# Lockdown Project: George Lynch Skull n' Bones



## Randy (May 10, 2020)

Paging @Spaced Out Ace. Forgive the copy-pasta as I try to get this thread caught up to date.

Alright, so details and pics.

I think I told the story a few years back about the time I got a chance to play the 'Skull and Bones' back stage at a Lynch Mob show (~2004?). Lynch is absolutely my #1 favorite guitar player of all time even before that, and I also had a copy of 'Nightmare on Elm Street 3' as a kid, so THAT guitar was always prominent to me.

Anyway, fast forward to COVIDpocalyse and I've had free time on my hands. Have been considering a Lynch-esque build for a while but no practical way to do it in Fusion 360. With all that free time, I got a copy of Vectric Aspire, which is more sign-making oriented, which makes it better at 3D carving. Spent a week learning the program and sketched up a pretty decent Skull and Bones carve.




Spec-wise, I was looking to get this very close to the original J. Frog build. ESP did a remake a few years back (that Lynch himself plays often now) that's actually a much better guitar with a much nicer relief but a little too real vs. the original. So the goal was something halfway in between. I left a few detail to be done by hand just out of not knowing how well the program would be able to carve them but after seeing it in action, I might add more detail to the model if I did one again.

I'm on a pretty much non-existent budget right now, so the plan was to use whatever I have in stock. Luckily I had a billet of maple that was suitable (and ironically, reclaimed from a church rec room! ). My CNC clearance is not great, so I was weary of carving a 2" thick blank, so i decided to carve the top then I'll glue it to the back. Top came out ~3/4" thick, so the back will be ~1" thick. I *think* I've got a suitable piece of mahogany to do that, if not, it'll be poplar instead. Either of the two would suit me tone-wise.

Roughing phase. 1/4" square bit




Short CNC clip. It's a Shapeoko 3XXL with an upgrade lead screw Z axis



First phase of fine carving. Used a 1/4" ballnose bit







I considered another pass with a 1/8" ballnose but the simulation didn't show any appreciable increase in detail. So next phase was neck, pickup and trem routes. The blank wasn't thick enough to get those deep enough, so they'll likely be the surface I'll use to route them full depth by hand.







Needs sanding and fine work now but I'll wait till it's glued up. It's a little thin and fragile right now. Luckily I've got a pretty nice OFR kit laying around so besides finishing products, all I'll need to outsource is the pickup. We'll cross that bridge later though.


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## Randy (May 10, 2020)

Incrimental update. Modeled the back out. Opted to try it in Fusion 360 this time because Aspire REALLY didn't like all the polylines when it was doing the contouring procedure and the bit was getting hot. We'll see if Fusion moves easier. Could be a limitation of the GRBL controller.

I'm going to take some more measurements before I commit to the depths. The bridge pickup on most models basically sits on the top of the guitar with almost no recess because of how tall the non-recessed floyd is. I modeled it like 1/2" deep and I don't think that's necessary.




Doing something a little different with the back. Most cheap copies, and even some nicer ones, as well as the J. Frog basically carry the carve all the way to the back, which is ugly and I'd imagine makes it more awkward to play.




Current plan is to basically extract the actual 'guitar' shape in the back carve. Modeled it in AutoCAD pretty well. It'd be stupid difficult to try and have the CNC do this with all that texture on the front of the guitar, so I'm most likely cut a template for this in MDF and route the profile by hand.




50/50 on what I'll use for the rest of the wood on this. My mahogany's not thick enough. I've got SOME ash but prolly not enough. I've got enough basswood to do it but eeeeh idk. 

Neck, same deal. I've got a nice piece of quartersawn maple but it's short. I've got enough to do it in ambrosia maple but I want the grain to be pretty clear to get it closer to the original look. I've got a piece of hickory but was planning on that as more of an experiment.

So I might have to take a trip to the lumber store at some point.


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## Randy (May 10, 2020)

Update:

Got the rest of the body glued up yesterday and cut today. I ended up going with a maple body to go along with the maple top, which is actually more accurate to the J. Frog. A normal body would've fit on one billet but the extra carvy bits made this wider than normal, so I ended up having to glue two pieces togethere and then another two skinny pieces for basically just the skull and the fingers.







Glued and then the obligatory 'all the clamps' pic. Top cooperated a lot better than I anticipated, thankfully.







Leave that overnight and see what I'm looking at in the morning. I'm sure I've got a lot of sanding and Dremeling in my future

In the meantime, I sketched up the neck, which is appropriately banana-riffic. Used the same Super Wizard carve I use by default (same as I used on the Parker fretless). The 80s ESP and J.Frog banana headstocks are non-tilt, like a Fender so that's how I have it. Face recess and truss rod will be done by hand. I definitely don't have enough lumber for the neck, so that I'll have to get from the lumber yard, as well as the fretboard. I'm 50/50 on ebony or Richlite.







This is a simulation clip I recorded. Typically I do the carve AND the contour in one file but the model was funky because I did more carving than normal on the headstock transition, so I did it in two files. This is also my first time using 3D pocketing for rough procedure instead of 3D adapative and I'm happy with it. Removes material faster, works from top down with less load and overall faster. Second procedure is a 'parallel' to clean up some tool marks.


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## Randy (May 10, 2020)

Glue up went well. A couple hours with the Dremel. I think it just needs sanding, and rear routing and we're just about ready to paint a spooky skeleton.


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## Randy (May 10, 2020)

Did the rear routing, along with the 'body shape' I was talking about. 

Didn't take any pics of it but I made a 1/4" thick template, stuck it the back of the body to route the trem claw cavity and pot cavity cover. Then I used a 1/4" x 1/2" deep template bit chucked in the router table table and did the outline. I got tearout on two of the fingers but not deep enough that they'll need repair.

I'm digging the look on the back, should look really clean after sanding and paint. I'm 50/50 on if I want to bother doing a tummy cut. I don't think the J Frog had one and after sitting with it on my lap and holding it in playing postition, I don't think that area interferes enough to warrant it. All the versions with the tummy cut, I think the back of the skull starts to look thin and I'd be worried about it breaking in a drop.







Cut out the neck template too. Drove to the lumber store only to find out they close 4 hours earlier because of COVID restrictions, so that was 3 hours down the drain. Oh well, I'll try again during the week.


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## Hollowway (May 10, 2020)

Dude! I'm so jealous I don't know whether to say fuck you or bravo! That is also my favorite guitar of all time. I still remember the first time I saw it. My jaw dropped. I've been toying with the idea of ordering one from Hembry, as he does one too. But I am still in the once-bitten-twice-shy phase of buying customs, because I don't feel like making another builder go under because I gave them money. 

This guitar was also the inspiration for the snakes and spider web guitar I did like 10 years ago when I first joined SSO. I love the concept.

I'd say the most impressive thing to me is how you programmed all of that stuff. In all seriousness, you could do a bunch of those and sell them immediately. Maybe in my old age I'll make myself an 8 string version.


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## Randy (May 10, 2020)

@Hollowway Thanks! Maybe we'll collab on something down the road. The lockdown granted me a little more time during the week than I can typically afford, but there's certain sized stuff that's still viable during my normal schedule (ie: bodies, etc.) We'll compare notes on what you can source from someone reliable and what you can DIY, and maybe I can fill in some gaps.

This is going to be a soup-to-nuts scratch build on a pretty short timeframe (ideally like the Parker build), but typically these aren't viable partially because of my schedule, partially because of the limited space in my shop and budget for materials. I've got ~6 benches that typically have stuff in various stages of completion or home projects on them, and all things that divide my attention. The Parker build went together in just a couple weeks because I basically cleared everything out of the way and did nothing but that till it was done, but it also involved enough stuff that I was experience with that I had minimal surprises.

SO FAR this one is on track to go that way, fingers crossed.

