Scratch body experiment

Before I start messing with real timber I decided to do an experiment with MDF just to see if I can make a body from scratch. I knew MDF was going to be heavy so I made hollow and then got a bit creative. Here's the result.
Attachment 34004

I was expecting it to still be a bit heavy and possibly unbalanced but I got lucky. It feels very similar to my favourite guitar, a factory-made Fender Strat.

The purple finish on the back is a DIY candy I made using liquid dye mixed with clear acrylic lacquer. Worked out to be about $30 per litre and I only used half a litre on this guitar.
Heaps cheaper than the $140 per litre I used to pay for candy paint from the shop and now I can mix'n'match my own colours. The liquid dye is dirt cheap at $1 per 10ml and you only need a few drops per litre of clear paint.

Finally after giving up trying to find a cheap drill press big enough to fit a Telecaster body I decided to make myself a jig for drilling the string-through-body holes by hand. I think it turned out okay.
Attachment 34005

This looks mint. I presume your spaying the candy with a gun? And what's your ferrule jig?

Awesome job, I really want a laser cutter so I can build body’s using acrylic and mdf. I like your approach, I’m going to chamber the middle layers and have a solid too and bottom piece. I’ll probably do one outsourcing the cutting at some point.

Near where I live there's a Laser cutting shop associated with the film industry. I got them to cut up a sheet of mdf into a jig for making a Tele shaped hollow body.

Its a very slow project because my serious workshop is 60 miles from where I live at my mothers house, but I have some ribs now...

I use them all the time for work and it’s a reasonable cost. I’d just love to have my own so I could experiment more freely.

My tooling wish list is extensive.

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Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain

I use them all the time for work and it’s a reasonable cost. I’d just love to have my own so I could experiment more freely.

My tooling wish list is extensive.

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The Marthter ith always adding to the withlitht for the Lab. Although he did veto my propothed Nuclear particle acthelerator. I can't underthtand why he thought it wath a bad idea.....

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Originally Posted by Bakersdozen

This looks mint. I presume your spaying the candy with a gun? And what's your ferrule jig?

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Yes I'm using a spray gun and compressor. The jig was just a block of wood I drilled in a drill press using the bridge plate as a guide. The drill press made sure each hole was perfectly vertical. Then I put the bridge plate on the guitar and drilled 2 pilot holes just a couple of mm deep, put the jig on top and poked 2 spare 3mm drill bits into the holes to line them up with the pilot holes in the guitar then clamped the jig in place. Then I used my hand drill with a 3mm auger long enough to go through the jig and the guitar body. I didn't want to rely on the clamps so I left the spare drill bits in the pilot holes while I did the 4 inner holes first then moved them to do the 2 outer holes.
I checked a US made Tele in a shop today and I was surprised the ferrules weren't perfectly seated. Some of them were flush with the body but a few were sticking out slightly. So I think I actually did a better job than the US factory with the string holes.

As for laser cutting... I never thought of that. Actually I thought laser cutting was mostly done with sheet metal.
Anyway I did it the hard way using a jigsaw to cut the rough holes then a router to tidy it up a bit and finally hours and hours (literally) with a piece of sandpaper wrapped around my little finger. I got the inspiration after watching a Crimson Guitars build I'm sure most of you are familiar with... the 90 hour build.

The

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Originally Posted by FrankenWashie

The Marthter ith always adding to the withlitht for the Lab. Although he did veto my propothed Nuclear particle acthelerator. I can't underthtand why he thought it wath a bad idea.....

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Igor, when Frankie finds out you’ve been using his login again he’ll confiscate one of your left hands. Please be more careful.

Oby, that is truly inspiring... but I have a heap of questions for you!

What is the finished weight?

How does it feel to play? - I ask because I'm so use to having a "solid" body under my right palm, I'm wondering if it would do my head in.

What did you use to seal the MDF? Shellac?

