Venture a Guess ?

[MWaldorf]

Nice job on the neck plate! Sorry to hear about the Stew Mac book.

[Sarah93003]

The neck plate looks great. There are tons of YouTube videos on finishing a guitar. Have you looked there?

[panther]

I'm mainly concerned about proper masking. I've had very bad luck in the past when trying to make clean division lines between two parts., Usually the paint comes up, or leaves a jagged edge. When is the proper time and way to remove masking ?
Dan

[panther]

I've hesitated to post my next step in making a Mosrtie clone, until I was convinced it would work. it is now turning out beyond my wildest expectations.

I've made a sectioned form board, and laid down a sheet of Teflon clothe to prevent the epoxy from sticking to the backboard. As you can see in the progression of photos I've made the outline in sections using thin gauge steel bent to the shape of the guitar outline. I've spot welded small flanges to secure the form to the backboard. I then used plumbers tape putty to seal the outside bottom edge. I poured a 1/4" bottom layer, then added strategically placed Urethane foam inserts to lighten the body yet not take away strength. The epoxy is so dense that I don't think I will loose much in sustain or tone due to the voids, however they are filled with a very dense foam 1/2" thick.
I can pour the entire body in about an 8 hour span, allowing for each layer to cure. The layer bond, and almost seem to melt into each other. The first layer was mixed according to instructions and got a little to warm, so i cut down on the hardener by 20% and that did the trick. Each section cures in about 30 minutes. It took me about 3 days to get to where i am now, but that was figuring as I went. Now I have it down, I can pour one a day with each form. The Epoxy is about $30.00 a gallon, and I use about all of the gallon per body. I'm adding foam to cut it down to exactly one gallon or less. These bodies will be bulletproof, and not subject to warp-age. I even made a small test using an actual 1/4" solid wool insert so a sunburst could be done, and have actual wood to show through.
Below are some photos, I'll just let them speak for themselves.
Dan

[Sarah93003]

That's a pretty cool trick! Have you completed a body yet? Do you have an estimate of the weight? How are you going to do the neck?

[olrocknroller]

Fascinating approach! Does the material rout easily for all the cavities?

[MWaldorf]

Wow - I'm really curious how this will turn out. You could be on the forefront of the "tone-resin" movement.

[panther]

Today will put in the neck relief form, and the form for the control cavity. The form for the control cavity will be made from thin copper sheet, cut shaped and soldered together, I will embed into the top layer of the body so the control cavity will be pre shielded. As it is now the entire body and backboard weight less then an LP body. I will weigh it, and report when I take it out of the form.
The neck pocket form will be put into the mold and removed after casting.
Finishing will be pretty much like a wooden blank.
The material will work about like a very hardwood. One MAJOR advantage, you can not screw up the body, simple pour in a bit of resin to repair any mistakes. You also don't have to worry about warpage or splintering at drill spots.
And like I mentioned in my last post, if you want woodgrain to show, you can embed a 1/4" thick real wood insert front or back and it will stain and paint like the real thing.
Dan

[oigun]

Nice work Dan!!
I Like it when people are inventive. Any thoughts on how to pour the german-carve

[Sarah93003]

Very cool! I'm anxious to see how this turns out. As for the German carve, I would imagine that you can use a router on the resin body as you would with wood.