I also typically just wait till stuff is done to post a finished item with some select build pics, just incase I have hiccups along the way but I wanted to do this differently, since I'm sure there's people bored sitting at home and they might find a semi-realtime build entertaining. I'm self taught and learned everything I know (besides experimenting) by reading Project Guitar build threads, etc. Hopefully somebody sees this thread and learns something, and it's also an opportunity to follow along and ask questions.


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## Crash Dandicoot (May 10, 2020)

Yeah, this is pretty dope. I am eagerly anticipating the conclusion


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## ramses (May 10, 2020)

Very nice.

Subscribed.


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## electriceye (May 11, 2020)

Not that it matters, since the entire guitar will be painted. But curious if those clamps really worked well for you gluing the top on, or if you had very visible glue lines. Those squeeze clamps donn’t generate nearly as much force as normal clamps and getting very thin/invlisible glue lines is a chore, no matter what.


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## Bobo (May 11, 2020)

Lynch, Nightmare on Elm Street....ah awesome memories. This is really cool


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## Randy (May 11, 2020)

electriceye said:


> Not that it matters, since the entire guitar will be painted. But curious if those clamps really worked well for you gluing the top on, or if you had very visible glue lines. Those squeeze clamps donn’t generate nearly as much force as normal clamps and getting very thin/invlisible glue lines is a chore, no matter what.



I'll snap some pics along the edges. The fact the top was wafer thin worked in it's favor because they didn't resist the clamps at all. I was surprised, there's little to no gapping.

That said, the top-bottom thing added an extra several steps, so I'd probably opt to do it all in one piece next time. The Shapeoko lets you unclamp the spindle and raise it, so I might lift the spindle ~1" when I carve the top, then drop it back down when I go to do the perimeter.


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## Randy (May 11, 2020)

Some neck action. Tried to get a neck Saturday but the yard closed early. Went back today, they're still on semi-lockdown so you can't go in but they were doing curbside pickup and would bring the boards out to see what you want. Sucks for the workers there but glad it's safer and glad I got my woooood. I got two pieces just incase I boned up the first but luckily it went well.

Plank next to the template. I messed up my centerline on the template, so it shaved off the smaller side of the headstock but gave me most of what I needed.




A few passes with the CNC machine, pretty much exactly the same as the simulation I posted.









I'm super happy with the carve and the modeling overall.

One issue, and a lesson about not being impatient, I used the same ballnose bit for the whole thing and using the ballnose meant I had to spend another 20 minutes sanding the beveled edges of the end. A tool change to a square bit would've gotten me a nice square edge and taken me like 30 seconds. Doesn't pay to cut corners.

Also some closeups of the tool marks I need to sand out. I left +.004" of material to leave room for sanding without making things too skinny. This is one of the nicer profiles I've done; minimal sanding.










Mock up next to the body. Both are maple but you can see the difference in color between the species, where they were harvested and aging from the fact the body is from a tree that was harvested at least 70 years ago.

I messed something up when I routed the neck pocket, so it's narrow and needs to be widened. I usually use the neck heel contour in CAD and add on another .03" radial removal for a nice snug neck joint. My guess is I either skipped that or ADD .03" to the pocket instead of subtract, which made it smaller. Either way, I'll have to figure out how to address it with an unusual topography to work around. Hrmph.

I usually save the truss rod route for last, so that'll be later. Headstock facing after that.




Starting to look like a guitar though! I'm all out of hardware/supplies, so it'll probably be at least another week before a can do much progress on this. Luckily I did find that FR I have, I'm 50/50 on using it because it's a pricey 'Hot Rodded' model and this will most likely be 'dive' only so that seems like a waste. I might go with a Schaller or Gotoh for half the price.

I also found out Lynch was using the SD Distortion in the early to mid 80s, and it turns out I have a vintage Distortion from an old part-out/swap project. So that'll make it more accurate and save me some cash.


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## jaxadam (May 11, 2020)

Bobo said:


> Nightmare on Elm Street....ah awesome memories



Best. Movie. Ever.


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## Randy (May 11, 2020)

Haven't sanded the fingers yet but here's a couple flat areas I started sanding (router burn galore. No gaps, some visible glue seams but yeah, solid finish and there'll be carving on almost every square inch of this





If it was staying au naturale I'd have done something different. I use name brand clamps because they have noticeably more clamping force. I've grenaded a lot of Harbor Freight clamps before. There are two stuck in here in less important areas.

I've also got screw style bar clamps and those screw style block type clamps like you use on an acoustic.

Fwiw, I used the Irwin clamps on this Tele as well, which is staying natural. No gap, no glue lines. (Blue is epoxy fill. Might post pics down the road when it's done)


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## Crash Dandicoot (May 11, 2020)

Your progress is great so far! Ever consider doing a 7 string variant?


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## Randy (May 11, 2020)

Crash Dandicoot said:


> Your progress is great so far! Ever consider doing a 7 string variant?



Considered it for this one, actually. But I wanted it as close as possible visually (within reason), and that meant the banana-stock, which I thought might get a little long with an extra tuner on it. Might revisit it depending on how this goes, although I've got another 80s/ERG mashup or two sketched up. Let's see how long this lockdown lasts


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## electriceye (May 14, 2020)

Sanding the sides of the neck pocket should be pretty simple to open it up enough. Just be sure to do an even amount of strokes on each side so it doesn't get lopsided.

Really impressed by the glue lines. It's something I struggle with, even with regular claps. Maybe I just use too much glue...


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## Randy (May 14, 2020)

electriceye said:


> Sanding the sides of the neck pocket should be pretty simple to open it up enough. Just be sure to do an even amount of strokes on each side so it doesn't get lopsided.
> 
> Really impressed by the glue lines. It's something I struggle with, even with regular claps. Maybe I just use too much glue...



Thanks for the advice! Yeah, I've got some ugly glue joints I'll gladly share in not this thread  It's an imperfect science.


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## Randy (May 21, 2020)

Been quiet here because I ran out of stuff I have here in-house, and All-Parts+shipping have been slowed down due to COVID-19 and backlogs. Anyway, I got a shipment in yesterday. Supplies are almost entirely for this build, plus 48ft. of SS fretwire and six truss rods to button up some other builds I have around the shop.




Also a shipment came in from Floyd Rose.




Mini-rant: Got a fretboard. I've been considering trying Richlite because I like sustainable materials and I like the consistency of coloring. Unfortunately, I can resaw my own fretboards for a fraction of the price, so the Richlite didn't seem necessary or practical.

Fast-forward to this build, I need ebony or something ebony-like and my lumber yard doesn't carry that. Good opportunity to go Richlite, so I track some down. Price is okay. Suggested search is a piece of Gaboon Ebony, for around the same price. I wait on it for a day and I end up getting an offer for a gew bucks off of the ebony that brings it considerably lower than the Richlite after shipping. I ultimately end up taking that route.

If Richlite is going to be a sustainable alternative to exotic woods, it's hard to compete with literally THE cadillac of fretboard woods on moral grounds only. It's chopped up paper FFS. Anyway, enter one super dark piece of ebony for a spooky guitar build.




I did some work in the meantime. I slotted the truss rod with the CNC. I had pics of the process of taping it down that I lost somehow but basically I traced the neck onto my spoilboard, put blue painters tape down, put blue painters tape on the matching surfaces of the neck and superglued them together. This is a VERY strong bond that I use when screwing down the worpiece isn't an option.

Presto truss-rod-o!







I typically use heel end truss rod adjustment but went with headstock end mounting this time just to match the original more closely. This turned out to be a fucking mess.

I went to put the truss rod in, and the adjustment didn't fit in the route. It wanted more room left and right and up and down. I measured the channel depth next to the neck thickness and to get the truss channel deep enough for the adjustment to fit, I'd have to get down to .45" deep and the neck thickness is closer to .47" total. That'd be only .02" of wood left! Yikes! 

