DIY Hand Rubbed Rustic Finish on Oak Guitar (Easy Results!)

[@jherforth]

This is coming up in the algorithm, so if you have any more videos in ya, the iron is hot. Loving the humor and the builds. Hell of a lot of fun watching you build this stuff.

[@heavymetalATC]

I had taken an unscheduled break for a long while but I will be back to a normal upload schedule soon. Thanks again Jay

[@j.amc.2666]

Man I love ur videos 4 real, greetings from México carnal, don't stop it 🙏

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such a kind and encouraging comment Jalf. Greetings from The Southern US friend. Supongo que su lengua materna es el español. Entonces, si alguna vez tienes algo largo o complicado que decir. No dude en responder en español ... Estaría más que feliz de traducir y responder de una manera que sea más natural para usted. Saludos, gracias de nuevo y que tengas un gran día hermano.

[@rlckyrlcardo]

just found this channel yesterday, absolute gem. i really wish to see you make a return to yt, hope all is well

[@tswizz_brah7869]

I'm in the same boat..hope he is back soon

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you both so much for the interest care and concern I was having a tough go of things but I am much better now and I will be returning to a normal upload schedule soon.

[@peteytwofinger]

hope you are well

[@hansthen]

Me too and I look forward to seeing the completed guitar.

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you both for the care and concern, I should have this guitar completed and on video very soon. I very much appreciate the interest and patience Hans.

[@flaviusrotarita6666]

Can't wait to see the final resoult

[@flaviusrotarita6666]

Still waiting the final result

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and being so patient Flavius. I should actually be finishing the guitar very soon. as you can see its basically finished, I just took time off and I didn't feel it was fair to finish it without everyone seeing the process so I haven't touched it again. But its about that time.

[@joseislanio8910]

For sanding those tight areas in the body contour, I like to just use a small steel rod with a cut along half of it, in which I just put a strip of sandpaper. It's able to move kinda loosely, sanding evenly no matter the radius of the curve. Learned it in a cutlery video.

[@joseislanio8910]

Forgot to mention: I use it attached to a drill

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to type out this great info Jose. I will have to try this technique out in the future. I would have never thought of that. I grew up in my parents antique car restoration shop so I have a kind of old school way of thinking about sanding and solving sanding issues. My mother would look for anything to wrap sand paper around to get a radius. Coke bottle, rolled up duck taped phone book, custom carved foam block. All those old 40s-60s cars had crazy compound radii everywhere on the body work. The drill would be faster and easier. Thank you Jose. I gotta update my techniques.

[@commove9615]

Hey, what's up? Long time no see, man :(

[@heavymetalATC]

Thanks you the interest care and concern Commove. I had a hickup on the road of life but im better now and will be returning to a regular upload schedule soon,

[@AlexSMarie]

This is looking super sweet

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words Alex. It would have been much faster and easier to just seal and spray it but I had a vision for this thing since I forst cut that table. Even though it took days and wore me slap out. SOOO much rubbing. I am so pleased with the result. Things dont always turn out the way you invision them but this luckily hit right on the mark. Thanks again Alex. Have a great day bro.

[@rodblomley8517]

Most honorable work sensei

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such a kind and comical response Rod. So many of the viewers on this channel seem to have an awesome sense of humor. I feel lucky to be part of such a crowd of like minded individuals. Thanks again Rod truly.

[@Pizza_Master]

Looking Good..... Reminds me of the Ol "Whiskey Barrel Top" style of Guitar .

[@jamesbunch9711]

Good job

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words Pizza Master. Yes! That was very much the vision I had for the guitar as soon as I drew up the rendering. It would have been much quicker and easier to just seal and spray it but, I had that vision and I couldn't let it go. It was days of rubbing then waiting... Soooo much rubbing! but I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. Thanks again brother I appreciate all your interest and participation on the channel truly.

[@Pizza_Master]

@@heavymetalATC you have given new meaning to the term "Rubbing one out"... lol... sorry,, i couldn't pass up on that one.... later bro.

[@TheRamsberg]

"Angel dust" is also my favored technique, but with tung oil. What I do is sand the surface as per usual, refrain from using grain filler, then slather on the tung oil, let it soak for 10 - 15 minutes, then wet sand it, wipe off the excess tung oil, and then preferably let cure for a week or two, and then repeat the process, moving up on the grit each stage. Varying the curing time, number of layers and finishing grit has given me desks with a solid, thick coating on them, and also gave a perfectly smooth and thin finish on my grandfather's 100 year old garden hoe. I think that would work with most any slow drying finish, which has penetrative properties. Working on a solid body electric guitar now, and am going to try just sanding it very smooth, and then using lard as a buffing compound for it, as its finish. The reason I want to test that, is I've no idea how it'll turn out, and sometime one just has to know! Good work as always, Clementine.

