Random Guitar Builds

[Jimothey]

1 hour ago, Pea Turgh said:

Rusty metal sheet?  Oxidized copper?  Normal plastic would look too clean!

I had some old galv ducting so I thought I’d give it a try I like it!!!!

[Jimothey]

56 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

But they’re - ugh - six strings - they’ll look okay but just sound weedy 

I know but I’ve done a Strat for my daughter for Christmas so I thought I’d make a guitar so I can play along with her 

Also I’ve made all the basses that I wanted to build so its an excuse to build something else.....👍

[ezbass]

6 hours ago, Jimothey said:

Here’s the body after a couple of coats of tinted Danish Oil on the sides and plain Danish Oil on top, I’m going to sand the top back a little bit so the colour will probably lighten a bit..........

I’m now in two minds whether to bother with the fake branding or just do it like a standard barncaster with a pickguard

I’m thinking for the pickguard either aged White or Black???

Opinions please??

That white, right there looks the biz.

[Geek99]

4 hours ago, Jimothey said:

I know but I’ve done a Strat for my daughter for Christmas so I thought I’d make a guitar so I can play along with her 

Also I’ve made all the basses that I wanted to build so its an excuse to build something else.....👍

Why not take the path of the righteous man ** and play bass along with her. Then it won’t look like you’re playing a toy 
 

** cf Pulp Fiction

Edited December 9, 2019 by Geek99

[Jimothey]

54 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Why not take the path of the righteous man ** and play bass along with her. Then it won’t look like you’re playing a toy 
 

** cf Pulp Fiction

That will come after when I’ve taught her some chords and a few riffs.........👍

[Geek99]

11 hours ago, Jimothey said:

That will come after when I’ve taught her some chords and a few riffs.........👍

Till then you’re stuck in fisher price world .... 

[Hanry]

On 28/11/2019 at 12:52, Jimothey said:

Here’s a barncaster........just imagine a Tele made out of knackered timber and relict hardware
.........
Typically they are made from reclaimed timber off barns hence the name..........👍

Thanks, I had heard of frankencasters but not barncasters. Looks gorgeous!
They bring to mind the days long past when LeFay bought the floors from a disused dancehall that had been a social hot spot for generations... they used selected boards for bodies of their bases and called the wood "properly pre-grooved" - ever since I have been hoping to find a disused Victorian dancehall I can take some floor boards from!

[Jimothey]

1 hour ago, Hanry said:

Thanks, I had heard of frankencasters but not barncasters. Looks gorgeous!
They bring to mind the days long past when LeFay bought the floors from a disused dancehall that had been a social hot spot for generations... they used selected boards for bodies of their bases and called the wood "properly pre-grooved" - ever since I have been hoping to find a disused Victorian dancehall I can take some floor boards from!

Mine is nothing that posh it’s just an old scaffold board I nicked off site the other week 

I did quite a few years ago got some reclaimed Oak flooring that had been ripped out of the grand hall in a local mental hospital the grain on it was crazy!!.........😜

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by Jimothey

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, Hanry said:

They bring to mind the days long past when LeFay bought the floors from a disused dancehall that had been a social hot spot for generations... they used selected boards for bodies of their bases and called the wood "properly pre-grooved" - ever since I have been hoping to find a disused Victorian dancehall I can take some floor boards from!

Other sources of "pre-grooved" timber can be found:

 

[Stub Mandrel]

On 28/11/2019 at 13:30, Jimothey said:

I've been experimenting with ways to relic the Chrome

Be aware taht hydropchloric acid with chromium dissolved in it it going to be exquisitely poisonous in so many ways...

[Jimothey]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Be aware taht hydropchloric acid with chromium dissolved in it it going to be exquisitely poisonous in so many ways...

I’m not using anything that strong it’s just brick cleaner (muriatic acid) with some wire wool in it to help with the oxidation process 

[Geek99]

9 hours ago, Jimothey said:

I’m not using anything that strong it’s just brick cleaner (muriatic acid) with some wire wool in it to help with the oxidation process 

You can use toilet duck too

@Jimotheymy mother Used a scaffold board chopped into three to make a new top for an old butchers table. We had to make do with a wobbly three board table top for months whilst it settled. 

Edited December 11, 2019 by Geek99

[Jimothey]

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

You can use toilet duck too

@Jimotheymy mother Used a scaffold board chopped into three to make a new top for an old butchers table. We had to make do with a wobbly three board table top for months whilst it settled. 

I tried Toilet cleaner but it didn’t do anything that’s when I tried brick cleaner which didn’t do anything on its own but as soon as I chucked in some wire wool Bobs your uncle and craddock’s your aunt lovely bit of tarnish 

The scaffold board I reappropriated had been used inside so it wasn’t wet but if it does check a little bit then it will all add to the charm of the guitar............😀

[Stub Mandrel]

11 hours ago, Jimothey said:

I’m not using anything that strong it’s just brick cleaner (muriatic acid) with some wire wool in it to help with the oxidation process 

Google 'muriatic acid'... it's another name for hydrochloric acid. Plus if it's taking off chrome, the solution will then contain dissolved chrome and that's nasty too.

