Attachment 37782
Any advice for a total newb?!?
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Attachment 37782
Any advice for a total newb?!?
Is there a bridge ground hole drilled? It should be a small hole for a wire to go from the control cavity or bridge pickup cavity to one of the bridge posts. My GS-2Q and GMS-7F didn't have one, so you might need to drill that.
Finish plans?
it doesn't look like it. Honestly...the electrical is giving me the most anxiety. I've never done anything like this.
My finish is going to be a 3 way burst from bright green, to blue, to purple, to black with a black back...and then mirror finish.
That part, I've over thought for many months.
basic question here, but, again...total newb! your GS-2Q...glue in neck?? If so...did you just use normal wood glue to set it?
Looking forward to seeing how it comes out.
Yes, you glue in the set neck. Normal wood glue like Titebond works just fine. It probably won't sit all the way in the pocket, make sure to check the scale length so you know where the neck needs to be glued in. Also need to make sure the neck sits straight in the pocket during your mock build, if you haven't done one yet.
Attachment 37781
Front Staining
Attachment 37783
back staining
Attachment 37784
and then I realized....I hate how this looks....so...I guess I really need to figure out how this neck install is supposed to work so I can contour this appropriately. Cuz I don't see how I'm going to look (or play) past this once it's finished.
Any easy to follow videos or instructions? I thought I understood the neck install...but this is making me think I didn't get it as much as I thought I did.
That stain looks great!
I see what you mean about the neck/body aesthetic. I haven't built one of these kits so I can't speak to it's placement, but I think I'd have to do some contouring if it looked like that too
Attachment 37796
newly shaped contour
Attachment 37797
This looks really cool. Nice work on the heel as well, I always prefer that to be smoothed off a bit.
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...1&d=1603649756
i did my first guitar soldering not long ago, i found it really helpful to get a couple of extra pots and wiring and do a practice one exactly the same as the real one, watch loads of vids and also get solder with flux inside it, much easier to work with.Quote:
Originally Posted by marcianotmarsha
Also solder as much as you can on a template outside the guitar before you install, as it can get quite busy trying to do it all inside the guitar.
That's a hell of a paint job, friend-o! Love what you've done with the heel sculpting as well. I'm about to try it (likely with far-uglier results) on a build of mine.
Electrical is definitely nerve wracking, I would suggest getting a few wiring diagrams from the web, plus the folks here really know what they're talking about. You're in good hands
The nice thing about electrics is that most individual bits are fairly cheap, and unless you contrive to melt the pickups or something it's hard to do anything irrevocable. The main thing is to make sure the soldering iron can't possibly contact that spectacular finish. Lots of cardboard masks and stuff.
soldering really isn't a black art, its very easy when you follow a few basic rules. The surfaces to be joined have to be clean and bright, not such a problem on the wire but the back of pots need abrading to make them shine a bit.
The soldering iron tip needs to also be clean, abrade it the tip with a light rub of wet and dry and then tip cleaner. Dip in in flux (which I personally use for all soldering, even with flux cored solder) and then when it comes in contact with solder the latter should be shiny, if it's dull and blobby you'll get a cold joint which will lead to excessive contact with electrical parts trying to get a good joint and possible burn out of pots.
Also when soldering a resistor to a pot, use a heat sink such as an hair clip to on one of the terminals to prevent over heating of the component.
Soldering if done correctly is in out fast, if the preparation is right that's the way it will go.
decided to make a fret leveler.
First I leveled off an aluminum level by sanding it down until I wore off all the sharpie from the entire surface,
then double sided duct tape for the win to attatch 1200 grit sandpaper.
Attachment 37819 Attachment 37820
Also, been shellacking and poly-ing the body and neck...
Not "Black art" you say. :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mosrite Slab
I know SOME of the words in all of what you've said. But not many of them. :D yikes!
Here is a good link for soldering, it’s for electronic boards but still relevant for some technique
http://mightyohm.com/files/soldercom...erComic_EN.pdf
That's great! Good on ya.Quote:
decided to make a fret leveler.
First I leveled off an aluminum level by sanding it down until I wore off all the sharpie from the entire surface,
then double sided duct tape for the win to attatch 1200 grit sandpaper.
You'll find there are quite a few DIY luthier tools that are inexpensive to make, and can be just as effective as bought ones.
I personally prefer a shorter levelling bar, but plenty of folks use longer ones. They both have their places.
