^ This is what I think, the finish will take up a lot of that gap. I would just keep going, maybe put a couple of extra coats in that area.
EDIT: Ugh.. new page... but what Jim was saying.
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^ This is what I think, the finish will take up a lot of that gap. I would just keep going, maybe put a couple of extra coats in that area.
EDIT: Ugh.. new page... but what Jim was saying.
Yes, it's not normal to lacquer the sides of the neck pocket (probably both to make fitting the neck easier and to reduce costs having to polish up the pocket sides which is both awkward and time consuming), but in this case it will certainly help, and you could end up with a much smaller gap.
Got the "veneer" glued in.
https://i.imgur.com/8Wav1XY.jpg
Planed down level with the body.
https://i.imgur.com/jkmfq7y.jpg
Routed. Spot the veneer.
https://i.imgur.com/Yee8GEx.jpg
Not perfect but a little bit more work with the scraper and it'll be a nicer fit than before. Here is a test fit of the neck.
https://i.imgur.com/mXTO1hY.jpg
No half-measures there!
Good work. Did you plane it down with your recently acquired finger planes?
Thanks mate. Nah just one of my hand planes. I need to spend a bit of time having a look at the finger planes and seeing if they need any work prior to using them.Quote:
Originally Posted by McCreed
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Very tidy work.
Thanks mate. I admit I procrastinated a bit but once I actually started it was a pretty quick and straight forward fix.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkMark
I decided to go and get another piece of Sheoak which I cut a length off for the fretboard for this guitar. I cut the fret slots, glued the fretboard on the neck, trimmed it and then sanded the transition. I did have a set of fret dots here but I couldn't bring myself to disrupt the medullary rays in the fretboard, so I went with side dots only on this build.
Honestly there are a few blemishes which I'm disappointed about but as this is only my second guitar build I have to accept that it's a learning process and I will get better with future builds.
https://i.imgur.com/4v5YspK.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/625FsTp.jpg
Here it is mocked up with the body and some of the hardware.
https://i.imgur.com/wt6RDko.jpg
I also noticed in this photo that there is an interesting optical illusion at the end of the guitar around the arm contour because I haven't rounded over the area yet. And the medullary rays make it look like the fret slots are fanning but I actually double checked it after I saw the photo and they definitely are straight.
Next up is carving the neck which is the bit I enjoyed most on my first build.
Woah, that is an awesome bit of wood! I know what you mean about the errors, I get a bit to obsessive about boo boos. Generally though they become way less apparent than you might think once its all finished and assembled.
VERY nice Woltz!
Look forward to seeing that timber with some clear on there.
So I got a bit more done.
Neck carved.
https://i.imgur.com/2Slvvzu.jpg
Drilled the holes to attach the neck.
https://i.imgur.com/USokrgW.jpg
Drilled the string-through holes and holes for the bridge mounting screws. Unfortunately the alignment of the string-through holes on this one wasn't great but I'm not going to bother plugging and redrilling. I also did the belly carve and started tidying up both the belly carve and the arm carve.
https://i.imgur.com/bZDMaIb.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/t2KlCgV.jpg
I just need to tidy up a small flat spot on the fretboard, file a couple of high spots on the back of the neck and then fret the neck and I'll be on the sanding and finishing.
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That's looking great Woltz.
You'll be glad I don't live in Canberra anymore... I would have become a serial pest by now!
What's your neck carve like? Standard C-shape, kind of medium thickness?
I see your wearing thongs now. Snow must be gone from the Brindabellas :p
Thanks mate. Haha you'd be welcome to come and have a look if you visit. It's roughly around a mid 60's C shape. Haha it's only just warm enough for the thongs, as you know September/October is a weird time in Canberra, one day it's shorts and thongs, next day you need the central heating again.Quote:
Originally Posted by McCreed
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Just seen this thread and read all the way through.
There is some real skill in that build and the wood choice is beautiful.
The routing work is excellent - I need a router table!
Looking forward to seeing the finish go on.
Cheers
Ricky
S'funny, I don't like and have never owned a strat or strat derivative, no real reason just the look I guess. Maybe I didn't like Hank and Eric's sounds or styles.
You Sir, have turned me around with this build and maybe inspired me to go for one!
