First Build GPB-4M

Hi all

Following another user's post on a UK music forum about Pitbull Guitars, I did a bit of investigation, reading some build diaries and other threads and then ended up buying one. Always wanted to build a guitar and so thought this might be a good introduction. Never built one before, and as the first suggestion is to start with a build diary... here we are!

Quite impressed that it arrived in the UK so quickly, especially considering the lockdown and I took delivery last Friday. Fairly pleased with the quality.

https://i.imgur.com/8U6b8DO.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/VO70aQh.jpg

The nut must have come out in transit and the pick guard needs a little work to fit. Neck seems to fit ok.

Going to follow the guide on this forum and start with the scale length, positioning of the bridge, drilling the appropriate holes for the bridge and neck.

Should I also drill the pick guard holes at this stage too? I'm sure I read that if they are left till later, then you can run the risk of damaging the finish, though presumably they'll be under the pickguard.

My plan for the finish, is to keep the natural wood finish showing. The grain looks ok to me as a non expert.

So I plan to sand it (obviously) then as ash appears to need it, use a grain filler - Rustins Oak Grain Filler in fact, to give it a slight tint. Maybe two, possibly three coats of that, then go to some wipe on poly. I was reading some articles by someone called Bob Flexnor - a US woodworker, about wipe on poly (well we're in lockdown in the UK, so I needed to entertain myself until the kit arrived!) and he recommends making your own - 50/50 blend of varnish and white spirit. I have a tin of yacht varnish which I'll use. I'll try it on some scrap wood first. Stuff I've seen by him and also online suggests around 4-5 coats of that should be sufficient?

Happy for anyone to critique, point out any flaws/advice etc. I'll try and post pics as I go along. Hoping that these photos show in my post.

Another question. I'm going to cut the headstock. I don't have a coping saw, but do have a jigsaw. The guide suggests using a jigsaw, is that a fairly standard way of doing it?

Also what are the pickups like? I was considering replacing them with something like the Seymour Duncan's 1/4 pounders - I'll see if the dimensions are the same?

Great to start on a P Bass - started there myself! Jigsaw is fine - take your time to clean it up afterwards.

Nut - makes it easier to replace with bone - otherwise a drop or two of superglue and you're good to go.

Pickups can be better than expected - have kept about half of mine so far, others I've replaced. They're easy to do - so you can hold off until you've wired it all up and see if you like the sound.

Hi and welcome, Wonks here.

I'd drill the pickguard holes later after the finish is on. All the time you're wet sanding, there's a risk of water getting in the holes and the wood swelling and the finish splitting, even if you fill the holes with wax first. But others do the opposite. Neither way is perfect. Manufacturers drill the pickguard holes last, so you'll often get some slight finish splintering around the screw holes. But as you say, they are under the guard so small imperfections can't be seen. And a sharp drill, a small punch and tape over the hole locations cam help keep things together.

Yes, you've got a really nice piece of wood for the body there, so maybe a light amber tint and it should be fine. You'll find that the grain filler doesn't really tint the ash at all, it will only colour the grain lines it fills. So you may want to do a light amber stain wash over the whole body after the filler has been applied, but if you rub the body down with turps, white spirit or meths, that will dampen the wood (without raising the grain like water does) and show you the colour you'll get if you put a clear finish on. If that looks fine, then just apply the clear coats. If it's a bit pale for you, then you might want to do an overall weak amber (or similar) stain.

You'll need to sand the grain filler right back to the wood once applied as you won't want to leave a covering of grain filler all over the body. You'll probably need at least two applications of the filler as you say. Don't try and do too much at once as the filler will shrink back a bit as it dries, but leaving it on for too long before sanding back becomes much harder work. So you want to minimise the excess filler applied each time, but then let it dry for a bit and do some sanding back, but leave enough so that it can contract a bit and still be slightly proud of any grain lines before a final sanding back.

Number of coats of finish really depends on the thickness of each layer. There's always a tendency to want to apply too much, which results in runs. You'll need enough thickness to be able to sand the finish flat before polishing it, and that is all going to depend on how well the grain filler works. The deeper the dips left after grain filling, the more coats you'll need.

Hi Stuart,
Looks like you've got a nice neck and body there. Good score.
I'm strictly talking about the guitar by the way... ;)
Drew

Hi guys

Thanks for those tips. I understand about the pick guard holes, I think I'll leave them for the moment.

