What's on your workbench?

[Randy]

Finally got the new machine working, bed leveled and got the grid scribed in.

Confirmed the XPro v5 controller was shot. Got a refund on that, ordered an Openbuilds Blackbox X32. They both look to be modeled similarly (same I/O, wifi capable) but the OpenBuilds Control program is fantastic.

Had some trouble at first getting it going, eventually figured out the stepper wiring is totally different and to make matters worse, the colors are totally different so had to manually ohmmeter the leads to find the coil ins and outs until I found the order that works.

Finally made my first cuts today. Very happy with them. I used all 1/4" bits because that's what I'm used to but the spindle will handle 1/2". I did experiment with some faster feedrates. I was running at 65in/m consistently on the old machine, I ran some 85 and 100in/m today with decent results. I'm also running my rapids up at 200in/m, I hear you can get the machine up to 250in/m without whipping but haven't needed to go that high yet.

 

[Randy]

Dialed in. Device I normally use for filming had a dead battery so I didn't get much footage but I'll have some of the machining up on YouTube after I cut the fretboard.

 

[ThunderUnderground]

Not as talented as some on here but im doing a light resto job on a 1989 RG550 Wizard neck for my Ibanez 540P. Decided to try doing a veneer for the first time ever and its working out far better than i expected. Needed lots of clear coat to build up a uniform coat on the wood grain though.

Had to plug some old holes from previous tuners and just generally giving it a good clean up. Ive had to cut the maple from the underside of the fretboard as the neck sits very flush in the 540P neck pocket, i also need to tidy up the mounting holes on the heel as those are a bit chewy. The neck is from an RG and had been modified to be 22 frets as opposed to 24.

Here's a mountain of photos...

Hopefully finished soon 👍

 

[SalsaWood]

Had some fret sprout and a few little things to take care of on the RG8527Z.

 

[73647k]

Going back and fourth between pickguards and pickups right now on this ‘14 652FX. Thinking brushed nickel cover. Or white pearloid pickguard with both humbuckers nickel covered. The poly coat is gnarly everywhere from a previous owner, especially around the bridge humbucker.

Guitar absolutely rips though, tons of sustain and acoustically loud. Neck is dead accurate too. Very comfy

 

[73647k]

Not as talented as some on here but im doing a light resto job on a 1989 RG550 Wizard neck for my Ibanez 540P. Decided to try doing a veneer for the first time ever and its working out far better than i expected. Needed lots of clear coat to build up a uniform coat on the wood grain though.

Had to plug some old holes from previous tuners and just generally giving it a good clean up. Ive had to cut the maple from the underside of the fretboard as the neck sits very flush in the 540P neck pocket, i also need to tidy up the mounting holes on the heel as those are a bit chewy. The neck is from an RG and had been modified to be 22 frets as opposed to 24.

Here's a mountain of photos...

Hopefully finished soon 👍
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Those old mid/late 80’s necks are something special. Excellent work!

 

[ThunderUnderground]

@73647k thank you kindly 👌

Got the decal on today and 2 tack coats of PU. The top left of the decal sits very slightly too close to the tuning peg hole, i tried to lift the decal and reposition but it was too late. Shouldn't look too bad when the tuners are on. Wait til tomorrow and give it another coat or two and probably done at that.

Majorly stressful but turned out quite good. I think its a Eucalyptus burr veneer that i used but i honestly cant remember now, its a smokey grey/black stain on it but its hard to photograph that colour accurately.

 

[lost_horizon]

Refinishing an old Yamaha YG-body.

Originally it had tinted sanding sealer (which is a [email protected] to remove) and tinted poly over the top. Part of the neck joint I couldn't get my sanding into plus the serial number is on the back. this guitar has a pickguard so the majority of the burst will be covered up.

Going for a iguana burst, alligator burst finish. Crimson guitars water based stunning stains. The colour really darkens with sanding sealer over the top.

Waiting on my arrival of high build guitar finishing oil to do an oil finish and refinish the neck.

 

[ThunderUnderground]

At last, the Wizard neck overhaul is complete. Need to wait a few weeks to polish the clear coat so it still looks a bit hazy from the 2000 grit i flattened it with. I bought new Gotoh SG381 tuners in black so the guitar has had a complete hardware overhaul too.

