New Build - EVH Wolfgang

[Mark Crenshaw]

Well, as my Tele binge comes to a close...finishing up the last 3 of 7... I'm moving on to other builds. The Wolfgang is similar to a Tele but has a carved top, slightly angled neck, spoke nut trussrod and dropped head stock. Some new challenges for me.

I'm going to follow the factory formula of basswood and maple. I scored some huge chunks of seasoned basswood. This one is 20" x 7" x 3". I have two others the same width and thickness but 24" long. I may throw a basswood Strat into the mix at some point. The maple for the top is not quite wide enough for the body...it's odd lower bout makes it over 13" wide. It's also not long enogh for a third piece that's full body length, but I could rip the remaining bit and glue it up in the center in 2 pieces with a gap where one of the humbuckers will be. And add a thin strip of quarter sawn flame maple as dividers.

I was also thinking about laminating in a wider piece of the quarter sawn flame maple flanked with a strip of walnut either side...may just go with the 2 types of maple.

I could also resaw and bookmatch the quilted maple but this would mean a milder carve as the top would only be 3/8" instead of 1/2".
And so it begins...I hope to start cutting this weekend.

Pictured are the basswood mentioned above, AAA quilted maple for the top and a nicely flamed billet for the neck and fretboard. I'll take the fretboard and laminate strip(s) from the flamey edge on top in the pic.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body01.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body02.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Early in the morning when I'm just on the verge of waking up, I sometimes have these moments of clarity. Where I once had a problem, there is now a very clear solution.

Allowing for jointing, the quilted maple is too narrow by only .250" or .125" each edge. The Wolfgang has a pretty thick 5 layer binding...which I plan to replicate. It looks to be a 4 layer W/B/W/B at .010" each and an outer W at about .040" totaling .080" or .160" top and bottom added together.
I could add a sliver of quilted maple at the outer edges up against the binding channel and with careful selection and placement, no one would be the wiser.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/quilted.jpg

Or do a burst and hide it for certain.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/quilt_burst.jpg

Maybe go even darker and richer.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/quilt_blue.jpg

Hmmm..I bursted my neck PU...oh well, you get the point.

[Mark Crenshaw]

Started cutting this one today.

The basswood billet needed to be jointed on one edge before I could resaqw it. I also had to take some width off of it so it would fit under the blade guide of my bandsaw.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body03.jpg

Even though the saw is heavily modified from the factory 6" cut to a taller 6.75", the billet, after jointing, was about .125" too tall. A few extra passes after suare took care of this.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body04.jpg

Here are the two halves after resaw. They came out within .125" of each other in thickness.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body05.jpg

The planer evened them up. The Wolfgang, is 1.5" thick total, inclding the top but I'm going a bit thicker with mine. I took the resawn pieces down to 1.25". They glued up nicely.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body06.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Next was the top. This was a bit of a challenge because I wanted to cut the board so similar grain would be at the seam since the top won't be bookmatched.

I took a light pass thru the planer on each side to evaluate the figure on each. This side is a bit more quilted than the other.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body07.jpg

I've gotten used to using this method to cut boards to length. I have a chop saw but the time it takes to drag it out and set it up makes this method more attractive. Plus I can cut wider boards this way.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body08.jpg

Here's a dry fit to check the joint and make sure I get the best layout possible.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body09.jpg

All glued up. Even though it's not a bookmatch, with the top wet from clean up, it looks fairly symetrical.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body10.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

While those are setting up, I moved on to the neck blank. I needed to resaw a 1.250" blank. My plan is to make 2 necks as I go along so if something goes wrong, I have another up to the same point.
Not as wide as the body billet but a fair task for the bandsaw at 6".

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk01.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk02.jpg

Crap. It really bugs me when a resaw reveals something like this. An otherwise beautiful billet with a nasty defect hiding in it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk03.jpg

I think I can still get 2 necks out of this. The defect appears to be only .250" inch into the surface. The backside of the neck blank will be cut down by far more than this to accommodate the dropped headstock. I could always put it under the fretboard, but I'd rather not.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk04.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

More work on the top.
After the top came out of the clamps, I placed the template and centerewd it up to see how much I need to add the each side. I marked the range on the top that neede to be widened.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body11.jpg

Then I slid a cutoff along the edge until I found a nice match, transferred the marls and numbered it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body12.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body13.jpg

Since these were going thru the planer, I transferred the marks to the edges of the cutoff and the top to preserve them.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body14.jpg

I used a lsed in the planer so I didn't have to crank the screw-drive all the way down to .50" of the planer bed. The clamped piece keeps the seld from moving thru under pressure during planing.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body15.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I jointed the edges of both pieces and ripped a strip off the cutoff for each edge. I put the pieces in place to check their fit and as I was taking this pic, I realized from this angle, the grain was reversed on the patches.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body16.jpg

So, I flipped each piece and found a good alignment....much better.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body17.jpg

One last check with the template.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body18.jpg

And glued it up after transferring my marks one more time so I could make sure they didn't slip in the clamps.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body19.jpg

Done.

[Jim Becker]

Ooh...this is going to be a real beauty, Mark!

[John Thompson]

Looking great Mark. This old man gets a bit dizzy flipping through "all" the pictures so I will comment when you finish.. ;)

[Bryan Morgan]

Did you make these templates yourself or did you buy them someplace? I was thinking about building one of these as well, or an Axis.

