... and so it begins!!

I have finally found a little time to make a tentative start on the U60, and the progress to date has been to cut a piece of 3 ply to the shape of the control cavity, and then glue it into the bigger of the pieces. Today was the day for the joining of the body pieces....











... and hopefully all will be well! I'll know in 6 hours when the clamps come off, eh!! I'm using a powdered epoxy called Calcamite on a friends recommendation, which Westbone confirmed as a good choice. So sanding and filling will be the order of the day if all is well tomorrow... Westbone - bless his little cotton socks! - may have some veneer for me which will be affixed to the top, and then stained a darkish green ....

Yikes! I didn't realize there was so much shattered out wood.
Just as well you're capping the whole thing then, that should make life a lot easier!

I have a feeling she's gonna turn out really nice John.

Cool, i've been wondering when you were gonna start this project. Can't wait to see the finished product, i'm sure it'll be great. A little work still, eh?

And about time to,
Give me a shout if and when you need the veneer.

What I mean about no pages and 1 2 symbol on the post is that you don't know that the topic has accompanying photos.

Just like this post of yours corsair, you don't know there are photos.
If you get what I mean. Don't know the computer lingo.

Let me know if you need any photos etc of any particular parts or point on the guitar and I will send pics of the one I have. These are great guitars and I will be awaiting the finished project. Arthur

Westbone wrote:And about time to,
Give me a shout if and when you need the veneer.

What I mean about no pages and 1 2 symbol on the post is that you don't know that the topic has accompanying photos.

Just like this post of yours corsair, you don't know there are photos.
If you get what I mean. Don't know the computer lingo.

You are speaking of the notations in the thread intro that shows up in the individual forum index? Aren't those just symbols that signify multiples of 10 as we post our replies the the original topic starter?

Good for you John. Courage now lad!

Good Job John.

Love those U60's....

We're under way, fellas and I've joined the bits and started on the sanding to get shot of the black, which was awful - it had been attacked with some sort of chemical stripper which has left an awful residue...









.. this is about as good s this area's gonna get...

Looking good, the veneer will strengthen it all up. Nothing like a good bit of ply..

Looking good.

Did you use a filler for bits? If so, what kind?

That's looking great John. It is exactly how I would have tackled the job. The ply should make it a really good strong repair as well. When it is refinished it wil be every bit as good as new.

I would probably just have used PVA (white glue) as I have an uncle who is a joiner and he swears by it. If you try to rip apart two blocks properly joined by it, it will rip along the fibres rather than coming apart at the new joint. A few months ago I bought a Lotus les Paul from the States and when it arrived the set neck was hanging off. UPVA, clamps and some patience and it is now fine. Same story with my Vantage Ghost. It lost its headstock due to a "dusting" accident by my wife and it is now completely strong and stable.

Hoax

Thats good work. Looks like an Urchin again. Keep up the good work.

Looks fab joint work, dunno about the falling over car tho

Great work John, lookin good, lookin good. You've done the hardest part, easy sailin from here.

Good job John. That's was a nasty smashed up body.

Westbone wrote:...Nothing like a good bit of ply..

Please, some decorum. This is, after all, a Mats guitar...it's laminate!

Nice work Johnny. Bringing back more than a few memories...

Barry wrote:

Westbone wrote:...Nothing like a good bit of ply..

Please, some decorum. This is, after all, a Mats guitar...it's laminate!

Nice work Johnny. Bringing back more than a few memories...

Barry wrote:

Westbone wrote:...Nothing like a good bit of ply..

Please, some decorum. This is, after all, a Mats guitar...it's laminate!

The filler is just a bog-standard (see what I did there?!?!) polyester filler; the sort that carpenters and panelthrashers all over the world use!!

Thanks guys - sanding's nearly done and I've got a load of info from Westbone to be going on with, so throttle open and hauling arse... slowly...

Well I'm impressed, good going! She'll be wearing Slime Green, eh?

My vote is for slime green, for what its worth.

John and Westbone, what kind of veneer are you going with? Thickness? Gluing with ...?

This is going to be good. I've always lusted after an Urchin of my own. Wait a minute... :!:

anaerobe wrote:My vote is for slime green, for what its worth.

+1

Um, just how much "slime" are we talkin' here?
A dewy mist?
Moist, and bordering on tacky?
Or, full out assault and oozing!

Oh... I haven't posted a pic of what I aiming at, have I?!



... It's not going to look quite like that, but that's the general idea! My headstock will be black, though... Thinking is - at the moment! - that I may do the dark around the outside with a very dark green, rather than black; Westbone disagrees and thinks black would be better!! And he may well be right...

