Second build, Modern/BM/super strat

[dankarghh]

Hey guys,

So i've just started my second build.

25.5 scale
Modern BMish shape
33mm thick
42mm nut width
Ebony fretboard
Flamed maple top
Mahogany body
5 piece maple/jarrah/maple/jarrah/maple neck
Dimarzio titan bridge/59 neck (still undecided)

Undecided on finish at this point. I may have ordered a nice piece of swamp ash for build no3. Similar design, single pup baritone.

PICS!

Gluing neck laminates:

Bookmatching top:

Thicknessing body with my dodgy jig:

I think the router slipped at some stage, because the body minus the top was going to be 34mm, this is closer to 30..

 

[dankarghh]

Neck thicknessed with router:

Top rough cut pre gluing:

Headstock:

Anddd here is where i'm at at the moment.

Help me decide on a finish!

 

[mortbopet]

Well i'm a sucker for the Mayones "jeans" finish.
Imagine this finish, but with the white parts being a tone of scarlet red.

 

[immortalx]

Looks super cool, especially the headstock! If you're wiring for a push/pull pot measure twice man cause it probably won't fit in there.
I was going to suggest a finish with more stain in the middle and "washed out" at the edges, but I think that would work better with a darker binding.
Mortbopet's suggestion seems nice too!

 

[DredFul]

It would be quite flashy but I'm dying to see a flame maple top dyed with black and orange to a tiger look

 

[jahosy]

Nice! The denim finish would look awesome.

And how about book matching such a thin top!

 

[mortbopet]

Here's some pictures:

A nice red/black flamed maple without any bursting from the sides.

Heres one a bit more yellowy/tigerish

 

[mortbopet]

Sorry for double posting, but decided to play around with the colors of the first model.

#1 flaming red

#2 Orange

#3 Orange/yellow

#4 Yellow

 

[dankarghh]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I've been thinking about an old jean type finish myself. Does anyone know how you go about getting a finish like that?

I don't know how good it would look with the current binding though..

 

[dankarghh]

Nice! The denim finish would look awesome.

And how about book matching such a thin top!

Hahaha, I got three of the boards from the states for $70 all up with shipping ($50ish shipping). Stoked.

 

[DistinguishedPapyrus]

Sorry for double posting, but decided to play around with the colors of the first model.

#1 flaming red

#2 Orange

#3 Orange/yellow

#4 Yellow

Deff like #3, orange-yellow.

 

[mortbopet]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I've been thinking about an old jean type finish myself. Does anyone know how you go about getting a finish like that?

I don't know how good it would look with the current binding though..

Don't take my word for anything, but i'm pretty sure you need to
1. bleach the wood, since you need the base color of the wood to be white (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6iBPDD8VvQ)
2. stain the wood with black colouring (How Do They Make Those Quilt Tops So 3D-Looking? | Seymour Duncan Blog) As far as i can tell, if you take the picture in that link, where the black stain has been applied (The difference being that the image is a quilt top and yours is a flame), it would roughly look like a "denim" finish, if the wood had been bleached beforehand. since bleaching the wood doesn't fill any pores, my theory is, that the same type of wood grain that would absorb a like black stain, still would.

but you should probably try asking mayones if they're willing to share some details on it.

I see the bleaching as the key step here, since the base color of wood is sort of yellowish.
This is an example of a guitar that has been applied a thin stain (blue, in this case), to a non-bleached top

 

[mortbopet]

Addition to my latest post, step 3 would be sanding down the stained layer.
This step is shown at this website: Guitars : Staining Guitar Tops : DIY Fever – Building my own guitars, amps and pedals

 

[ThatCanadianGuy]

I must riteously register a grievance with you, good sir! It looks nothing like a bowel movement!

Seriously though, that number four version with the yellow is astounding.

 

[dankarghh]

Thanks guys. Yeah i've done a flamed finish before, I meant particularly the jean look. Neck pocket routed. Pup cavities this afternoon I hope.

 

[Deegatron]

Can you give a little more info on how you managed to bookmatch the top with a hand saw? im assuming you made some pre-cuts to guide the blade while hand sawing? i've been trying to figgure out how to do this with my current gear and im running low on ideas....

 

[dankarghh]

Can you give a little more info on how you managed to bookmatch the top with a hand saw? im assuming you made some pre-cuts to guide the blade while hand sawing? i've been trying to figgure out how to do this with my current gear and im running low on ideas....

Yep. Pretty much nailed it. I have three of those boards so I tried the worst one first (it took so long I'm using it on this project, ha). I squared the edges with a straight guide and router then just carefully lined up the guide on my table saw and ran each side through. Then I really just took a saw to it to finish it off. It took a lot longer than expected. Then I just taped the two boards down to a flat surface and leveled them with the router.

 

[dankarghh]

Spent way too long making some perfect pickup templates for the titans I have on order using some excess 10mm acrylic.

Unfortunately, near completion (luckily) I noticed something odd was happening with the router..

 

[pettymusic]

Dang dude! Looking awesome!

What did you use to cut the acrylic?

Love the body style too. Kinda BM and Mayo had a baby! Haha!

 

[dankarghh]

Dang dude! Looking awesome!

What did you use to cut the acrylic?

Love the body style too. Kinda BM and Mayo had a baby! Haha!

Haha thanks man. Just router/jigsaw, nothing unusual. I'll just have to be extra careful with the template and not use it for too long. I was doing really shallow passes because I didn't remove any wood prior to routing so it mustve just got way too hot. Oh well.