1. MATERIAL......(WOOD!)
DIDN'T REALLY NEED TO USE THIS THING, BUT HAD BOUGHT IT A LONG TIME AGO FOR THIS PURPOSE. PRETTY EXCITED TO GET WORKING ON THIS.....
2. GENERAL OUTLINE
THIS SHOULD GIVE ME THE BASIC SHAPE I AM LOOKING FOR
3. 1ST CUT!........
WELL ACTUALLY THE SECOND BUT THE FIRST WASN'T AS BIG AND GLAMOROUS!!! SOOOOOOOOO NICE NOT TO BE CUTTING ALUMINUM!!!!!!!!
4. 2 X 4 RISER....
THIS IS THE PIECE THAT THE BRIDGE AND PICKUP WILL GO INTO....
5. CENTER LINES
ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE TIME IT LOOKS LIKE I DON'T MEASURE THINGS....EVERY ONCE AND A WHILE I'LL DO THE IMPORTANT THINGS, LIKE CENTER LINES!
THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT IS AFTER A LITTLE CLEAN UP WITH THE BAND SAW....STILL PRETTY ROUGH, MY BAND SAW IS STILL A BIT ANGRY WITH ME FROM ALL THE ALUMINUM!!!!!!!
6. CLAMP-ZILLA
I WANT TO START FROM THE BACK WHERE THE AMP WILL BE AND WORK MY WAY AROUND. AFTER SPENDING A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT IT (ABOUT 5 MINUTES), I DECIDED I NEEDED A LITTLE LIP AROUND THE BACK....THIS SHOULD TAKE BETTER SHAPE WHEN THE GLUE DRIES AND IS CLEANED UP ON THE BAND SAW!
7. AMP BOX
GOT THIS OUT OF THE CLAMPS...AND CLEANED IT UP A LITTLE ON THE BAND SAW. THIS WILL BE THE AREA THAT WILL HOUSE THE BUILD IN AMP...
8. ROUNDOVER
USING A HIGH TECH HEIGHT ADJUSTING DEVISE I DREW A LINE AROUND THE OUTSIDE WHERE I WANT THE ROUND OVER TO GO.....
TURNED OUT PRETTY SWEET!
9. ROUNDOVER
MORE PICS, CLEANED UP A LITTLE...
10. OUTER RIM CONTINUED...
I LIKE THE IDEA OF THIS EDGE ALL THE WAY AROUND...IT WILL SERVE AS A GUIDE FOR THE PANELS THAT WILL GO ON LATER, SO WE ARE BACK IN THE CLAMPS...
11. MORE CLAMPING
HERE I AM CLAMPING DOWN THE BLOCKS THAT WILL BE THE BASE FOR THE GUITAR NECK AND ALSO THE PLACE FOR THE BRIDGE AND PICK UP....
12. OUT OF THE CLAMPS
READY FOR SOME CLEAN UP...
13. SO FAR NOT TOO BAD
I WENT AHEAD AND PUT THE ROUND OVER ON THE TOP AS WELL, I DON'T THINK ITS STEEP ENOUGH BUT LOOKS PRETTY COOL!! IT WILL START TO MAKE SENSE SOON....
14. delay
SORRY FOR THE DELAY....THIS BODY HAS BEEN FIGHTING ME A LITTLE BIT AND I HAD TO WALK AWAY FOR A WHILE. JUST GOT THE AMP WORKING, SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL GET ME BACK ON TRACK HERE WITH THE BODY!!
..........LONG BREAK..........
15. I'M BACK.................
HELLO AGAIN.....BEEN ABOUT A 3 MONTH DELAY! HOPEFULLY THIS SUMMER BREAK CAN INSPIRE ME TO GET MOVING ON THIS AGAIN. WHEN WE LAST LEFT OFF...THE BODY WAS FIGHTING ME PRETTY BAD. IT GOT TO THE POINT THAT I WALKED AWAY FOR A BIT AND WORKED ON OTHER THINGS. SO, HERE ARE A FEW PICTURES FROM 3 MONTHS AGO WHEN THINGS WERE NOT GOING SO WELL....
SO....HERE WE GO AGAIN......MAY THE FORCE BE WITH US.........
