a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread (DONE - Page 5)

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s_mcsleazy
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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by s_mcsleazy » Fri Jan 04, 2019 7:01 pm

is that body baseball bat ash? if so i did my jaguar in baseball bat ash
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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Fri Jan 04, 2019 7:18 pm

Looking good so far.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Jan 04, 2019 7:43 pm

s_mcsleazy wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 7:01 pm
is that body baseball bat ash? if so i did my jaguar in baseball bat ash
Roasted swamp ash.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Jan 05, 2019 1:43 pm

Decal concept. I traced my son's drawing in Photoshop, then printed it out and hand drew the circles/shading. I'll scan it back in at work then mess with it a little more.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by parry » Sat Jan 05, 2019 2:52 pm

That body wood and graphic are absolutely fantastic! 8)
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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by blimpage » Sat Jan 05, 2019 4:09 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Jan 05, 2019 1:43 pm
Decal concept. I traced my son's drawing in Photoshop, then printed it out and hand drew the circles/shading. I'll scan it back in at work then mess with it a little more.

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This rules! 😄

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Jan 05, 2019 4:35 pm

Thanks, y’all.

I’m really happy with how the graphic turned out. I’m excited to have a piece of my son’s artwork on this and he likes it too. The expressions on the monster’s faces are the best.

I’m a little concerned with how it will read against the roasted maple though.

My bandmate has actual design software skills, so maybe I can have him put a white gradient behind it. Another thought I had was going a little more low tech and hitting the area under the decal with a circle of white stain or something.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by blimpage » Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:47 pm

You could lean into the Rob Roskopp design vibe even more and put some solid colour behind it? Bad mockup:

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Jan 05, 2019 8:23 pm

blimpage wrote:
Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:47 pm
You could lean into the Rob Roskopp design vibe even more and put some solid colour behind it? Bad mockup:

Image
Thanks for the mockup! That’s about the size I envisioned for the decal, just tucked into the corner of the headstock a bit more out of the path of the strings.

Not sure about color though. Seeing like that makes me think all black on a transparent background might be the way to go. I’m going to do Tru-Oil so the wood will darken somewhat.

It won’t really pop from across the room, but if details can be made out from 3 feet away or so I’ll be happy.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by epizootics » Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:43 am

You'll save some time having your bandmate look into it - design people spend a lot of time making things readable / visible against all sorts of background. They use all sorts of subtle techniques like thickening / thinning the lines, adding tiny shades, etc. That drawing's the coolest things 8) It almost looks like what an adult would make trying to emulate a child's drawing, which I've seen a few times in kids who go on to be really good at visual arts.

One thing that comes to my mind is that you could modify that headstock shape a bit to make the design fit better on it. I'd take some wood off the two bottom 'hills' to make them rounder, and maybe accentuate the slope between them. One thing I've learned is that it takes very little to make a headstock look completely different. You could also inlay some of the pickguard material on the bottom area, a bit like the JM prototype that was discussed in another thread recently, and it would give you a solid color background against which to put the little monster.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Sun Jan 06, 2019 7:45 am

epizootics wrote:
Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:43 am
You'll save some time having your bandmate look into it - design people spend a lot of time making things readable / visible against all sorts of background. They use all sorts of subtle techniques like thickening / thinning the lines, adding tiny shades, etc. That drawing's the coolest things 8) It almost looks like what an adult would make trying to emulate a child's drawing, which I've seen a few times in kids who go on to be really good at visual arts.

One thing that comes to my mind is that you could modify that headstock shape a bit to make the design fit better on it. I'd take some wood off the two bottom 'hills' to make them rounder, and maybe accentuate the slope between them. One thing I've learned is that it takes very little to make a headstock look completely different. You could also inlay some of the pickguard material on the bottom area, a bit like the JM prototype that was discussed in another thread recently, and it would give you a solid color background against which to put the little monster.
Interesting suggestions. Unfortunately I don’t have the tools or skills to go modifying the headstock. This is my first project, so I’m trying to stay pretty conservative with things.

I’ll definitely kick it over to my bandmate and see what he recommends though.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by epizootics » Sun Jan 06, 2019 9:32 am

Well, had I been 'round your area I would have offered to drop by with my router to give you a hand...But Google tells me Seattle is a 5,235-mile trek from Lyon :)

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Jan 19, 2019 11:20 am

Progress has been pretty slow on this, but I've got 5 coats of Tru-Oil on the body now and two on the neck. It was immediately apparent how much thirstier the body is. On the neck I'm using about 4:1 Tru-Oil and VM&P naptha for thinner coats.

Tomorrow I'm going to go over both with some fine steel wool and depending on how much the Tru-Oil has filled the body grain I'm might switch to thinning it for future body coats. This is my first time using Tru-Oil and thus far I'm quite happy with it. It's really simple to use, and while it does have a smell to it it's not overpowering at all. The roasted swamp ash body and roasted maple neck are making for a pretty idiot proof finish.

My friend is putting together a small CNC lathe and may be able to do a brass "coin" of the monster design for the headstock which would be beyond cool. No idea how close he is to being operational with it though. The other option I'm considering is a gold decal. The neck is darker than I pictured and I think that would help make it pop a little more.

I'm actually warming to the idea of a tort guard on this :whistle: . WD does a single ply tort that might work. After 5 coats the body is close to an Elvis Costello shade, but a little redder. It's almost koa-like. I'll grab some pictures pre and post steel wool tomorrow.

Had to take my amp into the shop the other day so any future spending on this build is on hold until I know what the damage is going to be. :fp:
Last edited by marqueemoon on Sat Jan 19, 2019 12:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Jan 19, 2019 11:57 am

Oh, and here are the pickups. Sightly hotter than vintage with a reverse wound neck and brass cases. 8)

Image

Planning on unplated brass Tele-style knobs to tie the look together.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Feb 06, 2019 9:48 pm

Need to figure out a new image hosting solution so no pics for the time being. Going to do another sanding back this weekend. Body and neck are pretty close to where I want them though.

Machinist friend is putting together a little CNC mill for doing engraving with at home. Hopefully the monster will be a little brass badge instead of a decal.

Also, this is proving to be a really effective way to scare off pickguard-makers. :(

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