Jeff Guitar is Finished!

It's been a long time in the finishing stages. But she's all finished. Well, Jeff still needs to machine or purchase some locking nuts. Or perhaps he'll find the originals in the basement somewhere. Side note for Jeff, in case I forget to tell you: The guitar is currently tuned flat. This is so you can put on the locking nuts and fine tune through the bridge. Remember you don't want the guitar "in tune" when you put the locking nuts on. :)

A word on Floyd Rose Tremolo Bridges. Wow are these suckers tough to set up! Never set one up before and let me tell you it was fun and frustrating all at the same time. I see why people think their guitars are 'broken' when they go to set up this type of bridge. If you don't know what to expect you would definitely think you were either doing something wrong or the guitar was broken somehow. A big thank you to the www.imuso.co.uk website. You provided an most valuable "How To" guide on Floyd Rose Tremolo bridges.

Anyway, as usual there were obstacles to overcome but I learned something and it was all worth it in the end. Although, I think I'm going to take a long break from guitars. I still have dreams of replacing the pick-ups and refinishing my current bass, and building a bass. But that's a project for much later.

Here is Jeff's new/old Ibanez.

Stay tuned for the Stave Drum Project that Brent and I will be working on. Currently I'm trying to build a jig/rig to build the drums. Of course it's going to be an experience and a lot of trial and error. But that's why I take on these projects ... to take my brain somewhere it hasn't been before. Now if I could just make some money on these types of projects *starts to day dream*

Okay... Upcoming events in the Rob project files.

New batch of Mead (wine made with honey). I bottled my last batch and it's starting to taste really good, but it has about 5-6 more months of aging.

I will also be submitting all 3 flavors of the mead to the wine competition at the State Fair this upcoming year also. Flavors are Blueberry, Blackberry, and Strawberry.

I've sparked Kevin's interest in mead so we are going to both make a batch soon. He wants to try to create Chocolate Raspberry. As for me I have no idea what flavor to try. Some ideas are pomegranate, orange, kiwi, pineapple, and been toying with a recipe for a french toast flavor.

The stave drum project will be starting up very soon. At this point I think I'm finished with preliminary ideas. It's time to just start putting things together and find out what's wrong or could be done a different way. The key to the jig/rig set up is keep it as simple and inexpensive as possible.

I've been getting new ideas on finishes for the drums so the experimental stave drums will give me a few mock-ups and/or "oops" drums to practice some of these finishes on. One I've been dying to try (not new by any means) is a burst. 2 bursts I really want to try is a honey into a green and a triple burst of honey into a red into a tobacco. The triple burst is old school Fender & Gibson. I've seen a lot of guys on message boards not use spray guns for the bursts they just use steel wool and sanding to get the blending. Can't wait to try it. Also want to try to make an inlay in a drum.

Alright, that's enough dreaming for today. Thanks for reading and we'll talk at you all later.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

Well, this morning I played video games until around 9:30 then headed outside to wet sand the guitar ... once again.

Yesterdays clear coat went on really well and I'm getting really good at the brush on application technique. Wet sanding was going very well until I was sanding the side portions of the guitar. I wiped the guitar to see where I was and noticed some blue on the rag. DOH! Nothing major I just had a small sand though, you can't even tell where it is. So, I decided to finish the front and back of the body with 800 grit wet then re-clear just the sides.

I should be done with body work next weekend, woo-hoo!

While I was waiting for the clear to dry I decided to work on the neck. Took apart everything and cleaned every nook and cranny in that sucker and gave the face a good buff. It looks brand new again. Even cleaned the fret board with some naphtha and a tooth brush (dirty sucker ... yuck). Then I straightened the neck and leveled and rounded the frets. After all of that I cleaned her up and put on a fresh coat of fret board finishing oil. The guitar will need some new frets in the future, but I'm confident that Jeff will get a few more years out of the existing ones ... so that's good news.

I also took apart the Floyd Rose bridge and gave everything a naphtha & 3-1 oil bath. Everything received a tooth brush cleaning and then it was all reassembled. I did this, because my original once over of the bridge made me think that I may need to replace some screws and/or parts. After the bath and the scrub down everything is in working order. A few of the set screws are corroding, but they don't need to be replaced just yet. Gives the guitar some character.

So far I only need to replace a handful of screws due to the heads are stripped. Almost couldn't get them off. The next challenge I have is that a screw head has broken off and the screw portion is still in the body. Hey now ... it was like that when I got it. I'm sure I have an article in one of my magazines on how to repair that (or at least get it out). Worst case I'll have to drill it out and fill the hole with some putty and it'll be good as new again. The hole is covered with a plate so I'm not worried about drilling it out if it comes to that.

If I remember to take in the model number of the guitar to work I'll give Ibanez a call this week to order a new back plate cover. I'm actually getting a excited to get this guitar finished so I can hear what it sounds like on Jeff's amp.