Also, left to right, even with the ~.26" wide channel, there's barely clearance for the Floyd Rose nut to clear the channel. I'm worried the screws will tearout into the channel. Mounting with machine screws through the back of the neck a la Ibanez LMAO no way, not even close clearance-wise.

Enter Mini Rant #2: Two-Way Truss Rods, fuck 'em. I've been repairing guitars for ~15 years and I've NEVER had a neck of my own or one that came in that needed relief backward after you release any tension in the rod to zero. I've had some necks that weren't straight after relieving all tension and it's always twisted, none of which that would be relieved with turning the truss rod the other way.

My Parkers, while the carbon fiber skin helps, their truss rod is literally a piece of threaded piano-wire and they've been straight as an arrow, one of which is 30-ish yearsh old. I'm starting to think a single action truss rod is more than enough, and it removes a lot less material. I'm also waaaay less interested in headstock-end truss adjustment in general, it's cutting out MORE material at the thinnest part of the neck. WHY?

Okay, end rant. Fuck two-way truss rods with headstock adjustment. I decided to refill it and I'll reroute for heel adjustment.


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## Randy (May 22, 2020)

Alright, goodies delivered = rapidfire updates are back.

Last of the important stuff is in, thanks to ye' ol' adminishredder.  Shipment complete with CQ picks and the scent of scrotum, which means this is authentic.




Glue dried/cured, so it was time to take another swing at the truss rod. Much happier with the new fitment.




Most of the rest of the day was dedicated to fretboard schtuff. Input one 'blacker than Dick Cheney's soul' piece of ebony.




I tried a new CAM carving profile this time. My old one was, I believe, all 3D adaptive and a horizontal parallel process but the 3D adaptive took some deeper than I'd prefer passes and the stepover on the parallel passes made it a long process to get it cleaned. So I tried 3D pocket clearing and widthwise parallel clearing instead. I'm super happy with it this way. This should give you an idea of the tool marks you need to get out.

I also included a snap of how I mount when I glue to the table. Super glue and accelerant, bonds in 2 or 3 seconds. 









After this, onto the fold-up bench to hit it with some elbow grease. 16" radius block with 60 grit paper for fast clearing. I have that glued to the block and I use the grip of the sand paper to hold each successive grit. Sand up to 220 and it's soft smoooooth (just like-a silk-a).










I have fret slotting CNC bits, but they break easy and they take a while. I have an old school 'Randy's secret weapon' rig I use for slotting that still does it faster and more reliable than anything else. It's an old 'overhead' sliding miter saw with a .023" screw slotting blade and a jig I threw together. The board sticks to a notched slotting template, and an indexing pin locks into each position. The saw needs the slide oiled every use to move freely but otherwise it's pretty seamless and fast.




The slots come out clean but they don't go super deep, so I clear out each slot by hand with a fret saw. I've got the HF cutoff saw and it's insane value, I've been using the same one for ~12 years. This deepens, slightly widens the slot and the manual sawing lets me follow the radius, which gets you the depth you need for the fret tang without cutting too deep and losing rigidity in the fretboard.




Fretboard still needs inlays but they're on their way. Allparts shipment showed up without them because they're on back order, so I ordered them from elsewhere. MOP.

Not sure what I did wrong in my neck programming but the contour came out ~1/32" wider than the template, so I'm going to sand that down to narrow it up a little better. Face of the headstock can use some thickness sanding before the tuners go in, and a little cleanup from the truss rod fill.

I cleaned up some of the tearout on the fingers of the body carve. I had a little more hand carving left before I snapped the flexshaft on my Dremel, replacement just came in yesterday so fine carving left to do with that.


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## KR250 (May 23, 2020)

Cool build! Regarding the Richlite, they do sell 2'x2' sheets that ends up being way cheaper than their actual pre cut fretboards, getting cost closer to $10 a fret board. At least for the diamond black. It's been kind of hell on tools though. I'm totally with you on ditching head stock adjusting truss rods.


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## Randy (May 23, 2020)

KR250 said:


> Cool build! Regarding the Richlite, they do sell 2'x2' sheets that ends up being way cheaper than their actual pre cut fretboards, getting cost closer to $10 a fret board. At least for the diamond black. It's been kind of hell on tools though. I'm totally with you on ditching head stock adjusting truss rods.



Thanks and thank you for the tip. I'll look into that. I've got a few other builds in mind and wouldn't mind giving them a shot, especially at that price point.

Incremental update.

Finally got the neck and body mated up. Ran a pocket contour procedure on the CNC. That definitely cleaned up the pocket some but neck still didn't fit until I sanded the neck down to the width of the template. Not 100% sure what the neck width issues was but I suspect it's because I had the carving procedure set to leave some stock on the back of the neck for sanding but it probably wrapped around to the edges as well.

I know what the pocket problem was though; normally I use the neck tenon to set the pocket contour, but this time was funky because the heel block and neck I chose didn't line up 100%, so I made an asymmetrical carve. Too many variables putting a symmetrical neck in an asymmetrical route. Cleanup up process was a clear pocket based on tenon.




Drilled for the tuners. Started photographing the process but had my hands full. Also went to snap a pic with the tuners installed, but I misplaced one of the retaining nuts and wasn't going to spend a lot of time looking at the moment. So anyway, a somewhat anticlimactic pic of the headstock with tuner holes. You can also see where I filled the truss rod. If it were natural I'd have gone a different route but it's gonna be black like George's, so that'll do.




I did a short video showing the Sperzel reversal process. Forgive my fat hands in the way but should give folks who haven't done it before an idea of the process. Video is a minute and a half but I think you can do it in 30 sec if you're not trying to show it to the camera 



Last item of the day was getting the fretboard glued on. Transferred the shape to the board and tapered it on the bandsaw, plus ~1/8" for wiggle room that'll get sanded out after it dried.




A couple passes with 60 grit on the back gives the glue more places to sink in for better adhesion.




More clamps! If Hell exists and I end up there, it'll be twisting those goddamn wingnuts for eternity. I've seen acoustic builders use the same clamps but with nuts and a nut drive set to medium torque. Might convert over to that to save my fingers.

I typically drill four holes in the fret slots and tap in brad nails to keep the board from moving but I had the wrong bit and nails today. In lieu of that, I got the wood glue tacky and wiggled the board around to get it to bite, then clamped down with the nut-end pump clamp to hold everything in place.

Screw clamps are handling edges, Irwin clamps are handling the middle. I also fired up the dehumidifer to speed up the drying process. You'd be surprised how long wood glue stays wet deep inside these things, despite the advertised drying/curing times.




EDIT: Found it


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## Randy (May 24, 2020)

The dehumidifier did me well. The wood glue was rock solid by lunchtime today. Thumb plane on the sides for some ebony shavings.




Hit the edges with the belt sander, and 60 grit by hand to round the edges. Usually I have a squared off fretboard for overhang but the original and this both have the fretboard rounded off to match the shape of the heel to fit around the carve.

Made it out of the cave to get an outside shot.




Waiting on the MOP dots, which will put me back a few days. I might clean up the body and do some prep for the bridge in the meantime.


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## USMarine75 (May 24, 2020)

#SSOFappening


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## Samark (May 24, 2020)

Really cool mate. Great way to spend time during isolation


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## KR250 (May 25, 2020)

Wow, seriously impressed how this is turning out!


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## Randy (May 27, 2020)

KR250 said:


> Wow, seriously impressed how this is turning out!



High praise, coming from you. Much appreciated.


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## Randy (May 27, 2020)

Fretboard day!

Marked everything out in pencil for centerlines. 1/4" MOP dots. One of the things people typical skip that makes things way harder is using a wood awl to dimple their center points. If you do that and chase it with a bradpoint bit, you get as close to exact as you can when drilling a piece of wood. Works for the face AND the side dots.




