What is blockboard? It's basically an inexpensive material used in the 1960's to make countertops in the UK. (As far as I could work out) Generally made from outside layers of hardwood plywood, and inner cores of a softwood. Brian May used this as the main body section of his homemade guitar, the Red Special. I am attempting to mimic his build with as many pieces that are true to the original as possible. Let's see how it all turns out!
One of my aims in documenting my build is to try to illustrate the crazy Rubik's cube that is the internal structure of the Red Special. For a long time, I only had a vague idea of what was going on in there... and now that I know more, I plan to try and animate it building itself from the inside out. That's just the kind of thing I do to amuse myself.
As I stated in an earlier post, I'm trying to stay faithful to the original, but sometimes I have to go with what is close to hand... and in some cases, that feels the most like "faithful" to me. So, European Oak is used for the inserts, Baltic Birch hardwood plywood and Alder are used to make the blockboard. This video shows the first step of my actual construction, which is the big stop motion glue up, complete with authentic sound effects. Enjoy!
Big thanks to Doug Short for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net
Red Special build - PT01 - Blockboard sandwichLukeyourself2017-12-15 | The first piece of an ongoing video accompaniment to my Red Special replica guitar build.
What is blockboard? It's basically an inexpensive material used in the 1960's to make countertops in the UK. (As far as I could work out) Generally made from outside layers of hardwood plywood, and inner cores of a softwood. Brian May used this as the main body section of his homemade guitar, the Red Special. I am attempting to mimic his build with as many pieces that are true to the original as possible. Let's see how it all turns out!
One of my aims in documenting my build is to try to illustrate the crazy Rubik's cube that is the internal structure of the Red Special. For a long time, I only had a vague idea of what was going on in there... and now that I know more, I plan to try and animate it building itself from the inside out. That's just the kind of thing I do to amuse myself.
As I stated in an earlier post, I'm trying to stay faithful to the original, but sometimes I have to go with what is close to hand... and in some cases, that feels the most like "faithful" to me. So, European Oak is used for the inserts, Baltic Birch hardwood plywood and Alder are used to make the blockboard. This video shows the first step of my actual construction, which is the big stop motion glue up, complete with authentic sound effects. Enjoy!
Big thanks to Doug Short for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net
Music: "Dead on time" by Queen.Molding and Casting the bust of The Six NapoleonsLukeyourself2023-12-08 | A making-of video for the busts of Napoleon I make for The Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes Podcast. Have a quick look at the process of creating the molds and casting the prop replica bust of the Six Napoleons Sherlockian Relic.
I opted for the idea of charm and quirkiness when selecting the Vox MV50 micro amp to be housed inside this custom cabinet. Also, I'm not an amp expert and wasn't prepared to learn. This was more about being "fun". How does it sound? How does it compare? How does it look? All questions are answered in this video.
Gear used (not sponsored by any of them): Sony A7RII Canon 100mm f/2.8L Macro Helios 44-2 Edelkrone SliderPLUS v5 PRO Long and HeadPlus PRO v2 Aputure LightStorm 60x with Lantern softbox Sokani x25 RGB LED tube lights Hafoko W200 RGB LED tube lights Ulanzi I-light RGB LED tube lights
Chapters: 0:00 The Faux Fawn AC30 1:02 Speaker Selection 1:41 The Vox MV50 (AC Edition) 3:14 How's it sound? 3:53 What's going on inside? 7:28 What about effects pedals? 8:35 Will it Brian May? MV50 VS TBX 11:16 Fryer Treble Boosters 12:42 Will it blend?Fawn AC30 Inspired Cabinet BuildLukeyourself2020-06-03 | Over the course of the lockdown, I decided to try and build an AC30 cabinet from scratch and include a few stylistic choices.
I've wanted an old fawn AC30 for a long time, but never seem to have the spare $10k for a nice one, so I thought I'd try to build something to approximate one. I realize the fawn tolex/rexine is basically impossible to find, which is the first major stumbling block, but I developed a few methods in my head for work arounds, so I decided to start on it.
I took measurements off my AC30 TBX and CC2 cabs and made notes off vintage amps I saw online until I came up with a decent amalgam of features and a basic setup I could change depending on what head I settled on.
