Here's some of my work.
This was my first. Made as a Christmas gift for the woman who was my wife at the time.
I shoulda saved the effort, the cheating rat of a sub-human...
Solid mahogany with curly, or "pillow" maple front. Sustain for weeks, and small-ish body to accommodate her playing style. The finish is all nitro based lacquer, for the correct tone.
(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd405/Barum/SANY0062.jpg)
Her initials in gold... What a pain to do...
(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd405/Barum/SANY0061.jpg)
This is mine.
(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd405/Barum/IMG_0244.jpg)
This beaut below has push/pull potentiometers, to switch the core tap on and off. It's based on the Jimmy Page wiring.
Sounds so sweet...
(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd405/Barum/IMG_0245.jpg)
And here's some of the "In Progress" shots.
Wet sanding the color coat
(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd405/Barum/IMG_0241.jpg)
Between coats of clear nitrocellulose with "tobacco brown" tint added.
(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd405/Barum/guitarfront1.jpg)
High build primer on the back, prior to the black color coat.
(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd405/Barum/guitarback1.jpg)
(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd405/Barum/IMG_0233.jpg)
Very nice. :)
Do you make the fret boards as well? Also curious about what hardware you use.
For now, I buy the necks whole. I'm not tooled up for necks or fretboards. Someday, tho... Someday.
The hardware is "recovered" Les Paul guts. (Not the Epiphone stuff.) Sometimes, local music stores have them in the back. Also, if you know what to look for, you can get the real thing on eBay for cheap.
Quote from: Barum on August 09, 2011, 07:20:15 AM
For now, I buy the necks whole. I'm not tooled up for necks or fretboards. Someday, tho... Someday.
The hardware is "recovered" Les Paul guts. (Not the Epiphone stuff.) Sometimes, local music stores have them in the back. Also, if you know what to look for, you can get the real thing on eBay for cheap.
Ah. That makes sense. :)
Fucking sweet. How much can you do these for? Like is it a cheap LP or a high-end custom?
Those are fucking stunning.
Unfortunately, material and labor costs put these at around the $700+ mark... Around $250 for the wood alone. $100 in finishing materials per guitar... Shaping the top takes hours and hours... Turn around is about 2 weeks. (mostly from glue dry time and lacquer curing) So, I knock one out every six months or so. When I just can't stand not making one... Right now, I'm trying to get the dimensions right to make a WarBeast knock off for my lefty son... All the hardware (PU rings, tuners, vol/tone knobs) are pewter colored skulls.
The reason the big name companies can do these on the cheap is bulk. Oh, and they cut the damned thing on a big CNC, rather than by handheld power tools, hand planes, chisels... I polish mine, by hand, with 12,000 grit pads, rather than a great thumping buffing wheel.
I looked into getting a benchtop CNC, but found out it would take 36 hours to cut and carve the body on one of those tiny machines... I can do it in 12. An industrial CNC can do it in 12 minutes...
Thanx, very much, Anna Mae.
I am not a guitar person, and those make me want one. :argh!:
Quote from: Barum on August 09, 2011, 08:31:06 PM
Unfortunately, material and labor costs put these at around the $700+ mark... Around $250 for the wood alone. $100 in finishing materials per guitar... Shaping the top takes hours and hours... Turn around is about 2 weeks. (mostly from glue dry time and lacquer curing) So, I knock one out every six months or so. When I just can't stand not making one... Right now, I'm trying to get the dimensions right to make a WarBeast knock off for my lefty son... All the hardware (PU rings, tuners, vol/tone knobs) are pewter colored skulls.
The reason the big name companies can do these on the cheap is bulk. Oh, and they cut the damned thing on a big CNC, rather than by handheld power tools, hand planes, chisels... I polish mine, by hand, with 12,000 grit pads, rather than a great thumping buffing wheel.
I looked into getting a benchtop CNC, but found out it would take 36 hours to cut and carve the body on one of those tiny machines... I can do it in 12. An industrial CNC can do it in 12 minutes...
Yeah, figures. Though, If i had that kinda cash lying around I would totally dig a handmade custom guitar.
