The stuff I build

[RatDog8o8]

As I've mentioned, some of the things I make for others have ties to their personal heritage. This was one of those "heritage-based" gifts.

One of my favorite musicians is Tina Guo, a Grammy-nominated cellist and composer. If you've seen movies that Hans Zimmer provided the soundtrack to, most likely you've heard Tina play. And don't let the "cellist" part mislead you....while she's classically-trained on her instrument, when she gets behind her electric cello....hold on tight. She's a madwoman and a powerhouse; a true force of nature. And a good friend.

So, back in 2021 I decided to make her something with ties to her Chinese heritage. Nothing fancy. A set of coasters, with Chinese characters on each one. Fairly simple, just all hand-worked (written?) and clear-coated.

The coasters, in order (L to R, Top to Bottom) are: Friend, Gentle, Peace, Prosperity, Strength, and Successful.





She sent me this photo of them on a table in her house



I also made one that has the same design, but is intended for hanging on a wall. It says "Superwoman", and believe me it fits her perfectly. I'm pretty sure she's nuclear-powered; always on the go, always performing.



There are several more small projects that I've done for her, which will be shared here.

[RatDog8o8]

Sometimes when I get a concept in my head, and it rattles around a while like a BB in a boxcar, what comes out is....interesting. This is another project build that has ties to the online game "League Of Legends"; one of the characters is Pentakill Yorick, and his "weapon" is a 3-string bass (no clue, not a gamer..). Anyway....just for giggles and grins, I did a search online for "Yorick Bass", and lo & behold....someone up in Canada had actually built one. Monfette Guitars, in Quebec. This thing is gorgeous, to say the least. It's actually listed on Reverb right now, for just a bit over $14,500. Full-on custom build, custom case.

So, I wanted to see if I could build not one, but a matching set of guitar & bass (really into the "matching set" thing). This is the guitar & the case for it; the bass & case will be posted as soon as it's completed. The bass just needs to be assembled, and the case is..10% done. Both use Solo headless instruments as the starting points.

The guitar uses an "Overlord of Music" locking trem system. Interesting concept; a bit different than the FR-styles & Washburn styles. It needs a post all by itself, actually.

The case outer tolex is a wine-red shade, and the fleece interior matches it. Chrome hardware.







I also have a couple of wide leather straps that might get some custom studs and / or spikes on them. It will probably be a couple of weeks until the case for the bass is done, providing I survive my upcoming medical procedure on the 7th. 99.999% sure I will, but one never knows.

[RatDog8o8]

I got the strap for the Yorick guitar completed today. It took a while to figure out a pattern for the spikes, but I think it looks ok. 3.5 inch wide leather. The upcoming bass will have an identical one, so once I got all the holes punched I used it to mark the other one.

I know, "not practical". But sometimes, you just gotta let the impractical side of life out to play.

[RatDog8o8]

This was the very first clock I ever built. Just random pieces of wood, nothing exotic. But I got to test out my new (at that time) planer. This was built in 2012. To darken the wood, I used some black latex paint and as soon as it was covered, I wiped it off like stain. (I don't do "conventional"...). Clear poly coating.