Andyjr1515

Just noticed that I started this thread on 8th Feb. I can't believe that, barring late disasters, this is within a few days or so of being finished! Some of that is because Pete specifically wants the tactile slurry and buffed satin finished rather than a gloss, which would have added at least 3 weeks. I'm actually more than happy with that aesthetically as well as the silky feel of it, having had a sunny day at last so I can see what it actually looks like! I'm waiting for some hardware, but sorted the magnetic catches while I was waiting: And also for the truss-rod cover - worked well on Nic's Mouradian-esque build, so I thought I'd try it on this too : I'm out tomorrow but will try to do the fret-levelling on Wednesday. For the build itself, that just leaves a possible tweak on the volute - it's in the perfect position for the treble strings but, because of the rake, might be a touch too forward for the bass. I won't know for sure until I've got the strings fitted and been able to try it for real...again hopefully Wednesday. I've got a few weeks to sort out some of the domestic tasks and also to rearrange my work area a bit, and then there is a "this could be the final straw that broke the camel's back" project due to be on the drawing board. More about that one soon

[quote name='W1_Pro' timestamp='1488687577' post='3251046'] The figure on that fingerboard is lovely. Great thread Andy. [/quote] Thanks, Stuart Trust all is well with you and yours.

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1488728152' post='3251330'] The current finish on the body reminds me of my former Warwick Thumb bass. [/quote] Yes - probably much the same process

It's OK - I can see them fine on the iPad:) And they are WONDERFUL! Speechless. Stunning.

Something odd is happening with the images on my desktop. Can everyone else see them?

...and yes - going for gold

Well, I used to be indecisive but now I'm not so sure To varnish or not to varnish. While I KNOW that the colour absolutely pops out when you gloss varnish a wood like this, there is NOTHING, SIMPLY NOTHING like the organic feel of a tru-oil slurry and buffed piece of wood. Silky smooth to the touch but undoubtedly wood, deep satin in colour tone. Here it is, photo'd in the shade, after two applications: ..and in the sunshine: The neck is going to be this finish whatever, but, I don't know...very tempted to forgo that extra bit of bling....

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1488626379' post='3250550'] Must be the swift logo, Andy. Looks sumptuous, like a slab of rich fruit cake. [/quote]

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1488571250' post='3250229'] If it was mine I would say "GLOSS VARNISH PLEASE!" Looking great and seems a super-fast build. Almost like you sneakily bought a kit and stuck it together :-) [/quote] Can't believe I haven't missed something really important out. If it carries on the way it's gone so far, it will be done in half my normal build time! And I'm not entirely sure why! Out in daylight, you can get a better idea of the likely end colour tone. This is just the sealer coat but will be fairly representative. I think you can also see why I'm getting a bit excited about the quilting - it's everywhere! It's confirmed in my head that gloss varnish is the way to go: The only thing I may have to rethink is the hardware colour. I've gone for black, but I think it needs something to lift and contrast. Probably chrome, but...would gold be too bling? The back has darkened also to a lovely...well...mahogany colour :

I haven't decided yet whether this will be a satin tru-oil slurry and buff, or subsequently gloss varnished. However, I do get the tru-oil sealer on early in the process because it gives me a decent idea how much the wood is going to darken and also shows up any missed sandpaper marks or PVA glue patches. This is typical of the degree of darkening once pretty much any finish goes on: Black walnut usually lives up to its name and REALLY darkens: One of the reasons this might be a candidate for a gloss final finish is that I can see quite a bit of quilting around the top horn and also where the controls will be. Quilting really only comes into its own with a gloss varnish on top. I suspect the overall colour of this top once its all done will be very similar to the back of my home-built OM acoustic although probably with less quilting (although this on the acoustic only showed through at all once I started varnishing!):

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1488545760' post='3249875'] I like that... [/quote] Thanks, Mick...do you see an evolution developing....

I know there are cheaper alternatives, but I do like the look and ease of installation of the original black-surround Luminlay. As long as you are using an accurate brad-point drill, it really is a piece of winkle: ...even for the difficult bits: I'm not completely sure about the contrasting washers, but this is broadly how the headstock will look. It will, of course, finish darker: This is what I mean by trying to reflect the body shape in the headstock in terms of the top and bottom horns and the offset: ...and - excusing the unfinished volute carve - the tuners similarly angled: I don't know if it makes a jot of difference, but it keeps [i]me[/i] amused at least

Added the wings to the headstock and sorted the positioning of the pickup ring: Also routed the rebate for the control chamber and made the cover from an offcut of the neck. The concept is the same as Nic's Mouradian and, like Nic's, the cover will be held on with magnets with an access thumb channel. Here's how it's looking so far: This is most definitely the fastest build so far! Unless MrsAndyjr1515 insists I do some useful and necessary stuff in the next few days (which as you can imagine is quite likely, based on that I haven't done anything useful or necessary non-build wise for past few weeks ), the basic build will be complete maybe even before the end of the weekend! I'm certainly at the 'final list' stage. Much of the speed is down to the relatively small number of snags and boo-boos. It's not the sign of a new trend but more probably that, statistically, at least ONE of my builds had to be major-stupid-mistake free!

