[pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
I can't wait to see this pop up on Trade Me with 'Mostly original condition, minor headstock repair completed by experienced luthier'.
This really is a freakin' epic thread, I'm almost running to the computer each morning to catch up on progress. I'm not an expert but is there any concern that the headstock will just pull itself apart once it's put under any tension? Who knows right? It could end up like one of those samurai swords made of 20 layers of folded steel and you'll unlock the tone of the gods.
Awesome.
This really is a freakin' epic thread, I'm almost running to the computer each morning to catch up on progress. I'm not an expert but is there any concern that the headstock will just pull itself apart once it's put under any tension? Who knows right? It could end up like one of those samurai swords made of 20 layers of folded steel and you'll unlock the tone of the gods.
Awesome.
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
I doubt it'll come apart. Plywood is strong as hell right? All that is is super thin bits of wood stuck together. Don't see why the same theory wouldn't apply to a headstock.
Little worried about the bridge and tailpiece posts - you'll see why when I get round to posting a bit later on.
Little worried about the bridge and tailpiece posts - you'll see why when I get round to posting a bit later on.
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
You know the bridge and tailpiece go on top of the guitar right?Single coil wrote:I doubt it'll come apart. Plywood is strong as hell right? All that is is super thin bits of wood stuck together. Don't see why the same theory wouldn't apply to a headstock.
Little worried about the bridge and tailpiece posts - you'll see why when I get round to posting a bit later on.
When faced with quality, I recognise it every time.
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
Yes captain.
Will upload photos shortly; after a quick examination of the subject in the shed.
Will upload photos shortly; after a quick examination of the subject in the shed.
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
Kinda short post from today. Didn't get a hell of a lot done, and it rained, and I had to be other places. Ahh well, here we are.
Just as I was gettin' started in the shed, a familiar dirty white van showed up, and the dog went ballistic.
Oh yes. Absolutely yes. Also, inspection.
... Ok, so, this isn't ideal.
... At all.
Nothing that can't be solved with precision use of a loud and potentially destructive power tool.
Just lie down on the operating table. Breathe deeply, and count backwards from 10.
Got to use this drill bit set I forgot I had too.
Masked up to protect my newly dulled finish from rogue pva. Didn't go nuts on the glue for the posts, just enough so they'll set in there well. Plonked the stopbar on there to keep the shape.
One side is [a small enough number] of a millimetre higher than the other. Enough to bother me, but it's there for good now. Shouldn't be a hindrance; with the chunkiness of the bridge, I don't think I'll ever have the tailpiece wound right down.
Same story with the bridge posts - Some glue but not heaps, and plonked it on to also keep shape. These ones have a wee lip at the top, so they seated nicely.
Wrapped it up in the drop sheet to avoid overspray from primer. Smart!
Something shat on it while I wasn't looking. Looks like the little bubbly bit. Oh well, at least it's easy sanding.
Gave the pickguard a bit of a sand down to get some of the marks out, and hit it with the poly I'll be using on the headstock. Once it's all dry and so on, I'll palm sander it with the scourer and attempt to give it a polish.
Satisfying, drying primer.
My assistant made sure nothing happened to it while I went down the supermarket.
Holy shit that's the postie
No more bits for me today though. Ahh well. They can't be far away.
By now I'd had enough sanding, and I'm sure you're all sick of looking at the same thing over and over with a painfully similar narrative. So, here's one more picture of a primed headstock.
And here's me taking another big step.
Ugh. Something seriously satisfying about brand new paint.
Hit the pickguard with another layer of poly too.
This is where I left it for tonight, just as the paint can propelled its last tint with a final pfffftthhht of hydrocarbons.
Coming up:
More fuckin' sanding - I want the black finish to be just right. Which makes life even more difficult, cuz black is so good at highlighting imperfections.
Tuner holes probably,
Poly-ing the entirety of the headstock (after tuner holes and decal set),
Attempting to deal to the stubborn understain on the underpants of lutherie that is the filler mumps where the volute should be,
Maybe another body polish,
Strings, setup, enjoyment.
Ugh, so close. Hurry up decals!!
Just as I was gettin' started in the shed, a familiar dirty white van showed up, and the dog went ballistic.
Oh yes. Absolutely yes. Also, inspection.
... Ok, so, this isn't ideal.
... At all.
Nothing that can't be solved with precision use of a loud and potentially destructive power tool.
Just lie down on the operating table. Breathe deeply, and count backwards from 10.
Got to use this drill bit set I forgot I had too.
Masked up to protect my newly dulled finish from rogue pva. Didn't go nuts on the glue for the posts, just enough so they'll set in there well. Plonked the stopbar on there to keep the shape.
One side is [a small enough number] of a millimetre higher than the other. Enough to bother me, but it's there for good now. Shouldn't be a hindrance; with the chunkiness of the bridge, I don't think I'll ever have the tailpiece wound right down.