Your build threads are great! Thanks for taking the time to take pics and post all of this! :)

[Greg Peterson]

More eye candy. Thanks for taking the time to document the process Mark.

[Mark Crenshaw]

Ooh...this is going to be a real beauty, Mark!


Looking great Mark. This old man gets a bit dizzy flipping through "all" the pictures so I will comment when you finish.. ;)


Did you make these templates yourself or did you buy them someplace? I was thinking about building one of these as well, or an Axis.

I got them from www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com (http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com)

Your build threads are great! Thanks for taking the time to take pics and post all of this! :)


More eye candy. Thanks for taking the time to document the process Mark.

My pleasure folks...stay tuned. This one's gonna be cool!

Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

While those are setting up, I moved on to the neck blank. I needed to resaw a 1.250" blank. My plan is to make 2 necks as I go along so if something goes wrong, I have another up to the same point.
Not as wide as the body billet but a fair task for the bandsaw at 6".

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk01.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk02.jpg

Crap. It really bugs me when a resaw reveals something like this. An otherwise beautiful billet with a nasty defect hiding in it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk03.jpg

I think I can still get 2 necks out of this. The defect appears to be only .250" inch into the surface. The backside of the neck blank will be cut down by far more than this to accommodate the dropped headstock. I could always put it under the fretboard, but I'd rather not.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk04.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

More work on the top.

After the top came out of the clamps, I placed the template and centerewd it up to see how much I need to add the each side. I marked the range on the top that neede to be widened.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body11.jpg

Then I slid a cutoff along the edge until I found a nice match, transferred the marls and numbered it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body12.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body13.jpg

Since these were going thru the planer, I transferred the marks to the edges of the cutoff and the top to preserve them.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body14.jpg

I used a lsed in the planer so I didn't have to crank the screw-drive all the way down to .50" of the planer bed. The clamped piece keeps the seld from moving thru under pressure during planing.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body15.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Double post deleted.

[Mark Crenshaw]

With eveything glued up I started profiling today. Hereare the top and back with the template traced out on them...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body20.jpg

And, after rough cut on the bandsaw.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body21.jpg

I gave the top of the back a quick blocking to knock down any height differences in the joint.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body22.jpg

I attached the template and made 3 shallow passes with a pattern bit. I'll flip the body and finish it out with a flush trim bit. While I had the template in place, I traced out the other routes...not for routing at this point, but for a reference later.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body23.jpg

I don't have a piloted bit this small, so I used my truss rod setup to route the channel between control cavities.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body24.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I took the channel .500" deep. I figured the top would be no more than .500" here and with a pickup route of .75" or so from that finished thickness, that should leave me with .250" clearence below the PU cavity. I'm not sure that's how it's done but I'd rather have a bit too much than not enough after that top is glued on.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body25.jpg

Using the traced cavities from before, I lined up the template for the control cavities. I was wondering why they stopped short of each cavity with that channel. Well, if you ran it all the way into each cavity, the side of the cavilty would have a hole in that the router bit bearing would bump thru...causing a divot in the side. I also made a couple of starter holes for the router bit.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body26.jpg

So, I made one pass with the template and then removed it to take it out of harm's way....using the previous pass as my template, I moved on.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body27.jpg

When I got to within .250", I stopped and placed the body on a couple of 2x4s....

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body28.jpg

...then drilled thru holes that I can insert a flush trim bit thru to fuinish them up later. I don't want to route them thru just yet. I don't want to have to deal with open cavities during radiusing and other operations on the back of the body.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body29.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Here's a step you don't want to forget...connecting the channel to the control cavities.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body30.jpg

I blocked out the joints on the top where I made my patches...came out pretty nice if I do say so myself. :D

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body31.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body32.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I also did some work on the neck. Since I don't have the exact specs on the WG neck, I'm going to build this one like a Tele neck. I went back to a .750" blank...the other half of my resaw from yesterday. I layed out the neck on the flamiest (sp) part of the blank.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk06.jpg

The spoke truss rod was first for me. I'm not sure if the WG rod installs this way but the StewMac rod has to be installed with the spoke nut and active rod down. So I had to move slowly. I know that the rod doesn't extend past the end of the heel, so I worked back from there.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk07.jpg

I layed it out using the fretboard template to mimic the fret board position.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk08.jpg

Then I used it to route the recess. Not the prettiest channel I've ever done but funtional none the less. I'll go back and clean it up later before I glue up the fretboard. The actual end of the neck will be the pencil lines close to the end.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk10.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

With the TR taken care of, I attached the template and profiled the neck. I made to passes on the top with a pattern bit...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk12.jpg

Then flipped it and finished with a flush trim bit. I would normally take to template by this stage I left it attached to guide the bearing past the notch...could have put a nasty gouge in the neck heel otherwise.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk13.jpg

So, there it is. My first WG neck. The brass fittings on the TR sit about 1/32" below the surface. I'm going to install a wood strip in this space so that the fretboard really bites down and hold the fittings in place...otherwise, the rod could be slipped out the heel end.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk14.jpg

A shot form overhead with the fretboard template in place.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk16.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk17.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

My last act of bravery tonight is to glue up the top. Nothing special here...just lots of glue and clamps.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body33.jpg

Clampzilla!!!

