Carved top, binding and Shou Sugi Ban

[wormbot]

Hi everybody,

I'm awaiting my VIP body in Roasted Swap Ash with Swap Ash top. I thought of using the Shou Sugi Ban technique on the top. My main concern is the binding. Is there a way to protect the binding from the torch flame while roasting the wood grain? Any advice?

 

[bagman67]

My advice, candidly, is buy some more binding from StewMac or elsewhere and prepare to replace it. Fire is hot. Binding is flammable and ill-suited to brutality like shou sugi ban. If you want the full charcoal look, you're just gonna trash your binding.

But if you want the look where it's scorched, but some natural wood is also showing through - I suppose you could use a small butane torch near the edges for finer control.

I would mask the binding, and just avoid going all the way to the edge. You can then spray a black burst edge, or apply stain with a pad, to blend the more scorched surface with the unburnt edge.

That said: You could instead also fake the shou shugi ban look by attacking the top with a nylon abrasive wheel, then staining it black. You would then sand back a little with a hard block so you only knock down the high spots and leave a lot of black in the lower areas of softer grain. You still run the risk of chewing up your binding a little, depending on how well you control your tool; but at least it wouldn't be as bad as setting it on fire.

Good luck! If you follow through with your shou shugi ban plan,I'll enjoy following your process!

Bagman

 

[wormbot]

Thanks, what a good quality advice. Until I receive my body I have plenty of time to change ideas a million time.

 

[wormbot]

FYI, the look I'm after is similar to this ESP Snapper

 

[electric__steve]

If I wanted that finish I'd try flooding with brown dye and sanding back.

 

[Spud]

I was not aware that there was any kind of current ban on shou shugi.

 

[Rick]

In japan they do this to houses.

 

[Spud]

In japan they do this to houses.

I am not an expert in Shou shugi ban, however I am nearly one in Kirin Ichiban beer which I discovered while in Hawaii. I am fairly sure they had to send a special restocking flight of more after I left.

 

[Spud]

Almost bordered on a divorce(kidding) once I started proclaiming (upon each opening) that I was in total solidarity with the beer as we were both ichiban! However, I do suspect that I am ichiban.

 

[NedRyerson]

I hadn't heard of the technique and since the phrase seemed vaguely Japanese, I had to look it up. Imagine my surprise.

What's amusing here is that this article says that sugi means "cedar." Except when I see the word yakisugita written in Romaji, that can be translated to "it was cooked too much" in my mind instead of "baked cedar board" (I can't read kanji, which is where my difficulty comes from).

A companion word would be kogeta, which means "burned" (in food context, not injury, which would be yakedo shita...but you can see the root yake/yaki in there).

Meanwhile, back at the original topic....

 

[Hendrix]

I finish edit a new video How to STAIN BURNT ASH Guitar / Shou Sugi Ban Detailed Tutorial

and multi-layers colouring Dyeing

 

[Hendrix]

How to protect the binding from the torch flame while roasting the wood grain?
Generally I choose to avoid using some binding guitar for Shou Sugi Ban , but Warmoth only do Carved-top for Double Lam Tops , since you ask , I try investigate the possibility.
I will test use Flame Retardant Tape/ Fire Resistant Tape protect binding , something like
https://www.scapaindustrial.com/pro...capa/flame-retardant-tape-fire-resistant-tape

( do the test first before do it on guitar )

On edge of guitar , point torch flame in this direction short time repeatedly .

 

[wormbot]

Thanks all. That seems like a risky business !

Maybe I'm better off putting dark dye in my Goodfilla grain filler instead. I've had good results on a scrap piece of ash using Angelus Army Tan dye in the filler putty. Putting a thin shellac coat on the raw wood before grain filling ensured that the dye in the filler didn't get anywhere but in the deeper parts of the wood. This gave good results.

 

[wormbot]

I finally ruled out the burn process. I went with straight up grain fill twice with tinted Goodfilla and applied dark walnut tung oil finish instead.

 

[bagman67]

Well, that just looks gorgeous. Nice work.

 

[Rick]

Came out betta!

 

[ragamuffin]

Looks great! I think not burning it was a smart idea

 

[Hendrix]

look nice , burn process for me is go for rugged style direction .

 

[wormbot]

Thanks! I love it. When looking closely I noticed that I should have done a 3rd pass of grain fill on the back. Some of the filler is not there anymore.