What's on your workbench right now?

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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JSett
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by JSett » Sat Nov 20, 2021 12:11 am

Surfysonic wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 11:12 pm
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I think that looks great! I've only attempted tolexing once and it was an utter shit-show so kudos for doing such a good job. Stood together like this no-one is ever going to notice or care about any little inconsistencies

*claps enthusiastically*
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repoman
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by repoman » Sat Nov 20, 2021 6:00 am

Nice job with the recover job. What's the white "tolex glue?" PVA? Was it difficult to work with?
Contact cement is great but brutal to work with, especially when covering large areas like an amp cab.

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Surfysonic » Sat Nov 20, 2021 12:16 pm

Thanks, guys! :) Biggest lesson learned is that if I ever decide to take on another tolex project, it will be with an uncovered cab from the get-go. Removing the old tolex wasn't difficult and suprisingly quick. However, removing the old glue from the old tolex was tedious. Another takeaway was I need to get better at the corners - I guess that will come with more experience. :whistle:
repoman wrote:
Sat Nov 20, 2021 6:00 am
Nice job with the recover job. What's the white "tolex glue?" PVA? Was it difficult to work with?
Contact cement is great but brutal to work with, especially when covering large areas like an amp cab.
I used the water-based glue from Amplified Parts - https://www.amplifiedparts.com/products ... ying-tolex. I bought a gallon-sized container but I probably could have gotten away with the quart-sized container. It was pretty easy to work with and forgiving when I had to make some adjustments, even the following day. Doesn't take too long to dry, either.

There is no label on the gallon container. The package only contained the glue and a small card with instructions. I was careful not to lose the card given that this was my first try, heh.
Brush-on adhesive ideal for applying tolex. Cleans up with soap and water. No nasty solvents required. Does not stretch or shrink the vinyl. Comes in quarts or gallons.

Specifications: Tolex Glue is a non-flammable, Neoprene based, water borne adhesive formulated to bond tolex and vinyl to wood and wood based substrates.
Min. use temp: 45°F
Freezes at 32°F and lower
Shelf Life: 6 Months

Directions: Surfaces to be bonded must be clean. Apply a very thin coat to both surfaces. Very porous surfaces may require more than one coat. Second coat should not be applied until first has dried. Allow to 'flash off' for 20-30 minutes. Cloudy areas indicate incomplete drying. This time can be shortened with forced air and/or heat. Position pieces carefully prior to bringing surfaces together as bond is made instantly. A pinch or J-roller roller is recommended to obtain proper mating.

Clean Up: Cleans up easily with warm soapy water.
Store tightly closed at room temperature. DO NOT Freeze.
I bought the glue along with the Vintage Palomino (Brown) Nubtex (tolex) and two types of grill cloth - Oxblood, Gold Stripe and Oxblood (for future projects). The Oxblood, Gold Stripe didn't work as the Gold Stripe was too bright.

Luckily, I found the matching Oxblood with stripe from Speaker Builder Supply. The 24" x 36" grill cloth based on my baffle measurements. However, it just barely covered the baffle. Next time, I'll order the next largest size to ensure proper coverage for future projects.
The doofus formerly known as Snorre...

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Lost In Autumn
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Lost In Autumn » Thu Nov 25, 2021 3:53 am

these three just came off my workbench. L-R: Sparkle Motion Swoon Starmaster w/ Novak Gold Foil & WRHB & Göldo DG Tremolo; Custom finished DiPinto Belvedere, with Mr Fabulous Firebird Pickups, Göldo Les Trem & a gold sparkle top and silver sparkle back. I showed it to Chris DiPinto & he was impressed enough that he's asked me to paint more guitars for him. Finally, a 2003 Epiphone Wildkat that I recently refinished with a turquoise sparkle relic & installed a set of Gretsch Blacktop Filtertrons, along with a low impedance wiring harness & 1meg pots.
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Scout » Thu Nov 25, 2021 3:52 pm

Nicely done!

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s_mcsleazy
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by s_mcsleazy » Wed Dec 01, 2021 4:12 am

after 3 months, the neck for the jackalope arrived. i still need to paint the headstock but i couldn't resist doing a quick mockup.
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed Dec 01, 2021 6:36 am

Man, that looks good! White guitar with a black guard is so classy, and with the bound neck is really nice :?
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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by s_mcsleazy » Wed Dec 01, 2021 6:45 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Wed Dec 01, 2021 6:36 am
Man, that looks good! White guitar with a black guard is so classy, and with the bound neck is really nice :?
i just painted the headstock. i need to do the tuners but after that, i'll post the rest
offset guitars resident bass player.
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed Dec 01, 2021 7:41 am

Please do!!
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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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snarf
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by snarf » Sun Dec 05, 2021 4:43 pm

I'm really digging blondes lately and wanted to show off this one piece ash body:

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MattK
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by MattK » Mon Dec 06, 2021 1:32 pm

Holy shit, how did you do that? I have an ash body I want to paint and every time I try to do a blonde it comes out looking like ass. Yours looks magnificent!

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by MattK » Mon Dec 06, 2021 1:32 pm

As for me, I am all set for my month off:
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by snarf » Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:41 pm

MatthewK wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 1:32 pm
Holy shit, how did you do that? I have an ash body I want to paint and every time I try to do a blonde it comes out looking like ass. Yours looks magnificent!
I am glad you asked ;D

I followed the recipe in the stewmac finishing book pretty closely, but with some tweaks from experience. Here is the general order:

* thin sealer coat
* NATURAL grain filler. I use the mohawk stuff, it looks almost looks blue/grey and thats what makes the grain look dark under the coat of white. If you use the clear stuff it will look a little muted.
* a couple of coats of thin sealer - let dry overnight
* after sanding everything smooth, shoot a thin coat of lacquer to find any spots unfilled spots and these little "pin hole" areas in the grain. They are deep, look bad and impossible to fix after you shoot your blonde coat.
* Fill all the pin holes with clear grain filler like aquacoat or the colortone stuff from stewmac. After you fill the pin holes and sand them smooth, and shoot a couple of thin coats of lacquer.
== by now you'll have a perfectly smooth and glazed surface. Almost glassy if you reduce it enough ==
* Spray the blonde coat to the desired level of opacity - don't touch this layer as you don't want to risk sanding through it.
* Clearcoats - I use at least 5 coats using mohawk lacquers, but this all depends on the kind of product and your experience with them.

* Mixing Blonde lacquer: 1/2 teaspoon of white pigment (mixol) in 6 oz of lacquer and a single drop of vintage amber tint. I only actually used about half of this.

Thats the gist of it. NGL it took me a lot of patience to get right and a couple of trial runs on a scrap piece of ash.

My last project of this year will be an aged pink paisley telecaster bass, hopefully!

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by countertext » Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:52 pm

fuuuuuudge

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MattK
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by MattK » Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:53 pm

THANK YOU. Stunning results!

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