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body34.jpg

[Van Huskey]

That is some gorgeous wood and I look forward to the rest of the build

[Mark Crenshaw]

Well, a little more progress. I'm back work this week so the updates may be few and far between as I ramp up on client projects...been out of the office for a week.
The top glued up nicely. I had a dream that the Titebond turned to powder and the top fell off in my hands. Not sure what that's about...probably anxiety over gluing such a thick top. Maybe?
Anyway...
Here it is out of the clamps...
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body35.jpg
It has a fairly large edge to clean up. I'll use a flush trim bit and make several passes...not pushing the bearing up to the body right away. Tearout at this point would be very sad...
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body36.jpg
It came out nicely....
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body37.jpg
And a pass on the spindle sander made it even better.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body38.jpg
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body39.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

The neck pocket seemed like the next logical step. I haven't been able to nail down an exact number on the angle so I went with 1.5 degrees. It's very subtle. The bridge should be in tomorrow and once I get it routed and mounted, I can check everything...considering how tall the binding is at the neck pocket, I really doubt it's a steeper angle than that.
Anyway, I cut some wide wedges on the bandsaw and placed them under the template...it's a bit scary. I'll have to come up with something more solid next time.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body41.jpg
I took it down to 5/8" at the pickup end of the pocket. Again, I don't have firm numbers on the depth but this guitar is very similar to Fenders so I felt this was a safe depth. Please don't go by my numbers until all the results are in.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body42.jpg
The neck is a nice fit although the template has almost square corners and my pattern bit couldn't get all the way in there so I had to hand radius the corners of the neck to get it seated all the way into the pocket.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body43.jpg
The truss rod is a nice fit...
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body44.jpg
And the fretboard template set into place just fine.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body45.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Another shot of the fretboard template in place. With the measurement [B]fletch[B] confirmed for me, I can move on to the actual fretboard tomorrow.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body46.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body47.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

More work on the neck. Thanks to the measurements I collected from Dave ,aka fletch, I was ble to get the fretboard done.
It was a bit of a process but having the distance from the heel of the neck to the 12th fret, and the end of the fretboard to the 12th fret, I was able to lock things up.
I started by doing a finish cut on the heel end of the fretboard. From that edge, I measured 155mm (6.102")and marked the FB.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk19.jpg
I then laid the fret scale template into my miter box. I place double sided tape on it and removed the top backing paper. I slid the scale down to the 12th fret position and laid in the fretboard.
I lined it up with the guides at the mark I had made and then stuck it in place on the tape.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk20.jpg
I double checked with the fret saw...looks good.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk21.jpg
Then I just cut the slots as I normally would. I made sure to mark the leading edge of the nut as well.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk22.jpg
I then made a mark on the side of the neck at 151mm (5.945"). Linig up the 2 marks places my fretboard on the neck at the right place along the scale. The angle of this shot makes it hard to see but I have a 4mm overhang as measured by Dave.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk23.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I laid out the fretboard template and routed the recess for the spoke nut.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk24.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk25.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

More progrees with the neck. After taking the neck out of the clamps, I wanted to get the route for the nut done while the fretboard was still full width. Here we see the layout for the nut.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk27.jpg

I marked the forward position of the nut while I had the fretboard in the miter box. It's the cut you see here. The piece of maple behind it will be lined up with the cut and used as a routing template to remove the material.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk28.jpg

After the first pass...the shot is blurry, but I'm setting the nut in to check my progress.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk29.jpg

After a second pass with the router...just taking off 1/32" or so each pass.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk30.jpg

After I finished with the routing for the nut, I wnated to thin out the headstock before profiling the fretboard. I marked a line for the max cut and set up the bandsaw.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk31.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I transferred the line to the side to make the cut.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk32.jpg

Because the fretboard is offset and wider than the headstock, I could use it to support the neck and keep it parallel to the table as I cut.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk33.jpg

The finished cut...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk34.jpg

I used a cutoff from another neck and a piece of 3/4" stock to guide the rasp as I blended the fretboard into the headstock.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk36.jpg
Still needs some blocking but it's roughed in.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk37.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I started the carve by placing the neck up on 2 blocks allowing me to set my depth at each end and get the calipers under the neck without having to unclamp it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk38.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk39.jpg

I roughed in the detail at the heel...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk40.jpg
...and headstock.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk41.jpg

Then I got started on the carve.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk42.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

The carve is done but still needs some finish sanding and shaping. I also detailed the headstock.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk43.jpg

It's looking like a guitar. I'll start the carve on the top tomorrow or this weekend.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nk44.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

I want to start off this update with a quote...from Telecaster.com


I thought that the headstock was going to be angled back 8 degrees. In your photos it looks like a scooped Fender style. I've not seen a 'real' one so maybe I've missed something.

When I first read this I was bit bothered by it. Not that he mentioned it, but that I so easily decided not to stay true to the actual design of the guitar. So, this morning I went back to the original maple billet that I had planned to use. I did a quick layout and sure enough, it's thick enough to make an angled headstock.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck01.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck03.jpg

After routing the truss rod channel...I'll have to finish out the end when I get another rod in next week.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck04.jpg

I rough cut it on the bandsaw, and set up to profile it...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck05.jpg

...finishing up with a flush trim bit.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck06.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

With the profiling done, I redrew my layout and I set up to resaw the lower portion of the blank, leaving the top at just over 3/4" thick. I'll have to cut the rest freehand.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck07.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck08.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck09.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck10.jpg

A blurry shot but the results of my freehand cutting of the rest of the blank.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck11.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I spent a bit of time thinning out the headstock and working on getting it flat.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck12.jpg

The preliminary results.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck13.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck14.jpg

Compared to the original "scooped" headstock.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck15.jpg

Ready for the truss rod and fretboard.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck16.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

I decide to go ahead and cut the headstock detail. It was pretty easy. I didn't have a pattern so I just eyeballed the first one and then traced it onto the second.

