Fret work

Today, I worked on two of my neck projects. The top one for the Red Special and the bottom one for the carved tele. I set my frets into place. I've learned a few valuable lessons here.
1. Over radius the frets before fitting them. The fret boards on both of these necks are radiused at 16 inches. When hammering the frets into place they flatten out. On the maple fret board I bent the frets to exactly 16 inches. On the ebony fret board I bent the frets to a tighter radius. When I hammered them they flattened into place.
2. I am planning to put a shellac on the maple fret board to protect it. I'm still undecided on the best approach for future necks. But here I decided to shellac the neck after setting the frets. In the future, I'll try shellacking the neck before I set the frets.
3. I start hammering each fret from center and working slowly towards the edge. (By hammering I really mean a gentle tapping. remember these are not nails but a much softer metal.)

Progress

Today, I worked on the fret board for the Red Special, sanding the 18" radius to 400 grit. sorry, no pictures. it really wouldn't look all that different from the last images. I'm debating putting a thin coat of shellac on fret board. Something similar to what Fender does with most of their maple fret boards. I'm worried that if I just leave it bare, the fret board will discolor too easily. Where as with the finish, it will take longer for it to get that more vintage well played look. I just have to find out if I shoul rub the shellac on first, and then put the frets on, or the other way around.

In additions to working on the neck I;ve also, sanded the sides of the Red Special smooth. taking out all the band saw marks.

On a different front I got back to work on the Reverse Strat and the Carved Tele bodies. I sand off all of the excess grain filler an put on the first stain coats. They are a combination of Black and the likely base color. Red on the Tele and Blue on the Strat. The Tele is looking a bit more purple than I was hoping, Will see if that looks any different after my first sanding. The reason for staining and then sanding that first stain to help bring out a more 3-D look to the grain. The first coat gets absorbed more along the grain lines than the rest of the wood. At least that's what I've read somewhere on the interwebs.

Recycled wood

Cool story about using recycled wood for building guitars.

Carmine Street Shop Makes Guitars From Hotel Chelsea's 'Bones' - DNAinfo.com

More Patrician Restoration Photos

Just catching up on some old restoration photos. I used epoxy to fill the three cracks on the back and to fill a small gouged hole on the front. I mixed the epoxy with with mahogany sawdust to match the color of the wood. I then sanded off the excess epoxy after it dried. I also glued a cracked f-hole using Titebond wood glue and a clamp. I sanded the body smooth to 220 grit. The grain is filled. Then sanded and wiped clean. After removing the frets and the inlay blocks I sanded the fretboard with a 12 inch radius block to 1000 grit. The shine on the fretboard is thanks to wiping it down with mineral spirits. The body is being finished with several layers of Shellac.


Up next I will try to tend to the fretboard, adding jumbo frets.

More Red Special Progress

Time to drill the holes for the DPDT switches - six of them. I started by carefully measuring the spots on a piece of paper for each switch and the angle that they would be cut at. I ran a test on a thin piece mahogany. (I'll use this test piece again later when I solder the switches before placing them in the body.)






I tape the paper to the top of the body. First drilling a small hole through the top. I then follow with a 6mm brad point bit, carefully lining the bit up with the hole.


















I fit the switches, the pots and the output jack to see just how this will look once I'm down.










A view from the top of how the switches, the pots and the output jacks will look.










Next, I move onto the rear electronics cavity cover. I will use a piece of padouk picked out to match the front of the body. I found this 3/4 inch piece with a nice figure.






Using the bandsaw I carefully re-saw off a 5mm thick piece of padouk. I then cut a rough shape to match the opening.








I then cut a rough shape to match the opening.





















After carefully shaving off excess wood, I end up with a nice fit. I'll still need sand the edges smooth and drill the holes for the screws.

The Red Special

Very productive day, three pickup cavities, and the output jack have been routed, holes for the bridge post have been drilled. I've started reconsidering using a single concentric volume and tone pot. I may instead opt for the traditional separate pots.



The second photo is to help me see what this will look like once completed.

Neck Pain Relief

So after simplifying the routing jig, I discovered solution to my inability to route a clean straight line. In this jig, I clamp the neck into place and use a guide on only one side. It took about 5 or six passes to route to the proper depth of about 9mm. This new neck blank is made of curly maple and will likely be a replacement for the Firebird neck that I have been working on. In the background is the Red Special I have been working on.

Pain in the Neck

So, I'm having trouble routing the truss rod channels on my necks. The issue is that I am having problem routing a straight and clean channel. In my latest attempts I have switched from using the router braced in place on a table to using a jig that keeps the router straight. The jig is an improvement, but just not clean enough yet. Since I am making several passes, the neck blanks have a tendency to slip slightly. I will probably move onto a different version of his same type of jig.

The Red Special Latest Update

I've made a great deal of progress in the last week on my Red Special. The neck pocket has been routed, the abalone dots have been inlayed, the face and back of the body have been sanded to 120 grit, the neck now has a rough profile and has been sanded to 120 grit.

Harmony Patrician Restoration

About 5 years ago I stumbled on this guitar in a local antique shop here in Clintonville. It was sitting in two pieces, just as it is in the first photo. Without knowing anything about it's age or the model, I picked it up for $25. After doing an internet search when I got it home I discovered that the Harmony Patrician I picked up was either a 1940 or 1941 pre-war archtop guitar.The top is Mahogany with a Spruce center panel. The back and the sides are also Mahogany.

My goal with this restoration project will be to get this guitar playable again, specifically so that I can sit on our porch and play the blues.

My first step is to sand off the old lacquer.









On the top just above f-hole is discolored from where player's would rest their fingers.




The headstock of the Patrician is a sweet piece of handy work. I'm looking forward to making this shine.

























The lacquer has aged so dramatically that the spruce center panel is almost as dark as the mahogany.

























There are numerous cracks in the body. This one on the back will be exceptionally difficult to repair.
















Another crack, this one on the top, will present a different kind of a challenge.