My latest build.

[Andrew]

Ive received some good advice here with this one so I thought I ought to share. Somewhat less traditional than what we usually see around here. Its not flawless, but I'm pretty happy with how its turned out all things considered - enough so that I really don't want to sell it :(. But I guess that's often the way.

Just a few things I have learned, or been strongly reminded of:

High gloss black is a real bugger of a finish to accomplish in a teeny basement shop. Everything shows. Eeeeverything. Holy moly. Obsessive compulsive tendencies are a mixed blessing in this case. Play everything super safe, and annihilate all dust nibs. Maybe the next couple will be natural finishes.

I definitely need to wear gloves during assembly, as I have some narsty perspiration.

Measure a few more times, dummy.

I need to learn to take breaks when I get hypertensive, and also eat better, or I might not be able to do this as long or as well as Id like. It seems like taking care of oneself has been getting some mention around the forum lately, and it's starting to sink in.

[Andrew]

Some more. I can only seem to upload one at a time despite being within the file size limit.

[Andrew]

Another.

[Andrew]

Another. My lighting and pic quality is pretty poor, unfortunately.

[Paul Verticchio]

Well done, Andrew. I'm extremely impressed.

Admittedly, I personally haven't preferred sinister looking pointy guitars' but your totally cool ORIGINAL design is aesthetically and visually pleasing. It's supremely elegant. Actually, it's mighty sexy. Interpretation: I'd be proud to play it :)

Nice top quality hardware, great finish and execution.

The future looks bright for you and your instruments.

BEST of luck & take GOOD care of yourself & your health. That's extremely important as your career will span decades :)

NICE WORK, MAN!!!!!!!

[William F.Eden]

YOU made a very nice job Andrew ,Like Paul said it is a very pointy prodject.But then I don't build elictric guitars so I guess any shape go's in them.I only tryed  black finsh twice and both times the finish was coverd with little white specks so I gave up on anything Black P.S keep up the good work my friend. Bill................

[Mike Kolb]

Nice guitar there, Andrew... very nice. The aesthetics are original and balanced. Good work :)

[Donald A. Fortune]

Hey Andrew-- Not too shabby if this is your first build- the first one that I built was a flat top and I didn't have a form to make it, but it came out ok considering.  I still own it and will never sell it but rather give it to my son who is a second

generation guitar player....

As time goes buy you will learn things that matter and it will be because of experience--

Best to you in your craft and please be safe in what ever you do......

Peace, Donald

[Andrew]

Thanks all for the kind replies, it means a lot coming from you guys. I make a solid effort to build original designs (this is number two, not counting what I made at school) and make them visually balanced, so there's a touch of class even with more radical shapes like this one. Its part measurement (sometimes I use things like Phi ratio) and part feel. Sometimes the wood just tells me how it should look. I like doing solid bodies for the freedom of design. Id like to build acoustics and hollow bodies etc in the future, but Im not equipped or ready to acheive what I picture in my mind yet.

@ William: Black is indeed a bugger that way. I eliminated MOST of the specks by hunting them down meticulously between each coat with 600 grit fre cut. I also found that dialing down my exhaust fan helped. Theres the odd one left but you have to look pretty close, and by the time it has an hour's worth of playing on it it would be pretty hard to tell what was in the finish or not.

For those who are interested this is the hardware wood etc.
One piece curlyish euro ash body w big leaf maple cap, 5 ply curly rock maple neck, big leaf maple headstock plate from the same board as the body cap.
Gotoh 510 t.o.m. Bridge and tail piece (its very slick).
No name, but nice tuners I picked up from my teacher. (This was my last chrome set, ill probably go with Gotohs in the future.)
25.5" scale, jumbo stainless frets, 9.5 to 14 inch compound radius, just shy of 43 mm at the nut
Nickel silver inlay and truss rod plates
Seymour Duncan's 'Black Winter' pickups
Electronics are two volumes w pp coil cuts, tone, blower switch and megabucker switch
Also, it sustains for days, and the tone is aggressive and gritty but somehow also smooth and earthy.

