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Zwitch Guitars
United States
Приєднався 5 лют 2021
Hi! I'm Randy Zwitch, a guitar builder and luthier, making and working on guitars as a business. This channel focuses on guitar, but will occasionally focus on general woodworking, CNC, CAD and related pursuits.
Sponsorship / Partnership:
While generating money from this channel isn't one of my main goals , I am open to sponsorship and partnership opportunities. Especially in the case where I'm already using a tool or material in my videos. Please contact me at zwitchguitars@gmail.com.
Affiliate links:
In cases where I am linking to something from my videos, I will highlight affiliate links. Using these links won't cost you additional money, but can help me offset my costs and provide more interesting content!
Sponsorship / Partnership:
While generating money from this channel isn't one of my main goals , I am open to sponsorship and partnership opportunities. Especially in the case where I'm already using a tool or material in my videos. Please contact me at zwitchguitars@gmail.com.
Affiliate links:
In cases where I am linking to something from my videos, I will highlight affiliate links. Using these links won't cost you additional money, but can help me offset my costs and provide more interesting content!
De-glossing an acoustic guitar neck
"When a guitar has a glossy neck, it can often feel ""sticky"" when playing. Whether it's from hand sweat or high humidity, having a sticky guitar neck makes playing a bit less joyful.
In this video, I show how I use high-grit car polishing sandpaper to de-gloss an Alvarez acoustic guitar neck, making it look like it came from the factory that way.
#luthier
#woodworking
#acousticguitar"
In this video, I show how I use high-grit car polishing sandpaper to de-gloss an Alvarez acoustic guitar neck, making it look like it came from the factory that way.
#luthier
#woodworking
#acousticguitar"
Переглядів: 596
Відео
Bear Affair 2024 Acoustic Guitar (Full Build)
Переглядів 2305 місяців тому
The Bear Affair is an annual event that raises money for children who have suffered abuse. I was contacted in February of this year to see if I'd be willing to "donate" my time to build a guitar, as @HearneHardwoodsInc already agreed to donate the tonewoods. I agreed, trying to push the limits of my skill as a builder. This OM size guitar has koa back and sides, a bearclaw spruce top, padauk ac...
1970 Gibson ES-175D Restoration, Part 3: Refretting
Переглядів 4458 місяців тому
Someone really loved playing this guitar, as the frets are nearly down to the fretboard and there is considerable fingerboard wear. In this video, I remove the frets, lightly resurface the board, then refret with StewMac 141 Medium/High fretwire. #archtopguitar #gibsonguitars #restoration
1970 Gibson ES-175D Restoration, Part 2: Efficiently Removing Shellac
Переглядів 2,3 тис.8 місяців тому
Shellac is dissolvable with denatured alcohol, but that doesn't make it "easy" to remove. In this video, I discuss a few methods I tried to remove the shellac and their relative effectiveness. #archtopguitar #gibsonguitars #restoration
1970 Gibson ES-175D Restoration, Part 1: Dipped in Shellac?
Переглядів 2,1 тис.8 місяців тому
I bought the worst Gibson ES-175 on Reverb, a 1970 example with a collapsed top and an amateur refinish using shellac. In this video, we take a look at this guitar's condition, evaluating how many repairs are necessary to make it the fully-restored jazz machine it deserves to be. 0:00 Hello! 0:27 First look 1:25 Neck inspection 2:00 Body inspection 2:25 Collapsed soundboard 3:00 Dipped in Shell...
Zwitch Guitars 0006 | Strat / Les Paul mashup!
Переглядів 28311 місяців тому
For this commissioned guitar build, we started with a simple question: "Instead of a Les Paul Goldtop, what if @mikeness117 (from @socialdistortion ) was playing a Strat?" Ultimately, the build went in a slightly different direction as a mash-up of the best features of a Les Paul and a Strat, to make a P-90-equipped guitar that sounds great clean and distorted. #socialdistortion #luthier #ggbo
Replacing Slice Engineering Mosquito Hotend | Pulse XE
Переглядів 197Рік тому
Replacing a @SliceEngineering Mosquito Hotend on a @MatterHackers Pulse XE E-444M is pretty simple due to the thoughtful engineering of the MatterHackers SNAP system. In this video, I demonstrate how to swap out a broken Mosquito hotend in under 10 minutes. Linkes (Affiliate): Pulse XE E-444M: www.matterhackers.com/store/l/pulse-xe-3d-printer-nylonx-advanced-materials-professional-bundle/sk/MF7...
