Thread: "Conjurer" New Metal Series Build

Post doubled up......manually deleted and replaced with this )

coming along nicely there jon - i bet it will have a powerfull tone

it is amazing what can be done with a blem like that on the front - i have a little collection of finely ground coloured oxides i mix with a medium - a fine brush and some patience softening it up little round the edges of the blem can blend it in so it looks like nothing unnatural

not the kind of guitar an old bloke like me could sling for the nite - if i fell over on it mmm - all those points - definitely a young mans guitar

Thanks Ray, much appreciated.

When I first spotted the blemish I mixed up some Blackwood and epoxy and filled it up......went way black though and stands out! I like your advice......I too have a stockpile of fine dust for this purpose so will see what I can "conjure" up.

Jon

PS Don't sell yourself short Ray....I am sure you could rip out a few power chords or the odd shred riff on this baby .......sitting down, it is one of the most comfortable shapes I have ever played....standing up, it's really well balanced.

Well there you go Jon, Ray is giving you the same advice as I gave you.
What I would recommend is trying different mixes on pieces of scrap wood or make a feature of the blemish.
Cheers,Bob

Great mini-tute on the dots, mate.

I do the same but use a dremel with drill bit instead. Same same.

Got to see this a few weeks back. The neck on this build is comparable to a wizard neck in profile and feels
super slinky. Obviously it's not all about depth of neck profile but also about how you carve out the shoulders and whether you bevel the fingerboard's top edge or not. Also do you go for a d, c, v, boat or other style profile ?
This neck on this build is really comfy without feeling devoid of any real 'meat to counteract against with the palm and thumb, which makes Jon's necks something I tend to drool over whenever we catchup and share build info.

He's got a killer Black Sass Bass which he should share with us all I reckon. That one is particularly the ' duck's guts' as far as I am concerned.

Regarding filling inclusions or voids, I reckon either way is great. Either make it glaringly obvious and make it a feature with coloured epoxy or find a way to blend it into the background, also done by adding brushstrokes of stain or dye over the top to make it look like grain lines continue through the void.
Perhaps making a faux knot of sorts?

Great gear, regardless of Bob's crap timber. He he ( That was a gag, Bob.)

Good one Stu, Great joke.
Cheers Bob
And I too would like to see that Sassy bass Jon.

Hey thanks for the positives Stu much appreciated mate! They're good suggestions regarding stains and dyes to further enhance the fill work. I have sanded to 240 now and it seems to be lightening up a bit and blending in more so I reckon some dye could just be the ticket.

Regarding Bob's timber......seriously........the more I have sanded and revealed it's figure the more blown away I have become....more pics to follow later today which will start to reveal how wicked this timber really is .

What I love about making your own necks is that complete control over the end result and I just love really thin necks that make the left hand work on the guitar as effortless as possible. When I first started building I was going to go a pre-made neck and it was Stu who actually gave me the prod to go down the path of building the whole thing from scratch......the far more difficult path sure but the one with I believe the greatest rewards. Needless to say I remain indebted to Stu for that encouragement.

As for the "Sass" build..........check out the "retro" late 1980's/early 90's EMG Select passive pups on this hehehehe







Last pic thrown into really highlight the figure in this Brazilian Walnut body....I reckon it's amazing ....Bob, what sort of figure would you call that? Birdseye I spose......I love it.....I like the Sass too! Should probably make a nice BW cc cover for it too, bit over the black plastic looking at these!

More Conjurer updates later on.....thanks again all contributors.

OK, much progress on the Conjurer build. Neck angle is now complete, tunomatic installed, ferrules drilled, control holes drilled, edges bevelled, jack hole drilled, neck finished to 240....now ready for neck to be glued to body.....checkout the grain lines running through the bevelled edges.....

Coming along excellent Jon, it is going to look great with more fine sanding.
What grit are you going to finish sanding too.?
Sassy build looks good as for the walnut that has a small amount of birdseye.
Cheers,Bob.

Wow man, I Hope I can build something like that!, Nice job so far mate!

Ox

That is a mighty fine looking piece of craftmanship there. Not a fan of the shape but gotta admit the wood you used looks great. I also have to admire the creativity in designing that body shape.
Love to see the final build pictures.
Mick

Jon did you do the bevels by hand or machine? If you routed them what bit did you use? And what is the approx. angle degree of the bevel?
Cheers
James

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the posts!

You can build something like this ox.....just takes heaps of practise and reading and doing etc....hard work but fun!

Thanks also Mick. The shape was originally inspired by the BC Rich Warlock however I wanted to CENTRE the shape up. If you look at the original you'll see what I mean. It certainly is an aggressive shape, pointy and all of that but it is also incredibly comfortable to play sitting down or on a strap. Thanks for your interest.

Cheers Bob, yep I'm going to sand to 320 grit......black grainfill.......320 then finish with 400 grit before shooting clear lacquer.

G'day James. I bevel the edges with this router bit I have posted a pic of. I THINK it is called a chamfer bit and I know it is 45 degrees. I love it! Have tried similar jobs by hand in the past and this is more accurate and certainly quicker......not so easy if the bevel changes though...that is another story. I also used this bit to bevel the headstock edges.


Cheers, Jon

Got the neck glued in over the weekend on this one and I have now managed to shape the neck heel/body join.

I will now be sanding, grainfilling and sanding getting the guitar ready for lacquer in the coming week.




Jon