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Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
http://mowrystrings.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10123&t=33836		 Page 1 of 3
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
Here is the 4th guitar I am building: "Dreamcatcher" it is another "Wide Ride" like #3, however, this is a drop-top with matched headstock, will have rounded edges, a turquoise translucent stain with blackburst edging, black maple neck, black body. This is a Myrtlewood top/ redwood toneboard and African Mahogany body. The body is pretty light, but is 13 inches wide.

Again, Oregon Wildwood ( http://www.oregonwildwood.com/ )pic:
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Gluing up the seam - this looks like some kid of "Glue Up The Wood Robot":
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Sound chambers:
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Who said I wasn't a shredder?
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Name the thickness kids:
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I am now building 3 guitars at the same time = nirvana :D
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Sat Feb 18, 2012 10:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
This WAS going to be a simple build, but now I am going into inlaying a dreamcatcher into the fretboard - working in Illustrator tonight - figured I'd post a couple of shots - I also "Photoshopped" some trans dyes of some possibilites of different colors - what's YOUR favorite color? BTW, sorry for anyone wanting me to go "natural" on this - I am more than likely going with a dye - also, what do you think is the most popular colors guitarists buy on custom builds?
Author:  John A [ Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
Another awesome build ! - I like the red or the gold !
Author:  Chameleon [ Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
Gold to red sunburst. That's a pretty thick guitar.
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
John A wrote:
Another awesome build ! - I like the red or the gold !

Thanks - yeah, when I made the samples in Photoshop I said to myself "I'll take one of each!"
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
Chameleon wrote:
Gold to red sunburst. That's a pretty thick guitar.

Agree - I took out the digital caliper a few weeks back and it coincidentally was the exact same thickness as a student's Les Paul....
Author:  Mitch Johnson [ Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
Plus one for Red. It's going to be fun watching this thread develope like all your others! [:Y:]
Author:  muskr@ [ Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
That will make an awesome inlay.
My vote goes for the smoke burst. IMHO it would be a shame to finish wood with that much character with a color.
Author:  theguitarwhisperer [ Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
I personally like the gold one. Ask Moe what he does the most of for custom instruments. I have a feeling he'll say transparent red, cherryburst, and tobaccoburst.
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Sun Feb 19, 2012 11:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
Mitch Johnson wrote:
Plus one for Red. It's going to be fun watching this thread develope like all your others! [:Y:]

Thanks Mitch - yeah, it's like a cliff hanger... every post!
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Sun Feb 19, 2012 11:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
muskr@ wrote:
That will make an awesome inlay.
My vote goes for the smoke burst. IMHO it would be a shame to finish wood with that much character with a color.


I am almost leaning towards that if I don't go for the blue...!
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Sun Feb 19, 2012 11:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
theguitarwhisperer wrote:
I personally like the gold one. Ask Moe what he does the most of for custom instruments. I have a feeling he'll say transparent red, cherryburst, and tobaccoburst.


According to someone who sells tons of custom built guitars, blue and green are apparently not big sellers, which is sorta funny because I would like a green guitar at some point - I have never been a huge fan of tobacco/sun/cherryburst, however, because of the cool grain, I may go for it. I will probably keep everyone hanging until it comes back from Moe. :twisted:
Author:  Stuart Gort [ Sun Feb 19, 2012 11:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
John A wrote:
Another awesome build ! - I like the red or the gold !


Ya....me too.

I built two guitars with the Trans Tint red and amber in nitro and I thought I'd let you know how they compare to your photoshopped colors.

The red photoshopped guitar is spot on to how my Trans Tint dyed guitar turned out. My photos are bad because I'm still trying to figure out the white balance on my camera. Once I do I can show you. The red in the photo color is exactly the same hew although it's a tiny bit deeper. That's ok. If you want to make it that deep you can do that if you want. A warning on the red though. The red going over the dark areas of the Myrtlewood will have a contrast subduing effect. It's not unsightly by any means but it MAY finally end up having less appeal than you had hoped.

The amber color pictured is dirtier than the actual amber dye will appear over maple. Those Myrtlewood facings have a natural dusty goldish/green in the light areas. I have LOTS of various Myrtlewood facings here and have a good feel for its natural color. I don't think light coloration of the Myrtlewood will do much to alter the basic hew of an amber topcoat. The amber will not have the same "subduing" effect as the red. On my guitar the amber increased the contrast between the Sapele and the Maple....making the Sapele darker and browner. I think the same thing will happen on the colors of that Myrtlewood.

Can't speak to the blue and green but I have those colors too and will find out soon enough.

Give me a call and I'll go over the ratios and method I used for mine. The trick is to get the color down gradually, which helps to get it very even and doesn't risk laying it down to deep.

btw....CHOICE body shape on that. I'm kinda jealous. On second thought....I'll just steal it and say you copied me.

