Revamp of sparkles - floyd content! - finished!!!!!

poopot

Okay... I haz “sparkles” my one and only floyd guitar...

Hate the body shape, with a passion!... but the neck is sublime... got the neck in the states 33years ago on a family holiday (Smuggled home in my sisters suitcase ) I love the neck... contrary to every other guitar I own (big chunky necks) this is wafer thin with a really flat radius... very straight, very low action, very fast to play... and it’s been on a few different shape bodies over the years...

current body is a cheapo cort thing I grabbed years ago... and to fit the neck I shaped tge
neck heel to suit...



Looking on the bay a couple of days ago I stumbled across this - for cheap money!!!!!

That could work... but the neck pocket/heel could be a ball ache!... sod it, it’s cheap enough to take a punt... so I hit buy on Tuesday and it arrived yesterday... screwdriver out and a quick mock-up later!...

Ooo... that looks better already!...

but here’s the issue with the shaped heel on the neck!...

Hmmmm... what to do?

fortunately in my box of bits I had an ally neck shim I made up from before I routed the recess for the floyd in the cort body... offered it up to see if this could all work...

Reckon it does so off to the farm I go!...

a few mins later and the heel is shaped to this...

That works!!!!! Filled the holes with some mahogany dowels and also carved the heel to be a bit less chunky...

neck bolted on and floyd dropped in place...

But... now the cutaway has been cut away it doesn’t look quite as aesthetically pleasing compared to the unmolested body!...

So will need to finesse the horn a bit more so it looks less like a gingerbread man....

will do that this morning and route for the floyd...

the question?....

what colour to paint the body?

andy_k

I like it, a lot.
I have built a couple of FB shapes, both hard tails, and one thing that has always bugged me is the 'Lumpiness' of the lower side, compared to the top edge.
It looks like your mod has exaggerated this a bit, to my eyes anyway.
See the difference in the waist, compared to the raised section?
The whole treble side seems a long way off centre, I would take the opportunity at this stage to try and correct that imbalance.
In my case, I think I used a bad drawing for my outline, which only made it worse, have a look online for some pics of a Kauer Banshee, I think they refined it a bit.
It might be a case of taking something like a quarter inch from the outline of the horn, all the way to the back, and I think when a pickguard is introduced the original shape makes more sense.
Are you routing for the floyd to pull up?, if so, don't. I think it looks much cleaner without a big pocket for the tuners, and the same effect can be done with neck angle.
Colour??, some sort of metallic, gold or light blue maybe?
See some pics of the guy from Rival Sons for inspiration.
Nice project mate.

poopot

So a bit of a reshape to the horn this morn... and we now have this...

Also a bit of contouring on the backside...

Fag break and fit the trem I guess!...

benvall

This is cool. I’ve always liked firebirds, but with a Floyd, cooler still. Keep the pics coming. 

andy_k

It's one of those things that are hard to explain, like what is so special about the FB in the first place.
Looks like a nice bit of wood, and will be interesting to see the final result, is it one piece with a maple cap?
Little bit of flame behind the trem maybe? hard to resist a bit of a burst maybe?
I wish I could find the pic I had of one I saw with a floyd, I think it was owned by somebody in a ZZtop tribute band, and the pic was in a guitar magazine, it was white though, which took the eye off the body shape.
You tried to mock up a pickguard yet-it might help with the shape, there is definitely something off with the symmetry in the original design, to my eye anyway. 
Should be a great sounding thing, a mix of fender twangy resonance, mahogany SG mids and the toppyness of a bit of maple, rounded off with a rosewood neck.
Nice mix.

andy_k

Heres a pic of the last time I was dicking around with one of mine, trying to get around the visually awkward bottom horn edge.
Nothing came of it, as I suspect what it really needs is the aid of a belt sander.
Just for a bit of inspiration

poopot

Ok... so after finishing the blackguard this morning I cracked on and drilled the floyd posts!!!

