Just In Case You Might Be Wondering...
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 12:19 pm
This is what I'm up to right now-
The first guitar pick box was demanded by a co-worker, who fell in love with it as soon as he saw my two picks inside it. Since I didn't have the flocking powder (yet) I cut two pcs of my self-adhesive red felt for the pick compartments. He said "I want it! I'll pay you for it! How much!?" I just sat there with a dumbfounded look on my face saying "uhhh...." lol I was in shock, especially since it wasn't done yet; it wasn't stained or anything! I was able to get the graphic burned in, but that was it. This was the experiment/prototype for possible future cases, after all. Next thing I know, he says "I'll give you 30 bucks for it!" I was like: "Uhh okay..." he wanted the picks, but I told him he couldn't have them that I needed those, that they're mine. (I ended up going to the guitar shop about a mile and a half from the house and getting him three picks - 20 cents a pc lol)
I had also created what I called a "slim line" of the same case: the lid would stick on with earth magnets, rather than go over the bottom portion of the case. I had one cut (as a prototype); it was basically a pc of 3/8" wood like the original (with the pick compartments routed instead of being cut by the scroll saw), and a 1/4" top. I burned the graphic on the front, and was thinking whether to make it a pivot top or magnet (or both?)
Well, the prototype didn't stain well, and the pivot didn't work because of drilling issues, etc. However - with the help from (and thanks to) John, he cut me nine of these with his CNC. The idea: Instead of having two pieces, cut one, and (later) use my band saw to cut the "lid" off. Then route out the pick compartments, burn the graphic on the lid, and voila, right? Well yes (and no.) It went well until I was trying to get the pin and magnets installed for closing. I used my prototype as the sacrificial lamb (so to speak) to play with the ideas, so I wouldn't ruin these pieces John was kind enough to cut for me. I have one that has gone together well (used a brass rod for the pivot, which looks good against the wood) and 5mm earth magnets for security. Not sure the 5mm are quite big enough, though. I think the 8mm will work better, and I still need to secure the pin in the bottom piece so it pivots without the lid coming off.
All of these are WIP so they aren't stained, flocked, and still need touch ups. But this is where I am in this little adventure.
Even more exciting (to me) was Sunday night (Ken's Birthday) when I figured out how to do the original design (with the cover going over the bottom) by router rather than all those pieces being cut by scroll saw then glued. John (using his CNC) was also helping me with this idea, but he has a lot of projects he's trying to get done too, so I didn't want to bug him about playing around with this, so I set myself to task to figure this out, even if it killed me.
Three tries later, I had it. The first one was a crash & burn; not even sure just what caused the gouged, ugly lookin' thing, but the second one didn't make it to the final fitting before it went in the burn pile for the fire pit. The last picture was my success story for this portion. I still need to shape it a bit and make sure top and bottom will sit securely once the magnets are in, then to burn in the graphics, stain, and gloss it up somehow without poly or clear acrylic.
The first guitar pick box was demanded by a co-worker, who fell in love with it as soon as he saw my two picks inside it. Since I didn't have the flocking powder (yet) I cut two pcs of my self-adhesive red felt for the pick compartments. He said "I want it! I'll pay you for it! How much!?" I just sat there with a dumbfounded look on my face saying "uhhh...." lol I was in shock, especially since it wasn't done yet; it wasn't stained or anything! I was able to get the graphic burned in, but that was it. This was the experiment/prototype for possible future cases, after all. Next thing I know, he says "I'll give you 30 bucks for it!" I was like: "Uhh okay..." he wanted the picks, but I told him he couldn't have them that I needed those, that they're mine. (I ended up going to the guitar shop about a mile and a half from the house and getting him three picks - 20 cents a pc lol)
I had also created what I called a "slim line" of the same case: the lid would stick on with earth magnets, rather than go over the bottom portion of the case. I had one cut (as a prototype); it was basically a pc of 3/8" wood like the original (with the pick compartments routed instead of being cut by the scroll saw), and a 1/4" top. I burned the graphic on the front, and was thinking whether to make it a pivot top or magnet (or both?)
Well, the prototype didn't stain well, and the pivot didn't work because of drilling issues, etc. However - with the help from (and thanks to) John, he cut me nine of these with his CNC. The idea: Instead of having two pieces, cut one, and (later) use my band saw to cut the "lid" off. Then route out the pick compartments, burn the graphic on the lid, and voila, right? Well yes (and no.) It went well until I was trying to get the pin and magnets installed for closing. I used my prototype as the sacrificial lamb (so to speak) to play with the ideas, so I wouldn't ruin these pieces John was kind enough to cut for me. I have one that has gone together well (used a brass rod for the pivot, which looks good against the wood) and 5mm earth magnets for security. Not sure the 5mm are quite big enough, though. I think the 8mm will work better, and I still need to secure the pin in the bottom piece so it pivots without the lid coming off.
All of these are WIP so they aren't stained, flocked, and still need touch ups. But this is where I am in this little adventure.
Even more exciting (to me) was Sunday night (Ken's Birthday) when I figured out how to do the original design (with the cover going over the bottom) by router rather than all those pieces being cut by scroll saw then glued. John (using his CNC) was also helping me with this idea, but he has a lot of projects he's trying to get done too, so I didn't want to bug him about playing around with this, so I set myself to task to figure this out, even if it killed me.
Three tries later, I had it. The first one was a crash & burn; not even sure just what caused the gouged, ugly lookin' thing, but the second one didn't make it to the final fitting before it went in the burn pile for the fire pit. The last picture was my success story for this portion. I still need to shape it a bit and make sure top and bottom will sit securely once the magnets are in, then to burn in the graphics, stain, and gloss it up somehow without poly or clear acrylic.