Happy Birthday to Me!
My lovely wife bought me a kit to keep me from getting on her nerves during lockdown. :-)
Of course, day 1 sees me open it up on the dining table.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...ser=0-temp.jpg
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Happy Birthday to Me!
My lovely wife bought me a kit to keep me from getting on her nerves during lockdown. :-)
Of course, day 1 sees me open it up on the dining table.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...ser=0-temp.jpg
So, Last Friday night rolled around and I couldn't wait any longer.
I cleaned up from the 4 kids doing home schooling in lockdown and started a dry fit - to check scale lengths and such. Pretty impressed that things are looking straight right outa the box, and that the neck placement needed no major adjustments.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...authuser=0.jpg
I was happy enough at this stage to glue the neck.. allowing it overnight to set, so that the weekend would see some progress... and no, the UHU glue stick is just being used as a spacer..
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...authuser=0.jpg
So I spent a little time Saturday planning the build and getting a start on different aspects of the body. I also cleaned up the garage a bit so i could start working on this somewhere other than the dining room table... After all, I was starting to push my luck there...
I played around with all sorts of ideas for the headstock design, trying my best to annoy my mates who I thought would have an interest in this sort of thing.
Here's a link to a short video of Sunday -
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iyB587rMA6Kh8BMs6
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...authuser=0.jpg
Hi Andy, welcome and a happy birthday!
Seems like you've already got a good grip on it.
Not sure what finish you plan, but if stain is involved, definitely check the top first for glue spots. Use turps, metho or mineral spirits to avoid raising the grain. Goof-Off or acetone rubbed in with a soft (brass) wire brush will normally get rid of them, but avoid getting acetone on the binding (and beware of Goof-off as well as that contains acetone) as if softens and then dissolves it.
You've glued the neck on now, but I'd check the neck angle and the height you've got at the bridge using a straight edge along the top of the neck. On several ES-1s, the neck angle has been too shallow to fit the supplied bridge on and get a good action because it won't go low enough. If it's only slightly out, then getting replacement post inserts with no rim on them so they sit flush to the top can get you an extra 1.5mm, which can sometimes be enough, or at least make it a lot better.
Otherwise you end up filing down the underside of the bridge at the ends.
Hi Simon, thanks for the quick reply. It looks like we are on the same page. I checked the neck break angle when I was checking the bridge position.
I did notice the nut protrudes too far towards the bridge by about 1mm, but I can file that back when I get to finalising the setup.
I decided.on an opaque finish, so it will be a bit more forgiving in regards to glue etc, but I still had a good look over it anyway. I still need to resolve the rough nature of the neck joint, but that will be next weekend.
This is pretty exciting though, and I am enjoying the project.
It's certainly making me remember everything I've ever forgotten about guitars. 😀
Great video! Looks like you are going along really well with this one. Nice job!
Thanks heaps, glad you enjoyed it. :-)
Hi Folks,
I'm a bit late with last weekend's update, but here it is for your viewing pleasure. :-)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PmF2xZLgRTYj2AtL8
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...ser=0-temp.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...ser=0-temp.jpg
You may not be aware but none of your photos are showing (getting a gray 'no entry' sign up instead). You may be seeing them as they will be cached on your computer.
The link to them is possibly too long, maybe 200 characters, even though they do seem to end in .jpg
The video links work.
You are certainly progressing.
What's your plan for the finish? Obviously a solid one. Pelham Blue maybe?
Hi Simon, thanks for the heads up, I'll jump on the computer in the morning and see what I can do about the photos.
I'll be putting the colour on this weekend (crossing fingers) so I might leave it a surprise. That's not the first mention of Pelham blue though... Popular colour that one. 😀
So, Another weekend done.. here's a quick update.
I didn't get as much footage this week, so hopefully these photos work.
This weekend was mostly focussed on colour. I started off discovering it is tricky to pour paint into your gun whole trying to photograph the event at the same time... maybe next time I'll prepare better...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
Then I threw down some base coat, and followed it up with clear... I left it to "bake" for an hour or so and called it a night.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
This needs a few days to really go off before i start thinking about buffing etc, so I spent a little time preparing the electronics. I have decided to go with the standard pickups and pots for now, and if i really hate them once it is together i will steal some pickups out of a guitar that I hardly use anymore and see how they go. I do like the look of the gold covers though, so I'm going to cross my fingers and see how it goes.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
brilliant use of an old pizza box - I know..
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
Of course, i wanted to see how it looked with the hardware... so i set it loosely on there to take a shot..
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
I think this will go well with the mustang parked in the driveway.. (this was the colour inspiration)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
I'm liking the look of that.
Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
Pretty color combo.
Thanks fellas,
I have a friend now trying to convince me to paint the mustang wheels gold.. He makes me laugh.. :-)
Love the colour, and the car!
At least he’s not trying to get you to fit a huge Bigsby on the boot lid. ;)
Nice colour. I always find Pelham Blue a bit insipid. I much prefer a darker blue metallic finish.
Thought I'd experiment with the wife's vinyl cutting machine this morning... I'm thinking this might be pretty useful when I get around to finishing the headstock
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LuxXAR4G5xaJaCoB8
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
Hi Andy,Quote:
Originally Posted by andybanks
how did you create the logo? Is it using Cricut?
Hi Trevor,
I recreated the logo image with Inkscape, so it was a higher resolution than what I could find online. Of course I had to use a couple of "find this font" tools to get close to the original. Then I used the cricut designer to resize it (smaller now) and to cut it out.
