TVvoodoo's Straplab

Session 5 said:
Oh you play guitar! :D
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I dunno if I would go THAT far, I mean ask any of them. My guitars probably cringe when they see me coming, "Oh no! Not HIM again, I could be so much more!"
New hot rod going up in the store straightaway... "Licks" black/grey/white version, representing the Fires of Hades, (before colour TV got invented).

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OMG, I normally don't sideline projects for so long, my apologies to any subscribers left waiting.

I have been messing around in the background, trying to find a way to do what I want to do. My experimentations weren't working so good, so after a bunch of fails, this project became uninspiring and just sat on the shelf taunting me, while I moved on to other things. However, a month ago, I hitched up my britches and started again, with some new ideas, and deep resolve to move the ball forward.


Here, I have paper cutouts here, to plan my fresh take on a sort of pink paisley telecaster - this is just a loose plan, and some elements will fill the empty spaces.

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Call me crazy, my end-goal here is a paramecium / amoeba top laid out totally in small glittery glass rhinestones. What could be more gaudy / showy, and over-the-top sparkly than a Paisley Royale?
I dunno. This is 100% why I am doing it. I guess you could say I have a thing for bling.

In anticipation, I had already purchased approx 15,000 synthetic gems in various colours, pinks, greens etc. Come in bags of like 1400 or so, normally used in the ladies nail decoration business. Super sparkly/glittery for the size. But, finding a way to make them stick to the silver metallic paint to my satisfaction became a major hurdle. Just not enough tooth, after various types of glue tried. Another major challenge which soon arose early during the process, was the simple handling and placing of the gems. They are super teeny, and my eyes ain't as good as I though no more, my fingers all-too fumbly. Pick one up, then go to set it home, and you find it disappears into nowhere. How do they do this?

I mean, look at these little buggers! A dozen of them fit in a 1" line, so just slightly larger than 1/16th inch ea.

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Finally, for them to stick, I figured I'd just lightly brush the receiving surface with a wire brush, and give it a light coat of glitter glue. This seemed to give the surface enough "tooth" for decent glue-grab. Then, the search was on to find an adhesive that would allow me a enough working time, before I would find myself throwing my hands up in frustration as they would stick practically everywhere I didn't want them too... That took some figuring, even though the answer was practically right in front of me.

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Now, years ago I did a guitar once in much larger dollar store sticky plastic rhinestones which came in convenient strips, so a bit of the learning curve was solved for me on this, the basic "how to" part of the deal. As I found at the time, the first job is to get all the basic outlines of the body set, work your way all around the hardware (trying to avoid anything sticking to it). Once that's done, then you can fill in towards the middle, how you like.

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It is rather tedious work. I would be embarrassed to reveal how many hours went into this even with it hardly covered. But, patience is a virtue and I've been picking away at it an hour or two here, and hour there.... By my estimation, this double row around the outside in light pink took somewhere around 900 stones, each one individually placed. But, once you get all the outlines safely done, then it starts to get more fun.

Now the pattern of the paisley shapes will the biggest challenge.

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Worked this morning on it for a bit. I am finding that it takes me about an hour per paisley "buta" as they are called.

Couple of things slowing me down are getting the needed gems right side up so I can grab them, then actually easily picking them up.
A dude on another forum let me know there's an actual tool for grabbing these things up, a pen type thing with sort of a sticky end.
I experimented to find a shaved down popsicle stick, with just a dab of moisture on the end, grabs these up pretty nice, and really helps
facilitate accurate placement

Haven't found a way to get them all right side up. There are special trays for rhinestones with pointed backs. These jewels have flat backs.
I am using a product used in jewellery making, dentistry for adhesive... called UV activated resin/glue. Dries very hard and clear under UV light
but otherwise stays wet, so it gives a fella decent working and placing time. I'm working on this at approx 1 sq. inch at a time

I have this small UV led pen tool... for pressing them down individually

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and this larger 6 LED light for a larger sections and a longer cure time

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I finally got the horn all done last night and am now working on around the control plate area.

I'm going to run out of the white stones... I vastly underestimated how many I will need... have already ordered more.
I had 2880 of them. I ordered another 4,500. They cost about $2.50 for a package of 1,440.

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I wish the glitter translated via photos. I'll have to do a vid sometime and post it.

They seem pretty secure. The edges are going to need extra resin attention to smooth them off. I'm thinking once I have all the designs in place, I will just paint the whole thing with a final
layer of the resin, and cure that, to help lock everything down and smooth it all off a bit more. It's not uncomfortably rough, because these are really tiny stones, and I'm not looking for a glassy finished top. I just want to protect them from damage and getting peeled off accidentally.

In hindsight, I think if a fellow did a shallow router carve into the top of a guitar, even a dremel in, particularly around the edge, may have been a better way to go. In fact, if you did the whole thing, route the whole top down about 3/16ths of an inch, except around the control plate, bridge, pick guard parts, and you could just pour resin all over everything to lock it down. This way you could get pretty close to a glass smooth top.

Lots of guitar refinishers are working with this UV resin, or the chemical mix epoxies now... fabric tops etc.

There was a fellow on the old AGF who was finishing guitar tops like this, but filling with beer bottle caps, going down about 1/4"
 
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First off, happy Thanksgiving to my American Brothers and sisters.