Another alternative to double-sided tape is painter's tape and CA glue. Crimson Guitars does a video on how to do it if you're interested.
how did you go about drilling such an animal? as far as the angling to be able to do that from the bridge to the bridge pickup?? and would it be something I needed to do if I grounded the copper shielding tape?Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaosblade
the wiring is starting to get me nervous, as that's coming up really soon. I've just been working (and reworking) on the finish the last couple of weeks.
How do you drill the bridge to pick up wire hole?... Very carefully! A long drill bit! Before you finish the body!
I have a beautiful PRS build that has a sticker in a strategic spot on the body. Can you guess why?
Has to be done to ground the strings regardless of if copper shielding is used.
Heaps of videos on line of people showing you how to do it the right way... As opposed to the way I did it. Live and learn
apparently doing a matte back just really wanted to give me a serious issue. I kept sanding right through 5+ layers of poly and the black stain. I finally got it to a decent place, where I'm not going to fuss about it anymore...but this is what I kept running into.
Attachment 37933
here's a pic of the top...which gave me little to no issues.
Attachment 37934
an upclose of the headstock. There's some warping, a little sanding uneveness and oddness on this one, but I'm not going to fuss over it either at this point, because I think I'll make it worse if I try to fix it at this point. And since this IS my first build...I'm just going to enjoy the color blend.
Attachment 37935
And here's the neck setting on the little table rig that I had to build so my clamps would work for this project.
Attachment 37936
I love seeing how we all approach problem solving!Quote:
Originally Posted by marcianotmarsha
As much I dislike having a problem, solving them creatively is actually kind of fun! Good work!
I've never used wipe-on poly but I doubt that each layer is very thick. If it's anything like Tru-Oil consistency, then you'd need to apply a lot more layers to be able to sand flat without sand-through. Even with multiple coats of nitro spray (each spray of which gives a reasonably thick coat), I still get sand-throughs.
I agree with Simon.Quote:
I've never used wipe-on poly but I doubt that each layer is very thick. If it's anything like Tru-Oil consistency, then you'd need to apply a lot more layers to be able to sand flat without sand-through. Even with multiple coats of nitro spray (each spray of which gives a reasonably thick coat), I still get sand-throughs.
I have used *wipe-on poly quite a bit on necks and bodies, and I typically apply at least 20 coats but aim for 24-28. (sometimes I lose track so just do extras)
The reason I have an asterisk on wipe-poly is because I mix my own. I mix 50/50 poly & turps. It works just as good as the stuff you buy, and costs about 1/3 the price. Store-bought wipe-on poly is basically just thinned polyurethane anyway.
The advantage of DIY wipe-on is I can vary the consistency if needed. I mostly spray my poly now and the 50/50 mix is perfect in my airbrush.
DAMN!! 20 coats?!? Well..now I know where I went wrong. geeeezzzz! I think next time I do this, I'll get one of those "thick coat" polys. Somehow it worked out really well for the top...but the back was a nightmare. So...lesson learned with my first build, I guess..Quote:
Originally Posted by McCreed
I have used Feast Watson wipe-on poly on 5 guitars, I use the satin on the neck underside and the gloss on the body and head top face. I have done about 5 guitars with a litre of both and I think I still have enough for a few more. The satin comes out a very faint yellow but seeing as I use it on yellow stained necks its not a problem.
Firstly to achieve a satisfactory finish you have to make sure all the prep is done correctly, the rougher the surface of course the more finish you have to put on to fill any little surface imperfections. At this point in time I am doing a Strat with twin P-90 pups and I will finish it in wipe on poly with the technique I have performed a number of times. I always finish my sanding with a 240 grit paper but may start off with an 80 grit depending on how many deep marks there are. Once I finish sanding I put on 2 or 3 coats of Feast Watson sanding sealer and sand with a very fine Scotch-brite to give a good flat surface. I put the sealer on with a sponge rubber brush as I find it gives a nice flat surface. Any finish you put on should be as flat as possible so it doesn't need much sanding. I then stain to what ever colour I am going to finish it in and then put on the wipe-on poly. You stain after the sealer so it goes on even and you don't have any blotches of stain, as per the instructions. I have used spray on poly but if there is high humidity then the finish will come out rough and when spraying there is much more clean up and setup and I have found brush and wipe on poly is quicker and easier and cheaper as you don't need a special space to spray or expensive equipment and can be done when the temps are lower.