Well that's all. Nothing too exciting this weekend.

Ah ... A New Post

Yes ... I'm still alive for those of you who do check the blog still. The IT Nazi at work has made it so I cannot access my blog, I can't even post a comment on a blog. We can no longer have streaming audio or streaming video either, which is a shame becaue I highly enjoyed the AOL Sessions music. So, all we can do at work is ... well ... work. Boring!!!!

So, after working 9 hours a day on a computer. The last thing I want to do when I come home is get on a computer. But, I'll try more often to update you guys on my life's adventures.

Anyway, I have been working on Jeff's guitar the past few weeks and of course I've hit a few problems. Just once I'd like a normal project. In wet sanding some "patterns" have come through and they look like wood grain. Weird thing is that they aren't wood grain and they are smooth. Think of looking at an oak door ... but the "grain" portion is shiny and everything else is hazy from the wet sanding. Like I said ... weird. I decided to see if they would go away after a final buffing ... nope. If you turn the body and look at the reflection you can see them clearly. What are they? I wish I knew. Of course they don't show up in a picture, so I can't post them for you guys to see. I decided to keep on wet sanding to see if they would go away ... nope. Almost had a sand through, but lucky for me I caught it in time. So, off to the auto store this morning to purchase some activator and I put on another coat of clear. Hopefully this will take care of the problem and I can continue working on it tomorrow. This coat of clear went on very smooth, so I'm hoping that hardly any level wet sanding needs to take place and I can do my final buffing tomorrow afternoon.

Brent and I have been talking again about the stave shell building. But I made a deal with myself a long time ago to only have one project going at a time. The stave shell will have to wait until the guitar is finished. Shouldn't be too much longer Jeff.

Plus, I have to build the rig to make these shells anyway. I'm still in the development and research phase of that part. It could be a bit before I'm ready.

All I know about the stave shells is that Brent is dying to do a drop test on one of them to see how well the glue really holds.

Alright ... that's enough for now. The PlayStation is calling my name, the game of choice the past few months has been Final Fantasy 12. Although I wish it was just a tad warmer, I feel like riding the motorcycle today. Just a bit nippy today for that ... oh well.

Jeff's Guitar

After completing my guitar Mr. Jeff Kamp asked if I could get an old project guitar of his up and running. This is the first project that started the instrument building endeavors. Thanks Jeff for planting that seed. I really wish I had the know-how at that time to paint it myself, but alas I didn't. I did try and Craig and Brent helped me out, but my skills were just too feeble at that time to finish it. Brent has reminded me that a Ed M. painted it for me. If I remember correctly the design was in Jeff's head and I help bring it out of there. I think it turned out well, a bit reminiscent of early/mid 90's design, but HEY, that's when we did this. So sue me ... I still like it though.

Here we are today. Gotta admit the guitar is in some bad shape. But, I'm not worried, it's been a project for what? ... 8 years? Longer? I honestly don't remember. I've got to purchase some missing parts, and replaces some damaged parts. First things first though, take her apart and put on a new coat of clear at Jeff's request.

Sorry Jeff, this may look a bit scary due to I brush on the clear, but it'll level out in the end. It'll be shiny once again (was it ever really shiny?).

I put the clear on at the same time I was clear coating the contest drum so I didn't have to go out of my way for this step. Hunting down some of the parts may be interesting, but honestly I haven't really looked, I've been busy with the drum. Once I get the body where I like it I'll start the parts hunt ... get the dogs ready! I'll be on the hunt soon.

Drum Is Finished!

Well the drum is finished. This drum was for a contest on Ghostnote.net, a drum building forum. Great bunch of people there. Out of 20 contestants I believe there are 16 of us still in the competition. But, to be completely truthful, everyone's drum is awesome. If I make the top 5 I'll be sending the drum up to Michigan to the DrumFoundy to be judged via a panel of 5 judges. Honestly, this is only my second build. So it being in the top 5 amongst more experienced builders isn't looking good. But, I've receive some positive comments about my work and that's really all I need. I have a few more ideas for some painted drums, then Brent and I will be exploring the world of Stave Drum building. Yes, that's actually making our own shells from scratch (well wood actually), not purchasing pre-made shells and finishing and assembling them. Through conversations with Brent he is just a giddy about this adventure as I am. I'm positive there will be many mistakes made and tons of learning experiences. I don't expect the first few to go smoothly at all, so be on the lookout in the next few months for stories of wood building gone wrong. Well, a positive side to this is I'll have some firewood this winter, eh? I'm sure some of you have no idea what a stave drum is, and that's some of what I'll be posting. A kind of tutorial of how these type of drums are made. Wish me luck!

