Kwerk's 2011 TDPRI Build Challenge Thread

[Mojotron]

That really takes some vision - Wow.... I'm impressed every time I read your thread kwerk.

[kwerk]

Sorry, I've been a little quiet over the last few days... I have little energy and time available when I'm working to do anything as well as post results. But, another day off today, and negotiated another off tomorrow, so I'll be able to assemble and hopefully get some setup done before recording and posting video tomorrow. On the bright side, I worked out NZ has 17 hours on CST so I have til 5am May 4th to be done, giving me all of tomorrow if I need it.


So anyway! Oh yeah, the build thing...

I got onto decals at last.

Now, some people are not going to like it. After staring at it over and over again, it may be a little OTT, but its in the plan, and as I've said a number of times, if I'm undecided on something, I go back to my original plan.

What I did want was for something different. And it is that!

I started on the back decal and realised half way thru I had forgotten to oil the back of the headstock one more time as I had intended to do. So I had to remove the decal and redo the back as planned. In the process of doing this the oiling rag managed to catch the edge of one of the clock hands and pulled most of the rig out. It's in one piece though, so it will go back in, but its gonna be painted black when it goes back in. The silver is showing up too many of the joins made when rebuilding them, and I don't want to draw too much attention to a part of the build that will be getting replaced as soon as the challenge is over. What i was left with was the tip of one hand still in the hole, so that's what you'll be seeing for this part of the thread!

While the tru-oil was drying on the back, I went back to the front.

Cut the decal ready to go



I'd silvered the dots on the front with silver pen. As part of the design, it was never meant to be overly neat, and fortunately, it wasn't.



The whitening appearance was because I used matt acrylic spray to bond the ink, and the light is catching it. I figured tru-oil would prefer a slightly matt surface to adhere to. I'm not sure why I thought this, but that was the plan, and you know how I am about sticking to the plan!


I then added the next part




And left it to set for a few hours.

I turned over the back, polished the tru-oil (in the process hooking the hands as described earlier) and added the replacement rear decal






Left things a few more hours, then came back to the headstock face to finish things off.

One more decal, and this is why the silver dots didn't need to be perfect. The text itself wanted to have a slightly aged and stressed look, which is why it has the muddy yellow splotches already on the decal. Here it is on the "paper towel"



And finally on the headstock




Went to bed after this. Got up this morning, and hit it with a coat of tru-oil. The whitening has disappeared as hoped, which is good, and the matt surface is slightly glossier than it was, but it will need many more coats of oil post challenge. It'll get one more coat for the time being before being reassembled.


I'm off to figure out the cavity cover and to put strap pins in. Back later with more.

[melomanarock]

That's an amazing job.. very cool design

[Greg M]

Where's the cuckoo pop out?

Man, this is a really cool build. I've enjoyed reading along every step of the way. Nice work.

[kwerk]

Originally Posted by Greg M

Where's the cuckoo pop out?

Man, this is a really cool build. I've enjoyed reading along every step of the way. Nice work.

Here:

[MORCILLO]

Great!!

[kwerk]

Haha thanks morcillo, can never say no to a bit of DG and the boys

[kwerk]

Got onto the cavity cover again. Decided the best approach was going to be to rout from above, and use a larger bit.

Set up the body and cover templates (I used the cover template as a standoff for the pattern bit).



Routed a little at a time til I got to about 4mm, then put a little water in the rout for the last 0.5mm.

After cutting out the cover template I have this:



and, no distortion at all from the other side. I attribute that to the water and the fact the acrylic was clamped directly to the steel router table top.



The cover screwed into place



The little circles are a bit of a bugger, I'll replace that one day

Other covers and bits done





... ain't refraction fun?

Giving the tru-oil another couple of hours to harden up a little more, then the guitar's going together. Just finalising the nutslots now.

We do have another week, right??

[kwerk]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this before. If you are the sort of person that puts something down somewhere and forgets where you've put it, don't buy protective eyewear like this:



I dunno how many times I haven't been able to find these things!! They are darn near invisible!

[kwerk]

Gone quiet in here again

Guitar is together and sounding good. I'm gonna leave it to sit under tension tonight and intonate it in the morning, before making the video and some piccies later in the day. The shims have worked well, and the frets must have gone ok because the action is low and I'm not getting buzzing anywhere. How, I'm not sure, but I ain't gonna question it!!

Nice to have it plug in and make sound at last. The pickups sound good, and it plays nicely. Looking forward to the final day tomorrow.

Got no idea what I'm gonna do after the 3rd May. Might learn how to build a guitar!!

[kwerk]

This is not my video, but it's a cool concept! Maybe a variation on this idea for next year's contest

[deaconque]

a variation huh? maybe a guitar that plays itself

[whodatpat]

Tooks great. I love what you did with the headstock. Cant wait to hear it.

[linus™]

Originally Posted by deaconque

2 questions-
1. What font did you use for your decal?
2. Where did you get that nut spacing diagram thingy?

curious about those myself.

nice work.

[kwerk]

The font is Birmingham, and as I said, I dunno where I got the string spacer but I'm grateful to whoever made it. I'm pretty sure I found it here.

[Nick88]

here's a copy of the string spacing thing.
I got it from this site, but i can't remember who posted it

[deaconque]

Thanks!

[Michael Terry]

I can't wait!!

[kwerk]

Originally Posted by Michael Terry

I can't wait!!

Well don't then!



I breathe at last!!

[Davecam48]

Jees..... you Kiwis talk funny but you build bloody wonderful guitars.

[kwerk]

Originally Posted by Davecam48

Jees..... you Kiwis talk funny but you build bloody wonderful guitars.