Once I have the body prep done I use a blue Chux, a lint free cloth that I get on a roll, and make sure there is sufficient amount of poly on and wipe it on and make sure you wipe in the one direction as that makes it easier to keep flat. I normally put 2 good coats on both body and neck and then use a white Scotch-brite I got from Stewmac which is supposed to be equivalent to 2500 grit paper. I give it a light rub is the same direction as the poly just to remove any dust and to make sure the surface is flat. I then put on a slightly lighter coat and repeat the sand and then put on a final coat and again a very fine sand and that's done the rear of the neck as I like where my hand goes to be a matt finish as I find on a shiny surface once my hand warms up it starts to stick to a polished surface. I also use almond oil on the fret area as it does the same as lemon oil but at a fraction of the price and I never seal the finger board with any finish other than the almond oil.
Where the decal goes I use 2 coats of satin and then a light sand and put my decal on. I put one coat of gloss over the whole face then apply 2 or maybe 3 coats of gloss around the decal before I put a coat over the top of the decal so as just to build up around and hopefully level it up, if not I just put another coat on. Once I feel I have enough coats on I then put 2 good coats over the whole face and a light sand with the Scotch-brite. Then I usually put another light coat on and sand and then polish to a gloss finish.
The body has 2 coats before I sand then I do another 2 coats with a sand in between each coat and then wait a week or so and polish. I found when I put the poly on I like to see it looks like it is wet and not dry but that normally doesnt happen until the 2nd coat as the first is just like an undercoat/sealer. I use the fine Scotch-brite as you would seriously have to be doing something wrong to sand through as it takes of a smidgen at a time but I am sure if you had it in your mind to sand through you could do it. You have to make sure when you put the finish on you put it on as smooth as possible as any unevenness just means you will have to use more finish to fix.
As for polishing I used to use a car polish with a sheep wool buff but if the guitar gets damaged, if the polish has a wax in it then it is a lot harder to fix or you can get a polish without any wax in it but I have found it is a little harder to get from some outlets. I use to make rings to be worn on your fingers out of Titanium and I used to polish them using a cotton buff with jewellers rouge. I bought some felt pads to fit on my random orbital sander and some cylindrical cotton buffs that fit my drill and some rouge in different grit . I use the pads for the flat surfaces on the body and neck head face and use the cylindrical buffs for the edge. You have to make sure when you sand or polish the corners you don't go along the corner but go across or up to the edge as otherwise you will sand though. I also have cut a Scotch-brite that I use in my sander to sand the flat surfaces between coats. The amount of sanding and how to put sufficient finish comes with experience and trying different techniques. On some open grained guitar necks and bodies I have firstly given 2 coats of brush on poly with a sponge rubber brush, sanded lightly and then used 2 or 3 coats of wipe on poly to finish to give a flat surface to polish. On the strat I am doing now I am going to use a brush on poly with a stain it it to highlight the grain a little bit and finish with wipe on.
I have used brush on to fill the pores of a ash bodied tele for a mate but I used artist brush to only apply the poly to the deep grain and a squeegee to flatten and then when flat enough I then applied all over. While it came out like glass I vowed never again and when I did mine I left the grain visible as I like the contrast and unevenness. Now saying all of that doesn't mean it will work for you but it does show that maybe you may need to change a small part of you technique to obtain the required finish you want without worrying about sanding through or having to redo a finish due to defects. I made mistakes as I was unsure on what finish I wanted and I have redone some of my guitars as I found the finish I used to like is not the one I like now. Due to experience I found a technique that works for me and I am sure you will find one that works for you.
Can somebody please help me make sense of this?!
after all my fretting about the electronics, it turns out everything came presoldered (as far as the pots, the switch and the jack) I know that I'm going to need to desolder and then resolder the jack in order for me to be able to properly install the jack. But I'm trying to understand what is what in comparison to what I have which is.....
Attachment 38026
and what the diagram says for my build....
Attachment 38027
the red wire coming from the guitar is the bridge pickup, and the black one is the neck pickup. the black wire that is taped to the back is for grounding to the bridge.