A big thank you to Craig (aka, Cracker) for your help with wood construction, wood working tools, wood companies, and a place to store my wood (insert jokes now). You've been a big help so far, more than you know, and you'll be a huge help once Brent and I get started.

A big Thank You to Ed for the help with jig design ideas, even though we found a slide table in the end that was basically what you designed (Son Of A ...). But, why build something that is already built for you, and cheaper, and works better. Anyway, now I know what I need and what to look for at the trade show. Without your guidance I'd still be trying to re-invent the wheel. You'll be approached more in the near future for ideas and problem solving issues.

Last note for this post:
I do except cash donations for the purchasing of wood for the expansion of the Lastinger Custom Drum Company. That is all ... shameless plug I know, but since when do I care about being shameless, eh?

Contest Drum

Yeah ... it's been a bit since I've posted. I've been working on a snare drum for a contest and it's been the spawn of Satan. Deadline is August 15th and I'm out of time to fix any errors. Tonight's error was I left 2 pencil lines on the paint to mark the center lines for the vinyl tribal design. Yeah ... totally forgot to wipe them off with the cleaner. I was posting some pictures on the contest site and it hit me that I forgot those stupid lines. Of course I put the clear coat on already, so they are there to stay. I really wanted to sell this drum, but don't think I can with the lines. It's dark outside so I really can't tell if they are that noticeable, I'll have to see what other people think when I show the drum to them. If they don't notice, then I won't feel so bad, but I know they are there ... dang it!!!!! Stupid Satan drum!

So, Brent you may be getting another gift drum from me. I might be able to break even if I sell it *crosses fingers*. I think it's going to be stain and clear for a few drums in hopes of making about $50 per drum. Paint and vinyl transfer aren't working for me this time around. We'll see after the contest how I feel about another paint and vinyl drum. Had a really sweet idea for the next one too.

Broken Parts ... *sigh*

I was finishing the mock up of the contest snare last night and saw that the Nickelworks strainer was broken. So, much for bulletproof plastic, eh? Oh well, I'll be making a phone call to Drummaker today to get the problem resolved. You can see the crack along the threaded holes. Also, how much grease is too much? This thing is actually dripping goo on my table, floor, toolbox ... I don't think it'll ever squeak.

Guitar is Finished!!!

Woohoo the guitar if finally finished. I took it over to Sam Ash and they played it for me to see how it sounded and to make sure the action was correct. Here's how that happened ... for some reason I never received a truss rod wrench to adjust the truss rod. So, I called Sam Ash to see if they sold them. Teresa said that she didn't have any to sell, but they have a bunch behind the counter and to bring in the neck and she'd hook me up with one. I did ... she did ... problem solved free of charge. Teresa then asked when the guitar would be finished due to she loved the color of the headstock. I told her that it would be finished tomorrow sometime (Sunday). She then asked if I could bring it by for her to see the finished product and of course I said "Hell Ya!" She played it a bit, then this other kid played the snot out of it, even dropped D'd it and play some dirty speed metal with it. That kid said he loved it and about 4 other customers wanted me to build them one. Not too shabby considering I don't even play the guitar, eh?

So ... Jeff will be the proud player of this beast for a while. I'd like someone to actually play it and let me know what needs adjusting (truss rod bow, action, pick-up heights, pole heights). I just set it up using some average numbers I found in some research (Fender, PRS, Gibson).

There are a few finish problems that need fixing, but I'll get to those sometime. It took me about 6 years to build it, why rush now? Enjoy the pictures ...

Wiring Diagram

Help ... how do I make this a volume, volume, tone?

New Logos

Okay so I've decided on 2 of the logos out of the 12 or so I made. And here they are ...

#1

#2

I'm very partial to #2 due to it just has that bit more pop to it. Thank you to Stacy for suggesting the negative space idea. It will have to be perfected just a bit more, nothing very noticeable. Stacy suggested lengthening the "L" so the black part under the 'st' will show a bit more and perhaps pushing the arch of the 'L' to the left of the circle just a bit too.

Guitar update:

The body clear coat is finished. To be honest I almost don't have to do any level sanding. I now have to wait 2 weeks before I can buff/polish, but that won't be hard due to I'm going up to Elkhart this weekend and I'm clear coating the guitar neck next week. Can't wait to start assembling the electronics in the body. I'm guessing the neck will take me another week or 2 to finish the clear coat on that. Then I get to try my hand at leveling the frets. Then final assembly begins. Get ready Jeff!!! I want this thing thoroughly tested! Still don't know if I'm going to sell it or not. I'll have to keep you all posted on that decision.