I roughed them out on the bandsaw and then hand finished them with a rasp and sandpaper. I still need to "round out" the bottom of the curves.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck17.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck18.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Moving back to the body while I wait for a truss rod, I routed the pickup cavities. I wanted to go with the more current route, but I don't have a template and I don't have a humbucker backplate that I can modify. So, I went with the standard route.

I placed the routing template and made some starter holes for the router bit.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body48.jpg

I mat nee to take these a bit deeper later.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body50.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body51.jpg

Now it's time to figure out the carve. The standard top is .500". Mine is .0125" thicker. With Dave's (fletch) help, I was able to find out that the binding at the neck pocket will be .500" or 12.7mm tall, shortening to .250" or 6.35mm around the rest of the guitar.

I set the neck in place and marked the exposed part of the side and transferred the line down the side of the neck. Now I'm able to mark the height of the carve at the neck pocket to leave a parallel line along the neck once the top is carved.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body52.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

After doing this on both sides of the neck, I made a mark on the upper and lower horns at .250" and connected the marks from the neck pocket...the .250" line continues around the guitar. Now, I just need to figure out where the carve starts in relationship to the Floyd Rose off the back edge and I'll be gopod to go. I need to study Dave's pics some more.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body53.jpg

Looking at this pic from the side of Dave's guitar, it looks like the high spot is in the middle of the bridge...about where the whammy bar is located. And it makes a transition over about 3" to a .500" ledge at the binding. It makes for quite a little bubble in the carve there at the end of the top compared to my Les Paul which starts to roll off behind the stop tail piece and drops for about 4.625" to the same .500" ledge at the binding.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body54.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I decided to start on the carve this evening. I have my version of The Sawdust Generator that I saw online...apologies, but I forget the name of the guy I got the idea from.

I haven't used it since my first carve, some 18 months ago. It sets up on my Shopsmith...I added a second carriage and trunion to give me a stable work surface.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body57.jpg

It's basically a support for the router and a "tongue" that limits the travel of the body. The bit overhangs it and and the body is fed thru end to end.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body58.jpg

After the first pass.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body59.jpg

Setting up for the second pass. The tongue moves back and the bit height is adjusted.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body60.jpg

Here it is after 3 passes...all I'm going to do on this one.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body61.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I started working the ridges down with an Ibex plane. Before I started planinf, I ran a pencil along the crease of each level...when the pencil lines are gone, I know I'm at the right depth.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body62.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body63.jpg

Here it is with the first 2 levels carved down.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body64.jpg

The next area I worked was to blend the the neck pocket level into the rest of the top...remember, the binding here is almost twice as tall as the rest of the guitar.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body65.jpg

Then I started blending in the rest of the top. At this stage, I let the plane flow with the shape of the body. With a sharp plane, you can move in any direction...going cross grain is not an issue at this stage. And letting the plane "flow" with the shape means that the result will always compliment the shape of the body...unless you spend too much time in one area and gouge it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body66.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I took this shot without a flash to try and show the contour...it's blurred a bit but you can see the shape of the carve.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body67.jpg

The neck pocket areas are nicely blended into the lower levels.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body68.jpg

The roughed in carve. Dave has more pics for me so I'm going to take a break and study what he's shot and posted.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body69.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Greg Peterson]

The carve is what I was really curious about on this build.

[Mark Crenshaw]

I spent some time going over the body with a scraper. The carve is pretty even. I had to plane a couple of spots but overall, I'm happy with it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body70.jpg

It's hard to see but it's a pretty agressive carve. You can see the depth of the carve with the template set on top.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body71.jpg

Time to get the tremolo cavities routed. Normally I would have done this sooner but I didn't want to deal with the openings during the carve. Here, I've marke a 1/2" hole that I'll drill all the way thru the body.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body73.jpg

I drilled this hole on the drill press to make sure it went straight thru the body.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body74.jpg

I'll use it on the back to register the template for the back cavity. The 2 larger holes are for the control cavities that will be finished up later.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body75.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Back on the front, I have the template in place and ready to route. I taped a thin strip of wood under the end of the template to level it out where the carve is farthest from the template.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body76.jpg

The depth I need is 1.125" plus the thickness of the template for a total of 1.280". I like to mark it on a scrap block and keep it handy to check my progress. I would normally remove the template after a few passes but I need the flat surface to finish this route so it stays for the whole step.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body77.jpg

You can just see the line at the template level...I'm at depth.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body78.jpg

Here, I've fl;ipped the body and used the 1/2" hole and the centerline of the guitar to place the rear template.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body80.jpg

With the spring cavity down to 3/4", I've added a block to guide the bit past this area to continue routong the tremolo block area. I'll take it down untill it meets the route from the front.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body81.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

The finished trem cavity.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body83.jpg

I got my first look at the guitar with the FR in place.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body82.jpg

After adding a 1/8" radius to the edge, I started opening up the control cavities with a flush trim bit. I used a piece of scrap screwed to the workbench, thru the trem cavity, to help stablize the body while it's laying on the carve. A clamp on one corner counters it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body84.jpg

All done except for the cover recesses. I need to make a thicker template...even a router bit with a 3/8" cut depth cuts too deep with a thin template.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body85.jpg

Here's a look at it so far. I took this without a flash to show some detail of the carve. It still needs some work but it's catching light and shadow nicely.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body86.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

A couple of shots with some goodies in place. I actually only have one SD humbucker, I just Photoshoped one from another shot into these.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body87.jpg

I'm still going to use the neck with the angled headstock, I just put tis one in since it has a finished end on it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body88.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

On the way to getting bridge located and mounted, I drilled the ferrukle and screw holes for the neck. I can usually clamp the neck in place and get 3 of the four. I mark and drill them, them screw the neck down before marking the 4th.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body89.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body90.jpg

I tacked a 1.625" nut with 2 dabs of Weldon cement. Then I strung up the E and e strings and set the bridge in place, with it just hanging by string tension.

