Members meandi Posted August 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 10, 2008 humm...another double post...don't know why that's happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 10, 2008 Originally Posted by mjuenem I know what you mean. Painted-on looks cheaper than the color coming from within. Vinegar softens the egg shell a bit so the color sinks in. I would make sure that the bone hardens again after being rinsed. I would assume that is so. Try the vinegar with both the RIT and also egg dye. The saltwater mix that RIT recommends works best with textiles, but you may want to try it as well. As I recollect, when you mix all the egg dyes you get pretty close to black - might work even better leaving light colors like yellow out of the mix. i bought some of the rit dye...& am trying something with it & a piece of bone...i'm just letting it soak in the full strength solution right out of the bottle. i'll take a couple of shots after it absorbs a while more...see what ya think. i just got done slotting for the nut. want to get that done before i raduis the fingerboard or begin shaping the back of the neck...while everythings still flat & square. as in cutting the channel for the fulcrum on the tailpiece, the maple block is set up carefully to act as a guide for the slotting file. left just a little of the manogany of the fingerboard stop against the ebony, just below the nut slot. here it is with a piece of white bone. will shoot in a day or two a shot of it with the black dyed. also have thought about brown shoe polish rubbed in to give it a strong amber color of ivory. darn...i got another one of those double posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted August 11, 2008 Members Share Posted August 11, 2008 why not make the nut out of ebony? so it will match the fingerboard and headplate laminate? i have tried to "dye", stain, shoe polish, paint, bone parts before and had such little luck, unfortunately. good luck, regardless.here's one of mine (attached) with ebony fretboard, ebony binding(uh huh), ebony nut, ebony headstock veneer, ebony truss rod cover, and black Schallers. It has a look of it's own, in a Batman or secret agent sort of way.The Macassar would be far more stunning, especially with a striped Macassar nut. a shoe polished nut...not so much, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted August 11, 2008 Members Share Posted August 11, 2008 Originally Posted by meandi aw right now...thaaat there's purdy! i'm smiling big-time. tighter radius seem to hold their exact shape very well. GREAT job on the side bending - i know how hard bending a cutaway is and yours looks fabulous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mjuenem Posted August 11, 2008 Members Share Posted August 11, 2008 Try warming the bone when you use the shoe polish. Might open the pores a bit. The slot looks great. Hope you have luck with one of the nut coloring steps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 11, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 11, 2008 Originally Posted by mikeSF why not make the nut out of ebony? so it will match the fingerboard and headplate laminate? i have tried to "dye", stain, shoe polish, paint, bone parts before and had such little luck, unfortunately. good luck, regardless. here's one of mine (attached) with ebony fretboard, ebony binding(uh huh), ebony nut, ebony headstock veneer, ebony truss rod cover, and black Schallers. It has a look of it's own, in a Batman or secret agent sort of way. The Macassar would be far more stunning, especially with a striped Macassar nut. a shoe polished nut...not so much, IMO. Originally Posted by mikeSF GREAT job on the side bending - i know how hard bending a cutaway is and yours looks fabulous. bone is harder than ebony. i'm just an "inquiring mind" kinda guy...want to see these things for myself... nothing is set in stone at this time on this guitar. i will probaly do an a/b test, bone vs ebony. as far as the dye...it's a thought i had that i wanted to research...see how it could be done...what kinda results... the side bending...yea, that was a kick in the head doing that. put the wet wood on a pipe that's 280f & as the steam is produced, the wood takes on a very firmish pliability that yeilds smoothly to the bending pressures being applied...not to get all goofy, but the whole thing was kinda metaphysical if you will...the transformation that took place within the physical charastics of the wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 11, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 11, 2008 Originally Posted by mjuenem Try warming the bone when you use the shoe polish. Might open the pores a bit. The slot looks great. Hope you have luck with one of the nut coloring steps. what got me thinking about the shoepolish...i've seen some interesting things with brown shoe polish & oils on the backs of maple necks to impart a "played-in" kinda look to the neck. i have an old maple/maple strat neck w/walnut skunk stripe...was in fact my first fret job back in the early days when i was focusing on learning the basic skills of the craft...i stripped it to bare wood when i was working it & finished the entire neck & fingerboard with hand rubbed tung oil. this neck has aged, to my eye, beautifully in that after only 6/7 yrs it has taken on a patina of use that could easily be a 50 or 60 yr old neck. along with the black dye, i'm also experimenting on how to produce a piece of bone that would polish up to look like old ivory with the yellows & browns. may not even be shoe polish...maby some kinda dye...i don't know yet. that's one of the things that makes me so drawn to this building thing...the "what if" factor...what do i have to do to achieve this effect, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 11, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 11, 2008 using the radius blocks & the red aluminum level which is loaded with 80 grit on one side & 320 on the other. marked the board with white charcoal...guide coat, i always called it...shows where the sandpaper is working. as the radius is cut the white is eliminated. i try to work up & down the neck so that the white is removed systematically in a linear fashion...so it's all brought together simeltaneously. i'm using the radius blocks in concert here. once i bring the white together at the center, i remark it & go to work with the long straight board to tie it all together front to back, using linear as well as diagional strokes to work it all clean again. couple of shots of my old strat neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 take a break off the neck for a while...it's starting to look like a neck. get the body moving along so things come together in a somewhat timely manner. neck & tail blocks have been cut from a fair sized chunk of mahogany that's been hanging around for 4 or 5 years now just waiting for the right time. setting up an internal press clamp with turnbuckles for stabilizing the body sides while gluing linings & side braces in place. it's thin enough to fit the middle part of the body sides & still allow the linings to be placed on both sides of it. will also be