mate it's been a good kit to start on im happy with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by nitroburner1000
Looks great!
Sorry not a lot new to share in terms of pics but i got the final top coat on the body today and have one coat left on the neck.
So ill let the body sit for a couple of weeks now and then give it it a buff and hopefully it will come up nice.
That should give me plenty of time to order the new pick ups and sort out a new pick guard i just need to decide on a colour.
Im looking forward to getting to the assembly stage now.
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It's looking lovely, Grubsta.
Thanks Simon [emoji106]Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Got the final coat done on the neck this arvo,Im curious to know what products others have used to cut and polish the top coat with Dingotone I've done a bit of searching around the forum but couldn't really find any info. Should i also go over it with 2000 grit first (neck and body)
I'm at that point again where i can't do a lot and my hands are itching to do stuff.
Ordering new pick ups hopefully tomorrow night i decided to go with some Warman Vintage Rangers for the Neck & Middle and a Retro Rocker for the bridge.
I would love to spring for Seymour Duncan or Benson pick ups but the budget won't allow it, after seeing some reviews and demo's in other builds i'm willing to give them a go.The red pick guard has grown on me a little so i may keep it after all.
Just have some updated progress pics to share. The body finish has hardened up enough that i could start doing a little more that just looking at it. I have a couple boo boo's to fix extra points for anyone can pick them out. My new pickups are ordered and have been despatched already coming from the UK so i should get them reasonably quick. The pick guard actually doesn't look as bad as i first thought so i'm going to keep it however i may need to get a new one from Adam because the top layer has some bubbles in a few spots.Im going to change out the volume and tone knobs for some chrome knurled ones as well.
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Still a bit to be done but its nice to be at this point of my build.
I bet I can pick the boo boo :P
With the pick guard, I had some bubbling as well. I gently heated it with a hairdryer and pushed them back down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
It actually stands out like a sore thumb when you look close enough. I'll swipe the wife's hairdryer and give it a go tonight. [emoji106]
man that is looking gorgeous!
There always comes a moment when you realise you have stuffed something up, sometimes its a big stuff up sometimes its a minor one and is easily fixed.
Lucky for me it was a minor rookie mistake and easily fixed, in my haste to get something done a couple of days ago i managed to press the tremolo bushes in the wrong way around but with a little help from Sonic we managed a work around so I've decided to share my stuff up so hopefully other newbies won't make the same mistake but also how i fixed it.
Incorrectly inserted bushes
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So the first step was to clamp some blocks of wood on either side of the body at a height just slightly higher than the body itself.
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Then i used another piece of timber to sit across the body and resting on the blocks of wood on either sides with an old tea towel in between to protect the body finish, I drilled holes slightly larger than the bushes so they could pull up through the timber. I found a long bolt and nut in my stash that matched the thread of the bush and a washer big enough to cover the hole in the timber.
From here all i had to do was thread the nut to the top of the bolt and insert it through the timber with the washer and then wind the nut down to create upward pressure on the bush pulling it out of the hole.
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They came out quite easily and without damage to the body or the holes the setup was a little crude but it worked well.
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And all that was left was to insert them back in the correct way.
So my lesson out of this was to not be impatient and just double check my work before i go ahead with anything.
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Woo hoo! Well done man.
Thanks mate and thanks for your help.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
That look gorgeous !
To extract the bushings from my Epiphone, I dropped a small screw (the one's that secure computer component's was handy) down the hole and screw in the bridge post. It bottoms out against the screw you've dropped down and levers the bushing up and out.
cheers, Mark.
Anytime.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grubsta
Yeah that's not a bad idea either. I was a bit worried about smooshing anything dropped down the hole into the guitar body, but if it works thats good to know.Quote:
Originally Posted by king casey