gardo

An important detail that is not on the pictures is the neck joint. Is this a bolt on neck or a set neck (glued) . a bolt on neck would indicate more of a student model while a set neck is a better model 

On 9/4/2023 at 7:21 PM, u6crash said:

One more little update.

Reamer arrived. It seems okay. I had some test holes drilled already. Here is what it looks like with the bushings in and tuners installed from behind.

It's not perfect. It might be good enough. There isn't a ton of leeway with the posts in the bushings, but there is some. The thin board is just applying enough pressure on the tuners to line them up. The low e (far right) is the one that is off most. I don't know that I'll get it much better without some expensive jigs.

Maybe I'll get brave enough to drill into the real neck tomorrow.

I’m enjoying the progress. The last major project I worked on before retiring was building an industrial wire plating line. You have it right down to the most basic form. 
Thanks for the upvote. 

2 minutes ago, Ancient Mariner said:

Nice that you found a way to make it work.

I'm lucky enough to have a bunch of stuff that I like without having to play it all the time. There HAVE been guitars through that were just never good for me - Heritage H150, Gibson V, a singlecut Godin - and they were moved on after a while. A few years back I feel out of love with my JJ goldtop, but that's been sat in the case with the hope I'll fall back in love again one day.

Moods and tastes change. It may come back into favor. If I ran across a deal on a Godin single cut in my area , I would be quite tempted.   

I don’t really buy that much and sell even less.  Some get more use than others for sure. I don’t sell unless I turn stone cold against one , but my designated storage area is full so I may have to make some choices one day.

I picked up this AF75 almost 6 years ago. It’s nice but never quite what I thought it should be. Several types of strings came and went, the TOM type bridge was upgraded to ebony, the pickup springs were replaced with surgical tube . The strings are now TI flatwound 12’s . The pickgaurd came off and then went back on. A mute was added between the bridge and tailpiece and then removed again. It’s just never quite been right. The next step would be new pickups. But I picked it up today and started adjusting the pickups again and for some reason all the stars seem to be aligned. 
I’m wondering what happened.the amp is the same , the settings are the same, the room is even the same.. My playing style must have changed . ( or my ears got cleaned)  It’s like a new guitar all over again 

Ever have something like this happen?

38 minutes ago, daddymack said:

guitar 'add-on' synth modules.

To me, a guitar is a guitar, not a pipe organ or a horn section

Ouch . I was really looking at those organ synth pedals last year. The GAS has passed 

Onboard efforts.it seemed like a cool idea but they were really cheesy 

I think you have too much time on your hands

39 minutes ago, daddymack said:

relic-ing?

Although I hate the practice, yes . There is a place for it when done tastefully.

On 7/16/2023 at 11:48 AM, u6crash said:

Not much new to share in the way of pictures, but here's how it's going.

I have a temporary spray booth.

I've actually been taking it off the hook, holding the makeshift handle, and spraying it that way, then hanging it to dry. I can also heat this room (it's a tiny bathroom) to make it dry better (I hope).

I ended up stripping the vast majority of the shellac off. I had too many flaws (dirt, etc) that were trapped under a layer or more and trying to fix them without removing the finish was very difficult. So now I'm applying very light coats of shellac with a spray. I kind of miss the way the brush marks looked and I did buy some new brushes. I might opt to introduce that texture again.

Here's another headstock take.

I can kind of move the points around to see how I like subtle adjustments on the curve. I think my plan will be to buy a gold metallic paint pent to write the name on the headstock and then clear coat over it. I might experiment with underlining the name. I feel like it needs a little something.

The headstock is evolving into something nice.  Had you considered slightly aging the headstock finish so it’s not “newt” looking than the body

13 minutes ago, daddymack said:

D G D G B D...all 6

I stumbled onto it  50 years ago...still my favorite.

Thanks , I’ll give it a try . I guess it comes down to what style of music one wants to play 

On 7/15/2023 at 12:52 AM, daddymack said:

I keep mlne in open G....

