Ep 17 - String it up! + acrylic neck plate fun |Building a Guitar from 42,000 Year Old Wood
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2024
- Welcome to CRIMSON GUITARS HQ www.crimsonguitars.com/
In this episode, Ben is nearing the end of this build which has definitely not been
'run of the mill'. He has had many obstacles to overcome on this one, the last hurdle - will the instrument stand up to the strain once the strings go on?
#luthier #guitarbuilding #kauri #customguitar
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:45 Preparing the new bridge for the insertion of the D'addario bridge pins
www.daddario.com/
3:03 Cleaning the bridge
4:08 Replicating the neck plate from acrylic - twice..............
18:18 Attaching the neck plate to the body
19:58 How to drill the holes in the neck - a quick tutorial
22:56 Neck attached - the guitar is almost finished!
23:05 Doing a bit of tidying up and cutting slots in the nut
26:14 Gotoh tuners and D'addario strings are ready to go on
g-gotoh.com/
29:05 Stringing the guitar, measuring the height all the way
34:57 Relief that it has all gone to plan despite the softness of the wood
35:31 Conclusion
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Ben's camera setup includes: the Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro, Prime Cameras (Front facing and over the bench) Canon EOS 250D, suspended from the ceiling (bench side) Canon EOS 90D, and on the movable tripod a Canon M6 Mark II
Any music used in this video from Epidemic Sound - www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
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Next-level confidence to position the bridge before final fitting of the neck.
There's little in life I find more pleasing than the smell of worked/ heated real perspex, I made no apology 😊
When drilling plexi glass. Use an old drill bit and grind the sharp edges off the tip. Taper the bit or use a unibit. I used to drill windows for helicopters. Thats what we’d do. They’re come with a drill bit or we’d make them.
I was going to suggest a step (Unibit) drill as well. Their single cutting surface and straight flute stops them being pulled into the job.
The way he did a pilot hole is not a good idea either, just makes it easier to grab when the point of the size drill has nothing to offer resistance against.
A guitar made of 42,000 year old wood really needs a nut and saddle made of 20,000 year old mammoth ivory.
Great point ! Sound and look upgrade, for sure .
A plastic saddle and nut made of 200 million year old oil
Its funny how, in some guitar circles, Kauri wood is known by its latin family name "agathis", and is thought of as a budget or less desirable tonewood. Personally I don't much subscribe to the whole tonewoods-in-electric-guitars debate (or snobbery, some may say!), and have worked with swamp kauri myself.
@@crtified1001 I think there's some difference between the cheap agathis on a budget superstrat, and ancient swamp aged NZ agathis. But it also reflects on how different guitars are built and used. My first guitar was an agathis bodied Yamaha, and it was trash out of the box. The strap nuts constantly fell out, the pickup and neck pockets broke into each other and the brittle PE finish chunked off and crumpled into the wood as soon as look at it. The Alder and Poplar on my Squiers are much harder, so even though the routes are even more aggressive the alder bodies have survived with little more than a few dents for 23 years. My Yamaha barely survived one. If the agathis body was instead used for a Mustang body, with angled fit-routed cavities and much less empty space; and then finished with a less brittle finish that wouldn't shatter as easily, it would work better.
Nothing to do with "tone" wood, everything to do with structural integrity.
@@inthestudyYou note there's a range of variation or quality between the different types of agathis wood, and this is true. As I mentioned, I've worked with swamp kauri - I have a locally-sourced piece on my workbench as a guitar body right now, as I'm from NZ. And the fact is that the moniker "ancient swamp" doesn't automatically imbue any particularly notable qualities from a guitar body point-of-view, over and above "non ancient swamp" kauri. *A rare and particularly nice, figured specimen* of ancient swamp kauri can be pretty special, sure, as is the case with many species of guitar wood. But more commonly, I can source cheap, authentic (~US$50) "ancient swamp kauri" blanks that are quite pedestrian except in name, and which would be entirely indistinguishable to a layperson.
This reasoning also applies to the "cheap superstrat agathis", as in fact that cheap superstrat agathis is used in a variety of superstrats ranging from the ultra-cheap to the signature-model virtuoso (e.g. Satriani, Bettencourt).