Didn't take pics of the process but drill press for the face and drilled by hand for the sides. I see a lot of people use really complex jigging for side dots but if you mark and punch your centerpoints, you can drill for recesses by hand and get them clean every time.

The front dots I'd typically drill a sliver over 1/4" for an easy fit but my larger bit was missing, so I went with a clean 1/4" bit and just used the Irwin clamps to seat them with super glue. I leave them a little proud of the slot or just up to the edge of it, and the radius block with 100, 150, 220. No idea why but the Gorilla brand CA glue seems to take a lot longer than the Loctite brand I swear by. Either way, happy with the results. 

DOTS!







On to the fretwork. I have a press that I spent good money on buying and modifying for pressing frets but it's crazy inconvenient and doesn't get as much leverage as I'd like. A lot of guys work with just a fretting hammer, which is nice but doesn't distribute impact evenly and is easy to mar your fretboard with errant strikes. Best compromise I've found is using the pressing caul and blocks, and hammering on that with the fret hammer. One or two on the center to get it to hold, then, up from center and down from center for the arch.




My fretwire comes straight, and it's semi-useable that way since some bending happens in the seating process but you still need to prebend them. Especially with stainless. This is a fretbender I made years and years ago that's done the trick. Most of what you're seeing is self explanatory but the cliff notes is that it's a piece of 2" aluminum flat bar with skateboard bearings and bolts, one side slotted to adjust the amount of relief. The feeder are a couple washers and a bolt, with a window crank as a feeder. This thing bends a 2' piece of fretwire pretty reliably in about 15 seconds. Sometimes I give it more than one pass to get there, especially stainless because it's springy.







Next was the actual fretting process, as described above. Not much to add. It's stainless jumbo. I used to cut my fretwire with a pair of long handled end nippers but the stainless fights it too much and I ruined a couple pairs, along with getting blisters. I switched over to a pair of mini-bolt cutters and they snip the stainless wire pretty effortless. This is how it looks after seating them, before final trimming, beveling, etc.

The neck is a hair flatter with rounder shoulders than my cushion. Had to do one pass with it in place with light taps, then second pass without it and pretty hard to get them in without it rolling. Kitchen drawer mats to keep the heel tenon and back of headstock from getting scratched with all the pounding.




After they were seated, I tapped the extra fretwire to round the edges more (typically the edges have more relief from the sanding process). Everything got clipped as close as I could with the bolt cutters, then sanded flush on the vertical belt sander (the Rigid one that converts to a spindle sander; it's worth it's weight in gold), and beveled around 30 degrees thanks to the variable deck on it. You have to be careful how much pressure and how long you keep the sander on the fretwire or they glow orange, burn the fretboard and discolor the fretwire.

After that, the frets get another couple taps to fully seat the edges and they're done. Typically you don't need a full on fret level on a new fretjob, but this will get taped up and the frets will be sanded/polished and fine tuned for level in the later stages.




Definitely nearing the finish line. The ebony is kind of a bitch because the dust breaks up like dirt and stains any unfinished lighter surfaces. I kept sanding the maple to pristine, then I'd fine tune the fretboard and have to clean up sand the maple again, ugh. Luckily that's pretty much done with. Neck is sanded up to 150, so one or two grits left and it's finish ready.

Neck is pretty much ready to take a break though. On to final sanding on the body and finish. I glaze/fillered the top to body seam as a final precaution, and I'm pretty much done with the actual sculpt as well as the relief on the edges. So pretty much sanding the sides and back and we're ready for paint.


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## Hollowway (May 28, 2020)

This is about as much fun as one can have living vicariously through another human. Damn, I love this build!


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## USMarine75 (May 28, 2020)

I clicked on 'recommended for you' on pornhub and it brought me here.


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## DiezelMonster (May 28, 2020)

@Randy 

This looks killer! I've wanted to dive into this, I want to make one body but I can't find anyone willing to make one so I've contemplated buying this sort of get-up but I have no freaking clue what to do hahaha.

anyhow, this is awesome.

Cheers.


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## Randy (May 28, 2020)

DiezelMonster said:


> @Randy
> 
> This looks killer! I've wanted to dive into this, I want to make one body but I can't find anyone willing to make one so I've contemplated buying this sort of get-up but I have no freaking clue what to do hahaha.
> 
> ...



Thank you!

Well hopefully it's a crash course in some of the basics. Like I said, I primarily learned from books and build threads, so hopefully someone gains some useful information from this like I did. Ideally, I'll be able post another build thread or two in the future to cover some specifics that I might've missed here or elsewhere.


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## Omzig (May 28, 2020)

Totally cool build, i remember seeing mr lynch sporting that bones guitar during an opening support set with lynch mod for queensryche during the UK empire tour 

btw Love those fretboard edge clamps a great idea(wish id had those earlier this week) is that rounds of cork you have as padding?


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## Randy (May 28, 2020)

Just the wood, no padding. I think it's 3" roundstock that is used for railings, but it's softwood and my edges are sanded, so it typically doesn't leave any marks on hardwood surfaces. Cork wouldn't be a bad idea to prevent slipping though, or as an extra layer of protection; good thought.  

99% of the time I'm using these around the edges on a guitar top, which is nice because it's got square faces to sit against top and bottom. On things like fretboards with a rounded back and radiused top, it does take some trial and error. A softer surface to back them would help slip, another thing I was considering are maybe metal bridges top and bottom to basically bind the clamps together on opposite sides to help hold them in place.


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## tedtan (May 29, 2020)

Cool project, and it's turning out much better than I would have thought given all the work on the skull and bones. Good job, man.

What are you using for the min bolt cutters you mentioned in the fretting section?


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## Randy (Jun 2, 2020)

tedtan said:


> Cool project, and it's turning out much better than I would have thought given all the work on the skull and bones. Good job, man.
> 
> What are you using for the min bolt cutters you mentioned in the fretting section?



I got them from Lowe's, I forget what they're marketed as, maybe nail head/screw cutter? But they're Kobalt brand. I'll get a pic next I'm down in the shop but they're ~10" long and weren't very expensive (sub $20?).

Actually a side note on these, I was cutting my fretwire too short when I started using them, and the angle of the cut was twisting the fret tang, so I'd have to go back with a pair of pliers and straight them.

This time, I cut them longer so that the twisted fret tang was past the edge of the fretboard, then when I went to trim them flush, I cut them so that the tang is down on the 'V' of the cutters, which centered the pressure and keeps the tang from getting bent. Way less work.


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## Randy (Jun 5, 2020)

Couple pics as promised.

These are the cutters. Didn't go on the site to find the model but like I said, they were ballpark $17? I've done at least a dozen fretjobs with them and there are no chips or flat spots.




This is what I was talking about regarding snipping without bending the tang. The fret tries to roll to much if you do this on your initial sizing, so you need to cut it at an angle first and leave some extra, then after you tap them in, you can cut them this way without rolling and your tangs stay crisp.




As far as the current state of the build, it took a quick break, partially because I had other projects to tackle but the OFR was spoken for for a different project, so I ordered a Gotoh and it was a mess trying to source a black one with the right sized block. Three places had them back ordered, most everyone else had them but overpriced, until I found one in Boston. That came in today. Next step would be finish but I didn't have my stud holes drilled because the bridge situation was up in the air, so this should help everything progress.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jun 5, 2020)

Randy said:


> Paging @Spaced Out Ace. Forgive the copy-pasta as I try to get this thread caught up to date.
> 
> Alright, so details and pics.
> 
> ...



Every boys best friend is his Mom. Glad to see you're building a mom of your own.


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## LiveOVErdrive (Jun 6, 2020)

This is the coolest shit. Can't wait to see how it turns out.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jun 8, 2020)

Just to be clear, we are at the fretboard n neck portion of the proceeds, correct?

Are you going for an aged, yellowed bone look with the face of the guitar? Or a bright pearly white Crest Whitening Toothpaste look?