Yup, black edge fer sure dude! 'Specially if the headstock is black eh?
Is the grain pattern on your veneer bold enough pull it off? This sample has a dramatic flame to it. Seems to me like you'd need a rather bold pattern to highlight the grain in black? I don't think a flat colour would have the same impact.

Gotta love the slime, eh.

Rightio, my miscreants; there is no green woodstain on Jersey so I'll have to go offshore and buy some from either the US or the UK. I've looked at Stewmac and Reranch so far; does anyone have any light to shed on their products, ie has anyone actually used any of 'em?

My veneer arrived today, so that's quite exciting....

,

.... here's a wee piece just as a taster... good on ya Damian!!

corsair wrote:Rightio, my miscreants; there is no green woodstain on Jersey so I'll have to go offshore and buy some from either the US or the UK. I've looked at Stewmac and Reranch so far; does anyone have any light to shed on their products, ie has anyone actually used any of 'em?

There you go John, three shades of slime to choose from, though Maltese Blue looks more like your aiming for. They do a water base satin lacquer too, though I've used 2K gloss lacquer over it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hannants-Primary-Wood-Stain-Various-Colours-Sizes-/270823325756?pt=UK_DIY_Material_Paint_Varnish_MJ&var=&hash=item84b8ae10d4

The smallest size is a litre, you'll either need to go into production, or use it up on the garden fence

Loving this. Go JOHN!!!!

Try this Canadian product which I used on my Vantage AV310 resto.

Cutting the veneer into its rough shape...









... nerve-wracking stuff, this!!

Using a std/sundry wood glue to fasten?

Cascamite again.

I heard titebond is still the best wood glue for guitars, not true?

I don't know about not true; it's just that I still have the tub of Cascamite that I pinched from the school caretaker, and am well impressed with it so far, so I'll go with that simply because it's one I know and have confidence in!!

Getting there, fiddly stuff that veneer.
Spread the cascamite..... Can't wait to see how it all comes together.

Slowly, slowly, catchee monkee.....

looking good

+1!

Lookin good John, lookin good.

Excellent work and great patience on this project. It will all be worth it in the end. This one is looking good thus far.

I'm guessing that the really nerve-wracking part will be matching it down the centre. Not much room for error there, eh?
Don't be drinking too much coffee beforehand Johnny, not a good time to get the caffeine shakes!

Thanks Barry - oddly, getting the kerfs to match wasn't that bad; I was fair packing, I can tell you when I was matching them! They aren't bookmatched as it wasn't that sort of veneer, but it is a subtle flame which I like a lot with a very narrow line down the middle!

Been playing with colour a bit and Damian reckoned that Dylon fabric dye is OK so have been playing a bit with that with rather mixed results. I've found that it is a one coat deal; add more coats and it goes cloudy when it dries, which is not quite the effect I was looking for! I've had a crack at varying the strength of the dye and am no closer to an answer; I may just bite the bullet and get some tint in from the US yet.... Another question for the experts; would a light lick of a black tint under the green add any depth to the finish??

I've also bought some shielding paint off the interwebs for the cavities; anyone know about shielding the pickup cavities??

I've read that using black tint is the thing to bring out depth. An application of black, then sand a bit to expose the brite to the high points again, then add you color. This may not be as practical on a veneer depending on how much sanding room you have. I think there are some you tube flame maple top vids out there that shows the process.

sarcaster wrote:I've read that using black tint is the thing to bring out depth. An application of black, then sand a bit to expose the brite to the high points again, then add you color. This may not be as practical on a veneer depending on how much sanding room you have. I think there are some you tube flame maple top vids out there that shows the process.

Here is a pretty good example: Black dye

Great video, he makes it look easy!
I found the video of the finished guitar HERE, man it really looks good.

DAN.

The vids are good but it is on a maple top not a maple veneer as far as I can tell so careful with the sanding, but I think a bit of black dye is the way to go. It's how the do all of those wonderful flame PRS tops.

Hey thanks for that link. Great video (makes it look almost easy).
If you haven't already found it here's another one in the series where he does an actual Green burst:
Green Burst Tele

Very cool video, i wasn't aware of the fact that you could do a burst without spraying. Thanks guys, i'm starting to rethink my 2 projects i have coming up.

.. note the masking tape beside the pot hole; wee chip came off when I drilled the hole... Glued back with tape to hold it down.



That's just the way the light's hitting it, eh!!



... this is laying the body onto the back piece of veneer and the bag o'sand for weight!! Simple but effective!

It's getting there.. if you have a dremmel type tool, use the sanding drum bit to bring the veneer edges in on the radius. A lot easier than doing it by hand.

You'll have to use a bit of very light sanding to obtain the results your looking for with the stain.
Unfortunately there's no magic, a bit of work is needed to bring out the grain.

Those are some excellent vids. on how it's done.