My first thought was it looked like a "Yankee Screwdriver" but I didn't know if those are made to work as a drill or not?
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Winter Build off 2022 - Sardonyx F
- Thread starter postalflunkie
- Start date
My dad called those spiral drills. We had a couple when I was a kid, from his antique business, I really wish I knew what happened to them.
Both directions.
Red one is a Dunlap No4217
Silver is a Stanley Yankee No41
I really should get the bits sharpened, but they do a great job marking and starting holes
I opened up the handle to show all the bits
Red one is a Dunlap No4217
Silver is a Stanley Yankee No41
I really should get the bits sharpened, but they do a great job marking and starting holes
I opened up the handle to show all the bits
I've got a smaller Yankee screwdriver with a couple of the bits. Lee Valley tools has an adapter to use todays standard 1/4" hex bits with one.
Wow, it's been a while since I've been able to work on thistwo days before a planed vacation I blew out my knee, and I was just standing still when it happened, just twisted the wrong way
Good thing vacation was just a casual visit with family.
So back to work!
First up was cleaning out the slot for the string guide (graphtec nut). I didn't have a chisel or file the right size so I improvised. I bolted together five hack saw blades... worked great
View attachment 4571103
Then I drilled piolet holes and mounted up the bridge, and marked out the placement of bide pickup. Threw together a template then remembered that I need a new router bit for this job. So, hog it out with a forestner bit and clean it up with a chisel.
View attachment 4571120
All good
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Put the bridge back on, set on some steel rods (instead of strings) and marked the string paths so I can get the neck pickup marked and cut.
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View attachment 4571124
Cut the round ends with a 3/4 inch foresrner bit, then cut the rest out by hand with an exacto saw
View attachment 4571125
Not the best fit, but ood enough
View attachment 4571126
Then drilled holes for the mounting screws. Everyone and their egg-beater drills are cool and all, this is what I use for precisely marking holes before going to the drill press
View attachment 4571127
Love the steel rods idea. Great work so far sir.
Ok finally reached the point where I'm wondering "what the heck was I thinking?"
Started laying out the lines for all the mandolin looking curves and did a quick lay-out of the controls.
So, the scroll at the end of the upper horn is going to be my biggest challenge. Looking back, I probably should have figured a way do that before gluing the top on
I'll deal with that later...
So I marked the locations for the output jack, pots and toggle switch, then set up my dremmel on the router base. I like how this one came out. It will get blended into the carve on the bottom wing nicely.
While I had the dremmel set up I marked out the little curly-cue on the headstock and cut it also. Not as clean as I'd like, but I think it will clean up with a little help.
Started laying out the lines for all the mandolin looking curves and did a quick lay-out of the controls.
So, the scroll at the end of the upper horn is going to be my biggest challenge. Looking back, I probably should have figured a way do that before gluing the top on
I'll deal with that later...
So I marked the locations for the output jack, pots and toggle switch, then set up my dremmel on the router base. I like how this one came out. It will get blended into the carve on the bottom wing nicely.
While I had the dremmel set up I marked out the little curly-cue on the headstock and cut it also. Not as clean as I'd like, but I think it will clean up with a little help.
Thought today I'd start the control cavity. First I drilled all the holes from the front, then cut them from the back with a forstner bit, then expand the cavity and cleaned up the bottom with my "pointless" forstner bit.
I'll cut the recess for the cover once I figure out what the cover will be made of. The piece of purpleheart I have leftover is about an inch too short to cover it, maybe I'll use some of the flame maple from the headstock...
Next on the agenda for today was to start the bevel. I'm still not sure how I'll tackle the upper horn, so I started on the bottom. Still going to be a lot of sanding but I like the shape, and the curly-cue going into the output jack came out really nice.
I'll cut the recess for the cover once I figure out what the cover will be made of. The piece of purpleheart I have leftover is about an inch too short to cover it, maybe I'll use some of the flame maple from the headstock...
Next on the agenda for today was to start the bevel. I'm still not sure how I'll tackle the upper horn, so I started on the bottom. Still going to be a lot of sanding but I like the shape, and the curly-cue going into the output jack came out really nice.
Upper horn started...
Still need to clean up the line on the neck side of the horn, and the outside edge needs to be a little deeper. Working with the rasps and not power tools is giving my arms a good workout
Still contemplating how to carve the rosette (I have a friend that has some scary sharp gouges, I'll have to see if he'll lend me a couple). Tomorrow I'll work on the rest of the upper side and the bottom end of the body.
Still need to clean up the line on the neck side of the horn, and the outside edge needs to be a little deeper. Working with the rasps and not power tools is giving my arms a good workout
Still contemplating how to carve the rosette (I have a friend that has some scary sharp gouges, I'll have to see if he'll lend me a couple). Tomorrow I'll work on the rest of the upper side and the bottom end of the body.
Top side all carved (except for the rosette). Wiped it all down with naphtha just on account of because 
Overall, not too bad.
Overall, not too bad.
I was bummed because the leftover purpleheart from the fretboard was too short... 
then I remembered that I had another piece from when I resawed the original board 
So, measured the thickness of the board, set the dremel router to the desired depth and cut the recess in several shallow passes (very carefully). Then used masking tape to trace the outline (cover the cavity with tape, run your fingernail around the perimeter to emboss the area into the tape) and transfer the tape to the board to be cut, then over to the band saw. Lastly, fine tune the fit with a sharp file.
then I remembered that I had another piece from when I resawed the original board So, measured the thickness of the board, set the dremel router to the desired depth and cut the recess in several shallow passes (very carefully). Then used masking tape to trace the outline (cover the cavity with tape, run your fingernail around the perimeter to emboss the area into the tape) and transfer the tape to the board to be cut, then over to the band saw. Lastly, fine tune the fit with a sharp file.