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## Randy (Jun 9, 2020)

Yeah neck and fretboard are done-ish. Last of the tool marks are out of the neck, and it's sanded up to 160. Frets are pressed, flush sanded and beveled. Last two things neck needs are final roundover on fret edges and finish, which is going to obviously be black headstock (likely with nitro satin clear) and tung oil on the back of the neck.

As far as finish, I'm looking for something halfway between the original Dream Warriors look and Chris Woods/ESP. The Woods is SUPER nice and much more detailed than the original but it kinda goes too far, I like that the original looks like an 80s Halloween decoration. So the idea would be probably toothpaste white with some dry brushed grey and yellowing for age. Kinda like what the J. Frog would look like after 35 years, sorta.

Made some more progress on this, got the Gotoh and drilled the bridge studs. Mounted the locking nut so I could actually tune this thing up if I wanted to but I'll wait. The pickup plans are kinda in limbo, so I'm waiting on either next step in finish or electronics before I do a full post.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jun 9, 2020)

Randy said:


> Yeah neck and fretboard are done-ish. Last of the tool marks are out of the neck, and it's sanded up to 160. Frets are pressed, flush sanded and beveled. Last two things neck needs are final roundover on fret edges and finish, which is going to obviously be black headstock (likely with nitro satin clear) and tung oil on the back of the neck.
> 
> As far as finish, I'm looking for something halfway between the original Dream Warriors look and Chris Woods/ESP. The Woods is SUPER nice and much more detailed than the original but it kinda goes too far, I like that the original looks like an 80s Halloween decoration. So the idea would be probably toothpaste white with some dry brushed grey and yellowing for age. Kinda like what the J. Frog would look like after 35 years, sorta.
> 
> Made some more progress on this, got the Gotoh and drilled the bridge studs. Mounted the locking nut so I could actually tune this thing up if I wanted to but I'll wait. The pickup plans are kinda in limbo, so I'm waiting on either next step in finish or electronics before I do a full post.


Get a Duncan Distortion.


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## Randy (Jun 9, 2020)

I've got one. A mid 80s one, at that.


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## Randy (Jun 10, 2020)

Found this at my parent's house today. This is from the night I got to play George's guitar. Bet most of you forgot he had a goth phase  It was a regular gig but he was mobbed with ESP/LTD promotional material, I think he was pushing the Grynch or whatever it was called. The ESP/LTD Forrest, maybe baritone? with the kinda melty flame graphic thing. The merch table was all ESP stuff and some guitars on display.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jun 10, 2020)

I have not forgotten about his body building phase, his rap rock phase, or his goth phase. Nice try though!


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## Randy (Jul 4, 2020)

Apologies for the delays! I had a shit ton of issues with delivery on stuff, so got side tracked on other projects, etc. Not a comprehensive of an update as I would've liked but should get us up to speed.

ALRIGHT, so I decided to shift over to electronics on this and considering it's just one pickup, a pot and an output jack, the biggest 'thing' hanging out there was the pickup really. A Screamin' Demon would've been an easy choice, as would a CS Hunter, and then the Duncan Distortion as George used in the 80s.

The plan was to use a vintage Duncan Distortion, as that would be the most 'true' to the build and would've also been the cheapest option because I had a mid-80s DD, but unfortinately that came up missing. I'd been considering winding something myself for a while and this kinda became as good of an excuse as any to do just that. Unfortunately, I've always had kinda meh results on the winding machines I've build, so this seemed like as good an excuse as any to upgrade.

Enter the CNC Pickup Winder!







The cliff notes is that it's two NEMA stepper motors, one to control the spinning and one to control the traverse. It's software controlled 'set it and forget it' or manual feed if you choose. I'm obviously a fan of having machines to do stuff consistently, which was my biggest issue with manual winding, so this thing solves some of that. SOME.

That came in the mail pretty quick but then I spent a few weeks experimenting with winding bobbins, fabricating flatwork, cutting up old pickups, all kinds of shit. That ate up some time, just experimenting.

Anyway, time to pick the wind. Still centered on the mid 80s Duncan Distortion as the framework for this, down the rabbit hole I went. So, for the uninitiated, the Duncan Distortion, the JB and the Invader are essentially the same pickup with different magnets and poles. As such, they mostly had the same DCR values around the same eras, so the WIDE range in their sound mostly came from those two differences. In a nutshell, the DCR somewhat predicts output but the inductance level is more accurate in terms of evaluating what the wind is doing, what the magnets are doing and what the other ferrous items in the magnetic field are doing to it. Filing that away for later.

Anyway, in my research into the DD, I happened across the 'Dokkenbucker', which was the Duncan Custom Shop code name for the mid-80s spec Duncan Distortion they offer. Found a pretty good blog about that here, for those that are interested.

Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Dokken Humbucker - Darth Phineas

The main takeaway is that it's a 16k humbucker, one slug coil, one screw coil, an oversized ceramic magnet and a nickel silver baseplate (which is pretty much ever SD and few other major brands/models, so it's an important feature). Then the less significant but present items, the keeper bar and spacer.

Went to specing out how do this, I probably *could* have bought all that stuff but luckily I've got a big pile of old pickups and parts to work from, so I decided to what I could make 'in house'. To the parts bin!







Found a set of coils from an old Washburn that fit the bill, along with a cannibalized Duncan Design for keeper and screws.




Harder thing was finding the ceramic magnet, which was going to be tough considering even new it's hard to find non-standard spec magnets. Luckily, I had a no-namer that was perfect. Here's a picture of it side-by-side with the Washburn magnet.




So, I've got all my parts. I calculated it a few different ways and came up with ~6600 winds of 44awg to get to the goal of 8000 DCR per coil. The 80s DDs I've seen are low 16k, the Dokkenbucker was 16.77k but in the same range. I think ideally I end up around 16.5k




Now, the original was wound by hand. I'd stop short of necessarily saying it was scatterwound, but hand winding is going to reasonably inprecise, which is something to consider. The main thing that comes from scatterwinding or loose hand winding is that the wires zig zag across eachother, causing uneven layers and lots of tiny pockets where potting wax or whatever doesn't get to (lack of potting = microphonics but in small pockets, is more like cross talk) and that's a little bit of a factor in the EQ of the pickup.

The CNC machine ideally wants to calculate every single strand laying right next to the other for an efficient wind, but that's not necessarily 'accurate' to what I'm after. So the compromise is mixed 'turns per layer', where basically you have varying winds over the duration of the width of the bobbin, so that it mimics the inefficient winding someone does by hand. That works two fold, first there's the fact you do criss crossing layers in one TPL pattern that will have loose pockets, and then you change the patter which will cause a different pattern of loose pockets. That's honestly as close to hand winding and just as similar as one wind will be to the next but in this case, you can duplicate your results from coil to coil.

Anyway, dialed up a pattern I liked.




Then gave it a spin.

[video=youtube;2DeUdFgyJEU]

One coil, two coils. Check them on the multimeter and I've VERY happy with how close the coils came out, considering the fact you tension them by hand, plus you have a couple manual winds at the beginning and end, then the start and output wires to consider. And, almost right on the nose for my 16.5k goal!







This next part is what took the longest, honestly. I have done some sheetmetal work on the CNC and by hand before, but haven't done any plating. I measured some baseplates I had and looked at what was available online, looks like 22 gauge is the usual stat. I got some 22 gauge sheet metal, expecting to cut it and plate it. 

First I ended up having a bunch of starts and stops on the sheet metal part, as the machine REALLY didn't like having to cut this stuff. Had to experiment with feeds and speeds, broke some bits, smoked other bits, knocked the workpiece loose, so on. Finally found a combination that worked but it was still a slog. Then I spec'd the baseplates WRONG (thanks Dimarzio and SD for shitty technical drawings!) and ended up making two baseplates that were trash, then breaking out the calipers and measuring some on my own. 