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Also want to give a shout-out to my brother Rob over at Vintage Music in Lloydminster, Alberta. I took some Well-Hung straps over to him last week, and he was interested!
Actually, the last set he picked up from me, well, he tells me he done pretty good on them, so was real eager to look at more. One of the fellows that works there talks up the one he bought
pretty good too, he tells me. His store is only one of three stores that have featured my straps in person, along with Stang Guitars in Edmonton, and 5 Star music in Cold Lake, Alberta

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Anyway, Ol Robbie had a time picking out three he really liked and left four off to the side. Said business was a little slow for him to pick up any more. That was when I spied a something real attractive hanging on the wall way in the back of the store. He noticed the hypnotic GAS affect it had on me, and well, let's just say I left the store with no straps, a Korean Hamer DC sunburst, and a some decent walking around money on the side. He's got some cool local handmade strap stock for Xmas, everybody happy!

Makes sense to me to give a nice deal to these Mom + Pop fellas, so there's some meat on the bone for them to make a profit. I get a bit more exposure to shopping musicians.
I have a lot of stock right now too... another reason why I decided to put a good number of my wares up ON SALE on Reverb right now it you go check, and a bunch for Black Friday too.

The Paisley Royal project continues, as I get time for it, here's a little video sneek peek

 
Last night I completed all the base paisley shapes with at least one row of gems. Decided to reconfigure my design a bit for maximum "paisley dance" on the upper back bridge plate requiring me to remove some of the white double border crystals. I now can say with confidence these stones are attached to this surface REAL DAMN GOOD! And, when they are all one solid mass, even quite a bit stronger yet, I figure.

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Now my approach will be to fill each of the shapes in the same sort of scheme I've established. Going to lay off filling outside with the white stones 'til the others ordered come in so I can mix them all together in one batch just in case the new ones end up a bit different in colour or size.

Going to make a few more of the little floral elements between the paisleys, probably come up with one more sort of fill element for a more interest adding on to the larger butas. Need to resist the strong temptation to add a bunch more colours such as purple / yellow / blues. I think it's best to stick with a theme. It's nutty enough already... no need to make it even more so.
 
Got a couple hours on it today. General progress shots.

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So far I have not yet suffered the involuntary giggling like a 13 year-old girl, but a slight giddiness has been detected more than once.

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Another key concern is probably soon the Tone Police are gonna get wind of this operation.

Probably can expect some guitar forum do-gooder will be rattin' me out.... "How can that tonewood even breathe under all those rocks and goop?" He'll exclaim on the National Tone Abuse Hotline

"It's a dang guitar TRAVESTY! He's slowly smothering that poor thing to DEATH! This here is a telecaster outrage and this man MUST BE STOPPED!"

Soon, the battering ram at the door, search and seizure warrant
Cease / desist order, maybe even the dreaded cuffs and leg-irons.

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Frankly right now, I see this as a race against time, but I might just be a little paranoid.
 
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Worked on it tonight, again completed another pair of shapes, no pics.

Decided, just for my own interest, and knowledgemental benefits and detriments, to do me an estimated visual tally of the number of gems in one set (pair) of paisley butae.

Give or take around twenty or so, I estimate about 850 individual crystals to each pair. So, now figuring just for the actual amoebas alone, approx 10,000 stones. Now, After a visual calculation on the total top surface area, I say with some confidence I will be closing in on between 23 -25,000 stones in all.

The beautiful thing here is, because you can't spell "stones" without "tone," it's a given when you got a lotta stones, it assuredly follows you'll also have a lotta tone.

Just sayin'
 
I fully know you folks are here for straps, not telecaster project mucking about all the time! I have been a bit busy ferrying my parents back and forth to medical appointments and fulfilling some strap orders, so I unfortunately haven't been building much last few days. But, some photos are coming back from happy dudes!

How about this one in Mississauga? Black and Blue 1969 series strap on a Tuxedo strat. Classy!

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Then we have this other poor sumgun, somehow managing to endure the shame of owning these sorry entry level gats, such as a white Custom.
If that ain't bad enough, he also has to bear the ownership burden of this lowly R8 bourbon burst beater.

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Some fellas just can't seem to catch a break. At least they now have decent Well-Hung "Snakes in my Brain" straps, makes 'em both a little bit worth owning. LOL!

Quick tele project shot, for those interested...

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Where it sits today. Probably finish the last two paisleys tonight, then shelf this for a bit 'til the rest of the white gems I ordered come in.
 
TVvoodoo said:
Worked on it tonight, again completed another pair of shapes, no pics.

Decided, just for my own interest, and knowledgemental benefits and detriments, to do me an estimated visual tally of the number of gems in one set (pair) of paisley butae.

Give or take around twenty or so, I estimate about 850 individual crystals to each pair. So, now figuring just for the actual amoebas alone, approx 10,000 stones. Now, After a visual calculation on the total top surface area, I say with some confidence I will be closing in on between 23 -25,000 stones in all.

The beautiful thing here is, because you can't spell "stones" without "tone," it's a given when you got a lotta stones, it assuredly follows you'll also have a lotta tone.

Just sayin'
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Bedazzled Tele!
 
Session 5 said:
Very nice work as usual on those straps Brad!:cheers:
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Don't think I didn't notice how you were so specific in your post, Norm. The straps is aigh't, but just you wait and see... the Paisley Royale is going to outshine anything else I've done.

Why, when Brad Paisley his very self jets all the way here into town in his big ass jumbo, and begs me to go on the road to become his full time guitar stylist, strapmaker and rum & coke mixer, I'm gonna make sure you sir, get only highly limiting backstage laminate, and are fully barred from all the prettiest rums and premium groupies.

So there :mad:
 
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