Summer Build Off 2022 ThumbRay

[AudioTaper]

Theres only a month left and I'm really nowhere near where I should be. I may not may not finish by the deadline, this summer has been a lot more hectic than I had thought it would have been.

No cool pics to upload, just messing with paper control plate layouts when I have the time. If I dont have the funds to do what I want for the electronics, I'll do a basic layout and make another control panel later.

Edit: not to mention that every other day I have a new idea for the electronics...

 

[AudioTaper]

I had to take some time today. I just had to.

Several thin clear coats on a test scrap in sunlight

I built a new router planer setup. It's not 100% square, but its 100% more square than the last one.
Spoilboard bit getting a workout. Note I'm using the ash cutoffs from the Winter Build Off as wedges to keep the body in place.

Sanded the lines out. Might as well make dust on top of all those wood chips.

And more woodchips. I attached the MDF template where the neck pocket and pickup is (or at least should be )

 

[AudioTaper]

Body shape is all cut out

It came in at 1-11/16th (43mm) thick. I know the 'target' was 40mm, but this thickness felt pretty good.

The glue joints look pretty good (IMO). A lot more of this Cherry will be exposed when I route the neck pocket and trim the heel down to match

 

[Flamingo21]

I built a new router planer setup. It's not 100% square, but its 100% more square than the last one.

I'm printing this on a sign to hang on my workshop wall.

 

[AudioTaper]

I'm printing this on a sign to hang on my workshop wall.

Do it!

 

[AudioTaper]

Neck placement and alignment

I had already made a neck template out of wood and epoxy, so this part was easy.

Pickup placement

Remember that hole I made to attach the body template? Well, I missed the pickup location.

Guess what, it's now a pickguard mounting screw hole.

 

[AudioTaper]

Playdoh method for the neck mounting holes

Center punch it!

Counter sinking the heavy stainless washers

Bridge alignment with strings

 

[AudioTaper]

Drilling the corner radius. Someday I'll buy a 3/16" router bit...

Control cavity layout

Blasphemy!
It will make sense later

 

[AudioTaper]

Routed out the control cavity front, pickups, and cleaned up the edges a little with 220 grit.

The back now has room for the Gotoh BB-04W battery box. Theres still more work to do on the rear side of the control cavity.

 

[Camaro69]

I like it!

 

[Katoosie]

I've been poking at my brain about this for a while and unless I am seeing this wrong - why did you drill an actual hole in place of the control cavity?

 

[AudioTaper]

I've been poking at my brain about this for a while and unless I am seeing this wrong - why did you drill an actual hole in place of the control cavity?

It's a different take on the Monkey Grip. I like to be different

Kidding
I'll explain with photos and a walk through soon. Hopefully I can get this part done over the weekend.

 

[Reedt2000]

Ooooo, you gonna make modular preamps attached to plates held by magnets so you can hot swap em?

 

[AudioTaper]

Ooooo, you gonna make modular preamps attached to plates held by magnets so you can hot swap em?

Not magnets, but yeah. Pretty much

 

[Reedt2000]

Not magnets, but yeah. Pretty much

Very cool

You could make the plate and the connection from preamp and controls to the pickups magnetic so they swap out in seconds!

 

[AudioTaper]

I FINALLY made an extension base for the Porter Cable router. So much easier working on larger areas, like the pickup control cavity. 1/4" thick Acrylic.

 

[AudioTaper]

I used scraps and clamps to make a guide for the rear cavity route (no photo of that process, but you get it)

Completed route, front is just a hair under 1/2" thick

Made a tracing of the opening. I learned this from Indiana Jones when I was a kid

Extend out the sides

Transferred to 1/2" MDF, cut out with a jigsaw and sanded

Now it has a recessed lip for the rear cover.

 

[AudioTaper]

Before contouring the body

After, still needs some touch up

I used my favorite contouring tool: a 10A Dewalt angle grinder and a 40 grit flap wheel. I took material off a little at a time, but it still goes pretty fast.

Rear is hard to photo.

 

[AudioTaper]

I'm using an off-brand Gotoh football style jackplate (I didnt realize it was an off brand when I bought it, but it's pretty nice) so I used a 3/4" step bit to drill the hole for the Switchcraft 12b jack. This made it really easy to drill for the wire pass-through to the battery box.

 

[AudioTaper]

I sanded and buffed with a 000 pad. The wood took a great natural sheen on it's own. The plan was gloss poly, but I tried a semi-gloss on a scrap piece and loved the result. I put on a base coat with one of those little foam makeup applicator pads and it made it really easy to see any area that still need some attention. Mostly small marks and cracks at the knots. Those were drop filled with superglue and sanded flat.

The base coat looks great, it really brings out the figure and reflective grain (is there a term for that?)

Too bad I wasnt able to get more of this flame on the body. It was way off to the edge.