My new baby!
So excited!
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cool good stuff Rohan, is this your 1st build ?
the mock build looks good and the grain on the basswood body looks good. You will get good browny points from Adam and DB for nicely displaying the Pit Bull logo's !
Sweet. Some nice grain on that body. What's the plan for its Finish.
I'm hoping my ST-1 arrives this afternoon. Probably wont get it until Monday though. I hope my body is as clean as yours looks.
Know that feeling!
don't you hate it guys hoping your box will arrive Friday so you can work on it over the weekend !
what are you expecting Brendan ?
Dan, the grain on Rohans ST-1 are pretty standard, the basswood strats are generally made of 3 or 4 pieces of basswood. I've built at least 5 of these kits, so whatever wudtone colour you select should look great
Yes, this is my first build so I am excited but also just a bit nervous!
I am not going to make the mistake of rushing into it. I haven't rushed out and ordered anything yet because I want to make sure I go about everything the right way and really plan it out.
As for the finish, pretty sure that Wudtone is really the only way ;) Although I suspect it may be a difficult job deciding on a colour having never done it before so I will take another look through the archives and see what others have done. Are some colours easier to apply than others? (ie. ones that might be more forgiving of mistakes?)
Hi Rohan,
the ST-1 kit is one of the easiest to build in terms of 3 solder joins and the pickups are pre-soldered and attached to the scratchplate. Probably the hardest step is drilling the neck holes, take your time to get the outside string offsets equal. Steer away from Black Magic Woman wudtone until you have build a few kits. Most other colours I've used (at least half the wudtone range) have been straight forward so choose a colour you like, but if you like red I suggest carmine gypsy or cherry flamenco. Have a look at Robin's ST-1 in carmine was his first build, shows you what you can achieve if you take your time. Heaps of other good colours browns, ambers, yellow and lighter colours.
Rohan - totally stoked with DB's special blend for my bass - it's a dark(ish) red and forms a beautiful coat on the outside. It's a tough shell and while it's all waxes and oils, it cracked when I dropped the thing (check out full story in Brendan's PB-4) from 90+ cm onto a dirty concrete floor. Found the special blend pretty easy to apply, but would keep the following in mind:
First - sand, sand, sand, sand. Can't state it enough - the more it's sanded the better (clearer) the outcome. You'll find the bits you didn't sand enough when you apply the first coat, so be extra careful to get it just right. Be careful in the cutaways, as there can be tool marks in there that are a bit stubborn.
Second - on the first coat, I think it would be advantageous to work the colour from somewhere that will be covered by pickguard and then go into the parts that won't be - the first part you hit will tend to soak up the colour really quick and to keep everything even, you need to move it around a little. Once you've started there, when you reload your cloth, work from areas that already have some stain to those without - it'll help to reduce tidemarks, where things have dried (or been soaked up) more quickly in some areas...
In terms of colour - there are lots of amazing colours - are you looking for something natural (heard nice things about mahogany) or a bit more striking (amaranthine is doing the rounds and looks freakishly amazing (check some of Eliot (Bass Guy's) recent builds or Wokka's double neck SG). DB has also done a waxed ST-1 that I've seen in the flesh and it too looks beautiful with just the natural grain visible (no colour). Things I've heard to avoid as a newbie - sunbursts (bit more fiddly unless you're ready for it), or Black Magic Woman (BMW) - BMW is apparently one of the more fiddly colours to apply.
Well I didn't revive my kit this arvo so I will have to patiently wait until early next week. That's ok though, I just got home from a jam session and brought home my mates Squire strat to fix up for him so that will keep me busy. I had to ask him if he wanted me to leave the cobwebs intact. lol.Quote:
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from wokkaboy on July 12, 2013, 13:03
don't you hate it guys hoping your box will arrive Friday so you can work on it over the weekend !
what are you expecting Brendan ?
Dan, the grain on Rohans ST-1 are pretty standard, the basswood strats are generally made of 3 or 4 pieces of basswood. I've built at least 5 of these kits, so whatever wudtone colour you select should look great
As for the finish on mine I'm going with a Dark Amber body with vintage amber neck and swapping the pick guard and back plate for a black set. That's the only mods I have planned. I'll wait to see how the rest of the hardware fairs before I decide to upgrade any of that. And I will probably make some simple wiring mods once I see how it is setup.
