NKX Build #1 - The LPA-7

[NKX]

Hi everyone,

My LPA-7 kit arrived a little while ago, but I've been working on the tools and bits I want for the build since my joining the forum. It's all getting close to starting now, so I thought I'd get the build diary up and running.

First thing's first, this is the LP-style, ash body, 7-string guitar. I don't have a seven, nor can I really justify the price of a store-bought seven (due to me sucking when attempting to play one)... so here we go. In case you're not familiar with the kit, you can take a look at it HERE. To save you a click, we're talking a carved-top ash body with maple veneer (and cream binding), rock maple set neck (C profile) with rosewood fingerboard (22 medium jumbo frets and dot inlays), and all the other LP kit goodies. And yes, I know this will be a tricky build, as I plan on tuning this 7-string to B-standard, and it's only a 24.75" scale length neck. As add-ons to the kit, I purchased some of the DT copper shielding, and upgraded to a set of Grover 406C Mini Rotomatic locking tuners... which will hopefully help keep the fencing wire (that I'll need for tension at B) in tune, and keep the hum to a minimum (for when all the gain is added).



I already think it's a pretty nice looking guitar...



But more impressive than looks, is how awesomely snug that neck pocket is, and how little work it seems to require at this stage. It might sit up at the back slightly, but I won't know until I do a full test-fit later. Why later? Well read on...



However, now we get to the ARRRRGH moment. On initial inspection of the kit, while I'm super-happy with the rest so far, this neck looks like it is going to take some serious effort. I didn't realise the nut was going to be like it was (requiring re-setting, sanding/shaping, and filing), so I've hit up StewMac for some nut files. But more scary than that... is that the neck looks like it has a double-bow in it (almost like a twist), and the fret jobs is less than ideal. As such, I've ordered a Crimson Guitars fret kit, and will check everything with my notched fret straight-edge when it arrives. Hopefully some truss-rod tension adjustments, and maybe a fret level will fix all that: Fingers crossed. And yes, I also have a fret levelling beam, triangular file, and fret rubbers in the kit too... so I'll be learning that whole process for this project. Yay.



While waiting for my tools to arrive, I've been coming up with headstock designs and a logo... though I will need to find a way to remove all this glue on the top of the headstock, as I was planning on staining that *sigh*...



The headstock design and logo I came up with seems to work pretty well, so I can't wait to get started. The awesome people over at The Sticker Art were able to vinyl cut my logo, in white, for a very reasonable price... so I already have these ready to go (but can't attach any more pics for this post). My final order of tools, stains, and oils, should all arrive this week. So, yeah... it's getting close to build time now

[FrankenWashie]

Yeah dude, Do all your neck and fret checks first.
You may find that one or more frets are not seated properly and that may give the impression of a bow, or two.

[Simon Barden]

Your 'looking along the neck' picture doesn't look bad at all to me. Best to wait until you've got your notched ruler and can set the neck level and see how it is then. A fret dress can accommodate a very slightly twisted neck but anything more and you'd really need a new neck. However it doesn't seem bad to me, and I've had guitars with what appears to be more of a twist than you have, that have played well.

I was just wondering if you got sent a 3+4 pack of the Grovers? It's just that the standard PBG upgrade sets only offer 3+3 or 6 in line options.

[NKX]

Okay, so I hit the 5-picture-limit in my last post, and I wanted to show a few more things off, so here goes with a second post. The first thing I wanted to share, was my (boring) headstock design, and my simple logo design. I intend to leave the ash body, neck, and back of the headstock pretty much blonde (just oil), but I do intend to stain the top of the headstock on all my guitars. Here's the mock-up I did to get logo sizing/shape, and headstock shape sorted:



For the logo, I mixed a couple of different fonts, custom designed a few of the letters to make it unique, then used Adobe Illustrator to convert my artwork to compound curves. After a bit of searching, and dozens of emails to various companies, I found a place called "The Art of Stickers" over in Queensland, and they were able to cut my logo out of white vinyl... so it will look exactly (hopefully) like the mock-up above. The turn-around was awesome, and the price very reasonable; especially as most people won't touch white logos, small logos, or small batch jobs. These are outdoor vinyl pieces, and the test application looks pretty sweet.



At this point, I think I'll get a set of logos in black, just in case I want to leave the top of another kit blonde. Awesome. Oh yeah, can you tell I plan on building more than one of these? Hahaha, buying tools, and already thinking about different headstocks, LOL.

