Rockin Case

I got the cutout done for the bottom LEDs

mounted

holes drilled for top LEDs and board mounted

I glued on the lower string mount

then proceeded to form the 4 strings and mount them

I took each string and sanded it lengthwise with 2000 grit, then hand polished each with #3 novus and a microfiber cloth. this leaves the surface not perfectly smooth but still clear

I also got the 4 UV cathodes sleeved

along with the switch and wiring for them

thats all for now, but I'll be working on it more tonight :D

UPDATE TIME!! :D

after the two stacks of wood were dry, I sanded one side of each nice and smooth, then glued them together. Once they're dry I'll sand one edge smooth again,a nd trace out the guitar side profile onto it, then cut it out and end up with a 2-piece mold.

I also made this piece with 12 UV LEDs that I frosted with 2000 grit that will mount as shown in the PSU to help light the cover up. I've got some bright white LEDs on the way that I"ll put right under the music note to light it up as well

The idea popped into my head to put some frets on the neck for realism. I marked out the lines as shown

Then cut the pieces of acrlic rod to rough length

Then it was onto figuring out the best way to mount them. On real guitars they're recessed into the neck itself.

To get this effect I used my dremel with the spiral cutter and the grout removal attatchment. I clamped the ruler to the neck to act as a guide to cut along.

I set the depth of the bit to roughly 1/2 the diameter of the acrylic rod

First one cut, with a piece of rod in it to show how it'll mount

And after I cut them all

After they were cut I used a small square file to smooth out the grooves and remove any excess acrylic from cutting

I then fit each rod into its groove then sanded down the ends until they fit perfectly. then I sanded each one lengthwise with 220 grit to give them a nice frosted look

then I peeled back a little bit of backing paper from each groove and put some acrylic cement in each groove multiple times to soften it up. Then I just layed each rod into its groove one at a time

I also found these that I'm going to use as the tuning knobs on the side of the head. I drilled small holes into the sides of the head that these will go into. I just need to hit them again with a bigger drill bit, then I think I'll heat each one up and just press it in to get a nice snug fit

Thats all for now. Hopefully I can get more done tomorrow night, but I'll definitely get more done on monday.

I had to place another order with performance pcs for a few more things, that shipped today from them so I should see it tuesday hopefully.

Until next time, stay tuned :D

ok smallish upadte. I've got both sides formed, I jsut bought an 18" metal brake @ harbor freight this morning. I'm going to bend a strip of green plexi 90º then cut it into pieces to use for brackets to secure the top and bottom to the sides. I've got pics, havent had time to upload them.

I may not update again until after christmas when its done, I need all the time I can get @ this point to finish it, but I'll definitely post up more progress!

heres a little teaser. I just texted this pic to my email (I'm @ work right now) and uploaded it. Enjoy :D

mobo needs to go in still and some wiring needs to be finished up :banana:

its time for THE FINAL UPDATE!!!

thats right, its FINISHED! well actually it was finished on the 23rd, just havent had time to get pics up till now lol.

on to the update!!

heres is the pattern traced onto the wood that I glued together

I made a L and R sides (both sides are a slightly different shape)

and cut in half

now the original plan was to cut it with the bandsaw and have a 2-piece mold to form the sides. my bandsawy had other ideas though, so I ended up spending 2 hours at the belt sander to get this:

first piece clamped ready for bending

partially bent

now the clamps werent working good enough. the acrylic would heat up and the clamp would leave an impression in it, so I switched to painters tape

one side done

and set down for a test fit after cooling

I did the other side the same, then had to make minor adjustments to each to get the proper fit to the base

I used my bending brake I got at Harbor Freight to bend a strip 90 degrees

my two strips ready for cutting and sanding

cut

and sanded

I loosely mounted them to the sides with elongated holes. this way once I got them all mounted up I could make position adjustments as necessary

and mounted to the top

heres the guitar stand I bought at Guitar Center for $12. looks like it will do nicely

then I found that the neck was too thick to fit into the holder. I tried heating and bending it but it wouldnt go far enough

here is the 6" UV green IDE cable I got from Performance PCs

fits perfectly

and the UV green PSU kit also from P-PCs

the old slide switches I was originally using werent looking or fitting nicely, so I got these nice rocker switches from P-PCs as well

everything mounted to front panel

now for mounting the strings I simply put a dab of hot glue in each mounting hole and pushed the string in until hit bottomed out on the LED

lit up for testing, looks great!

I also used the same hot glue method to attatch the "keys" to the neck

I had to make bigger mounts for the bottom, and I only needed 6 total. I used these rubber expanding nuts and screws to attatch the top/sides to the base for easy removal.

and mounted to the base

once I got the sides mounted back to the top, then the assembly mounted to the base, I went wround it with the heat gun to help form the sides exactly how they needed to be. this also helped to iron out wrinkles in the sides from the bending process

top finished

mobo remounted to the base

lastly I made the top cover piece. I cut a piece to fit and notched it for the power cable and wiring for the LEDs

mounting holes for the 80mm fan and the neck supports I made earlier

fan sleeved and LEDs removed

I jusr drilled and tapped the neck supports and attatched them with some 4-40 ss screws

test fit - fits good :D

80mm exhaust fan mounted with vib damper

and a little heating and tweaking ot make it fit right and she's done! this panel will just sit in there, it doesnt need any mounts. the weight of the neck holds it in between the top and the base

I ended up notchin the neck a little where it will sit in its holder. I was worried how it would look, but the foam where it sits covers it up and you cant notice it unless you look closely. but I had to do it to get it to fit