The bullet points in my design brief were as follows:
Beyond that list, a lot of things are negotiable, but I also settled on the idea of using one Celestion Blue speaker and one of the matching/complimentary Celestion Gold speakers, when the time comes. I fitted the Blues out of my TBX for spacing purposes, and photos.
Tolex... I attempted to have my own made, which almost turned out, but was too frustrating and time consuming, so I gave up... and as I progressed through the woodworking bits of this project, I started digging the bare wood look, so I attempted to stain the amp a color that could pass for "fawn" if you were glancing by it.
I painted the grill cloth to change it from brown to copper-ish. I got lucky on the result. (after lots of testing)
For the head, no decisions yet. In the interim, I planned to use my CC2 head. Not ideal, but ok in a pinch, except for the clashing colors. (purple and orange) I don't see myself accidentally coming across a TBX head that's been pulled out of a cab or a vintage chassis that needs a new home... so I think the next best option is a kit build. That said, I am almost useless when it comes to electronics, so we'll see if I get around to it!
See part 2 for the conclusion of this project and the installation of the Vox MV50 head!Foxxx Phaser v1 Demo - U.S. Red Special meetup 2020Lukeyourself2020-03-17 | Excerpt from the first U.S. Red Special meet up, held in Phoenix, Arizona. This video covers the Foxxx Phaser v1 demo portion. Jon Underhill - MC. Luke Holwerda - Guitar.
Gear used: -Luke's homemade Red Special guitar -Vox AC30 TBX -Weber MiniMass Attenuator -Foxxx Phaser v1 (Made by Nick James in the UK)
Thank you to everyone who made it out the first U.S. Red Special meetup!
As the people who were there will know, the day was not without technical difficulties. We had issues with the PA system, the stage lights couldn't be stopped from spinning, and the house lights were too dim to go without them... but we made do! We got some extra lights brought in, the eventually sorted the PA (mostly) and tho we were way behind schedule, I think we all had a good time. We put faces to names, food to mouth and sixpences to gold strings!
I think we're all compiling our photos and videos still, but I went through the footage we shot for the Treble Booster demos and cut something together. Sadly... due to routing issues with the PA, we weren't able to get an isolated track for the closeup mic on the amp... but we had decent sound on the cameras. This wasn't the exact product I'd hoped we'd end up with, but hopefully it's fairly instructive. I think we may try to recreate this down the road in a more controlled environment, if we can get our hands on all the boosters again!
In person, I have to say, I was impressed with the range of the different boosters we had access to. I didn't think it would be so easy to discern them... and I think a lot of the attendees felt similar. But because we didn't get the mic track from the amp, the differences come across more subtle in the video, however, some of the finer details can be heard in the headphones.
Again, thank you to everyone who made it out or supported us from afar! It really was a fun day despite it all.Intro, Attenuator and Guitar Demos - U.S. Red Special meetup 2020Lukeyourself2020-03-17 | Excerpt from the first U.S. Red Special meet up, held in Phoenix, Arizona. This video covers the introduction, attenuator and guitar demo portion. Hosted by Luke Holwerda. Guest MC's Jon Underhill and James Chen.
Guitars tested: -Luke's homemade Red Special -BMG stock Red Special -BMG Woody conversion Red Special -Guyton Transporter
Thank you to everyone who made it out the first U.S. Red Special meetup!
As the people who were there will know, the day was not without technical difficulties. We had issues with the PA system, the stage lights couldn't be stopped from spinning, and the house lights were too dim to go without them... but we made do! We got some extra lights brought in, the eventually sorted the PA (mostly) and tho we were way behind schedule, I think we all had a good time. We put faces to names, food to mouth and sixpences to gold strings!
I think we're all compiling our photos and videos still, but I went through the footage we shot for the Treble Booster demos and cut something together. Sadly... due to routing issues with the PA, we weren't able to get an isolated track for the closeup mic on the amp... but we had decent sound on the cameras. This wasn't the exact product I'd hoped we'd end up with, but hopefully it's fairly instructive. I think we may try to recreate this down the road in a more controlled environment, if we can get our hands on all the boosters again!
In person, I have to say, I was impressed with the range of the different boosters we had access to. I didn't think it would be so easy to discern them... and I think a lot of the attendees felt similar. But because we didn't get the mic track from the amp, the differences come across more subtle in the video, however, some of the finer details can be heard in the headphones.
