And you'd want to do your own thing with the control cavity and layout anyway.  Won't you??

@tv101 No probs, I can make a cavity routing template, it’s not too critical to get the shape absolutely cnc perfect for it. For the first LP I build though, I think I’ll make it as standard as I can, just to get a feel for it. 

Thanks again, really appreciate it. (I owe you) 👍

Angle grinder! (seriously)

@jonhodgson I got these recently for my angle grinder, one concave, one convex. 😁 Fun times. 

I got these recently for my angle grinder, one concave, one convex. 😁 Fun times

Those will remove wood very quickly and efficiently @boo, go easy and have fun!

I got these recently for my angle grinder, one concave, one convex.

@boo i could just send you a bag of saw dust and wood chips if you like?😉

@boo You can get ones with holes in them which when they spin makes the disk almost transparent so you can see what you're doing.

I haven't tried them myself yet, but I met a guy who'd used them on a course at Crimson (it's their goto method) and he didn't seem to be able to fathom why anybody would use any other method, so they're on my to-purchase list for the second guitar on my build plan, which will have a carved top (there's a part of me that likes the idea of getting a collection of gouges and mini planes, but quite frankly if I did that I'd probably never finish).

Yes, they will remove wood at a prodigious rate (and they come in different grits, so some are even more prodigious than others), but I think that because the tool does all the work for you, you can put pretty much 100% effort into directing it rather than having to put energy into the cutting.

Let us know how you get on! 

Angle grinder! (seriously)

Hmmmmm @jonhodgson - I think I'll try working with the CNC machine first!

Though I can imagine it being the sort of approach that Crimson would use.  Not criticising them at all, just in the sense of them trying new approaches/techniques in what and how they build.

@tv101, if you have a CNC machine, then fair enough.
Crimson use theirs for their production line models, it's the one offs and student builds that use the angle grinder method. They're not unique in doing that though, there's a reason that Saburrtooth have a complete range of carving discs for angle grinders and carving attachments for dremel type tools too.

They’re brave - letting students loose with an angle grinder on a course build!

I came back to this beast today to give it some more clear coat (flow coat). 

Again, I’ll leave it for a week before flattening and polishing. 

Right, I know a lot of these pictures may look the same but they are not, I assure you. I’m adding to the timeline to document all the stages. It’s all very tedious, I know, but I’m putting a lot of info about painting in here and yes it is very tedious but that’s painting. 

After the last lot of clear coating, I sanded everything flat yet again, (including fretboard, headstock, neck) going through the grades to finish on 5000g, ready for buffing with compounds. Here is how the paint surface looked before buffing. 

After spending an hour or so on the buffer @darrenking made, I got it looking pretty good I think. One tip I will give is that you need to stay away from the edges and keep the guitar moving constantly to prevent a buildup of heat, heat is your enemy. I went as far as I could with the medium grade compound and then switched to the fine grade. Obviously, when you switch compound grades, you have to swap out the buffing head/mop. Darren was also good enough to send me some narrower buffing heads, these are needed to get into the tricky areas inside the guitar horns. 

Here’s a flyover to show the reflection. 

I got the frets in this thing. Evo Gold 3mm Jumbo ✨🐘

I finally got it out of a state of just hanging around to a state of getting all the hardware on it and getting some strings on it. I’ve done a quick setup and it plays beautifully. All I need to do now is make a control cavity cover, a truss rod cover and wire up the pot and killswitch. Nearly there.

I love how the gold frets look against the walnut fretboard and how much the clear coat has brought out the colour and grain in the neck. 

I’m happy it looks good and plays well. I know the paint isn’t everyone’s taste, I was experimenting and it’s for me anyway, I’m happy. 🔥🤘😜🤘🎸🔥 Rock n Roll 

I finally got this thing finished off. I made a nice black plastic control cavity cover for it @tv101 😁👍 

@boo  Thats just too cool, and the matching pickups are a nice finishing touch.

Posted by: @robin

Thats just too cool, and the matching pickups are a nice finishing touch.

@robin Thank you. I planned the paint colours around the pickup colours right from the start. I already had some bright red pearl and pink pearl base coats so I chose the coloured pickup bobbins to match. They do quite a few different colours for the bobbins so I will choose different colours and match the paint in future projects. 

Look at the brass nut on that! 🎸

Ive just sanded and polished this brass nut up to a mirror finish and test fitted it. I like it.✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Posted by: @boo

Look at the brass nut on that! 🎸

Ive just sanded and polished this brass nut up to a mirror finish and test fitted it. I like it.✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

 

 

Looking Amazing and finish is also awesome.

Posted by: @alexanderzingman

Looking Amazing and finish is also awesome.

@alexanderzingman Thanks man. 👍