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Winter 2018 Build Off - 4004CTM

#81
Cruising right along today! Headstock shaped with my laminate router and my template. The walnut seems to be much more forgiving than maple with respect to router tear out.

4004_0197.jpg


Drilled and sanded!

4004_0199.jpg
 
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#83
The maple stringers look great running through the volute. It’s cool watching this, your build is like a negative image view of my build, with walnut instead of maple. Headstock came out sweet! What angle on the headstock? I used around 6 degrees.
 
#84
Thanks all!

Maybe about eight degrees? It's certainly a good deal less than my scarf joint jig produces, probably about half, and that one comes in about 15 degrees or so. Basically I cut it for the maximum amount of tiltback available to still have eight inches of headstock length... :)
 
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#85
Woodworking done. Initial sanding done, applied a few coats of oil just to help see which spots might need more sanding.

Wood and truss rod weigh 6 lbs 2 oz (2.8 kg), so final weight will be well under 8 lb. That’s a bit lighter than I was expecting. A pleasant surprise!
 
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#89
I did not grain fill. I could have, but I kinda like the open grain of walnut. I’m using Formby’s Gloss Tung Oil again, but Tru-Oil is very similar. I just wipe it on with a piece of t-shirt and rub it in. Let dry, repeat about 20 times. :cool:
 
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#90
ctmullins said:
About four coats of oil on now. The walnut has taken on this beautiful chocolatey brown hue, very rich looking. :hyper:

View attachment 2933735

And the maple top is looking pretty good too!

View attachment 2933736

(They would look even better with a decent cameraman!)
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That's gorgeous!

Gilmourisgod said:
That’s looking incredibly good! The flame is really popping, love that striped headstock. Did you have to grain-fill at all before the oil, or wetsand with oil? I want to use Tru-Oil on mine, no experience with it.
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Tru-oil is pretty simple, as @ctmullins said. One way to grain-fill is to simply wet-sand with it. My first experience with walnut was finished this way:

pickuprings.jpg
 
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#91
Gilmourisgod said:
That’s looking incredibly good! The flame is really popping, love that striped headstock. Did you have to grain-fill at all before the oil, or wetsand with oil? I want to use Tru-Oil on mine, no experience with it.
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You are gonna LOVE truoil. Forget grain filler. No need for that. But the more you sand before applying it, the better the finish. I sand normally with 80, 120, 240, 360, 480 - than I switch to wetsanding with water and do 1000, 2000, 3000 and sometimes 5000 and 7000. You can also wetsand in between each layer.

CTmullins. I really like this one. Love the grain and flame on it. Very well done. Cant wait to hear it
 
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#92
Thanks for all the interest, likes, and positive comments! I’m pretty pleased with this build myself, and I’m actually considering doing another as an eight-string... :bassist:

Ambering. Oil/varnish finishes such as Tru-Oil, Formby’s, etc. are known to amber over time. How much? Enough to be really noticeable. It’s especially apparent in this photo, with the 4004 (now with about six coats of oil, and starting to sheen) hanging next to ThumpyHollow. Nine years ago, when I was building her, the maple top was (as far as my recollection is accurate) as white as this one. She was finished in Formby’s, with a later re-touch of Tru-Oil. I honestly don’t know if the ambering process is finished, or if she will get even more of an amber hue in the near future.

4004_0202.jpg
 
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#97
I’m still working my way through the coats of oil - got about 12 now - I suppose I should have actually counted them... :rolleyes:

Took a minute to do a gratuitous hardware mock-up. I’m such a sucker for chrome!

4004_0203.jpg


I couldn’t find any actual Ric 4004 knobs, but I did find these aluminum ones on eBay. They’ll do for now.

4004_0204.jpg
 
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#99
Scoops said:
I'm really gonna have a hard time with my 3 votes this year, as this is just incredible.
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Funny, that’s exactly the sentiment I have about almost all of the builds this year! Frankly, mine is a bit plain in comparison, but I’m happy anyway, because at the end of it all, I still get to add a walnut 4004 to my stable! :bassist:
 
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