16. COVERINGS
HERE IS WHAT GOT ME GOING AGAIN...I SAT DOWN AND DECIDED TO SEE IF I COULD GET ALL THE PIECES CLOSE TO WHAT I NEEDED. AFTER A QUICK WORK SESSION, I WAS PRETTY PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS...
17. AMP HOLE
GOING TO CUT THE HOLE FOR THE SPEAKER....GOT MY HOLES LINED UP AND READY TO GO....GOT ABOUT 3/4 OF THE WAY THROUGH, THEN IT HIT ME....IF I GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH, IT COULD GET KIND OF MESSY!!! THE DRILL PRESS BASE HOLE IS WAY MORE NARROW THAT THE CIRCLE CUTTER........
18. AMP HOLE
....SO I FINISHED OFF WITH A DRILL. IT WENT GREAT, SO I GOT THE HOLES DRILLED FOR THE SCREWS....
19. AMP HOLE
TEST FITTING THE SET UP....PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!
20. ODDS AND ENDS......
I NEED A LITTLE MORE ELEVATION AROUND THE RIM. SO I AM GOING BACK AND ADDING A LAYER AROUND THE OUTSIDE. I ALSO ADDED A HOLE FOR THE SPEAKER TO SIT IN. IT LOOKS LIKE JUNK NOW....BUT HOPEFULLY WILL CLEAN UP IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS......
21. working on the panels...
FITTING THE PANELS......PUTTING THEM ON WITH SOME TEMPORARY SCREWS. THE FINAL SCREWS WILL BE COUNTER SUNK.....
22. the cockpit
THIS PART IS PROVING TO BE PRETTY CHALLENGING.......I'VE MADE ABOUT 6 OF THESE SO FAR.....I THINK I'M GETTING CLOSE...MORE TO COME....
23. attaching the cockpit
HERE IS WHAT I CAME UP WITH...I THINK IT SHOULD WORK OUT FINE.
24.
ATTACHING THE COCKPIT TO THE PANEL....SHOULD BE FINE
HERE IT IS FOR NOW....NOT SURE IF I'M GOING TO GLUE IT ON PERMANENTLY OR LEAVE IT HOW IT IS. ITS PRETTY STURDY FOR NOW...
25. CIRCLE DETAIL ON THE SIDE
HERE IS HOW I AM GOING TO MAKE THE SIDE CIRCLE THINGS (I BELIEVE THEY ARE ESCAPE PODS FOR ALL YOU TRUE BELIEVERS OUT THERE!!!!)
26. MORE ESCAPE POD
...AND A SCREW FOR GOOD MEASURE...HERE IT IS FOR NOW, I'M PRETTY HAPPY WITH IT
27. CURRENT PANELS....
SO THE IDEA FOR ME WAS TO WORK ON THE PANELS AROUND STARTING AT THE AMP...HERE ARE JUST SOME CURRENT UPDATES WHERE WE ARE
28.
LOOKING PRETTY SWEET....I'M HAPPY
29. STARTING TOP PANELS
HERES THE FIRST PANEL ON THE TOP SIDE...IT WAS THE EASY ONE. THE SECOND PIC IS GLUING THE TOP ON THE SECOND PANEL
30. TIME FOR A BREAK
STARTED MAKING THE SECOND CIRCLE THING (OUT OF ONE OF THE MANY FAILED COCKPITS...), GOT IT ALL CUT OUT AND SMOOTHED UP, THEN REALIZED I USED THE WRONG SIZED WASHER AS MY MEASURING DEVICE. TIME TO CALL IT A NIGHT!
31. TOP ESCAPE POD AND PANEL
32. NEXT TOP PANEL
THIS PIECE DIDN'T FIGHT AS MUCH AS THE REST (YET). THIS IS THE PIECE THAT WILL HAVE THE SATELLITE ON TOP THAT WILL SERVE AS THE ON/OFF TOGGLE SWITCH. IF I CAN PULL THAT OFF I WILL BE VERY HAPPY!!!!
33. NEXT TOP PANEL
I WILL BRING THE OUTSIDE LINE UP TO THE PANEL LATER....THAT SHOULD BE QUICK WORK ON THE BELT SANDER...
34. VERY TOP PANEL
GETTING CLOSE TO BEING DONE WITH THE PANELS. NOW I'M READY TO START THE FRONT WHERE THE NECK WILL JOIN. FIRST I NEED TO PUT DOWN THE VERY TOP/ FLAT PANEL...
