Zemaitis / Bonabyrd / ??? type thing

MattNovak · June 2020

PeteC said:

You seem to get great results - just had a look at SgS. So for about 150 quid you can get a semi decent spraying set up ? Matt - just re read and now I see you mentioned using spray cans - apologies, I missed that.

No probs, once I get power to the workshop I'll invest in a spray kit (only moved here 2 years ago, hence the working on garden furniture!). Cans have been fine for solid or clear colours, obviously not factory standard but good enough.

MattNovak · June 2020

Also, the comments on this thread have given me the resolve to get it right (or as right as I can with cans), so - thanks guys.

WezV · June 2020

MattNovak said:

PeteC said:

You seem to get great results - just had a look at SgS. So for about 150 quid you can get a semi decent spraying set up ? Matt - just re read and now I see you mentioned using spray cans - apologies, I missed that.

No probs, once I get power to the workshop I'll invest in a spray kit (only moved here 2 years ago, hence the working on garden furniture!). Cans have been fine for solid or clear colours, obviously not factory standard but good enough.

I'm currently relying on a long extension lead

MattNovak · June 2020

Not perfect, but better / good enough. I did put a touch of red in, which I think helped.

And because we all like a mockup:

Th eeagle eyed amongst you will notice I have abandoned the tele bridge idea - I tried both and the tune-o-matic won for this style. Plus, the latest firechick is using the only spare tele bridge I had!

PeteC · June 2020

Definitely good enough Matt. Looks great.

MattNovak · June 2020

Thanks @PeteC - that reminds me, seeing as you asked about weight earlier in the thread - the body is 2.5kg, and is yet to be routed for controls

MattNovak · June 2020

Just found this on my phone - after I wasn't happy with the first burst, I sprayed it black (so-called 'f*** it black', out of frustration / impatience). I sanded the body back before re-doing the burst above, and here's what it looked like 1/2 way through. I've seen worse relics, to be honest!

Image: https://i.imgur.com/gfDyOIC.jpg?1

MattNovak · June 2020

Forgot to mention this build's first 'slip up' - when routing the pickup cavity, I affixed the (acrylic) template with double sided tape... which lost its sticky (presumably as I stuck it on a hot body).... its not a showstopper, I'll neaten up as best I can. Just goes to show, expect the unexpected!

PeteC · June 2020

Ouch! but recovered...... I have the opposite problem - usually marking the wood trying to get the template off

MattNovak · June 2020

Neck is all glued up and out of the clamps - not sure if I'm alone in making necks this way but here's the process for my last few which I find dead easy:

route 75mm wide blank for truss rod
taper shaft to correct dimensions
cut the 14deg scarf on the plain shaft
cut the headstock shape *seperately* - ie its not part of the neck blank work above
glue the headstock to shaft and trim excess
glue fingerboard on, tidy everything up and job done

here's me and my router pretending to be a CNC machine:

I also added a roundover with a 1mm 'shelf' on the last 2 headstocks - fascia will be black but will allow a little of the wood to show around the edges, a bit like the original firebird but using a different method.

MattNovak · June 2020

Neck completed, cherry with ebony. Not sure I'll use cherry again, its a bit of a pain to work, especially routing end grain. A bit splinter-y.

Anyway, I hope to get the neck pocket routed today but here's how it looks:

Image: https://i.imgur.com/IzfpjEQ.jpg?1

and a better pick of the neck, there's no oil on the board so the ebony will darken up:

MattNovak · June 2020

Don't think I've mentioned this yet, but on these two builds I've attempted something different with the scarf joint visuals:

Obviously it needs to be shaped.

Got the fret markers in today, 6mm up to the 12th fret and 4mm thereafter. Also, neck pocket routed. Quick mockup, I think it has a tinge of John Birch's 70's creations about it (excuse the tape residue):

The whole neck and heel needs carving, but the cherry looks nice so far:

MattNovak · June 2020

So a couple of videos popped up on my facebook about acoustic neck carving. Normally I clamp the whole neck and just go at it with a Shinto rasp and sandpaper until it feels right... but hey, there must be a better way, right?

As I have the 'arrow' scarf join on these 2 necks, I wanted to try and make it a little more professional. The method shown in te video was to rough carve the 'stock and heel end, before dressing away the leftovers in the middle. So:

and the dusty end:

Perhaps everyone does their necks this way, I dunno... seems to be working ok so far though.

BigMonka · June 2020

Only just found this thread Matt (not sure how I missed it), but it’s looking great!

Andyjr1515 · June 2020

These are both looking really good, @MattNovak

Your bad experience with the router template is why I don't use them anymore. Been there and done that too many times...

Cherry is a bit of a challenge, but those photos show why people use it. It's beautiful. What's the plan - stain? Natural?

PeteC · June 2020

Very creative volute Matt. I did my juniors that way for neck shaping too, but have since found Fletcher guitars excellent videos on YouTube and he has an excellent one on making a neck where he marks out the important facts on the neck and uses rasps . It’s for a strat style neck but the principles can be transferred to other necks I guess.

I think your body/neck/headstock combo works great.

MattNovak · June 2020

Thanks chaps, I'm pleased with how they're both going so far. Always potential for things to take an unexpected twist though!

@Andyjr1515 , yes I need to hone (geddit) my chisel skills. I hate working blind with a router and template, you can't tell whats happening at the noisy end. The messy route has been bothering me, so I'm going to cover my tracks with a full size humbucker. Less painful than refinishing. The cherry has some lovely figuring in it, a bit of ripply flame here and there too. I've got in mind a light brown stain in satin, although cherry is meant to darken considerably with a few years natural exposure? Curious to hear your experience with it if any.

Thanks very much for the tip @PeteC , I'll have a gander at some Fletcher videos to see what I can glean. I reckon the overall design hangs together pretty well, its a leap of faith sometimes when there's no direct comparison to look at. At least I can't be accused of being historically innacurate