First build: The Headless Mermaid

[Drucifer]

I used offcuts to make a stand.

Why don't all guitar makers do this? Seems like something people would happily spend another $250 for when buying a custom instrument. Especially if it were done right!

File under "obvious and excellent idea that could have been implemented better, and also would have been done differently if I had planned it out from the beginning." (I think that file is overflowing.)

View attachment 3161078
View attachment 3161080

That is amazingly cool!

 

[ReasonablyHappy]

Holy.... I don't even know where to start! Kudos! Your skills and vision are enviable. The details... the stand!!

 

[FretsAreFor]

I expect your next post to be ‘I had some more offcuts lying around so I made this awesome hardwood flight case’

I had some offcuts lying around so I made these awesome knives.

But first: I still have no video of the bass. I hurt my finger right after I finished building it, and I'm not playing much at all right now. Hopefully in a month or so my (left fore)finger will be ready for action.

And as you can probably tell, I'm not one to waste gorgeous wood. I finally realized what to do with the leftover roasted flame maple from the neck. I didn't do the metalwork; the knife blanks were bought online. I did do the etching on the spines though.

These would make another nice add-on for a high-end bass sale, don't you think? Buy a bass, get a matching knife set? (But wait! There's more!) In this case, they're a Christmas gift for my wife.

 

[5tring]

Nice work

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Very nice. I’ve done knife scales a couple of times. I have 2 or 3 more out in the garage that need to be done. They’re somewhere on the list of projects, the order changes a lot.

 

[turindev]

I never saw this original thread, but I wanted to stop in and say absolutely beautiful work! I love the dyed top and contrast with the body. Did you just tape off the body to get a nice clean line? I definitely want to try this in a build at some point.

 

[FretsAreFor]

Thank you very much

So yes, the sharp line is done with vinyl automotive tape. You can use electrical tape in a pinch, but definitely not blue tape or packing tape! In the screenshot below I've got white vinyl tape doing the heavy lifting. I no longer use blue tape as you see here; it's too risky that the dye will get under it. Now I use automotive tape for the sharp line, and electrical tape to extend it.

It still usually requires a bit of cleanup work at the edge, especially with an open wood like khaya. But you can do really great things with this technique!