I also have a spare blue wire that came with the kit, which I'm unsure exactly where that goes as yet.
part of my confusion is that the diagram has a picture of a 3 way switch that has 7 tabs. the one I have has 4 on one side (the 2 middle ones are bent and soldered together with the purple wire that is coming off of the volume pot. But there is no wire from the volume pot to the switch in the diagram. I think that's just the beginning of my confusion. both wires from the output jack are going straight to the volume knob, instead of one going to the jack and one going to the tone knob.
I have a feeling I'm overcomplicating this...but...the picture and what I have aren't looking the same, and my mind is being blown.
and it looks like there may be another much thicker tab on the other side that has the grey wire soldered to it.
The PBG diagram is for a 3-way blade switch, whereas yours is a 3-way toggle. This diagram is better match for your build, but it doesn't really matter.
Hopefully this helps:
Attachment 38037
The rest of the connections appear to be OK, but I can't see all the lugs on the volume pot to be certain. Don't worry about the 'spare' blue wire.
The black ground wire from the jack is going to the back of the volume pot and then to the back of the tone pot. The grey wire is going from the back of the volume pot to the ground lug on the switch. Thus both pots and the switch have a ground connection to the jack. The red wire from the jack is your signal 'hot' which goes to the lug on the volume pot. The purple is the 'hot' output from the switch to the other lug on the volume pot, and then another red links this to your tone pot. Make sense?
So....Basically, because both the switch, and the tone knob are grounded into the volume knob, and the volume knob is grounded into the jack everything is grounded, except for the humbuckers, of course, which haven't been installed yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by WeirdBits
Did I follow that?
I think so. So you just need to connect the pickups. You've got a few connections to make on the ground tab on the selector switch, which can be awkward. It can help, if you have a bit of tinned copper wore, to solder the wire to the the ground tab on the switch, and wrap it round the other ground connections and solder that up. Rather like as shown in this video, except you haven't got the same external braid wires, but you can connect up the shield braid in a similar way if you find it easier. Just make sure you cut the pickup cables so have enough insulated length of signal wire to make the connections on the other side of the switch without any risk of the signal shorting to ground.
http://youtu.be/A1-v8oCf8Hk
Can anybody give me a good solid reason to not screw these tuner heads in slightly askew?
Attachment 38160
Attachment 38161
No, but I’d take a little time to get a coherent plan of how you will arrange the tuners. As shown, the rear pic shows the tuners at several different angles relative to the edge of the headstock, which looks rather messy IMO. Aesthetics aside, the only thing to be aware of if you set the tuner posts at 90° to the headstock edge is that this will bring the pegs closer together, so just make sure that there's sufficient space to turn a tuner without knocking the tuner(s) next to it. It shouldn't be an issue, but worth checking. You may struggle with a string winder unless you turn the pegs either side to face straight up or down, giving maximum space between the buttons, but this is normal practice on 6-in-line headstocks, it’s just the final manual tuner adjustment you need to check for.
She. Is. Finished.
(I think I may have put in the bridge humbucker upside down...I may switch that around...or I may just swap out the humbuckers before I get around to even doing that.
Attachment 38263
Attachment 38265
and about the time that I started getting the wiring in, I realized that I made my guitar kind of look like me.
Attachment 38264
It looks great. How does it play?
There isn't really a 'right' way to install humbucking pickups, but where you have screws and slugs, the screws are normally aligned to face away from the middle of the body, so the way the bridge pickup is installed is 'correct'. However that's cosmetic only (and started by Gibson just because they thought it looked best). Rotating the pickup 180° doesn't change the sound or the output polarity, though if you are coil splitting, then it will affect whether the selected single coil is nearest to the bridge or not.
Ah! I just saw someone else's pickups installed differently on Instagram. Good to know that these particular ones don't have that going on right now. There's no coil splitting here, but if I change out the humbuckers, I may decide to do some coil splitting as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by marcianotmarsha
The guitar plays decently. It's not necessarily going to be replacing my regular player, but I'm happy with how it came out, considering it's my first build and the hardware and electronics are almost all from the kit. (I swapped out the plastic nut for a Graphtech one and I popped some decent and sleeker looking black Pot covers on it, considering the Gibson style ones looked bulky and out of place.)
When I took the guitar to my guitar tech to have the nut swapped out, he seemed decently impressed for a first build....so, I'm taking this one as a win. I'm thinking I may want to take on a semi-hollow body next...since that's the only thing that my boyfriend and I don't have in the house at this point
Good work!
Coincidence??? I think not...Quote:
I realized that I made my guitar kind of look like me.