Sorry about hijacking your thread Rohan. I don't think you need to be nervous about anything it sounds like your planning the build with enough thought that it should all go smoothly enough.
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Hi Guys,
Thanks for your comments.
I was thinking of using Carmine Gypsy for the body and I wanted to use a "more natural" coloured neck. However, it looks like a Basswood neck is not suitable for use with the neck kits.
Is there any way to get around this or should I just pick a lighter colour for the body and go for the Maple/Mahogany neck next time around? :)
Rohan.
Product DescriptionQuote:
Quote from Rohan on July 16, 2013, 11:21
[...] it looks like a Basswood neck is not suitable for use with the neck kits. [...]
Pit Bull Guitars ST-1 Kit Includes:
- Basswood body
- Maple Neck and Rosewood Fingerboard
Your ST-1 neck should be Maple, unless it's a special order, so any of the Wudtone neck kits should work fine with it. It's only really when you're wanting to use body colours on Maple necks that you have to be careful.
Thanks Scott.
I should not rely on my memory - it got confused between the fact there is a Maple and non-Maple (Rosewood) fingerboard not neck!
Time to order I think!
Have been planning out the build and ordered some stuff.
As usual, I get excited and jump into things too quickly. I soon realised that I didn't have a workbench that I could perform all this work on. And also did not have anything to grip or hold the guitar while working on it.
So I got myself one of these. I can clamp a sheet of board on it and it can become my work bench. And I can also use it to hold the guitar as required.
Getting closer to starting!
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Hey Rohan, where'd ya get that and for what cost? I'm looking at getting a portable workbench myself!
I actually got it from Ebay... http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-WORX-...-/221227088539
It was actually quite hard to get in Australia and that page says they won't have any stock for a while.
That model is actually the same as the US Rockwell RK9000 Jawhorse - but rebranded as WORX PROFESSIONAL here.
Rockwell have a Jawhorse in Australia but it is a smaller model. http://www.rockwelltools.com.au/benchtop_jawhorse.html - which they apparently sell through Mitre 10.
Apparently there is a Titan Superjaws which is people claim is good as well.
Hope that helps a bit... it took me a while to find what I was looking for!
Thanks PBG!
Time to get sanding! :D
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Hey guys,
Was doing a mock up of my kit this afternoon and I think a couple of wires have become disconnected from their solder. The wiring diagram for the ST-1 only shows the new connections that need to be made rather than the whole circuit.
Could someone point me in the direction of a full diagram? I am not entirely sure what I should be looking for on the internet.
Cheers,
Rohan.
Legend. Will check it out tomorrow.Quote:
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from WeirdBits on July 23, 2013, 20:00
Seymour Duncan: Strat 3 singles, 1 Volume, 2 Tones, 5-way switch
GuitarElectronics.com: Strat 3 singles, 1 Volume, 2 Tones, 5-way switch
So the last few days have seen quite a number of hours dedicated to sanding.
The main thing I found with the damp rag technique was that there were a lot of deep scratches at the top of the body where the curves are carved out and along the bottom of the body.
I spent quite a considerable amount of time working with the 180 Grit for those areas but the scratches were being very stubborn. I ended up finding in my cupboard some 100 Grit and this worked much better and I was able to get those deep scratches out.
Today I went over the body one last time with the 240 Grit and it's looking good. If I wipe it down with the damp rag I can no longer see any scratches.... Does this mean I am in a good place? Does the damp rag technique show all the scratches? Or should I keep going over it just to make sure there is nothing hidden?
Anyway, it seems good to me. Tomorrow should mean that I can get the first deep colour coat on. Scary!
Sounds like you have nailed it Rohan.
Let the fun bit begin!
Hi guys,
Didn't get the chance to start the Wudtone over the weekend which was annoying.
However, I pulled out the body today to do it the visual once over and found a tiny split had opened along where the pieces of basswood are glued together up around the neck.
Is this going to open up any further? Or do I just get some Timbermate on there asap?
Cheers,
Rohan.
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First thing i'd try is some titebond glue into the crack, then get some tape (i use the brown StewMac tape) attach three or four pieces to the side of the guitar and then give the tape a really good stretch up and across the crack and attach to the opposite side. The tape should be almost at snapping point when you stretch it. Add more strips of tape repeating this process until the gap closes....this should work. If not then you can always revert to Timbermate.
Thanks Gavin.
