Thread: "Conjurer" New Metal Series Build

Gday Jon,
Thanks for that. I'm slowly building a 7-string razorback... and was looking at buying a 30 degree chamfer bit. Did you mount it in a router table or do it with the router upright using a template which you ran the bearing against? I will post a thread when I get a bit more progress done
Cheers
James

Originally Posted by jwingfield

Gday Jon,
Thanks for that. I'm slowly building a 7-string razorback... and was looking at buying a 30 degree chamfer bit. Did you mount it in a router table or do it with the router upright using a template which you ran the bearing against? I will post a thread when I get a bit more progress done
Cheers
James

Going purely from the picture on the previous page, I'm guessing he did it freehand. No template required though - the bearing just runs around the body of the guitar

Pure speculation, though! Feel free to correct me, Jon

oh of course you wouldn't need a template with the bearing at the bottom of the bit... It's been a long day

You got it folks. No template, the bearing follows the body contour.....I rout hand held from the top down. Many prefer to use a router table and I may at some stage switch to that but for now I like to see the grain I am routing and then take off small amounts gently moving to flush.....I'm going to get a larger router bit next time I'm at Carbatec....that one is a 1/4" shank and I want to go 1/2" and about double the size.

Good call Bob. The sanding is critical. I have heard that sanding to a grit finer than 400 can create some paint adhesion issues? What grit would you suggest I go to? Stu, any comments?

Have a good long weekend everyone........hopefully we all get some time to build! I plan to do some work on the workshop itself....gonna lay tools/machinery out heaps better, use space better, re-locate shelves etc.....lot's of fun stuff.

Jon

Originally Posted by jwingfield

Gday Jon,
Thanks for that. I'm slowly building a 7-string razorback... and was looking at buying a 30 degree chamfer bit. Did you mount it in a router table or do it with the router upright using a template which you ran the bearing against? I will post a thread when I get a bit more progress done
Cheers
James

I look forward to seeing your thread on the Razorback James. Good stuff

Jon, As of yet I have not been a guitar builder.
My calling was sculpture, Furniture and wood turning, I have been known to sand down to 1200 grit till the wood jumps out at you, its a pain but the finish looks magic.
And I am also a lover of oils natural finishes I love tong oils.
With guitars the finish that you require maybe things are different.
Lets wait to hear what Stu has to say. Knock, Knock where are you Stu.?
Jon wants to fix this crap wood..
Cheers,Bob


Good call Bob. The sanding is critical. I have heard that sanding to a grit finer than 400 can create some paint adhesion issues? What grit would you suggest I go to? Stu, any comments?
Jon[/QUOTE]

I sand to 600 grit prior to refinish. I'm using precat nitro for these though.
Not totally necessary to go to 600, for me it shows up any flaws in my sanding techniques after 320 or 400 grit. It makes them glaringly obvious and takes little time to do so.

Much more than 600 grit and you may have issues with nitro or 2 pack paint adhesion on non-primed wood, but not with danish and tru-oil type products that can really soak into the grain and not be such a drama. It's all about viscosity of the product.

If you cut your nitrocellulose coats initially down with more solvent you'll end up with more soak in and less body mass in the product initially. Once a few coats are thinly applied (I'm talking about 40 percent nitro to 60 thinners), you can then work on build up .
This is another way around it if you really have to sand to the higher grits.

Thanks Stu and Bob. I spent quite a few hours sanding over the weekend and it's really starting to gleam after 320 grit.

I also love natural oil finishes Bob and have also burnished such a finish up to 2000 grit. This build is going to be clear Acrylic Lacquer.

I like your advice Stu of going to 600 just to see what the 320/400 stage left behind. I'll give that a go I think. Anyway, many more hours of sanding this week and then hopefully get the first few lacquer coats on by the weekend.

Thanks again gents!

Jon

...it appears BLACK is BACK

...nice guitar Jon

and if there is one thing i hate more than hand planing wiv a dodgy handplane...it would be sanding ...

As the Stones once sang. I see a line of cars and they are all painted Black.
Black will never go out of favour.
As for sanding its good for your muscles.
Just lay back and listen to good lound music while you sand.
Cheers Bob

Originally Posted by R3R

...it appears BLACK is BACK

...nice guitar Jon

and if there is one thing i hate more than hand planing wiv a dodgy handplane...it would be sanding ...

Cheers lads! Indeed Black was never out . There will certainly be a black element to this build with the Ebony FB. I am also keen to grainfill with ebony filler but I am concerned that some of the Blackwood figure may be lost??

I'll probably just grainfill everything BUT the Blackwood just in case and then try and get a flat finish by building up the lacquer. Any thoughts on grain filling "softening" figure?

i am not a fan of grainfilling but i don't see how it can 'soften' figure since it is almost impossible to get the actual colour of the wood for the filler ....the grain would almost always be accentuated in some way

even if grain filler is lightly coloured...i reckon

however...for blackwood...the aussie variety...i wouldn't imagine it would need as much 'fillling' as mahogany and you might be able to just use sealer or more lacquer coats to build up a flattish surface (espc with sanding in between)

though i have to admit i don't have tht much experience with aussie blackwood to make this generalisation with confidence

I've had some bad experiences with grain filling trying to match the existing colour or slightly go darker than the colour of the wood. I was never happy with the results. I dont have any experience using the blackwood so I guess I can only offer my humble opinion based on what I have found to give a great result.

I would go with either building up lacquer coats or maybe a couple of sealer coats first, sanding after the first 2 coats of lacquer or sealer, (if you decide to go with sealer first) then sanding in between remaining coats until you have an ultra flat surface.

This is the way I do it (using only lacquer, never needed to use sealer) with just about all types of wood from really large open grained wood to the fine tight grained. It works great for me.

PS: That blackwood top looks fantastic.

Mick

Thanks for the comments guys. Yup I'm really leaning away from attempting any grainfill on the Blackwood Top. I think the risk is too great plus the lacquer method will create some extra depth to the finish. The blackwood neck will be grainfilled though.

I have been sanding this build for hours! In fact I have sanded pretty much daily for the past week. Will post a pic or 2 later on showing the sanding results.....