Do you prefer D G D G B D

or G B D G B D 

or may a Keef and use 5 strings 

I’m not sure how to know. Did you ever look at the under side of a pick up for numbers or markings? Pictures can be helpful too

Years ago I had a beater guitar tuned to open E . It had really high action so it was strictly slide. Well that one is long gone and I haven’t done any more slide in years. I’ve tried out resonators but they were just to twangy for me. I thought about dedicating a Tele for slide but which one, I couldn’t do it. On a whim I checked Musicians Friend and saw a Rouge lap steel for$119 ( I know they used to be a lot less ) plus an extra 10% off for members so I grabbed one . I’m still trying to decide what tuning to go with. C6 is nice for a Sponge Bob sound but I’m probably going with ope D  

For the price I can’t complain. It’s decent looking and came with legs that I haven’t even looked at yet and a padded gig back. On the downside it’s a shorter scale but not a real problem either.

Once I decide on a tuning I’ll change to better strings. Overall I’m having fun with it 

4 hours ago, u6crash said:

It's probably my preference at least, but not a requirement. I would have to buy more tuners (or could I flip these upside down?) and I kind of hope that I'm done buying parts for this. I might think on this a bit.

This is derived from the only other time I've cut a headstock out of a neck. I might see how I like it in black. I'm still leaning towards the "Coup de foudre" name.

Due to the geometry, it would be difficult to get that curve in on the tuner side, but this was something I envisioned for a "company wide" headstock shape if I ever I put more than one instrument together in a decade.

No progress pictures to show. The finish on the body has a problem. I brought it inside to work on and the finish was soft enough that it picked up the texture of the towel it was laying on. I may end up removing the shellac and outfitting my washout booth as a spray out booth (which requires a little bit of modification first).

Actually, I have a junky shower in the basement. I might be able to hang some plastic and heat that room.

I actually like the straight edge along the tuners for this project. It’s a little more substantial looking to complement the size of the body 

This is interesting 

I must be missing something here. You say you have an Epiphone with a 24.7 scale but the strings aren’t long enough. I have an Epiphone Riviera with a 24.7 scale and a Frequenatsor tail piece. DR strings were too short but D’Addarios work fine. I assume you are turning correctly, always tuning up to pitch never tuning down. If a strong is too high go low first then up to pitch. Tuning down will be unstable as the gears aren’t properly locked.

What am I missing?

11 hours ago, u6crash said:

Had some problems with the shellac the last couple of days. I had some beginner's luck with it initially and then it wasn't cooperating. The problems (I think) were that I switched from applying with a cloth to applying with a brush that was too thick. I also feel like the humidity might have been a factor. I switched to a cheap chip brush and I'm having much better results.

It's really difficult to tell the thickness of the coats. Sometimes when sanding between then I sand right through them. I kind of dig the way the brush strokes look when they dry, so I'm sanding super light with 320 now.

Hoping to start work on the headstock this week. I'm probably going to mimic the Fender shape. Debating leaving it blank or coming up with some symbol, letter, or something to put on it.

I look forward to these updates 

Since I don’t have any projects of my own right now I’m having fun following 

You’re on your way to having something really special 

I’m a believer of doing the best you can with what you have. A showroom restoration is not necessary. Make it presentable and playable while still keeping its mojo. I’m enjoying the progress 

It has more character than the natural finish. , I like where you’re going with it 

I thought I wanted a Les Paul a few times. When I turned 60 I looked at an Epiphone 56 reissue but just didn’t find any magic. I’ve played others but never felt anything special for them. Maybe some day I’ll find the right one

9 hours ago, daddymack said:

Pee Wee's Big Top?

That must be . I forgot all about that one.

20 hours ago, daddymack said:

Swancaster?

I saw that in a movie when the kids were young. They used a black light and the only things you saw were the guitar and the white stripes on the guy’s pants which became the birds legs. Very tacky in a cool way.

20 hours ago, daddymack said:

mine either....Tommy Chong maybe....Woody Harrelson...or, if he ever retires 'Trigger', Willie Nelson

It would go well with this band

Well it’s a , well you know kind like a ,hmmm

I don’t know but at Lear it found a home .

Glad you’re having fun