Seattle, WA area

[Nando Vallart]

I was out of here for work and when i get back for a while.........

 

[SkuttleFunk]

welcome back NNT - I have more goodies to post this coming weekend

ATB

R

 

[SkuttleFunk]

here's a few things I've been meaning to post but haven't got to it ... ( :sign13: NNT, time to click to a different thread before you scroll down further)

a new M-Series 5-string - Rosewood burl top/back, flame Western Maple core, dyed black accent veneers + Birdseye/Cocobolo neck. this one heads off to paint later this week

VRB-MM5L with 1-piece Swamp Ash body + Birdseye/Brazilian Rosewood epoxied fingerboard. this will have a G&L L-1000 type of passive bass/treble tone control on a stacked pot

and a close-up of the polished epoxy fingerboard

I'm also in process of setting this up in my shop. I bought this servo driven 25" x 39" x 5"Z working area slightly used unit for less $$ than I could have built a home-brew unit for. It's a great deal from a fellow builder, and is currently in the K2 shop getting a clean-up/inspection before it's crated and shipped my way. I also now have licensed copies of Rhino CAD/CAM and Mach3  :blob7:

all the best,

R

 

[Nando Vallart]

Cocobolo

 

[SkuttleFunk]

this evening I'm building me a workbench that will support both this

and also this

  :blob7:

all the best,

R

 

[Nando Vallart]

Hope it goes fine!

 

[Cagey]

Christmas in March, eh? Nice toys!

 

[SkuttleFunk]

I got the new 36" x 84" x 28"H work bench completed last night. the height is designed to give me a CNC table height of 33" - a pretty comfortable working height for my 6'-3" frame

I designed this so there's enough room to locate the Inca 10" planer/jointer on the end of the table  :glasses9:  now I need to run power conduits and recepticle boxes within the table frame so I won't have extension cords snaking all over the place

all the best,

R

 

[Cagey]

Cool! Looks beastie enough. Load it up! Teach some wood a lesson!

 

[SkuttleFunk]

got the CNC and jointer/planer up on the new workbench - it's solids as can be, so I don't anticipate and wiggle issues with quick direction changes ausing any binding of the CNC. I still need to level the unit so there's no racking, and then hard mount it to the table

I also still need to get the computer hardware installed, a wireless card installed in the workstation so I can push data from my office instead of packing a thumb drive out to the shop for each job. give everything else going on, this will unfortunately have to take a lower priority for the moment

it's going to take me some time to learn the best modeling methods for Rhino CAD/CAM and how to optimize tool paths/speeds for various woods with the Mach3. I'm hoping to have my first body test cut sometime in June (earlier if possible)

all the best,

R

 

[Cagey]

Mmm... inexpensive carved tops...

 

[SkuttleFunk]

more wood and bass pron  :glasses9:

another M-Series 4-string using more of my Koa stash

- Koa on ultra light Mahogany with black accent veneer
- Mahogany / Pau Ferro neck with 1-1/2" nut
- Nordstrand Big Singles pickup set and 2-band preamp (Vol p/p bypass + Blend + Passive tone + Active bass/treble)
- Hipshot Type A alum core bridge
- Hipshot Ultralights
- an amazing 7.5 pounds total weight


completed VRB-MM5FL

coming soon - images of my first 6-string guitar prototypes

all the best,

R

 

[Nando Vallart]

Jesus!!! The koa tops you've got are amazing!   :sad:

 

[Cagey]

Beautiful! How in the world do you sell them when you're done? I wouldn't be able to let go of one.

 

[SkuttleFunk]

Beautiful! How in the world do you sell them when you're done? I wouldn't be able to let go of one.

part of the process is the anticipation of customer feedback shortly after they receive their new instrument, and an even greater joy comes wekkes/months later when I receive studio/live images and gig reports from clients who have been using their new instrument and developed a real fondness and appreciation for what it allows them to do with their creativity

it was difficult on some of my earlier builds to let them out the door, but I came to realize that I could always build another. I still have an occasional build I'd prefer not to let go of (you'll see an example of one I prefer not to let go of when I post imaged of that freshly finished/buffed redwood sandwich M-Series 5-string later this week)

all the best,

R

 

[SkuttleFunk]

Jesus!!! The koa tops you've got are amazing!   :sad:

several deeply quilted Maple tops arrived earlier this past week ... I better not show them so you can get some sleep this weekend  :laughing8:

more spalted Koa on its way here later this month  :blob7:

all the best,

R

 

[stubhead]

How in the world do you sell them when you're done?

~ I came to realize that I could always build another. ~

I read a recent article about Paul Reed Smith where he said more or less the same thing. He was complaining about how he never got to keep a guitar of his own, because someone was always snatching up "his" personal one. Gee, if I was cynical, I'd almost say he had a good marketing ploy there for the extremely-priced ones...

"Yeah, I practically had to beat up Paul to get this $11,000 baby away from him..."  :toothy12:

Luckily, I'm not cynical. :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

Probably not rich, either <grin>

 

[SkuttleFunk]

the body -just- arrived back from the paint shop ... perfect lunchtime delivery from FedEx  :hello2:

(apologies for the fingerprint marks and lightbulb glare by that control hole)

this is my first time using this finish shop, and I can say I'm very pleased based on my initial inspection. one key detail is that the grain filler they used didn't leave any light colored deposits in the black veneer line (a personal pet peeve) or in any of the birdseyes in the Redwood top sets

the neck is finished equally as nice. I'll post an image of the two together once I have the neck pocket detailed and ready to accept the finished neck

all the best,

R

 

[Cagey]

Stunning.

Is this for a customer, or are you building it on spec?