[Russell Vance]

Nice work Andrew,

I am particularly fond of guitar makers who acknowledge "design" as an entity and use the basics of design in their build.  That way the more radical shapes can still not jar the mind.  

Your basement has a concrete floor - prior to spraying use a hose or a spray bottle (one of the pump-up bottles used to spray weed killer would be OK) to lightly wet the floor and then mist all the vertical surfaces and the roof with water spray to wet the dust - then keep the exhaust fan running strong as it creates the laminar flow of air that stops dust settling.    You do need the fan  to ventilate well to stop the water spray  forming a high humidity environment but after that you will have eliminated a majority of dust sources.

Wipe down your work before you spray with naptha/lighter fluid/Shellite which flashes-off quick and then use a "tack cloth"  (available from paint suppliers and spraypainting shops) to remove the final dust and specks just before spraying.   Don't forget to dust-off yourself and keep your forearms and hair covered while applying finish.

That'll help and I'm sure there are a lot of other tips  tips coming your way re finishing in confined spaces.

Good work,

Rusty.

[Andrew]

Thanks Rus. Indeed, I did all of that to the letter. I even misted myself with the water bottle! Lol. Unfortunately with the nature of my shop there are just all kinds of nooks and crannies where dust can be picked up from. Before I start spraying I vacuum and evacuate as much dust as possible, but once my temporary booth is set up, its very hard to clean without stirring up more. I think the main issue is entering/exiting the 'booth' (heavy plastic sheet stapled to the overhead joists. Im not sure how to address that issue in my confines just yet, but Ill figure something out. The reason I turned down the fan was that the laminar flow (I learned a new term!) was bringing stuff in against the side that faced the entrance; settling of dust was a minimal issue. Most of the problem is a very small spray area. On the up side, we have a very dry basement and spraying between october and may is very easy in terms of humidity concerns.

[Russell Vance]

The other option is to simply spray outside in God's spraybooth - I sprayed in my open drive way for 10 years with the aforementioned damping, an elevated spraying jig,  and a gentle breeze - you would be seriously surprised how good this environment is for spraying - EPA issues aside.  Dont spray in direct sunlight and  quickly remove the sprayed item to an enclosed damped down temperate space.

A bit of a problem in places where it snows but otherwize just fine.

R.

[Peter Poyser]

Quote: "The reason I turned down the fan was that the laminar flow (I learned a new term!) was bringing stuff in against the side that faced the entrance; settling of dust was a minimal issue."

 

 

Andrew.

Russell has given Great Advice all through here.

Including the Advice to Spray Water Down on the Floor, and usually to Spray Outside if possible when you can, which I used to do just as Russell Described.

 

 

Personally,

I would use Air to Spray the Ceiling.

Vacuum or Simply Seal the Ceiling with Paint Regularly.

As I would be worried about getting rid of Every Possible Potential Drip.

 

 

As Condensate Drips are a Perennial Nuisance.

In Paint Production Environments they can under Certain Outside Environmental Conditions, happen almost anywhere at all.

They are extremely hard to see, and thus remove when the Ceiling is a High One, but can cause Paint Damage falling on Freshly Coated Surfaces.

Usually, a Long Pole with a T Bar End and Non-Cotton Fibre Rags or a Tack Rag fixed to the end, are the very time consuming but best way to remove these Waiting Drips.

 

 

I really think if you have a Sound Ceiling Surface thats not Flaking.

Simply Painting the Ceiling and Walls Regularly is a Good Way to Approach providing a Clean Environment, Looks Great and Cleans up the Overspray Mess Too.

I have been wondering for a bit about your Black Dots and consulted Paint Supplier Troubleshooters about this for you, as some problems emerge from the Paint, but it's clearly not a Material Issue.

 

 

On the Basis of the Information that you have shared.

What I would encourage you to look at next is Proper Filtration of the Incoming Air entering the "Booth". Most especially if there "Isn't Any" as yet.