I will have to try that next time though as I had already gone ahead and used the Timbermate. Crossing my fingers that the crack will not open up again!
Time to update the diary.
After letting the Timbermate dry 2 nights ago, I did a bit of sanding and put on the deep colour coat. Took me about 1.5 hours all up. The Carmine Gypsy is a lovely deep red colour so you wouldn't want to be queasy around blood to use it! I felt like I was coming out of surgery with the blue gloves on and fingers dripping with red!
Yesterday, I took out the headstock and drew a basic shape on it from the template found in the other thread. Then I got the old jigsaw out and cut out the basic shape (first time using a jigsaw lol).
Today I was able to do a bit of sanding on the headstock - not fully complete yet but I think it's coming along well. Later tonight will be putting on the first base coat on the body!
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headstock shape looks good Rohan, have you applied 2 deep coats of carmine ? well worth it. Don't rush into base coats just yet, the old saying take your time pays dividends to the final finish of the axe
That's a really good job on the headstock!
Thanks guys!
I had read that some people do more than one deep coat but to be honest I got so much in on the first pass (I went over it twice as per the instruction sheet) I don't really have that much left in the bottle. Pretty sure if I tried to go over it again I wouldn't get the whole lot done. Should I be worried?
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Rohan,
looks good, the first coat of deep coat onto a bare body generally takes about half the bottle so you applied it generously. You will be surprised there's enough deep coat for a light 2nd coat, put the scratchplate on and visualise what is covered up, and concentrate on the front of the guitar what isn't covered, then a light coat to sides and back. The base coats after won't give you the same depth of deep red, so might as well use up the rest of the deep colour. If you are going to run out I generally leave the back last as its not so critical and not usually visible to the player.
Thanks wokkaboy.... I think I will give that a shot then ;)
no worries Rohan, there's not enough deep colour for another build so you might as well use it up on the body, or another suggestion put a deep coat on the headstock if you are colouring front of the headstock looks good.
I need to read the instructions again I don't remember it saying go over twice with deep colour. If you apply the deep coat sparingly you can coat headstock and most of the body. Another tip use a small piece of cloth to apply it so less soaks into the cloth. Good luck and look forward to pics after next coat.
In the official Wudtone instructions in the "Carmine Gyspy" section it says:
"Applying the first deep colour coat is the opportunity to get the most colour into the wood whilst it is the most porous. It is good to go over the guitar a couple of times when applying the 1st deep colour coat until you can feel the wood won't absorb any more".... etc etc.
It then talks about moving on to do 3 - 5 base coats.
I guess that's why I wanted to double check about moving on to the base coats.
Cheers,
Rohan.
Looking gorgeous, Rohan. Enough to make Mark Knopfler and Hank Marvin drool.
How did the Timbermate take the Wudtone?
That looks a treat! No more deep coats needed!
.....aaaaaaaand don't you just hate it when you are doing your first guitar and you don't deep colour the little panel of wood just below the neck slot because for some reason you decide it's going to get covered up by the neck!
Another day of waiting! yay!
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easily done Rohan, I sometimes cut a small slot out of the hanging piece of wood so you can get your fingers/rag right over the surface.
Are you going to carmine the headstock ? As Gav says the colour of the body is probably deep enough, personal preference if you go 1 more light deep coat, it may not need it.
Make sure the edge of the neck pocket you go as heavy with deep coat as you did with rest of the body
Na, I went with the Vintage Amber on the headstock. I did a Google image search on red strats and it seemed that most had the "natural" colour on the headstock so I just went with it for my first build.
Today I did the first base coat on the body and the first neck coat. I wasn't as brave as DB and I ended up masking the fretboard to make sure there were no accidental brush strokes.
One thing I have started to notice was a few areas that could have done with more "even" sanding. I guess that is part of the process, understanding how much time you need to sand and what are the problem areas. I knew my first one wouldn't be perfect, but isn't it great that perfection is something we can always strive for!
Dear Diary...
Today I finished the 3rd base coat on both the body and the neck. Feeling pretty good about the process now. Still looking to do another 2 base coats on the body.
Also, the last couple of days saw a couple of tools arrive which can be seen below... being patient but I can't wait to get to the part that needs them ;)
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Drool!!
That Katana looks sexy. Even if you didn't know what it was used for.
colours are looking sweet Rohan, well done, and the katana is a great device !