Just One More Run

Well, here it is. The sort of finished guitar. I say "sort of" because after playing it for about a week now I noticed that the clear coat on the back of the guitar never hardened and is now imprinted with the textures of my clothing. However, I have sanded the troubled spots down and I am awaiting good weather in order to apply the new clear finish. I'm going with a different brand and I am confident it will work out well in the end. Just like printmaking, it needs just one more run. 

 Since this photo was taken I have fixed the pick-up.

I ran into a lot of problems during my original plan to stain the guitar. The stain seeped through the taped area and ruined any chance of using transparent watercolors. I ended up using acrylic paints.

It was difficult to photograph the texture on the guitar but It has a web-like pattern rather then the marbleized look I set out to get. It still looks awesome. The paint is gloss black with metallic blue which makes the whole guitar sparkle.

Souls of Nature Series

Grey Squirrel Skull (side profile) 4" x 6"

 Coyote Skull (underside) 5" x 11"

Grey Squirrel (front profile) 3" x 4 3/4"

A few months back I drew these images for a local show. I just got them back so I decided to post them. The series shows my studies of  animal skulls and the shadows they cast. They are drawn in graphite on maple wood slabs that have  been stained using watercolors.

Stain was HELL and paint isn't going better.

I spent several hours yesterday sanding, masking, and eventually staining. Problem was that the edges took the stain too dark and went blotchy. I don't think that the sealer was completely removed from the sides and ruined it. On top of that, some of the stain was pulled into my image area and I will  now have to make it work with the image. The new plan is to paint the guitar black with a marbleized finish in metallic blue.

Today I sanded the wood AGAIN and re-masking my image area. I then started to spray the guitar in black. I applied three coats but I made the same classic mistakes I read about when painting the guitar. I have drip areas and the start of the "orange peel" surface. I'm letting it dry over night and will sand down the troubled areas. I will also add a few more coats of black before applying the metallic blue.

To marbleize the blue, I will spray a coat down and then apply clear wrap over it while its still wet. The wet paint will stick to the wrap and when I pull it up it will leave a marbleized look. I may then add more coats based on the appearance.

Carving Stage

 Today I was only able to get the carving done. Last night I drew my outline in pencil based off a design I drew out on a telecaster template. Starting this morning, I used my relief tools to carve around the outline.

 I used my smallest U-gauge and made two passes to create about 1/16" depth cut. I then used my blade tool to scratch away the outside wood to make a smooth, gradual recession.

 I started to sand around my cuts to make a smoother transition. Unfortunately, I wasn't working in my studio and sanding was creating too much dust. I needed to put off further sanding until a later date when I can get back into my studio.

The next step is to finish the sanding, then mask out my design, followed by staining. I originally set out to use polystain. After reading about how horrible the stuff is to use, I will be returning it for waterbased rubbing stain. I will be water coloring the driftwood design, then wood burning around the edges. The last step will be to clear coat the entire guitar to protect the finish.

Sanding Day 2

Today was the second day of sanding the body of the guitar. It took me about six hours of hand sanding to get all of the sealer off the wood. The hardest parts were near the neck of the guitar and on the sides. I ended up using my dremel to remove most of the sealer and buffed out the rest with sand paper. Tomorrow, I will be doing the next round of finer sanding to make sure there are no scuffs or scratches in the wood. After I finish sanding, I need to draw out my design, carve the body, and mask off the area that is not going to be stained. I also need to build an apparatus to hold the guitar while I stain it.

 

I wasn't happy with the clear coat on the front of the guitar neck so I sanded down the last coat and resprayed. I'm still not pleased with the finish on the neck and I will be adding another coat of clear tomorrow.

Guitar Project: Day 3

Today, I continued to work on the neck of the guitar. I had to finish sanding off the sealer before I could put the name of the guitar on and clear coat it. Sanding around the metal mounts proved to be a pain. I ended up sanding through the tape and scuffed the metal finish. I was able to sand the metal back to a worn finish that I'm pleased with. I then took a print out of text and colored the back of the paper with graphite. I taped the paper to the neck and traced the lettering. This left a pencil outline to follow. I used watercolor paint and went over the pencil lines. I went with the name Drift based on the theme. If I continue to make guitars I think my brand name will be Drift Guitars.


While I wait for the paint to dry, I took apart the body of the guitar. I made the mistake of putting the wire coverings during the first assembly and had to peal them off. This took a bit of time, but by the time I finished disassembling the paint on the neck was dry. I applied the first coat of clear and went back to the body. I need to sand off the sealer in order to stain the wood. I started on the back of the guitar with 60 grit sandpaper. It took forever just to get to the natural wood. I stopped occasionally to dust off, wash up, and add another coat of clear to the neck. I sanded after the first coat which was unnecessary. With only two coats, the neck already looks great. Tomorrow, I will add another two coats which should be enough. I went back to sanding and finished grinding through the tough sealer. When I got the entire back down to the wood, I switched to 100 grit and then 150 grit. The natural wood grain stands out much more now and it's quite beautiful. Unfortunately my body has taken the toll. Hand sanding is going to be a big project to get the rest of the sealer off the guitar. On the upside of sanding, the sealer has a great smell. I'll have photos up tomorrow.

Guitar project

Yesterday was the first day of my guitar project. I bought a Saga guitar kit and and I am customizing it to my driftwood theme. I assembled the guitar to make sure it was in all working order. The fittings for the tuners were too large for the holes that are pre-drilled. I had to use my dremel to shave off a little bit of the holes and made a tight fit. It was actually still too tight and I had to leave them in during my shaping of the neck.

Today, I started the shaping of the neck. First, I drew out my desired shape on the neck in pencil.The next step was to tape off the fret board and the metal fittings for the tuners. I then cut out the large areas of wood using a hand saw. This went smoothly until I noticed a crack in the wood. I had to cut out the cracked area, which changed my design. I then used my dremel to cut out the areas I couldn't get at with the saw. This took a bit longer but went smoother then expected. After, I used a sanding bit on the dremel to smooth out the cuts and make some additional shaping. My last step for the day was to hand sand the edges smooth using 150 and 100 grit sand paper. I also started sanding the sealer off the back of the neck. Tomorrow, I will need to finish sanding using a finer grit, hand sign the neck, and then add a few coats of clear coat.