Also...if I DO get down to Tampa...I'm not going to be seen in public with you wearing PLAID shorts.
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
LMAO Stu!
My wife rarely goes to public places with me -I consider myself somewhat of a caparison iconoclast...
Great yappin with ya again - just to fill in the viewers out there - I did let Stuart know that I am still not doing my own finishes - and do not have any current plans to do so on the next few builds, because I use Moe from MoeColors (Here in Tampa) to do my finishes. I have had some thought as to how the dye would affect the Myrtlewood - and maybe even turning slightly green with a blue dye on there, but I am leaning a little to the honey amber dye. Since I am doing a "slightly elaborate" inlay on this axe, it should give me ample time to decide as to which path I will go. Today I need to finish up the lam I just put on the headstock, the finalizing of the computer art, the cut-the-fingerboard-to-the-neck process and start selecting pieces of shell/prepping for inlay - stay tuned!
Author:  RogerC108 [ Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
I'm a fan of the amber. I don't really care for red guitars at all, and the cherry burst is one of the worst finishes ever IMO (I know others like it, but it's not for me). My favorites are the lemon drop and iced tea burst finishes on an LP.

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As for the plaid shorts, don't pay attention to the haters, V. I dig them. [clap] :lol:
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
How about a blackburst on the honey amber?
Author:  RogerC108 [ Mon Feb 20, 2012 8:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
I don't think I would care for it because there would be too big a disparity between the colors. I prefer bursts to be more homogenous.
Author:  theguitarwhisperer [ Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
I think blackburst on honey amber would be quite striking, if done right.
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Mon Feb 20, 2012 1:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
OY! I finally got the graphics done last night and started prepping the shell & recon stone this am.... for those of you new to inlay, I use techniques from Larry Robinson as well as some others - after finalizing my designs on the computer, I print out the elements used in the inlay and cut them out with an X-Acto blade... I then lightly sand the surface of the shell with 150 grit sandpaper, then wipe down with acetone. This gives the paper a good surface to adhere to... I use thin CA glue and flood the surface with the glue and carefully place the paper cutouts on to the surface - I usually pick up the pieces of paper with the tip of the X-Acto blade... try to keep the paper flat before placing it on the glue. Here's a couple of pics:

This is a nice cutting matte for the paper... I use LOTS of acetone when doing inlay - the jewelers file is to grind of any CA glue from my X-Acto blade


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Here are all the pieces glued up.... It took almost 4 hours to do all of this....

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A. Gold MOP
B. Recon Stone
C. Bronze MOP
D. Black MOP
E. Pink MOP
F. Paua Abalone
G. Gold MOP
H. Green Abalone
I. White Ivory MOP
J. Gold MOP
K. Faux Turquoise RS (Recon Stone)
L. Red Vein RS
M. Faux Malachite RS
N. Red swirl RS
O. Brown vein RS
P. Purple/gold spec RS
Q. Malachite RS
R. Turquois RS
S. Paua Ab.
T. Unidentified RS lol
U. 16g Dead soft Sterling Silver
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
I was supposed to post the following pics last night, but the internet was down for over 12 hours - and to those who are concerned, I did survive.

I got quite a few cuts done on 1/2 of the dreamcatcher itself and took pics of all the cuts....

Since the dreamcatcher is larger than any gold mop I had, I divided the design across 2 pieces - the initial drill holes were done with a dremel pen and a very small dental burr I got from my dentist:
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Then I thread the (extra fine) saw blade through the hole:
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The following photo shows the first hole cut:

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For those of you who didn't see the Dueling Dragons process, this is my custom-made bird's beak, with panty hose and a shop vac!

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I was ALMOST done with one hole before the 1st saw blade break of the day... this shell is 0.060 thick and using the extra fine blades is reminiscent of using a chop stick to cut a dried out steak. I had about 3 mm left to cut out!

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Here is where I left off last night:
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I'm fixing to go back out to the shop in a few minutes and go into the reeeeealllly scary cutting.. nothing like having to saw really fast & hard into a delicate piece of shell!!

wow7-eyes
Author:  Chameleon [ Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:40 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
That is impressively small my friend. How much do you charge per hour?
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
Chameleon wrote:
That is impressively small my friend. How much do you charge per hour?


Thanks Mark - I just finished that piece with NO breaks! Already cutting into the other side of the dreamcatcher. The MOP becomes quite fragile with a narrow piece like this. I have to take frequent breaks because of my RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), so it's nice peeking on the forum here... Feel free to PM me if you need a quote - thanks, Virgil
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Tue Feb 21, 2012 3:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
Woooo Hooooo! bliss

I managed to cut both sides of the dreamcatcher with no breaks - reminiscent of "Don't Break The Ice" game when I was a wee lad.

I still need to clean things up with a file - stay tuned!

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bliss bliss
Author:  Mike Baker [ Tue Feb 21, 2012 4:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
RogerC108 wrote:
I'm a fan of the amber. I don't really care for red guitars at all, and the cherry burst is one of the worst finishes ever IMO (I know others like it, but it's not for me).

Love a good amber burst as well. But I'm also a fan of cherry burst, as well as a decent tobacco. Don't like faded bursts or traditional 3 tone.
RogerC108 wrote:
My favorites are the lemon drop and iced tea burst finishes on an LP.

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The iced tea has got to be my favorite, hands down. Used to own a nice LP doublecut in that finish. Absolutely gorgeous guitar.
Once again it looks like another beautiful guitar, Virgil.
Author:  VirgilGuitar [ Tue Feb 21, 2012 6:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Virgil's Build 4: "Dreamcatcher" / "Wide Ride"
Hey! Thanks Mike! Yeah, decisions, decisions, decisions!
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