As for the finish I'm going to try my hand at a simple burst on the maple veneer, using blue and black stains. I've seen a few YouTube videos, where people did a similar job using stamp pad ink, so hopefully I can achieve a similar result. Here's what I am hoping for (more or less):



So far, the tools and bits ordered are (in case anyone is interested):

Crimson Guitars
- Notched Straight Edge
- Fret Levelling Beam
- Fret Crowning File
- Fret Buffing Rubbers
- Stunning Stains 250ml Royal Blue
- Stunning Stains 250ml Black
- Finishing Oil
- Neck Finishing Kit (different type of finishing oil)

Stewart MacDonald
- Fret Guards
- Dremel Buffing Discs
- Heavy-gauge Nut files (13 - 56... though I probably need to go to 70)
- Lemon Oil

DingoTone
- Copper shielding
- 0000 Steel Wool (well, I still need to order that, I forgot last time)

I believe PBG and DT are working on bringing more luthier supplies, and possible some luthier tools, to their store soon... but I couldn't wait. Sorry guys, maybe for the ST kit I plan on building next

[NKX]

Absolutely. I can clearly see a few high/low frets by eyeballing it. And while the picture doesn't really show it, the neck looks like it is slightly thicker on the right (as pictured), until about the 5th fret, then seems thinner. and it switches to being thicker on the left side. Definitely seems like a bit of a twist... though I'm not sure how that could happen unless the rosewood fretboard was torqued and clamped down over an uneven neck top (which I doubt). I'm not the only one that noticed it, so its not just my imagination... but I am hoping it is an optical illusion, possibly created by a neck bow due to truss rod needing adjustment, combined with some fret level issues. Oh well, the new tools should arrive this week, so I'll check it out and post the results. Fingers crossed.

Edit: As for the Grovers, yes. I ordered the upgrade kit through Adam, and he put it through as a 3+3 with an additional percentage charge on top... and that paid for the 7th tuner from the normal upgrade price.

[Andy40]

Gosh I could get lost in that blue cap great choice

[NKX]

I'm finally back. Turns out, people really do get Australia and Austria mixed up... and half my tools went on a nice holiday through Europe before making it back to me. Oh well, they made it here, and they're cool, so I'm happy.

So yes, the first thing I wanted to do, was check out that weirdness I was noticing with the neck. I used my new notched level to ensure I could tweak the truss rod to make things level, and then set about using my new fret rocker to identify anything going on with the fret height. Obviously, I'm using the trusty Sharpie to mark any high points, and will address any of those a little later.



And the result is, I both was and wasn't imagining my neck being "twisted". Turns out, it wasn't twisted, however:

a) The truss rod was obviously loose for/from shipping, and the neck had a bit of a standard bow in it (which was part of the optical illusion).

b) The other issue, was the weird fret heights. These definitely did start high at the top of the nut end, and transitioned to being high on the bottom of the other end. This reinforced the "twist" illusion.

These two things, when combined, gave it made things look worse than they actually are. Luckily, I knew this wasn't an Ikea guitar kit, so purchased the tools I needed to identify the issue.



And that's where I have my first couple of questions:

- What is the fret material used on these kits?
- And based on that, what grit of sandpaper would be recommended for this fret material? Work it with 320? Higher?

Importantly, I also have multiple grit fret erasers, a fret crowning tool, and StewMac fret polishing wheels for my Dremel... so I can deal with any marks the sanding process introduces; I just don't want to accidentally ruin my frets by using too course grit for the job.

[NKX]

And speaking of grit... the sanding has started. The first of many, many, many passes I am sure. The next was pretty smooth, so I took off any roughness with 320g, then moved on to 400g (including wet sanding). The maple veneer was also pretty good, so it got the same treatment as the neck.



The body, however, was a bit rough... so I've started that at 240g. I've now wet everything down, found, and sanded off any glue marks, so it's coming along nicely.



Next step, get to work on those frets, and continue sanding, sanding, sanding.

[wazkelly]

Nice bits of timber you have to work with.

No idea when it comes to the fret stuff you asked about and someone who knows more than me will hopefully drop by soon.

[Swanny]

I'm finally back. Turns out, people really do get Australia and Austria mixed up... and half my tools went on a nice holiday through Europe before making it back to me. Oh well, they made it here, and they're cool, so I'm happy.

So yes, the first thing I wanted to do, was check out that weirdness I was noticing with the neck. I used my new notched level to ensure I could tweak the truss rod to make things level, and then set about using my new fret rocker to identify anything going on with the fret height. Obviously, I'm using the trusty Sharpie to mark any high points, and will address any of those a little later.



And the result is, I both was and wasn't imagining my neck being "twisted". Turns out, it wasn't twisted, however:

a) The truss rod was obviously loose for/from shipping, and the neck had a bit of a standard bow in it (which was part of the optical illusion).

b) The other issue, was the weird fret heights. These definitely did start high at the top of the nut end, and transitioned to being high on the bottom of the other end. This reinforced the "twist" illusion.

These two things, when combined, gave it made things look worse than they actually are. Luckily, I knew this wasn't an Ikea guitar kit, so purchased the tools I needed to identify the issue.



And that's where I have my first couple of questions:

- What is the fret material used on these kits?
- And based on that, what grit of sandpaper would be recommended for this fret material? Work it with 320? Higher?

Importantly, I also have multiple grit fret erasers, a fret crowning tool, and StewMac fret polishing wheels for my Dremel... so I can deal with any marks the sanding process introduces; I just don't want to accidentally ruin my frets by using too course grit for the job.

The frets are made of a soft metal, it doesn't take much to sand them, so don't go too course a sandpaper on them.