taz4dad - Posted - 07/23/2012:  13:45:58

Awesome work. I've read every post and am looking forward to tbe book.

manomusic - Posted - 07/23/2012:  23:30:12

Eucalyptus can be similar Ken but is not stable for instrument making. Tassie blackwood on the other hand is great for instruments and quite stunning. Have you had the opportunity to use Blackwood yourself? Huon pine is another similar looking wood to cherry in colour . I have no idea if this would make for a decent neck but boat builders do use it for timber boats over here.

Ken LeVan - Posted - 07/24/2012:  05:02:22

quote:

---

Originally posted by manomusic

Eucalyptus can be similar Ken but is not stable for instrument making. Tassie blackwood on the other hand is great for instruments and quite stunning. Have you had the opportunity to use Blackwood yourself? Huon pine is another similar looking wood to cherry in colour . I have no idea if this would make for a decent neck but boat builders do use it for timber boats over here.

---

Eucalyptus is not readily available here, nor is Tassie blackwood.

I have seen a few spinning wheels imported from Australia that were made from eucalyptus, and they looked really nice.

There is a kind of wood now coming on the market for flooring, that is called "lyptus", which I believe must be some kind of eucalyptus.

There is a trend in the flooring business here in the US of not calling anything by it's actual name - similar to what's happened with "mahogany"and "ebony".  So, we have "Brazilian cherry", which is not cherry, various things referred to as "walnut", which are not walnut, etc. Who knows what species "lyptus" might be.

Ken LeVan - Posted - 07/25/2012:  10:06:50

I have the necks and all the other parts pretty well finished at this point.

For the moment, I am leaving the necks, resonators and rims with the shiny rubbed finish.  After all thaqt work, I hate to "satin" them down.

I may change my mind later - if you have done the finish properly, and there is enough on there, you can buff it up or satin it down at any time with no problem.

It's hard to see the finish on the photos, but I decided to do a glossy finish on the burl peghead because the burl has a great depth and benefits from the glass-like finish. On the rosewood peghead veneer, I rubbed it satin because I think it has a very nice look, and the black finish won't show the dust as much. It's hard to dust under the strings:

I made Corian® truss rod covers for both of them:

I have to clean out the holes where the 5th pegs go, and bevel them with a, x-acto knife. I want the peg to fit in there so I have to squeeze it in with a clamp for the last 1/10". I'll show that later.

So that's it for the finish.

I will now go on to putting it together, building bridges, and the setup, in another thread.

wuzapicker - Posted - 07/25/2012:  11:30:17

Ken,

Beautiful work, as usual. Among many others who have so stated, I have thoroughly enjoyed this tutorial series. I also await publication of your upcoming book.

Thanks heaps!

Jonnycake White - Posted - 07/25/2012:  11:51:42

Great thread, Ken, I've really learned a lot about finishing.  I apologize if someone asked this and I missed it, but what do you use for the barrier coat?  Shellac, or is it something specialized just for that?

Also are the 3M cloths the same as Scotchbrite pads or are they something different?

Ken LeVan - Posted - 07/25/2012:  13:15:36

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jonnycake White

Great thread, Ken, I've really learned a lot about finishing.  I apologize if someone asked this and I missed it, but what do you use for the barrier coat?  Shellac, or is it something specialized just for that?

Also are the 3M cloths the same as Scotchbrite pads or are they something different?

 

---

I just spray some of the vinyl sanding sealer into a spray can cap and use that.

I think the 3M cloths are the same as Scotchbrite cloths - makes sense as they are made by 3M.  I get them at the NAPA store in the car body finishing section. They come in different "grits" gray, maroon and green.   I think green is the color of the Scotchbrite ones.

They last forever and ever, and lose some of their grit, which just makes them finer. You can wash them out. I would be lost without them. They clean metal, too.

Patrick Hanna - Posted - 08/05/2012:  10:23:41

Ken,
I was just re-reading this thread and there's something I don't understand. Is your sanding sealer in an alcohol solvent/carrier? And if so, how do you prevent dissolving it in your protected areas when going over the instrument with your alcohol-thinned dye coats? I did see your comment that you are good with a brush (I agree, by the way) so perhaps that's the answer. In any event, if you can clarify this for me, I'd sure appreciate it.
Thanks,
Patrick

Ken LeVan - Posted - 08/05/2012:  12:20:50

quote:

---

Originally posted by Patrick Hanna

Ken,

I was just re-reading this thread and there's something I don't understand. Is your sanding sealer in an alcohol solvent/carrier? And if so, how do you prevent dissolving it in your protected areas when going over the instrument with your alcohol-thinned dye coats? I did see your comment that you are good with a brush (I agree, by the way) so perhaps that's the answer. In any event, if you can clarify this for me, I'd sure appreciate it.