All of which goes to show what a significant part reputation can play in our judgement of a guitar and its materials.
Wouldn't use Perspex (acrylic) for this application, too brittle.
Polycarbonate would be a more durable solution.
Recently cut and drilled 10mm perspex for a base for a handwired valve amp, drilled and countersunk the holes with bradpoint bits, and a standard countersink, but I know this will not be subject to the same stress as a neck plate, I would have used inset bushes for this guitar. Recessed plate is now a necessity.
Absolutely gorgeous guitar.
Thanks for sharing.
Love it man!
Stunning in every way ❤️👏👏👏👏
Beautiful
Hi Ben, I love this series, your ability to bring out the beauty of both the wood and the instrument is amazing. I wanted to put up my hand and say that I too wish to smelt down scrap metal and make guitars out of the recovered material. I would love to chat more about what you could do to get that started and some fun videos to watch about how others have smelted down scrap for the fun of it. Also, Hand Tool Only Build when?!?!?
Looks and sounds stunning Ben!!
As always, well done!! Love watching you do these incredible things with guitars. Thanks for bringing us along.
I have enjoyed watching your Kauri wood guitar being made! A friend of mine from the US made a fiddle from Kauri wood. He has made fiddles, acoustic guitars mandolins and even Ukes. When I first saw the fiddle finished. I was in Naperville, Illinois at a Bluegrass Festival. I was amazed by the fiddle. ( I do not play fiddle either). The price was very high, and I asked why? He told me about the wood. I began to understand how very special the Kauri wood was and is. He sold the fiddle a few years later to Rhinda Vincent of Ronda Vincent and the Rage. The cost was about 1/2 of what it was 3 years earlier. She bought it for use in recording only. The maker name is Martin Brunkalla from Manteo, Illinois.
I love that curly swamp-crap! Really nice! And I'm enjoying the rest of your process.
Awesome build
Just stunning. It's great to see this one coming to an end. That it gonna be one very happy customer!
Absolutely beautiful it was worth the long wait ❤
very cool guitar build. 🔥
Love this!! Been following. Can’t wait to see the finished guitar.
When you used the automatic center punch, on acrylic, I had a scary feeling what was coming next. I wasn’t wrong. 😂
Acrylic glass will get you every time.
Its a great day when we get more build content from Ben again!
Ben you are an enabler! thank you
This is a thing of beauty
Your videos are so interesting to watch. Very detailed too.
I'm from New Zealand, and absolutely love watching this build take place. Looking fantastic 🤩
Wow! When a perfectionist (yes, YOU Ben!) is about to finish a perfect guitar. Respect 👏
What a beautiful build Ben.. what a way to end a great series. Looking forward to the next one.
The gloss and the colour scream the ‘70s to me in the best possible way. Like it would be a young Cat Stevens acoustasonic. I’m not sure why; Not that it matters - I LOVE IT.
A well polished performance Ben.
🦘
Nice job... I was sweating it myself when you strung that beauty up
Your neck plate is perfect!🤘
This has been the most fun and interesting build you have done as much as I don’t understand the fine details I’ve certainly enjoyed this
This is the reason I have been watching your videos for a lot of years, the attention to detail you put in to them. If I ever come into money you would be the first person I would go too for a custom guitar making 😊 I think you should Ingrave a description of what the guitar is made of on that perspex plate on the back.
Gorgeous instrument, outstanding, thank God for no texture, burst, flames, relic, stains, colour, glitter, mate finish, etc, on this guitar build, just that natural, beautiful, outstanding wood, craftsmanship, care and attention. Cheers and congratulations to you Ben and the new proud owner.
Looks beautiful. I dont like perspex for this application. Cracks easily and looks good for a short time but usually ends up getting scratched every time its touched.
Your attention to detail is so admirable. I am in a completely other field (cybersecurity), but I’ve learned a lot with this little glimpse into your amazing artistic creations.
Sooooooo nice ❤🎉
What a ride and what a guitar!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 congrats Ben!! You made something unique and incredible!!!
Thanks so much!!
An "egg beater" drill is one of the first tools my Dad bought for me. Good memories.