Review: WoodRiver Patternmaker's Carving Vise
Переглядів 841Рік тому
Guitars (especially acoustic guitars), have all sorts of angles and tapers that make them hard to clamp in a standard bench vise. In this video, I review the WoodRiver Patternmaker's Carving Vise from @WoodcraftSupply and demonstrate how you can use the vise to clamp an acoustic guitar while scraping the binding. #toolreview #toolreviews #luthier
3D Printing a Guitar Fret Bender
Переглядів 794Рік тому
Before you can hammer frets into a fingerboard, the fret wire needs to have a radius greater than or equal the fretboard. While you can purchase pre-radiused, pre-cut fret wire, it's much cheaper to buy fret wire in bulk. In this video, I use my @MatterHackers Pulse XE E-444M 3D printer, Cura slicer and some PLA filament to create a fret bender. This model costs about $15 worth of filament and ...
Restoring Stanley #3 smoothing bench plane (No talking/music)
Переглядів 841Рік тому
A local tradesman had a yard sale to clear out some tools he was no longer using. I was able to score a 1950's vintage Stanley Bailey Made in the US #3 smoothing bench plane for only $25. After re-gluing the cracked tote, sanding off the surface rust, and bathing the entire thing in 3-in-1 oil, the plane is back to its former glory! 0:00 Disassembling Stanley Bench Plane 2:37 Repairing Stanley ...
Installing a bridge doctor on 1971 Martin D12-28 12-string guitar
Переглядів 6 тис.Рік тому
I purchased a 1971 Martin D12-28 12-string guitar, knowing it needed some TLC. At minimum, the string action was just on the edge of being unreasonable. Before doing a neck reset, I decided to give the JLD Bridge Doctor a chance. In this video, I show how to install the brass pin version, highlight some of the pros and cons, and ultimately decided that the more invasive neck reset is necessary....
How to: Black gray green burst on quilted maple
Переглядів 1,2 тис.Рік тому
PRS had a limited-time finish called Black Gray Green Burst that I always loved, so I tried to replicate it using @AngelusBrand leather dyes. See how I do it in the video! #luthier #woodworking #ggbo
Milling a Cherry tree into lumber
Переглядів 265Рік тому
A neighbor had to remove a cherry tree that was struck by lightning. In this video, I demonstrate the amount of effort it took me to cut a piece of the log into usable lumber. While this video isn't a tool review per se, I do make use of the @StockroomSupply little ripper mill, giving my opinions as I work my way through my first usage of the tool. #luthier #woodworking #cherry
Designing a Guitar Radius Dish Using Fusion 360
Переглядів 1,1 тис.Рік тому
Designing a Guitar Radius Dish Using Fusion 360
Shapeoko owners: Be sure to change your router brushes!
Переглядів 224Рік тому
Shapeoko owners: Be sure to change your router brushes!
Cracked Headstock Repair: Epiphone Les Paul Custom Silverburst
Переглядів 6 тис.Рік тому
Cracked Headstock Repair: Epiphone Les Paul Custom Silverburst
Getting started with Matterhackers Pulse XE 3D printer
Переглядів 748Рік тому
Getting started with Matterhackers Pulse XE 3D printer
John Frusciante Homage Strat: Project Wrap-up
Переглядів 351Рік тому
John Frusciante Homage Strat: Project Wrap-up
Relic'ing Nitrocellulose Lacquer Using Common Household Items
Переглядів 1,3 тис.Рік тому
Relic'ing Nitrocellulose Lacquer Using Common Household Items
Building a StewMac S-Style Electric Guitar Kit, Part 1: Fabrication and 3-Tone Sunburst Finishing
Переглядів 1,4 тис.Рік тому
Building a StewMac S-Style Electric Guitar Kit, Part 1: Fabrication and 3-Tone Sunburst Finishing
Inlaying Walnut Rosette on Acoustic Guitar
Переглядів 4662 роки тому
Inlaying Walnut Rosette on Acoustic Guitar
Making Acoustic Guitar Kerfing using Carbide Create
Переглядів 4002 роки тому
Making Acoustic Guitar Kerfing using Carbide Create
Gluing acoustic guitar neck block and tail blocks
Переглядів 1,4 тис.2 роки тому
Gluing acoustic guitar neck block and tail blocks
Bending Walnut Acoustic Guitar Sides using the LMI Side Bender
Переглядів 4,1 тис.2 роки тому
Bending Walnut Acoustic Guitar Sides using the LMI Side Bender
Building acoustic guitar mold with Fusion 360 and Shapeoko 4 XL CNC
Переглядів 1,7 тис.2 роки тому
Building acoustic guitar mold with Fusion 360 and Shapeoko 4 XL CNC
Gorgeous!
