RogerC's 2012 Challenge Build Thread - COMPLETED

[RogerC]

I was working from home today, so I took a few little breaks here and there to finish up a few things.

First I went to the hardware store to get some tubing. This is some really stout stuff.

As you can see, I also got some 1/4" mesh.

I used the thinner, clear tubing to make my channels, and used the larger tube for my input jack channel


The clear stuff was so sturdy that I couldn't get it to bend, so I couldn't just run it from the top to the control cavity for my bridge ground. What I ended up doing was drilling a 1/4" hole in the top and insert part of a dowel rod. I then drilled a 1/4" hole in the side of the tubing and slipped it onto the dowel. Then I plugged the open end of the tube and shoved the other end into the control cavity form.


Next, I wanted to cut out the wire mesh. Trauma shears worked great on this stuff


After that I needed to make my formica piece to set on top of the guitar so that I could try to get a smooth finish on the back. I just used the scroll saw and also had to cut out for the control and neck areas.


Remember when I said I was hoping to pour on Tuesday?...

[RogerC]

Since I had all that done, I figured "what the he!!. Let's pour"

First thing was to coat everything in vegetable oil that I didn't want to stick


Then I started mixing up some concrete. I used 2 liters of cement, 2 liters of sand, and 4 liters of perlite


Then into the form


And continued filling and working it with the trowel





In that last pic, you can see i have a sander in my hand as well. I was using that in lieu of a concrete vibrator. I hit all the sides, top and bottom. I used it quite a bit and kept filling as things moved around


Now we wait until at least next Monday.

Now that that's done, my confidence level is at an all time low lol. I just don't think it's going to work out all that well. I mixed up the concrete into a mashed potato consistency, and I just don't think it's going to work itself into all the small spaces. Oh well, it's been a fun ride, and the encouragement I've gotten has been incredible. You guys all ROCK!

[RogerC]

Oh, and remember the wire mesh?

Here' is it sitting next to my filled form...
D'OH!

[kwerk]

Originally Posted by RogerC

Nothing unusual here. Just a guy mixing up a guitar body in a wheelbarrow.

Carry on.

[Nick JD]

Heh heh!

[Allthesound]

Ya had me confused Roger ya almost had me thinking for a sec it was Tuesday

Dont give up the ship yet man! Do you think the internals stayed in place well enough?
As long as that is good , Here is a little thing you might try to smooth out the roughness. take a small flat chunk of cement block or brick , something hard flat and rough. and while its still semi green yet firm wet the piece of block and rub down the surfaces. You should be able to carefully remove the form on a pour that small after 4 hours or so. You can also take straight portland and mix it into a paste, wet the body down a bit and rub the paste into the surface almost like a stucco (or grain filler even ), that should smooth everything out and fill any voids.

[RogerC]

Thanks for the info, Steve. I may have to give that a shot. I think the internals stayed in place just fine, but I'm worried about the space around the control cavity. I just don't think enough concrete got underneath it to form the guitar top.

[Allthesound]

Originally Posted by RogerC

Thanks for the info, Steve. I may have to give that a shot. I think the internals stayed in place just fine, but I'm worried about the space around the control cavity. I just don't think enough concrete got underneath it to form the guitar top.

No worries Roger that can be patched as well. Good to hear the internal forms are ok. Got and more pics of its current state? can you still scratch the surface or has it gotten to hard to scratch?

[RogerC]

I just went out and took the formica off, and I'm still able to scratch it. The formica didn't do a very good job of smoothing out the back because I didn't put any weights on it like I'd intended. Not a big deal though. I'm not nearly as worried about the cosmetics as I am the functionality.

[emoney]

You've got plenty of life left in this thing Roger. Great advice from Steve so don't fret,
just fix what needs fixing (kinda like how I build with wood, lol). And I guess it's
Tuesday somewhere!

Can you put a faux "back" on it and try vibrating it down while it's still wet
with that sander? I have no idea why I'm giving suggestions since I know less
about concrete as I do about most other things.

[kwerk]

Nearly 3pm Tuesday where I am. You guys are dragging the chain!

[Allthesound]

Originally Posted by RogerC

I just went out and took the formica off, and I'm still able to scratch it. The formica didn't do a very good job of smoothing out the back because I didn't put any weights on it like I'd intended. Not a big deal though. I'm not nearly as worried about the cosmetics as I am the functionality.

If you can still scratch it thats the time to rub it smooth. I would not do anything to bang it around or vibrate it at this stage in the curing process. Once it stops moving around your past that point. if you take your wire mesh and cut a 3 x3 square you will have something to score to surface with to give your smoothing coat (paste) something to lock into.

You dont need to go real deep with it maybe the depth equal to the distance between the lil diamonds on the bottom of a fret tang

[RogerC]

I think I'm just going to wait and see how it goes. It's getting entirely too close to my bedtime to be starting another phase of the project lol. Seriously, I've got to be at work at 7:30 in the morning, and it's an hour drive.

When I went out just now, it still seems very soft. As much as I want to see what's going on, I think my best course of action at this point is no action. I can see myself really messing some things up if I start monkeying with it. I'm just going to have to fight my urge to do anything and just let it cure well. Then I can see about patching any problem areas and go from there.

[R. Stratenstein]

It'll be fine, Roger. All kinds of things you can do to concrete to pretty it up, but I have confidence it did just fine. Vibrating it really does fill the voids. In commercial pours, they have to be careful not to vibe it too much, because they can make it so dense it'll blow out the forms.

[Joe Sailor]

Looking good. I am excited.

[RogerC]

Thanks guys. As I said, I'll just wait a week or so and see how it comes out and then go from there.

I should clarify what you're seeing in this pic, btw. I'm not sure if you can tell or not, but that isn't the concrete. It's the back of the formica that I had pressed onto the concrete. What I ended up with after I removed it looks more like the surface of the moon

Originally Posted by RogerC

[Mojotron]

Can't wait to see how things turned out.

[henderson is go]

this is getting really cool now

Can you sand concrete???????

[gearhead1972]

Looking good, though it does have to be one of the strangest things I have ever seen

[Allthesound]

Whew! i thought that pic was the surface of the cement. You have it well under control. Looking good then!