Eventually I got it right, and decided to inclue a little engraving as well. It didn't come out as clear as I wanted, the V carve bit did NOT like cutting the steel and I cut it too deep twice, this was third attempt and still too deep but usable. It was supposed to be two baseplates out of the sheet but I stopped after the first since the machine made a lot of not happy noises.




I was happy with the results there, for the most part. Then took it to the vice and anvil to bend the tabs and the retainers. I didn't get as crisp of lines as I wanted, but that'll work. I sharpened them up some more and did some more sanding after this pic but I was beat, so didn't take a follow-up photo.




That sorta takes us to today? I ordered the metal plating stuff and that took three fuckin weeks to get here no idea why. It took so long I just got busy with some other projects (more winding, some 3D printing, rearranged and cleaned the shop, did some renovations and landscaping at my parent's house, etc.), so I haven't touched any of that yet in the last few weeks. I got a couple other projects taking up space on the workbench right now, so now that I've got the plating stuff here, I'll jump back on this when I get them cleared out. I believe next step on the body and neck is sealer.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jul 4, 2020)

That kinda sucks. Hope the pickup works out, though. You should test it with a standard and then a double thickness A8 magnet and see what you get from it as well.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 4, 2020)

Sweet build

I like seeing how all the cnc guys run their toolpaths. We all seem to do it differently. 

how are you liking the z axis upgrade? I’ve been considering it. But I don’t want to have to slow my cuts down.


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## Randy (Jul 4, 2020)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> That kinda sucks. Hope the pickup works out, though. You should test it with a standard and then a double thickness A8 magnet and see what you get from it as well.



I mean, I do it to myself. I could've bought a Kamikaze or one of those Skull and Bone bodies that pop up on eBay here and there and called it a day but I don't like to make anything easy 

This pickup project has run me about $1000 so far.



MikeNeal said:


> Sweet build
> 
> I like seeing how all the cnc guys run their toolpaths. We all seem to do it differently.
> 
> how are you liking the z axis upgrade? I’ve been considering it. But I don’t want to have to slow my cuts down.



Thanks! Z axis is way worth it. Dunno what you're running for speeds but I think I'm fairly conservative, and I was running 65in/m feed and 35in/m plunge with the belt setup. After the Z upgrade, I use the same feeds (actually I've been running shallower passes at closer to 85 and 100in/m) and I dumbed the plunge down to 18 because of the warnings about backlash. I had some binding on rapid retract at first and I WD40'd the screw an never got it again. I think it'd be safe to go back to 30+ tbh, I think the rapid retract was the real issue and even that's safe with regular oiling.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 4, 2020)

Randy said:


> I mean, I do it to myself. I could've bought a Kamikaze or one of those Skull and Bone bodies that pop up on eBay here and there and called it a day but I don't like to make anything easy
> 
> This pickup project has run me about $1000 so far.
> 
> ...



i just run the fusion360 standard for plunge. i think its 13 in/min.

when i carve things though i run 200 in/min with the z moving along with either the x or y axis. i dont want to have to slow this down, but i would love the extra z accuracy.


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## Randy (Jul 4, 2020)

My understanding is that the default Fusion settings are calculated for aluminum. I believe I'm getting my feeds and speeds from here or at least tweaked from here as the starting point.




Based on 1/4" square (and ball, but I still dial it back a little since it doesn't have those sharp 90 degree corners). Everything else is a crapshoot. I'm okay with numbers but chipload is not my strong suit. I basically start at one speed and turn it up until I'm happy or until I start seeing smoke or splinters 

The Aspire defaults are way more generous. Most carving suggestions come at 100+. I'm inclined to let the program do what it wants to do, but after getting used to it, I use conservative roughing speeds and whatever loads for defaults on fine passes, since they're usually way shallower.


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## Randy (Jul 4, 2020)

As far as the Z upgrade goes, it's worth it's weight in gold for me. My Z became so inaccurate, it was unusable. Binding, slacking belts, etc. Out of the box I had Z errors every, say, 5th time I did a major project and it eventually got to be at least once every project, and eventually almost every procedure involving Z in each project. It got so bad that I had every procedure dumped to separate nc files so that I could kill the project mid cut and tweak the one process and re-run it. It was stupid.

Now, it runs like it's supposed to. Minus the early rapid retract problem, I've had zero errors including this whole build and three others. I usually give the screw a dab of WD40 when I power it up but other than that, no babysitting.

As far as the ebay Z that I got, I have no complaints, the guy was VERY nice, I've nagged him via PM a dozen times with questions/suggestions and he's always very receptive. HOWEVER, I bought this literally the night before Carbide's upgraded Z went live. I have no complaints, especially after tweaking but the actual Carbide direct Z is probably a better buy just for the fact you get direct support and replacement parts from them if you need them. I was impatient and bought the Triteca or whatever it's called Z probe since the Carbide was out of stock, and after it got to me and I read the directions, I've never even taken it out of the box. Having your stuff natively supported is a VERY big perk.

BUT, the True-Z guy is very nice, it does as advertised and I'd never discourage someone from giving him the business if they wanted to. He deserves a lot of credit for designing/making an upgrade like that independently and having it work pretty much seamlessly, especially for the price.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jul 4, 2020)

So what is the il fini project rig demo looking like? Home made pickup in a home made Mom guitar, a JCM800, an overdrive as a boost, and... what speakers/cab?


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## MikeNeal (Jul 4, 2020)

Randy said:


> As far as the Z upgrade goes, it's worth it's weight in gold for me. My Z became so inaccurate, it was unusable. Binding, slacking belts, etc. Out of the box I had Z errors every, say, 5th time I did a major project and it eventually got to be at least once every project, and eventually almost every procedure involving Z in each project. It got so bad that I had every procedure dumped to separate nc files so that I could kill the project mid cut and tweak the one process and re-run it. It was stupid.
> 
> Now, it runs like it's supposed to. Minus the early rapid retract problem, I've had zero errors including this whole build and three others. I usually give the screw a dab of WD40 when I power it up but other than that, no babysitting.
> 
> ...




did you get an increase in z height? right now im stuck at 6 strings, because i cant fit a 7 string neck under the stock z axis.


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## Randy (Jul 4, 2020)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> So what is the il fini project rig demo looking like? Home made pickup in a home made Mom guitar, a JCM800, an overdrive as a boost, and... what speakers/cab?



As of now yeah, likely a DS-1 as the OD because I like the clips I've heard the most and the quotes from George about it are pretty glowing. Dunno about the cab, I've got the Egnater 212 I tried the 2210 using and that's a pair of V30s, but ideally a 412 of some kind prolly. This project, including the winder and the JCM, are actually semi-budget flat because I've been selling and bartering to offset each part of this. So if I get a cab, something's gonna have to go to make room for it. I've got a Carvin 412 with some meh Celestion G12-M70s, I might TRY it through that, maybe swap them or maybe see if someone wants to do a trade for a 1960A or similar, dunno what I'd offer up yet.



MikeNeal said:


> did you get an increase in z height? right now im stuck at 6 strings, because i cant fit a 7 string neck under the stock z axis.



Depends how far you're off by. I did gain some upper, not a ton. At Home position, my collet is 3 5/8" from the bed, not totally sure about overall travel though. Without looking, I THINK the between the Carbide Z upgrades, the HD and the mid-Z, I feel like one actually has less travel and one maybe has same as stock or more? Would be worth double checking.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jul 4, 2020)

Randy said:


> s of now yeah, likely a DS-1 as the OD because I like the clips I've heard the most and the quotes from George about it are pretty glowing. Dunno about the cab, I've got the Egnater 212 I tried the 2210 using and that's a pair of V30s, but ideally a 412 of some kind prolly. This project, including the winder and the JCM, are actually semi-budget flat because I've been selling and bartering to offset each part of this. So if I get a cab, something's gonna have to go to make room for it. I've got a Carvin 412 with some meh Celestion G12-M70s, I might TRY it through that, maybe swap them or maybe see if someone wants to do a trade for a 1960A or similar, dunno what I'd offer up yet.