In terms of an amber wash, that's a fair point, I thought the grain filler might give it more of a tint. Without spoon feeding me, what sort of product should I be looking at for an amber stain? Or any colour come to that? I'm presuming I need an oil based one as I'm using an oil based finish?

Did the scale length today with the help of an excellent guide by Dingobass (great name). Was reasonably straightforward, other than all my clamps are of the old metal Record G clamp screw style and are a pig to use in situations like this. Drilled the holes for the bridge and doing the neck holes tomorrow before starting on the neck.

You can use water or spirit/alcohol based stains/dyes on it. Spirit/alcohol stains are easier to use IMO, but tend to penetrate further than water based stains, so are more messy when you've got binding to think about, but you don't. You'll want to thin the stain, so for spirit stains you can use isopropyl alcohol (hard to get ATM) but I've used meths without any issues.

Both types of stain are fine regardless of the finish going on top. The water/alcohol is only the carrying medium for the pigment and will evaporate off before you apply any other finish on top.

Always err on the weak side with stains. You can always add another application of stain, but you can't remove an application that's too intense.

I generally use these suppliers for equipment and finishes these days:

https://www.rothkoandfrost.com/
https://tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/
https://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/shop/

I've got a selection of these spirit stains at home, but I've also used the water-based ones. https://www.rothkoandfrost.com/wood-...-wood-dye-t226

Ok, I'll take the advice on stains, thank you. I'll practice on a bit of oak I've got and see how that turns out.

After the first week of pretty much letting the wood settle down (and having to work) I've had the chance to spend some time on it. Followed the guide for setting the scale length, bridge and drilled the holes for the bridge and lined up the pickups and drilled the holes for the neck.

Then decided to keep going with the instruction manual and cut the headstock. Didn't really have any great ideas for the shape, other than I wanted to keep it fairly traditional. I've got an old Mexican Fender Jazz neck with a broken truss rod (if anyone has any ideas how to replace that - can't decided whether to take the fretboard off the top or take the fillet out of the underneath to get access), so I used the shape of the headstock - more or less. (Sorry about the distracting tablecloth!)

https://i.imgur.com/9GC2hLg.jpg

Transferred it onto the neck....

https://i.imgur.com/PQxIypD.jpg

Set it up for cutting it out with my jigsaw. Annoyingly I didn't have any of the narrower blades for cutting tighter curves, so I had to do it in various passes. However managed to get more or less close to what I wanted.

https://i.imgur.com/SZx6nyi.jpg

... Some tidying up with a surform, a file and some sanding...

https://i.imgur.com/e6SWIHq.jpg

Fairly pleased with the result at the end.

Headstock looks good. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the curve I marked looks a bit sharp. I had the same thing on my headstock before I rounded that bend a bit more with a rasp and sandpaper rolled into a tube.
Attachment 34499

Continuing on through the instruction manual I decided to tackle the frets. I don't have any specialist tools for this, so had to make do with what I've got. I made a notched straight edge by cutting notches in an old fibreglass sail batten. It wasn't quite as wide as I wanted, however it was pretty straight and I tested it against some flat surfaces first and it's pretty rigid. Seemed to work ok on the fretboard and showed a slight convex bow (as described in the guide) so I adjusted it to being flat with a small turn on the rod.

https://i.imgur.com/xO8AqMT.jpg

I planed an 8 inch block of wood to make it flat and attached some sandpaper to the bottom and then after taping up the fretboard (twice - I was paranoid about going through the masking tape and gouging the fretboard!) with masking tape and marking the frets with some pen, I ran it up and down a few times. Didn't seem to take much too level them, they didn't seem too bad to be honest, though I'm no expert.

I could see that I'd flattened the tops, so I had a go at reprofiling them with some files. I have plenty of files, three corner and otherwise, but obviously not a fretfile. I found it's a bit of a technique and took a little while to get it. I had a practice on the aforementioned old neck I've got and I eventually managed to do it. Went over them with 400 and 800 grit paper (I don't have any higher grades yet, coming next week) then finished off with some wire wool to polish them.

