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scrumpymike's (a) Rascal


Andyjr1515

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1 hour ago, TheGreek said:

Not quite, the birds are Martins, not swifts.

That's search engines for you Mick.  You type swifts and you get Suzukis.  Thanks for raising the issue.

If Andy wants it reworked there is room for other improvements too.

Edited by SpondonBassed
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Main decorating tasks are done :)

I've done the 'S' carve and that has taken out a decent amount of weight (around 10% of the body weight compared with the Rascal)

Still a more opportunity to take out, and this is still at very rough carve stage, but this is the general idea:

5CbvQTOl.jpg

 

From the front it looks much the same (although there is one variation I will bounce off Mike):

5s4Hal4l.jpg

 

...but you see the more aggressive carving at the back:

NRoWY7Wl.jpg

 

You will see that I've expanded the size of the main control chamber to take a little more wood out (again, this in the bulk wood removal state) but it also gives a bit more room for the wires and connections.

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22 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Not quite, the birds are Martins, not swifts.

Serves me right for believing image search engine results.  GIGO.  I checked with RSPB and one or two other authorities this time.

21 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

...If Andy wants it reworked there is room for other improvements too.

Andy, I hope you will accept my apologies.

Fixed

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2 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

Serves me right for believing image search engine results.  GIGO.  I checked with RSPB and one or two other authorities this time.

Andy, I hope you will accept my apologies.

Fixed

No apologies needed.  The signwriter is already on with the new version, which is equally magnificent incidentally.  It's going to be 8 feet x 12 feet, fixed to the front gable of the house and is going to be MrsAndyjr1515's Christmas surprise :D

 

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No point in trying to take a photo because it's too dark, but the carving is just about done.  Should be able to do the last carve / weight relief tweaks tomorrow and start the final sanding... 

 

It's heading towards 1lb lighter than the Rascal.  Doesn't sound a lot but it will make a tangible difference to the feel.

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Pretty much finished the carve and sanding has started.  I've taken the arm relief up to the wenge but not cut through for the full 'sucked lozenge' effect.  You still see the layers nicely from the edge view, but the front on view is pretty much Precision Lyte still:

pXg4ftUl.jpg

 

Clearly there's sanding to be done at behind the pickup chamber and also I may take a touch more bulk out of the lower waist relief:

tz6uKr6l.jpg

 

The S curve slimming seen from the top is pretty much how I wanted it to be (I know....pure chance :D )

6MZEhhfl.jpg

 

And here's the edge of the arm relief:

ldwKLRsl.jpg

 

 

Tomorrow will see the finalising of the sanding and then tackling those challenging hatches!  I can feel a new bandsaw blade coming on.... ;)

 

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One of the things Mike asked me to put in was access for adjusting the truss rod without having to take the neck off.  A bit of chisel-work and we have it :)

SRI0ybXl.jpg

 

Finish shaping and sanding complete:

HORK3Ugl.jpg

tLSZgfTl.jpg

 

Next job (this afternoon, with any luck ;)  ) is slicing some walnut for the hatches, routing the rebate and bending / fitting them.  In the meantime, the Osmo Polyx 3044 is on its way to me, as are the captive nuts and machine screws for securing the neck (another request from Mike after talking about a similar thing I did for a replacement Wal neck).

All of a sudden, this is getting quite close....

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21 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Coming on a treat...can't wait to see the finish once it's been Osmo'd.

Daft question, but you're not going to use that genuine Fender neck plate are you?

I was going to...certainly I have no issue from a t/mark point of view as it is a genuine Fender neck and bits - or is it the visual? 

I'll check with Mike - ferrules would be just as easy

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9 hours ago, MoonBassAlpha said:

I always thought it would be a nice touch to recess the neck plate so it doesn't catch on things. Same with side mounted jack socket plates, but hardly anyone does that. 

I know what you mean - but actually quite a bit of extra precision work and if the tiniest bit out of true would look very poor indeed.  The jack socket plate is even worse because it's going round a curve at the same time.  I can see why it's not done in general terms.

 

Talking about precision work, getting gap-free hatches is also a challenge.  I'm getting better at this.  The rebates aren't at the full depth yet, but here are the basic hatches before fitting and sanding:

kAh1QaPl.jpg

The hatches are cut from offcut of the walnut top (they will contrast nicely once the finish has been put on) and will be held with neo magnets.

The main hatch has been bent on my acoustic sides heat bending pipe to follow the contour of the body (you can see the pressure lines in the pic above - these will sand fully out):

E6fijBOl.jpg

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2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

I know what you mean - but actually quite a bit of extra precision work and if the tiniest bit out of true would look very poor indeed.  The jack socket plate is even worse because it's going round a curve at the same time.  I can see why it's not done in general terms.

Oh yes, I can see that for you, but it's just one more step on a CNC router for the mass produced stuff. They're doing the same sort of cuts for the cavity panels anyhow...

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I've spoken about the finishing oil Osmo Polyx 3044.

In case you missed @TheGreek 's Psilos build thread, this was a version of Osmo I found when we were looking for a finish that wouldn't darken the wood too much.  It aims to try to leave the finish closer to sanded cleaned wood than the 'wetting' effect almost all oils and varnishes do to timber.  It worked great on Mick's.

Based on that build, @scrumpymike  asked me if I could use the same oil to see how it fared with the walnut, which I was happy to do.  As the Osmo isn't really intended for use with darker woods, it was uncertain how well it would work.  

The great thing, however, is that - because I use a tru-oil slurry and buff now as a sealing and filling process before sanding it all off to then apply the intended finish coats, I could do an absolute A/B comparison of Tru-Oil vs Osmo Polyx 3044.  And here it is:

A/B Comparison of Tru-Oil vs Osmo Polyx 3044

 In both cases, the body has has a single application of oil, slurried with 400 grit wet and dry and then immediately wiped off

Tru Oil:

NTrPQ5Zl.jpg

 

Once fully dry.  This was all sanded off, leaving the body in the same pre-oil state.

Osmo Polyx 3044:

KAIei3wl.jpg

Quite different - especially in the darker figuring areas where the tru-oil (and water does the same) turns the figuring grey to almost black.  The Osmo, on the other hand, retains the light brown.  The lighting is about the same in both shots.  If it's a bright enough day tomorrow, I'll repeat the shot with the same background as the tru-oil - it actually shows the contrast even more.

In real life it looks lovely.  Also, once it's had a few more slurry and buff coats, the silky satin feel has to be experienced to be believed :)

Here's the back with the Osmo - DON'T PANIC, MIKE - THE DISTORTION IS THE CAMERA LENS (trust me - everything is straight and true! Honest ;) )  The edges of the hatches still need tidying up but this is basically how they will look:

sp30fzrl.jpg

The matching up of the sapele grain and the walnut grain, by the way, is total coincidence... :D

And this is the 'fan who is getting too up close and personal' 's view:

CykNf8Vl.jpg

 

 

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