Quote from: Doktor Phox on August 09, 2011, 08:47:26 PM
Yeah, figures. Though, If i had that kinda cash lying around I would totally dig a handmade custom guitar.
Check your PM-thing-a-ma-bob.
Very cool, man. I admire your skill.
Those are gorgeous, man.
They're like magic pr0n that incites desire and doesn't make you go EWWWWW!
Quote from: Barum on August 09, 2011, 08:31:06 PM
Unfortunately, material and labor costs put these at around the $700+ mark... Around $250 for the wood alone. $100 in finishing materials per guitar... Shaping the top takes hours and hours... Turn around is about 2 weeks. (mostly from glue dry time and lacquer curing) So, I knock one out every six months or so. When I just can't stand not making one... Right now, I'm trying to get the dimensions right to make a WarBeast knock off for my lefty son... All the hardware (PU rings, tuners, vol/tone knobs) are pewter colored skulls.
The reason the big name companies can do these on the cheap is bulk. Oh, and they cut the damned thing on a big CNC, rather than by handheld power tools, hand planes, chisels... I polish mine, by hand, with 12,000 grit pads, rather than a great thumping buffing wheel.
I looked into getting a benchtop CNC, but found out it would take 36 hours to cut and carve the body on one of those tiny machines... I can do it in 12. An industrial CNC can do it in 12 minutes...
don't know if it would interest you at all, but you can get a similar gloss/strength finish using danish oil followed by beeswax, I think it's quite a lot cheaper and less toxic than lacquer, more drying time though
xx
Quote from: Roaring Biscuit! on September 07, 2011, 05:58:11 PM
don't know if it would interest you at all, but you can get a similar gloss/strength finish using danish oil followed by beeswax, I think it's quite a lot cheaper and less toxic than lacquer, more drying time though
xx
There are acoustic reason why such finishes are not used. Similar to the difference between a drum head and a lump of clay. The nitrocellulose lacquers make the already resonant woods impervious to moisture from humidity, as well as being consistently resonant themselves. The oil and beeswax would deaden the resonance of the wood, and have a surprisingly large effect on the sound of the guitar. Also, the lacquers "set" after about a week, and while still toxic if ingested, can not transfer any toxicity through the skin. Still flammable as all get out, though
I use oil finishes largely because I don't have the equipment/well ventilated area to use nitrocellulose lacquer without killing myself :P I'd never heard anyone mention damping effects of oil before though, so I did a little digging :D I did find a few other mentions of oil damping higher frequency resonance, but then also a lot of violins use oil and shellac/french polish finishes. I wondered is the damping effect was to do with penetration of the oil into the wood pores, but then some Ovation guitars use an epoxy finish (highly penetrative), and of course any open grained wood will require a filler before finishing anyway.
I'm just gonna pause right here and say that I'm not trying to discourage you from lacquer finish, I'm just interested in the reasons for using it. I know it's probably one of the toughest guitar finishes available, but I'm also intrigued to get to the bottom (or nearer the bottom) of the web of mystical bullshit that pervades instrument creation (and sorry, but a HELL of a lot of claims made about materials and techniques are completely lacking in any experimental or scientific backing). I hope that's not offensive to you, you're guitars a bloody gorgeous btw :)
Uh yeah where was I? On an electric instrument I'm not even sure if it's actually worth considering. Most finishes come out at about 1/1200ths of an inch (I looked that up, might not be a correct avg.), which I can see being worth some consideration when you've put it on top of piece of wood that's under 2 or 3/32ths of an inch thick (back/sides of an acoustic etc.). Dunno about on an electric where it would make up a much smaller proportion of the resonant material (assuming most electrics are between 1 and 2 inches thick).
I'm very sceptical about this stuff, but I'd also be very interested if you have some more insight etc.
xx
edd
p.s. my solid-bodied walnut electric has quite a dark tone, it is oil finished, but it's also 1. made of walnut, and 2. fitted with slightly overwound humbuckers, so yeah, hard to judge on that whether the finish is impacting :)
I was actually looking for Biscuit's guitar thread after I read this one.
Not because I play or build guitars, but because I've never known anyone who does and I thought the ensuing conversation between you two would be extremely interesting to read.
:D