Another hand-tool LP from scratch!

[emoney]

That looks very sexy, go with that.

You'll be happy to know I used a "rasp" last night on my ES-inspired build's top.

....of course, it was a "Rasp Bit" that I put in my Drill Press, but still.......

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by emoney

That looks very sexy, go with that.

You'll be happy to know I used a "rasp" last night on my ES-inspired build's top.

....of course, it was a "Rasp Bit" that I put in my Drill Press, but still.......

I spend so much time with hand tools that I even speak with a rasp now.

['59_Standard]

Originally Posted by emoney

I was thinking that Barnaby should build a small foundry and actually make the
hardware out of real gold.......at least 14k.

In the lounge. On top of his Maple Chips, Mountain?

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by '59_Standard

In the lounge. On top of his Maple Chips, Mountain?

If I can stop the landlady eating 'em...

As it happens, I gave a big pile of woodchips to a friend with a barbeque and got roast turkey and beer in return.

Try doin' that with sawdust!

[VictOr358]

Small scale metal casting is not that difficult, and you can use a self made electric muffler furnace. I'm sure it'll count as powerless manufacturing, even if you're not spinning the generator all by yourself

Liquid blowtorches are way too nasty. If you want to go with a live fire, I suggest using an LPG torch instead. It's more predictable, yet might be less efficient. I tried to cast some bronze with various results. It's doable with a proper wax model. Although a centrifuge caster could be really handy here.

Ruthenium HW looks killer, yet I still vote for a satin Chrome

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by VictOr358

Small scale metal casting is not that difficult, and you can use a self made electric muffler furnace. I'm sure it'll count as powerless manufacturing, even if you're not spinning the generator all by yourself

Liquid blowtorches are way too nasty. If you want to go with a live fire, I suggest using an LPG torch instead. It's more predictable, yet might be less efficient. I tried to cast some bronze with various results. It's doable with a proper wax model. Although a centrifuge caster could be really handy here.

Ruthenium HW looks killer, yet I still vote for a satin Chrome

You know...there is a metalworking workshop nearby. I'm not sure what sort of equipment they have.

It's times like this that I miss living in rural Australia. There was room for this sort of thing, along with plenty of lunatics willing to give it a try. This may be why the whole place goes up in flames every year, of course...

[Riku]

Originally Posted by Tardis

How did you find my house?

Looking good B! That finish is going to absolutely pop when it's....finished? Haha it's looking great man keep up the good work

[caulfim]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

You know...there is a metalworking workshop nearby. I'm not sure what sort of equipment they have.

It's times like this that I miss living in rural Australia. There was room for this sort of thing, along with plenty of lunatics willing to give it a try. This may be why the whole place goes up in flames every year, of course...

It's been a long time since I heard someone say they missed rural Australia...

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Riku

How did you find my house?

Looking good B! That finish is going to absolutely pop when it's....finished? Haha it's looking great man keep up the good work

Cheers - I'm having fun with it. I'm just slowly building up lacquer coats right now and will let it dry out for a fortnight after that before final polishing. I only need to do the plates and truss rod cover and finish a little on the electronics, but am waiting until all the lacquer is on for that. It will help me from going stir crazy and polishing too early. I expect to be done around mid-March, if not slightly before.

Originally Posted by caulfim

It's been a long time since I heard someone say they missed rural Australia...

I know - I bet, if I lived there, I would go nuts, but it just seems like a nice antidote to Tokyo stress at times...

[caulfim]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

I know - I bet, if I lived there, I would go nuts, but it just seems like a nice antidote to Tokyo stress at times...

I think I'd enjoy Tokyo, although I'm guessing there'd be nowhere to row, and I do love a paddle so I'd go mad...

I can't stop looking back through all your work, if you didn't already have a wife I'm sure you'd have to hand carve a stick to beat the ladies off

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by caulfim

I think I'd enjoy Tokyo, although I'm guessing there'd be nowhere to row, and I do love a paddle so I'd go mad...

I can't stop looking back through all your work, if you didn't already have a wife I'm sure you'd have to hand carve a stick to beat the ladies off

Tokyo is a big, fun city. There are, by the way, places to row, with two serious rivers around the city.

Of course, what I'd really do if I wanted to spend all night fighting off girls would be to join a band instead of making instruments. My (single) guitarist friends tell me that life in that particular fast lane is good!

Funnily enough, I was talking yet again about starting a band the other night over beer with a 22-y.o. singer who was really keen. We would call it 'Dokukinoko', which means 'poisonous mushroom' and do mostly rock and punk. Imagine a cute Japanese babe screaming 'Fell in love with a girl' by the White Stripes into a mic at a thousand and one decibels in an underground club. Sadly, it was probably only the alcohol making us take the idea seriously...