Drum update:

I'm really considering making another drum to try and sell. This is in the hopes of starting a hobby business. I really don't know what else to call it. I would like to sell the drum and have it pay for the next one and possibly make some money on the side to help pay off some credit cards. I'll just have to make one and try to sell it and see what it goes for. I feel I have some talent in this field and that I could make some money over the years to possibly get myself out of credit card debt. The 'business' isn't going to be that grandiose by any stretch of the imagination, I'm hoping to sell about 5-6 a year. I'm in the process of pricing parts and seeing how to keep quality at a high standard but keep my cost low (every businesses nightmare and challenge). Wish me luck and I'll be seeking help from most of you out there. So be ready to be bombarded by questions, and to have a drum thrust into your hands for tuning, layout problems, and testing. I'm taking all base color idea now, so start submitting. Oh ... and Brent's drum, Bloodshot, is a one of a kind. I've decided already to retire that pattern. The only one that I'll make that pattern for again is Brent if he ever needed a replacement or a buddy for Bloodshot or if he'd like to try his hand at making his own Bloodshot clone.

I think the next drum is going to be gloss black with a mirror chrome pattern, and 3" tube lugs. How's that sound to everyone? Very classic clean look that I feel will sell fast. What is everyones opinion on that?

Guitar Neck

I started to finish the guitar neck this weekend. First, I did some level sanding on the guitar body, then added 2 more coats of clear. I'm guessing another 2 coats is all that I'll get out of the can, and I'll let it cure for a few weeks then level sand again and polish it up. (So ready for the body to be finished).

The neck, I put 2 coats of brushed on sand and sealer. I'll let that cure a few days and level sand that nice and smooth then start putting on the spray on satin nitro clear. The satin will be interesting, I've never worked with satin clear coat before.

Sorry, no picks of this activity, nothing really to show. I'll start with the pictures again once the body electronics start being put in. I can't wait for that stage. That means I need to start researching wiring diagrams for my 5 way switch and pick-ups. Let the swear fest begin!!

Jeff had me work on a logo for him and his guitar (check out his blog to see it). I stopped by the sign shop to talk with Ted about the cost to get a few cut out in vinyl. He wasn't there, so I'll have to give him a call on Monday, DOH! I'm going to guess the cost is going to be around $15 - $20, we'll see if my estimate is correct. I must say now I want to make some sort of logo for myself. I'm thinking of making a few drums to sell on eBay and it would be nice to incorporate some sort of logo in case I want to continue doing this as a small hobby business. I'm also going to put the new logo on the headstock of the guitar. Why not ... I have the time. I learned the hard way that nitro clear and vinyl don't mix, in fact the clear just won't stick. So, some other method of getting the logo on will be needed, I'll brain storm on that later I guess.

If anyone has any ideas for a logo for me, let me know ... right now I'm stuck. So far I have 25 fonts that I've downloaded and have no idea what to do. Just my last name? My initials? A symbol I haven't thought of yet? What defines me and my work ...

So, help me out here folks. Let the ideas start pouring in.

And ... go!!!!

Buzz

Well, this past Saturday I decided that it was time to get a buzz cut. Brent was gracious enough to give me my virgin cutting, thanks Brent!

Here is the before:

Of course I had to leave the Mohawk as the last stage of cutting. I know there isn't much hair there to really be a Mohawk, but I can dream right?

Here's the after:

Over the years the hair line just keeps receding further and further back and the top just keeps getting thinner and thinner so it was just time to do the right thing and cut it all off, that way all of the scalp has equal opportunity to get sun.

I love it, took a few showers to get used to how much shampoo to actually use, but that's all under control now. The only thing now is to figure out how to clean up the mess after cutting it at home and which bathroom to use.

That's about all for now. I think Stacy and I will be making some wine here soon, so stay tuned for some great summer wine. We are debating between what we made for the wedding (Blackberry Merlot) or a new flavor called Calypso Bianco(more citrus for summer). Leave a suggestion if you want to help us decide.

Cheers!

Finished Snares

Well here are some finished pictures of Penny (Brent's snare he made) and Bloodshot (the snare I made for Brent).

Brent and I will be in discussions soon on the new line of K & L Drum Company drums. Stay tuned!

Wedding Slide Show

Here is a slide show of our wedding. Our photographer Shawna put this together. Thank you Shawna you're the best!

This is also posted on Stacy's blog, but for those of you that don't know her I'll post it here too.

http://www.schaubphotography.com/slideshows/Lastinger/

Guitar Time Baby!

Well, I'm on my last day off before I go back to the grind. So, today I decided to get some work done on the guitar that seems everybody wants me to get done. So what if it's been 5 years in the making people!!!