I like the idea of a Crimson logo being laser engraved on that acrylic plate. I absolutely love that guitar.
100%. If it was mine I’d be asking for it to have their logo on it instead of it being plain
Either that or Ben's sigil would be a nice touch
I was thinking a kauri tree, but that's good, too.
@@U014B Yea that would be really cool as well. Just think it needs something on it
@@STEELY2600 That another great idea
Just stunning. If you're going with the perspex neck plate, might be a good idea to chuck a bag of 20 spare ones in the bag when you ship it.
25
I feel uncomfortable putting screws on acrylic if they are going to be under much pressure, worse into countersunk holes. I think he's created a no-win (loose neck or cracked acrylic) and I wonder if he will change his mind. All I can think of is stainless steel and getting it electropolished.
@@SloverOfTeuth Or at least a nice piece of brass.
@@rasputinsbeard3899 The easiest material I guess, if he's happy with the aesthetics. I think he said the pickup will be a steel finish, hence my suggestion. It's harder work to shape stainless steel, but this is a convex shape which helps, so a bench grinder gets the rough cut fairly quickly, and maybe he'd take a detour into home electropolishing (🤣). I think brass would look good with that wood, and I'd maybe think of using a brass plate and changing to a brass pickup. One only has to consider why neck plates are used in the first place, and why we usually make load-spreading washers/plates out of metal.
I agree. I worked with plastic for a long time in a previous career. That shits gonna snap the first time the owner touches one of those screws. Personally I like to omit the neck plate entirely and go with counter sunk metal ferrules sank into the body. I do like his idea of the threaded bushings and using actual bolts instead of wood screws. That’s in my plans for my next build.
Such gorgeous wood....my oh my.
The Kauri , aka The Albatross...
Ive been following this build from day one , feels like about 42000 years ago 😂 , I truly doth my hat to you Sir Ben of Crimson ! Never before have so many hurdles been overcome by so few for so many , an attritious build that deserves a golden medallion!🏅 Looking forward to the end results x
Make the neck plate so it is flush with the body. A smooth surface on the back is definitely preferred to something that could catch on your clothing.
Ben I love the fact that you relish in your humanity and the errors that come with being a fallible being that accepts mistakes with GRACE and shows the corrections needed to fix them.
Looking good. Bronze might be another good choice for the neck plate.
i drill plastic and some wood with a pointy router bit, usually 1/4 inch size, because yeah, i've shattered the plastic casing on a casio keyboard and split a guitar headstock in half trying to use regular drill bits. somehow the router bit is gentle enough, probably because it's made for cutting more sideways. also, counter sink bits are safer to materials.
Great idea, I'll be using that thanks. The router bit is really just milling the material.
That guitar looks stunningly beautiful
Not as nice as the Fender though!
Yeah, the blank translucent smoke is nice. You can still see the wood under it.
This sounds amazing.
It’s great to see the fender still being used. When you’ve spent the series calling it a donor it felt wrong that it was going to be incomplete and unplayable even if for a much more stunning build
Impressed by your pronunciation of the word Kauri. Well done. Guitar is coming together nicely
Applause 👏
Fabulous work, the finish is exceptional, but that doesn't need to be said, of course! I love the acrylic plate!
I'd want to play something quite special on an instrument like this.
Etch the back side of the neck plate keep the top side nice and smooth. Just remember to reverse (mirror) whatever you etch.
I have my Dad's early 1960s Stanley hand drill which I recently cleaned up and use. I know what you mean about using one! When it's my time to go I'll bequeath it to my eldest nephew for use in his shed.
I like the smoked acrylic neckplate, and a round of applause for polishing the inside of the countersunk holes, which will only ever be seen very rarely after the guitar's finished! It's the 'I know it's there' syndrome.
And the assembled so far guitar looks lovely, all those curves around the neck joint!
The way to finish the edges of Perspex is, wait for it... Flame polishing
Vapour polishing is even better and would be able to do the countersinks as well, just doesn't sound as good as "burn it" lol
I was actually wondering if the reason the polishing of the counter sunk holes worked by melting the perspex a little (rather than the compound).