I've mostly only seen him use a Tube Screamer. The DS-1 does seem to react better with a driven or distorted amp tone than a clean one. 

Would there be a load mismatch problem if you tried the M70s with V30s?


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## Randy (Jul 4, 2020)

I actually had the M70s with V30 in a 3/4 stack (212 V3, 412 M70) and it sounded fucking killer. The M70 isn't a bad speaker, but it's kinda gritty and scooped that sound meh on it's own, the V30 is mid pronounced, so they two compliment eachother well.

I'd have to check the ohms, but there'd probably be some way to make them work all together. The option of all 4 speakers through one speaker out or one pair through a side and the other pair through the other offer a number of wiring options. Might go that route. There *is* a very budget friendly Marshall cab locally but I've been selling/trading everything I've got that ready to go, so I gotta dig something else up if I'm gonna make the sale. Not a lot of urgency until this thing is assembled anyway though.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jul 4, 2020)

Four speakers? I have only counted 2...


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## USMarine75 (Jul 5, 2020)

Randy said:


> I actually had the M70s with V30 in a 3/4 stack (212 V3, 412 M70) and it sounded fucking killer. The M70 isn't a bad speaker, but it's kinda gritty and scooped that sound meh on it's own, the V30 is mid pronounced, so they two compliment eachother well.
> 
> I'd have to check the ohms, but there'd probably be some way to make them work all together. The option of all 4 speakers through one speaker out or one pair through a side and the other pair through the other offer a number of wiring options. Might go that route. There *is* a very budget friendly Marshall cab locally but I've been selling/trading everything I've got that ready to go, so I gotta dig something else up if I'm gonna make the sale. Not a lot of urgency until this thing is assembled anyway though.



Spend the money... Fanes, JBL, Celestion Blue, Celestion Gold, Pre Rola Greenbacks, Celestion G15V-100 (2x15), Scumbacks.

Speakers are one of the most important factors in how that amp will sound (far more than tubes, caps, mods, guitar, pickups, pedals, etc).


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## Randy (Jul 5, 2020)

I think who's lap it's sitting on would be the biggest factor, so we're already starting out with a disadvantage


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## Adieu (Jul 5, 2020)

Awesome project

So, for fretting, you're just using hardware store tools and DIY bending jigs only? Or were there a couple specialty items after all? I'd wanted to try my hand at refretting a couple of junk necks I got laying around, but everybody kept saying I'd need to lay down a couple hundred on specialist tools or it would be no good


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 5, 2020)

Adieu said:


> Awesome project
> 
> So, for fretting, you're just using hardware store tools and DIY bending jigs only? Or were there a couple specialty items after all? I'd wanted to try my hand at refretting a couple of junk necks I got laying around, but everybody kept saying I'd need to lay down a couple hundred on specialist tools or it would be no good


you can get by with just flush ground wire cutters and a deadblow hammer tbh. Pre-radiusing the fret wire is the hardest part if you have a compound radius or such.


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## Randy (Jul 5, 2020)

Adieu said:


> Awesome project
> 
> So, for fretting, you're just using hardware store tools and DIY bending jigs only? Or were there a couple specialty items after all? I'd wanted to try my hand at refretting a couple of junk necks I got laying around, but everybody kept saying I'd need to lay down a couple hundred on specialist tools or it would be no good





KnightBrolaire said:


> you can get by with just flush ground wire cutters and a deadblow hammer tbh. Pre-radiusing the fret wire is the hardest part if you have a compound radius or such.



Pretty much, although even the compound radius wouldn't be much harder with hand tools, as far as the fretting process goes. Radiusing the board would he a nightmare though.

But yeah, I've got radius gauges and blocks, a fret press with dies, a fancy pants LMII fretting hammer, etc and honestly, the fret bender, the hammer and one little brass caul are all I really need, and I've done at least 50 fretjobs with this same rig at this point. For a hammer, Harbor Freight makes a clock workers or whatever they call it hammer with plastic tip, that'd probably do the trick, along with their Japanese flush trim saw for cleaning up slots. I think you could get a decent fretting rig together for $50 or less, the bigger factor is patience really.


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## Adieu (Jul 5, 2020)

Randy said:


> Pretty much, although even the compound radius wouldn't be much harder with hand tools, as far as the fretting process goes. Radiusing the board would he a nightmare though.
> 
> But yeah, I've got radius gauges and blocks, a fret press with dies, a fancy pants LMII fretting hammer, etc and honestly, the fret bender, the hammer and one little brass caul are all I really need, and I've done at least 50 fretjobs with this same rig at this point. For a hammer, Harbor Freight makes a clock workers or whatever they call it hammer with plastic tip, that'd probably do the trick, along with their Japanese flush trim saw for cleaning up slots. I think you could get a decent fretting rig together for $50 or less, the bigger factor is patience really.



This all hold true for stainless too, or just "nickel silver"?


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## Extrafunk (Jul 5, 2020)

I love this thread!


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## Randy (Jul 5, 2020)

Adieu said:


> This all hold true for stainless too, or just "nickel silver"?



As long as you use something heavier for nipping the ends (like the bolt cutter things), same applies for stainless yeah. The only thing with the stainless is that it's springier when you're bending it, and it's also springier when you go to tap them in, so either try to match the curve as close as you can or expect you'll have to tap down the sides a couple times until it takes. Nickel frets are more forgiving, you can basically tap them in flat and they'll hold whatever shape the board is in on the first try. Stainless gives no fucks, however.


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## Randy (Jul 16, 2020)

Micro update.

Got the shop cleaned up enough to do some spraying today. Got this sealed up, there's a lot of ways to do it, my preference is thinned nitrocellulose.

So anyway, got the neck and body sanded up to 220 grit, and fine tuned some stuff around the back and sides with some glazing compound.




Seal coat is a 'wash' coat of nitro, which means I thinned it to 50/50 nitro and thinner and applied wet coats. Came out to about 4 coats on both, and ~6 coats on the front and on the headstock face. The main goal of the sealer is to raise the grain and let it sink in to keep it from raising anymore, and to keep the wood from swallowing the actual finish.

Anyway, this is after the last coat.




Doesn't look a ton different but it will make wrapping this up a lot easier. I had some places where the grain was flakey (especially around contours) and I should now be able to knock those spots down and keep them down on last sanding. So next will probably be sanding ~320 and black basecoat. Neck got nitro sprayed but I'll likely sand the neck back down and tung oil it.


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## USMarine75 (Jul 16, 2020)




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## Spaced Out Ace (Jul 17, 2020)

Nice progress! Don't get rid of all the marks and such.

Apparently, Sex Machineguns had a random star made that was sorta Skull n Bones-ish, but more modern. It was made by the ESP Custom Shop with a Screamin Demon in the bridge and an... invader in the neck? Odd neck pickup choice, but whatever. I would've chose a 59 or Jazz.

https://reverb.com/item/32751451-20...nniversary-hand-carved-sex-machineguns-w-case


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## Randy (Jul 17, 2020)

Oh yeah, scratches and gouges, etc are staying. Those were added 

The reference piece was the Chris Woods version, but less 00s scary and more 80s spooky. It's hard to get high quality pics of the original J Frog to make out the texture on the face of the "guitar" parts, but I liked the CW take on it, so that's what I went with there.




Some of proportions were too 'realistic' and not Halloween decor enough, though, so the skull and the fingers I did more based on George's.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jul 17, 2020)

These need more maple fretboards.


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## Randy (Jul 20, 2020)

Got these both primed and base coated. Two light coats of black primer, two coats of black automotive lacquer (whew, this stuff stinks). I'll let them gas off for a couple days, the headstock is ready for logo and clear after this, the body could use some sanding/filling on the back, more black base and then the skeleton.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jul 20, 2020)

What'd you use in the tuner holes so you didn't get a bunch of paint in there? I've seen people use ear plugs.