So, to let you know what I've got ... It's a carved top soloist body made from swamp ash and has a AAAAA quilt maple top. I also had a black line put in between the two layers to give it that ever so little style mark. The body has been prepped, stained orange, coated with sand and sealer, and a few cans of nitro of clear. I felt this wasn't sufficient protection so I brushed on 2 more coats of nitro sand and sealer, level sanded that and now I'm putting on the final coats/can of nitro clear. So far I gotta say it's turning out great! The way the clear is going on I could go right to buffing and no level sanding. But, the perfectionist in me will do some wet sanding before the final buffing. Okay, what I've done today was at 10:00 am I put on a coat of clear and let it dry for 4 hours. At 2:00pm today I put on another coat of clear (took pictures) and will let that cure for another 4 hours and at 6:00pm tonight I'll put on another coat. I won't be able to due much more until next weekend, due to we are going home for the weekend to pick up the cats.

I'm working on the neck at the same time. Currently I'm only working on the head stock. I've stained it orange, brushed on 2 coats of sand and sealer, leveled, and am putting on the final coats of clear. I added clear to the head stock at the same times as above. Once the body and head have cured for a few weeks, I'll finish the rest of the neck.

We have a new computer so I'll have to experiment on how to download the pictures ... so for now this post is just text and will have to edit later when I figure out how to download the pics off of the camera.

If anyone has any name suggestions please feel free to let me know. I know I really have to wait until it's finished before it's named, but I'm always open for suggestions. And Jeff ... you'll be the first to actually play this baby, so be ready! Perhaps you can give it a test ride for a few weeks at the kids thingy you play at for church.

Later all ...

Here are some pictures:

Here are all the parts.

This pic is just trying to show you the depth of the grain pattern in the wood. You have to ignore the whiteout of the flash, I'll have to see if I can take better pictures in the sun when it's all finished.

This pic is showing the shine & smoothness I'm all ready getting before any buffing. I'm getting better at this stuff I think.

Here's the head stock, a little orange peel but that's easy to get smooth on this small of an area.

Back From The Honeymoon

We're back ... to be honest we didn't want to come back. Stacy and I went to wine country in California (Sonoma Valley be be more specific). We met with a few winery owners and that was a blast. I'll be more specific on 3 of them. First, Robert Hunter. Sweetest old man I've ever met in my life. His assistant Kurt met us at the winery office and gave us a tour and speech about the land and how Bob acquired the small portion (85 total acres with about 45 planted with grapes) of the land. Then we walked around the grounds of the house and we were told about the history of the gardens around the house. All this time we didn't know that this house we were walking around was the house of Bob and his wife. All of a sudden we heard a door close and this tall older gentleman is walking toward us. We were able to sit down with Bob and Kurt on the back patio which was on a lookout over looking the valley. We (Stacy, I, Kurt and even Bob) tasted the sparkling wine the Robert Hunter Winery produces, then the Pino Noir. Then we just sat there and chit chatted with Bob and Kurt for about 45 minutes. (Now folks this is a real treat in wine country to be able to sit and just talk with a winery owner like this.) They are running low on the Chardonnay and the Cabernet Sauvignon so we didn't get to taste those, but Kurt was gracious enough to let us do a barrel tasting of the Chardonnay. Barrel tasting is always a treat, at least it makes me feel special.



Next was Little Vineyards:

When we arrived at this winery there was this blond headed gentleman straightening a sign in a pickup truck, he saw us pull up and he just smiled, waved, then finished straightening up the sign and walked over to us and introduced himself as Rich Little. This owner was the coolest cat I've met in a long time. We walk up to the tasting room and he pulls out a bottle of wine called Band Blend and he points to a picture on a shelf and says there's a picture of Kurt Hammett (guitar player for Metallica) showing off our Band Blend wine. Not only does this wine have a cool label but it tastes great too. We start talking about how he got started in the winery business, then next thing I know he's talking about how he plays an instrument called the Stick (basically it's a guitar and bass in one and is played by tapping, shown above) and Rich was kind enough to give us a sample of his playing. Kurt has some awesome grooves, keep up the good work. Then we get on the subject of the recording studio that Rich as built on the winery grounds. Let me tell you, this place is the coolest. There are vintage amps and guitars all over the place, on the walls, in cubby-holes. Recording equipment everywhere. I guess when Joe Satriani was in town his band came over to the studio/winery for a few hours to hang out and have a relaxing time. Some other musicians have come out to get their initial recording down then they send it out to get finalized. To tell you the truth, I don't remember any names, mostly due to by this time Rich and I have talked about instruments/music/wine for about an hour and we've been drinking wine the whole time with no food in my stomach. Yeah, I was getting a bit drunk. When I get the pictures downloaded I'll post some pics of the trip for you all.


