GS-7Q Build

I stumbled across PitBull guitars some months ago now as a result of some online ads. I've always been skeptical about kit guitars because i've not always heard great things about their quality.
A couple of years ago I came across some Fender workshop drawings, and at the time worked 24/7 with CNC machines so couldn't say no and decided to replicate a David Gilmour black strat.
I no longer work within an industry where such tools are readily available.
Anyways, I decided to take the plunge and get myself a 7-string, as i've wanted one for a while and was feeling the urge to build myself another guitar - two birds..

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

Safe to say I'm really impressed with the kit - On closer inspection there were some minor issues, however i've seen some post images of damage sustained through postage and feel mine did well on the way over from Australia.
A few minor marks on the back but nothing a damp cloth and soldering iron couldn't fix.

https://i.imgur.com/D6MGKcfl.jpg

An obscene amount of sanding later and it was ready for the grain filler...

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

Wish i'd thinned the grain filler a little more and did a thinner coat. MORE SANDING!

https://i.imgur.com/1VJl0ygl.jpg

I don't think I took a photo of anything once the filler was sanded back, so here's a photo of the body after a few coats of stain.

https://i.imgur.com/tkZfz46l.jpg

Also came across this minor issue whilst staining the side. Not sure why this has happened, but decided to go darker around the side, which covered this quite nicely.

During the endless hours of sanding and staining, some quilted maple offcuts i'd ordered arrived so I could experiment.
The whole finishing process has been quite experimental as i've not used stains before and have been quite excited to have a go with a cool quilted burl.

When I first stained the mahogany, I was quite nervous thinking there was an issue with the grain filler as it raised the grain as soon as the stain went on, however after some quick sanding the grain settled and it remained smooth :cool:

https://i.imgur.com/ZXpQpPPl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5pLgwGtl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/orpQEg3l.jpg

Experimenting with my stains on the sample sheets to get used to it and hopefully not mess the real thing up!
My main aim was to work out if a brown or black base would work best. Decided to go with a brown base in the end.
Anyway, I wanted to get the mahogany bits finished first...

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

As mentioned previously, I decided to go dark around the outside, so mixed some black with the brown and am pleased with the result!

https://i.imgur.com/vjc6lZol.jpg

Loving the contrast between the dark edge and the bright maple

https://i.imgur.com/rTq3qyil.jpg

Finally its time to stain the top!

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

I always knew that putting some stain on the veneer was going to highlight any imperfections mainly around the binding, but also just under the left cutaway and the join line of the veneer which wouldn't take stain. Someone got a bit glue happy in the factory - I've seen worse, but still needs fixing.
After some research, I used the wire brush and wire wool method which worked a treat.

https://i.imgur.com/CVGgtp2l.jpg

Was also greeted with more random imperfections - was quite nervous about sanding these marks out and not going through the veneer.

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

Sanded back and a much brighter finish - ready for some blue :cool:

https://i.imgur.com/kbzYGE3l.jpg

Headstock first - just in case!

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

Really pleased with how this has turned out! I've since rubbed it back slightly with some wire wool and applied another coat of blue. The area of the cutaway on the left where the scratches were seems to take stain fine but is a bit lighter so i've put a few extra coats to darken it.

I'm currently waiting for some oil to arrive to give it some depth and shine. I'm in two minds about fixing the neck in the meantime and oiling the whole thing as one, or oiling them both separately and then fixing the neck afterwards.

That's coming together nicely.

Yeah, that's looking really good

Bloody marvellous, well done!

Great work. Glad you are just pushing through with the construction issues and not letting them stop you.

I don't know what grit paper you used on the sides of the body, but sometimes sanding with too fine a grit can 'polish' the wood and prevent the stain being taken up evenly. It doesn't need to be ultra-smooth, just flat and free of sanding marks. Stop at P180 or P240 if you can. Also, on the curved sides of the body, you get a mixture of side grain and end grain - and end-grain will always take up more stain than side grain.

Thanks for the kind words!
Also thanks Simon for the heads up, I did go a few grades further which would explain it but seems to be quite hidden now.

No updates to my build really unfortunately - due to a delivery issue with my oil.
I've just filled some gaps in the binding and added some black stain to the outer edge of the maple top for a burst effect.
https://i.imgur.com/Pj1bcj1l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Kabwwc3l.jpg

I was going to oil the neck and body separately just for ease of handling, but now i've been informed it will be a few more days I may just work towards fixing the neck in the meantime..

I also decided early on to direct mount the pickups as I much prefer this look - I'm not a fan of mounting rings particularly when they cover up the burls on a topped guitar..
Anyone have any idea on the spec of screw or a shop that supplies to the UK for self tapping screws to mount my pickups? I have seen direct mounting kits online but i'm not willing to spend upwards of £40 just so I can mount them.

The pickup screws for humbuckers are normally either 3-48 (no.3 with 48 threads per inch) for US pickups or M3 for most Asian-made units. So you could just look for suitable wood screws of a similar size if you want to re-use the existing holes without damaging them. You shouldn't need anything very long as you won't have much depth of wood at the bottom of the rout.