Damn it, beat me to it. Let there be FIRE :)
Wouldn't flame polish something under tension. It introduces micro-fractures in the Acrylic
@@Matt3DMaker but it's fire 🔥🔥🔥
As soon as you drilled the first hole, I thought Perspex was not a great choice. I think a copper or bronze plate could look nice. Not sure if it would clash with the frets and tuners though. An oil rubbed bronze with the Crimson logo engraved would be nice.
9:34 love the "wtf did I just say?"-face 😅
Hi Be, love the look of the perspex but i'm a bit worried about the brittle failure mode of it. Maybe you should spread the load with larger head screws or cup washers...
Perspex is prone to cracking, when pressure forces (like those caused by screws) are applied. The countersunk head screw may increase this danger. I'm not sure the Perspex is the right choice for the Neck Plate. But besides my concerns, the plate looks absolutely stunning with all the polishing done!
Yeah I don't know how you can tighten the neck to the body without destroying the plate he made
agreed. a polycarbonate would be a similar look but has much better stress properties than acrylic.
@@andrewj3372 I've worked with both. Polycarbonate has similar problems when its used in such a situation. What could probably work are ferrules that lead the forces from the Screwheads to the threads
@@Craftlngo Hmm, are you sure it was polycarbonate that you used? It's a lot more "chewy" and doesn't crack easily if at all, in complete contrast to acrylic.
@@timangus true, it is not as brittle as perspex but like all plastics it tends to flow under stress. It deforms, can build cracks and it will losen the screw joint of neck and body in the long-term.
"A lot brighter..." = "lacks bass response" I fear. Still... it's freaking gorgeous
Blown away with my order and how fast it arrived! 2 days! And boy the melamine wipe on is potent lol cheers gang!
I found myself doing that tiny bit of counter sink so often that I did make one myself. I just drilled a 1/4" hole in a London Pattern boxwood chisel handle and epoxied in a countersink. The handle is almost identical to the plastic handles on old Craftsman screwdrivers (they copied the London pattern handle) so very comfortable to use. It really reduces chip out in the finish when installing screws in pilot holes. I give a quick touch to every screw hole after spraying the finish.
I love using hand tools it is so gratifing draw knives are one of my favorites. Nice guitar.
You make me laugh Ben 😂😂 , anybody else goes to the pub to chill out and you go and sit in a room full of wood 🤣Awesome dude 🤘🤘🤘
9:34: "ahee its low effort high impact, just the way i like it" - haha... good one ! epic ! :D
I really like the idea of using threaded inserts for the neck joint.
I incorporated inserts and countersunk bolts in a guitar i designed and had made for me back in ‘89. First time i had known it to be done, luthier was the late Bob Whiles from Aldridge, B’ham.
Going to be honest, not much impresses me in recent years, but seeing you build next to a fender is like comparing the Rolls-Royce to an 80's Larda. Bloody hell Ben you absolute legend, please please please dont stop building. If i had 7k to pay for it, i would still think I've ripped you off. That is 10k min guitar easy.
Ben. Don’t worry about the centre punch thing. I was in my forties before I learned that peanuts grow underground. And just the other day, at the ripe old age of 50, I learned that wombat excrement is cubed.
There was a moment there when the facial expression suggested that the words "we have a..." would be followed by the word "problem". Much relief all round.
ben it looks great
IIRC the trick to drilling holes into acrylic using standard drill bits is to use the dullest drill bit you have - smash that metal drill bit into concrete and you're good to go. Otherwise the sharp edge will catch and shatter the plastic.
That looks great Ben! Just need to laser etch the neck plate with your initials and the crimson logo.
This is the way.
That looks awesome... the Fender is drab in comparison. Can't wait to hear it!
My first thoughts on the neck plate was a polished brass one would compliment the wood colour and finish but have to admit that acrylic one looks nice , I do wonder about the longevity though.
I concur. 👌🏻
Having worked for over 40 yrs with Poly Perspex and every other kind of Plexi I can almost guarantee it will crack sooner than later , when I saw this first. I checked it wasn't April 1st ! I Would have gone with a Skeleton neck plate to see the wood as that is the organic beauty .Acrylic though ? and for the Trem block ! He is serious Sherlie :)
Solution for drilling acrylic: "Gühring Stufenbohrer". Absolut fantastic tools.