What type of dye did you use in the clear lacquer?
I've thought about playing around with tinting clear lacquer but haven't done it yet. I'm still new to gun spraying.

Lastly, what clear are you buying for $30 a litre???
I think even the SCA clear cost me $43/L last time I got it.

Thanks,
Mick

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Originally Posted by Oby

I got the inspiration after watching a Crimson Guitars build I'm sure most of you are familiar with... the 90 hour build.

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I would have said that "The Complication" was the build that drove poor Ben Crowe crackers, But I feel he may have been well on the way to crackers long before that build took place.
He's a constant source of inspiration and WTF's for me.

It's pretty much the same weight and balance as a solid body Tele. I'm not an expert player but a couple of guys at work reckon it feels the same as a shop-bought guitar. My go-to guitar tester is getting his hands on it next Monday.
I knew MDF was going to be heaps heavier than alder and basswood like most solid bodies use. I was hoping making it hollow would make up for that and I guess I fluked it with the balance.

I used all auto acrylic lacquers. Primer surfacer then tons of spray putty then another few coats of primer surfacer before I did the silver base coat. All of that with rattle cans. Then the candy was done with my spray gun and a compressor. I used about 700ml of clear for all the candy coats.

The liquid dye is stuff you get on ebay for tinting resin like they do with those resin "river" tables. I found heaps of places that sell it around $1 for a 10ml bottle.
I did another Tele with green candy coat and used barely half the bottle of dye and that was the entire body with a full litre of clear. This one I used a whole bottle of purple plus a few drops of red because I wanted it as dark and rich as possible.

The clear was from Repco when they had it on special on Boxing Day. I think you're right it's normally a bit over $40. Still lots cheaper than the $140 I've paid in the past for pre-mixed candy. I can mix an unlimited range of colours too so that's a bonus.

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Originally Posted by FrankenWashie

But I feel he may have been well on the way to crackers long before that build took place.

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I agree completely.

Thanks for the reply Oby.

The clear I got was Colorspec (which i think is the SCA brand). I do watch for their sales and Club Specials, but they never seem to align with when I actually want or need something.

I'll check out the bay for those resin dyes. It's given me some ideas for a stalled strat build from last October!

Thanks again!

EDIT to add:
Oby,
Any chance you could post a link or PM me re: the dyes? I had a look on ebay, but a firm direction would help. Cheers

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Originally Posted by McCreed

The clear I got was Colorspec (which i think is the SCA brand)

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For a while they had both the ColorSpec and their old SCA brand stuff and I think the SCA stuff was on clearance to get rid of it because I've got an empty tin here I vaguely remember buying last year for another job.
I think ColorSpec is part of their new range which includes all the colour-matching and the pressure cans you can get filled in shop. I think the pressure cans are a bit pricey though. Cheaper to search thru Repco online and get the DupliColor 150g cans they have on clearance for $5.95. Or get the paint mixed and borrow a spray gun and compressor.
The Repco clear is only $41 normal price and it was 20% off on Boxing Day and I think also for Australia Day. Both Repco and SC you can join their mailing list and get some discounts when you order online for click'n'collect.

Here's a link to the purple dye... https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Epoxy-UV...-/233233812502
And you can search for "Epoxy UV Resin Coloring Dye Colorant Liquid Pigment Concentrate 10g" within that ebay shop and you'll find all their colours.

Btw I noticed the bottles of dye are actually $1.86 not $1.
I hope the extra 86c doesn't break the bank. :D

Thanks for the link Oby. That's what I saw previously but was not sure about the UV part of the equation.

I am a SCA club member and get regular emails for specials.
I bought a gun, compressor and airbrush early last year. Just need more time with it, but got pretty good results right from the start.

