Handtool build #2 - ESP/LTD-ish

[poro78]

Tommy, that looks too hi-tech for me.
I'm quite hopeless when it comes to electrickery - I can use power switch and that's about all I know about these things.

Today I had the last day of my 10 week's practice at the bank and next week we're going to head up north to visit relatives... After that it seems I'm quite available to continue my build every day... but I also signed a part-time contract with the bank, so I might be called to work now and then.

Oh, build related stuff also, I got something from the mail yesterday.

Hipshot Grip-Lock tuners.

And a black tune-o-matic bridge.

Tomorrow I'll be sharpening my plane irons and getting some progress done.
Can't wait to try my router plane! Yay!

 

[poro78]

Phew. It took me couple of hours to get the router plane's blade fixed.
It looked fine, but closer inspection revealed that it was just a nice looking, really dull blade.

So because I don't have a grinder I had to do all with sandpaper and sharpening stones. Really nice.
Took me couple hours to get it really sharp, but it was worth it.

Mirror, mirror...

And the test... Scrap piece of khaya...

And 5 minutes later.

Bit shaky first steps, but damn this is fine tool.
Now I can't wait to butcher some real guitar wood with this!

 

[crazygtr]

Nice! I don't know much about hand tools but thinking how one would angle a hand plane for a slicing action, can't that angle be grinded on the actual blade? Just guessing.

 

[tommyd73069]

Tommy, that looks too hi-tech for me.
I'm quite hopeless when it comes to electrickery - I can use power switch and that's about all I know about these things.

If you'd hook it up to the hampsters, you wouldn't need to deal with electrickery. Actually, an old treadle powered sewing machine would be perfect and would keep you off the grid.

This thing is so simple it's almost funny. After building one, I'd never give $4-500 for a store-bought winder. It wouldn't be any more able than what I built for the volume I plan on building.

It was 10 times easier to build than sharpening or using that router plane.

I've seen your work and you ain't fooling me into believing you couldn't build something like this, too. You've done some stuff by hand that most of us wouldn't attempt with all the power tools at our disposal.

Keep posting your progress, it's my favorite shows on the internet

 

[poro78]

If you'd hook it up to the hampsters, you wouldn't need to deal with electrickery. Actually, an old treadle powered sewing machine would be perfect and would keep you off the grid.

This thing is so simple it's almost funny. After building one, I'd never give $4-500 for a store-bought winder. It wouldn't be any more able than what I built for the volume I plan on building.

It was 10 times easier to build than sharpening or using that router plane.

I've seen your work and you ain't fooling me into believing you couldn't build something like this, too. You've done some stuff by hand that most of us wouldn't attempt with all the power tools at our disposal.

Keep posting your progress, it's my favorite shows on the internet

Actually I've been circling around couple of ancient sewing machines at the flea market...
(But damn those things are expensive here. )

10 times easier to build that sharpening, you say?
How did you know that I didn't use honing guide this time?

For me it seems that sharpening (even without honing guide) is much less intimidating than task that includes wires, soldering, circuits and crap.
By the way, I opened the calculator and it had this printed on plastic kind of circuit... So the quest for the counter continues...


I think I'll sharpen couple blades more, #71 and #110 are now sharp enough for shaving... I guess it's time to sharpen #6 and some chisels for tomorrow.
And tomorrow I'll finally work on the guitar again.

 

[tommyd73069]

Actually I've been circling around couple of ancient sewing machines at the flea market...
(But damn those things are expensive here. )

10 times easier to build that sharpening, you say?
How did you know that I didn't use honing guide this time?

For me it seems that sharpening (even without honing guide) is much less intimidating than task that includes wires, soldering, circuits and crap.
By the way, I opened the calculator and it had this printed on plastic kind of circuit... So the quest for the counter continues...


I think I'll sharpen couple blades more, #71 and #110 are now sharp enough for shaving... I guess it's time to sharpen #6 and some chisels for tomorrow.
And tomorrow I'll finally work on the guitar again.

There isn't a single solder on this that I made. The counter is battery powered and I had to attach 2 wires to terminals that were color coded for the sensor. The sewing machine had a plug marked motor and the other lamp. The plug marked motor was connected to the foot pedal at the sewing machine factory. I didn't use the lamp plug. The other end is plugged into the wall. I didn't wire a thing. Once all the parts were together on the workbench, it was an hour and it was spinning. It took longer for the epoxy on the magnet and mounts to dry.