Looking forward to seeing this one completed
I didn’t like Strats for ages, probably because all the ones I saw to start with when I got into guitars in the mid-1970s were large headstock ones, which I still dislike. It wan’t until the return of small headstock Strats to the shops that I started to like the look of them, far more balanced. But I could never own a large headstock Strat. I’ve played them and worked on them and they play as well and don’t sound any different, but for me, the look, ugh!
Thanks mate. The router table definitely makes things easier. I'm really happy with the wood selection, I think once the clear coat goes on it will looks fantastic. There are a few little blemishes that most people would never see but I know are there but it's all a learning process.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ricky
Thanks mate. Very kind of you to say.Quote:
Originally Posted by impala59
Frets are in. Time to sand and then clear coat.
https://i.imgur.com/tRudoFu.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/u605qfH.jpg
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The whole thing looks great, but I really like that fretboard.
That'll really come alive with a clear coat on there. For some reason I think the periodic interruption of the frets actually make that grain stand out more than it did without.
Nice work.
Looks great, love the sheoak fretboard.
Hi Wolt
I am currently planning a scratch build with Queenland Mahogany also known as Red Mahogany.
I have a slice about 3 metres long, 600mm wide and 37mm thick. Been drying for 2 years in the garage. "Hard as the hobs........"
The web said it is a construction timber suitable for bridges etc. Suitable for guitars ????? I'm having a go.
So far I have cut a block big enough to make an SG.
Levelling with a Belt Sander and hoping to cut the shape roughly with a jigsaw. Then router on template.
That's the theory.
I haven't started a diary yet, I have been waiting to see how the jigsaw cuts. Have phots of progress so far.
I will check you other builds to get a few hints. Any early advice would be appreciated
Greg
Simon: If you read this. I have a Maton Australian of Tassie Blackwood plus other Aussie timbers. Love it.
We better not hijack Woltz's post though.
Hi GregQuote:
Originally Posted by GregLane
Apologies in advance for the long post but here are a few of my thoughts looking back.
I'm sure you are aware that the Queensland Mahogany is not actually a mahogany at all, its a variety of Eucalyptus. It's quite heavy but for an SG it should be fine because they have quite thin bodies. My thinline tele that I made from scratch is a thinline simply because I used Eucalyptus and a solid body would've been far too heavy.
I'm not someone that believes wood has an effect on regular electric guitars. In my opinion the tonewood conversation only applies when we are talking acoustic instruments. So I'm not particularly fussy when it comes to choosing woods for electric builds. I just pick something that I think will finish nicely and is not so heavy that it will break your back.
I personally wouldn't use the belt sander to try and level out the body because I doubt I'd be happy with the end result. I would either get a No. 5 or No. 6 hand plane, calipers and some winding sticks, or conversely build a jig to be able to use the router to level the timber.
Once the timber is level you could use the jigsaw to roughly cut it out although with timber that hard you probably won't get a nice square cut line around the edge of the body. So that leaves a couple of options, either use the jigsaw but give yourself some buffer between the marked line and where you cut or find a friend or Men's Shed with a bandsaw that you could use.
Now if you do use a jigsaw then absolutely do not go to template routing straight away as it is a recipe for disaster which can result in serious injury if something goes wrong. There will be too much material to take off with the router at this point. You could look up the robosander flush trim sander as an option if you have a drill press. A note on routing, make sure you have very sharp good quality router bits, you could even look at spiral bits.
For template routing, it's much easier to use a router table (if you don't have one check out YouTube, it's relatively easy and cheap to make your own).
When I do my templates I make a master template on thin mdf (you could also purchase a set of master templates which would save you time) because it is easy to shape and sand edges of thin mdf versus thick to remove imperfections and then I use the master template to create a working template on thicker mdf. When choosing the thickness of the working template you should think about the cutting depth of your router bits and the depth of the cavities to make sure you aren't caught in a situation where you can rout what you need to.
Are you buying or making the neck?
I'm certainly no expert on this stuff and I'm still learning as well but I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. There are some other experienced members on this forum doing scratch building so absolutely use them as a resource well.
Cheers,
Michael
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I am on record as saying I don’t really like Strats but yours is changing my opinion in a similar way that Sonics offset changed my mind about those types. I am perhaps being educated here!
