Members pjackson92 Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 wow nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Posted June 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 this is coming out great so far. as far as "blood tops" go, it ain't quite the same, but i have a "candy red top" if you need any pics for reference That is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing, it's nice to know that the red/ natural combination works as well in real life as it does in my mind. Daily update: I've changed my strategy a little bit. On a piece of mdf, I marked out where the recurve ends according to the plans. I then used a piece of binding as a ruler to curve between the marks and give it the right shape. A few minutes on the bandsaw and some sanding with the oscillating spindle sander, and I had my template. I attached the template to the top of the guitar with some double sided carpet tape, and then used my router to clear away the wood from the edges and where the recurve will go. This gives me a lot better reference point for my carving. It's a slow process, but I'm really enjoying working with my chisels and removing one small bit at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members deafinoneear Posted June 18, 2009 Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 I know chisels are fun and all, but for me, I get WAY sick of them after the 3rd or fourth day. Have you seen anything like this: Seems to knock a whole lot of time off the process, along with being pretty accurate looking. Whaddyathink? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcindc Posted June 18, 2009 Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members David E H Posted June 18, 2009 Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 Very cool build. I'm excited to see how the neck joint goes... in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members deafinoneear Posted June 18, 2009 Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 I'm always afraid of using hard zirconia or corborundum discs against wood, especially at 10,000RPM. On my next carved top I was thinking about using these instead. They're flexible, so I'm thinking they'll be more forgiving of pressure, and the mesh will probably keep things a little cooler, thus reducing wood burn. Those normal grinding discs actually work for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Posted June 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 I know chisels are fun and all, but for me, I get WAY sick of them after the 3rd or fourth day. Have you seen anything like this: Seems to knock a whole lot of time off the process, along with being pretty accurate looking. Whaddyathink? I've heard of that method before, but this is the first time I've seen pics of the process. I'll probably make a bunch of templates and try that on the next ones. If I didn't have way more time than money I'd probably have already bought a grinder by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Posted June 19, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 19, 2009 Today I finally got tired of chiseling and decided to make another template for the router (you can see it behind the body in the pic). It looks a bit off right now, but once I add in the recurve and blend everything together I'm hoping it will look fine. I intentionally left some extra thickness on the top as well; it should look a little more normal it is sanded down. For the last bit of it I ditched the chisels and have been working with an orbital sander and 120 grit paper. It's a little bit cumbersome to try and maneuver around the contours, but works a lot smoother than chisels and a lot quicker than hand sanding! Unfortunately for this project, I've got a busy weekend coming up and probably won't get anything else done until Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted June 19, 2009 Members Share Posted June 19, 2009 Thats looking pretty cool .... with the carve as is, it almost looks like it could be the start of something Backlund inspired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dimibetan Posted June 20, 2009 Members Share Posted June 20, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Posted June 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 22, 2009 I managed to sneak in a little bit of time on the body this weekend. After covering the whole garage in dust with the sander, the top contour isn't perfect yet, but it actually looks pretty good. I've left the upper half as it is for now until I can get the neck and the joint done so I can blend everything together evenly. On to the neck... I've got a problem, however: the borrowed bandsaw isn't big enough to handle the neck. I guess I just need to find other friends/ neighbours/ relatives who will let me use their tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted June 22, 2009 Moderators Share Posted June 22, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vcnyls Posted June 22, 2009 Members Share Posted June 22, 2009 Damn, this thread is so cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newbuilder Posted June 22, 2009 Members Share Posted June 22, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ihavenofish Posted June 22, 2009 Members Share Posted June 22, 2009 purdy. blacktops, blood tops, candy red tops.... i though i was the only one who like that style. im doing a "daphne blue top" on a kit build next month. is that a plain top? looks like the top on my gibson raw power, with all the little mineral streaks. one of the prettiest tops. almost a shame you are going to cover it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axegrinder Posted June 22, 2009 Members Share Posted June 22, 2009 Cool! I missed this earlier. In for the ride now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thinkarogadum Posted June 22, 2009 Members Share Posted June 22, 2009 The oxblood with P90's is going to be win. Why did Gibson ever stop making that a standard finish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Posted June 25, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 25, 2009 Thanks for the comments guys, I'm glad you are enjoying this. I do hope you continue to be patient as I'm a pretty slow worker... Thanks to some connections at the local public school, I managed to sneak in to the woodshop and use the bandsaw to rough cut the neck. I didn't get any shots of the neck before I had set it up for routing the truss rod channel: Here's the neck with the truss rod test fitted: Next on the list is a bit of cleaning up around the headstock end for the truss rod to fit well, gluing in a small filler strip at the heel end, and sanding the top until it is perfectly flat. If I'm productive I may get around to starting to carve out the tenon today. If I'm not lucky, this is where it will stay for a while as I'm out of town for the next ten days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newbuilder Posted June 25, 2009 Members Share Posted June 25, 2009 Looks good so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted June 25, 2009 Members Share Posted June 25, 2009 Looks good. You can also do your the carve on your top with a router. Just rout steps and then sand it out to get the 'carve' that you want - it's much easier IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Posted June 26, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 26, 2009 Thanks for the suggestion BG76. That method has been mentioned and I'll most likely give it a shot on the next few. Anything that saves time while still doing a good job is worth trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted June 26, 2009 Members Share Posted June 26, 2009 I use one of these for Strat contours with a flexible disk. They take off material REAL FAST, so you gotta be really careful it. I would NOT do a carve top with one personally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ihavenofish Posted June 26, 2009 Members Share Posted June 26, 2009 I use one of these for Strat contours with a flexible disk. They take off material REAL FAST, so you gotta be really careful it. I would NOT do a carve top with one personally yeah, ive seen people use those for tops, but every time i use a power tool on a part, it mysteriously ends up smaller than it was supposed to be. i dont even like using the belt sander thingy for neck backs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 6, 2009 Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 In Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ratmonkey Posted July 6, 2009 Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 I'm in too:snax: Better late than never Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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