Kit Assembly Gallery

[Paul Birkeland]

Here are some photos of various BH kits that I have built for myself and other folks with some of the finishes and wood species that I stock.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Here is my favorite color combination: walnut and wrinkle black. 

 

[Paul Birkeland]

The silver and copper vein powders are also a popular choice. 

 

[Paul Birkeland]

For a more wild look, wrinkle red and wrinkle blue give lots of contrast. 

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Another walnut/black Crack rolling off the line.

 

[Deke609]

The amp looks great.  Bu what really caught my eye was the cool wallpaper.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

A customer came to me and wanted a Crack built that more or less matched his Victrola phonograph.  The wood for these was listed as "red mahogany", and it did indeed look like actual mahogany, so I purchased a piece with good straight grain and some red dye and made a red base that looks quite similar.  The top plate is done in gold vein to give it a bit of an antique look.


...My fingers are still red in a few spots.

 

[Jamier]

PB,

    do you rabbit with a router bit (with a bearing) or do you do it on a table?

Jamie

 

[Paul Birkeland]

I can do it either way, but it's far easier to setup on a table saw.

 

[Jameson]

PB - Do you have any interest in submitting any of these to the gallery site I built? You're not quite the typical DIYer, but the goal is to show people what is possible. No pressure, obviously, just thought I'd offer.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

I'll have to get setup with some external image hosting.

-PB

 

[Jameson]

Sure thing. A couple people have either emailed pictures or uploaded them to Imgur. Once they're there I just grab them and host them locally on my site, so a longer term solution isn't super necessary.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Here's a black Crack I just completed.  The owner wanted the base to match some other components and furniture with a black ash finish, so I built a base out of ash and soaked it in black dye over the course of about a week.

 

[grufti]

Great look. Well done, Paul.

 

[Doc B]

Nice one!

 

[Jameson]

Is it the case that you built and glued up the base, then just left it in the dye for a week? Or were there multiple soaking sessions? I've never used a dye before but I'm considering something different for the Kaiju/BeePre (and eventually Eros). I've been staining and finishing a scrap piece of alder over the past week to see what I want but haven't found anything I liked yet.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

If I could have made enough dye to submerge the wood, I would've considered it!  Instead it was a brush application several times a day for many days until it didn't get any darker.

 

[Jameson]

Got it. My biggest issue is getting the tung oil finish to look right. I've done it correctly one time and the other times have been disappointing.

 

[jtori]

Here's a black Crack I just completed.  The owner wanted the base to match some other components and furniture with a black ash finish, so I built a base out of ash and soaked it in black dye over the course of about a week.

That looks awesome!

Joe.

 

[mcandmar]

Here's a black Crack I just completed.  The owner wanted the base to match some other components and furniture with a black ash finish, so I built a base out of ash and soaked it in black dye over the course of about a week.

Lovely job Paul, especially that wood base.  A quick tip for the screws, dip the heads into some Birchwood Casey Perma Blue and they will instantly blend in.