35.
36. CURRENT PROGRESS
SHAPING UP NICE. THERE IS STILL A LOT OF CLEANING UP TO DO...BUT ITS COMING TOGETHER NICELY!
37. LAST PANELS
GETTING DOWN TO THE LAST FEW PANELS....GETTING EXCITED!
38.
HERE THEY ARE ATTACHED...LOOKS GOOD. (LOOK AT THE SHINE ON THAT ALUMINUM!!!)
39. FRONT PANEL / NECK POCKET
THE LAST ONE TO ATTACH, MIGHT HAVE GONE A LITTLE OVERBOARD WITH THE SCREWS...
40. PANELS COMPLETE!!!
HOORAY!!! EXCITING STUFF. FOR NOW THE GAME PLAN WILL BE TO STRIP IT DOWN AND GET THE CARCASS IN GOOD WORKING ORDER. I'D LIKE TO GET IT SANDED AND PRIMED SO I CAN SEE ANY IMPERFECTIONS THAT MIGHT NEED MORE WORK...WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES.
41. THE BACKSIDE
FIRST THING WITH THE BACK WILL BE TO GET THE CORRECT SIZED ROUTE TO MAKE IT LOOK MORE LIKE A SPACESHIP. HERE WE GO...
42.
I LOVE IT! TURNED OUT NICE. WHILE DOING THIS I DID REALIZE THAT I AM MISSING A HOLE IN THE BACK. WHILE ALL OF THE ELECTRONICS FOR THE AMP WILL BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE TOP...I WAS PLANNING ON ACCESSING THE BATTERY PACK FROM THE BOTTOM. I WILL HAVE TO GET THAT IN PRETTY SOON.
43. SANDING AND FILLING THE BACK
STARTED SANDING THE BACK THIS MORNING....FOUND A COOL LITTLE WEAK SPOT. I FILLED THE BOTTOM IN WITH SOME WOOD FILLER....HOPE IT DOESN'T BECOME A PROBLEM
44.
THE ORIGINAL IDEA WAS TO SAND REAL NICE...SPRAY IT WITH PRIMER THAT WILL ALSO SERVE AS A FILLER. I WAS NOT REAL HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS.......SO........
45.
I RECRUITED A HELPER AND WENT WITH SOME BRUSH ON PRIMER INSTEAD. I'LL LET THIS DRY OVERNIGHT AND SAND IT DOWN IN THE MORNING AND SEE IF IT WORKED A LITTLE BETTER...
46. RAINY DAY FUN
WANTED TO DO SOME OUTDOOR SANDING TODAY...AND IT RAINED ALL DAY! SO I DECIDED TO PAINT THE INSIDES BLACK. I DID THIS FOR 2 REASONS...#1: BECAUSE OF ALL THE TERRIBLE CRAFTSMANSHIP, THIS WILL HIDE SOME OF IT...AND #2.....
....AND #2......THE BLACK SHOWS ME AN OUTLINE OF WHERE I WILL NEED TO SHAPE THE SIDES TO!
47. SANDING / SHAPING
I GOT THE SIDES PRETTY CLOSE TO WHERE THEY NEED TO BE...SO I'M GOING TO CONTINUE MY GRAY PAINT EXPERIMENT. I'VE GOT THE BACK 3 PANELS SHAPED AND SANDED UP PRETTY GOOD, THE PLAN IS TO PAINT A THIN LAYER OF GRAY PAINT ON AND SAND IT BACK QUITE A BIT. THIS SHOULD HELP ME SEE HOW LEVEL EVERYTHING IS TOO!!
48. THIN TOP COAT OF PRIMER
BACK ON AND LIGHT SANDING...LOOKS PRETTY SWEET. I HAD TO STOP BECAUSE IT WASN'T QUITE DRY ENOUGH TO GET A GOOD SANDING, BUT MAKING FORWARD PROGRESS!!!
49.
HERE IS THE SET UP....PLENTY OF SANDPAPER AND WOOD FILLER...THEN PAINT A FEW PANELS AND LET THEM DRY....
50. THIN TOP COAT OF PRIMER
HAD TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER JUST TO GET A QUICK LOOK....PRETTY COOL!!
THEN I TOOK OFF ALL THE PANELS AGAIN AND SANDED THEM DOWN A BIT....