I didn't think that was an actual Nitrocellulose finish. That's why it didn't check
It definitely is, though todays nitrocellulose formulas are much different than what Fender was using in the 50s-60s
He did what I did on a cheap Hondo guitar.... sand the bridge bottom and the top of the guitar both very flat and used 2 1/2" machine screws and 2 wing nuts to hold the bridge flat on the guitar top as the Titebond glue cures for 24 hours... All done and cost nearly nothing and worked fine.
Have you changed inlays on many guitars? I just recently acquired a Les Paul that has green inlays that are quite unattractive and would love to change them to normal mother of pearl. Is that a difficult job for someone such as yourself? I am not sure who might do such work locally. I have a guitar tech I use locally from things like set ups, fret leveling, pick up changes and such, but not sure if they do this type of thing. Thanks!
It’s not a difficult process per se, but the average guitar tech might not want to fool with it. But if you find someone who *builds* guitars, they’d probably be more comfortable doing it. Plenty of places make exact sized replacements, and since I think you’re referring to a more recent Les Paul Classic, I’m sure they’d be drop-in replacements.
@@zwitchguitars thanks for the feedback. Not sure there is anyone in my area who does that kind of work. I’ll have to look into it. Thanks!
Thanks. This is a useful video. I recently had my late father's Stanley Bailey No.6, dating, I would imagine, from the 1970s or earlier, returned to me by a neighbour who had it for nearly twenty years (unknown by me), but it was unused in all that time, stored in a shed and rusting away. I need to restore it so this video will be a handy guide!
does it create nitro checking?
No. You have to remember, most people painting things *don’t* want the paint to crack. So coming out of the paint can, the material isn’t meant to do that. If you want to check lacquer, you need dramatic temperature changes
@@zwitchguitars of course i know to produce checking you need to create rapid temp change. But with some nitro it wont that is why i asked.
Hi Randy. Great video. I'm having a go at this myself, but my tool paths are really crazy. What did you do to get your toolpaths so "logical"?
Unfortunately, I don’t remember exactly the settings I used, but the adaptive 3D tool path seems to behave pretty well in my experience. Are you using Fusion 360? If so, what are you seeing when you use that path?
OH MY GOD! I feel like such an idiot now, spending days staining and back sanding with little, no, or bad results, just trying to pop the grain! I'm doing it THIS way when my new Tele neck arrives from Musikraft next week. Thanks for this quick and easy video. Super nice neck too, you're a talented guy.
Hello, is it possible to glue it without a clamp? I put around 3kg of weight above it
I think it’s possible, but probably not ideal. If the soundboard is completely flat and the bridge completely flat, then I suppose it could work. But I’d rather be able to put some clamping force in a couple of places to bend it to conform
@@zwitchguitars thanks!
What type of glue are you using on the blue tape to get such a good hold?
Cyanoacrylate? Super glue 🙂
...and it *still* needs a neck reset!
Yup. Gotta try the easier thing before the more invasive one
Have you put any coat of sealer or primer before tv yellow color and does it make any difference if you apply sealer/primer?
It depends on the look you are going for. You never *have* to use primer with lacquer on raw wood, but many people do since sealer is cheaper than lacquer with pigment in it. It also depends on whether you are going for the “authentic” Gibson TV yellow style (which I wasn’t). If you search a bit, some people go into great detail if you want that specific finish
Is it possible to reshape the pickguard using a box cutter? I don't have access to any of this tools but I have a cutter. The pickguard is almost 3mm thick. So it needs a lot more push to do an incision on the plastic. I hope it will work I've never seen anyone posting videos vutting a pickguard with only a box cutter.
It will definitely be tough. Once you get the outline cut out, I have used a razorblade to smooth the edge and add a taper. Good luck!