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write out this Awesome comment Ramsberg. Yes, I still haven't decided on the finish for the neck. all of those sound like great ideas. I just really dont want a thick sticky shiny neck Id rather have it bare for playing purposes. I may choose to kinda "artificially" play it in. with the back middle being bare wood and fading into finish I really just dont know? but I do appreciate all this great info and tips.

[@TheRamsberg]

@@heavymetalATC You're welcome, it''s my pleasure, and thank you for the reply. BURNISHING leapt to my mind, when you mentioned leaving the neck bare. That's an old "secret" technique that uses a rounded hard material and high velocity of movement(similar to your rubbing of water into the old finish buffing technique) of the extremely high psi point of contact between the hard and soft surfaces(if using a steel bar, a smaller diameter will give a more concentrated point of contact, and a higher crushing psi for a given pressure from the hand/machine). It effectively increases the density of the outer layer of a soft material by crushing it, leaving it potentially incredibly smooth and durable, it's effectively a different material, like, you're not transforming pine into oak, and oak into ebony, but you kinda are, in a way. I've used it on wood working projects before, but not a guitar neck, I presume it would work out, but I don't know for sure.

[@themac3421]

hey man, are you ok? its been 8 months....

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you for the care and concern Mac. Im back and IM good and soon Ill return to regular uploads.

[@themac3421]

@@heavymetalATC Thanks for the reply, Clem! I hope things get better soon (if they aren't already), your videos are the best, i hope that even with the things you've been through, knowing that you have a fanbase of people who care and admire your work on youtube and were eagerly awaiting your return makes you feel a little better...

[@ravelitschimo]

Hey, very nice Build . Where is the finished guitar-video ?

[@billtrieshmann5979]

This is great stuff-- great humor!

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment BT. I appreciate the kind words.

[@20glen20]

Loved this video Clementine. Great info, doing things different & making them Work ! . Length of video perfect. and best of all looks really good. Hey you even showed us some " what not to do 🙂 " .... More please. ......

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much Glenn. Yes I like to try a lot of different things and learn as I go... more info for the building arsenal down the road. This was quite a touchy edit. I recorded almost the entire process so it was near 50 gigs of video. Tried to cut the hours down to minuets and still give a cohesive explanation and example of what happened. As that goes the idea is to share the info so if something goes wrong I have to show that too, its only right. The point is to be helpful and inspiring not try to look like I am some super seasoned builder as I am most definitely not. I am really glad you liked it brother. You have given me some great feedback and advice on this channel Glenn. I knew this video wasn't going to get the greatest number of views but I have to do these for the OG viewers. I owe it to all of you to show the entire process on this guitar beginning to end. Thanks again truly.

[@r4m0n0]

The biden "you'll see man" made me LOL. Nice tips on the thinning process, I wouldn't have though of mixing poly and finishing oil, let alone two types of oil. Very nice videos and info on your channel on the whole DIY universe around guitars. Great work!

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such a kind comment R4m0n0. Yeah I was listening to the playback and I though dang I sounded just like ole Joe. Hahaha. Yeah that diy wipe on poly thing is an old-school technique from the furniture makers and woodworkers. Lots of old fellers would also redo their gunstocks that way. I watched a documentary on Antonio Stradivari and back then the violin masters would not teach the students exactly how to make their varnish. They would make each guy come up with his own custom formula. One day Stradivari told his teacher he had figured it out and the master checked it out and said nope neither me my father or grandfather ever used those ingredients. This is not Amati varnish... Its much better. This is Stradivari varnish. You are now the master. I cant teach you anything more, you are better than I. Thought that was pretty damn cool. So I made Clemintine Varnish LOL Thanks again bro truly.

[@bharattamang9201]

Looks nice Can't wait to see you putting things together. 😇☺️

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such a kind comment Bharat. Yes, it shouldn't take too many more videos in this series to get it finished and assembled. Thanks for being so active and interested in the channel you are often the first one to watch and comment on every video. I appreciate it so much brother Thank you Bharat really.

[@peteytwofinger]

it looks fantastic ! thats so typical with the neighbor in the ditch ,...

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you Petey, Hopefully I will be putting the finishing touches on it soon... Also yes, If I wanted the yard to be dusty the rain would come and make it mud and if I wanted mud it would get swallowed by a sinkhole... HAHAHAHA!