Same story with the bridge posts - Some glue but not heaps, and plonked it on to also keep shape. These ones have a wee lip at the top, so they seated nicely.
Wrapped it up in the drop sheet to avoid overspray from primer. Smart!
Something shat on it while I wasn't looking. Looks like the little bubbly bit. Oh well, at least it's easy sanding.
Gave the pickguard a bit of a sand down to get some of the marks out, and hit it with the poly I'll be using on the headstock. Once it's all dry and so on, I'll palm sander it with the scourer and attempt to give it a polish.
Satisfying, drying primer.
My assistant made sure nothing happened to it while I went down the supermarket.
Holy shit that's the postie
No more bits for me today though. Ahh well. They can't be far away.
By now I'd had enough sanding, and I'm sure you're all sick of looking at the same thing over and over with a painfully similar narrative. So, here's one more picture of a primed headstock.
And here's me taking another big step.
Ugh. Something seriously satisfying about brand new paint.
Hit the pickguard with another layer of poly too.
This is where I left it for tonight, just as the paint can propelled its last tint with a final pfffftthhht of hydrocarbons.
Coming up:
More fuckin' sanding - I want the black finish to be just right. Which makes life even more difficult, cuz black is so good at highlighting imperfections.
Tuner holes probably,
Poly-ing the entirety of the headstock (after tuner holes and decal set),
Attempting to deal to the stubborn understain on the underpants of lutherie that is the filler mumps where the volute should be,
Maybe another body polish,
Strings, setup, enjoyment.
Ugh, so close. Hurry up decals!!
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
All of my patients would end up writing lewd verses in public toilets
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
Well then. This is how all that went.
It all dried pretty nicely, but disaster struck when I went to thing it with my scouring pad mouse sander thing. Most of the acrylic peeled off, so I did my best at levelling it. Went down the paint shop (yeah we have one of those), and came back with this.
I'm going to use enamel satin black next time around. Acrylic on wood seems a bit thing now, so let's see how that goes.
The body managed to break out in a whole bunch of blackheads - Somehow the overspray got this far.
Caaaaaarefully notched them off with a craft knife, and gave it a light going over with the real wussy scouring pad on mouse thing and another polish. Think it needed it.
Then it was time to sand the pickguard (cuz I had fuck all else to do).
Oh. That's not gone well.
It looks cool, but it's not what I want.
I got there eventually - Camera wouldn't focus on the dimply bits left in it so you get this instead.
Currently leaving black primer to dry off properly before I even think about going near it with sandpaper. Or a scouring pad. Or a light breeze.
Ugh, what a fuckaround. Got those lovely tuners just sitting on the bench too, arh. Can't wait til those go in. Omgomgomgomgomg
It all dried pretty nicely, but disaster struck when I went to thing it with my scouring pad mouse sander thing. Most of the acrylic peeled off, so I did my best at levelling it. Went down the paint shop (yeah we have one of those), and came back with this.
I'm going to use enamel satin black next time around. Acrylic on wood seems a bit thing now, so let's see how that goes.
The body managed to break out in a whole bunch of blackheads - Somehow the overspray got this far.
Caaaaaarefully notched them off with a craft knife, and gave it a light going over with the real wussy scouring pad on mouse thing and another polish. Think it needed it.
Then it was time to sand the pickguard (cuz I had fuck all else to do).
Oh. That's not gone well.
It looks cool, but it's not what I want.
I got there eventually - Camera wouldn't focus on the dimply bits left in it so you get this instead.
Currently leaving black primer to dry off properly before I even think about going near it with sandpaper. Or a scouring pad. Or a light breeze.
Ugh, what a fuckaround. Got those lovely tuners just sitting on the bench too, arh. Can't wait til those go in. Omgomgomgomgomg
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
thinners would have taken the black dots off (just wet a rag with thinners and wipe...just don't let the thinners sit on the finish as it will melt it).....yes I know you have them off already but for future reference
If Less is More Then Just Think How Much More More would be
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
he looks to be thrilled about it toSingle coil wrote:
My assistant made sure nothing happened to it while I went down the supermarket.
If Less is More Then Just Think How Much More More would be
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
Dog noses seem to love smells, so he gets to sniff all the mail.
Edit: he likes his chair too.
There are epoxy thinners on the shelf, but I figured that woulda been too heavy. Eh ok, now I know.
Fuckin just sitting here brooding cuz I know here's nothing for me to do until tomorrow hahahah
Edit: he likes his chair too.
There are epoxy thinners on the shelf, but I figured that woulda been too heavy. Eh ok, now I know.
Fuckin just sitting here brooding cuz I know here's nothing for me to do until tomorrow hahahah
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
Alright. Another short post.
Paint still wasn't quite dry from yesterday, so I sat it in the sun to cure and do whatever it is paint does.