@zwitchguitars thankyou so much, sir! I hope It'll turn out okay. Much love from the Philippines. 🙌
Podrías especificar a quien le compraste la lámina en Amazon? Gracias.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CAL9DSC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Muchas gracias!
white vinegar works great for any rusty guitar metal bits
sand to 12000 grit then polish to a mirror finish
Just came back to rewatch this. I love this video so much.
Its looks really bad :) The worst thing is that after that ,,restoration,, people asking on reverb 2000 Dollars. The price of this guitar is now MAX 700 dollars.
And yet, it sold for way more than $700. But thanks for putting a :)
@@zwitchguitars 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Looks like it's time for the shop assistant to have his own PPE. Nice video - clear explanations and demonstration. One question - what brand of spray adhesive do you use? The 3M spray contact cement I used in the past does not seem to release. Thanks.
I believe I used spray Gorilla Glue
hi, whats bearings sized? thanks.
The thingiverse link has all the hardware needed: 2x F688ZZ Bearings (flanged bearings) 6x 625ZZ Bearings (no flange)
0000 steel wool works great on necks for this. I do it on fender necks all the time
It does, but I’m always worried about little flakes of metal getting stuck on the pickups/getting everywhere
Quick n easy task. I used to have to do that about twice a year on my Washburn RR11v. the finish on that would polich up quick with just a hand sliding on it and that got super grippy. funily enough that is the only guitar I had do that. I keep all my others polished up with good old Dunlop polish and they never get grippy. salt from sweat builds up if you dont wipe it down after every use though and that feels worse that a grippy neck to me.
It’s funny…when you ask someone what makes a guitar great, they’ll say the wood, the color, pickups, etc. Almost no one ever points out that the back of the neck is probably the most important in terms of playing comfort
Love this episode. There at the very end. I swear I thought you were going to break out the vocals 😄
Funny story time: my freshman year in college, there was this beautiful woman Melissa who lived on another floor, and my dorm neighbor ended up dating her. Nearly every guy on the floor played guitar, and every time she was on the floor, somebody would start playing Melissa. I guess she wasn’t aware of the song at first, and then the joke started to get old. But a good several weeks, it was like one gigantic Allman Bros jam session
@@zwitchguitars AMAZING!!!!!!!
Hello sir. You should not have glued the neck back on with that gap at the bottom of the heel. And why did you put glue on the ends of the neck joint? There is almost always an air pocket there and the neck does not touch the neck block. I suggest you watch some more neck reset videos. Not trying to be critical just asking.
I also shouldn’t have broken the heel or any number of other mistakes. But rather than act like it didn’t happen, I post all my videos as a reflection of the learning and growth along the way
Why did you not use grain filler.
Because I liked the look
You got that Spark in the background 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I was tired of walking up and down the stairs when doing pickup wiring 😅
What a beautiful piece of art
Thank you! Hope it brings the charity lots of money
Do you have to refinish after rebinding? On classic les pauls dont they finish over the binding? Maybe its not needed I wonder what people do in that situation.
I haven’t come back to this project, but when I do, I might mist lacquer over the binding or perhaps a light coat over the entire body. I think people also just wipe shellac sometimes
Nice demonstration. At 8:50, it looks like you put the rounded end up against the block. I think the rounded end is supposed to be inside the JLD block up against the tension screw (because that screw's end will them match the rounded point on the tension rod).
Functionally, it hasn’t seemed to have mattered over this period of time. So maybe yes, maybe no 🤷♂️😅
beautiful hand made guitar😍 give away👏 give away😏
Well done sir. Great thing to do a build for as well. I specially love that back on that guitar. Seeing the colors come to life when you put on the finish is just such an amazing transformation.
Thanks! It was such a nice set of koa, I hope I get to build with another set of that at some point
Cool stuff! Sounds great.
Thanks for checking it out! Couldn’t be happier with my first completed acoustic
Beautiful work
Thank you!
Good day, I was wondering what is the point of the bass pins, and if this would be a good idea to do on my twelve string. I play mexican regional and we double up the strings (no octaves) to give a heftier tone. Would this be a good idea for those who play this type of music or should I stick to a regular bridge doctor?
This bridge doctor is one of the two choices, the reversible one. The brass pins keep you from having to drill a hole in the bridge. If you are doubling-up the bass strings, I do think having a bridge doctor installed is probably a good idea, as it would be a lot more tension. Either that or having thicker braces in the guitar to start with.
