What's on YOUR workbench right now?

[Roman]

Originally Posted by dougk

Literally on my workbench:

Well Doug, it's about time you are doing some work.

[dougk]

Originally Posted by Roman Rist

Well Doug, it's about time you are doing some work.

LOL take a few days off and everyone's on you

I have a couple more out there that are ready for wet sanding... then hopefully back in the booth with another half dozen or so next week.

[MRJ]

Here's my newest prototype, ready for sanding and buffing.

[j.six]

First neck thru.. a lefty, no less. My headstock design, and what I'm calling a "Galaxy V"



Top will be Kawasaki green, black back and sides for the body, neck will be gunstock oiled. Stainless steel frets, blah blah blah

Sully

[slapshot]

[DRF]

My PRS clone is taking awhile but coming along. I just stained the body and am building the neck. I may give the ebony fretboard a flame maple binding.

[IMG]

[MRJ]

That PRS is really looking great!

[rcole_sooner]

Yeah, I like that PRS a lot.

[RAHAZ]

That finish is going to be amazing once it gets clear coated! What was your finishing process like and what dyes did you use?

Originally Posted by DRF

[dougk]

That is seriously exceptional work.

[DRF]

Wow thanks guys.

RAHAZ, I sanded to 320,wiped on teal green with a foam sponge then wiped excess off,then after drying very lightly sanded repeated process with black then dark blue. The product I use is Saman,not that its the best but its easy to get.

[RAHAZ]

Originally Posted by DRF

RAHAZ, I sanded to 320,wiped on teal green with a foam sponge then wiped excess off,then after drying very lightly sanded repeated process with black then dark blue. The product I use is Saman,not that its the best but its easy to get.

Thanks for the Info. DRF. One more question: On the intermediate sanding was it with 320 or a higher grit?

[DRF]

After first teal stain I very very lightly sanded-just breaking down raised wood fibres from being wet. The final blue stain just left it on-no sanding. We'll see how it turns out after Its sprayed.

[DRF]

Whats on my workbench? -don't have anything interesting to report- but man I got a ton of sh*t It struck me to take a pic of it. I need cupboards.

[RAHAZ]

Nice work area DRF! I am jealous of all that room.

[DRF]

Originally Posted by RAHAZ

Nice work area DRF! I am jealous of all that room.

Thanks,its comparatively small to some of the other guys shops on here but its way better than the little wobbly table next to the freezer in my parents basement. It smells like sawdust and construction-y things with an under current of coffee and cigarettes mmmmm.

[RAHAZ]

This just came in yesterday for one of my next two builds. I wet it with a damp rag and shot. This one will be 2.5" of solid Curly Redwood that I picked up for a great price. Any Thoughts on aligning the center of the body to be perpendicular to the general "curl" line?
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

[GreaseBox]

[Texas07R8]

I've got a 335 and a LP Special inspired custom build on the bench right now. The Special is based on a DC 50s Special with a few mods I wanted. It's got a one piece mahogany body and neck. The fretboard is fully bound with white binding and trapezoid inlays and I'm planning on setting the neck a little deeper than a regular DC, the tenon is going to be about 0.75" longer and the fretboard will overlap the body by two frets rather than butting up to the body like my 59 LPJ.

The body is also bound with single white binding and I've glued a mahogany burl book matched veneer top over the body and it looks sweet. I think I'll make this one all natural with only clear lacquer over the mahogany. For the burled top, I think I'm going to spray a light burst ring around the edges with red mahogany to accent the binding edges. I was going to spray the neck and body cherry trans red but after gluing the burled top on and finishing the binding on the body and wiping it down with naptha I realized it'll look a lot better if I just clear coat the wood.

The 335 was an epi custom shop dot conversion. I stripped the neck finish and reshaped the headstock and used a Crox overlay with a MOP crown and logo. Then I popped off the stock unbound fretboard and installed a new board with cream binding and trapezoid inlays. LOOKS 100% better! For the electronics, I installed a pair of chrome 57 classic pickups, PIO caps, etc. Also changed all the hardware from gold to chrome. I plugged the tuner holes with mahogany and re-drilled the holes for the Grover keystone tuners (BTW these are really nice tuners!) I reshot black over the neck joint feathering black from the joint slightly into the neck above the heel with a soft taper, same thing on the headstock, it's all black and the back fades into the natural wood neck just under the nut. It turned out real nice. I just need to tweak the setup and polish the finish, hopefully it's hard enough to sand and buff now..

[treddingjr]

This:


African mahogany back, maple cap. The carve rises 3/8 inch above the edge of the top, total 5/8 of maple. I have a Brazilian fretboard with 6105 frets, dot markers. The body is bound on the top edge and if all goes according to plan, I will cut the neck pocket tomorrow.
The neck will join the body at the 19th fret.

Plans are for a cherry top, dark brown back, two humbuckers, one volume, two tone, and a three way switch, stop tailpiece, ABR-1 bridge.

[loveboat]

Just started making some templates for my build

[MRJ]

A few Teles.

[Ken McKay]

Just a bunch of drafting tools, rulers and a mold for the design of a 59 dot neck ES 335 TD. This is the mold which was cast from an original plaster cast of the 59. I added the bondo to this to compensate for the spring back when pressing the veneer. The mold has to be a little beefier. Trial and error will tell. Next I will press a test plate and compare to the original cast.

The f hole placement and controls are a little trickier than it seems since the surface is curved. An f-hole tracing taken from the instrument will be different shaped slightly if laid on a flat surface and traced, and an outline taken from a photo will be different if laid on a curved surface. Just a bunch of little details that go into making it look like a 59 dot.

Ever notice that the horns differ slightly even in the same year 335?

[Freddy G]

Hi guys,
Lots on the go, so I took photos of the different projects on my benches.

First up is this lovely R9 in for a top refin...we're going for a lemon drop.



Next in line is a custom tele build, ultra lightwieght two piece swamp ash body and a nice figured/birdseye maple neck.








Next is a steel string acoustic build. This one has Brazilian rosewood back and sides and a Kermodie spruce top.





This is a double bass in for repair and set-up.




A couple of bodies ready for lacquer. Both the Pbass and the strat body will be finished in Sonic Blue nitro lacquer from Re-ranch.




This is a fairchild 670(ish) compressor clone. It works and sounds fantastic, now I just have to tidy up the wiring and get a nice front panel made.




And last, a small guitar amp prototype. A friend came over yesterday and we checked out how it sounded with some cleanish tele tones. Next I'll do a little video of what this amp sounds like with my Lester, and with some ballsier overdiven sounds.



Here's a video clip I made yesterday, you can hear what the amp sounds like.

YouTube - tube guitar amp prototype

YouTube - tube guitar amp prototype

[Ken McKay]

impressive work shown here on the workbench.

That amp sounds like Mearl Haggard after chocolate ice cream, Cognac and a big fat cigar

[Freddy G]

Originally Posted by ken mckay

that amp sounds like mearl haggard after chocolate ice cream, cognac and a big fat cigar:d

lol!

[RAHAZ]

Freddy G. That amp sounds spectacular!

[nicolasrivera]

Originally Posted by RAHAZ

Freddy G. That amp sounds spectacular!

Yep, pretty amazing, what tubes are you using? would those be the stock one that you are considering for the production?

[Freddy G]

Thanks guys,
preamp tubes are 12ax7 and output are 6bq5
I'm going to try some EL84s to see what they sound like.

[nicolasrivera]

Originally Posted by Freddy G

Thanks guys,
preamp tubes are 12ax7 and output are 6bq5
I'm going to try some EL84s to see what they sound like.

and what brand do you prefer?