I did something else for a few hours. This included picking up an eye wateringly terrible suit for a dollar, and sampling some more goodies from the bakery that does a dank as fuck pork riblet bun. Holy shit it was good.
Anyway.
Came home to a dry headstock, and promptly got on with it.
IT'S HOLE TIME
No way it's guna go anywhere if I can help it.
Template in place for pilot holes.
Yeah, alright. Not too bloody bad!
[heavy breathing]
The tuners are advertised as 9mm mounting holes.
I played it safe and went with 8.5mm.
How. About. That.
Bang on.
They won't go in properly until the decals are on and the headstock's been poly'd and so on, so they should sit in there very nicely indeed.
However, my ventures were not without a bit of a cloud inside my silver lining. The drill decided it'd rip a bit out of the high e's tuner hole.
Dickhead. Ahh well. I guess if it were a perfect job, it wouldn't match the rest of the guitar.
Not pictured would be me sanding and scouring the headstock a-fucking-gain, so instead of that, here is a picture of the body sitting on the sawhorse while the headstock dries. I put the pickguard back on, and aw shit - It almost looks like a guitar again.
While I was doing my volunteer slot at the cinema today, the guy who runs it (the aforementioned japanese guitar nerd) had brought in my capacitors. I was expecting some basic ones with a little number on them.
Oh no. He had other ideas.
NOS paper in oil russian jobbies from the 80s - How cool is that!
They are 0.15 micro fa-... Farrads? uF's, you know the thing I'm talking about. Here they are next to whatever the fuck I whacked in there that was free. The big orange jobbies had the hilarious effect of turning the guitar into a fretless bass whenever I rolled the tone right down.
Plonked the new ones in, and that was that.
Later still, I checked on the headstock.
The two imperfections where the drill skipped (managed to not put the fuckin' 8.5mm bit in straight - what a dickhead) can stay there, along with the other little divots. The script logo will sort of cover them (as should the sheen from the poly coming later), but as I put earlier: If it were a perfect job, it wouldn't match the rest of the guitar.
The ferrule will sit in here nicely, but it won't quite cover the out-of-my-hands fuckup. Ahh well. Who said life was a rose garden!
So once again, it's sitting in the shed drying, and it can stay drying for quite some time before I go near it with the polish. God forbid it doesn't set properly and I have to do it all again, again.
Paint still wasn't quite dry from yesterday, so I sat it in the sun to cure and do whatever it is paint does.
I did something else for a few hours. This included picking up an eye wateringly terrible suit for a dollar, and sampling some more goodies from the bakery that does a dank as fuck pork riblet bun. Holy shit it was good.
Anyway.
Came home to a dry headstock, and promptly got on with it.
IT'S HOLE TIME
No way it's guna go anywhere if I can help it.
Template in place for pilot holes.
Yeah, alright. Not too bloody bad!
[heavy breathing]
The tuners are advertised as 9mm mounting holes.
I played it safe and went with 8.5mm.
How. About. That.
Bang on.
They won't go in properly until the decals are on and the headstock's been poly'd and so on, so they should sit in there very nicely indeed.
However, my ventures were not without a bit of a cloud inside my silver lining. The drill decided it'd rip a bit out of the high e's tuner hole.
Dickhead. Ahh well. I guess if it were a perfect job, it wouldn't match the rest of the guitar.
Not pictured would be me sanding and scouring the headstock a-fucking-gain, so instead of that, here is a picture of the body sitting on the sawhorse while the headstock dries. I put the pickguard back on, and aw shit - It almost looks like a guitar again.
While I was doing my volunteer slot at the cinema today, the guy who runs it (the aforementioned japanese guitar nerd) had brought in my capacitors. I was expecting some basic ones with a little number on them.
Oh no. He had other ideas.
NOS paper in oil russian jobbies from the 80s - How cool is that!
They are 0.15 micro fa-... Farrads? uF's, you know the thing I'm talking about. Here they are next to whatever the fuck I whacked in there that was free. The big orange jobbies had the hilarious effect of turning the guitar into a fretless bass whenever I rolled the tone right down.
Plonked the new ones in, and that was that.
Later still, I checked on the headstock.
The two imperfections where the drill skipped (managed to not put the fuckin' 8.5mm bit in straight - what a dickhead) can stay there, along with the other little divots. The script logo will sort of cover them (as should the sheen from the poly coming later), but as I put earlier: If it were a perfect job, it wouldn't match the rest of the guitar.
The ferrule will sit in here nicely, but it won't quite cover the out-of-my-hands fuckup. Ahh well. Who said life was a rose garden!
So once again, it's sitting in the shed drying, and it can stay drying for quite some time before I go near it with the polish. God forbid it doesn't set properly and I have to do it all again, again.
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.
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Re: [pic heavy as fuck] James's backyard goldtop day spa
Dawww.
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.