Again, thank you to everyone who made it out or supported us from afar! It really was a fun day despite it all.Treble Booster Demos - U.S. Red Special meetup 2020Lukeyourself2020-03-15 | Excerpt from the first U.S. Red Special meet up, held in Phoenix, Arizona. This video covers the Treble Booster demo portion. Jon Underhill - MC. Luke Holwerda - Guitar.
Gear used: -Luke's homemade Red Special guitar -Vox AC30 TBX -Weber MiniMass Attenuator
Treble Boosters tested: -Fryer "Jan 97" prototype -Fryer Brian May Treble Booster -Fryer Touring -Fryer Deluxe -Fryer Super -Mark Reynold's built BC149 booster -KAT/Fryer Ringmaster -Vintage Pedal Workshop Dallas Rangemaster clone
Thank you to everyone who made it out the first U.S. Red Special meetup!
As the people who were there will know, the day was not without technical difficulties. We had issues with the PA system, the stage lights couldn't be stopped from spinning, and the house lights were too dim to go without them... but we made do! We got some extra lights brought in, the eventually sorted the PA (mostly) and tho we were way behind schedule, I think we all had a good time. We put faces to names, food to mouth and sixpences to gold strings!
I think we're all compiling our photos and videos still, but I went through the footage we shot for the Treble Booster demos and cut something together. Sadly... due to routing issues with the PA, we weren't able to get an isolated track for the closeup mic on the amp... but we had decent sound on the cameras. This wasn't the exact product I'd hoped we'd end up with, but hopefully it's fairly instructive. I think we may try to recreate this down the road in a more controlled environment, if we can get our hands on all the boosters again!
In person, I have to say, I was impressed with the range of the different boosters we had access to. I didn't think it would be so easy to discern them... and I think a lot of the attendees felt similar. But because we didn't get the mic track from the amp, the differences come across more subtle in the video, however, some of the finer details can be heard in the headphones.
Here's the first video run-through of the guitar, amp and basic pedal setup I use to get close to the Brian May sound. For my main sound, I'm simply using the homemade guitar (with Adeson pickups) through a Greg Fryer Treble Booster Super, into a Vox AC30TBX. I am also using a Weber MiniMass attenuator in this video.
I should point out that I am more of an an enthusiast of the guitar itself than I am a serious tone hunter or tribute band player. This video is mainly just to demonstrate the guitar itself and show that it finally makes noise. (full list of disclaimers below)
For my recording setup, it's also quite basic... I close-mic'd both amps with a Shure 57. (A hundred bucks, but you know how they sound) Then I used a Sennheiser shotgun mic to pick up a bit of the room. (This this mic travels with the camera, so I used it) Depending on the song, the room mic was either 3 feet away, or about 10 feet away.
Thank you to everyone who has been following the video series so far. I hope to post more stuff when I can, but this was fun to put together!
Disclaimers: a) My playing chops have gone quite rusty through inactivity. I also just learned a few of these riffs for the sake of the video, so there are flubs and fuck ups, and admittedly certain things I just didn't play accurately. My normal playing style is "inspired by Brian", but quite a bit different.
b) The chorus/delay settings used in this video were just very quickly and roughly set, I'm sure they're aren't accurate.
c) The MiniMass attenuator settings are pictured in the video, which made for quite a low recording volume. In addition, I was in a sound treated room, so the sustain and feedback weren't as full and robust as they normally sound in a house or live setting. I only bought the MiniMass to use for this function, and so far I'm impressed with it. I've never used other attenuators so I can't really comment, but it DOES give me some great natural feedback response at quite a low volume, and with the Fryer treble booster, that BM sound comes to life!
d) As for the mix, generally there was no EQ added, but I did tend to play with where to place the room mic in the mix to highlight different frequencies. This recording happened very quickly and I didn't have time to A/B things or even listen to the mix after recording, if I had, I would have moved the close mic around as I went. The sound I ended up with seemed a bit harsh to my ear and too close to the cone, so the room mic added back in a bit more warmth.
