It is finished, but an issue or two

[Steve Mars]

Well the first issue is that my computer seemingly does not want to let me download photos. That was originally why I did not do a building journal but I thought I would try again for the finished photos but still no success.

But let me continue...I have completed my ES-5V and reasonably happy with it apart from:
1. The neck angle is too steep, I thought I had fixed it when I glued and clamped it into place...seemingly the shallowest angle possible because the clamp was obviously glueing the neck all the way across, but the floating bridge is sitting at the top (close to very top) of the two screws which hold it in place. While in a guitar shop today buying it its case the guitar jock suggested that I cut deeper grooves in the nut, which would effectively lower that end approx. 1.5mm, which would make the strings sit lower and better the length of the neck which would in tern result in being able to lower the height of the bridge...definitely seems worth a try. My original idea was merely to add another piece of wood between the base of the bridge and the floating level which would hopefully improve the appearance, without detracting from the playability....I don't think unglueing the neck (not that I know how to do that anyway) and reglueing it will make any difference because I think it is currently glued where it seemingly wanted to be. Any comments/thinks?
2.While I was reasonably happy with the finish before glueing the neck I am wondering whether using something like Mr Sheen from time to time would spark up the finish. Not something I have ever considered or needed for my "shop" bought guitars
3.Otherwise it seems to be reasonably playable, but I would like it that little bit better.
4. Another issue: yes it may just be me and OK I do know I am an old bloke and that may be the problem but I don't find the web page very user friendly, could be worth a bit of a rethink.
5.Have not yet made up my mind on whether there is going to be a second project, probably depends on sorting out the finish of this one.

Just tried again to load the photos, even one (as a jpg file) and doesn't want to let me do so.

[wokkaboy]

Hi Steve, you probably have to resize the photo's to maximum 1500x1500 resolution and below 1MB in size, try that or you can upload to photobucket or similar and post a link in your reply,
I just saw your edited post with a list of issues. I would PM one of the guys who have built the same model, Dedman and AndrewOsborne come to mind and see how the action is on their builds. Getting the neck glued to the correct angle (flush in the pocket) is critical to the string action and bridge settings.
Did you do a mock build with the strings and neck clamped before you glued it ?

with Mr Sheen would depend on what finish you have used. Most people use an automotive cut and polish for the final polish, but Mr Sheen may work

[Simon Barden]

Lowering the nut or but slots will certainly improve your action nut but should not affect the height of the bridge at all. Setting up the guitar, the steps should be

1. Adjust truss rod so that the neck has just a very slight bow in it.
2. Adjust bridge height so that all the strings play cleanly without buzzing. Some people like a higher action, some people (like me) prefer the lowest action you can get without buzzing. But if you are going for really low, then lower the bridge until the strings just start to buzz, then raise it a small amount Note that with a high nut at this point, you may find the stings are nearer the frets at the body end than the headstock end. If the nut is really high, then it may be worth reducing the slot depth a bit before you do this, but don't over lower before you set the bridge up, because as you lower the strings, you may end up with the strings buzzing on the first or second frets.
3. You may find that you now want to tweak the truss rod and bridge height settings slightly as a lower bridge height means less upwards pull on the neck, so you may have a bit more bow in it. If you can cleanly fret strings around the 7th/8th fret positions but find that the upper frets are choking slightly, then straightening the neck a bit more (tightening the truss rod - clockwise turning) and raising the bridge a bit should sort this out.
4. Now you can lower the nut/nut slots so that the strings sit just above the first fret but don't buzz (careful as it is easy to overdo it). The bridge height shouldn't be lowered any more now, so you can safely lower the nut height/slot depth without any fear that further action adjustments will lead to buzzing.
5. Now you can adjust the intonation (if available).

I would avoid using any household polishes on guitars unless you know they don't contain any silicone. But if the surface isn't that smooth and shiny to start with, then I don't think that it will work. Most household polishes simply remove a layer of grease and dust that has built up over time and reveal the original surface again. So as Woks said, I'd concentrate on using a product designed to get it smooth and shiny in the first place. I believe you've used DingoTone, which on it's own isn't going to get you a glassy finish, but at most a semi-gloss. If you want it looking glossier, then maybe some coats of Tru-Oil which you then polish, will help. Others who've used DT and Tru-Oil may want to add their won experiences here, as I've used neither.

As for the photos, yes, you'll need to resize them before posting. If you haven't got any software to do this, then there are lots of free packages out there. Here's one I found. http://download.cnet.com/FastStone-P...-10319476.html

Maximum size of any side must be 1500 pixels or less, so whatever the biggest dimension is, make that 1500 pixels, then save it. There may be different jpg compression levels you can use as well when saving, so save it with a level that gives you less than 950kB (normally not a problem once the picture's been resized). I always add 'small' to the saved name so I know which one to upload to the forum.

You can then use the 'insert image' icon above the text box, select the 'From Computer' box, then browse until you've found the picture you want. Select it, and you should now be back at the 'insert image' text display. Press the 'Upload file(s)' text below the 'browse' button (not that obvious a step) and within a few seconds, you should see some text appear in the text box that says something like
[ ATTACH=CONFIG]18856[/ATTACH ]. That's a link to the uploaded photo. To display it before posting, select the 'go advanced' button on the bottom right of the text entry box, which will allow you to preview the post, including any pictures. It also gives you a bigger text entry box, always useful if you are writing more than a few lines.

[wazkelly]

Mr Sheen only as a last resort on commercially made guitars as it won't have enough grunt to both cut and polish on a fresh build.

Also the wax or silicon properties in Mr Sheen may not be good for the finish long term.

[Simon Barden]

Silicone is very hard to remove from a guitar and is detrimental to just about any finish that's applied on top of it. So if you ever need to touch it up in the future, only use a known cleaner that's silicone-free. A wax polish like that works by filling in the small valleys in the finish, and the wax moves and gets worn off over time, so you need to keep applying it (same effect as wetting a sanded surface). If you use a cutting/rubbing compound to polish the guitar, this smooths off the ridges so that there are no valleys (or only very small ones indeed), so you get a nice shiny finish that you only have to keep clean with a duster.

Of course the finish has to be hard enough to take a good polish, and I''m not sure how shiny you can get DT without applying something over the top.