Hi Ben. The Neck Plate should Be made out of Brass and add the Crimson Logo on it. With Plastic you will not be able to have enough pressure on the Screws to Hold the Neck tight. Copper plate would be Cool too. How is the 4X4 post Guitar 🎸 doing? Getting Dusty?
Great great series! f holes acoustic instruments are usually brighters than their round sound holes counterparts du to an increased acoustic pressure in the sound box :)
Glass / tile cutting bits will save the day, gently goes it
WOW.. Thank you Ben you have done it again!! Amazing stunning work.. we salute you and tip our hats for you best regards ENGLAND 🏴 👍👍
11:15 I almost forgot how "fun" working with plexiglas is, until I saw this :D
Beautiful guitar...This piece is truly a work of art.
Was wondering if it would be done in my lifetime.
I'd hate to be paying by the hour for this build.
Hi Ben the new favourite tool you have is a printmaker’s etching tool. That particular one is a Whister named after James McNeil Whistler.
If it cracks that easily it’s not going to last long with the pressure from the screws for the neck. In my experience acrylic expands and contracts quite a bit with temperature.
👏👏👏
"I'm fighting the temptation to polish the inside of the countersink"
Literally the next frame : proceeds to polish the inside of the countersink
BTW I was amazed when you put that screw in after pouring the polish, before talking about the round of applause, that's a tiny little detail but it's so genius
Polycarbonate might be better suited than Acrylic in this case. Much tougher.
Also, Mr Pyromaniac, you can flame polish acrylic, you don‘t need polishing compound 😜
Ben, as soft as that wood is, even though you have treated it with the cactus juice, super glue, and all that lacquer, I would vote for using threaded inserts to bolt the neck on just as a precaution.
Love the neck plate look! You could have that Crimson Guitar/UK Flag/Guitar pick logo engraved on the back or into the neck so it just peeks through...
You should definitely use round head screws and a countersunk washer. The washer will distribute the inevitable forces.
It will crack either way
@@chriss2452 it will, but the washer might make a difference between a snowball's chance in hell, and a fighting chance.
Might. But I think it'll do something. There's a point to washers, I'm sure...
👏👏👏👏
Ben, try running the drill in reverse in Perspex and similar. The flutes of the drill bit don’t bind and grab the material. Thanks for all you do.
There's 2 drillbits i could advise.
Try using a cobalt metal drill for the acrylic, in low gear, and let the drill do the work. no pushing down, the weight of the drill and a slight bit of armweight will do the trick just fine.
divide the hole you want to create into 3, and use that as your drill upscaling. i.e. for a 6 millimeter hole, divide by 3, that means 2mm increments., start with 2mm for the pilot drill, then use 4, and finally use 6mm.
Another thing you could so, is use a spearheaded drill that is used for ceramics and glass and if you have the ones that look like an actual ancient spearhead, the ones that are curved instead of angular, you wont have to increase drillsizes because the spearhead form does it for you. You can pre-drill a pilot hole, and the spearhead will center itself.
Another thing i wouldn't do myself is use a centerpoint on acrylic as it is pretty brittle, instead use a thicker kind of masking tape, or a double layer if need be. By layering it, making it thicker and softer, you create the dent you need to keep the drillbit from taking a stroll :D
Remember, both the cobalt drillbit and the spearhead drillbit require low revolutions in order to function properly.
lower RPM actually means working faster, even, as it allows the bits to grip and scrape and remove material better than when you work in high RPM and it grazes over the material causing unwanted friction and heat that melts the acrylic and forms a dulling coating layer on the drillbit etc.. ***mindblown emoji***
Hope this helps, go make some sawdust everyone :D
👏
Since it is a very soft wood I think using threaded inserts and machine screws for the neck is a fantastic idea.
👍👍👍
Pretty cool actually... It's close to how we reseat valves for engines
I worry that perspex will develop stress cracks from the pressure of the screws...or worse, just break through.
Stunning - but please take off the watch before working so close to mirror finishes! :)