Makes sense to let stain coat have several days to dry and cure before starting on any top coats.
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Makes sense to let stain coat have several days to dry and cure before starting on any top coats.
Amateur mistake- don’t tape up the neck pocket before you have marked the position on the neck which needs to be taped up.
Seems like the angle of the body attachment is slightly wider than the end of the neck. When the neck is flat against the back side of the body attachment I get a gap at the join under the fret board. When the neck is flat against the other side of the body attachment (the shorter face) I get a gap at the back of the neck. Should I try and correct this by sanding the neck where it joins? And if so, which surface would I sand?
Ok, so eventually I decided to sand the neck join (is it called the heel?) on the flat back surface (opposite side to the fret board). I didn’t think I would be good enough to match up the curved surfaces on the other side...I don’t even want to think about it. Neck and body fit hand in glove now. Hopefully not too much effect on things later on. Back of the body sanded. Stopped there as the kids are driving everyone bat guano crazy. One step closer.
No, you should be fine. You've got a floating bridge, so getting the intonation right isn't a problem with a slightly adjusted neck position.
Mine has similar issues. The route has gone clean to the bottom so there was a lip that caught the bottom of the neck preventing it going right in. Also the bottom and back of the heel are at right angles, which doesn't work with the neck relief angle. You will need to make sure that the neck relief angle doesn't end up too extreme or too flat, or you will have issues with tuning and intonation.
Thanks folks, if it wasn’t for the floating bridge Simon I think I’d still be sitting here thinking about it. Hope you work out your attachment issues Fretworn, angle changes to the neck have been at the forefront of my mind.
I’ve given Waz’s clear coat brushing method a go on a test burst, and although initially I thought it was working, three coats in and the original brush strokes are visible. I’ve just brought some spray on acrylic to coat a decal and I had an idea (dangerous, I know). If I can clear coat over a decal covered in acrylic, why can’t I clear coat over timber coated in acrylic? Will this seal my burst without messing it up?
Experiment number two underway.
Might be brushing technique? 2 brush coat is enough and then switch to rag.
Clear acrylic would also do thhe job.
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Ok, perhaps I need to work on the technique some more. Here is a picture of what I mean. This is the original non-overlapping brush strockes. It’s not diabolical, but it’s there. Do you see the appeal of my spray acrylic idea?
Hard to tell using a phone to view that shot as it looks more like grain than brush marks.
The main reason for using a brush is to get an initial thick wet coat down to seal the stain and if it looks good enough switch up to alternative finishing method.
Lots of irregularities can be smoothed out with a few more coats followed by wet sanding.
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Ok, the brush marks are in a 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock direction.
Might have to take your word for it as even after copying and enlarging that image it all looks like grain to me?
Stupid question, but you have been brushing with the grain? Yeah? If across the grain that will stand out like dogs .......
Not a stupid question at all. I just selected part of the burst, brushed from the centre to the edge, and that section is across the grain.
Hmmm, may be part of the brush mark issue right there.
When painting timber with a clear or varnish type product best to use light brush strokes that follow the pattern of the grain as that tends to conceal a lot of the brushing action.
Suggest grabbing a scrap bit of timber to practice on without any stain so that you can visibly see what you are doing and how some light feathering after initial brushing can almost make the brush marks disappear.
Ok Waz, I’ll also try a variety of techniques and observe what works best for me over the stain.
Just for the record I retried Wazkelly’s brush on oil application method covering the surface with minimal overlapping strokes in the direction of the timber grain from light stain to dark stain. The method looks like it’s going to work for me. Decision made, this instrument will be tru oiled. Thanks Waz.
Hi folks, I’ve unsuccessful searched how to assemble a floating bridge. Is this correct? Metal threads (hex key side up) screwed down into the wooden base with the string saddle(?) sitting on top of the height adjustment held down by string tension? Regards, Mark.
Yup, that looks about right mate. Interesting looking bridge.
With the curved profile on the ES you may want to scope out where it is going to sit, the lay some sand paper there and use it to gently sand the base to get it to sit flush across the body curve.