If you've seen my other threads, this will be familiar Logo swifts hand-drawn and cut out of Mother of Pearl with a jeweller's saw, then traced round onto the headstock plate and routed with a 1mm bit using a Dremel precision router base: Then glued in with epoxy mixed with collected sanding dust: Then sanded flat. The wood has been dampened to show the eventual shade and contrast:

You can probably get this cheaper locally, but for your CNB, I would recommend getting a trial pack of Chestnut Spirit Wood Stains (Go for Wood Colours, not their similar Rainbow Colours pack). This is the slightly more expensive eBay offer but at least you can see what I'm talking about: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SSW-Chestnut-Products-Spirit-Stain-Sample-Pack-Wood-Colours-/132076487345?hash=item1ec05f42b1:g:sdYAAOSwnHZYigOv You get 12 small bottles of different coloured stains and I'm sure there are the colours you need amongst them. Each small bottle would easily do a whole guitar or bass, so you only need one pack. You need to sand the body first - sometimes there is a coating of oil on kit bodies which might inhibit the stain soaking in, then apply the stain with a cloth. Experiment on the back with a very small wipe of each to see what they look like - then having chosen the best colours, just sand back down to wood again before the final staining. Start with your best reddish stain, then at the edges move to the best browner option (Probably the mahogany or rosewood stains will probably the best - I think there are at least 3 mahogany shades in the pack) Where the transition is, just go over the brownish stain with the reddish one to soften the transition. Same for the darker stain you might want to choose for the back. Tip - the colour of the stain when it is still damp is the best indication of how it will look when you apply the final clear finish. Hope this helps

Wow - looking at those body sections, that's quite a construction! Can't wait

[quote name='Bastav' timestamp='1488377679' post='3248393'] It´s looking great! Youre working superfast as per usual, making the rest of us look bad... keep it up [/quote] Well, this one is going so fast I am certain I must have forgotten to do something important !

After trying a few passes, finally got a plate of around the right thickness: I will then be adding a couple of swifts to the plate and a couple of small mahogany wings to the headstock

And so to the headstock. I will be following the recent theme of trying to reflect the essence of the body shape in the shape and carve of the headstock. It will be faced with walnut from offcuts of the body top, filed away at the end to expose the maple and mahogany underneath. The challenge is trying to create a bit of harmony shape-wise, while still trying to fit the practicalities in (physical size and accessibility of the tuning heads, straight string-runs, etc.. This is what I've come up with so far: I'm going to have a bash at slicing a 3-4mm sliver of walnut on my extremely cheap and small bandsaw today. If I am successful, I can cut the headstock shape from it, including the tuner holes, and make absolutely sure that everything fits, is straight, etc, before taking a fretsaw or rasp file to the headstock bit of the through-neck!

With the fretboard now on, I have done the rough-carve of the neck and volute. These are my main weapons of choice: The main one of the three is the cabinet scraper - very controllable and yet quite quick to shape. I take the bulk off with the spokeshave but go to the scraper quite early because it is very easy to dig just a tad too deep with a spokeshave! The micro-plane (I have also a curved one) I just use as is (ie not attached to the handle), holding either end wearing thick gloves. I use the microplanes generally to tidy up the area round the volute. For most builders, doing the neck is the most enjoyable bit - certainly my favourite bit of a build. Here it is, rough-carved: Visually, the neck from the back is very similar to Nic's Mouradian-esque

Thanks for the update It's a great looking design and build and the learning points you raise bode very well for the future ones. Improvement on something that's pretty darned good to start off with is well worth following - can't wait

I generally loosely wrap the trussrods in plumbers PTFE tape. I wouldn't necessarily want to try it unless I had to, but in theory my truss rods should be removable and replaceable if needs-be. I do, however, also stress check the welds of all of the rods that I use. The PTFE tape keeps any glue that might seep past the capping (unlikely if it fits right) away from the truss rod itself. I use a length of 6mm binding from an old acoustic build as the cap: After rechecking the flatness of the neck, and chiselling flat the small section where the fretboard goes on top of the body, I then clamped the fretboard, using radius blocks as cauls to even the pressure across the length and sides. I won't know until it's fully dry just how successful this method is going to be...

Over the weekend I popped down to the cellar every hour or so to fit a couple of frets. By this morning, I'd finished all 24 I normally glue the fretboard on before fretting but thought I'd try a different approach this time - there are pro's and con's of both ways. The angle is lower at the nut end to lessen the impact of the fanning for the bulk of the first octave. As far as these things go, though, it is a relatively modest multiscale.

Looks good They're pretty darned good, the Harley Bentons, aren't they? What's the weight like on this one?

Can't wait, Norris!