Big thanks to Doug Short for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.netVox VBM1 Deacy modsLukeyourself2019-11-05 | A presentation of the changes in tone achieved through the manipulation of the placement of a Shure 57, close-micing the cabinet of a Vox VBM1, followed by a demonstration of an array of the tonal possibilities which can be expected from the addition or subtraction of any variation of the following components: internal booster, external booster, stock speaker, Dai Ichi DC-65 30, 1uF capacitor and 390uH inductor.
(or nearest available equivalents)
In the long quest to unlock the secrets of the Brian May tone, one finds himself in need of a Deacy amp replica. But not all Deacy's are created equal... this video will showcase a few of the changes suggested by other users and makers to squeeze a bit more Deacy out of the Vox VBM1 amp.
First, is a demonstration of how the placement of a close up mic affects the tone. In this case, I used a Shure 57. No EQ changes were done in post. I think mic placement is possibly equally as significant as any of the other changes in this video. The amp, on it's own, is very versatile... and with time an effort, can be use to great effect.
For hardware changes, I made one of Nigel Knight's internal booster bypass Kat Kables. TRS on one end, TS on the other, plugged into the "booster output" jack, it allows one to add their favorite external Treble Booster. In this video, I used my Fryer Treble Booster Super. Which sounded super!
Next, I made a very common modification to this amp, swapping the stock speaker for a Dai Ichi DC-65 30. I then added in two 2.2uF capacitors (because I couldn't obtain a single 1uF) and a 390uH inductor, as per Nigel Knight's suggestion.
I could not find the exact equivalents in the states easily, so I got my parts from RS-components.com in the UK. The exact parts are:
Panasonic 2.2μF 50V dc Bipolar Electrolytic Capacitor, Through Hole 5 (Dia.) x 11mm +85°C 5mm 2mm
Two notes I should make - I played with the mic placement until I got something I regarded as closest to how I perceive certain characteristics of the original Deacy to be. I did not move the mic or alter the placement based on the changing components after I placed it the first time, knowing repositioning it could very well change the subsequent sound for the better. (or worse) For reference, I settled on the "6th" sample in the mic placement portion of the video. Secondly, I wish I would have added in a second, "room" mic... I think this would have captured different characteristics not necessarily present in the close mic, such as those "ethereal" and "far out, man" type things guitar players can feel in their fingers or in the air. When I used the Fryer booster, I got a different response from the strings, I could feel it wanting to sustain longer, and some of the higher frequencies could be coaxed out of the strings easier... which was why my playing slowed down on occasion, because I was seeing what it would do from time to time.
I hope this video is instructive on it's own, but I will make a note here to point out I know almost zero about electronic components, so please keep this in mind if you ask any questions in the comment section. :)Stephen Fry talks Sherlock and Jeremy BrettLukeyourself2019-10-15 | The Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes Podcast. Subscribe on iTunes or anywhere you get your podcasts.
Finally, it all comes together! Almost exactly two years to the day from when I started gluing up the raw lumber to make the blockboard I've put the finishing touches on my build. There are still things to tweak, correct, modify... but it's working guitar.
This video covers the final drilling of all the holes necessary to assembly, the wiring of the switches and pickups, and the mounting of all the plastic parts. A lot of these steps were quick and relatively pain free, but there are always a few that create enormous set backs and terrible headaches.
Getting the placement/intonation of the bridge blocks absolutely correct was trickier than I would have thought, and drilling the holes for the hank rivets also proved a delicate task. I used Araldite epoxy to mount the rivets, as per the original, to reasonable success, but this was a step I could have spent more time practicing. I also might eventually edit an entire video devoted to this process, but we'll see.
I had a few issues wiring the switches correctly. Some due to user error, some do to the tolerances in my homemade switches. I had to disassemble a few of the switches throughout the process of wiring to make certain everything was making the proper connections. This was very time consuming and frustrating.
The bakelite nut was another killer for me. I broke my first one by not making a wide enough slot for my low E string, so when I went to tune it, the end just cracked off. I also spent a LOT of time looking at the original and other replicas for hints as to the string spacing. I never came up with a perfect consensus, but I ended up leaving my strings quite close to the edges of the fret board, which seemed to match the original best, to my eyes... even if it looked strange, compared to all my other guitars. Playing it takes some getting used to, but Brian's thumb-over-the-E-string technique makes more sense to me with it this way.