WD do a decent range of screws.
https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/hardware-p...ts-washers-c58

Allparts also have a good range but their stocks are so depleted as their US factory is in Houston and has been fully closed for the lockdown. Their website is also painfully slow. https://www.allparts.uk.com/

But if the pickups are single screw per side types, it's normally easy to drill a hole either side of the normal one, so you can use two screws per end (which helps set the pickup angle), along with blocks of neoprene foam underneath the pickup for height and to act as a spring. I bought a whole range of different thicknesses of self-adhesive neoprene sheet for various purposes. It's firm and not too squashy (maybe up to 1/4 of its height) , so you need some slightly over a bit over the correct height. Better to either get some thinner stuff and use several layers, or a thicker block and cut it down to size. Drilling extra holes allows you to still use the pickups with mounting rings at a later date.

There was a discussion on direct mount methods some while ago here:

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...l=1#post139675

I think FrankenWashie made his own adjustable direct mount hardware similar to the FU Tone block https://www.fu-tone.com/product/pms-...unting-system/ , but I can't find the thread. Not hard to make if you have any basic metal working skills, some taps and dies and a bit of brass or steel.

Looking great, I'm doing the 6 sting version (much more slowly) and aiming for basically that exact top (natural back though).

Looking forward to seeing the rest come together. What kind of oil are you planning to use that won't shift the color to green?

That's a real nice looking axe there buddy. I'm going to keep an eye on this one's progress.

Thanks Simon, soon after posting my last I had a rummage around through the screws within the kit and offered up the pickup surround screws to the pickup tabs which slide right through. They may just about be long enough to use and still get the height needed, but if not I may have to explore other avenues as you stated.
I've seen a few people use old flip flops cut up to use as backing under their pickups. To save buying any more materials for such a small job, and funnily enough i've got some flip flops that won't be missed, i'll give this method a go and see how it pans out.

Chaosblade - Funnily enough I was checking your build out as I started mine and have been checking back for updates! Wouldn't mind a 6 string of my own to pair with but I'll just stick with what I've got for now to keep the mrs on my side :p
The oil i've got on order is the Crimson Guitars penetrative guitar finishing oil. Theres some good demo videos on their Youtube of how they use it. It may pull some stain out in the first few applications i'm led to believe, but I'm not aware of any colour changes as such.
As soon as it arrives within the next few days I will start oiling and put up a post if it changes colour.

At a glance it's supposed to be similar to Tru-oil? Tru-oil definitely imparts a slight amber tint that gets stronger over time. For most colors that's generally not a problem, and it's beneficial for more natural colors. Blue is just an oddball color for finishing, and blue dye tends to be loaded with asterisks (i.e., a brand of dyes might advertise lightfastness, but note an exception that the blue dye is less lightfast).

I settled on a water-based poly because dries completely clear and should stay that way.

It's been a while since I last uploaded - I must have forgotten to upload the last few updates..

So the stain is all finished now so the neck has been set.

https://i.imgur.com/f6fwLz2.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/G6Av6Vj.jpg

Used Gorilla glue which seemed to set pretty quickly, but regardless I left it clamped for around 24 hours. Also used some scrap wood and cardboard as packers to prevent any damage to finish.

My biggest holdup throughout this whole build by far was waiting for my finishing oil to turn up. This took almost 3 weeks to arrive due to delays in stock of bottles arriving from the supplier. I used Crimson Guitars - Penetrating guitar finish oil. Here are the results;

https://i.imgur.com/UYywUDV.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NoBE1vW.jpg

Theres quite a nice sheen to it now, not massively glossy.
I pretty much followed the method demonstrated on their Youtube channel. I found that the first few coats it pulled some stain out, but this didn't effect the finish at all. I only noticed as it had turned the cloth blue!
Also it hasn't caused any discolour at all and seems to have given some depth. This is about 7 coats of oil. They say that the bottle provided can produce a high gloss finish for 1 guitar or a satin finish to two - I've only used about half, if that - so may revisit one day and layer up some more, we'll see..

I also spent some time fitting all the hardware into place so that it was ready to go for when the electrics were all done. Shielding tape turned up soon after so it was time to mess with that.
I had secured the pickups into their cavities prior to this and noticed how low they sat and that they'd be nowhere near the strings. The easiest fix would be i'd need to make some small blocks to sit at either end of the cavities to raise them a bit and then cover them with shielding tape. In the meantime I had a bamboo chopping board split on me, which I repaired, before it split again - The board was made up of multiple strips about 5mm in thickness, so this was my donor wood.

https://i.imgur.com/KnHYS8L.jpg

I quite enjoy putting shielding tape in guitars, time consuming but quite therapeutic.

Anyway.. Since all of this has gone on, the electrics have all been installed and soldered into place so it is now a fully built guitar - Photos to follow...
However - For whatever reason, my pickups sound really quite rubbish (diagram followed). They're sitting around 3-4mm from the strings so I have no concern with regards to that as an issue. Anyone else found their pickups to be a bit pants, or have any suggestions as to what it may be/have any pointers? TIA