[caulfim]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

Tokyo is a big, fun city. There are, by the way, places to row, with two serious rivers around the city.

Of course, what I'd really do if I wanted to spend all night fighting off girls would be to join a band instead of making instruments. My (single) guitarist friends tell me that life in that particular fast lane is good!

Funnily enough, I was talking yet again about starting a band the other night over beer with a 22-y.o. singer who was really keen. We would call it 'Dokukinoko', which means 'poisonous mushroom' and do mostly rock and punk. Imagine a cute Japanese babe screaming 'Fell in love with a girl' by the White Stripes into a mic at a thousand and one decibels in an underground club. Sadly, it was probably only the alcohol making us take the idea seriously...

I knew there were rivers, just figured rowing wouldn't be a big thing...

Well if you told them that you'd hand made the guitar you just played, you'd have no time to escape the ensuing avalanche...

Well you've got nothing to lose, try it and see what happens

[Barnaby]

Well, I haven't had much progress to report for ages. Today was a milestone of sorts. After a week or so of mist coats, the whole thing is ready and drying. Now, I will leave it to ‘gas off’ for a couple of weeks, allowing the finish to harden before final polishing.

The contrast between front and back:



The front:



The back:



There was some issue with blushing at one point, but I simply put some lacquer thinner on a rag and gave the surface a very, very quick pass. This took it right out, as there was only a thin layer of lacquer trapping the moisture. I can now work out the exact fit of the backplates and will prepare those, the truss rod and the pickups over the next couple of days. I don't have to be in the office until next Tuesday, so am thinking what to do after that. I have a plan for something involving a thinner piece of quilt maple that I bought by accident a year ago (I mistook 3/8" for 3/4", but it may yet turn out to be a happy error). There's also another piece of fun wood on the way that I may find an interesting use for...

The big question is whether I should do a build thread for those or not...there are a lot of threads on here now, and pretty well all of them are more interesting than mine would be - I mean, how many times do people want to see me use a bowsaw and a router plane on poor, innocent wood? What I may do is simply build it and take a few photos along the way, then present it all as a fait accompli around the middle of the year.

[rockdog]

Whoa, I wouldn't trust that plastic hanger...

Gorgeous top btw

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by rockdog

Whoa, I wouldn't trust that plastic hanger...

Gorgeous top btw

Thanks - you know, that never actually occurred to me! Yeah, I have been crazy hanging this on there... Luckily, it is a pretty light guitar, but why tempt fate - I just went and changed it to something a bit more secure.

Silly string is durable, right?

[rockdog]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

I just went and changed it to something a bit more secure.

Good to hear this!

I could already hear the guitar kissing the ground with the headstock first.
I hope I'll never hear that noise in reality.

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by rockdog

Good to hear this!

I could already hear the guitar kissing the ground with the headstock first.
I hope I'll never hear that noise in reality.

That would have been a bad thing to wake up to, I must admit. Thanks again!

Of course, then I would just have to make another guitar...oh, wait...

[Larsen]

Isn't it crazy, one is nearly done and you are thinking about the next one. I remember as I started I just wanted to have a Randy Rhodes as my first and only build. Now addicted in building as many many others :-)
You are doin a great job Barnaby and I enjoy regarding your threads.

[Bruiser74]

The hanger gave me cold sweats Barn!

I like the way the back and front colors jive, looks real nice.
B

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Larsen

Isn't it crazy, one is nearly done and you are thinking about the next one. I remember as I started I just wanted to have a Randy Rhodes as my first and only build. Now addicted in building as many many others :-)
You are doin a great job Barnaby and I enjoy regarding your threads.

Thank you! I agree that it becomes addictive and I'm not really sure why I am doing it. There is something wonderfully elusive in the build process...but does the world need more guitars?

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Bruiser74

The hanger gave me cold sweats Barn!

I like the way the back and front colors jive, looks real nice.
B

Now I think back on it, me too...

Glad you like the colours. My hope is that the hardware ties everything together nicely.

[Cpt_Gonzo]

My GF approves the color choice. And If she says so, it HAS to be good. She's very picky

[VictOr358]

Originally Posted by Cpt_Gonzo

My GF approves the color choice. And If she says so, it HAS to be good. She's very picky

So does my wife. And she's a painter.
So, Barnaby, you appear to be a picky lady pleaser

That hanger though... made me a saaaad Victor with compassionately shrunk you know what...