The rest is really just screwing things together or using the same 3M - 467 double sided tape Greg Fryer used to tape on the pickup surrounds. I put in some beauty shots at the end of the video, and will try to get some audio/video demos recorded soon.
This has been a long journey, and I hadn't made it without a lot of help. Lots of people to thank, but first and foremost Doug Short, who's weighed in on nearly every decision I've made along the way for the last two years, and provided me with a copy of his own plans and a number of the bespoke parts made to work with my specific pieces. We've hammered through every single possible decision together, sometimes disagreeing, but always arguing our case. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net Huge thanks to Mark Reynolds and Jonathan David Griffin who have also been invaluable and endlessly patient in answering unending questions, helping out with parts and also tools when needed. Help and hardware from Ron Smith, Woody Thomas and Matt Wicks. Maxime Thiery for pointing me towards the General Finishes dyes that I used, and Timothy Grocott for initiating the plans for the replica switches. Hopefully I didn't forget anyone, just want to give credit where it's due.
Frets! This was one of the jobs I was dreading. There was a lot of build up to how difficult they are to get right. I watched a lot of videos of other people doing it, I read a fretting book, and asked endless questions of people like Mark Reynolds, Jonathan David Griffin, and Doug Short. I eventually did a few tests and got the nerve to start in!
The first decision to make was fret wire. I studied photos of the original, I scoured other people's build info, did measurements and calculations in photoshop and asked more questions. In the end, I settled on what seemed to me to be the best of all possible worlds. As this was my first ever guitar build, I wanted to have decent height in my fret wire in case I needed to level and re-crown them a few times trying to get it right, but I was mainly looking at the aesthetic. As a player, I don't have a fret preference. I like picking up a guitar and working within it's individual parameters, rather than modifying it to suit me. So for this build, I didn't let myself get influenced by what I like or what other people were using. I looked at things like the spacing of the dots between the frets, particularly at the 24th fret. Not too wide, not too skinny. The Goldilocks fret!
I bought 4 sets of fret wire to experiment with. I decided on the StewMac Medium/Higher 0152 fret wire. It has a 2.34mm wide crown, 1.22mm tall, and the tang goes 1.57mm deep. It also happens to be "Dan Erlewine's favorite fret wire!", whose videos I watch constantly. I used 3 lengths to complete the full guitar.
Because of the lacquered fingerboard, I was hesitant to want to pound the frets in with a hammer, so I used a fret press caul. It's a normal fret caul that fits in a drill press chuck and allows you to, more or less, smoothly press in the frets. I also used Titebond wood glue to help hold the frets and fill in any excess space in the fret slot. I had decent success with this method. I occasionally found that I needed to pulse downward pressure on the caul to help squeeze the glue out so the fret would seat properly, or move the caul to one side to help push the edge down. I should also say, I bought this item on eBay, rather than through StewMac, thus cutting the price in half. However, I can't speak the to the exact ratio of disparity in quality between the two products.
Once they were seated and the edges nipped, I used a set of borrowed StewMac tools to finish them off. I filed the fret ends with a 6" fret file, then leveled all the frets using the same 7.25" radius sanding block I used to radius the fret board. I applied Sharpie to the tops of the frets and sanded with 500grit paper (applied with double stick tape) until the Sharpie JUST disappeared off the tops of the frets. I did a rough re-crowning with concave files using Sharpie yet again to distinguish the middle of the top of the fret I just leveled, restrung the guitar and checked the action. Once I was happy, I polished the frets with micro-mesh pads and cleaned up the ends with a small end file. Lots of tape was used to to try and avoid scratching the finish as much as possible... but it was unavoidable at some points. Let me just make a final note about manually polishing frets... it is hellish on the hands!
In the end, the fret job, amazingly, turned out ok! I had to do some adjusting to my action through various methods... sanding the tenon and adding or taking away shims, but it's playable now! Getting so near the end!!!
Big thanks to Doug Short for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net
In this episode, we blow through a number of large, time consuming steps rather quickly! I crammed a lot of progress and a lot of footage into one video so there wasn't an undue amount of time spent on preparing the neck. Even with that said, there is still another entire neck video to come!
When we last left off, the fret board, neck and accompanying hardware all finally came together. Now we dive right in to marking and drilling holes for the tuners. I went with the closest match for the tuners that were originally installed on the guitar when Brian and Harold first completed it. I landed on a set of 1960's Teisco open-back tuners, and I couldn't be happier with the look of them!