This is a very roomy neck...check out the space between the edges and the strings! This bridge has 2.125" overall spacing which is wider than the poles on the humbucker. I'm guessing that with a neck that's a full 3/16th wider than a Fender at the heel, EVH's branded FR bridge probably has wider string spacing as well.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body91.jpg

I didn't route the recess for the FR because I wasn't 100% confident in the neck angle I had chosen. From the look of things, I won't need to recess the bridge...might even have to bump it up a touch after the fretboard is on. It's hard to tel even from this pic becausew the strings are taped down to the fretboard at the nut to keep them in place...making them angle down too much...looks good for now.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body92.jpg

With the bridge located and centered, I drilled the holes for the pivot inserts.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body94.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I tapped the inserts in and threaded in the posts.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body95.jpg

I reinstalled the bridge and it looks pretty good. But I may have to roll the edges of the fretboard a bit to make the spacing look like it belongs...man that's roomy!

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body96.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body97.jpg

[Bryan Morgan]

This is a very roomy neck...check out the space between the edges and the strings! This bridge has 2.125" overall spacing which is wider than the poles on the humbucker.

They make F spaced humbuckers for Fender/Floyd spacing... a little wider. I usually get those for my tremolo guitars. A little harder to find though... :)

"Standard/normal" humbuckers are Gibson spaced.

[Mark Crenshaw]

They make F spaced humbuckers for Fender/Floyd spacing... a little wider. I usually get those for my tremolo guitars. A little harder to find though... :)

"Standard/normal" humbuckers are Gibson spaced.

HI Bryan. I've heard of them...I think I've seen them referred to as TremBuckers. I'll be winding my own pickups for this build so I'm going to look for Fender spaced bobbins...not sure they exist for sale as parts only.


Peace,
Mark

Edit: I found these (http://www.mojotone.com/Guitar-Parts/Humbucker/Mojotone-Humbucker-Screw-Side-Pickup-Bobbin-Aged-White-53mm-2-09) 2.04" spacing in both black and white, screw and slug side. They're slightly wider than my Seymour Duncan HB which is 1.92" spacing...much closer to my Seymour Duncan single coils which are 2.025" spacing.

[Bryan Morgan]

HI Bryan. I've heard of them...I think I've seen them referred to as TremBuckers. I'll be winding my own pickups for this build so I'm going to look for Fender spaced bobbins...not sure they exist for sale as parts only.


Peace,
Mark

Edit: I found these (http://www.mojotone.com/Guitar-Parts/Humbucker/Mojotone-Humbucker-Screw-Side-Pickup-Bobbin-Aged-White-53mm-2-09) 2.04" spacing in both black and white, screw and slug side. They're slightly wider than my Seymour Duncan HB which is 1.92" spacing...much closer to my Seymour Duncan single coils which are 2.025" spacing.

As far as I've read, all single coils are F spaced... Apparently during the 90's, Les Pauls also had bridges that were wider, though I don't know if they used F spaced pickups or not.

This build is great! I ordered the templates to build one myself so I am watching this thread intently! :) Also looking forward to see how you wind your pickups! I've only ever swapped out magnets from existing pickups.

Question about the finger plane you are using for the carved top... is it a flat or curved blade?

[Mark Crenshaw]

I got started on my pickup winder this evening. It's very simple in it's design and I know there are better ways to do this but I really just want something that will spin the bobbin and count the turns. Scatter winding is the goal here...no fancy traversing or auto shut off.

I bought a sewing machine motor and foot controller. It seems to have far more power than I need...I'll have to put a physical limiter on the foot controller to avoid an accident.

I started by cutting a piece of aluminum bar stock and drilling for the motor shaft as well as set screws on both sides...probably only needed one but I wanted to keep it balanced.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/pw01.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/pw02.jpg

Here's a test run of the plate attached to the motor...this file played on my machine in Win Media and Quicktime. Apologies if there are issues, I don't have a way to comvert to mp4 or Quicktime until I get into the office tomorrow.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/motor.avi

I also found a free app that use the serial pot on a computer to counts triggers and thus, revolutions. You can download it

http://pickups.myonlinesite.com/downloads.php

I used the counter.zip file to be sure I had all of the runtime files needed to run the program.

The trigger for it is very simple. Just a 9-pin male connector, a switch and a piece of 2 conductor wire. That's it! The wire is soldered to pins 9 and 4 and the switch is attached to the other end of the wire. Doesn't matter wich wire goed to which pole, you just need to close the circuit to trigger a count.

Here's a count to 50....it warns you when you hit your wrap target.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/app.avi

Now I just need to package it all up and do some tests.

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

Progress and updates on this build have been pretty slow. Work is kicking my butt and with 16 hour days and deadlines looming, it will probably be after the 16th before I do any serious work on this.