You could probably make something like a Filter quite effectively on a Removable Square Frame, ideally with Several Layers, the outer layer of which you may need to Brush Clean far more often that you might think. But you MUST fit one Either Side of the Ventilation Fan.

The Finest just before the Spraying Environment. Only then, will the Incoming Air Flow be actually suitable for Spraying Paint. If you can Filter the Outgoing Air too, that's helpful for the Environment.

 

 

There is obviously a Localised Environmental Issue as to Regards what these White Bits Are? Which might be worth Looking Into.

Many Local Councils here have Air Quality Officers and Regulate Targets for the Purity of Content of Local Air. If there is a Monitoring Station in your Area, it might be worth asking what these White Bits could be? They would probably know.

But perhaps do this without disclosing your Paint Operation. You are of course Breathing the White Stuff in, and I wondered if there are any Industrial Works in the Area, though I also wondered if its Air Bourne Pollen or the like, simply blown off from close by Trees.

 

 

A Properly Constituted Industrial Spray Booth, would feature an Overhead Air Replacement Plant with Temperature and Humidity Controls for Water Based Materials.

But crucially the Air Inlet Venting would have a Fairly Strong Coarser Outer Filter and a Very Fine Filter Indeed just before the Spray Booth. With the Air Blown through High Quality Filtration from Above and into the Spray Booth then down through Gratings in the Floor Below, to a Fast Flowing Water Weir with Coagulating Additives.

 

 

A Smaller Workshop Friendly way to Organise this Ideal Arrangement..

(It's important to Understand the Principals that Underlie an Ideal Arrangement, even if such deployment is not possible).

..Is to Turn the Idea On Its Side, and Have a Metal, Large Wall "Urinal" Type Idea fitted to one Wall for a Constant Recycling Water Flow, to Capture  Overspray and Take It Away. Again, I would think it would be quite straightforward  to make something like this out of Sheet Metal.

Use a Well Configured, Well Filtered Air Inlet on One Side, preferably High Up towards the Top of the Booth Area (regardless where the actual Physical Inlet from Outside is) and a Filtered Extraction for the Booth for Your Own Comfort and Well Being, and of course the Outside Environment. Perhaps these Filtered Outlets could be Placed around the Water Wall Area. and Ideally should be Low Down at Floor Level Area (regardless where the actual Physical Outlet to the Outside is). But there should Ideally be, a Top - Down Flow Direction throughout the Booth, if that Ideal is a Possibility.

Crucially, The Balance of this Inflow and Outflow as experienced in the Spraying Area should be User Friendly to Permitting Uninterrupted Pressurised Air Flow from the Spray Gun Use at any Angle in the Working Area.

Some form of Moveable Jig, Hanging Area, Hooks and Slaves for fitting to Components to be Sprayed should all figure in your Overall Plans.

But my hunch would be, that Simply Filtering the Incoming Air Effectively or Even Choosing the Time of Year when you Spray.

Might Solve All your Problems.

I Hope So

 

 

I'm not suggesting you buy Expensive Filters.

Or that everything I've shared will fit what you feel is possibly achievable.

Rather, I'm suggesting you visit, possibly a Haberdashery or Wherever you Consider Helpful.

Find some Non Cotton Based, Man Made Materials, and make a Frame to Capture the bits that are Floating in the Incoming Air.

It may be that some of the Cheap Thick White Clothing "Filler" Material enclosed between Outer and Inner Layers of Strong Filtering Material might work.

But Think Hard about Everything Else, Properly Understanding the Ideal Way to Approach All These Spraying Environment Issues. Congratulations On your new Musical Instrument.

 

And Good Luck!

 

 

P

 

Below are Ideas to Look At.

And Get Your Thoughts Moving in the Right Direction.

These Types of Filters are Expensive, but I think you could Cheaply Fabricate Something Similar to Fix your Problem.

http://www.vilene.co.jp/aircon/pdf/general_e.pdf

http://www.freudenberg-filter.com/fileadmin/templates/EN_downloads/...

http://www.filtac.com/wp-content/uploads/Viledon_filter.pdf

http://boothfilterstore.com/downdraft-booth-filters/