Thanks FrankenWashie. The bottom of the bridge is already curved at what appears to be an appropriate shape. Good sanding tip, I’ll use it if required.
All good mate, it’s something I picked up with my Eastman, though it doesn’t have the same sort of adjustability for intonation that it seems you have with your bridge. Are those saddles movable?Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkMark
I’m not sure if it is adjustable FrankenWashie, the metal seems to be embedded (like a fret). I like the idea of adjustability for intonation with the tone of wood. I’ve been (dangerously) thinking again about creating/inventing my own bridge to sit on top. If have some spare Jarrah I could experiment with - no idea if Jarrah is a suitable timber. Anyhow, half way through my staining.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...51645f7347.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...babdbe1b38.jpg
This is the stock one on my Eastman AR605CE, there’s no adjustment for intonation, without moving the whole bridge.
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It’s a nice shaped bridge. Thanks for posting.
Here’s the front, stain applied and the damage done.
I really like that burst. It puts me in mind of something being played in a dingy Mississippi Blues hall some time in the 20’s. It’s got that old time feel to it. Really nice work mate, great job.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkMark
Thank you so much FrankenWashie. I know not everyone will like it, I’m cool with that. It doesn’t have the accuracy and precision of a spray painted burst. However, I really like the hand applied look. I like the spray painted version also.
By the way, if the stain runs over the label it washes off the printed stain colour. Pour away from labelling.
Looks great, between that burst and the bridge this is shaping up nicely!
Thanks VonScott. The bridge in my diary is the stock bridge which comes with the kit.
I have yet to attempt a burst, sprayed or otherwise, so your hand rubbed effort is blowing my tiny little mind. Your build is about what you want to craft. I can’t see many here having an issue with how that’s coming out. I just can’t wait to see a gloss clear over that.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkMark
I’ve never built a guitar FrankenWashie, what clear gloss would you suggest? Currently I’m favouring Tru Oil. I guess wipe on poly is the other popular option?
Some stain got under the 6mm tape covering the binding yesterday. Scraping that off plus the exposed binding on the back of the body must of cost me approximately six hours. I also had to fix two small chips of binding which were cracking off. There are a few other cracks in the binding around the place which have stain within the fractures, but I don’t mind, makes it look older to me which suits the overall look of the instrument. I made a nifty little tool to help scrape the top of the f holes from some of the leftover aluminium used to make the notched straight edge.
That burst looks great! The hand applied stain gives it so much more character than if you had sprayed it. Definitely the right choice for this kit.
Thank you Trv! It looks better in reality compared to the photos which make it look a bit harsh. I agree with your comments.
I’ve never used tru oil, but a lot of the forum swear by it. Poly is an option if you don’t mind the pong. I have had some good results with the Dingo Tone clear finish and Neck finish (just no luck with the black stump). I am using a rustoleum clear spray on with my SV and ST builds at the moment, which is going quite well, though it takes a lot of patience and careful spraying.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkMark
And the neck is stained. I had real trouble with this task. Difficult timber? General incompetence? I don’t know? After it was dry I decided to grab a near dry black stain rag out of the bin and give the unusually patched light areas a touch up so they don’t stand out like dogs b’s. I think it was the right thing to do.
Looks like it's been damaged and repaired....not very well.
:( I was hoping it just looked worn. I saw your bursting efforts Mr Frog, nice work!
Maybe its the resolution of the screen I'm using or the lighting in the photo, but it doesn't look too bad in that picture. Maybe its not what you were hoping for, but you quickly learn that guitars often have their own ideas of how they want to look. They're a bit like adolescent girls in that respect.
As a parent of a five year old girl I think I already know what you mean, Fretworn. The joys of working with a natural product. I was aiming for a matching neck burst but one side of the neck went dark right from the first coat of golden teak. There where also areas across the neck which were horribly patchy. I almost gave up and stained it all black. Glad I didn’t take any photos before this stage, it looked horrible. So not what I was hoping for but happy in the end.