The Sweetest Music...

SamW

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OF The Universe is Budding Life...

This guitar rosette is nearing completion after many hours of work and experimentation. It is cut into .040" aluminum JB Welded to thick plate to dis-allow any warping or stretching of the rosette. The undercuts for the gold inlay have been put in with a scribe which was easily done and did not kick up any metal or otherwise distort the rosette.

A bit more detailing on the yearling and shading on some of the scroll then I can cut it out of the sheet...I am counting heavily on a heat gun to pop it free of the epoxy.

A channel will be routed into the sound board of the guitar .040" deep and the rosette epoxied into the wood, hopefully some time this winter. That is always more fun than shoveling snow!!

The deer is from a photo I took out of my dining area window. The fellow had just been through his first winter which was a particularly rough one with snow on the ground for over 3 months and temps to 20 or so below zero...thus the shaggy look. And no wonder he needed a good rest!
 

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DKanger

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Sam, I suppose you know that JB Weld has a working temperature of 450 degrees once it is cured. Might be a bit more involved than just heating it to get it to "pop" off. It's tenacious stuff. I've used it to hold an under rib to a barrel while soldering ramrod thimbles to it.

Just a suggestion. Perhaps an assistant heating it while you cut it off with a thin strand of piano wire the same way they remove windshields from cars.
 

Ron Spokovich

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Don't know if it will work in the particular case of JB Weld, or PC 7, both expoxies of which I use from time to time, but I have a way that dissolves the one which I think is PC 7. All epoxies need a certain minimum film thickness, to cure properly, and to let off the heat from chemical reaction. I used either acetone, or alcohol, wetting the joint, and using a dental pic or a thin X-Acto blade, or similar, to clean away the epoxy. After a while, you'll carve away the joint, if you keep it wet. This method has been used by others, when you fear heat will cause a problem. If any of you have tried this, or are about to, let me know. It may save you headaches, but it isn't a quick process.
 

monk

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the guitar will surely like this adornment. those using super glue. beware: a few weeks ago i glued a thin piece to a pvc blank. plenty of support there. problem was i used too much super glue. like sam, i had to keep it wet with acetone, and use a dental pick. took a half hour to pick it free. the glue had turned into a very hard, solid plastic.
 

Dave London

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I looked up the temp range of JB weld, fails at 600 F for ten minutes, good luck and a beautiful work
 

jerrywh

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Sam. The work is great, The idea of heating that aluminum gives me the creeps. As you know aluminum expands a lot but also most stuff doesn't stick too well to it. How big is that piece? I would worry about the aluminum expanding and the gold popping out. I did some things like that and backed them with cerrosafe . You can melt cerrosafe out with hot water.
 

SamW

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I appreciate the comments! I was aware of the temps for JB Weld. Acetone might be one path...and I probably should take some pieces of aluminum to duplicate my set and experiment with heat to see what will work and what will not.. I might even place the plate back in the lathe and finish cutting out the center portion so to limit that which I need to heat and remove. I have a few weeks yet to check it all out before I have this ready to remove and will endeavor to remember to post results when I do.

The rosette is about 5" wide and Doc, those are supposed to be rose buds thus the budding life comment along with the young deer.

Onward and Upward...
 

jerrywh

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Sam.
When you get this done I especially would like to know how you managed it. Technical info like that is hard to find. It might be worth freezing it or another experimental piece just to see what it does.
You come up with more good ideas than anybody else I know.
 

SamW

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Thanks for the comment D...the layer of epoxy is only a very few thousandths thick so it will take a very thin blade for that. If my heat gun won't get it I have a kiln I can slowly take it to temp. I am going to make a test piece to see how it reacts. Sure don't want any gold to come out as mentioned as there are some 120 pieces.

Jerry, you are too kind...what are you going to marvel us with this year?
 

Ron Spokovich

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Since your film thickness is only a few thousandths, you might be able to snap several double edged razor blades, maybe lengthwise, and hold them safely plus be able to flex them enough to work on 'getting underneath' your work as acetone is applied. I have some apprehension concerning heat, even though the acetone technique is time consuming. Suicide should not be an option, if heat ruins the job. Good idea, though, of making similar samples and run them through whatever you decide to do. . .it will surely tell you what to do, and not do, the next time. Keep us informed!
 

SamW

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OK!...most of you know me well enough so I won't try to claim I knew what I was doing...but if the British can get by with muddling through so why not me?

Yesterday I masked off the rosette area and sprayed the plates with flat black 1200 degree stove paint. This was so heat would transfer faster and easier to the aluminum and also make it possible to use an infrared temp sensor to check on progress.

This morning I clamped the plate(s) into a vise by a corner and took a heat gun to the thinner rosette plate just inside the rosette circle. When the temp got a little over 250 degrees I decided to see if a single edge razor would start between the plates. A light tap with my chasing hammer and the blade very easily started between them. I put down the hammer and just using my hand began working the blade around the circle and within a few seconds had the rosette plate separated from the much thicker base plate.

And to add to the success, 99.99 percent of the JB Weld stayed on the base plate! No mess...no fuss!!

I think that the epoxy must have acted as a sort of insulation so that the thin rosette plate took most of the heat and came loose from the epoxy just great.

I never complain about success!!!

PS...I did make up a similar practice plate(s) and that came back apart just as the real thing did today.
 
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