I have offered the files to the Pitbull team, because I believe they had a computer failure in the past and lost the logo files. Hopefully that will serve as a replacement if it is good enough.
What a nice chap you are!
Hi again,
sorry about the questions.
Is the logo 2 pieces of vinyl - white vinyl (with logo removed) stuck onto gold vinyl? Or gold vinyl logo stuck into white vinyl with logo removed? Or am I way off.
Sorry to ask but I'm getting a Cricut for father's day and can see lots of potential.
regards Trevor
Hi Trevor,
It is a copper vinyl, and the white is just the paper backing once it has been cut from the stock "roll". To apply it to the headstock I'll use some contact, it is sometimes called transfer tape. Essentially you put the contact over the lot, and then peel off the logo all together, then put it on the headstock and carefully remove the contact, leaving the vinyl logo behind. I'll probably then clear once more over the lot, once the glues have dried, and that should lock it in forever.
It is pretty cool tech for something that is so readily available, and when you are done you can make yourself a t-shirt to match your guitar. 😀
Thankyou. It looks great. I will have to see about getting some copper vinyl. :D
There's plenty to choose from, I re-cut it this afternoon with a stainless steel looking vinyl in case it matches better against the gold. Cricut have a bunch available in their brand, but you can also shop around and find vinyl from signmaker supply stores that have even more options available.
It's like falling down the rabbit hole with Alice...
Just caught on to your diary. The guitar is looking good and the videos are fun to watch. Got some cool ideas going on.
Hi Folks,
Had a bit of a 1 step forward, 2 steps back weekend last weekend.
The binding scraping didn't go too well. Some areas are pretty good, but others... let's just say "not so good"
I was somewhat distracted with other jobs over the weekend, so I will have to wait for the weekend to fix it all.
I suspect if I had scraped the bindings before the clear-coat, and especially before it hardened too much, this would have gone a fair bit better. Lesson learned.
here's some photos anyway. It's not the end of the world by any means, but will simply mean I get to re-do the same process a second time. :-)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
...
p.s. the "distraction" was making some cross-stitch frames for my darling wife. She's all happy again now.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
Well that sounds like one major win right there!
I have always masked the binding with pvc fine line painter tape, you can get it at auto refinishers, for next time
Yep, that's the approach I'll be going with this time. [emoji3]
I hope everyone had a good weekend...
The weather where I live was pretty miserable for most of the weekend, making for less than ideal painting conditions (the temperature was low and the humidity was over 90% for all of Saturday). Here's the charts from my weather station...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
So, with the inclination to not paint much, i spent the time experimenting on the headstock. At first, I taped out an outline, and mixed some colours trying to get something similar to the vintage white binding colour, and sprayed it out.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
I didn't like it, it looked too fat for my liking, so out came the thinners and off went the changes.
Instead, I cut out a similar shape after drawing it on the computer.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
I like this better, so I'll clear over this once the weather improves.
With my other spare time, i cleaned up the binding faults and resprayed out some basecoat to prepare for clear everywhere.
Can't take a good photo to save my life though...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
So now I cross my fingers and hope this weekend (or an opportunistic time beforehand) will have better weather and I can get some clear on this, because I think that represents the last big job, and all the rest should fall together nicely.
At least I hope to be at a point where I can test the pickups soon and determine whether I can live with them..
Looks like you've at least made some good recovery there.
IME, a big part of guitar building is making mistakes, then learning how to fix them, then hopefully not making the same mistakes again!
As much as I hate the mistake making part (and try hard to avoid them) I do find a real sense of achievement when I've used my troubleshooting skills and successfully overcome a stuff up.
Thanks McCreed,
I'm fully expecting that by the end of this build, I will be already planning how I can do better on the next one... I better start saving now. :-)
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by McCreed
Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
Nice pinstriping and a good recovery on the binding paintwork.
Well folks, The weather has been nice this weekend, so things have progressed well. I sprayed out the clear on Saturday morning, and with the assistance of some heat lamps, it was ready to sand and polish this morning.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
Once I had removed the orange peel (not the greatest clear spray job i have done, but easily corrected) and buffed some shine back into her, I brought her back into the house and took over the dining table to install the hardware.
The installation went without any major hick-ups, and I have set up the action and set the intonation, so it all works.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
I think I am going to call it done at this stage, I generally follow the rule "live in a house for 3 months before you start changing anything", so I am going to play this for a few months, and bed everything in before I make any further changes.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...uthuser=0?.jpg
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I suspect I will change the capacitors out as a bare minimum, and will probably change the pots too, but I am not unhappy with the pickups. They are seem somewhat underwound compared to the main guitar i currently use, but this gives a nice tone that works for me.
When I get a chance I'll record something and post it here. :-)
Now I just gotta clean up all the tools for the next job..
Looks very nice.
What did you use for clear? 24 hours from spray to wet sand seems very quick to me.
I used the Protec High Solids Top Coat clear. After I finished the final coat, I put it under heat lamps in an enclosed space to "bake" it for an hour or so. When I woke up this morning and put a fingernail to it, it was good to go. I wet sanded with 1000, 1500 and 2000 and then used the Juice Cut compound to buff it up. I started on the back because I also thought it might be a bit soft and go cloudy, but it was all good. Made my weekend, because patience isn't always my strong point.
Wonderful job, that clear coat looks superb
Nice headstock too
Attachment 41595
This is the one
So a 2K product. I understand now. You're obviously set up with the full breathing apparatus at home.
Yep, I wouldn't recommend doing this without a decent respirator.