Seriously, don't make the mistake of thinking brick cleaner isn't 'anything that strong' - with battery acid (sulphuric acid) and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) its one of the three most nasty readily available chemicals on the shelves.

Please be careful, it really is nasty.

[Jimothey]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Google 'muriatic acid'... it's another name for hydrochloric acid. Plus if it's taking off chrome, the solution will then contain dissolved chrome and that's nasty too.

Seriously, don't make the mistake of thinking brick cleaner isn't 'anything that strong' - with battery acid (sulphuric acid) and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) its one of the three most nasty readily available chemicals on the shelves.

Please be careful, it really is nasty.

Thanks for your concern but when it comes to brick cleaner the percentage of Hydrochloric acid is very low and I’m in the building trade and been using it for years to be honest nitromors hurts more when you get it on your hands than brick cleaner does but I probably really should wear gloves when I’m using it!! 

Brick cleaner on its own doesn’t dissolve the Chrome I had to dull the chrome first with sandpaper then submerged it in the brick cleaner for a few days and it still didn’t really do a lot it was only when some steel wool was added that a reaction actually started to happen.........👍

[Stub Mandrel]

14 minutes ago, Jimothey said:

Thanks for your concern but when it comes to brick cleaner the percentage of Hydrochloric acid is very low and I’m in the building trade and been using it for years to be honest nitromors hurts more when you get it on your hands than brick cleaner does but I probably really should wear gloves when I’m using it!! 

OK, but it comes in different strengths. The 10% should be OK but if someone reads this and buys high strength brick acid because they think it will work better, it is very nasty.

[Jimothey]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

OK, but it comes in different strengths. The 10% should be OK but if someone reads this and buys high strength brick acid because they think it will work better, it is very nasty.

You’re completely right people who don’t have experience in using brick acid etc should really take care and wear appropriate PPE and read the coshh/data sheet before using it 

The Galv pickguard I thought looked a bit to bright and shiny so I used a solution called T Wash which is used on galvanised and lead work to give a patina because I sanded to pickguard first it went a nice rusty colour which I think is a lot more in keeping with the look

But if you use it on on fresh galvanised steel it will go black

 

[Si600]

To mildly derail this thread slightly and move from building basses (take note of the B word in Basschat Mr @Jimothey 😜) and move on to building walls, no-one said I can't do a build diary on that did they?

If I want to clean some mortar off bricks that I had to put back after the insulation was replaced, if I scrub it off with a wire brush presumably I should use a non ferrous one to avoid leaving black metal marks on the bricks?

[Jimothey]

47 minutes ago, Si600 said:

To mildly derail this thread slightly and move from building basses (take note of the B word in Basschat Mr @Jimothey 😜) and move on to building walls, no-one said I can't do a build diary on that did they?

If I want to clean some mortar off bricks that I had to put back after the insulation was replaced, if I scrub it off with a wire brush presumably I should use a non ferrous one to avoid leaving black metal marks on the bricks?

There will be a barncaster bass being built soon!! I did put the thread on Guitarchat but no one seems to frequent it and the people who are on are all from this forum anyway..........😜

ow long has the mortar been on?if it’s only a few days then you could just use a stiff broom/brush but any longer I would use a brass wire brush which should remove it fine..........👍

Edited December 17, 2019 by Jimothey

[Jimothey]

The barncaster bass has been started today! (My phone is knackered at the mo so I can’t take any photos hopefully it will be repaired in the next few days)

Its going to be a reclaimed wood body ‘51 style control plate with an all black neck I’ve got laying about that I’ll probably relic a little bit? Relict Chrome hardware with just a split p in the standard place and it will probably have fake branding on it which might be the ‘Gentleman Jack’ or ‘Jameson’ logo which I’m going to try and do tomorrow .........👍

 

Edited December 19, 2019 by Jimothey

[Jimothey]

Work is winding down a bit now so I had some time to get on with the Barncasters

Heres ‘Ole Smokey’

And here’s ‘The Bulleit’ I can’t decide if it looks better with or without a pick guard

And finally the Barncaster bass I’m having the same dilemma about the pickguard

I'm leaning more towards no pickguard on the Barncaster bass..............😀

[ezbass]

For my tastes, the Bulleit without pickguard and the bass with. Really looking forward to seeing Old Smoky put together, the boards looks great.

[Andyjr1515]

That branding has come out stunningly well. 

On the back of that, I actually prefer all of them without pickguards but that is just a personal view of course.  Whatever you decide, these are going to look quite special

[Jimothey]

3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

That branding has come out stunningly well. 

On the back of that, I actually prefer all of them without pickguards but that is just a personal view of course.  Whatever you decide, these are going to look quite special

Thanks mate it came out better than I thought it would! it’s amazing what you can do with a bit of watered down PVA and a laser jet printout!?! 

Ole Smoky and the Bass are definitely not going to have pickguards but the jury is still out on the Bulleit??..............🤔

[Jimothey]

My 2 necks turned up today and I’m really impressed by the quality of them especially as they only cost £20 each! there’s no sharp fret ends and I checked it for high/low frets but I couldn’t find any!.............😀