That's the first time I've seen that variant of the Bridge Dr. The one I'm familiar with has to have a hole drilled in the bridge, for a bolt and that model doesn't convert it to a pinless bridge. That's pretty cool. But as for what the Bridge Dr is used for, or designed to do, it is to reduce belly bulge. It wasn't designed to pull up the top ( the sound hole area). Sometimes that happens but not always. So it was designed to take care of belly bulge. Nice video though and nice to see there are different models to choose from now
Is this crack or literaly on its coating only ??
No, it’s a full wood crack. In the video, you can see me manipulating the crack to get glue further down into it
Because my lespaul neck too is crack I don't know if it is on coating gloss only or wood but still in tune no tension releasing
@user-cc3qr9ft2t Watch how I move the neck break in the video and do that VERY GENTLY. If it’s broken, it will obviously move.
how do you delete the blue lines
All of the reference lines are part of the template, which I think is just a background image. When I did this video, I just copied the line I drew into a new document, which just kept the shape I made and nothing else
I have one of these with a broken truss rod, going to try and replace it this summer. Looking forward to bringing it back to life, but the potential for disaster seems high...
Good luck! Without seeing it, if you get the neck off, it feels like the rest wouldn’t be too bad
Do you still have that synchro? That's what I'm looking for.
Are you looking for a fully-restored one or a project?
Is that blank sheet?
Yes, you can buy full pickguard sheets on Amazon and many other places
@@zwitchguitars thanks
Wet the crack for sure will make the crack tighter good for glueing together.
What grit do you use to sand back the filler?
I don’t remember specifically from this project, but in general I start at something like 220, and if that’s not fast enough drop down to 150 then back up to 220. The goal is to *just* sand off the filler where it’s on top of the guitar, but leave it in the pores. So using higher grit keeps you from going too fast and removing all of the filler
Hi sir How to clean rust from tuning pegs Plz reply
Gibson kerfed the braces in hollowbody archtops since the 30's. All but modern es-175s are kerfed. The warp doesn't occur because of the braces but more than likely it was left under tension in the trunk of a car on a hot day. It's not a difficult repair and has been successfully done many times by either replacing the braces or adding a splint on top of the existing braces.
Archtops ≠ hollow bodies cause hollow bodies have mounted pickups and archtop electrics only have one floating pickup on the neck
Does the bridge get glued on and if so what type of glue?
No, archtops have a “floating” bridge, held in place by only strong tension. Occasionally, you’ll see people put double-stick tape to fasten it in place
A less invasive thing you could try would be to jack up the top to proper height and then glue supports alongside the original bracing …
You can remove the back to get the old braces out and glue new ones in … it will bring the old top back to form
Not sure I agree that the top will go back without some form of heat, given that the warping is so severe. But given it’s still a playable and nice sounding instrument, so I’ll probably leave it be
I always use some form of heat when bending wood. A lightbulb is often sufficient. Laminates bend nicely when the glue between the laminations is warmed. It probably warped like that one hot day in the trunk of a car. Good Luck!
The braces could be cracked … if you put your iPhone inside the pickup cutout you can take pictures/ video ….. 3 parts thinner 1/2 part lacquer 1/2 part retarded (flash coat) after sanding the finish with 600 grit could be a big help in leveling the finish …. 👍
What bit did you use for the fret slots?
I use 0.6mm bits from Amazon, buying them 10 at a time. They break quite easily
Yeah, so I think you might be misunderstanding what is at play when you press a piece of plastic onto a metal shaft. The metal shaft is harder than the plastic and so the plastic has no choice but to bend away from the metal. That stress will eventually cause the plastic to crack and then break. There is a reason for using heat and that is that it makes the plastic form to the metal so that it doesn't get stressed. I think Dan at StewMack has it pretty right. And I would suggest that if you're going to drill it out, rather than heat the shaft, that you drill to a perfect fit that does not have to be pressed on with advice but just fits exactly. Then use a glue a glue, probably an epoxy but you could use a super glue if you have a very close fit. Epoxy will Bridge and fill gaps much better than Super Glue. Because the hole in the tuner knobs is in fact not the same shape as the Pressed ends of the tuner pegs so something has to fill the Gap if you're not going to melt the plastic to fill the Gap then you have to fill that Gap with glue.