The Shop > Wood & Stuff
Scalloping the guitar fretboard - possibly also renovation of the instrument
sorveltaja:
Today, most of the neck was sanded and lacquered. Fretboard turned almost black, without any dyeing. What's left, is the headstock:
I got overly excited, when sanding the edges of the glued veneer/plywood, and removed bit too much.
That led me to the idea of headstock binding. It's basically using thin strips of wood, or other desired material, that is glued in the routed 'channel', and then trimmed/smoothed flush with the two connected surfaces.
I'm not sure about that yet, as it would require a special routing/milling fixture(s), to get any decent results. It's again about looks, and/or testing 'diy' -methods to see, what the outcome is.
If I end up going that route, I doubt that I'd use wood or other strips to fill the channel, as there are, on the top of the headstock, pretty steep curves. More likely I'd fill it with black or other dark coloured filler.
On the other hand, simpler way could be to replace the glued plywood with new one, and be more careful, when sanding its edges.
sorveltaja:
Headstock with new veneer:
I simplified the shape a bit, as it doesn't have to resemble Ibanez or any other brand. That way the finishing, and possible routing for the binding should be a lot easier.
sorveltaja:
Testing, how to remove chrome plating from the tuning machine parts:
I have never been much of a fan of reflective/chromed parts in a guitar.
First I tried rotating steel brush, for the tuning pegs at the bottom, which wasn't such a good idea, as the base material is zinc, or some kind of soft pot metal.
The ones above them are more succesful, because they are 'reverse plated', using stainless steel pot as a cathode. The electrolyte, or solution used was phosphoric acid. Current was about 3 amp.
Parts were immersed 5-10 seconds at a time, and observed, until whole chrome layer was etched off.
Same treatment was used for the uppermost parts, that are made of brass.
Reason for the stripping of the chrome out, is to allow the parts to be naturally coloured by oxidation/patina(and also by sweat from my paws).
Tuning machine housings are also chrome plated, but they would have to be pried open, to get the inner parts out of the way. So I'll probably leave them as they are, unless some crazy ideas appear.
Sea.dog:
Be aware that the solution, after you've stripped the chrome, is very toxic. Google Hexavalent Chromium.
sorveltaja:
Seadog, thanks for warning. Phosphoric acid, that was used, is a part of cleaning solution, that forms quite dense foam, when the submerged part bubbles, and then perhaps lessening the release of fumes(maybe it's an intended property of that specific solution, can't tell).
In general, I'll try to avoid skin contact with any of the metal-treating solutions, at all costs. Might sound funny, but I have a habit of wearing safety goggles, when handling such liquids.
--
Truss rod cover in the making:
Same material(0.5mm plywood) is used. As the headstock is tilted, that piece needs to be bent to follow the two angled surfaces. It was boiled in water about 10 minutes, and then lightly clamped, until it dries, and hopefully keeps its form.
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