There was zero brilliance involved here. That's why I'd never buy one, now.

I screwed a piece of 2x4 to a piece of 1x6, clamped the motor to it, attached the belt and let that locate the arbor. I didn't really measure anything until I made the wheel and mounts. Then I used a paint can lid for the wheel and P90 pickup cover to measure the mount. Nothing genius at all. I don't remember using anything more than a tape measure and the scale on my table saw.

Biggest thing I learned from building mine was that the skill in winding great pickups is not the machine. It's the talent standing behind it, holding the hair fine wire.

I can fill a bobbin and get a pickup. Some of the guys here can make the same number of winds, maybe even the same resistance and inductance, but they get lightning in a bottle.

 

[poro78]

Ok, so much for working with the guitar today.
I've been feeling a bit odd all the day, so I decided to leave the guitar alone and do something where making mistakes doesn't matter too much.

I sharpened 4 chisels, refurbished #6 a little (It didn't need much care, the sole was as flat as can be.) and made the counter for the pickup winder.

The main problem with #6 was the tote and the knob, the finish was flaking off. So I took my sandpapers and cleaned the pieces.

The knob sanded and the tote still having the crappy finish on.

One reason why I decided to strip the finish was that I got to test a new product - Tru-Oil!

Looks great, smells quite ok, feels great.

I'm wondering how many coats of Tru-Oil these need... 4-5 maybe?
The color is a bit uneven, but I don't care - as long as it feels good in my hand it's fine, the looks are just a bonus.

Well, since the previous calculator wasn't optimal for the wrecking project I passed it on to my daughter (who had a blast yelling numbers and stuff. Didn't remember calculating was that fun. ) and got another one.
Cost me 1€ - huge investment.

Popped the lid off and put the reed switch's wires in some hole I guessed to belong to the equal button.
Wasn't too difficult... Then I just soldered them.

And after some cosmetic filing I had a counter that works rather well.
I was bit worried after Vic's warnings, but I had to test this.

Drilled a hole for the magnet, still have to figure out how to attach the other part so that it registers the rounds.

What else?
Well, had distorted vision for a while and my head's been aching for couple hours, the odd feeling I had earlier is probably just a sign of first coming migraine in 14 years.
Maybe I'll just hit the pillow now.

Oh, almost forgot to brag about my sharpening experience!
I've sharpened about 8 blades in two days, got carried little away when I succeeded in getting a razor sharp edge without honing guide.
Was so excited I had to make a small video clip of slicing a piece of wood.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAwqCRcc_oA[/ame]

Ok, enough of this BS, I'm hitting the pillow now before my head explodes.

 

[poro78]

Ok, finally got something done with the guitar.
But first - the #6's tote and knob are starting to look even better with third coat of Tru-Oil.

And to the actual build... Since I got the new toy I had to make a decent test run with it, and what would be better than to make a whole pickup cavity using #71 as the primary tool!

First I drilled a hole with a forstner bit to mark the depth of the cavity and then I removed the first couple millimeters of wood marking the edges of the cavity and after that it was time to start learning how to use the router plane.
And I have to say I'm still in awe of this tool!
After figuring out how it works it was a walk in the park.
Release blade, turn the wheel, tighten the blade, push the plane couple times, rinse, repeat, done.

A little overkill with the wire channel, got little carried away with the #71.
I could had been a little shallower, but now its bottom is at the same depth as the pickup cavities.

Dimensions are about right, some tweaking and they will be good.

Left side leg holes ready, two more to go.
Then some sanding and the pickup cavities are ready.

Still not sure if I'll round the corners or not... At the moment the box-shape is not bothering me.

 

[VictOr358]

Ah, le vintage... c'est magnifique!

As for the magnet placement, are you positive that this reel has a 1:1 gear ratio? I'd rather place it on the drum, as a reed switch is rather lightweight, you can secure it easily.

 

[poro78]

Ah, le vintage... c'est magnifique!

As for the magnet placement, are you positive that this reel has a 1:1 gear ratio? I'd rather place it on the drum, as a reed switch is rather lightweight, you can secure it easily.