[fatdaddypreacher]

looking really sweet, dude. the blue is beautiful, and the back is terrific. love the lines on the back. you keep raising the bar

[emoney]

Look good, Barn. I feel you on the "thread" thingy. It becomes an integral part of the
build when you start doing one, but at the same time, I'm like you in thinking "how many
LP build threads can there be?". You do hafta know that at least yours are different with
the use of all hand tools.

Maybe it's time to try your hand at something different (ES maybe?), and then you'd be
doing an entirely different build thread!

[TKOjams]

B, you're a madman!! Talk about attetion to detail.
Only you, my good man would think of dying the maple inside the control cavities to match the top.
Hats off to you, my friend.:

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Cpt_Gonzo

My GF approves the color choice. And If she says so, it HAS to be good. She's very picky

Tell her thanks! This will be good to remember six years down the track when you wind up buying one of my special handmade Loveshark Custom models for a horrifying amount of money and she hits the roof. You can say "Don't you remember what you told me way back in 2012, honey? This wasn't my choice...it was ours!"

Originally Posted by VictOr358

So does my wife. And she's a painter.
So, Barnaby, you appear to be a picky lady pleaser

That hanger though... made me a saaaad Victor with compassionately shrunk you know what...

...The Loveshark is a chick magnet? Finally! And now there is one less dashingly handsome Russian man to compete for their attention (until things reinflate).

Originally Posted by fatdaddypreacher

looking really sweet, dude. the blue is beautiful, and the back is terrific. love the lines on the back. you keep raising the bar

Thank you so much - I am certainly pleasantly surprised with how the neck joint turned out. The whole thing sits against me very naturally when I try it in playing position and I can't wait to try some high-neck solos.

Originally Posted by emoney

Look good, Barn. I feel you on the "thread" thingy. It becomes an integral part of the
build when you start doing one, but at the same time, I'm like you in thinking "how many
LP build threads can there be?". You do hafta know that at least yours are different with
the use of all hand tools.

Maybe it's time to try your hand at something different (ES maybe?), and then you'd be
doing an entirely different build thread!

I'll leave the ES to you for now, I think. It will appear in the future, however. I always talk about doing replicas at some point, and my current plan is to try to do four - a '54 blackguard tele, a '69 Olympic White strat, a '59 'burst and a '58 ES-335-TD. It's not because I want the things themselves, but, if I can replicate those four classic instruments, I think I will have passed some sort of personal test. Who knows - I keep changing my mind about this stuff!

As for my next build, I am making plans right now. I went for a long walk last night and considered all sorts of construction options...

Originally Posted by TKOjams

B, you're a madman!! Talk about attetion to detail.
Only you, my good man would think of dying the maple inside the control cavities to match the top.
Hats off to you, my friend.:

Pot and kettle - you're the detail king! I still can't come close to the level of your binding. I do, however, really appreciate your noticing.

Actually, I have to confess that it's a little worse than the cavities - I made a specially long swab and did the inside of the switch cable channel too. Now - nobody will ever, ever see that, but it's there. I need help!

[TKOjams]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

Pot and kettle - you're the detail king! I still can't come close to the level of your binding. I do, however, really appreciate your noticing.

Actually, I have to confess that it's a little worse than the cavities - I made a specially long swab and did the inside of the switch cable channel too. Now - nobody will ever, ever see that, but it's there. I need help!

Help is on the way!!!

['59_Standard]

Is the Origami paint hanger in the wash this week.

Originally Posted by Barnaby

[JayDee80]

First, I am not a woman but really like the color, too!
What makes me think... Is the Loveshark male or female? Anway, he/she/it will like that deep blue!

Originally Posted by Barnaby

I'll leave the ES to you for now, I think. It will appear in the future, however. I always talk about doing replicas at some point, and my current plan is to try to do four - a '54 blackguard tele, a '69 Olympic White strat, a '59 'burst and a '58 ES-335-TD. It's not because I want the things themselves, but, if I can replicate those four classic instruments, I think I will have passed some sort of personal test. Who knows - I keep changing my mind about this stuff!

As for my next build, I am making plans right now. I went for a long walk last night and considered all sorts of construction options...

...and after you did all that replicas, search for some good red wines in Tokyo. And several good (german) beers. And a really nice scotch. Then, lock your door, so that all the beautiful girls can't come in. Drink some of the beers first, then switch to the red wine (note: "Wein auf Bier, das rat' ich dir!" - you should drink wine after beer, not the other way round, for all the non-german-speakers). Some good music would be appropriate. Then, turn to the scotch (the landlady might not like the nice cigar which normally goes with it), take a sheet of paper and a pencil,

and draw your OWN design.

I'm very sure it will be as tasteful as spectacular.