WezV - Offset DC Jnr build

WezV · August 2023

the neck is about 3/4 carved now, mainly finalizing of the shape and transitions to go.

SteveF · August 2023

You can’t half smash through these builds Wez. Very impressive!

WezV · August 2023

i'm a lot slower than I used to be, but simpler builds help speed things up.

PhilKing · August 2023

WezV said:

i'm a lot slower than I used to be, but simpler builds help speed things up.

I've only one thing to day - doubleneck

WezV · August 2023

PhilKing said:

WezV said:

i'm a lot slower than I used to be, but simpler builds help speed things up.

I've only one thing to day - doubleneck

definitely not a simple build, but yes, that took far too long!!

PhilKing · August 2023

I was just joking with you. This is looking pretty awesome.

Just to keep you on your toes, I'm having some White Penguin thoughts and have a couple of TV Jones pickups that I was going to put into my 5120 but am quite liking the blacktop Filtertrons in it. I'm thinking that something like your hollow body LP size would be a great basis. I also have some old Gretsch hardware that was corroded by Hurricane Sandy that might be rescuable. Also, I could be talked into a baritone version.

WezV · August 2023

Now that sounds very interesting

WezV · August 2023

Weight on this is coming down very nicely

WezV · August 2023

i've made some aluminium plates

the next step is engraving, which I will show as I work through.

The basic steps are:
Paint all over with Black paint
Laser engrave through the paint.
Etch the exposed aluminum with ferric chloride to form the main engraving
Strip the paint with thinners
either polish for shiny, or lightly etch again for an aged look
Add black filler wax if needed

WezV · August 2023

quickly painted black

then i use the new camera I added to the laser to get alignment spot on

then it gets a few minutes in ferric chloride before i strip the paint.

Backplate went great, letters on the board are a little light

overall, not too bad but some learnings on the laser setting for linework

WezV · August 2023

if i can get it consistently like this i will be happy

paulnb57 · August 2023

Wow, thats impressive, that laser thing has opened up a whole raft of possibilities

nacnudnai · August 2023

Yep, that looks pretty good!

WezV · August 2023

I had a second go, at the main plate.

Rather than start again, I repainted it and re-engraved the outlines, out of focus to make them a bit wider - you simply raise the laser to do this.

Aligning up with the existing engraving would have been impossible a few weeks ago, but I have since added a camera to the laser and it helps a lot. I still missed slightly, you can see it mostly down the left edge of the sun, but i don't think the double lining visible in some places hurts the look at all

Roland · August 2023

Double lining make it look more impressive.

SteveF · August 2023

Yeah that looks brilliant mate

Andyjr1515 · August 2023

Stunning stuff. Great result @WezV ;

WezV · August 2023

I'm happy. It makes the full Zemaitis style build a real possibility.

Teyeplayer · August 2023

WezV said:

I'm happy. It makes the full Zemaitis style build a real possibility.

Doesn’t it just.

Loved these last two builds, but very interested to see where the ideas develop and grow now that you’ve got the laser engraving like that.

WezV · August 2023

Teyeplayer said:

WezV said:

I'm happy. It makes the full Zemaitis style build a real possibility.

Doesn’t it just.

Loved these last two builds, but very interested to see where the ideas develop and grow now that you’ve got the laser engraving like that.

I did have a go back in 2015.

I was happy with the hand engraving until I added the border. Also I messed up the binding a little around the headstock, and wasn't that happy with the overall size as its a bit bigger than it should be. Ultimately though, I just didn't like the feel of it and stashed it away.

WezV · August 2023

board prepped for frets

Process:
Check the neck is straight and board is flat
Re-saw the slots to ensure they are all correct depth and follow the fretboard radius nicely
Sand from 180-600 grit with a radius block
Check the neck is straight and board is flat
Sand from 1500-4000 micromesh
Bevel the top of the fret slots to allow fret to seat nicely and reduce chip out on future refrets
Sand from 4000-12000 micromesh
Check the neck is straight and board is flat
Apply a very light coat of tru-oil and buff straight off

At this point it is almost a mirror finish. It won't stay that way forever, but it should help it maintain a nice smooth playing surface

WezV · August 2023

Fretted

Roland · August 2023

Which fretwire did you use?

WezV · August 2023

Stew-Mac #154. Wide/High

impmann · August 2023

WezV said:

Fretted

Observation: the guitar body shape ‘leans forward’ and the stud tailpiece will need to lean the other way as demonstrated above. Would a different bridge solution suit the ‘lean’ ?

Just a thought - it’s a fab looking guitar!

WezV · August 2023

I don't mind some contrasting angles, but I've not fully decided on bridge yet. It's just a tailpiece used for the pics, not a wraparound bridge

It may get an adjustable version that requires less angle. These rule of 18 fret scales intonate a bit differently so I need to figure out just how much angle is needed whatever bridge I use.

I'm currently wondering if I should spray it black.

roberty · August 2023

Bloody hell Wez this is looking so good. Really cool design

WezV · August 2023

Black?

paulnb57 · August 2023

Oxblood?

WezV · August 2023

last time i did oxblood it ended up black anyway

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WezV - Offset DC Jnr build

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