Thread: Progress...

Ahh, still plodding away on it
Doing the finish with the french polish at the moment... lots of hours spent on it, but not a great deal to show! The 'frustration factor' almost got to me and I even went as far as going to buy an air-brush to do the finish. At the last minute, standing at the counter with the airbrush in my hand, I had a lucid moment that said keep going with the FP'ing. So I did, and I'm starting to get the better of it
I spent a while trying to get a good tone/sustain from the top plate. Mostly, I'd string it, play a bit, take it all apart, sand a bit more, re-string it, etc etc... A lot of time gone into that, but I think I've got it now. There's a couple of notes around 10th/11th fret that sounded a little dull to me, but it might also just be my playing style (or lack of it!) so I'll play it for a while and make a judgement further down the track.
I also thought I heard a little fret buzz the other night so I'm in the process of designing a 'fret buzz meter' to see what the go is with that.
I'll post details if anyone is interested in it
At the moment, I'm waiting on some ebony for a scratch plate/finger rest and also a pre-made ebony bridge. I'm still not 100% happy with my home-made bridge, so I thought I'd try a new one, and they should arrive Thursday, or Friday...
The next project wandering around in my mind is a case to put it all in... early design ideas at the moment, and I might set that one for an Easter project

For now, I'm off for the french polish torment again!!

An interesting observation I've had on this guitar since it's been reasonably playable... I'd slackened off for a loooong time on my electric, and have now started playing more often and I enjoy playing more. The archtop feels more comfortable and it's very much 'player friendly' compared to the electric. Maybe it's a bit of bias, but it's great to play again!

I've been keeping an eye on the goings on in your workshop, Martin... You seem to have hit top speed and are getting mountain-loads of work done!
It's looking good too!

Just a quick picture of the progress to date...
It's strung up, but there's still lots to go on the french polish part of the project. The ebony and the bridge arrived today so that'll be a weekend job to do the finger rest

So far, I like it... (But I'm biased! )

Malibu...thats really scrubbing up a treat....and it sounds like your happy with the results which is something to be proud of.
I am interested in what the "fret buzz meter" actually is...? If their not those things stuck on the side of your head.

The things on the side of my head I've learned are not to be completely trusted
The idea I've got is to use the strings that 'buzz' on the frets (if they do at all!) as a switch to trigger a pulse lengthening circuit. Basically, it will take a fast pulse (like something as short as a single touch of a string on a fret) and lengthen it to turn on a light for maybe half a second, so I can easily see that there's a fret problem.
I'm not even sure that I heard any fret buzz and it could be that I'm chasing a 'sour' note or something (maybe it's imagination)... this will at least confirm fret buzz or not
I'll drag out the old electronics bits and pieces over the weekend and see what I can rustle up. If it works, I'll post the details and it might help someone else

hey that's looking great - makes me want to pick it up and play!

You'll be a great french polisher after this. I'll be after some tips ...

Malibu, if that guitar was a woman I'd marry it!! A very fine looking instrument indeed.

Originally Posted by Malibu

So far, I like it... (But I'm biased! )

The toughest critic of an instrument is the person who built it. If you love it then it must be an exceptional instrument.

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

if that guitar was a woman I'd marry it!!

Crikes, I nearly fell of the chair when I saw that one!! Loved it!
(Sorry mate, but she's already spoken for... )
Thanks guys, it's all much appreciated

Gatay: I'd guess that we're all pretty proud (and rightly so, too) of our instruments... There's no exception from my view of mine either!

CB: I'm not sure about me teaching you guys about any french polishing... You 'lot' have steered me in it so far, there's probably not much more I can add to it all!
I do have one problem in the finishing of it though... I'm reluctant to take it all apart because I'm too busy playing it!
I'll reserve a couple of hours playing time if you make it down to my neck of the woods...

KG: It sounds like a bit of wisdom speaking there in that being the hardest critic is our own self. Absolutely right too!
Isn't that what drives us to make it 'better' next time?

It's been a bit slow lately because of other things that take a priority, but with a week off over easter, I thought it's a good time to get the finish 'finished'...
Unfortunately, more french polish woes!
I bought some micro-mesh (Great stuff!!) and started the final finishing on the FP, but as I was sanding, I could see the shellac layers below coming through as the top layer sanded thin. It looked like a slightly rough blemish in the surface. From my understanding of FP, it's all becomes one layer as each new layer is amalgamated with the previous ones, so there shouldn't be anything to be seen of earlier layers. I couldn't get the layers to merge by sanding, so there was only one thing for it.. strip the back and start again!
I stripped the shellac with a good dose of meths and found that the u-beaut shellac had hardened so much that the meths had a dfficult in time melting it. From that, I think I must have left the FP sessions too long between coats and the 'new' layer didn't have enough bite to merge with the old layers... Good stuff that u-beaut shellac, just my inability to use it!
Anyway, it also gave me a chance to look deeper into the chemical grain filler I'd used previously. I set my old printers sight glass to check out the grain and found heaps left behind (there's a couple of dodgy pictures of it). With a combination of sanding, scrubbing with a toothbrush and lashings of meths/water, I got a lot more out. I'm happy to say that the Queensland maple figure is a lot more 'vibrant' now.
I'm now up to re-doing the FP, but this time, it'll be a daily job and should be ready for final finishing before I get back to work...
One more lesson learned!