It's 5,1:1 so I have to program the calculator a bit.
As I don't have imagination it's easier for me to multiply than to try to contact my inner MacGyver (He's on vacation.)...
Actually my ideas are bouncing here and there, but that's mainly because I don't have a clue what kind of winder is painless enough to use.
We'll see what will become of this...

Got the pickup cavities done. Legs and all.

Not too bad, I guess.

 

[VictOr358]

Hey, that's clean, I say!
As for the winder, it's up to you, but I'd think, any inter/extrapolation usually brings too mucho of error, I'd prefer a 1:1 ratio. Still, I don't perceive a pickup winding as a precise science, to me (at the moment) is a trial and error process.

 

[poro78]

Yup, 1:1 ratio would be optimal, but I think I'll survive with what I have now.

Thanks for all the tips, really appreciate them (though they usually feel far too heavy science for me - yeah, I'm really that stupid )

 

[VictOr358]

Yup, 1:1 ratio would be optimal, but I think I'll survive with what I have now.

Thanks for all the tips, really appreciate them (though they usually feel far too heavy science for me - yeah, I'm really that stupid )

Well, yess, you are...
...NOT.

It's about a positive outcome, not eemceesquare thingy. Right now you have a very good probability to go full yay! It's a beer talk from my side right now, but I truly (and soberly... so tomorrow I'll say the saem, SAEM! ) worship your persistence and a very steep learning curve.

 

[poro78]

Today has been another busy day outside the workshop, but here's a little clip of testing that counter.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQXXX_XTXpA"]Counter test run - YouTube[/ame]

Seems to work quite ok, at least I couldn't wind too fast for the counter.
Hmm... Is it really that simple that if I insert 5,1+5,1 and wind away I get the correct winds of the bobbin?
(The reel has 5,1:1 ratio, as mentioned earlier)

 

[VictOr358]

Today has been another busy day outside the workshop, but here's a little clip of testing that counter.


Seems to work quite ok, at least I couldn't wind too fast for the counter.
Hmm... Is it really that simple that if I insert 5,1+5,1 and wind away I get the correct winds of the bobbin?
(The reel has 5,1:1 ratio, as mentioned earlier)

Well, looks business to me

5.1+5.1 seems to be legit, just keep in mind a cummulative error factor. Well, you'll measure resistance in the end in any case =)

 

[poro78]

Well, I have a week to think about things - we're heading north today. (And I'll get the chance to inhale the air of professional luthier's workshop again.)
But at the moment I'm quite happy with the counter and like you said, I'll be measuring the resistance in the end, so I guess I'm safe.

 

[poro78]

Almost forgot to update this thread here (I've updated it a while ago in the LuthierTalk.com)...

So... I spent a week up north, couple days in Oulu (at my in-law's) and couple days in Inari (my home village).
I've been thinking of making a guitar from Lapland's materials before, but now as I was walking here and there in the wilderness I really started to think about how to make it happen.
Here's some pictures of "my backyard"

There's aspen, alder, spruce, pine and (arctic) birch for body and top, but the material for the fingerboard could be hard to find...
I've been researching materials of some old Finnish instruments and possible solutions are rowan, elm or bird cherry... I don't have a clue if they're any good, have to do more research...

And a flock of reindeer ("poro" in Finnish ) - tourist picture

Some treats for those who like traditional luthiery.
Pictures of Hellier Stradivari clone my father-in-law made, that's the '59 Les Paul of the violin makers, I guess.

That black and white inlay (or is it purfling?) is made of couple hundred of hand-made ivory pieces and ebony dust.

Close-up of the headstock.

And the decorative carvings. Here you can also see that fore-mentioned inlay work. Not something I could do with my patience.

Here's a practice piece showing how he made the carvings.
Made with free hand, thin blade and lots of patience, no room for errors here.

And final picture of his recent work, he had one violin on his workbench this time.
Really neat corners on this purfling.

And back to my own puny project. I don't know if my work should be mentioned in the same post anymore, but here goes.

I think I have (almost) all the hardware now.
Black, black, black and black. Not sure if I'm going to use that black TusQ nut or should I make a dyed bone nut.

And since I've been more than prone to accidents lately, I have been just doing minor things where I still can screw up without ruining the whole project.

Here's the sketch for the headstock, got the instructions from Miska (the future owner) and scribbled something - he liked it, so this is what we'll try.

Don't know if I have to design some kind of round logo for that, my name might be too long to fit there.