Lastly was the owners of the place we stayed:
Suzy and Squire Fridell, the Glen Lyon Estate Cottage. The people were fantastic people. Unfortunately they have a very busy weekend and we didn't get to spend much time with them. They had a bottling which Stacy and I were able to help with. Not much help, but we at least were able to get in there and say we did something. I've done "home bottling" and this winery wasn't much more sophisticated than that. It was quite the experience to see the in between winery in action meaning, they are in between the big producers where everything is automated, and the home winery where everything is done by hand and very little machine work. Mostly there was very little done with machine, again I'll post some pics when I get them downloaded. Then they had a party at there house, these two events took up Suzy and Squires time just enough to where is clashed with our schedule that we didn't get to do any tastings or get the tour of the property. I'm truly saddened by this because whenever we met someone who asked where we were staying, and our reply was at the Glen Lyon Cottage. Everyone, and I mean everyone, would say "Oh Squire and Suzy, they are the greatest people". So I'm saddened that we didn't get to spend more time with them other than the quick chats in passing. But, Stacy and I are already planning our next trip out there and will hopefully be staying at the cottage again. So, we'll just plan in advance to spend more time with them next time. When is next time? Well I'm ready to sell a kidney to pay for the trip right now, but we'll just have to save and see when we can afford the trip. Ideally, our 1 year anniversary is the goal.

Well this is about a novel in length. I'll stop here for now and start having Stacy download the pictures at her work and I'll get some pics post for all to see. So, to recap ... we spent a week tasting some of the greatest wines, meeting some really great people, and purchasing a lot of wine.

Later all ...

Sorry For the Delay

Wow, a lot has been going on here. First, I apologize to everyone who's been faithfully checking the blog to see the updates on the snare only to find there haven't been any for quite some time. I can no longer access my account at work with our new servers. I don't know why, but oh well.


Next, I'm married!!!! The wedding went great. A huge thank you to my family, I love you all. A big thank you to my groomsmen, you guys are the best. A big thank you to the brides maids, you ladies are the best also. We all had tons of fun and I love you all. I'm packing right now for my honeymoon but am waiting for laundry to dry so I can finish and decided to waste some time getting some picks up of the drum.


I gave my best man the drum on Friday (June 1st). I rendered him speechless, a feat that isn't easy to do with Brent. In short he really loves the drum and I can't wait to build another one, but I feel that I should get my guitar finished before I start any other projects. For more comments from Brent visit his blog (I've added the link on the side bar).


Now ... on with the pictures.




Here is the drum with the tribal sticker in place and I have scored and removed the clear coat and tape around the bearing edges. This was something that I learned that I should do before the clear coat gets too thick. Brent taught me that one, sorry that he learned that the hard way (Chip City on poor Penny). But, it taught me a valuable lesson. So, thank you Brent and Penny for your sacrifice for the greater good.



The next few weeks after the above picture was taken was laying on the clear coat. Nothing exciting. I sprayed a coat on in the morning before I left for work, then after work I would spray on another coat. This went on until 4 cans of nitro were on (I don't remember the exact time line, but it was round 2-3 weeks). After that was finished I had to let the clear cure. With nitro lacquer you have to let it cure for about 3 weeks, then it's hard enough to buff to a nice deep shine. It cured and it was wet sanded down to 2000 grit. All that was left was the final buffing.

Okay, I know I'm not supposed to divulge mistakes or flaws of the project, but the next series of events was a mistake/flaw that I didn't expect, but I have to mention. The problem was overcome and I learned a great deal from it so I feel that it's worth posting.

Well, my bachelor party was on May 12th. I decided to put all of the drum stuff in the attic, because if Brent saw one piece of anything, he'd know it was a drum part and the surprise would be ruined. So, up to the attic the drum went. After the weekend I took the drum down and noticed a crack had formed along the edge of the sticker in a small area. I decided no big deal lacquer cracks or checks often and I'll clean the area up with an exacto knife and drop fill with some lacquer let it settle for a few days, sand it down and viola problem solved. Well, not solved, bigger problem had happened while cleaning the crack. When I went to score the crack with the knife the lacquer in that area peeled right off of the tribal sticker. It hit me like a brick, right then I knew the lacquer didn't stick at all to the vinyl sticker. To test my theory I laid a piece of tape in another area of the tribal sticker and ripped it off ... yup ... clean break right along the edge of the sticker and paint.


It took 2 days of research to find the solution, but it was found. I had to remove the rest of the lacquer that was on top of the tribal sticker and then put an automotive grade clear coat on top of everything. Now I don't have any spray equipment so I had to brush this stuff on. This is not recommended by the manufacturer, FYI. I had no choice but to brush it on. I found an article by a gentleman in Michigan that refinishes old pinball machine fields. Very informative and he tested several auto clears in a brush on application and basically said, yup not recommended, but works. It just takes a lot of elbow grease to level the surface, but it can be done. So, with some new confidence I went for it.





Here it is. Automotive clear brushed on. It looked like complete poo!!! But I knew the new surface could be leveled smooth. Just had to keep telling myself to have some patients.






Above was after round one of sanding. This was about 45 minutes of sanding with 220 grit sand paper. This automotive clear was some hard stuff.