Three fucking times!!!!!!! Yes three... 1st was pissed... 2nd was due to someone not putting the 10mm drill bit in the 10mm drill bit hole and instead putting the 10.5mm drill bit in the 10mm drill bit hole!!!!!!!

3rd time was using the correct size bit!!!

then set about making a template for the floyd recess...

Stuck some off cuts to a bit of mdf...

Routed the mdf and we end up with 

Nailed that to the guitar body and routed away to get this...

Forgot what a ballache setting up a floyd can be!!!!

DLM

Loved it how it was, but this is looking really promising! \m/

normula1

Looks good

Danielsguitars

You need to go to Specsavers FFS, I did laugh at the 10.5, made my miserable day marginally better

You can clear up in Monday 

axisus

Great guitar! Looking a million times better now!

poopot

Right this morning job... sort out the uncovered bridge pickup... by errrrrrr putting a cover on it...

Bit of silicone... (yes I only had brown)

Clampity clamp and solder 

Pickups in, loom wired (waiting on a switch and Jack plate)

Also ordered the paint for it  

Enough pigment coming to paint a dozen guitars if anyone fancies a refin!!!!!

poopot

This evenings conversation went like this:

me: Darren, anywhere open tomorrow that will sell grain filler?

darren: no

me: can I have the keys to the workshop?

darren: no!

me: I’ll break in like normal then!

darren: I’ve fitted an alarm.

me: liar

darren: and got a guard dog!...

me: but I need grain filler!.

darren: use egg white!

me: are you drunk?

darren: no, use egg white!

me: hahahaaha fuck off not falling for that, nearly had me there!...

darren: use egg white!.

google: egg white can be used as a clear grain filler.

me: wtf?....




so... two eggs later....

It works!!!!!!!  Sanded to 240, applied the egg white with a brush and hit it again with the 240... the slurry fills the pores, the egg white dries... grain filled...

will repeat the process with 400!...

chickens! Who knew!...

Bridgehouse

Yep. I’ve used egg white and it worked perfectly.

Fez

I suppose if it goes seriously wrong you can eat the evidence. Seriously though the build looks great, looking forward to seeing pics of the finished article.

poopot

Ok... so this morning I remembered that I’d forgotten to route the recess for the trem back cover...

hand router out and off we go.

Then as the sun was out I managed to get the base coat of white on...

I don’t know where this can of shat came from but it’s what I had as I’m not at the farm and don’t have access to the spray booth...

But... if you are thinking of buying this stuff.... don’t... it’s shit shit shit... I’d have been better throwing the paint on with a spoon!...

And that was thin coats... there’s more paint on my lawn than on the guitar... poxey stuff went everywhere but where I wanted it to go!!!!

but, some wet sanding later and it’s all flat so a nice base for the silver...

Will leave it hanging there till the Inca arrives, safe under the watchful gaze of Lenny kravitz who as we all know invented Jazz in the early 90’s!...

McToot

This is awesome @poopot ;

Don't s'pose you take commisions do you?

 

poopot

Silver base is on...

slightly pissed off at the wonkyness of the wood... but it’s my guitar  so I don’t care about a few inconsistencies... buggered if I’m stripping it now and sanding it all flat again anyway!... if it was for someone else it’d be flat to within an inch of it life!... 

McToot

Tasty AF. 

poopot

Well it’s getting flatted back and another coat of silver before the green goes on... partly coz I want it to look nice and partly coz I stuck a finger in the wet paint

SteveRobinson

poopot said:

I don’t know where this can of shat came from but it’s what I had as I’m not at the farm and don’t have access to the spray booth...

But... if you are thinking of buying this stuff.... don’t... it’s shit shit shit... I’d have been better throwing the paint on with a spoon!...

If you are thinking of buying this stuff, you might struggle as Behlen pulled out of the UK about 10 years ago. That can must be knocking on for 20 years old I reckon.