ScottR Posted March 13, 2017 Report Share Posted March 13, 2017 Oh, nicely done! SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoltar Posted March 13, 2017 Report Share Posted March 13, 2017 Wow, this is looking fantastic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Norris Posted March 14, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 (edited) It's blue In dim light it looks almost black. In the light it's vibrant. It's the sort of colour that is not easy to capture on camera, quite similar to Rickenbacker Azureglo in places, but with the natural variation of dyed wood. It looks lighter in the photo than in real life. I've got it sitting on a sheet of white paper to try to give my phone camera a clue to the white balance, and has the unfinished maple cover in place too. I must admit (now) that I was tempted for a few minutes to keep the back natural. However there are so many guitars with a natural ash back - and mine definitely isn't "so many guitars" . Even my wife is coming round after several days of "you've ruined it" comments. I will be knocking it back slightly with some 0000 grade wire wool. That's more to even out the slight streaks and to lighten up the end grain slightly where the dye took more easily. The silk of the unfinished dye looks great, but I will be applying a clear lacquer and going "shiny" with it. Anyway, I'm very pleased with that. It's pretty close to my original vision. When I get to the top I'll try to burst it slightly, but still keep the colour saturated. Edited November 7, 2017 by Norris 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 3 hours ago, Norris said: Even my wife is coming round after several days of "you've ruined it" comments. Mine gets pretty bug eyed at some of the in between stages too. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10pizza Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 great result, can't wait to see the final look of this build! Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Hoooray!!!!!!!!!!  I LOVE blue guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Starting to look really nice. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Has Aaron (@a2k) weighed in on this one yet? I'm sure that this Ash fill would be right up his alley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a2k Posted March 17, 2017 Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 Oh yeah! I'd completely forgotten the original plan was to dye it blue. It looks awesome. It's gonna look great shined up too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariahrob Posted March 18, 2017 Report Share Posted March 18, 2017 That's looking lovely. Great colour choice and will look even richer once the gloss goes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) I've knocked the dye back very slightly with 0000 grade wire wool. That's mainly to bring back some of the end grain definition and to even out a couple of slight streaks in the dye. I then got it nice & clean and slapped a reasonable coat of sanding sealer on it. Of course I managed to get the obligatory little midge land on it, so now have a tiny insect wing stuck to the back - which should come out easy enough. Now to flip it over and do the final prep sanding on the front. I also need to drill the tuner screw holes & do a final sanding on the neck before I dye the veneered headstock No pictures today as it looks pretty much like last time - but slightly shinier Thanks for the kind comments Edited March 20, 2017 by Norris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 RAD used to get things in his finishes all the time if I recall correctly. It happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 Yeah, he's clearcoated a fly and a spider and several gnats that I remember. He left 'em in there and called it mojo. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 (edited) I got the tuner screw holes drilled - check. There are only 4 holes left to drill now - the neck pickup mounting plate retaining screws and the strap locks. The top is now ready for dyeing, except I noticed a couple of tiny scratches in the bottom of the teardrop recess for the controls. That shouldn't take long to sort, then I'll give it a very light wipe of dye before checking for any more scratches I used/adapted a few tips that I saw on here. I needed to do a bit of sanding in the forstner bit recesses where the controls will mount. I found a largish drill bit with flat bottom, stuck some masking tape on the bottom and superglued some 400 grit to it, then cut round with a sharp knife. I then repeated it with a strip around to bottom of the shank. The result, a lovely cylindrical sanding stick. It was good for doing a small roundover too. I've got a few real life things coming up, but masking & dyeing of the top should commence soon Edited March 21, 2017 by Norris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 I just noticed this thread has over 11.5k views - I'd better get it finished! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 21, 2017 Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 I think I mentioned that we get a hell-load of non-member and lurker traffic...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 21, 2017 Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 An 18+ month life will get you a bunch of views too. But what goes the furtherest in that regard is that it is a fascinating documentation of a quality build. Some tricky stuff has been attempted and achieved and we've watched you learn as you go. It's been a great ride and we're heading down the final stretch! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 21, 2017 Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 I'm sure that it'll happen as it happens, as with all things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) 13 hours ago, ScottR said: An 18+ month life will get you a bunch of views too. But what goes the furtherest in that regard is that it is a fascinating documentation of a quality build. Some tricky stuff has been attempted and achieved and we've watched you learn as you go. It's been a great ride and we're heading down the final stretch! SR Thanks. I've tried to show everything, warts & all. If it gives somebody something to think about before making a mistake, provides a tip for how to achieve something, or even inspires someone to start their first build - then it's all been worth it 13 hours ago, Prostheta said: I'm sure that it'll happen as it happens, as with all things! That's been my philosophy throughout - It takes as long as it takes. The next one will be a lot quicker, as it's a much simpler build. Having said that I'll be tackling some stuff I've not done in this build, such as a neck angle & scarf joint  (Yes, it's lined up already, much to my wife's chagrin!) Edited March 22, 2017 by Norris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 (edited) I've been dyeing the top. I gave it a few coats and then knocked it back with 0000 grade wire wool... ... to help pop the grain when I applied some more And I think this is worth a few photos now that I've taken off the masking tape from the binding... That's going to look pretty marvellous when it has some lacquer on it. There's a little bit more knocking back to do around the recesses - these photos were just after I gave them another couple of coats of dye. I've also got to scrape around the binding a tad just to clean it up. As you can probably see in the photos I've also given the headstock & rear cover plate a couple of coats of dye. Those will also need knocking back and re-dyeing. There's a 3 week break in my evening classes now, but I'm going to try to soldier on and get it lacquered at home Edited November 7, 2017 by Norris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatloaf Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 That's looking really good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 I'm looking forward to seeing some shiny stuff on that! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariahrob Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 I kind of like the satin sheen as it stands but I think the gloss will look even better with that blue. Looking forward to seeing you finish it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 The satin sheen is covered in tiny wire wool scratches at the moment, but yes it does look quite good like that. It will look even better with a shine that you could swim in though . If I can get a shine half as good as @ScottRÂ manages to then I'll be a happy chap! I spent an hour or two with a Stanley knife blade scraping excess dye from the binding where it managed to sneak under the masking tape. I also "borrowed" the wife's ultra fine 00Â water-colour brush to touch in a few bits where I over-masked, and it will look much neater when I've gone round it again with the blade. A tad more wire wool to even out the streaks in the recesses and I think we're good to slap some sanding sealer on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted April 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 (edited) First coat of lacquer on the front & headstock Hopefully I'll get the rest of the neck detail sanded tonight and get some lacquer on it Shiny! Edited November 7, 2017 by Norris 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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