Again, I'm pretty pleased with the result. Looked at them close up and they seem reasonably round. the proof will be when I play it I guess. Took a photo, but it doesn't really show much.

https://i.imgur.com/PvEILUA.jpg

Leaving it now, as I'm experimenting with different stains and finishes on a bit of old oak flooring, to see how they pan out. I'm now considering using some Rustins Danish Oil on the neck and fretboard (partly because I've got a fair amount of it!). It seems similar to Tru Oil - a varnish, oil and thinner blend and cures fairly hard. I don't want any colour to the neck so won't be using a stain or dye or anything.

Is Danish Oil a reasonable choice for the neck?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jugglindan

Headstock looks good. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the curve I marked looks a bit sharp. I had the same thing on my headstock before I rounded that bend a bit more with a rasp and sandpaper rolled into a tube.
Attachment 34499

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It is a little sharp, you're correct. I quite like it, but none of my other guitars have a curve that sharp, so yes you're probably right. I think I might have to round it a bit more.

Look at this thread for details on replacing the truss rod on a Squier Strat. https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ead.php?t=9146

Looks like you may need to take the board off and the skunk stripe out as well to do it properly.

Headstocks - an approximation. Otherwise buy a production guitar! Fret files aren't expensive, I got mine from PBG with my first kit.

Love the sail battten thing, I've stuffed a lot of those into pockets in a time gone by!

I may have missed it, but what are you doing with the body, from what I can see you lucked out with the grain. Looks like a fantastic piece of wood! OK, I scrolled back - look at the SteweMac amber and try to find something local.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

Look at this thread for details on replacing the truss rod on a Squier Strat. https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ead.php?t=9146

Looks like you may need to take the board off and the skunk stripe out as well to do it properly.

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I looked at the thread. That looks like an extensive piece of work!

Still, if I finish this guitar before the lockdown ends, then I may as well have a go.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Simon_B

Headstocks - an approximation. Otherwise buy a production guitar! Fret files aren't expensive, I got mine from PBG with my first kit.

Love the sail battten thing, I've stuffed a lot of those into pockets in a time gone by!

I may have missed it, but what are you doing with the body, from what I can see you lucked out with the grain. Looks like a fantastic piece of wood! OK, I scrolled back - look at the SteweMac amber and try to find something local.

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This one came from a windsurfer I think!

I've been trying out different finishes on a bit of oak flooring, which is slightly darker. Did one bit with wipe on poly (home made) and the other with Danish oil. I really like the Danish oil look to be honest, just can't decide if I want the ash au naturelle or with a little bit of darker staining. Spent the weekend, amongst other things, sanding the body and I've got it up to 240 grit. Took ages to get rid of the machining marks, especially in the cutaways! I've got a random orbital sander but obviously it's only good for the flat bits.

Having said that, it's quite therapeutic sanding and I quite enjoyed it.

Wiped some white spirit on the body to see what sort of colour I'd get and I think I'll probably go with that. Next thing is to put some grain filler on, probably two lots with sanding. I think I'll probably start with the neck and go for Danish oil on that (and the fretboard) as I don't like glossy necks. Then make a decision for the body after that.

Slow but steady progress.

(Delayed posting, should have been two weeks ago!)

First mistake, as when I put on the grain filler, I didn't wipe it off enough - consequently when I came to sand it down the following day, boy it was rock solid! Took ages!

However, managed it eventually, and it feels fantastically smooth. Made a huge difference. It's enhanced the grain slightly....

https://i.imgur.com/aE58gpj.jpg

.... I'm happy with the colour and want to keep the light ash colour, so no stain I've decided. Decided to go with wipe on poly, so I mixed some up and away we we go. Kept it fairly thin - 50/50, more or less....

https://i.imgur.com/STJVy7m.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QieTnQB.jpg

Difficult to see, but it seems to be going on ok. First coat in the photo I think.

Looking good. You really have some beautiful grain there.

So, after two weeks and 10 coats of wipe on poly, I'm happy that it's enough. Difficult to show properly, but it seems ok. Few little dust nibs but I intend polishing it, after it's cured.

https://i.imgur.com/KS29eif.jpg

(The line up the body worried me, till I figured it was the reflection from the floor!) The recommendation seems to be to leave it to cure for three weeks, so set the date on the calendar and hung it in the study, so I can smell it while I work from home!

https://i.imgur.com/0a2PRqt.jpg

Now it's the neck's turn, which I've just got a few more coats to do then that can cure as well.

