Rev's MK-2 Build

[Rev]

Ahh, thats a fine point there, Frankenwashie... a ding or two on an edge could sneak up on me when I start prefinishing. Wouldnt be the end of the world, but it'd definitely annoy me!

[Rev]

Well, its not Jan 1 yet, but being that its Krimmas, wife let me go ahead and do some prep work today. I did find one nasty gouge, but its in the control cavity so I just have to clean that up a little with sanding... nothing alarming.

There's a series of nicks on the bottom edge, but they're quite shallow, so I should be able to sand those down carefully.

The guitar I built myself as a kid was alder, and one that I completely stripped and rebuilt was ash. Sanding this basswood is a bit different than those, but Ill get used to it.

Minor question - sanding the back of the neck. Dont really want to mar the edges of the fretboard, so aside from being careful... I'm guessing the best approach is to tape off the sides of the fretboard before sanding? If anyone has a better tip, let me know.

[wazkelly]

Nah, just rip in but go no further than smooth as with 240 grit.

If finishing the back of the neck that is when you would tape off at the rose wood fret board line but it using just a clear coat the tape line would be level with the fret board.

Cheers, Waz.

[Simon Barden]

I prefer to sand the edges of the fretboard as it helps to get smoother fret edges and adds a bit of the rolled-edge played-in feeling. You want to ensure that the neck to fretboard transition is smooth in your hands, and masking off the fretboard edges could introduce a small step where they join.

As Waz said, if you are doing a coloured finish on the back of the neck, then tape off the sides of the fretboard, but any clear coats would go over the sides of the fretboard, so mask just the fretboard top off when doing clear coats.

[Rev]

Thats a nice subtle touch, adding just a little roundness to the edge of the fretboard. Yes, the color will probably go up the back of the neck - I havent made a final decision on that, but I imagine a yellow body and yellow headstock will look a bit weird with the close-to-yellow neck wood.

[Rev]

Well, the brief warming period a few days ago allowed me to finish sanding the body, so I naptha'd it to get my fingerprints off, then laid down a coat of primer. But we're back to cold and damp temps now, so I can't really proceed with the finish at the moment.
I can always work on the wiring under the pickguard if the winter is long...

[wokkaboy]

good one Rev. I got the wiring finished on my MK-2 yesterday and cut the slots in a bone nut so the strings sit on the zero fret now. Bit of a setup and it should be ready to crank !

[Rev]

Oh, and good call on the spirits, Frankenwashie. Just found another unexpected ding on the back that would have been invisible otherwise!

I had read on here and elsewhere about the fibrous nature of basswood, but I didn't realize how easy the spirits make it to find those spots. A light dousing, wait 30 min, then sand the problem spots down. Amazing!

[Rev]

Damn, Wokka, you're ahead of me. Well, if I try to catch up Ill screw up, so you'll have to tell me how the included pickups sound.

[wokkaboy]

Rev it was my slowest build over 2 years I think, had too many 'other' projects on the go haha I got a hot Seymour Duncan pup in the bridge and have left the kit mini bucker neck pup. I'll report on the sound when it cools down in Perth it's been 3 x 38-41 degree days in a row - or in your units over 100 F degrees !