J
JuliánFernández
2&4
Congratulations man! Nice axe!
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
That's gorgeous, dude. I'm sitting here fighting the urge to hop over to Warmoth for an unfinished body and a neck.
Yep--that was my plan: all from Warmoth. But I love this body style and they stopped making it about a year ago. So when I got the chance to grab this one, I jumped in. I'm not sure if its a real Music Man replacement body like the seller "sort of" claimed, but it's top notch construction.
The neck will be Warmoth though...
true-eurt
Maneater
Why would you have to use dark wood to inlay..?...abalone dots would be nice too!Ahh...the neck. I'd love some cool inlay work, but that would mean rosewood (or some other dark wood) and I'm really craving a maple neck. So I'm going with birdeye maple. I might do abalone dots instead of plain ones for a littel spice...
I actually bought a ton of scraps (off eBay) hoping I'd get at least one similar to the guit body. Now I have to think of crafts that involve amber maple scraps.
You into building fancy birdhouses..?
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
Why would you have to use dark wood to inlay..?...abalone dots would be nice too!
You into building fancy birdhouses..?
Well, you wouldn't have to use a dark wood. I guess I just always associate a fancy inlay with a rosewood fretboard (better contrast) and good ol' dots with a maple fretboard.
true-eurt
Maneater
Ahhh...a matter of taste. I just wanted to make sure there was not some problem with lighter woods notwithstanding the sparkly..
Be adventurous Strat!! Dot up some rosewood and vine the heck outta some maple!!!
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
Okay...a few more clear coats (mostly on the back & sides), a ton of sanding on the back & sides, a little more sanding on the top, a couple hours of meticulous razor blade cleaning on the binding...
and then...I got a package from Stew Mac with my polishing compound and pad!
The back is about half way there--the sides are real tricky to buff at high speeds with a drill pretending to be a buffer! But the top is almost all the way there. Sorry for the obnoxious glares in the photos--I just wanted to make sure you could see how deep & shiny it is!
On the one hand, after polishing, I find that there are far more more tiny sanding marks & scratches than I expected--invisible from even a couple feet away, but I suppose I'll always notice 'em. (They were hard to see before it was shiny!) On the other hand, I'm still thrilled! I can't believe I'm getting these results with the rudimentary approach I'm taking.
Time for some hardware...
and then...I got a package from Stew Mac with my polishing compound and pad!
The back is about half way there--the sides are real tricky to buff at high speeds with a drill pretending to be a buffer! But the top is almost all the way there. Sorry for the obnoxious glares in the photos--I just wanted to make sure you could see how deep & shiny it is!
On the one hand, after polishing, I find that there are far more more tiny sanding marks & scratches than I expected--invisible from even a couple feet away, but I suppose I'll always notice 'em. (They were hard to see before it was shiny!) On the other hand, I'm still thrilled! I can't believe I'm getting these results with the rudimentary approach I'm taking.
Time for some hardware...
true-eurt
Maneater
The axe is absolutely gorgeous in both pattern and color. All that polishing brings out her beauty!!! You put a lot of work into that...
Strat, you finished with that hardware yet?!!
Strat, you finished with that hardware yet?!!
Light
New member
Ahhh...a matter of taste. I just wanted to make sure there was not some problem with lighter woods notwithstanding the sparkly..
Be adventurous Strat!! Dot up some rosewood and vine the heck outta some maple!!!
Light colored woods are a giagantic nightmare to inlay, because there is always some fill around the inlay piece. With a dark wood like Rosewood or (best of all) ebony, the fill line gets hidden fairly easily, but if you use a lighter wood it is impossible to make the color of the fill match. With ebony and rosewood, you can just use dust from that type of wood, but when you glue light woods they get quite a bit darker, and it looks awful.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Light
New member
GAH!!!!!!! No, don't try to do that. You'll probably end up burning through, and then you will, at very least, be hugely irritated. I use my stand mounted buffer for most of the sides on my guitars, but I have much better control with that thing. Don't try it with a drill buffer. Get in there and do it by hand. You can likely use the polishing compounds you've got, or else you can go to the auto body supply store and get some of the paste compounds they use.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
true-eurt
Maneater
Thank you for that information light...that would present a challenge to perfect.
muttley600
Banned
Yep plus one to that. In fact I would suggest you do the whole thing by hand on your first few attempts. You learn a lot more working with your hands than with power tools and you get an invaluable feel for the materials you are working with. When I try a new lacquer or polish I always do the first few by hand.
How long did you leave the final coats to cure. You may get better results as far as tiny swirl and scratch marks if you let it harden for at least a week. Other than that it's down to a feel for flatting out. Work a small area first to see if your close.
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muttley600
Banned
Yep, I'm lucky in that I'm fairly good at marquetry from my early years. Essentially inlaying on maple requires a very accurate join. Not impossible but a different discipline. I've posted this pic before but this is an example. The join has to be perfect or you see unsightly glue lines.
Attachments
true-eurt
Maneater
That is a beautiful wood inlay on headstock Muttley!!
Dogbreath
Im an ex-spurt
Thar's some riiight purdy work goin on in this here thread. 
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
I meant that the drill is really not useful on the sides, so I'm doing it by hand. I did try--but fortunately didn't try long enough to burn through anything. Definitely workable on the flat surfaces, but yep, the sides will be by hand. Which means that right now, they're not nearly as glossy as the top!
TelePaul
J to the R O C
wow that thing looks amazing! Looks like the EVH wolfgang...?
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
Thank you sir!
Yep--it's now known as a Music Man Axis, since Eddie and Ernie Ball/Music Man parted ways. It was his signature model, but they kept it after he left and went to Peavey. I like the Music Man take on Eddie's guitar better than Peavey's. Very clean classic design, but distinct and different at the same time.
As much as I like the Music Man, I'm not sure I'd have ever paid the going price for a real Axis--but when this maple/mahogany body crossed my path, I thought it'd be a great opportunity to learn about building one, and hopefully end up with one I really like.
Riffmaster
New member
Beautiful work in progress. I absolutely love the look of quilted maple. Can't wait to see the finished project.
Milnoque
Resident Curmudgeon
Just wanted to drop in and complement you on the job you're doing, and to thank you for taking the time to share it with us. I'm looking forward to the rest of this thread.
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
I really appreciate that.
There might be a bit of a break in activity. To be honest, the body turned out so well that I'm raising my expectations for the rest. That means my dream neck--which is gonna be $500.
I have a problem spending that kinda money on myself so close to Christmas! So I'll finish up the body hardware, but might not get to the rest till January.
Stay tuned, maybe I'll come into some extra mad money!