I did manage to get a little done last evening. The second neck, with angled headstock, is coming along. The truss rod came in so I was able to get it installed, the fretboard glued up and trimmed.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck19.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck20.jpg

I also routed for the locking nut and removed the excess fretboard material behind it. This shot doesn't show it but I blended the fretboard into the headstock also.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck21.jpg

It's looking pretty good so far. I'm really anxious to get this one done...but I'll have to be patient with work...gotta pay the bills.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck22.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck23.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

People ask me why I spend so much time building gutars. First, I love guitars...have since I was 5 years old. And, even though I have a job where I'm allowed to be creative and enjoy a fair amount of freedom to make decisions and guide the outcome of projects, from time to time, it absorbs my every waking minute...this weekend is one of those times. Building guitars takes me away from all of the software, keyboards and video tapes.

A glimpse into how I'm spending my weekend...not building guitars. Life will be much better after the 15th. Crap, I still have to do my taxes, too!

http://www.crenshawweb.com/edit_suite.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

I ened up with a few hours to woprk on the Wolfgang after all.
I carved the back of the neck and did some detail work on the headstock. Not much, but it's more than I expected to get done today. I have tomorrow off and I plane to touch every build I have going...just so I won't feel so far behind.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck24.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck25.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck26.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck27.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck28.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck29.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I got back to work on the neck(s) today. I started by leveling the fretboards then marking, drilling and installing the fret markers. Pretty simpe stuff.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck30.jpg

I awlays like to apply a bit of clamping pressure to make sure the dots don't pop up during curing time.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck31.jpg

Ready for radiusing...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck32.jpg

Here's the neck in various stages of the radius process.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck33.jpg

Done!

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck34.jpg

I used my fret saw with the depth gauge to radius the fret slots and take them to final depth.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck35.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I fretted both necks and filed the fret edges...still need a final dressing.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/nck36.jpg

I also did some work on the body. I did quite a bit of block sanding to finalize the carve. I remembered from the video link I posted about violin maker Joe Thrift, that he only uses scrapers on his violins...not sandpaper. He states that sanding dulls the reflective properties of figured wood.
Just for grins, I ran a scraper over the treble side of the body to make a comparison. There is definitely a difference in the intensity of the grain on the scraped side.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body98.jpg

I installed the tremolo. I had to take the spring cavity a bit deeper than the original route...my body started at 2" so the trem block wouldn't reach without the deeper route.

This shot without a flash shows the carve pretty well.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body100.jpg

I strung the 2 E strings to put some counter tension on the tremolo. The string spacing and action are nice. I really like the spoke nut truss rod...I can adjust the trus rod with everything in place. The neck needed a bit of relief put into it but only slightly.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body99.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body101.jpg

This one's getting close to being ready for finish.

Peace,
Mark

[Jim Becker]

Oh, man...that's going to be one beautiful instrument, Mark! Between the wonderful figured wood and that neck...wow.

[Mark Crenshaw]

Oh, man...that's going to be one beautiful instrument, Mark! Between the wonderful figured wood and that neck...wow.

Thanks Jim. I've been off this build for a week or two but it's back on...along with another that I'll be posting tonight... a Paul Reed Smith style double cut.

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

Wrapping up some of the details before finish. I made thicker templates today for the cavity cover lips. The original template is too thin to get a shallow cut so I made them out of MDF. I've been putting this off because I didn't have any MDF but I found a scrap and even tough it wasn't big enough to cut both on the same piece without getting into holes in the scrap, I made them separately and large enough to be stable during routing.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body102.jpg

I always keep the dust collection close when cutting MDF...I wear a respirator, too.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body103.jpg

Ready to go. I'll make some progress on this build tomorrow.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body104.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I finished up the last bit of routing on this one...it's now ready for finish prep. I have a PRS build that's getting close, too. I'll likely spray them at the same time.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body111.jpg

More as soon as I get to that point.

Peace,
Mark

[Keith Christopher]

Mark that router station and rub arm are GENIUS. I am so stealing that idea !


As always looks AWESOME ! Can't wait to see it done.

As an update I finished 7 of the 9 projects needing completion before beginning my '59. I will post some pics of it when I begin. Probably not as sexy as your construction but we'll see how it goes.


You've certainly inspired me.

[Mark Crenshaw]

The last bit of machining to do on this one is the output bore. Easy enough on my Shopsmith.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body112.jpg

I turned my attention to final blocking the top. I made very light pencil marks over the top before blocking with a stiff rubber block and 120 grit.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body113.jpg

After a quick blocking, there are still a few marks in the upper bout, the butt end and the upper horn...might not be able to see them in the pic.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body114.jpg

A little more attention in those trouble spots with 120 then I blocked it with 220 grit. It's very close to being ready for finish.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body115.jpg

The back had a few dings and rubs from being moved around the shop. A hot iron and a damp rag took care of them. I'll have to set it a side to dry for a few hours before final sanding.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/body116.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I got going on the finish. I first started with a couple of coats of sealer. I was real curios to see what the figure would look like with just clear on it. It's nice but not deep enough.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin01.jpg

So, I sanded it back and applied some brown mahogany TranTint dye in denatured alcohol (DA).

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin02.jpg

Then sanded it back

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin03.jpg

Here it is with honey amber TransTint applied...a much deeper look.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin04.jpg

This is the first step of the burst. I wanted something different. The bursts on the Wolfgang are very thin on the outer edge...I wanted more drama to draw the eye to the center of the guitar. More like the big bursts on semi-hollow bodies.

