Archtop & Solidbody. Languedoc inspired

WezV

test fit and bridge positioning


I found a spare P-90, but its a slight mismatch on pole spacing.  I think i'm going to open up the top of the pickup cover so its a slot rather than holes.  that gives me more options for later upgrades, and I think will look pretty cool


Also gonna need top ferrules on the tailpiece as the strings want to cut straight through the wood

ThePrettyDamned

I have ordered my paints now for my build, but on the off chance I decide to go for a milk paint, how would I get a finish as smooth as yours? Is it like any other finish (ie paint it on, let it fully dry, sand back smooth and apply another coat if needed)?

I've found a water based milk paint supplier that has some gorgeous colours, and yours has turned out really well. Obviously don't want to spend loads of cash, but a 50g powder pack is about a fiver and would probably make enough for a guitar... Maybe...

WezV

Yes, like any other finish really.  It's nearly self levelling when you get the mix right.  Just needs a bit of denibbing.  It sands great, but does get dust everywhere.   

For this final finish I obviously had some runs to deal with.   I just scraped them level before rubbing the whole lot back with fine wire wool

I think 50g would be a stretch, but I have been quite wasteful in my approach and nearly used a full 170g bag, which makes a pint of paint.  

I think I could have achieved this finish in 2 coats now I know how it works

ThePrettyDamned

WezV said:

Yes, like any other finish really.  It's nearly self levelling when you get the mix right.  Just needs a bit of denibbing.  It sands great, but does get dust everywhere.   

For this final finish I obviously had some runs to deal with.   I just scraped them level before rubbing the whole lot back with fine wire wool

I think 50g would be a stretch, but I have been quite wasteful in my approach and nearly used a full 170g bag, which makes a pint of paint.  

I think I could have achieved this finish in 2 coats now I know how it works

Spot on! I'll get a bigger bag then. 

I think I'll try it. Happy with the sprays, but actually a brushed finish is more easy for me in my space. I'll test and see how it compares.

I will try it with my water based top coat, see if it clouds up or not. Hopefully not. If so, I may try some of the more common oil finishes, like hemp oil or wax. 

WezV

Briwax leaves it feeling great 

WezV

Starting to come together

ThePrettyDamned

WezV said:

Briwax leaves it feeling great 

Excellent. Appreciate your help! 

WezV

Well shit.

Remember I said the afromosia was very oily and tape wouldn't stick to it... well glue doesn't want to either  

I only have one glue join on this, for the truss rod.   I glued it up pretty much straight after routing and cleaning the slot with some thinners to remove as much oil as possible.  I was using titebond original, but the above process normally helps it work well on oily woods

This morning, the stripe has raised itself 



The neck is still nicely straight and playing great, but the rod has pushed this out overnight. This needs to come out and be reglued with something a bit stronger.

Thankfully I don't expect to struggle when it comes to remove it and cleaning up the slot  

Also that pic shows some sanding scratches I missed on the transition.

ThePrettyDamned

Blimey, it must be oily! Does this mean you'll use a different glue? 

WezV

Yeah, I've had this with bocote before and that isn't as oily as this. With that I forgot to wipe down before gluing up a laminated neck blank.  It came apart in my hands when I started shaping it

 The dust from the afromosia actually feels waxy.

This skunk stripe was a tight friction fit, so no issues there.

With other oily woods a wipe with naphtha or thinners is enough to dry the wood off for long enough to glue it.  Then the oiliness slowly returns, or can be added back

Think I might need to bathe this in thinners first.   Will probably reglue with epoxy as extra insurance.

The guitar is playing great for now, so I will give it a few weeks to see how everything else settles in, than tackle a whole snag list in one go.   Really happy with the ergonomics of it, and it plays great.    It's been useful to get my head around this design before I make the hollowbody set neck version. 

ThePrettyDamned

WezV said:

Yeah, I've had this with bocote before and that isn't as oily as this. With that I forgot to wipe down before gluing up a laminated neck blank.  It came apart in my hands when I started shaping it

 The dust from the afromosia actually feels waxy.

This skunk stripe was a tight friction fit, so no issues there.

With other oily woods a wipe with naphtha or thinners is enough to dry the wood off for long enough to glue it.  Then the oiliness slowly returns, or can be added back

Think I might need to bathe this in thinners first.   Will probably reglue with epoxy as extra insurance.

The guitar is playing great for now, so I will give it a few weeks to see how everything else settles in, than tackle a whole snag list in one go.   Really happy with the ergonomics of it, and it plays great.    It's been useful to get my head around this design before I make the hollowbody set neck version. 

Wow, that is really interesting. Waxy dust! 

Thanks for sharing. 

Andyjr1515

It looks great hanging up there.  

ref oily woods i had huge problems once with a cocobolo fretboard.  I tried all the recommended stuff but in the end had to epoxy it on.  If it ever needs to come off, it will have to be planed off...

WezV

still not sorted that bloody skunk stripe as I've been playing it instead, but now the weather is better I will resume work on this years hollowbody we haven't seen since page 1

Going for thin Bastogne ( I think??) walnut back and sides and a thick carved american cherry top.  Neck will be the stripy paduak shown earlier in the thread, laminated with maple and black veneer.  fretboard will be the snakewood.  I think the plan for the finish is a cherry red lacquer with some nice white binding.  the woods will help give a two tone look


All prepped, ready for cutting, and hopefully bending, this weekend

PeteC

The woods look excellent @Wez    Really looking forward to watching the hollow body take shape and very interested to see the techniques used.   

WezV

Sides all bent.   

Need to shape the internal blocks to fit now

WezV

Also slotted the snakewood board, which was hard work.  I've managed to align it so most of the sap wood will be cut away, but some may reappear when it gets its radius.


I've also cut the cherry top to rough shape

PhilKing

It's looking really great so far Wez

WezV

Managed to get the board radiused and tapered.... really happy that I've managed to reduce the visible sap wood down to the absolute minimum, even with the radius

This is how the board started, with a lot more sap on the other side





The one behind is some richlite for another project 



I picked up a radius jig from Radius Dish UK as i didn't want to do this board by hand.    Worked really well and a lot cheaper than some of the other options

PhilKing

That really looks great Wez.   I forgot to ask if you could put Lumilay(?) dots into the edge?  Also something like a Dunlop 6105 or 6150 fret would also be great.  Thanks

WezV

Yeah, I can do luminlay.  Will probably go with the stuff with a black ring on the outside and match it into the binding  theme.  I'm thinking some rippled sycamore with b/w purfling underneath to go all round the body and neck