It will stay in its current state until the clear coat has fully cured and i can polish it up to bring back the shine. Took some extra shots of the veneer from the side so you can see the join, quite happy with that as a first attempt.

 

[73647k]

Came out great @ThunderUnderground really dig the aesthetic! 😎

 

[ThunderUnderground]

Came out great @ThunderUnderground really dig the aesthetic! 😎

Thank you 👌
I got the guitar in terrible condition so the whole thing needed stripped and rebuilt anyway. I had two options. 1: make it look like it was spat out the catalogue, 2: make it look like it was spat out of Akihabara in Japan.

I chose the latter 🤌

 

[ThunderUnderground]

Just done a quick one hour 4u rack case using a spare piece of wood from a chest of drawers. The wood was warped when it arrived so a replacement was sent out, it's been sat in the house for years and I needed a rack case so I just cut it to size tossed this together.

Still waiting on mounting hardware showing up so tomorrow il take it back out, fill the holes in the front and screw some triangular gussets at the rear corners to strengthen it.

Butt joints, screws and wood glue, nothing crazy. Not the prettiest thing i could have built but its a means to an end. Total cost was £9.50

 

[LiveOVErdrive]

My workbench itself is on my workbench. It's coming together. I just got the supports for the vise installed, attached the wheels, and finally attached and flush trimmed the top. Starting to look like a usable bench!

 

[ThunderUnderground]

My workbench itself is on my workbench. It's coming together. I just got the supports for the vise installed, attached the wheels, and finally attached and flush trimmed the top. Starting to look like a usable bench!

Apocalypse surviving build quality sir 🤌

Which reminds me, i need to rebuild my old Record No.25 bench vice...

 

[LiveOVErdrive]

Just done a quick one hour 4u rack case using a spare piece of wood from a chest of drawers. The wood was warped when it arrived so a replacement was sent out, it's been sat in the house for years and I needed a rack case so I just cut it to size tossed this together.

Still waiting on mounting hardware showing up so tomorrow il take it back out, fill the holes in the front and screw some triangular gussets at the rear corners to strengthen it.

Butt joints, screws and wood glue, nothing crazy. Not the prettiest thing i could have built but its a means to an end. Total cost was £9.50

View attachment 125552

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you enjoy Ibanez delays?

 

[ThunderUnderground]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you enjoy Ibanez delays?

It's a newly discovered obsession, the Ibanez HD1000/HD1500 and DM1100 have a very particular bit-crushed, grainy, lo-fi sound to them. The modulation effect is wild on all of them, two of them have "Hold" functionality using a latching switch and the other two have a feedback loop that has a send/receive on the back. Im sure the DM1100 does stereo too.

Basically it gets a bit wild. I currently own a HD1500, DD700, DM1100 and a HD1000 that's currently on the "healing shelf".

There's one more i want to track down then im going to Valhalla 🤝

 

[ThunderUnderground]

Got the rack case finished up, just gave it a quick sand and a water based stain to try make it a bit more uniform. Its spare old wood, which is basically what ive used throughout all of my DIY builds so far. Does it's job. Il probably build something a bit more substantial in the near future.

Also pulled out my old vice to try tackle that thing, its an absolute brute. Weighing in at 44kg this isn't something you want to drop, i got this for free a few years ago as my friend is an engineer and does bespoke workshop installations. He deals with massive machinery and comes across these vice's on a regular basis.

Ive used a banana for scale for the uninitiated among us 👌

 

[73647k]

Those cases stacked together look incredible @ThunderUnderground especially dig the pedal stand

You've got me in the mood to build something similar for my rig now 👍

 

[ThunderUnderground]

Those cases stacked together look incredible @ThunderUnderground especially dig the pedal stand

You've got me in the mood to build something similar for my rig now 👍

Thank you!

Im pretty sure i just used a piece of pallet wood and some pine edge beading for the pedal stand. I would actually make the back larger next time round as the Boss pedal has a tendency to fall back when the 9v cable is hanging out the top.

Super simple design, i just came up with it on the spot, not much planning was involved 😅

 

[73647k]

Quick pickup cover changes on this ‘92 Professional before I throw on a set of new strings. I wanted to hide the Jackson logo blasted across each of the pickups.

I often think of refinishing the body on this one in a sea foam or sage green color.