Sorry, I didn't understand any of that... what???

(seriously though, transcripts available by PM'ing $2 to "kwerk", TDPRI.com)

[kwerk]

And thanks Dave, not all Aussies are bad obviously! (except those that play rugby of course)

[LeroyBlues]

Very nice.

[mattyj]

that's great! i liked the use of 'generic battery amp' to convince the judges that you need a new one ;) I'm sure they don't need convincing though.

[Michael Terry]

sounds as good as it looks! good luck!!

[kwerk]

Well, it's finally done!

Got off to a rocky start and made things rocky for myself several times along the way. Still learning!

It's been nice to see something in my head for so long now materialised, and apart from its many imperfections and shortcomings, by and large it's pretty much as I imagined it would be (but heavier )

It might have been a little ambitious for my second guitar, but if this is learning how to build I think this one was a good teacher. It certainly had lots of curveballs for me. This is my first successful (useable) neck, so I can come away happy with that at least. And I've been able to satisfy some GAS on the way, which is by far the best part.

It'll be nice to have the house back. It's been pretty much overtaken by this project, I gotta get myself a place with somewhere for a shop. And more tools. Can never have enough tools. Next time I build the first thing I'm buying is some fret dressing gear. I think I got useable frets more by good luck than anything else this time round.

So here it is.

Good luck all, what an amazing standard people are setting this year..
TDPRI people are the best and most supportive people on the net, big ups to everyone!!

[kwerk]

Originally Posted by mattyj

that's great! i liked the use of 'generic battery amp' to convince the judges that you need a new one ;) I'm sure they don't need convincing though.

Haha, actually it's not too bad for a generic "nothing" battery amp..

[DesmoDog]

Originally Posted by kwerk

Now that's pretty dang cool right there!

[dmarg1045]

Amazing--great, creative work.

[allen082]

my hat is off to you, sir.

[flatfive]

Second guitar?? I figured you must have made dozens!

I really liked the headstock decoration.

What's amazing to me from the video is how woody
the guitar sounds.

Great work -- It's really impressive that you finished
in spite of the earthquake.

[Jazzmeister]

Wow, congratulations on an amazing build. I'm totally blown away....and I'm not easily impressed. Outstanding design and execution to match! Truly inspirational!!

[kwerk]

Originally Posted by flatfive

Second guitar?? I figured you must have made dozens!

I really liked the headstock decoration.

What's amazing to me from the video is how woody
the guitar sounds.

Great work -- It's really impressive that you finished
in spite of the earthquate.

Man, you've inspired me so much.. your skills are outstanding, and your guitar is an absolute stunner.

It does sound woody, for sure. The body ended up being more substantial than I thought it was going to be. It sustains til next week, which I guess is a bonus too...

This has definitely kept my mind off earthquakes. We're still getting the odd big one but they seem to be dissipating now. The novelty has worn off, for sure...

[paesano]

Many congratulations Kwerk!
.
Wow. Woke up in the middle of the night. Got up and wandered around. Signed up with TDPRI as a member. Logged in for the first time. Read through your entire build. Was completely stunned and amazed. The sun came up. My wife got up. Linda said your guitar sounded woody and checked out all the details too. Thanks for a very enjoyable middle-of-the-night to all at this forum. I learned a lot and it is a beautiful guitar. !
.
Very sorry to hear about the rough go of it recently in New Zealand. We were in the "big one" up in San Francisco, and many various other smaller ones in California, and we know the feeling of getting completely shaken up..., so hope all is well.
.
Ciao, jb
.

[kwerk]

Originally Posted by paesano

Many congratulations Kwerk!
.
Wow. Woke up in the middle of the night. Got up and wandered around. Signed up with TDPRI as a member. Logged in for the first time. Read through your entire build. Was completely stunned and amazed. The sun came up. My wife got up. Linda said your guitar sounded woody and checked out all the details too. Thanks for a very enjoyable middle-of-the-night to all at this forum. I learned a lot and it is a beautiful guitar. !
.
Very sorry to hear about the rough go of it recently in New Zealand. We were in the "big one" up in San Francisco, and many various other smaller ones in California, and we know the feeling of getting completely shaken up..., so hope all is well.
.
Ciao, jb
.

Wow, thanks, man! Nice to have you aboard, you've just joined the friendliest place on the whole interweb!

[Travst]

I love it. It just got better and better as you went along. That is a killer guitar. Great job!

[kwerk]

Originally Posted by Travst

I love it. It just got better and better as you went along. That is a killer guitar. Great job!

Originally Posted by Jazzmeister

Wow, congratulations on an amazing build. I'm totally blown away....and I'm not easily impressed. Outstanding design and execution to match! Truly inspirational!!

Originally Posted by allen082

my hat is off to you, sir.

Originally Posted by dmarg1045

Amazing--great, creative work.

Originally Posted by DesmoDog

Now that's pretty dang cool right there!

Originally Posted by Michael Terry

sounds as good as it looks! good luck!!

Originally Posted by LeroyBlues

Very nice.

Thanks for the nice comments guys. It's been a blast eh?

[hockeygoon]

Holy Moly, your 2nd build?

Kwerk this IMO is one of the most innovative looking guitars I've ever seen, while not being excessive--very tasteful. Excellent job, and I am also surprised how 'normal' sounding it is.

[rcole_sooner]

Simply a work of art! It sounds good too. This is a fantastic build.

[kwerk]

I realised I didn't make any mention of the knobs and how they are made. I pinched these ones from my first guitar, I've made a few so it won't be a problem to make some more:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home...e-edition.html