After spraying 2 coats of sealer, and using brown mahogany with a touch or red TransTint dye in DA, I was able to spray the burst very quickly. The DA melts right into the sealer and instantly fixes the color. There's no need to let it flash between rounds on the burst. I sprayed this second dtage from start to finish without walking away from the guitar.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin05.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Here I've added the third stage of the burst... a mix of brown mahogany with a touch of black TransTint around the very edge.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin07.jpg

I followed that with several coats of sealer with honey amber TransTint. This brought the grain back nicely. I also sprayed the honey amber mix on the neck to give the grain a bit of a pop.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin08.jpg

I'll get the sides and back done tonight hopefully.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin09.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Dennis Lopeman]

AND ALL THAT ON A SHOPSMITH and a ROUTER! OH, and a planer... and some chisels!!

WEll done.

1st - where did you get that table for your SS bandsaw? Nice and smooth!

2nd - I bought some TransTints this past week! Let me say that I am SOLD on Dyes!!! Won't be looking at stains much anymore. I was trying to color a piece of maple black - after 3 coats of stain and a whole day lost, I still didn't have it. Bought some Generals Ebony DyeStain - 15 second and 1st try! Dang! My analogy is like using crayons as opposed to markers. Markers win. Color just soaked right in.

In the TransTints, I also bough Honey Amber and Dark Walnut. Will you please devulge your formula for using Honey Amber. I created a 1/2 dixie cup of DNA and 8 drops of Honey Amber, and it was literally Lemon Yellow on the maple... Apparently I have some learning to do. What will I use it for - I saw you using it so I will try to study what you did.

Maybe I should start a thread in the finishing section for this, so I don't hijack yours.

[Mark Crenshaw]

AND ALL THAT ON A SHOPSMITH and a ROUTER! OH, and a planer... and some chisels!!

WEll done.

Hi Dennis. Thanks!



1st - where did you get that table for your SS bandsaw? Nice and smooth!

It's custom table I made to open up the resaw capability of the saw. It's made from 3/8" aluminum plate. The saw will now do 6.75" resaw vs the factory 6.00".

http://www.crenshawweb.com/texastele/rs-table09.jpg

You can see the whole process here...about 2/3 down the page.

Band Saw Mods (http://www.crenshawweb.com/texastele/ttp04.htm)




2nd - I bought some TransTints this past week! Let me say that I am SOLD on Dyes!!! Won't be looking at stains much anymore. I was trying to color a piece of maple black - after 3 coats of stain and a whole day lost, I still didn't have it. Bought some Generals Ebony DyeStain - 15 second and 1st try! Dang! My analogy is like using crayons as opposed to markers. Markers win. Color just soaked right in.

Yeah, I've always had better luck with dyes. They tend to stay closer to the surface so you don't have absorbtion problems that can cause blotches on woods that don't take stain evenly.



In the TransTints, I also bough Honey Amber and Dark Walnut. Will you please devulge your formula for using Honey Amber. I created a 1/2 dixie cup of DNA and 8 drops of Honey Amber, and it was literally Lemon Yellow on the maple... Apparently I have some learning to do. What will I use it for - I saw you using it so I will try to study what you did.

I don't have a formula really. I just sort of wing it. The amber mix I used on this guitar was 1 ounce of DNA and about 8 drops of amber. The thing about dyes is they build color. The shot of the guitar after the amber had around 10 passes of dye on it. They seldom show full color with just a pass or two.

[Dennis Lopeman]

WOW - Awesome - Thx for you SS webpage mods! You did it right - buying a used one... I suppose you sunk a little money in it, too, with the fixes and mods...

One more question and I will stop hijacking your thread.. :D

What speed do you set the SS at to cut and drill ALuminum? Does the regular wood bandsaw blade cut it ok?

ok - 2 questions!

[Mark Crenshaw]

WOW - Awesome - Thx for you SS webpage mods! You did it right - buying a used one... I suppose you sunk a little money in it, too, with the fixes and mods...

One more question and I will stop hijacking your thread.. :D

What speed do you set the SS at to cut and drill ALuminum? Does the regular wood bandsaw blade cut it ok?

ok - 2 questions!

No problem. I would keep it pretty slow around C or D setting for drilling. No higher than C for the bandsaw. I used a bi-metal hole saw and a fine toothed blade on the bandsaw. You can find the specs on the Shopsmith website...it's listed as the combination blade.

Mark

[Jim Becker]

This gets an official "Oh MY!!!!" with that burst in the finish! Wowsa! This is going to end up being a real head-turning axe...and then you'll blow them away with what I anticipate will be an outstanding sound, too. LOL

[Dennis Lopeman]

Mark - you know what you need (if you don't already have)? Some Scrapers! I just got some last weekend at WoodCraft - like $15... they are really helpful. I've only used the rectangular one but it's great. There are some curved ones, too. I would think they would be a must for any carvers... and they're cheap! You could get crazy and spend $$$ on the upper end ones, but you seem like a MUAR kinda guy and I can certain get the most out of these!

(MUAR = Maximum Use of Available Resources)

[Dennis Lopeman]

Oh yeah - almost forgot you are a ShopSmith owner, too! Duh! You just showed me your SS refurb pages on your site!

