Model 6 project updates...

[warlok]

For anyone keeping up or interested in the changes I'm making to the Model 6, Here's the photo album. I have more pics but these are the general progress. http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/f...xes/Model%206/

Doing a Quilted maple top and headstock. Natural front, black back and neck, as high gloss nitro as I can get, still deciding on pickups and bridge but got time for that for now. Take a look...

[Cjpalo]

Looks pretty killer. Where did you get the headstock logo from?

[warlok]

best-decals.com

[VitaminG]

nice work! thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

How are you transitioning from top to sides? Are you bursting it, or binding the body? Or will it just have a hard paint edge?

[84sups]

Wow looks cool. How thick is that top your putting on? I'd love to do that to my Model 6 but dont have the balls to do it.

[warlok]

Trust me, it took about 4 days for me to grow the balls to shave the top of the guitar. I almost changed to using a 1/39" veneer out of fear, but figured what the hell. Plan it well and hope for the best. It worked out amazingly well. There's only about .040" difference along the whole thickness. The top is right at about .170" (11/64") thick. I am using a veneer on the headstock so I don't mess with the binding though. Got a nice piece that matches the quilt of the body sheets.
After I glue the top on, I'm going to round it over with a 1/8" radius and do a hard paint line just above the split between top and base of the body so you'll only see the natural maple. I thought about binding but didn't want to redo the fretboard, and didn't even want to try to match the color with the 22 year old fretboard binding. Also, it being a non-recessed trem, the fretboard sits higher off the body and I don't really like the look of the body binding not mating with the fretboard binding. Couldn't think of a good way for it to work out so I just nix'd the idea. Thought about maybe a thin pinstripe too but decided on just a hard paint edge.
I just got back from picking up a jointer. For $20 with a well made sturdy stand... gotta love craigslist!! So I'll have the bookmatched pieces glued together tomorrow and hopefully on the guitar wednesday. Getting rolling now!!

[sully]

a jointer for $20? oh man. super jealous!!!!! One thing that came to mind is that you're going to need to be sure that you've only routed away enough of the top so that the new top will replace what's been removed. If you've taken away too much (or not enough) you can change the neck angle of the guitar, which would be bad. Worst case scenario, you recess the trem, so it wouldn't be a total loss.

Looks like you're doing a hell of a job so far!!!!!

sully

[DonP]

Body binding would have been cool, but other than that it looks goos so far. I'm sure it will turn out much better than the old Purple.

[warlok]

Sully - If you look on the table, there's a 3" base micrometer in the red case. I started by routing between the pup holes, measuring, adjusting, again and again till I had the route depth perfect for the guitar to be as close as possible to the original thickness with the top on and painted/cleared. There are perks to being a jet engine mechanic. Lots of precision!!
DonP - read my long post a few up from this one. Couldn't find a better pic but look at how the body and neck binding on this guitar don't match up. http://elderly.com/images/vintage/40U/40U-4288_heel.jpg I don't like that look at all and the height of the fretboard from the body on the M6 is the same way (although more contoured obviously). No way for it to look good for ME to like it.
Got the tops glued together. Gonna shape later and will be ready to glue on guitar after I get clamps from everyone I know. Can never have enough for this.. Got the paint yesterday. Could be done painting next week sometime. Woohoo!!

[Hellbat]

Did you use dowels to hold the piece you added to flatten the top? I mean it makes sense and everything, just making sure my mind isn't playing tricks... Are you planning to add a countour back with the top on or are you keeping it a flat top?

I was more impressed with the jig you built than the actual job routing the guitar.

[DonP]

DonP - read my long post a few up from this one.

Oh I read everything, but I'm just saying it would look really good with the body binding. If you say it won't work that's OK, but it would look better if it was possible.

[toejam]

Very cool. Nice job!

[warlok]

Dowels, yep. 3 each 5/16" dowels. No contour, just flat. The router box/jig was Sully's ides, via mylespaul.com. Made things alot easier but still the point of possibly ruining the guitar is pretty nerve-racking.

And Don, believe me, I'm with you... I really wanted to do binding but before I stripped it, I drew some lines and tried to figure it out but really didn't like the way it was coming out. This is my first modification or even refinish. Next one will have binding all the way around.

[VitaminG]

Couldn't find a better pic but look at how the body and neck binding on this guitar don't match up. http://elderly.com/images/vintage/40U/40U-4288_heel.jpg I don't like that look at all and the height of the fretboard from the body on the M6 is the same way (although more contoured obviously). No way for it to look good for ME to like it.

that's not uncommon with bound bodies. You can see from the examples on Warmoth's site that when you put the necks on these guitars, the neck binding will sit above the body binding.

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Options/BindingOptions.aspx

I imagine it's a lot easier to get a neat final product on a bolt-on though. You'd have to work out just how to finish the body binding as it meets the neck.

[warlok]

It'd be easier with a recessed trem too. It seems like the fretboard is higher from the top of the body on this. And the neck is angled more. This guy did ALOT more than what I'm doing but you can see in some of the pics where he has the binding done how the body binding just stops. I really don't like how it looks, just my opinion... and my guitar!! lol. http://audiozone.dk/index-filer/sb/c...oration-01.htm The thought is crossing my mind to try a neckthrough from scratch for the next project. Then I could plan for everything exactly how I'd want it.