Round Two: this was after another hour of sanding with the 220 grit. As you can see I started making progress. The "white" areas are the areas that are level, the "shiny" areas are the pits and I have to keep on sanding to get those pits out.





Round Three: Here is the drum after a total of about 2.75 hours of sanding. Almost there, just a few shiny spots left to get out and I can start the wet sanding stages.


I did end up getting all of the shiny spots out and the clear level. Took me a total of about 4 hours. Then I wet sanded for another 3 hours. Started with 600 grit wet worked my way to 2000 grit. So, it was 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000. I then used my 6" orbital buffer with some 3M machine polish. There it was, the clear coat looked like glass. I finished up the surface with some 3M Hand Glaze, not necessary, but I wanted to do it to give it that deep shine that that drum deserved.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it finished. You'll have to visit Brent's blog to see some pictures of it finished. I'll be going back home in 2 weeks, perhaps I'll remember to take the camera and visit Brent so I can get some finished pictures of the drum. Time just got away from me and all of a sudden in was wedding weekend.

Sunday, April 15

Busy weekend for me, I think I need another weekend to recover from my weekend. Anyway, Friday I celebrated my birthday with some friends. We all went to a Behnihana (Japanese Steak House) and had some sake, and a fine meal. Then we went bowling after diner. I know bowling sounds like a weird thing to do, but we had tons of fun (at least I did).

Saturday was spent at Lowes purchasing insulation, then went to look at some properties for the winery, then started to insulate my garage.

Sunday was spent finishing the insulation in the garage, then I worked on the drum. It's looking great. A few more weeks of work then I'll be ready to start the final sanding and polishing.

Here is the drum with the tribal sticker in place, and getting ready to remove the backing paper.

Removing the backing paper. Yes, this was very time consuming and a bit nerve racking, but well worth it.

Here is the tribal stick in place and ready for clear coat to go on top. The design is actually mirrored on the other side.

Tribal Sticker

Last night I went to the sign shop to pick up the tribal vinyl sticker I had made. I can't wait for the weekend to come to get that bad boy on! I also found out that it's a very high grade of vinyl so it's really thin. This does 2 things for me ... of course with every good there is a bad. The good: It's thinner than expected, this means it won't take as long to clear coat over it. The bad: It's thinner than expected, this means it's more delicate than I originally thought. So a lot more care is going to needed when placing it on the drum. I'll be a nervous wreck putting it on, but I'll be sure to take some pics of the entire process. Taking a break to take a picture will ensure that I don't rush into anything. I'll have to step back and think about the next step each time. Hopefully I'll have lots to report on Monday for everyone.

Tuesday, April 10

Today I wet sanded the drum to start the leveling process for the tribal sticker. It went really well, it only took me about 45 minutes. Started with 600 grit then moved to 800 grit. The center is very level and smooth and that was the goal, thus I'm very pleased. Some of the edges need fixed, but that's for a later time. Plus, I need to clear coat over the sticker, so most of the edges will kind of work themselves out.

I'll be placing the tribal sticker on this weekend and taking off the old tape and putting some new on. This will give me less clear coat to try and peel off in the end. Lesson learned with Brent's last drum project ... yikes.

I will get pictures up of the drum too, since after the sticker there will actually be something new to see. Right now, it's the same as the previous pictures except its hazy now after the wet sanding. Figured why waste the time getting pictures of that.

Drum Update

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, but there's nothing really to post. I finally detached the bug in the clear coat, but of course it didn't go smoothly. A paint touch up was required and the clear coat process is still going strong. I was up north this past weekend, so no work was done. Hopefully Wednesday the sign shop will have the tribal stripe done and I can attach that this weekend and start clear coating over it. I'll post some more pics when there is actually something to see, right now it's just a red cylinder as it looked a few weeks ago.

Monday, April 2

And we have yet another downside to painting with aerosol in a garage, bugs. Yup, you guessed it I was spraying my second coat of clear and a gnat was caught in the slip stream of the spay and was immediately adhered to the clear coat. Well so much for spraying my ideal 4 coats before I sand. Looks like I’ll be sanding the bug out tomorrow night and hopefully I won’t have a sand-through to the paint. I just have to put my surgeons hands on tomorrow and be very careful.

So, for your viewing pleasure I present to you the Hickory Horned Devil caterpillar. I'm just glad the bug that was embedded into the clear coat was not this big. And ... no that isn't me holding the caterpillar. I would only hold that if anyone really wanted to hear a grown man scream like a little girl and a lot of money would have to be given to me as well.