I had some time ago bought the Conical Sander "Disc" for the SS... well, let me say that thing ROCKS! Swirl free! It's a little tricky getting it perfectly square (they say 4 degree, mine was more 3 degrees). Anyway, once I was good to go, it did great. There were still some groove lines that look sort of like a belt sander line... but about 5 strokes of some 220 in my hand and they were gone! So - a worthy investment. I also use it to put an angled bevel on my box top. I suppose you would use a table saw, but then would have to sand out the blade marks.

[Mark Tokheim]

+1 on the more eye candy. It looks great. Did you have any problems with chipout while running it through the planer?

[Mark Crenshaw]

Mark - you know what you need (if you don't already have)? Some Scrapers! I just got some last weekend at WoodCraft - like $15... they are really helpful. I've only used the rectangular one but it's great. There are some curved ones, too. I would think they would be a must for any carvers... and they're cheap! You could get crazy and spend $$$ on the upper end ones, but you seem like a MUAR kinda guy and I can certain get the most out of these!

(MUAR = Maximum Use of Available Resources)

Hi Dennis. I use a french curve scraper that I've had for a year or so...it's part of my regular tool set for carving. I do need to get some flat ones for the neck and fretboard though.

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

Oh yeah - almost forgot you are a ShopSmith owner, too! Duh! You just showed me your SS refurb pages on your site!

I had some time ago bought the Conical Sander "Disc" for the SS... well, let me say that thing ROCKS! Swirl free! It's a little tricky getting it perfectly square (they say 4 degree, mine was more 3 degrees). Anyway, once I was good to go, it did great. There were still some groove lines that look sort of like a belt sander line... but about 5 strokes of some 220 in my hand and they were gone! So - a worthy investment. I also use it to put an angled bevel on my box top. I suppose you would use a table saw, but then would have to sand out the blade marks.

I haven't had need for a disc sander...the one that came with my Shopsmith is still sitting in the plastic tub it arrived in. I could see using it if I was doing more joints and miters. Probably won't spend the money on a conical until I need it though.

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

+1 on the more eye candy. It looks great. Did you have any problems with chipout while running it through the planer?

Hey Mark. Thanks!

I had problems with the first quilted maple top I did. But I learned from that one and this one went much smoother.

I try to go very easy with figured maple in general and quilted especially. I try to determine the grain direction and send the board in so the knives "lay it down" as they pass over. If I can't do this visually, I take a couple of very light test passes to examine the cut before I do any real planing. It usually "fuzzes" the surface enough to show me the grain direction...which I then mark on the edge of the board.

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

This gets an official "Oh MY!!!!" with that burst in the finish! Wowsa! This is going to end up being a real head-turning axe...and then you'll blow them away with what I anticipate will be an outstanding sound, too. LOL

Hi Jim. Good to hear from you again. I'm very pleased with how this one is going. The maple top and basswood back is the same combo as the production models, so it should sound pretty good. We'll see. :D

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

Back on this build this weekend. I have a whole day to myself...my wife and stepson are at the water park for a fundraiser.

After letting it cure for a few days, this is the result of the color coats.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin10.jpg

I level snaded all surfaces and I'll add the trans brown to the back today with the goal of getting clear coats on it tomorrow...along with 3 other builds.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin11.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin12.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

I sprayed some tinted sealer on the back and sides ti give myself a leveling stage before color.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin13.jpg

All snaded back and level. I sanded thru in a few spots but I'm not concerened...the color will be sprayed in the same sealer.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin14.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin15.jpg

Since I'll be spraying a dark brown, I masked off all the openings in the front to keep over-spray off the top.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin16.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I finished spraying the color coats last night. It's a bit darker brown than I wanted but it works nicely with the burst. The pigments darken a bit when they dry...sort of like painting a wall and the color on the wall doesn't look like the paint sample until it dries.

This one's ready for clear coats.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin17.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin18.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin19.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin20.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Jim Becker]

This thing is just plain yummy, Mark! What a nice look that axe is going to have.

[Mark Crenshaw]

Just a quick update. I have all the clear coats sprayed. I've been very happy with the way the EmTech water based lavquer lays down...just beautifil. It sprays like nitro, flows out smoothly, and cures very quickly. Of course, I've added a bit of help in the curing dept.

I hang the guitars in my studio closet and I've placed a small space heater ( no extention cords involved...keeping it safe) in there with them...it keeps the room at about 100 degrees F. That coupled with the dry air indoors from the A/C really help the spraying schedule.

I spray 2 double coats, place them in the hot room for an hour, spray 2 more and so on. It's been great. And when they come out of the room for another few coats, they're quite warm and the coats flash very quickly...allowing the double coat process to go very quick without fear of sags or runs.

This will also allow me to speed up the cure time...normally fully cured in 100 hours. I used this hot room on my $210 Challenge entry and buffed it out the next day...only 20 hours after the final coats were sprayed.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/all07.jpg

Now I just need to wait a few days for "baking" and they will all be ready for buffing.

[Mark Crenshaw]

Well, I'm very close to having this one finished. I did a dry fit today and everything is looking great. I need to take care of a few high frets and wire it up. I should be able to do that tomorrow. Fingers crossed...I'm eager to hear this one.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin26.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin27.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin28.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin29.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin30.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin32.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/wolf/fin33.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Dave MacArthur]

Great looking guitar!

[Mark Crenshaw]

Great looking guitar!

Thanks Dave!

Peace,
Mark

[Jim Becker]

That is such a gorgeous looking guitar, Mark.