A busy couple of days

[Shawn Pixley]

I am pretty good about finishing up projects before starting another. Sometimes that doesn't work so well

So before New Year's, I ordered some binding for a guitar I was making. it was to be delivered on January second. So having some time, I buckled down and built a couple of shop storage boxes that would stack on top of each other. I used left over odds and ends from other projects (African Mahogany and European Beech). One would hold my sharpening stones and accessories. The other would house my inlay tools. So, I knocked them together so they would stack and interlock. Wednesday the 31st of December, the binding came early. So, I got the boxes to a good stopping spot and went back to the guitar.

I routed the binding ledge and glued up the binding on the back. I planned on double binding (front and back). Fitting binding by yourself is a bit frustrating.

Guitar Binding rout.jpgGuitar Binding Tape.jpg

It cures overnight before scraping and doing the front binding.

Guitar Back.jpgAttachment 303477Guitar binding.jpg

Above, the guitar with a little MS on it to represent the finish color if undyed. So, a couple of days would be used waiting for the binding glue to fully cure before it can be scraped. So LOML says, "since you gave me the nice hydraulic press, I need a stand to put it on." So my plan was to knock out a table in one Saturday. From raw stock to fully assembled took a day. Tapered legs. arched aprons, mortise and tenon construction. I cheated and used plywood for the top and shelf. By the way, It was another example why I hate plywood...

Boxes behind glue-up.jpgTable no paint.jpg

You can see the storage boxes peeking out from behind the leg glue-up. The table material would be Red Oak as it would be painted with Milk Paint. Sunday, the Table got 2 coats of the milk paint and Ren Wax on the top. Back to the guitar! My next decision is what color to stain / dye the Ash back. The Spalted maple top will get BLO or Tung oil, shellac to seal and then Nitro Lacquer. I think the neck and spalted maple go well together. Time to go back to work...

[Gordon Eyre]

My, my, you have been busy and such beautiful work in the process.

[Andrew Kertesz]

What did you do after lunch???

[John TenEyck]

I don't think my wife would have reacted well had I ever given her a hydraulic press. That must be some woman you have, Shawn.

John

[Shawn Pixley]

Thanks John. She is pretty cool. Getting tools isgenerally not much of a problem. Though she has taken all of my files. She'd take my anvil too if it wasn't so heavy.

[Shawn Pixley]

Here is the picture of the press on the table.

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The press is made of 1/2" thick steel stock and bolstered by 1/2" bar stock either side at the top. The jack is a short travel 20 ton hydraulic press. Alignment is critical and the Mfr uses a simple but effective method.

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Here is the first pressing. LOML embossed a salvaged piece of copper with a texture. The sheet was then put in the press and given a dished shape.

[Gus Dundon]

It looks great. It's pretty neat. Did you band saw the body?