One headstock template coming up...

And the template for the control cavity also.
I shredded my index finger a little with Shinto rasp while doing this. It was the first of the little mishaps I've had since I got back home.

The second mishap was just a scary/stupid moment as I was testing a Dremel clone. (Yup, got one from my mom. Might use it some day, but not on this build.)
I was wondering if I could make a fingerplane blade from old scraper, but I didn't have anything to cut it - so I tried a Dremel with a cutting disc (or what ever they are called...) but it was useless.
And then I decided to change the tip and while I was changing it I almost accidentally pushed the power button - and realized that I hadn't unplugged the thing.

Does this mean I shouldn't even test the power tools?

And the third mishap was because I've become addicted to sharpening.
Planes, chisels, minichisels, knives, everything with cutting edge must be so sharp that even looking at that direction cuts you.

Here's a cheap minichisel. Nice and sharp again.

So I cleaned my big knife after sharpening and pressed the paper little too hard with my chubby fingers... and sliced through the paper and took the skin of my fingertips off.
The slices were so thin that I didn't even draw blood - I think that knife is now sharp enough.

And finally - the #6 looks quite ok with Tru-Oiled handles... and it feels even better.

 

[poro78]

My wife!

I stayed home to watch over kid's nap while my wife went her traditional weekend flea market tour.
When she came back, she informed that she saw a Stanley 10½ for 12,50 euros.

I had to go and check it myself, luckily that flea market was quite near.
And here it is - another new family member.

And what I got for 12,50€?
Well... a cracked tote.

But it's otherwise pretty clean.

Tiny bits of rust, paint and crap here and there, only a little refurbishing needs to be done.
Sole seems quite ok, but there's some scratches I'd like to get off.
The finish of tote and knob are also flaking off, so I think I'll give them the Tru-Oil treatment.
But first I glued the pieces of tote back together.

I also tried to continue the actual build, tweaked the control cavity template bit.

And as I was starting to get tools to remove material I dropped a chisel to the floor blade first - barely missed my foot.
I don't know what is happening here - it seems some kind of accident is really trying to happen.

 

[poro78]

I started making the control cavity.
First attack was made with a drill, then most of the material was removed with chisels and finally switched to router plane to get some practice.
And just as I got used to it I had to stop, because it's again too late to work.
Damn neighbors.
Well, I'll finish it tomorrow then.

This time I remembered to check that everything fits there.

 

[poro78]

Hmm... Sometimes I just forget that this build includes a top.
I think I could had drilled the control cavity all the way through the body, but what the hell - router plane practice is always good and I have long shaft pots.

The main cavity is somewhat ready, it needs tidying and ledges, and maybe a little more depth, but we'll see that later after I plane the back to get rid of all the scratches and crap.

I routed the channel from the pickup cavity to the control cavity.
Quite pleasant task with right tools.

Cavities connected. Close-up reveals how much tidying there's to be done.
That hole looks huge in this picture.

So... The cavities were done and the fearsome task of gluing the top an d the body together gets closer and closer.
Got to use my #6 for the first time as I planed the front of the body ready for the gluing.
Oh, I love planes. I'm infected and there's no cure.

Double-checked everything.
Nothing special came into my mind so I figured that this truly will be the next step.
Hopefully my memory hasn't failed me.

Dry run with the clamps. Seemed quite ok, no gaps.

After calming coffee break I was ready to take the action.
Got clamps, glue, rags, warm water, screws and the blanks ready.
Mental preparati... Pffff, screw it! - Charge!

And like always everything was just chaos, I'm not sure if I remembered to breathe.
One thing I forgot - a brush for the glue, so I had to spread it all over with my fingers. And of course I used my left hand, because I can't do anything with the right.
A moment later I noticed that it makes clamping bit harder when your only useful hand is covered in glue.

And of course dry run goes well and the real action is nothing like it.
One of my clamps broke so I had to quickly find an alternative.
I certainly need more clamps. A dozen dozens sounds fine.
Didn't see any other option, but my crappy little table vise - fast disassembling and I had an emergency clamp.

Not sure if there's enough clamps. Hopefully so.
Didn't have anything else so I added 12kg kettlebell on top.
Alea iacta est.
We'll see tomorrow what becomes of this mess.

This is starting to feel like roller coaster again, makes me want to scream, laugh and puke at the same time.