Tuesday, May 27, 2014

More prototypes...

Last we left I was pretty close to finishing the first prototype in the new series I am working on. Well I was not happy with the arm rest as it was not what I originally intended. You have to take risks to win. So here goes. No CNC just a pencil and some hand tools.
Overkill. .25" Aluminum brackets.


This will be a fine use of scraps...

I had a vision for this one and it didn't go like I thought it would. Looks like a steak knife. Ironically this particular piece of aluminum and ebony was going to be a prop knife for my daughter's Halloween costume. I made her a really nice fake dagger a few years ago but it got lost. The piece of ebony was basically unusable because of the splits in it so epoxied it to a piece of aluminum with the intent of making her a new fake dagger. I decided to use it for the arm rest... not the best choice. Would have made a really slick dagger.

Still working on the mounting system. I have to order a lot of screws and inserts and such to make this really work.


Since the brackets are overkill I decided to make them lighter. This took a lot of work since I do not have a mill. Very painful hand work.

Several hours later and another attempt at a proper arm rest. This once is scraps from an old top and a nice piece of garolite.

Much closer to what I intended. Still have lots of issues to sort out.


For comparison

Shape needs a lot of work but you see what I am getting at.



Time for some clear and oil for the wood.

Saving 8s

A lot of random work this past few weeks while the finishes are curing.
Cleaning up the edges on Phobos. I use a razor that has been beveled so I can get in tight without scratching anything.


Spider Mojo costs extra


Plate for the headless



Stickers for the headless

And we bullet proof the mount for the locking unit. One issue I have is that Limba is not hard enough to hold a wood screw with a lot of tension. So brass inserts and 4-40 SS allens are used instead.

Dress then polish the frets on the buffing wheel.

Plate for Ryyk


And we see where the oil is in the curing process. Almost there needs another week.

Last coats of lacquer for the corsair (aka Zero). Switched to Mohawk Pre-Cat Lacquer for the final coats before buffing. I think I like the stuff. It is sticky, flashes off well, and dries shiny. Sands nice as well. We will see how it goes a week or two from now.

Now to fix the 8 string multiscale blank that went south. We start with finding a piece to replace the bad section in the middle and then proceed to route a place for the fix.

Next we fit the fixes. Since the woods are not identical in color I am using veneers to make it look fancy.

After epoxy and clamps it is finally ready.

Headed to the CNC