Sunday, April 1st

Alright, I guess it's just the primer. It's still loading up the sand paper, but I discovered the lighter I rub the easier it is to sand the primer level. Boy let me tell you I wish the bumps would show up on camera. It's a downfall of using aerosol cans. You'll always get what's called orange peel, they call it that because if you look at the surface of an orange, that's what the surface of the paint looks like. Bumpy. I managed to sand the primer level, only took about 2 hours, but patients is the key to a great finish. I cleaned up all the dust and wiped the drum down. I then was able to put on 4 coats of paint, 2 really light coats, 1 wet coat, 1 final coat just because I wasn't happy with the final color tone. I let each coat dry about an hour each. Then I had to look at the paint in the sun, it makes the metal flakes in it sparkle, it looks really cool in the sun. I tried to take a pic for you all to see, it's shows up some, but in person it really looks good. At the end of the day I sprayed on 1 coat of clear coat. You might be able to see some of the bumpy surface on the picture, that's the orange peel. I'll spray on 3 more coats of clear, then I'll level the orange peel to a smooth surface. Next will come the tribal stripe around the outside. The sign shop guy hasn't called me about that yet, but I have 3 more days of clear coat, so I'm not in that big of a hurry for it.

Saturday, March 31

Today I was able to level the first coat of primer and spray on another coat of primer. I let it cure/dry most of the day and tried to start level sanding the second coat, but for some reason the primer seems soft. It's loading up the sand paper so badly that after 3 strokes or so the sand paper becomes useless from all the build up. So, I'm going to call it a day and let it really dry good over night and tackle the primer in the morning.

Friday, March 30

I sanded the sand and sealer coats level, cleaned the dust off and was able to spray on a coat of primer. I'm going to let that dry over night.

Thursday, March 29

I sanded the sand and sealer down level, then cleaned the dust off using naptha. Tomorrow's plan is to brush on another 2 coats of nitro sand and sealer, let it cure over night and level that on Saturday morning.

For this project I need the sand and sealer on first to seal any grain pits, and to get a very level surface for the primer coat. Since I'm painting the drum, the level primer coat is a must, so you don't see any pits in the final paint. The clear coat will only magnify and defects, so getting them out from the start is a must.

Wednesday, March 28

I wiped the exterior of the drum down with naptha, to remove any oils and contaminants, and let it dry about 20 minutes. Brushed on 2 coats of nitrocellulose sand and sealer. I waited 1 hour in between coats. Then I boxed up the drum and will let it cure over night.

Monday, March 26

Big day for getting things accomplished. I sanded the wood filler level in the chipped area, cleaned the dust off and now it's time to start covering anything that I don't want painted.

I marked 1/8" lines on some blue tape. This 1/8" gap is what is want over the bearing edge of the drum. I could have 'eyeballed' this, but I like to be as perfect as I can get and in reality, this only took an extra 5 minutes of my time.

Next I used my shop light to case a shadow on the tape. This made finding that 1/8" line easier and I just worked my way around the drum on both sides. I also put backing tape over all the holes on the interior of the drum. Later I will be filling the holes with putty so they won't get any sealer, paint or clear coat in them.

All finished with the bearing edges. Next up covering the interior of the drum.

Here is the drum all covered to protect it from any over spray. You don't want any paint or clear coat the inside of the drum. This will 'choke' the natural wood sound if you do. Of course you can do what ever you really want, but this theory was explained to me and it makes sense, so I stick with it.

Lastly, I filled in all the holes with Plumber's Putty. I love this stuff, it never stains and never hardens. The pic here is after I have all the putty scraped level, so it's flush with the drum surface.

Sunday, March 25

I disassembled the drum and started sanding the surface for a sand and sealer coat. But, I noticed a chip near one of the lug holes. I repaired the chip, but the filler will have to dry overnight before I can sand it level, and finish sanding.

Saturday, March 24

Drilled out the lug holes in the afternoon. Then I had diner with my sister and after diner, Doug and I headed to the basement to work on the drum. Doug helped me with the layout of the strainer and butt plate and exactly where the vent hole was to go. Everything went as smoothly as it can get when drilling with a hand drill, so a few "widening" of holes was required, naturally, to fit every thing. Doug also taught me how to cut the snare beds into a snare drum, but I left the actual cutting to him. Thanks Doug for all your help.

We also assembled the drum completely and Doug tuned it up so we could hear what it would sound like and to also make sure everything was in proper working order.

The actual picture was taken as I had already started to disassemble the drum, (if there are any drummers out there, you'll notice a tension rod is missing). But I thought I'd get the pic of the assembled drum in it's "mock up" phase before it was too late.

Tuesday, March 20

I laid out the lug mounting holes and center lines for the strainer, butt plate, and vent hole. I did this using a template I drew up in AutoCAD at work.

Monday, March 19

The parts officially arrived today (these took two weeks to arrive). Over the past 2 weeks, I've finalized and tested the paint and tribal stripe material on a test piece of wood. I unpacked all the parts and impressively all the parts were actually there. The wood shell looks so good that it's almost a shame to paint it.