Once I was assured of their placement and fit, it was straight into filling the very open grain on the neck and fretboard. I went to my trusty Bob Ross Black Gesso to ensure a happy little neck, and while messy and time consuming, it worked like a charm. A couple coats were required in total.
One step I had trouble visualizing was how to mask the fret marker dots. My pal Doug Short set me up with some adhesive plastic dots that were the size of the pearl inlays. Once applied, they are very firmly affixed, and the spraying of lacquer and subsequent sanding passes were completed with no incident. I used a scalpel to carefully pry them up and peel them off. Big thanks to Doug for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net
Following a tip from Jonathan David Griffin, I used a mix of Behlen's nitrocellulose Stringed Instrument Lacquer and Mixol black universal tint to paint my fingerboard fingerboard. I lost count how many coats I did, but between level sanding and the smooth round over edge, it seemed like it was never enough. Then on to staining the mahogany sections of the neck with the same 85:15 General Finishes Empire Red : Medium Brown mix. I then coated the entire neck with the same Behlen's lacquer. (minus the black tint) Again, many many MANY coats until everything was flat and flush. I polished using a series of Meguiar's car polishes on drill mounted sponges.
I also took another opportunity to add a few extra adornments to the side of the neck for a bit more character and authenticity.
After staring at my neck for months and months while I worked on the body, I decided to recut a new neck from a nicer piece of wood than the one seen in Part 03. It paid off. After the neck was cut, sanded and slightly modified, I installed the truss rod, glued in the fillet strip to cover it, and got to applying my fingerboard. (Which was cut, rough radiused and slotted with CNC but not filmed)
My method for the glue up was to install two small indexing pins into the neck to locate/center the fret board and also stop it from sliding around. Then, I applied a light to slightly-more-than-light slathering of Titebond glue to the surface and used hand clamps and large rubber bands to apply as much even pressure as I could manage.
The result was pretty decent. It was slightly better on my tester neck, but nothing I can't work around. A few small bubbles/gaps in the glue line and I nicked the mahogany once or twice while I was scraping it flush. All in all, a result.. after months of inactivity.
Also, while poring over photos of the original, I spied another chance to add a little flourish and possibly some extra authenticity to the neck build... just for some needless, extra complication.
Big thanks to Doug Short for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net
Music: "Commercial 1.0" by Smokescreen. (My old band)Intersect - BTS 19Lukeyourself2019-01-04 | In this episode, we're in Utah to record our original orchestral score, composed by the brilliant Peter McConnell. Then, we fly to Florida for a taste of foley work and the final audio mix by Thomas Amason.
Read more on our blog. Or our instagram. We're even on twitter.
Fairly self explanatory, hopefully, but the purpose of this video is to document and illustrate one possible method for repairing the very thin (0.6mm or 1/42") veneer on the side of a homemade Red Special guitar.
Being my first guitar build ever, I've had to learn from my many mistakes. Having incorrectly accounted for the thickness of my veneer in relation to the binding, in addition to sanding far too aggressively on the sides, I eventually sanded through it.
I used a scalpel to score the edges of the veneer before hitting the surface with the small router attachment on a Dremel tool. The idea was to avoid any chipping from the Dremel. I took the surface down just low enough to drop in a fresh piece of veneer. I used Rockler's Wunderfil to even out the pocket before gluing in the veneer with Gorilla Wood Glue. Then I sanded and added grain fill to match the rest.
I made this video, in part, to document the steps of my build, but also because I couldn't find any other examples of this specific sort of repair on youtube at the time I was looking for pointers on my repair.
Because of a number factors, this sand through included, I have since removed all of the veneer and binding from my body and started again. So the final guitar will look slightly different.
Nothing has given me more trouble than the binding on this build. Having never built a guitar before, learning these things on the fly has been a frustrating exercise in futility. This video illustrates my first attempt and my original method of application, which was cobbled together after reading what other people have done and watching videos of the process on youtube.