Thanks Woltz for the info and advice.
I have Triton Tables and equipment except a band saw so that is why I thought I would give it a go. The Mens shed is a couple of K away "in case of emergency".
I did consider the router jig trick but the timber is very flat so I bought a belt sander for Xmas. I need to sand about 3 mm off the thickness so that gives a bit of leeway. Progress so far is promising.
I think building a neck is a bit beyond me. I expect to be be contacting Adam.
I will start a Diary shortly so we can talk then.
By the way, I only found your build yesterday so I have a bit of reading to do. Looks great! Love the colour.
Greg
Shoot dude! That fretboard looks shmick!
Hi everyone,
I thought I'd just add a quick comment to say that this guitar is for sale either now (with all of the parts obviously) or if there is no interest in it as an unfinished instrument then I'll finish it as time allows and then put it up for sale as a completed guitar. If anyone is interested then feel free to send me a message. Pickup is in Canberra.
Cheers,
Woltz
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I've done the grain filling on the neck and body with Aquacoat. All going to plan I hopefully will spray the clear coat this weekend.
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I reckon if I was in or around Canberra I'd be very tempted by the above offer ^, but I also have enough projects of my own for now, and I'd like to see this one finished :)
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So I had an Ah F#$k moment on the weekend. Yet again my nemesis (guitar finishing) got me. I sprayed the guitar and neck with the new spray gun (which I have to say sprayed so much nicer than the cheap one I had previously). After spraying though I was left with a blotchy finish on the edges of the guitar and whilst the neck wasn't blotchy, the colour didn't change at all and it doesn't look like I was expecting. After reading a bit more online most people seem to recommend clear coating first and then aquacoat, then sanding and then spraying final clear. Now I'll have to sand the body and see what I can do to salvage it. With the neck I'll have a closer look at it before making any decisions.
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I decided to polish the neck as the couple of small spots where the colour is different isn't obvious. The clear came off the gun nicely so I just did a tiny smooth out with some 2000 grit. But I noticed as I was polishing that I'd had a tiny little sand through on the headstock. I have no idea how because I barely did any sanding and I was using virtually zero pressure. I can only assume the finish was very very thin at that one spot. You can see it in the first picture where the gloss ends. Now I'm not sure whether to just leave it or spray it again.
https://i.imgur.com/DX91vYF.jpg
Here are some other photos.
https://i.imgur.com/oto78Ge.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZNiocFK.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/I7m6Ufy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/LqBXyhz.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/LqBXyhz.jpg
That fretboard!!!
Looks great. I guess it's your call on touching it up, I can't really see it in the pics. I haven't used aquacoat so I'm not sure how easy it is to blend/touch up.
Sonic, it's acrylic lacquer. So I'm thinking I might scuff just the headstock and hit it with another coat when I spray the body again.
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Yeah that should blend fine then, no reason to redo the whole thing.
That clear really makes it come alive. Beautiful!
Agree that just a touch up when you do the body is all you'll need. It would be a pain to break out the gun just for that, but sometimes that what it takes. 5 minutes of spraying with 45 minutes of set up and breakdown and cleaning!
Don't recall if you have one, but his is where an airbrush is perfect for touch ups like that. Still have set up & cleaning time but it takes me less than my gun.
I have painted the body and touched up the headstock. While I am waiting for the paint to harden here are a bunch of photos of another project I have on the go at the moment.
https://i.imgur.com/8660UWN.jpg?1
Seat
https://i.imgur.com/gLXiyLD.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/TEaTV1S.jpg
Centre seat board with pommel
https://i.imgur.com/UBjemQx.jpg
Front leg blanks
https://i.imgur.com/gaXcEqU.jpg
Rear legs
https://i.imgur.com/7utRhKf.jpg
Wow, what a great project.
Where do the PUPs go?
Following with interest :)
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Don't need PUPs because once it is finished I'll already be rocking...... ba dum tssQuote:
Originally Posted by Trevor Davies
Attachment 40139
Oh dearie dear
Turns out you have company in a lot of different genres...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhTNGDy-WPU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9NH1nhpR-0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jlY1s3paVg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jlY1s3paVg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jlY1s3paVg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jlY1s3paVg
(First and last are the ones I like best... ;-)