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Thread: Guitar Build Number Two

  1. #1
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    Guitar Build Number Two

    I more or less started this body at about the same time as my first build and showed the start of the finishing process in that thread. Well, it's time to move this one along.

    Specifications for this Thinline-inspired body is a hunk of left-over heart-pine topped with vertical grain Douglas fir. I typically use Target Coatings finishing products...tinted coats for the burst were colored with TransTint dye and then clear coated with EM7000HB with the crosslinker (many coats). The black on the back is General Finishes "milk paint" in lamp black (actually an acrylic) which is also top-coated with the EM7000HB. That all happened about a month or so ago. This week, I attacked it with Micromesh to bring it to the place you see here. In a few days, it will get polished with Mcguire's once I'm done assisting Professor Dr. SWMBO with extracting honey from her honeybee colonies. I can't wait to see how the shine comes up even more. (I don't normally do gloss with the majority of my commission work for furniture and other things)









    I have to be honest...I've never taken finishing to this level before and it's pretty satisfying so far. This body isn't perfect...there are things that could have been better executed, but wow...it's perdy!

    Next step will be the neck. Part of me wants to take the "violin" idea further so today I ran a neck with a scroll motif that I had modeled a few weeks ago just to see how it might look. I'm on the fence. I've also been working on a Music Man style headstock design (4 + 2) that in some ways is more universally appealing to me if I decide to continue to build these things over and over for some reason. (That's a perfectly logical thing for a guy who can barely play guitar to do, right? )





    Just as a note 'cause someone's going to ask...that's primer in the pockets. The conductive paint doesn't like to stick to the slick acrylic finish and I was out of the darker primer I keep around.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  2. #2
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    Looking good Jim! Thomas and I extracted 10 lbs of honey just last weekend.

  3. #3
    Guitar building is addictive and very satisfying. I started with a baritone uke just to see if I could do it. It turned out better than I expected and the second even better,so I've started a third one. I have two daughters and a granddaughter so there will be one for each.Your build turned out wonderfully.

  4. #4
    Very nice, once again, Jim! One of these days I'll build an electric... maybe.
    David
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  5. #5
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    Looks great Jim. A super high gloss finish is pretty satisfying to do
    Steve Jenkins, McKinney, TX. 469 742-9694
    Always use the word "impossible" with extreme caution

  6. #6
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    Thanks, folks. After thinking on things overnight, I'm not going to go with that scroll headstock and plan on continuing with the Music Man style 4+2 headstock for the "real" neck that will get attached to this. Once I've cut a sample that I'm happy with, I have a nice stick of thermally modified wood to cut it from that should look great with this body. I may veneer the headstock with vg d-fir and burst to match the body...if I get brave enough to try it. LOL

    Nice yield for Thomas's first year as a beek, Bob. It's actually unusual to get/take any first year. We're doing the dance tomorrow...I'm guessing there will be at least three 5 gallon buckets if things go well.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
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    I've decided to go with this headstock design which is based somewhat on the Music Man designs as I already noted. It eliminates the need for string trees on the upper two strings and has a more balanced look to me which I prefer.

    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #8
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    Looks really nice Jim! Very pretty. I like the Music Man headstock as well; it may be the perspective distortion in the pic with the scroll headstock, but to my eye it's a little narrow looking. Beautiful paint job!

  9. #9
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    Paul, I also felt the scroll design felt "too narrow"...almost cartoonishly so.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  10. #10
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    I had a few minutes today to cut a sample of the MM style neck...I still have some work to do on the transition between the neck and the headstock in the modeling, but the sample confirms to my eye that this is an attractive design. I have more scrap material to cut additional samples from and I ordered some tuners and a nut to be absolutely sure I have the tuner holes placed correctly. I want to test that before I cut a "real neck" out of more expensive stock for obvious reasons. Please disregard the color of the materials including the sample fretboard...I'm just working things out here. My intention is likely something "roasted" for the real neck for a body colored like this and probably a dark fretboard, too.







    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #11
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    I made my intended changes to the headstock model and cut another sample. I had also ordered the tuners so that I could verify that I have them placed correctly...being a different design than the standard Telecaster type 6 in-line headstock, it's important that the tuners be positioned correctly so that the strings pass through the nut to the tuners in a straight line. I didn't have the actual tuners when I did the design, so this second sample is the opportunity to correct any minor alignment...and as it turns out, I do need to shift things about a millimeter and a half inward on both rows for ideal tuner placement. I'll take care of that in the software and cut a third sample which will be two sided this time so I can confirm the neck back transition into the headstock works. I'm not seeking perfection off the CNC in that respect because there is still a ton of hand work that goes into finishing things to final contour. The CNC is just a tool to get me there and handle truly "critical" measurements. To enable the measurements, I fastened a sample finger board to the sample neck, press-fit a pre-slotted nut and then used a straight edge to judge the string lines to the actual tuners.





    I'm liking this design a lot...



    Last edited by Jim Becker; 08-29-2019 at 9:51 AM.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #12
    That's really progressing well, Jim. I like the idea of using lesser woods for testing. When you're finished with them you can hang them on the wall for good ambiance in the shop!

    David
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  13. #13
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    Not much wall space in my shop, David. But yes, the "story of where we've been" could easily be displayed. A stick of 5/4 cedar deck board is ten bucks so it's cheap to do test cuts for a neck like this...I don't like destroying "good stock" for that purpose. The cedar is a little "chippy", but has served well to confirm both shape and tuner placement. I'll be doing the measuring thing sometime today to see if the slight modification of tuner position is where it needs to be. The drawing only really can show the 10mm holes and since I didn't have the tuners when I originally placed them, it was hard to account for the diameter of the actual tuner shaft that engages the strings. A mock up is a good way to fully test things.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  14. #14
    More good work! I think the f hole would look more graceful if it had sharp points at wide center point. Not wider, just
    a little more defined.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mel Fulks View Post
    More good work! I think the f hole would look more graceful if it had sharp points at wide center point. Not wider, just
    a little more defined.
    That f-hole is "Fender" standard directly from the original plans, but I do plan (pardon the expression) to do some additional experimentation around the design of the, um..."ventilation orifice"...on future Thinline-style bodies. Folks have been pretty creative around that and I'd like to find a design that is "my own", more or less.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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