This is my first build attempt. I was really excited to get started and finally get the show on the road.
My idea is to do a white wash type of finish but first off I will add some Ebony stain to my grain filler to see if I can get a little black to show up underneath the white stain. I'm also going to use ebony stain on the neck and use a simple wipe on poly as my finish.
this should be fun.
Hmmm...the site tells me my pictures are too big to upload. that's going to be a pain!!
(Can someone tell me how i go about adding a new thread to my build diary? Am I supposed to just reply to my own post?
I'm sure it's really obvious but i'm not seeing it.)
I think the only other time I was this nervous was when I held my newborn son for the first time. My kit unfortunately came with the lovely "paddle style" head stock. Since i didn't have a jig saw handy I was forced to use a coping saw which was really not ideal. Even though I clamped the neck down securely, It felt like the neck would snap in two at any moment.
I was lucky to have a dremel on hand for sanding to smooth out the brutal cutting job. In the end it turned out better than I expected.
It needed a good truss rod adjustment to straightened it out and I had to level the frets in about 4-5 spots. After the leveling was done I polished up the frets and it was looking pretty good. A straight edge and a fret rocker are must have tools if you are building a kit.
Once that was done I started sanding with 320 grit, then 600, 800 and finally 1000. i'm thinking that was overkill but it's super smooth now and ready for some stain.
i'm going to put on one coat of Minwax ebony stain and then sand it back until i'm happy with the look.
wow from Montreal jeepers Pitbulls get around all though its the best place to get a kit some of the ones on ebay are pretty dodgy, their a nice kit got one coming
After sanding down the body with 220 grit I started to fill the grain with Lepage filler.
I mixed in some Ebony stain slowly with a syringe along with some warm water and started rubbing it in. I then use a damp cloth to take off any excess to avoid having too much sanding to do afterwards.