Ha! I have been there with one of mine - check out the 'binned guitar' in the signature below - the whole instrument was a bubbly mess and ended up in the bin before being rescued!
Looks all better now, so does yours!
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Ha! I have been there with one of mine - check out the 'binned guitar' in the signature below - the whole instrument was a bubbly mess and ended up in the bin before being rescued!
Looks all better now, so does yours!
Proof of life:
https://i.imgur.com/pnrbGXh.jpg
Bit of work to go on wiring it up, and making a new control cavity cover. I had to cut out an extra inch or so, because I didn't realise how bullet-style output jacks are kept in place, and the kit wasn't routed properly. Which I already knew, but I didn't realise how improperly it was (not) routed until very late...
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That is a stunning build mate, very well done. The kit routs are never set up right for the barrel jacks, it’s one of those things strat just seems to be par for the course from factory.Quote:
Originally Posted by dozymuppet
Great work Dozy. It looks fantastic!
love the colour, it looks great!
What a difference a very thin layer of veneer makes to the appearance of a guitar and you’ve certainly made the most of it. Well done!
Nice work dozy!
Would love to see some close up glam shots too!
How's it play and sound?
It doesn't play at all yet.
This was only a teaser photo, as I'm still writing it up. Grounding to the pot is proving my nemesis. I'll come back to fight tomorrow.
It was remarkably easy to set up though, so I'm looking very much to cranking the Entwistles.
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Problems grounding to the pot - is the solder just not joining? I was soldering last week end and could not get the back of pot solders hot enough to get a good joint - I think it was simply too cold in my garage. Roll on some warmer weather.Quote:
Originally Posted by dozymuppet
It's alive!
I'm going to have to come back to it one day, because it's a bloody mess. But it's alive, and that's all I need right now.
Next: New control cavity cover.
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At least you can play it! Can I suggest some push-back cotton-covered cable for the wiring? PB have it in their shop. It's way nicer than the plastic stuff, and doesn't make a bubbly melty mess if you get a bit much heat into it. If you are using the stock pots now you could solder up a new set of electrics using better Bournes or other pots from PB and then transfer it across when you are ready
Also, the old-school poisonous lead based solder seems to work a whole let better than the tin based stuff too, and tinning the metal is a good idea
Looking nice!
I see you've broken the trem arm off it already. ;)
Looking great.
Now, just get it working!
Stick a pin in it. It's done.
Plenty of stories to tell with this one, but it's done, and it plays like a beast.
https://i.imgur.com/VgcwVBt.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/B7Ut16w.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/kyoTiYz.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/AKE0DFV.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/21lWQj6.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/SrATzu5.jpeg
Relieved to have something out of the workshop for the first time in what must be at least six months.
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Man, that is beautiful.
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Looking awesome! That top is pretty stunning. The finish realy brings out the depth of the grain.
Final notes:
Definitely a few faults with the kit, particularly with the control cavity and the barrel jack, and dealing with the switch height. I had to make some mods to account for both of those, but I didn't realise this until deep into the project, after I'd already put a pretty finish down. It was solvable, but inelegant. If I'd taken the time to discover that when I got the kit, I would have considered sending it back.
Hardware upgrades:
- Grover locking tuners
- Graphtech nut
- Entwistle Dark Star pickups
- Guyker (Hipshot knock-off) bridge
- Realtone flat knobs
Body finish:
- U Beaut water-based dye
- Home brew glass poly
Neck finish:
- Tru-oil
- Home brew statin poly
Headstock finish:
- SCA gloss black spray (over the top of 5 different attempts)
Body mods:
- Extended control cavity
- Custom cavity cover (SCA spray over 5mm maple, recessed 3mm to deal with the switch height)
I'm going to replace the angled mounting rings with some flat black metal ones, because the bridge pickup in particular is too close to the strings without looking a bit weird.
I'll probably also replace the Guyker bridge with a real Hipshot at some point, because the quality is a bit iffy (but not too much of an issue at the moment).
That is a delicious looking specimen. Top marks.
Good work there fella!
Very nice, and a great advertisement for what the potential of that kit is.
Ever since you posted photos of that blue top, I've eyeballed the kit in the PBG Shop more than once! Good on ya!
Man, what a guitar!
Beautiful finishing...
I had a Google, but where do you get the Home brew glass poly?
And here I was containing myself, 'no you don't need a build right now' --watching this-- "Yes I do, veto"
Well done Dozy. It looks great. I want one now too!
Well, there have been a couple of 2nds spotted in the shop lately...
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https://i.imgur.com/B7Ut16w.jpeg
“BANJO ALERT. BANJO ALERT.”
Awesome finish! Well done!