essential support when the back plate is glued to the sides. need a longer turnbuckle for setting up a press from neck to tailblock as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members reachjkh Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 How about some longer threaded rods that fit the turnbuckle and terminate inside some big wood blocks at the ends? Might stay rigid enough for some even pressure across that distance between the blocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 i don't have a 3rd turnbuckle that's as large as these...might as well get one a little larger while i'm buying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 now i have control of the body from within the mold, without the cumbersomness of the ratchet clamps. all of the little springy areas are pressed, snugly, exactly where they need to be...against the side of the mold. the cut-away is holding position very well, as as is the sholder of the upper bout on the bass side of the guitar. side pieces are thin enough that i have 3/4" above & below for installing the kerfed linings while the press is in place. the linings will add strength to the sides & it's important that they gain the additional strength while fixed in the proper position. spent quite a bit of time fitting the sides so that all areas are in full contact through-out...it's a good press fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 This thread is fascinating, Meandi. I've been following it from the beginning. Thank you for taking the time to share this with us.I can't wait to see what happens to the overlapping ends of the sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 Originally Posted by Sangemon This thread is fascinating, Meandi. I've been following it from the beginning. Thank you for taking the time to share this with us. I can't wait to see what happens to the overlapping ends of the sides. sharing it is half the fun. gonna work the overlapping ends today or tomorrow...see how much i get done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 the next step in building the body is the installation of the neck block. i noticed in watching the videos that benedetto always had the sides lose in the mold without clamps at this step...& since i'm emulating him as much as possible for success at this, i'm doing it the same way. i want the neck block to be slightly outside the dimensions of the side wood. so i slid some of my scraps of 1/8" maple under the mold/sides but not under the neck block, allowing it to set slightly low. this way when the kerfed lingings are in place, also slightly high to the sides, are dressed down the neck block will be brought down as well, guaranteeing a perfit match of plane with the sides, kerfing & blocks for good glue up to the top/back plates. invisable glue lines...thats my goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 glue is drying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mjuenem Posted August 13, 2008 Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 I don't know about the rest of you, but I get more excited with each additional step. I actually login several times a day to see if this thread is back on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted August 13, 2008 Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 Originally Posted by mjuenem I don't know about the rest of you, but I get more excited with each additional step. I actually login several times a day to see if this thread is back on top. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 out of the mold...starting to look a bit like a guitar. this is the back side where i let the neck block sit down just a bit. the protruding lip, which fit into the notch in the mold as a locater device, can now be trimmed flush with the body. this will make it easier to get the body in & out of the mold as things proceed. time now to trim the sides & do the tailblock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 everythings back in the mold...checked for placement & clamped securely in place. transfered the centerline to the tops of the sides... ...and drew it down the side. cut was made with the dovetail saw. traded them places & marked & cut the other one. back on page 1 of this thread, c70man requested & i promised truth in reporting reguarding hardships/mistakes on this build. well here's one for you. had made both cuts & was moving the sides into position to see how much needed to be filed off to produce a butt joint that will put the wood in slight compression when flush against each other... that corner just popped off in my hand. i'm like, got it clamped with the bend in place & got it repaired with ultra thin super glue/accelerator. i've had a couple of fingerboards that i was doing re-frets on, pop some huge chips out while pulling the old frets. with a little care in the repair, the repair looked like a grain line in the wood when the job was completed. i'm hoping for a similar result here... on the inside it's no problemo, as the 4" wide tail block will be covering it. it's the outside for all to see side that concerns me. i haven't unclamped it from the repair yet...remains to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted August 13, 2008 Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 Originally Posted by meandi ... on the inside it's no problemo, as the 4" wide tail block will be covering it. it's the outside for all to see side that concerns me. i haven't unclamped it from the repair yet...remains to be seen. no prob. in a word...SUNBURST! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 sunburst'll do it.i'm working the outside now...it'll be o.k. i think.i'll get a shot up when done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 nice thing about super glue/accelerator is you can work it 5 min. later. got nice alignment when i did the other side & there were no ridges to be sanded off. scuffed it up with 80 grit & washed it with acetone to eliminate any wax traces from the wax paper. looks like mahogany under clear. there are a few random black grain lines to bee seen this side of the clamp & i think thats what the glue line is going to resemble. get them under clear & they will stand out too. so all in all, not too bad an end to an unfortunate occurance. i'll point out this spot again later in the build while finish is happening for scrutiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 14, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 14, 2008 well, it's been an interesting afternoon around here, but i got the join at the tailblock area completed. repair is lower left, beside the glue join line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brahmz118 Posted August 14, 2008 Members Share Posted August 14, 2008 This is so compelling. I could practically feel that corner break off in my own hands. I could hear it too.I'm definitely rooting for this project to turn out as successful as possible, though I find myself wondering what other challenges will emerge in future chapters.No question this is one of my favorite threads of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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