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

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Steadyriot.
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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by Steadyriot. » Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:20 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Mar 09, 2019 11:44 am
Tort experiment. The sample on the left is deglossed on the back with steel wool. The one on the right is shiny. As you can see there's not a hell of a lot of difference. Wrinkles in the foil are still visible. More or less the same with the matte side up.

Image

I might go full matte though. Anybody have any tips. Even 000 steel wool is leaving pretty significant swirl marks.

Finally got a check for my consignment sale, so things are starting to happen on the parts front. :)
A lot of custom PC case guys use acetone to frost plexi.
I'd try that on one of your test pieces. Quick wipe with acetone and rinsing it in water quickly after that should give you a nice frost on the pickguard (hopefully).

Bummer about the finishing on the pickguard, must not have been cheap to have custom made so it shouldn't been made cheaply either...

Foil wrinkles wouldn't bother me; but a nice sheet of aluminum kitchen foil with some 3m adhesive spray should take care of that! Wrinkle free should be doable that way.
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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by parry » Wed Mar 13, 2019 6:16 am

Steadyriot. wrote:
Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:20 am
a nice sheet of aluminum kitchen foil with some 3m adhesive spray should take care of that! Wrinkle free should be doable that way.
I've done it that way several times - always with positive results.

Good tip, re: acetone. I've not tried that, but hope to have a chance. I usually go the 000 steel wool route and polish the swirl out - but the problem with that, is that it can get charged with static - which is super annoying.
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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Apr 17, 2019 9:49 pm

Oh hey!

Image

I was able to get some time with a drill press today and finally got the mounting holes drilled and verified the fit of both pickups. I'll be able to (and will likely need to) use much shorter pickup mounting screws, so next will be a trip to my favorite local hardware store. I'll likely grab some springs there as well. This is the detail I was sweating the most and it's done. :w00t:

I'll get measurements for my fellow nerds before the guard gets mounted to the body, but it looks possible that with short enough pickup mounting screws the loaded guard could drop into a standard routed JM body with no modifications. Final pickup height will come into play as well, but with the guard bisecting each pickup (which will be my starting point) the whole works is pretty shallow, and my guess is the pickups would need to be raised a little from there.

Decal(s) are on order, and I guess it's time to finally tackle the shielding.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by s_mcsleazy » Thu Apr 18, 2019 7:22 am

nice :D
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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:24 pm

Image
Image

Finally got the shielding tape on the guard. The cutting mat is light purple, though the white balance is still a little funky in these pictures. I put a little scratch in the tape above the neck pickup so I added a lil' patch so it would be less obvious from the front. You can also see my pickup mounting holes here.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the look. Seams are visible if you're looking closely, but the copper on the back side of the guard really makes it pop. It changes pretty radically depending on the light conditions from bright red to brown.

Headstock decal and body shielding are next. Then it will be assembly time.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by Rgand » Sat Apr 27, 2019 1:57 pm

I really like the lipstick mounting. This is going to be really cool.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Apr 27, 2019 5:44 pm

Rgand wrote:
Sat Apr 27, 2019 1:57 pm
I really like the lipstick mounting. This is going to be really cool.
Thanks!

I finally ran down to the hardware store today and grabbed some shorter hardware and new springs, so now the pickups can both be mounted and the whole works dropped into the body. My wife's leftover sock yarn blanket project made a nice backdrop.

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Here's the back. With 5/8" screws there's still sufficient room to bring the pickups up or down from center. As you can see in the picture there's about 1/2" of screw protruding. Stepping down to 1/2" hardware would reduce this of course, but since I have a swimming pool rout there's no need. I'm pretty sure with some creativity this method could be used to mount lipsticks in a standard routed JM body with no modification.

Image

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by Fiddy » Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:09 pm

Oh yeah.. 8)

The body looks great.. :-*

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by HNB » Mon Apr 29, 2019 8:20 pm

Lovely build!
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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:23 pm

HNB wrote:
Mon Apr 29, 2019 8:20 pm
Lovely build!
Thanks.

Slow as advertised. Coming up on month #6.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by Trout » Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:29 am

Nice! I like gold/tort with that grain :-*
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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Tue Apr 30, 2019 9:31 pm

Trout wrote:
Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:29 am
Nice! I like gold/tort with that grain :-*
Thanks. The gold bits are brass, so they should darken with age/use. I did a little vinegar/salt patina on on the knobs just to get them a little closer to the shade of the pickups.

Oh, and my headstock decals came today.

Image

I botched my first application attempt in pretty spectacular fashion. This one isn't perfect, but hopefully with a few coats of Tru-Oil the tiny wrinkle will blend in. In the end I decided to go slightly smaller. I wanted to make sure I had a lot of real estate in case a string tree is needed, and for it to be a subtle thing.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by beauzooka » Wed May 01, 2019 12:28 pm

Awesome! Subscribed.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Wed May 01, 2019 7:13 pm

Well, applying Tru-Oil over it obliterated my decal. Now what? Is there any kind of clear I can spray over it instead? I do have extras.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Thu May 02, 2019 8:54 pm

So I contacted Sean and it sounds like the CNC engraved brass badge idea is back on. I'm tired of messing around with this and I want to get the damn guitar together.

Plus, once it's together I'll know if it needs a string tree or not, which could affect the available space for a badge.

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