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Re: closed the box last night!

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 8:19 am
by darren
johnnparchem wrote:Looks good! When are you able to buff it out?
I should wait until the 17th... we'll see how that goes.

Re: closed the box last night!

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 9:09 am
by Kevin Sjostrand
That is really purrrrty Darren,
Can you give a close up of the rosette?

Kevin

Re: closed the box last night!

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 8:59 am
by darren
Here you go Ken, this is as good as it gets with my crappy camera:
drying-007.jpg

Re: closed the box last night!

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 9:15 am
by darren
There's a funny story that comes to mind when i look at that shot. When I was gluing up the top bindings I must have grabbed in the soundhole for some taping leverage and this is what happened:
feb-028.jpg
big chip came right out - in the previous shot i've taken an exacto and followed the grain line of the break to the rosette purfs, I need to graft in a piece to fill this little *&%!. here's the graft, taken from the top offcut with the grain matched up best i can:
feb-029.jpg

Re: closed the box last night!

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 9:24 am
by darren
Something funny is going on with those pics, I don't know why the one is showing up twice. (?)

Anyway, the graft is taped into place with lmi white glue, and then lightly clamped. it is almost a wedged fit so I don't put too much pressure on it.
feb-030.jpg

After it dries overnight I very carefully leveled the graft to the top and approximated the soundhole curve with an exacto. I then sanded with a section of pvc pipe wrapped in 220g.
feb-031.jpg
If you look VERY closely you see some evidence of the fix but I'm very happy with it - under finish the redwood grain lines are accentuated any way and the patch almost disappears. In these photos the top is not finish sanded or even really cleaned up; the final result is 2 posts above...

Re: closed the box last night!

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 11:26 am
by Tony_in_NYC
Wow! That patch looks great. Never would have known if you had not pointed it out.
I dont want to burst your bubble because the guitar is looking great so far, but there is a certain white elephant in the room that nobody seems to want to comment on, possibly because of social mores and an effort to be polite. I am not bound by such things.
Dude...your rosette is pretty nice, but...umm...you totally did not center the shell in the wood part. You might want to claim it was a design element or something because I am sure when people see it in real life, they will say something and its best if you have your cover story all set so it sounds believable.
;o)

Re: closed the box last night!

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 12:12 pm
by darren
ahh yes well, I'll start working on my cover story.

"I saw one of the pro's do it like that"

Hows that? :)


I only shared it because I stared at that top for a few days wondering if it was going to the burn pile or not, and want to show the fix to other new builders who might find themselves in the same position. (did I mention earlier in the thread that redwood is brittle? yeah...)

Re: closed the box last night!

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 12:03 pm
by tim mahoney
Darren,

Nice finish on your guitar. I'm new to this forum so have been busy mostly looking and learning. I noticed you live in an area where I grew up. Beautiful Lake Geneva. How I miss that lake but not the cold. I'm just starting my first acoustic and dreading the finish part. My hard body electrics have all been oil/varnish mix. I want the high gloss on the back/sides and maybe use the oil/varnish on the soundboard. All suggestions are appreciated. Go Packers!

Re: closed the box last night!

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 4:03 pm
by darren
ya, it was a good year for football in Wisconsin. I moved to The Bay about a year and a half ago from Colorado - the thermometers may read the same numbers here but it sure feels colder.

re. the finish, if you already have a finishing procedure you might want to try it on the acoustic - no reason why an oil/varnish finish can't be high gloss.

Re: closed the box last night!

Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 11:49 pm
by Kevin Sjostrand
Darren,
I really like your rosette, I like especially that the shell ring is not centered, it gives it a special individualistic look.
Good job on the fix too.

Kevin