Show Your Workbench

Skruffyhound · December 31, 2011, 05:42:31 AM

Yeah good luck with that Arnoud.
We'll see you sometime after summer, you are going to be busy (and tired, but happy).

~arph · January 01, 2012, 11:35:02 AM

Thanks!

I do hope to squeeze in some diy time during the naps on my day off..

Galego · January 02, 2012, 03:24:32 AM

My very modest workbench...

DavenPaget · January 02, 2012, 05:14:43 AM

Quote from: Galego on January 02, 2012, 03:24:32 AM

My very modest workbench...

Mine's not modest at all ... but has very little storage needs ... because my stuff hasn't arrived

Mac Walker · January 02, 2012, 04:48:49 PM

Walker Heavy Industries, Man Cave Edition -

R&D

Assembly

Test

John Lyons · January 02, 2012, 07:40:58 PM

Cool looking stuff there Mac!
What are the les paul ish guitars on the left?
Is that oak, maple ?? you have stickered and drying there?

birt · January 03, 2012, 04:58:05 AM

that LP on the left looks great, and the tele too.

what amp is under the 2 marshall heads? and what kind of marshall do you have on that big stack at the right? bass amp?

Ronan · January 03, 2012, 06:19:41 AM

There is something resembling a very short scale steel guitar in the top pic, except its made of wood, and has no nut. Is it some kind of pickup test-bed?

I really hope this is not a silly question, because I've already used up my silly question quota for this month.

John Lyons · January 03, 2012, 09:10:23 AM

The head on the bottom left is a Carvin I think. All the guitars looks nice actually.
The Mustang looks nice as well as that Ampeg and Tele...
Can we see the guitar barely at the right?

alparent · January 03, 2012, 09:29:39 AM

I was going to comment on how neet and orderly everything is!

Quote from: greeny23 on December 29, 2011, 03:24:51 AM

But I went back a couple of posts

and I can see your just like the rest a us!

Mac Walker · January 03, 2012, 07:08:04 PM

What are the les paul ish guitars on the left?
Is that oak, maple ?? you have stickered and drying there?

Those are some baritone guitars I made a few years ago. The three LP's and the Tele, 30" baritones. Didn't make the Mustang or the Dan Armstrong guitar.... Check my Flickr account for more pics....
Yeah, that's slab maple, I refer to it as retirement wood. Got a nice stash of mahogany as well, saving it for later...

what amp is under the 2 marshall heads? and what kind of marshall do you have on that big stack at the right? bass amp?

Yeah, that's a Carvin, with the nameplate removed. First tube amp I bought, back in '86. The Marshall is a solid state, MG100HDFX.

There is something resembling a very short scale steel guitar in the top pic, except its made of wood, and has no nut. Is it some kind of pickup test-bed?

It was more of a "what can I do with this leftover pickup from the 1980's" kind of project. Electric Zither, I guess...

Can we see the guitar barely at the right?

a soBer Newt · January 03, 2012, 08:53:31 PM

Quote from: Mac Walker on January 03, 2012, 07:08:04 PM
What are the les paul ish guitars on the left?
Is that oak, maple ?? you have stickered and drying there?

Those are some baritone guitars I made a few years ago. The three LP's and the Tele, 30" baritones. Didn't make the Mustang or the Dan Armstrong guitar.... Check my Flickr account for more pics....

Where did you get the tele neck?

John Lyons · January 03, 2012, 10:13:01 PM

WOw, nice work there Mac!

Love that fretboard and body wood.

DavenPaget · January 04, 2012, 02:17:51 AM

John , your raw wood guitar is simply awesome

I wonder how they always seem to flatten the guitars wood making it look non-wood-ish ...

John Lyons · January 04, 2012, 10:48:13 AM

Those are Mac's guitars.

But, to fill in the grain you use a "grain filler" or wet sand the finish (while finish is still wet)

DavenPaget · January 04, 2012, 10:54:11 AM

Quote from: John Lyons on January 04, 2012, 10:48:13 AM
Those are Mac's guitars.

But, to fill in the grain you use a "grain filler" or wet sand the finish (while finish is still wet)

Oh .

G. Hoffman · January 04, 2012, 03:33:37 PM

Quote from: John Lyons on January 04, 2012, 10:48:13 AM
Those are Mac's guitars.

But, to fill in the grain you use a "grain filler" or wet sand the finish (while finish is still wet)

Well, no, not exactly. We use pour filler, to be sure, but wet sanding is not to do with pour filling, and is done when the finish is a dry as you can get it, given time restrictions. Inter-coat sanding can, and even should, be done dry (though using a sandpaper that has a lubricant in the grit), and that is the part where you can fill the grain somewhat. By the time you are wet sanding, though, you need to have the finish dead flat already. It is called wet sanding, by the way, because you are lubricating the surface with soapy water, which keeps the sandpaper from loading too quickly and (among other issues) causing large scratches that you can't get rid of - the water also helps to carry away the dross from sanding.

As for why we finish guitars with flat glossy finishes, basically because we could never sell a guitar if we didn't. The guitar buying public, by and large, expects it, and you have to provide your market with what they want. Believe me, it isn't because we enjoy it - it's a giant PITA. Bob Taylor once said, "I'd like to find the guy who decided guitars should be shinny so I can dig him up and kill him again!"

Gabriel

greeny23 · January 04, 2012, 07:35:33 PM

updated:

John Lyons · January 04, 2012, 08:18:05 PM

QuoteWell, no, not exactly. We use pour filler, to be sure, but wet sanding is not to do with pour filling, and is done when the finish is a dry as you can get it, given time restrictions. Inter-coat sanding can, and even should, be done dry (though using a sandpaper that has a lubricant in the grit), and that is the part where you can fill the grain somewhat. By the time you are wet sanding, though, you need to have the finish dead flat already. It is called wet sanding, by the way, because you are lubricating the surface with soapy water, which keeps the sandpaper from loading too quickly and (among other issues) causing large scratches that you can't get rid of - the water also helps to carry away the dross from sanding.

Just a different technique. By wet sanding I mean sanding wet oil/sprit/poly into the wood.
Filling the grain and pores with the slurry and then wiping back. Many coats lighter grits as you go.
Here's what my attempts look like.

http://www.basicaudio.net/amplifiers.php

Mac Walker · January 04, 2012, 08:53:24 PM

Where did you get the tele neck?

All of these were scratch builds, stewmac.com has a fret scale calculator I used to determine fret positions....

As for why we finish guitars with flat glossy finishes, basically because we could never sell a guitar if we didn't.

PRS came out a few years ago with some flat black, open grained, satin finishes, which was the inspiration for the black guitar. I personally love the look of open grained, painted finishes....

Thanks for all the positive comments, I hope to get back into building guitars in the near future.....

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Show Your Workbench