[@tims001]

Well done bro, lookin' sweet!

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such a kind comment Tims. I got lucky on this one it turned out exactly the way I envisioned it when I drew up the rendering. It could have been finished much easier by sealing and spraying but I just had to make it do this rustic thing. LOL Thanks again Tims truly, Much appreciated.

[@jamesbunch9711]

Man you did that upright

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words James. As I am not a Pro I just kind of try a lot of different things and try to learn as I go and share the results. Somehow this one just turned out exactly the way I envisioned it. Thanks again bro truly.

[@therealtonydutch]

Good stuff as always!

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words Tony. Much appreciated. By the way are you also the other Tony Dutch or is that another guy completely?

[@therealtonydutch]

@@heavymetalATC Yes, I am both. :P But I think you deserve the extra likes! ;)

[@hanovergreen4091]

Love your work. Just discovered. Subscribed. Best Regards

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such a kind comment Hanover... I should have more videos coming up soon.

[@peterjohnson4932]

One myth you can bust is that oak is no good to build a guitar from! Can't wait to hear it!

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write a comment Peter. Yes.. That is exactly the goal. When I first thought of using that table to build a guitar about 1 1/2 or 2 years ago, I went on to forums and started searching info on building guitars out of oak and I got all kinds of negative kick back and info: Its to acidic it wont glue, It will sound terrible, The neck will explode under tension WTF?, Its ugly looking... and on and on. So I just thought that is BS. This will be the mythbuster/rulebreaker guitar and I will do everything against the Internet's "guitar dude rules". It is very heavy and hard on the tools. I can also see why it wouldn't be the best wood for an acoustic sound board but, It glued fine. I think its pretty. The neck is the most stable neck I have ever seen. In the future I wont use a truss rod in oak necks: it doesn't need it. Anyway Yes absolutely You get what I'm trying to do here and that is Awesome! Thanks again Peter if you go back a ways in my videos you can see where I did a dryfit and played it acoustically doing to the body dive bombs on a chinese bigsby copy while staying in tune perfectly... because that cant be done either LOL Just ask the forums never mind that I did it on camera. HAHAHA Hell here is the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4qyoneieaxnkKc

[@touchthesun2448]

Looking good bro!

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much Uncle Dad. It would have been a lot faster and easier to just seal and spray it but I had this vision for it since I first cut that table and I am very much pleased with the outcome. This technique takes days and will wear you slap out SOOO much rubbing but dang I like it. Rustic but still finished looking. Thanks again brother.

[@davidmarkham4391]

I really like this man!!!

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much HG. I am so very pleased with the way it turned out. It would have been much faster and easier to seal and spray it. I just had a vision for it and I couldn't let it go. Rustic but still finished looking.

[@davidmarkham4391]

I really like doing finishes like this instead of spraying. It is more time consuming. But it is much more rewarding in the end

[@waynecook5836]

Your a genius

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write such a kind comment Wayne. Naw I aint no genius. I just grew up poor and into music so I figured out early on that if I wanted the things I lusted after I would have to figure out how to build them. The internet has been a wonderful tool, most of the info I pass on was learned from the old timers I grew up with or worked with and other people on youtube and the forums back in the dial up days. RG Keen taught a bunch of us how to build pedals. I'm just trying to pay it forward and I make a few cents to buy more supplies.

[@waynecook5836]

@@heavymetalATC same here I was born with nothing and love got most of it left lol,been playing at guitar 60 years I watch uncle Doug all the time trying to learn

[@supersugg22]

I love this guy

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you for watching and for taking the time to leave these awesome comments TX.

[@flaviusrotarita6666]

Still waiting for the final result

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment Flavius. I am about to return to a normal upload schedule soon and there isn't very much left to do to finish the guitar.

[@HouseOfCouplePuffs]

How’s about another peek at this old oak critter?

[@TheMikeKnight]

Clemintine. You doing alright man? Gone radio silent… doing a check in to make sure you’re good.

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for the comment and the concern Mike. I was not doing so hot for quite a while but for the past few months and as of now I am better than fine Im doing pretty awesome. Ill be back to making videos soon. Thanks again I appreciate the care and interest.

[@jherforth]

Subscribed!!

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment and I appreciate the sub I will be returning to a normal upload schedule soon.

[@roblegrange473]

Now that is one fine body 😍..finish looks great.