Thanks,

Patrick

---

Patrick,

The sanding sealer is a nitrocellulose based lacquer, with some other stuff (vinyl) mixed in with it.  The aniline dye is an alcohol based one, and the "Solar Lux"  is an alcohol / lacquer thinner based dye which can actually be mixed with NC lacquer, as can alcohol based aniline dyes.

I don't get the dyes on the protected areas because I use a brush - they would stain the protected areas, but not much. When I'm brushing, if I screw up and get some on the protected area, I can wipe it off with my finger, and no harm done.

There's a learning curve to it for sure, and as I said, I'm good with brushes - Pratt Institute and all that.

My methods are pretty "old School", and here I am using the British system of putting the punctuation outside the quotation marks, violating the Chicago Manual of Style.

Doing this straight-line masking on necks is child's play compared to masking off concentric rings on resonators.

Stewmac sells "magic marker" things that are filled with a clear lacquer for doing exactly what I am describing.

I hope I am answering your question.  End grain cross banding and nice white maple or holly will suck any kind of dye into the grain, permanently, so you have to protect that from happening. 2 coats of lacquer does a pretty good job, but you still cannot just spray dye or  tinted lacquer on to it - that will tint everything..

If I am going to make a sunburst finish, as on a Seeger neck, I have to mask off the binding and purfling, including that on the peghead.

As always, the black line is the "schnooly"

ONLY on Gibson Granadas, do they kill the shnooly with a maple line against the stained part:

What were they thinking about?  and you can see a little stain lapping up onto that bottom maple stripe.

Patrick Hanna - Posted - 08/05/2012:  15:14:16

Ken,
You did, indeed, answer my question. Now I understand. Thank you for clarifying. I am pretty sure I am not the only one out here who pondered this question. I expect some others are saying to themselves: "Oh....now I see what he's saying" right about now.
Many thanks,
Patrick

avarko - Posted - 11/27/2012:  12:11:08

Great article on finishing.  I'm building a few banjos as a complete novice and appreciate any hints or tips I can find!  At this point I'm still making dumb mistakes...self-education can be costly!  For that reason, I really appreciate you sharing your accumulated wisdom with the rest of us.  The pictures are great and the progression through the finishing steps is logical.  "Don't get much better'n that!"

Thanks,

Steve Streeper

Idaho

Ken LeVan - Posted - 11/27/2012:  12:58:28

quote:

---

Originally posted by avarko

Great article on finishing.  I'm building a few banjos as a complete novice and appreciate any hints or tips I can find!  At this point I'm still making dumb mistakes...self-education can be costly!  For that reason, I really appreciate you sharing your accumulated wisdom with the rest of us.  The pictures are great and the progression through the finishing steps is logical.  "Don't get much better'n that!"

 

Thanks,

Steve Streeper

Idaho

---

You're welcome, Steve,

Self education is great, and after all these years, I'm still doing it - I learn something every time I do something.

MOUNTAIN GOAT - Posted - 11/27/2012:  16:44:02

This has been great schtuff. Where do you get the Behlens paint supplies?

Ken LeVan - Posted - 11/27/2012:  17:31:54

quote:

---

Originally posted by MOUNTAIN GOAT

This has been great schtuff. Where do you get the Behlens paint supplies?

---

I get it from Grizzly, because they are nearby, but Stewmac sells the stringed instrument lacquer and sealer, and you can get it from most of the woodworker's supply catalogs such as Rockler, Woodworkers Supply, etc

Quickstep192 - Posted - 11/28/2012:  09:19:28

Ken,

Do I correctly see that you're using rattle cans for shooting your finish? I assume you're happy with the results they produce?

Dave1climber - Posted - 02/06/2013:  10:40:56

Ken

While revisiting this excellent thread I got to wondering how is the book coming?

Ken LeVan - Posted - 02/06/2013:  10:50:24

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dave1climber

Ken

While revisiting this excellent thread I got to wondering how is the book coming?

---

Dave, thanks for asking.

Slowly, but it's coming.

I keep adding new stuff and I keep changing it.  Plus I have several commissions I'm working on that take precedence. Every new project produces better pictures, it seems.

Ken

Dave1climber - Posted - 02/06/2013:  10:59:56

Ken

When the book is ready, please let us know.  You have a list of all who have expressed interest I trust.

Dave

Ken LeVan - Posted - 02/06/2013:  13:51:57

Absolutely, I will!

Ken

Dan Drabek - Posted - 02/06/2013:  15:02:23

This is kind of late in the game, but I just re-read the entire thread--lots of good info there, and noticed that you were disappointed in the quality of the felt currently available at the local stores. What you want is 100% wool felt. I got a couple pieces of it recently and it's excellent quality stuff. They use it in doll making for paw pads on high-end teddy bears, etc. I bought mine at the following place, and was very pleased with the product. They sell it in small quantities and prices are reasonable. This felt is nothing like the crap they sell in craft stores.

weirdollsandcrafts.com/wool-fe...-100.html

DD