The world of Wez :)

Rocker

That is more than impressive @WezV.  Awesome.

Andyjr1515

A stunning pair of guitars @WezV.

Jalapeno

<swoons> ......

WezV

time for a conversion project

crazy 80's finish, but the guitar is not in the best of shape.  The owner has others like it so wants this one converting to hardtail.   Obviously I will be doing the MDPhillips mod of bolting a hardtail bridge on top of the trem and block the trem.   that should work fine right???

Obviously making it hardtail will be quite a conversion.  I will be filling the existing trem route front and back, but i don't want the joins to be visible a few years down the line so the current plan is to cap it both sides with new wood, probably veneer, maybe something a little thicker

first job is to remove the old paint job and see what's lurking underneath

I have purposely left the most difficult bit of finish till last.   its not going to be easy getting that last bit off so I will probably sand it a bit at a time whilst doing other jobs on the body

then once its stripped and filled we will decide on the best bridge to use and what finish it will get and go from there

JayGee

Washburn EC29?

Fantastic guitars and a lot more than just a shred machine. I had the use of one for a while which had been converted to passive electronics with a Gibson Burstbucker and a vintage-style Seymour Duncan strat neck pickup and it was super-sweet...

JohnB

Something a little thicker than veneer? like these ?

http://www.thewoodveneerhub.co.uk/wood-store/wood-veneers/constructional-veneers/

WezV

JohnB;754349" said:

Something a little thicker than veneer? like these ?

http://www.thewoodveneerhub.co.uk/wood-store/wood-veneers/constructional-veneers/

They are still veneers in my mind, pretty much what I had in mind actually for the minimum thickness to ensure joins don't reappear

The thicker option I am considering would be more like acoustic back thickness.

JohnB

what is that?  3 - 4 mm?

WezV

Actually the stuff you linked to comes in thicker sizes than the constructional veneer I have used before... 2.5mm could work

JohnB

I haven't tried the constructional veneers yet - was thinking about laminating it for cold moulding though

WezV

I have used some from a different supplier, I think they were double standard veneer thickness, about 1.2mm if i remember right.  

TBh its not too much of an issue either way, I would just rather I had something over the plugs to help stop block shapes reappearing through the finish.   If I go standard veneer I will be able to add it without taking any wood of the body - it will just be slightly thicker.  If I go with thicker veneer, or a thin top then i will need to remove more original wood but I will garantee neater edges and  the change to dimensions

 

It will work out nicely either way, its just a different set of processes.  I have done both before

 

 

Obviously there would also be the option of adding a fancy top, but I don't think we will go that way

WezV

so... plan of attack for filling the trem route.   since its going to be covered by veneer i don't need to worry about it looking perfect at this stage, structural integrity is the main aim here.   Some people would aim to do as much or the route in one go, maybe with a stepped block to fit in the back to ensure it was all as few bits of wood as possible.   that's nice and all but it doesn't always guarantee a nice fit the way a simply shaped fill will, especially with a multi stepped locking trem route

so this will be done in stages - 

1) plug trem posts

2) route out main fill on front of guitar - 5mm deep.  

3) glue in  front fill

4) level front of guitar

5) re- route out the trem block cavity (the deep bit) down to the 5mm front fill.  slightly oversized to ensure all paint removed

6) glue in trem block fill

7) re-route spring cavity , slightly oversize to ensure all paint removed

8) level back of guitar

9) veneer front and back

steps 1 and 2 already done - detail below

firstly drill out the existing post holes and make plugs, these were done to 10 mm - note the grain direction on each plug

nice tight fit

and trimmed back slightly

you will notice its an awkward shaped route, there is a bodge job in front of the posts and the wood between bridge and humbucker is damaged

so I am doing a big rectangular fill to encompass most of that damage, the plan is to have a fill I can slide in from the humbucker cavity and reroute that after

so that gets routed to just below the level of the lowest route

You will notice i left a bit of the route showing.  It was one of those decisions.  