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words Rob. Sometimes it seems almost dangerous to have an exact idea about how you want something to turn out... As it rarely does. This was just one of those times that it did and I am Well Pleased with the outcome. There were a few setbacks but positive attitude prevailed. I mostly credit the good outcome to doing those few tests on the scraps before I started. I could have taken the easy road and sealed sanded and sprayed it in about 2 hours. Or just started wiping on the first can I pulled out of the bin but I am glad I chose to go slow and be methodical about it. As well luck is always a big factor and what may seem like spirit crushing mistakes at the time often turn out to be happy accidents. Thanks again Rob.

[@theothertonydutch]

Like. Now to watch the video. :P

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much Tony, but what if the video was trash? LOL Hahaha Thanks brother really.

[@theothertonydutch]

@@heavymetalATCTrash, treasure. Not much difference in my opinion. Just the value I personally project onto it! ;)

[@heavymetalATC]

@@theothertonydutch I can totally go with that Tony. The table I built this guitar from was "trash" getting rained on for a decade from a hole in an abandoned house. The table is now a guitar and I now live in that house so yeah, its all about focus, vision and energy. Very well said.

[@theothertonydutch]

@@heavymetalATC Pretty much how I have been attempting my builds. Repurposing and moving more towards making all the parts myself. I had a chat with Nicolai Schorr a while ago and he literally makes all the parts himself. They're excellent designs, very different and very clean. Would recommend looking up his work!

[@supersugg22]

Another myth. I used minwax poly. and i also said F$%k a thin coat, and i literally did 3 coats a day and level sanded every other coat, for about 40 days, due to Covid. Buffed and polished it and it looked amazing, and a thick coat didnt hurt the tone. Hell, it made it more acousic when im not plugged in

[@heavymetalATC]

Awesome man I bet that was slick in the end.

[@supersugg22]

@@heavymetalATC Its cool because if i ever want a matte or flat clear look to it, i can just hit the whole thing with a scotch brite pad, then when i want it glassy smooth again i just hit it with a buffer for second, kinda neat

[@generalawareness101]

I just purchased some 42 gauge enamelled wire and how in the fuck do I work with this? Breaks if I look at it wrongly because it is so thin.

[@heavymetalATC]

General I really hope you kept at it. Its thin but you can learn how to hold it and also the spool has to be placed on the ground sideways at your feet so it spools off the top and then if you get your tension right in your fingers you can feel it start to stretch before it pops. The key is to keep that stretch feeling going during the whole wind and you'll get a tight crispy fresh pickup. I really do hope you got the hang of it, if not im here to offer any tips I can. Ive come back to the you-tubes.

[@generalawareness101]

@@heavymetalATC Welcome back as I was wondering about you for the last few months.

[@heavymetalATC]

@@generalawareness101 Yeah I went through a tiny hell but it was ultimately my own doing through bad decisions but im all good now and ready to start back on some videos

[@generalawareness101]

@@heavymetalATC I hear ya, and welcome back. Lost my cat who was a tad over 16 last week that cost me 500 bucks. A computer that is nearing its end with the main culprit the video card so more bucks. My last fur baby has medical issues (15yo) that I can't afford. All of these hit at absolutely the worst time since the Great Depression in the USA. To top it off I am so frustrated with guitar due to never ever being able to get calluses no matter how hard I try. If they begin they will get to where I can practise then the next morning just flat out gone where I touch a string and pure pain plus so soft the finger makes dead sounds on the strings near where the fingers are touching. Get them back and the same shit. Been like this my whole life as my family don't callus. We blister easily but not callus. Our bodies just have smooth skin so I think it sees the callus and over night attacks them.

[@moo4983]

RIP Clem, dandelion poisoning is serious stuff folks!

[@heavymetalATC]

Thank you so much for the comment Moo but it was the fell off a creek bank and smashed my ribcage in on a boulder poisoning.. then the being a worthless depressed lazy @sshole for a few months poisoning and then it was the having to play catch-up and get my life, body, and mind back in order poisoning. LOL yep the dandelion fluff was only the beginning. But you are right it all started with them damn fluffy things. I should be back at it soon. These comments are going to actually take a few days though...wow!

[@supersugg22]

Ive built 2 strats and a Tele using mostly Plumbing and racecar tools. People who say "you cant do it with that" are ignorant AF. Or they never been broke before lol

[@heavymetalATC]

Hahaha I can 100% agree with that Im broke AF and Ignorant LOL!

[@finalvantasyofficial]

Come back to KZbin

[@heavymetalATC]

Im back bro Ill be returning to a normal upload schedule soon, Im currently on hour 45 of answering a years worth of comments. It was waaay more than I thought it was.