I have since removed the binding and the veneer and restarted my build from that point using a slightly different method - I heated and pre-bent the binding all the way around the guitar and taped it in place so it held it's shape first. I then went back and injected acetone, using a syringe, into the binding channel with the binding still loosely attached, then applied firm pressure for around 45-60 seconds while the binding adhered into the wood. I did a small section at a time, focusing a lot of pressure into the more tricky areas, like the around the tight corners of the horns/cutaways. It's not a vastly different method, but with the addition of pressure, I could get the binding to dip deeper into small problem areas caused by any irregularities from the router. One other tip is to use a heat gun after it's pre-bent and in place, again, so you can mold it to the edge of the channel even more precisely.
I used my stand-by Bob Ross black gesso as my grain fill. It works almost as good as actual grain fill, but it imbues the wood with a small amount of hippy like positivity and wholesome Bob Ross essence, so I went with it.
I used StewMac's white plastic binding, sized .090" x .250".
For the stain, I used an 85:15 mix of General Finishes 'Empire Red' and 'Medium Brown' applied liberally then wiped off with a paper town within a minute or two of application. I then carefully scraped the binding with a utility blade.
Big thanks to Doug Short for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net
For my veneer, I tried to get as close to what Brian used on the original guitar. I used 0.6mm thick, quarter sawn, South American mahogany. Also known as "marquetry veneers."
Since I was only able to source this specific variety of veneer in an 11 inch wide roll I had to join a couple pieces together to cover the guitar. For the front face, I used two pieces with a center join, as I've long thought there is a join on the original. For the back, since I couldn't see a join line on the original, I opted to put a full sheet down the middle with two smaller "wing" pieces to cover the outside curves of the body. I also wanted to incorporate Brian's repair job after the guitar sustained damage to the lower section of the body on the back side after surviving a car accident, so another small, half moon shaped strip was used there.
My method of application of the veneer has slightly evolved since I shot this video. Due to a few errors in my build and some unfortunate issues with my clear coat spray, I decided to sand the body down to the raw block board and start again. So my final product will be slightly different. This is my first ever guitar build of any kind, so it's a learning process. I'll also be posting periodic "repair" videos of some of the issues I encountered and was able to recover from.
Big thanks to Doug Short for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net
This video is a short look at one approach to remove indents caused by the router bearing in the mahogany side veneers on a Red Special replica body during the making of the binding channels.
The video shows, in almost real time, the method of using steam from a clothing iron to re-expand the crushed wood fibers in the veneer. I used a paper towel folded over a few times, dipped into a glass of water and lightly wrung out. I applied only a small amount of pressure, as you might when ironing clothes, since it was the steam doing the job. The iron was set to it's highest/hottest setting. Some areas, around the horns, for example, took more time and care than the flatter areas, as illustrated in the video, but the results are much the same. This might save you from sanding through the precious amount of veneer on those sides when trying to level it back out.
Next step in the process... taking the CNC cut body pieces and assembling them with vintage, slotted wood screws and glue, as per the original. One deviation from the original was my use of tee nuts on the knife edge screws that run through the body and out the back. On the original, penny washers and half size nuts were used, but I decided to use the tee nuts because it meant less material from the oak insert had to be cleared out and filled in. Other than that, I tried to use screws of the same general size, based on the x-rays of the guitar. I also opted to paint the visible chambers black using Bob Ross black gesso paint, partly because it's what I had to hand and partly as a tribute to the gentle hippy himself. Now it's a happy little guitar replica.
Big thanks to Doug Short for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net
Next step is veneering!
Music: "Closetspace" by Smokescreen. (My old band)Intersect - BTS 18Lukeyourself2018-10-19 | CG, reshoots, mouse poop.
Finally, a recognizable, tangible outline of the Red Special! And I can pick it up and hold it! This has been a long time coming.
While there will, no doubt, be people who feel the only way to build this guitar is by hand... I suggest that my journey; hunting down materials, constructing blockboard, practicing some woodworking stills whilst also taming the unruly beast of a machine that is CNC, is no less perilous, rewarding, or fulfilling.
Big thanks to Doug Short for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net
After a number of weeks conferring with Douglas Mackay Short, pouring over his plans, learning as much as I could about using a CNC machine, and plucking up the courage to make my first cut... I dove in. Deep! (See more about Doug and our collaboration on his website: dsgb.net)
There were a lot on incremental steps, f*ck ups, and test cuts along the way, but I eventually finalized my very own Red Special body. Made from my homemade blockboard with oak inserts and just ever-so-slightly imperfect, but I couldn't have been happier to see it come together.