If I was organised and knew what I was doing, then I'd have done it alongside the body and it would be ready at the same time. However I'm not, so I didn't, and so it won't be! Oh well, luckily I'm not in a rush. I'll know for next time.

Looks good. You could even hold off doing the body until the neck's ready to do, or just shortly before, so that you can polish them in sequence. I find that necks are a lot easier to sand back and buff-up than bodies. Probably because of all the curves, so it's a lot easier to apply pressure when sanding and polishing.

That's an idea, thanks.

I have to say, so far it's been great fun. The government should promote these as a way of making lockdown more interesting!

Another delayed posting.

More time passed in which I managed to complete the neck with around seven coats of wipe on poly. For the maple fret board I decided to go for a Danish oil as I have rather a lot of it lying around. For whatever reason i didn't take any photos of it, not sure why.

After between two and three weeks I did some level sanding on the body, working up the grits and then finished with some polish (T Cut actually) and buffed it. However I'd obviously been a little too 'vigorous' on the sanding and sanded a little too deep into the finish and consequently some of the polish (which I'd also used too much of) stained the finish. The green patches just below the tummy tuck. (The T Cut was a nice fetching green colour! It was metallic, so I thought it would be slightly less abrasive) I was also a bit too 'heavy' on some of the edges too, more difficult to see on the pic.

https://i.imgur.com/ZZCXeNe.jpg

Oops. Back out with the sander and had to take it down again and then apply three more coats of wipe on poly with associated drying time. Little bit annoying but I suppose it's all a learning curve. One benefit was that it all dried around the same sort of time, so I could take advantage of Simon's advice above and do them in sequence.

And take 2. Level sanded again (though the advantage of having already done it once, is that it didn't need much), polishing (with a different polish this time) and buffed. I was trying to get a sort of satin finish but it's gone a little glossy, however I'm happy enough with it.

https://i.imgur.com/NoEkQzq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zvZIZWl.jpg

Looks nice and smooth. Well done.

Got round to finishing it off over the (UK) Bank Holiday weekend.

Note to self, when purchasing copper shielding tape - 25mm is one inch, not two!

https://i.imgur.com/oYAUe4S.jpg

Took a few more strips than I had imagined, but hey ho.

https://i.imgur.com/WhvKvDj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QxNroEc.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qGy3JMJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/oDeN3kE.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/y9Vep0q.jpg


First assemble and when I started a basic setup, the action was stupidly low, requiring the bridge saddles to be raised to the full extent which I thought couldn't be right. Eventually decided that the neck wasn't seated correctly, so took it off. Seems that the screws weren't gripping the neck properly to the body, which was due to the holes in the body being the same size as the ones in the neck. I redrilled the holes in the body with a larger size, cleaned out any extraneous rubbish from the pocket and put it back together and bingo - 100% improvement.

I was pleased with how it turned out. My goal at the start was to keep the wood grain and hopefully end up with a simple, natural wood colour with a subtle grain. Basic and simple - pretty much like my playing!

I liked how the Danish oil brought out some of the figuring on the maple fret board. The picture isn't great but it's got a nice subtle gold hue which I like. I made a fair few mistakes and it isn't perfect by any means. The neck is a little too shiny for my liking. But with a basic setup, it plays very nicely - little more dialling in to do but I'll give it a while to settle down. Good chunky sound which I like. I'm primarily a JB player so the bigger neck is taking a little bit of getting used to. No hum whatsoever which is a relief and the pickups aren't too bad. I was originally thinking of putting some replacements in but I'll carry on with these for a while.

Big fan of wipe on poly and would definitely use that again, either on its own or over the top of a stain. It's so easy to do. I mixed up my own using a can of International yacht varnish and some white spirit, both of which I had lying around and I would do that again, as I like the ability to vary the strength.

Really enjoyed the process and definitely going to do another. Can't decide whether to do another PG one or have a go at doing one from scratch. Or both! I like the look of the IB4/5 (except they seem to be out of stock of a large amount of kits at present, unsurprisingly) so I'll wait a bit.

That looks ace. 👍

Yes, very nice.

"How much more PB could it be?"

"None. None more PB".

Came up great!