Do I:

1.  route the cavity even bigger for that little tine section
   
2. Route the cavity to a precisely fitted shape knowing it will be harder to get a good structural fill
3. Route it to a standard shape for an easy fitting plug, and do a small maple inlay on that section later

Well this way is centred on the guitar, and gives me a really good glueing surface  and the ability to clamp the plug tight to the back, as well as the floor, of the cavity.

It helps that this route is a known shape I have laser cut templates for - that's what is really going to ensure the best fit

here is the template for the filler piece

A5D5E5

As the owner of the soon-to-be-hard-tail EC 29, I'm watching this thread with even more interest than usual at the moment.  Thankfully, watching the care you took lining up the grain in the bridge hole plugs is very reassuring!  It would never have occurred to me that such a small detail mattered when it will be covered by a veneer anyway. 

I'm currently thinking dayglo yellow or dayglo blue with black hardware if a recreation of its original crackle finish (in a different colour scheme) isn't possible. 

Philly_Q

I was wondering earlier if you would try to fill the bridge route as it was or modify it to a more convenient shape - I guess the latter approach makes much more sense!

WezV

Its not just convenience, it also maximises the long grain glue lines for a stronger join

Andyjr1515

I'm fascinated following someone else's thought process on something like this, @WezV. For my builds, particularly the more unusual ones, it is the 'how the hell am I going to do THIS' resolutions that are the most satisfying parts of the process. I like your solution here - neat, functional and pragmatic

paulnb57

Andyjr1515 said:

I'm fascinated following someone else's thought process on something like this, @WezV. For my builds, particularly the more unusual ones, it is the 'how the hell am I going to do THIS' resolutions that are the most satisfying parts of the process. I like your solution here - neat, functional and pragmatic

What he said! @Andyjr1515 and @WezV, Im seriously envious of your skills and along with reading the TDPRI forum builds, Iv'e done enough partscasters now to consider jumping in with my ambition to build my own from scratch, keep it up boys! Its all good, enjoyable, inspiring stuff!

WezV

here is the front fill pushed into place, its a tight friction fit.  Once you add glue it swells a bit more so needed a gentle tap or two with the mallet to get it to seat.

quick pick before the clamps are applied, i removed this initial glue squeeze out before clamping.  note i have extended it into the pickup cavity  - that will get re-routed after

more glue squeeze out once the clamps are on

 

clamping is often difficult in the middle of a guitar body.  I could have used normal G-clamps and a few long cauls to make sure i was getting pressure in the right place.  I decided to use my go bar deck instead - its a very flexible clamping system and allows easy clean-up - which will be done when the glue has started to dry a bit.    the long clamp is one of my homemade spool clamps, just there to make sure the fill doesn't slide forward, although it can;t really now the go-bars are arranged

the next stage on this front will be to level it off and take a little bit of the whole top to allow for the new veneer.  I will do that in a few days before moving onto the back fills

WezV

time to do some levelling on the top.  obviously i need to take the filler piece down to the level of the rest of the top, but I actually want to go slightly further to accommodate the veneer I will be fitting

I made a tool for just this occasion quite a few years back - its crude, but works amazingly well

its a bloody great router attached to some steel rails, and  an old bit of kitchen worktop  with some steel section.  I can change the height of the rails with a sophisticated shim system for different thickness of body, and I can even do small angles by shimming one end more than the other

yes its crude

but it allowed me to take a very even 1.5mm of the top of the guitar with very little clean up needed

Note there are some black marks at the back end of the filler piece.  that's a reminder to me to sand off the words "maple neck blank" I wrote on the end of this plank when I bought it

anyway - next step is to reroute the pickup cavity and tidy up around the neck with a sharp chisel

worth pointing out for anyone trying this that the wood around the switch slot will be quite delicate until this is veneered.   then it will be stronger than ever... just needs some care till its done

TTony

I've (still) got a job like that to do.