Music: "Rise" by Smokescreen. (My old band)JagLapseLukeyourself2017-12-17 | A timelapse video of some repairs and upgrades to my Fender Jaguar. I was inspired by Brian May to play guitar... motivated by the Red Special to make something slightly my own... and then recently compelled by meeting Brian in person, and reading his book to re-make it properly.
I purchased this guitar in 2008 from a pawn shop for $501. I offered $500 for it, the clerk accepted but added sales tax to the total. Luckily he accepted my literal last dollar bill as a figurative gesture of my adherence to a functioning democracy and my participation in civilized society. The guitar was banged up before I got it. And it had a rather ghastly red tortoise shell pick guard. I do, however, admit to mild abuse in regards to it's physical appearance, taking it to it's logical conclusion, as a "relic." This video documents only the end of a journey of repair, rebuild, upgrade, and just properly realizing the idea I had for this guitar. It is my favorite guitar I own. I love picking it up. And I'm happy with all the upgrades. My blood, sweat, and whatever you call the dead cells on the end of a finger when you burn it with a soldering iron are inside this guitar.
Thank you for watching. Time to plug it in!
I don't own any rights to the music. It is only used to heighten the emotional connection to the images shown in the video, and as tribute to the Red Special and Dr. May.Unbelieving WLC - William Lane Craig exposed by Lawrence KraussLukeyourself2013-08-13 | This video follows up the exchange between physicist and author Lawrence Krauss and christian apologist William Lane Craig, which took place at Brisbane's City Hall on August 7, 2013.
During his introductory speech, Krauss candidly exposed a number of falsehoods and besmirchments recently propagated by Craig in response to the upcoming film, The Unbelievers. The film (scheduled for release later this year) follows famed scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss as they travel the world promoting science and reason.
Following the event, Craig offered an "apology" on his Facebook page, in which he denied any wrong-doing but, instead, proclaimed it all a big misunderstanding.
This video documents the lies and misrepresentations made by Craig, as well as corresponding video footage pertaining to the comments in question.
Full text of WLC's apology:
After a very full day at a Pastor's Conference yesterday in Adelaide, Jan and I finally have a bit of a break. This gives me a chance to address one of the personal charges that Krauss issued in his opening speech of the Brisbane event. It concerns a mistake which I had already realized and corrected some time ago. When Kevin Harris and I recorded our podcasts reviewing the movie "The Unbelievers," we worked off an audio recording someone had made of the movie. So we could not see who was actually speaking. I mistook who was speaking in an exchange between Richard Dawkins and Cardinal Pell and so misinterpreted the exchange. When we became aware of the mistake, we immediately corrected the podcast so that the misattribution was no longer made. However, Krauss obtained a copy of the initial uncorrected podcast during the few days it was public and played it during his opening speech, followed by the clip from the movie showing what had actually taken place. He construed this as deliberate misrepresentation and distortion on my part, thereby impugning my character. The mistake was mine, and I regret it. It was, however, an honest mistake, self-corrected as soon as we became aware of it. It was not deliberate misrepresentation or distortion as Prof. Krauss charged. I explained this to him personally after the Dialogue, but he remained unmollified. It will be interesting to see if he brings it up in the Sydney Dialogue.Fit For Rivals - Crash HDLukeyourself2010-03-03 | Download: http://bit.ly/zTy7si Facebook: http://on.fb.me/wzebWE Music video for "Crash" by Fit For Rivals.
Filmed on the RED One Camera System by Black Chalk Productions. (www.blackchalkproductions.com) Directed by Gus and Luke Holwerda.
"Crash" is the official theme song for the 2010 WWE "Over the limit" Pay Per View event!
Yes, that's a girl singing. Yes, that's the sound of rock and roll, whiskey and cigarettes. Yes, that's the sound of your arm in a bear trap, a jaguar in a top hat and a shark with a baseball bat.Me@U2Lukeyourself2009-10-21 | Just a quick bit of video I shot on my walk from backstage to the floor of Cardinal Stadium to shoot U2 in concert. No video of the band... but check out my blog for photos. www.blankimagearts.com This video was shot on my Canon 5D MkII.