Haha. I was wondering who would be the first to say something [emoji23]Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkMark
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[QUOTE=dozymuppet;216094]Haha. I was wondering who would be the first to say something [emoji23]
I’m surprised it took so long. But seriously, I did some jamming with a banjo player before he took off over east and we had some fun nights. Songs like Ode to Billy Joe and banjo standards I didn’t know the names of. I gave him the music to Rainbow Connection. He hadn’t even heard the song, unbelievable!
To be honest, it's not a great banjo. I'd love to either upgrade it at some point. I spent a bit of time learning some finger rolls and standards years ago, but I've pretty much forgotten everything now.
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That's a beautiful guitar DM, great work.
I can just imagine the moment of realisation that the switch was too deep!
Thats amazing staining and a lovely quilt. Can you explain more in detail the process for the benefit of newbies like me in thus forum. Did you sand the veneer before the black stain? With what grit sandpaper did u sand the black and then the blue? Did u hand sand it or use a rotary?
It was a while ago, but I sanded the veneer a bit before staining, probably with 180. Which is probably what I used for subsequent sanding.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drashkum
120 is generally recommended, to receive the stain evenly. And 240 is generally not recommended, because it can make the surface too smooth you receive the stain evenly. I’m a rebel, so I went 180 (I think).
All hand sanded.
180? really? ... They usually say light sand with 320 or 400 as it is a paperthin veneer.... 180 is too rough I thought...Quote:
Originally Posted by dozymuppet
That blue effect is something else, awesome look, the grain pattern is beautiful, highlighting it with the black base was meant to happen. Great work.
You shouldn't need to sand the veneer at all. If you've wet it and raised the grain, then all you need is a 'drag sand', literally just pulling some sandpaper across at one edge so it catches and pulls off the loose fibres. P320 or P400 would work for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drashkum
Pressing down with P320 or P400 on veneer would be likely to close up the grain so stain take-up would be patchy.
You wouldn't normally choose to use P180 on veneer, but in Dozy's case it worked. You do need a very light touch though.
That's why I was shocked when dozy said 180. I want to base stain my build black and the sand back and do the colours. I am so afraid that i might sand through. So i have been postponing the staining and doing other things on the build until I get some confidence.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Dozys grain pop has come out amazingly well.
Is there a method to this madness of base staining a thin veneer or should I abandon the thought and do only colours and Burst?
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I did it to my first ES-1 build. Looking back, it looks like I also used P180.
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...l=1#post160155
You just don't want to use too concentrated a stain, enough to provide some darkness, but not enough so that you need to sand too much off to expose some unstained wood. You've got maybe a 0.6mm thick veneer, so can really only sand 0.1mm off before things start getting risky.
I started sanding a flame maple top on a Telecaster body that I'd bought off eBay that had been stained pretty much solid black. I thought it was 3mm maple cap (as it had black binding and it just looked like a solid top), so sanded without thought until I started to get some pale wood showing. Unfortunately the pale wood was the body underneath the thin veneer, and in an attempt to sand away the solid black, I'd gone right through. So the veneer got sanded off and I just stained the alder body.
How the flame/quilt looks after trying to 'pop' the grain is all down to the depth and quality of the flame/quilt in the veneer. Dozy had a superb bit of quilt on his guitar. A good bit of flame/quilt will look good even without 'popping' it with a darker colour. But I've had 'flame' maple with hardly any flame in it, and even that was patchy.
After reading through many threads I arrived at these take home points for base black stain on a thin veneer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
1. I must dilute the black before applying. The black must be just enough to stain the open end grain and not the closed face grain ( 1 part dye to 5 parts alcohol in my case which i have found out by staining scrap. It may differ with people)
2. Just apply 1 thin single pass /coat so that it doesn't soak in too much. Wring the cloth and remove the excess stain before applying
3. Applying a damp rag before base staining a black would fill the pores so that black doesnt penetrate too much?
4. Take off the excess black using acetone or Denatured alcohol first.
4. No pre sanding. Sanding with 320 or 400 is better on a sponge than a wooden block so as to drag sand the raised grain rather than sanding 0.1mm of veneer although People Have had success with 180grit too...
Is this ok @Simon Barden. Should i go this way?
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There are no guarantees, but with the black stain, too little is always better than too much.
The more black you put on, the darker the main stain will be, so if you want say a light and bright red, then it’s probably best to leave out the black stage.
I only did it once myself, so I’m no expert.
Any sanding of veneer needs to be gentle. Yes, you want to remove the top layer of stained wood, but no more than that. Using a fine grit makes it easier to do so, but you also risk making the surface too closed to take the next layer of stain well. The surface of the veneer is already flat and ‘level’ i.e. it doesn’t have dips and ridges (or it shouldn’t have). The surface doesn’t need to be super-smooth at this stage. That will come after you put the final clear coats on.
Understand what you are trying to achieve with each step. There are several ways each one can be accomplished, so choose a method you’re happy with.
"Understand what you are trying to achieve with each step. There are several ways each one can be accomplished, so choose a method you’re happy with."
Solid advice.