Time to get this thing into shape 
Decided today that I wanted to get all the body contours done and the curly-cues cut. All that I should be doing at this stage (with a little over a month left) is Sanding and finishing.
So, first up the headstock. I used a wire brush in the dremel figuring I could shape the curve better and get rid of the scorch marks in the maple.
Pretty happy with this now.
Feeling confident with the dremel now I loaded it up with a fine carving bit and started on the upper horn scroll. I had the bass clamped to my drill press table and adjusted it so I could rest my forearm on the neck and work in a seated position. First I cut the path for the scroll, then switched to a bigger teardrop shaped cutting bit to finish up the carve.
Whew... that actually came out the way I wanted it to
Ok, now that the stressful part is out of the way it's time to finish up the bevel on the front, there were a few spots where I gave up the other night and needed to cut them a little deeper. Then I ran some blue tape around the edge set a half inch from the back (as a guide) and penciled in around the edge so I knew where both edges ofthe bevel end up. Time to cut wood! Got out all the rasps, put on a dust mask and got busy.
The front
And the back
So with that all done now it's time to sand...
...and sand
...and sand
Decided today that I wanted to get all the body contours done and the curly-cues cut. All that I should be doing at this stage (with a little over a month left) is Sanding and finishing.
So, first up the headstock. I used a wire brush in the dremel figuring I could shape the curve better and get rid of the scorch marks in the maple.
Pretty happy with this now.
Feeling confident with the dremel now I loaded it up with a fine carving bit and started on the upper horn scroll. I had the bass clamped to my drill press table and adjusted it so I could rest my forearm on the neck and work in a seated position. First I cut the path for the scroll, then switched to a bigger teardrop shaped cutting bit to finish up the carve.
Whew... that actually came out the way I wanted it to
Ok, now that the stressful part is out of the way it's time to finish up the bevel on the front, there were a few spots where I gave up the other night and needed to cut them a little deeper. Then I ran some blue tape around the edge set a half inch from the back (as a guide) and penciled in around the edge so I knew where both edges ofthe bevel end up. Time to cut wood! Got out all the rasps, put on a dust mask and got busy.
The front
And the back
So with that all done now it's time to sand...
...and sand
...and sand
Attachments
That's smart, using the foam pad to protect adjacent surfaces.
I should do more smart stuff.
I should do more smart stuff.
And having shown what you can do down there...
Right; back to the headstock with that carving bit!
(we'll cut you some slack on not mirroring the other side of the scroll on the upper arm, though...)
Five hours of sanding, down to 220, and I decided (probably prematurely) to get the initial coat of bright purple on. This is is going to be the base coat and will get sanded back tomorrow at 220 grit then again at 400 grit. Should leave a nice purple tinge to the flame in the top wood.
After that it will be time to put on a burst. It'll be yellow, with some antique maple to get a nice amber, in the center bursting to a darker purple around the outside edge.
So, here we are in its initial purepleness.
After that it will be time to put on a burst. It'll be yellow, with some antique maple to get a nice amber, in the center bursting to a darker purple around the outside edge.
So, here we are in its initial purepleness.
More sanding today. First thing was to get most of the purple off the face of the body. I didn't work too hard to remove it from the bevel since that will be purple anyway. While I was at it I sanded off most of the purple from the headstock.
Then I switched to a clean piece of 320 grit sandpaper on the block and went over the entire bass, then switched to 400 and went over everything again.
Happy with that I covered the front with the yellow-amber stain, sanded it back, and repeated that three times.
Now it's time to tape the sides off and put on the burst. First I went around the bevel with a darker purple (with a little red mixed in). Then the yellow went on the face of the body, then I used a lighter purple to blend the two colors together. Back and forth between the yellow and light purple until I was happy with the result, then once more around the bevel with the dark purple and finally one last blend with the light purple.
Take off the tape, scrape two or three little spots where the dye got past the tape and here we are.
Then went after the headstock. Put purple around the edge of the flame maple cap, then yellow on the front, repeat until I was happy and then take a step back and decided to not add anything else. Let's call this part done!
I'll give that some time to dry completely then head out later and start putting on the Tru oil.
Then I switched to a clean piece of 320 grit sandpaper on the block and went over the entire bass, then switched to 400 and went over everything again.
Happy with that I covered the front with the yellow-amber stain, sanded it back, and repeated that three times.
Now it's time to tape the sides off and put on the burst. First I went around the bevel with a darker purple (with a little red mixed in). Then the yellow went on the face of the body, then I used a lighter purple to blend the two colors together. Back and forth between the yellow and light purple until I was happy with the result, then once more around the bevel with the dark purple and finally one last blend with the light purple.
Take off the tape, scrape two or three little spots where the dye got past the tape and here we are.
Then went after the headstock. Put purple around the edge of the flame maple cap, then yellow on the front, repeat until I was happy and then take a step back and decided to not add anything else. Let's call this part done!
I'll give that some time to dry completely then head out later and start putting on the Tru oil.
Dang, I am WAY behind on my WBO threads. Looks fantastic! Absolutely Princeified.