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## Randy (Jul 21, 2020)

That's a good idea! I just stuffed it with some painters tape.


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## BenjaminW (Jul 21, 2020)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> https://reverb.com/item/32751451-20...nniversary-hand-carved-sex-machineguns-w-case


If Skull n' Bones and Cannibal Corpse had a baby.


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## Crash Dandicoot (Jul 24, 2020)

This is really coming together, your craftsmanship is really well executed! The better it looks the more I get a nagging feeling, though... 7-string, @Randy, you must be the hero we all need.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jul 24, 2020)

Do the Random Star version in seven string!


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## Randy (Aug 7, 2020)

Non-update update. I got fucked on ordering pigment for this, took a week to figure out it wasn't coming and another week to get my refund. I did end up re-priming the back again because I sanded it down a little to fill some dings. Also found my airbrush supplies so hoping for skeleton paint sometime in the next week.

@MikeNeal just saw these the other day. Come in under the HD-Z price and they're boasting 5" to 7" Z travel! I don't think I need that much but could be a life saver especially for people doing angled headstocks in their carve

https://cnc4newbie.com/store/en/upgrade-kits/shapeoko/shapeoko-3-slider-p90c77c67/

https://cnc4newbie.com/store/en/upg...o-3-square-linear-bearings-slider-p105c77c67/


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## Spaced Out Ace (Aug 7, 2020)

Are you going to add a thin, thin dusting of like some brownish yellow to give an aged look or?


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## Randy (Aug 7, 2020)

Haven't decided on how I'm gonna age it but it won't be toothpaste white, no. I used to paint Warhammer figures which uses dry brushing and ink to add texture, so I'm thinking something along those lines but haven't decided exactly how I want to go about it since is different on a 1" x 1" figurine and a 14" x 17" guitar


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## Crash Dandicoot (Aug 7, 2020)

Warhammer paint experience? You didn't want to go with a Necron Skull n' Bones?! That's a missed opportunity, that is.


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## Randy (Aug 11, 2020)

Got some paint on this.

Didn't end up using any kind of primer/gesso for the acrylic paint as I figured I'd get pretty good coverage in the two coats. This is after two sloppy coats of white to just get the black showing through as little as possible.




I did a couple passes with the black brush to clean up edges. I did a few more after this as I went but this should give you the idea.




That was pretty good but the bones were still too 'toothpaste' white and I needed to get some depth down into the scratch etc. along with some age. This was a whole process that is kind of inexact, but the cliff notes is that it got grey dry brush, thinned white dry brush, grey/black wash, some airbrushed grey (via Badger 150 siphon fed) and a vintage white wash coat over the top and then dabbed off.

This is pretty much exactly what I was going for. 




Also did some work on the headstock. I'm using my logo, but of course a nod to the original, which is a pretty nice fit since it's a J. Frog and I use 'J. Cedric'. Hunted down a suitable font, I did some minor manipulation in Illustrator but not much. Cut with the vinyl cutter, inverted to remove the lettering to spray through, affixed it and taped the rest of the headstock.




Did some similar techniques as the bones with various white, grey, stippled, airbrushed etc to get it not completely bright white.




After the tape and vinyl peel




I've got some minor minor touchups to do to the back of the body but otherwise I think we're on to clear (satin nitro) and assembly.


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## tedtan (Aug 11, 2020)

It'd coming along nicely. I'm looking forward to seeing it all come together.


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## BenjaminW (Aug 11, 2020)

Looks great! Now play some Mr. Scary on that thing as soon as you finish assembling it!


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## budda (Aug 11, 2020)

Fucking yes.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Aug 11, 2020)

That white needs some yellowing/aging. Otherwise, I think it looks terrible, and you can ship it to my address for proper disposal.


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## Randy (Aug 11, 2020)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> That white needs some yellowing/aging. Otherwise, I think it looks terrible, and you can ship it to my address for proper disposal.



The camera contrast blows it out, it's got more yellow in the daylight. It got two passes with vintage white wash, any more and it'll look like a banana or pee


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## Spaced Out Ace (Aug 11, 2020)

Randy said:


> The camera contrast blows it out, it's got more yellow in the daylight. It got two passes with vintage white wash, any more and it'll look like a banana or pee


Fair enough. Also... uh... sorry to alarm you, but that block cutout is not even (I just noticed). Is that going to work or am I missing something?


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## Randy (Aug 11, 2020)

The trem route you mean? They're usually asymmetrical because of the trem arm holder.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Aug 11, 2020)

Ah, fair enough. Thought maybe I might've been missing something.


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## Extrafunk (Sep 1, 2020)

You can't leave us hanging like this!


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## Randy (Sep 1, 2020)

Extrafunk said:


> You can't leave us hanging like this!



Body and headstock got cleared but I used polyurethane for the first time in a while, which gave me more texture than I anticipated and took longer to cure than I'm used to. The back and headstock need wet sanding but because of my space limitations in my shop, I had to put it on hold while I knock out some woodworking projects since sawdust contaminates paint, and paint contaminates raw lumber. I should get the last of the woodwork done this week and hopefully get the shop cleaned up enough to polish the finish off next week, ideally.


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## Crash Dandicoot (Sep 30, 2020)

Any news on how this one is progressing, @Randy?


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## Spaced Out Ace (Sep 30, 2020)

Yeah, what the snuffaluffagus, bro? It has been a whole month. WE DEMAND UPDATES!


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## Randy (Sep 30, 2020)

Nothing since the September post, just needs polishing basically. I had to do a couple commissioned projects that popped up to help pay bills, and I did some guitar projects that were in the wood stage since I had all that machinery out and sawdust all over. So, I've been in the shop but just haven't touched it because of contamination concerns. It's on the shortlist though. Some other cool stuff on the horizon, also.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Sep 30, 2020)

_*BOOOOO!*_

just teasing, dude!


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## Randy (Sep 30, 2020)

I know, I know. Direct all your rotten vegetables this way.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Sep 30, 2020)

Randy said:


> I know, I know. Direct all your rotten vegetables this way.


Sorry, all I have is fresh fruit.


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## Zhysick (Oct 2, 2020)

Halloween is getting closer and Mr.Scary wants to rock!


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## budda (Oct 2, 2020)

I bet his Lynch Harmonics will get all the ghouls.


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## Extrafunk (Nov 26, 2020)

Just sitting here, hoping everything is all right and om track, waiting for the finished guitar in all it’s glory...


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## Randy (Nov 26, 2020)

Lol, you and me both!

I recently moved, my shop is currently in the same spot but everything's in disarray at the moment. It's kind of a tug of war right now which happens first, I get a chance to move the shop over to the new place or I get some days off from renovation stuff to get time down in the old shop.

So other than that, nothing's really changed. Still just needs wet sanding and assembly at the moment, really.


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## Davsco872 (Feb 6, 2021)

New here and was wondering what the updates were on this build. Looks great so far and it’s definitely one of my all time favorite guitars! I built one myself, but not CNC though unfortunately. Non reversed ESP neck on it.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Feb 6, 2021)

Very nice, dude.


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## Davsco872 (Feb 6, 2021)

Thank you!


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## Dumple Stilzkin (Feb 7, 2021)

Davsco872 said:


> New here and was wondering what the updates were on this build. Looks great so far and it’s definitely one of my all time favorite guitars! I built one myself, but not CNC though unfortunately. Non reversed ESP neck on it.
> View attachment 89868
> View attachment 89869


Dat gold tooth.  Looks really good!!!


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## Davsco872 (Feb 7, 2021)

Dumple Stilzkin said:


> Dat gold tooth.  Looks really good!!!


Thank you!! It’s all in the details!


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