A really fun day today working on the body. Got very creative and I really think it paid off.
Anyway, goals for today were to get the body to 320 ready for first layer of oil. Before doing too much sanding thought it would be wise to get the cavity shielding done with the capacitive paint I had in the drawer.
I had planned this yesterday so had already sanded back the tremelo pocket because there's a chance that may be on show and Warmoth left if janky with overspray. The shielding paint went on well and cleanly. Tested it all with multimeter, works surprisingly well (not that you need full coverage for a faraday cage).
I've also added some clear acrylic behind the thinnest points of the neck pocket. Where it flairs up it's just so thin. If I'm not careful I'm gonna knock it so I added some acrylic nail vanish inside the pocket just to give the wood something hard to sit against.
After sheilding I had to stay in the house really but still wanted to work on guitar. Following on from the last few threads I'd kind of soft decided I still wanted coil split switches, but not on the front of the guitar.
That left the battery box as the perfect candidate.
For some reason I'd always only considered lever toggles but of course other buttons exists and after a bit of blue sky thining and measuring I realsied I could fit two of these lovely steel latched push to make switches into the body (the normal 20mm ones would be too big).
Now how to mount them? I took Warmoths route template and did a quick 3d print test print using those measurements to check, glad I did, was significantly smaller. With the correct measurements in hand I went into Fusion360 and started designing.
I had the schematics for the switches I was going to use so I drew up this design. It fits the switches flush with the top, plenty of room underneath for them, space cutout for the spanner to tighten nut. Hole incorporated that leads to cavity and also two stabilising legs with, if I don't say so myself, a very cool set of feet. (note the switch in the render is some generic one I resized for visualisation only, the real one is much longer).
You see right now I'm not sure how I want to mount covers. I was going to use magnets, but I don't like the idea of magnets near the strings, so then I thought Velcro, which would work well. However One thing I use almost every day for lots of things is Black Tac. It's like very sticky bluetac that when heated up goes really sticky, but then once it's set its very firm until you remove and heat again. Perfect for holding on covers.
So the feet have holes for magnets, have a little ledge for Velcro or of course you can use black tac (which would get purchase in the small holes but spread across the feet).
The print came out great and there's just enough clearance for a veneer. I also printed some shims that fit the pocket perfectly for the bottom just in case I need to go up 0.5mm (or increments of). I was actually blown away with how close I got it (I'm not actually all that good at 3d deisgn).
Talking of veneers, I found these on ebay which I hope will be to my liking. The grain appears similar and I'm hoping to use the same oil setup process to give them the same colour for this new panel, and the control cover which has has the same small holes added so it also can be used by magnets or black tac (not sure how I'd get the clearance for Velcro without routing or adding some tabs.
Anyway after doing all the printing and getting the parts working just great I did a bunch of sanding (everything to 320).
When I got back in I hit the body with some bioethanol to clear out the grain and see what I was working with. My goodness, I had no idea what this body will look like, and what it does right now not covered in dust. Check this out!
After sanding:
Half coated in bioethanol:
After thorough cleaning:
So yeah, exciting times, the switch panel I'm super super happy with. If anybody wants one you know where to come. I really think those little buttons are gonna make for an elegant solution when set to hog. A bit of an ugly print but that's the only white I had, it's been open 4 years and I printed it fast. Bite me.
As for the Tremelo, super interested in making an inset cover for it, but not the usual screw in rectangle, one that will fit the unique shape. Without screws like the control and switch panel the back will be totally screwless.
This does all hinge on the veneers not being terrible though, otherwise glossy black it is I guess. Whatever happens, this is exactly what I needed to get through the Coronavirus. I have 2 small kids, not enough rooms. This gives me an excuse to fiddle about and spend time in the garage for my sanity.
I'll end up with something beautiful I'm sure, I love everything about this thing right now. I've spent so much time with it I may just be in love with this piece of wood. I sure hope it sounds good now.