Cheers

Like with any job 90% of the finish comes down to how much prep work you do. Then when it comes to spraying as long as you're following the basic steps I think the main thing you want to avoid is runs because they are a pain to fix. Orange peel and rough spray patterns are easy to fix as long as you put enough coats on and you don't mind doing some sanding.
With auto paint you don't want the final finish to be too thick because panels can flex easily and a thicker coat will split. But on a solid guitar body I don't think it matters. Spray as thick as you like and you don't have to worry about going thru to primer when you sand/buff. Once you've sanded it enough to remove orange peel you can buff the bejeezus out of it to get a mirror shine.
And when it comes to candy I reckon the thicker the better. Light is reflecting through that candy coat and hitting the silver underneath then coming back out again. At different angles you get a much wider contrast in shades. It can look like an actual candy apple (toffee apple for us Aussies) dripping wet with some sweet coating over it. Thin coats I reckon don't look much different to a pearl or mild metallic finish.
Another tip... or idea... airbrush some faint dark patterns on the silver base coat before you put the candy over the top. Don't try a gold base coat I already did that and it looked rubbish.

Good info!
I've done enough rattle can finishes to have learnt the importance of the prep! (learning didn't come without it's mistakes though)

I haven't done a full-on candy, just basic metallics. Interesting about the faint black patterns with the airbrush too.

Since exchanging posts in this thread, I'm thinking about doing a blue tinted clear on the aforementioned strat build.
I was wondering if a silver basecoat under the tinted clear would make for an interesting effect. I want the blue to come up as a trans-blue. Is that something you've ever tried?

I think only silver or chrome finish work properly with candy.
I tried a black base coat once and that didn't work at all. White just made it look like the colour on top was pale. Gold made everything look brown and yellow was pretty much the same.
The difference between a silver and chrome base coat is the silver gives the final finish a slight shimmer like a pearl finish and it isn't quite as reflective as the chrome.
The first few coats of candy you put on you'll think it's never going to be rich or dark enough. It's very subtle for the first few but it starts to pop after about 5 or 6 then it gets darker and darker as you go. The purple I did was almost black when I finished but it brightened up a lot after sanding and buffing. Once it's finished the more light you put on it the brighter it is.

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Thanks for the link Oby. That's what I saw previously but was not sure about the UV part of the equation.

I am a SCA club member and get regular emails for specials.
I bought a gun, compressor and airbrush early last year. Just need more time with it, but got pretty good results right from the start.

Cheers

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Make sure you have a moisture trap in the line from the compressor to the gun, the amount of moisture that comes out of the tank when you let the pressure off at the end of task is alarming.

My air line goes front tank up to trap and then up over the rafters and down to the gun

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Make sure you have a moisture trap in the line from the compressor to the gun,

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Yep. Got one, but mines in-line at the gun.

In-line at the gun is a must. Moisture trap at the start of the line doesn't stop condensation forming inside the hose it just stops moisture coming from the compressor. Unless you put your hose away inside after every use and keep it in a sealed plastic bag it will develop condensation.
I actually have both. The regulator gauge at the compressor is also a moisture trap and then I have the in-line trap at the gun just before another tiny digital regulator I use to check the pressure at the gun.
Also I always drain the moisture from the compressor after each use. There should be a little tap underneath the tank for that.
It should go without saying... clean your gun properly when you finish or you'll regret it next time you go to use it. And for the sake of a couple of dollars ALWAYS use those paper strainers when you fill the gun with paint. I strain my paint into a separate tin and then strain it again as it goes in the gun. A tiny bit of dried paint or some other foreign particle can ruin an otherwise perfect paint job.

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Also I always drain the moisture from the compressor after each use.

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Yep, same here.

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It should go without saying... clean your gun properly when you finish or you'll regret it next time you go to use it. And for the sake of a couple of dollars ALWAYS use those paper strainers when you fill the gun with paint.

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Ditto, again ;)
I'm ridiculously anal when it comes to cleaning my gun and airbrush. Probably because I don't use it everyday.
I have developed a little system with small tubs that I do my cleaning in and I do the whole thing with about 250-300 mils of thinner.

I live in suburbia, so I have to be conscientious about disposal.