Finished Shots - Trini Lopez 335 ish Tribute

Andyjr1515

meltedbuzzbox said:

Subtle reminder noted.
First thing in the morning I will open your instructions of doom and follow them

Andyjr1515

Lebarque said:

Re. the finish, I reckon just satin oil would look banging. The wood is striking as it is - if you make the colours and grain 'pop' even further, it might be too much. Such a lovely looking thing. Can you make me one please?!

Thanks!

I will be experimenting with the ebony first - generally ebony can be brought up to a satin finish just by sanding to finer and finer grain micro-web or similar.  Walnut - well, @WezV 's Tru-oil slurry and buff method is actually what walnut's evolutionary journey was made for.  And that is how I do necks as a matter of course.  That said, it will be whatever @meltedbuzzbox wants it to be


And yes - for a mere king's ransom yes of course you can have one...and any finish you want for just a mere eye-watering trifle of a premium


 

Andyjr1515

And so, on a 'measure 14 times and cut once' basis, the fretboard taper was cut this morning:


And, using a G&W steel fret cutting template as my flat surface, the maple veneer glued onto the bottom - you can never have too many clamps (or radius block cauls)!



And that done, I've been able to start the fretting.

I'm using Evo Gold fret wire (I've used those on all my personal guitars and basses and the majority of builds for other folk). 

After de-tanging the ends of each fret: I 'wipe' a triangular needle file along the slot to take the brittle edge off; then apply a teeny thread of titebond; position it in the slot; whack it one side, then the other, then the middle to engage the tangs; wipe off the squeeze-out; then clamp a 12" radius block (the radius of the fretboard) for good measure while I then prepare the next one to be done.

14 done, 8 to go:

meltedbuzzbox

Andyjr1515 said:

Lebarque said:

Re. the finish, I reckon just satin oil would look banging. The wood is striking as it is - if you make the colours and grain 'pop' even further, it might be too much. Such a lovely looking thing. Can you make me one please?!

Thanks!

That said, it will be whatever @meltedbuzzbox wants it to be

 

Thick pink poly please

Andyjr1515

meltedbuzzbox said:

Thick pink poly please

Done

Andyjr1515

Well, definitely starting to look like a guitar now  

The fretboard isn't glued yet but it won't be very long until it is.  It'll look even better once the thick pink polyfilla I've just palette-knifed on it, that @meltedbuzzbox asked for above, has hardened!  

Andyjr1515

This morning was the final thicknessing of the neck before the fretboard is glued.

Packing up the nut end a couple of mm, I used my home-made router thicknessing jig.  I use the clamps not only to hold things in place but also to act as end stops for the router carriage:


Next was fitting the truss rod:


And next job, after an hour or two walking away and then coming back to it with a fresh mind is gluing on the fretboard
 

Andyjr1515

A narrow piece of masking tape will stop the glue filling the truss rod slot...   :



And it's on!  You can never have too many clamps. 


Fingers crossed for the morning when I hope it reveals itself to be lined up properly and gap-free

Andyjr1515

And the fretboard is on!  And it's straight and gap-free (Phew!)



So, just the neck carve and headstock to do and then the build itself is basically done

And then the final sanding and finishing begins...and in that I haven't worked out how
I'm going to do that yet...

Teyeplayer

Looks incredible!

Andyjr1515

Teyeplayer said:

Looks incredible!

Thanks!  I'm pleased with how it's turning out so far.

vanlooy1

Objet d’art (excuse my french!)

Andyjr1515

vanlooy1 said:

Objet d’art (excuse my french!)

As you're saying nice things, then I reckon your french is perfectly good!  Thanks

davros

Beautiful build!

Andyjr1515

davros said:

Beautiful build!

Thanks, @davros ;

Deadman

Again, I can’t wait to see the finished article. It’s already a work of art.

Andyjr1515

Deadman said:

Again, I can’t wait to see the finished article. It’s already a work of art.

Appreciated! 

meltedbuzzbox

Deadman said:

Again, I can’t wait to see the finished article. It’s already a work of art.

He's a bit good to be fair isn't he?

It's looking amazing. It's particularly intriguing as this all started out as an innocent IM asking for something that was a mad idea floating about in the depths of my brain. 

Extra kudos to Andy for not running for the hills when I asked for an ebony front. Although he might need a few weeks off after dealing with me and my many questions

Teyeplayer

meltedbuzzbox said:

Deadman said:

Again, I can’t wait to see the finished article. It’s already a work of art.

He's a bit good to be fair isn't he?

It's looking amazing. It's particularly intriguing as this all started out as an innocent IM asking for something that was a mad idea floating about in the depths of my brain. 

Extra kudos to Andy for not running for the hills when I asked for an ebony front. Although he might need a few weeks off after dealing with me and my many questions

This build has proven so far that not enough guitars sport an Ebony front, it was clearly an inspired choice.  

Andyjr1515

Teyeplayer said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

Deadman said:

Again, I can’t wait to see the finished article. It’s already a work of art.

He's a bit good to be fair isn't he?

It's looking amazing. It's particularly intriguing as this all started out as an innocent IM asking for something that was a mad idea floating about in the depths of my brain. 

Extra kudos to Andy for not running for the hills when I asked for an ebony front. Although he might need a few weeks off after dealing with me and my many questions

This build has proven so far that not enough guitars sport an Ebony front, it was clearly an inspired choice.  

To be honest, until @meltedbuzzbox first queried, I had no idea that wide pieces of ebony even existed

I'm glad he asked the question