RogerC's 2012 Challenge Build Thread - COMPLETED

[nosmo]

Hey Joe, how does that floor sound when you drop something on it? Could be Roger will get a good finish AND tone.

[nosmo]

oops

[Timp138]

I love the concept man. My wife and I were just talking about a concrete guitar a few weeks ago. We just had our floors acid stained and I thought it would be a cool finish on a guitar which led me to ponder a full concrete guitar. I just wasn't sure how or if it could be done. I can't wait to see this one.

[RogerC]

If this concept works out, that definitely opens up a whole new slew of finishing options. That's for sure.

I'm hoping to get some neck work done tonight and then set up some tests. I need to see what kind of ratio I need with my cement and perlite. I also need to test some release agents to make sure my body doesn't stick to any part of my form. lastly, I'll have some dowel rods stuck inside the finished body to use as anchor points for my bridge, pickguard and rear control plate screws. I've got an idea on how to make sure the dowels are secure, but I need to test that as well.

[anyone]

Brilliant idea! I'm really looking forward to seeing this unfold.
Super curious about the tone... and the weight.
For a second there I almost thought you were going to use the styrofoam for a core.

[Matt Haskins]

I had a book on building your own concrete countertops. My favorites were the counters that were tinted and that had small objects pressed in to the wet cement before drying. Don't know if these are things you've considered but they looked cool in some countertops. (I don't necessarily like this one but it was a picture I found quickly. You get the idea).

[RogerC]

Yeah, I did some research on concrete counter tops a couple of years ago (that's where I got the idea to use a smooth material to smooth the face during curing). I'm not going to do any inclusions (except for the dowel rod anchors) in this one because it'll be more industrial than decorative.

[RogerC]

Well, I'd had grand plans for getting quite a few things done tonight, but...

Let's start here...

**Do NOT attempt to make a neck how I'm doing it here**

This is my crappy neck template on my neck blank. This was the first template I ever made, and it's made out of particle board. There are several divots and stuff. I thought about making another template before I started, but then I thought "nah, there are already a couple of threads with good neck templates being made"


So I attached it to my blank with double sided tape and headed to the scroll saw


Got pretty close to the line and then went to the BOSS, which apparently I forgot to get pics of

I got it pretty close to the template and then got out the router. I neglected to get those pics, but I did get a pic of some of the results

eeeewwwwwwww . Looks like the fairways after the last round I played-- lots o' divots

So then it had a date with my favorite tool-- the plate glass/sandpaper thingy.
A little off here...


And a little off here...

And a little off in a few other spots as well.

I finally got it to be somewhat acceptable


Don't worry, I can already hear you screaming about all the ways that I did this wrong. I know, I know. But I did do one thing right tonight...


If you can't make it out, that's the old template.


So take all the time and focus I spent working on the neck and multiply that by how tired I already was. I just didn't feel up to doing anything else tonight. I'm sure it would've ended up in frustration, so I'm now in the house getting a bite to eat and spending time with the fam. I'm sure I'll be in bed early tonight as well... For tomorrow is another day

[nosmo]

Don't need no stenkin' template. Cut it big and sand it to shape! My template is beat to death and I haven't finished 1 neck yet.

[tiskit86]

I want a plate glass/sandpaper thingy.

[emoney]

That's where that template oughta be anyway, good decision! I've never made a Tele
neck, so I figure it'll be easier just "winging" it. That way, I won't know how much I
screwed up.

[gitlvr]

I built my first two or three necks like that as well, except I used a long, flat sanding beam. Works just fine, although it is a lot of work. I'm really glad I use neck templates now, lol.

[Olav]

Good going Roger. Template offends? Template gots to go. No looking back.
Rooting for ya!

[RogerC]

Thanks guys. I'll make another template eventually, but next time I'll do it properly.

Tiskit, I just went to the local glass place and bought a cutoff. It cost me all of $5. I just stick some sandpaper to it, and off I go. For me it's a crucial piece of equipment because I don't have any precision tools. As simple as it is, it does a way better job of giving me a nice, flat surface than anything else I have

[RogerC]

A little progress today. I knew I'd have a while to wait before I got my hardware in, so I wanted to use this time to rig up some test plates. Here's the plan...

Mix the cement and perlite in 3 different ratios and pour them into standardized molds. I'll also test 2 different release agents and an anchor design.

First up was marking out my test molds



And them cutting them out on the scroll saw


After some final internal sanding, they're ready to go


My first trial mix. 1:1 cement to perlite


I used 1 liter total dry volume and mixed up 3 different ratios-- 1:1, 2:1, 3:1. I also tested 2 release agents-- spray vegetable oil and silicone spray. For my anchor trial, I took a large dowel and used my dremel to carve some upward facing barbs. The smaller dowel you see in the middle plate is just to test my vegetable oil release agent on the wood.

[DeepSouth]

Whatever you do don't pour the concrete into the mould. Pouring it can result in pour (poor) tone.

I'm enjoying this thread by the way - it'll be great to see how it turns out and what it sounds like.

[paulmarr]

Very cool Rog - Im in!

[emoney]

This is gonna be a rock-solid build! I'm so excited to see how this finishes up, if I'm not
careful, my wife's going to think I'm having an "internet affair".

[RogerC]

Thanks fellas. I'll try to keep it interesting

While my test plates are curing, I figured I'd do some more work on the form.

First thing I did was go mark my 1.5" fill line around the inside


Next I wanted to work on the neck pocket area. The original idea was to cut the foam to form the pocket. I've been struggling with it because I have to think in terms of negative. It's been a brain strain for sure


Next I marked the center line on my neck (front and back)




I taped a string to the headstock so that I could use it to line up my neck center line with my template center line


Then I used a razor blade to cut around the neck. My hope was to fashion a nice, tight neck pocket by doing this just as you would on a wood body. The problem, though as I said earlier, is thinking in terms of negatives. I have to keep in mind that was I cut out is where the cement will be, and what I leave will be the void areas.



I wasn't able to get it cut very cleanly, so I went to plan B. I cut out the foam and will shape a piece of mdf to put in there instead.


First thing is to get a scrap piece down to useable size



I then put my neck on and traced around it, took it to the BOSS and shaped it. I then set up my thicknessing rig and started getting it down to proper thickness


I had a couple of issues, so I didn't get it done tonight, but I've got a good start on it. Once it's done, I'll use double sided tape to attach it to my masonite base in the proper position. This should give me a nice, even, smooth neck pocket *fingers crossed*

[henderson is go]

Well this is one of those strange combinations of crazy and awesome

This is looking really nice, Roger. I can't wait to see what your cement tele is going to look like.