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I know this isn't exactly a full PBG kit build, but the Fijian Mahogany body blank is a PBG special from DB. It's a one piece slab.
I've started this diary a little late, but hey. What's it matter.
At this stage the body is fully finished and ready for hardware. The neck has truss rod and fretboard fitted and is ready to cut the fret slots, radius the fingerboard and start carving the neck profile.
The neck is Meranti. Again not a commonly used timber for necks, but I like trying different things. Seems like it will turn out nicely. And the fretboard is Wandoo.
For the finish on the body I've sealed it with shellac then about a dozen or so coats of Danish oil. After it's been curing for the last two weeks, I gave it a buff by hand and this is what I have.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...6ge2-image.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...n7xn-image.jpg
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WOW Dan that looks stunning, so did you or DB shape the body ?
can't wait to see how the neck looks. That danish oil makes it look edible, keep up the good work !
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Cheers Woks, I'm very happy with the finish.
And the bodywork I did myself. Not quite as easy as some with their fancy CNC routers ;) but a Tele is simple enough.. Here is the slab.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...5ehs-image.jpg
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neck looks good Dan, is that one piece of wood or have you fit the truss rod and glued a piece of meranti ontop ?
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Dan, don't take this the wrong way mate, but you have a beautiful body there. Just to be clear, you haven't used any colour in the oil or shellac, that's just the colour of wood coming through? Mind if I share this on Facebook?
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Yep, no colour what so ever. Just oiled mahogany. Go ahead and share it.
The neck is two piece. I fit the truss rod in the meranti and then glued the wandoo eucalyptus fretboard on top.
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Wooooooooowwwwwww..... that looks sensational.
Perhaps a little hasty to have posted that on the forum Dan, especially now that it has been observed....just saying..... ;) ;) ;)
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wow that body blank looks sensational, surprised DB parted with it ! haha
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I've never wanted a Mahogany Tele... until now. That looks sensational Dan, just amazing.
Go on Adam, make him an offer on it, you know you want to.
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I don't think I'll be able to pry this out of Dan's hands for any price, Weirdy.
Dan, thanks, I'll post this one on Facebook.
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Yes, this one is deffinatly a keeper.
Although if someone came to me with a planer thicknesser I would be very tempted.
I'm a little overwhelmed by everyone's replies. And to think I was nearly going to do a cherry burst.
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Lust. Lust. Lust.
Yep. Lust!
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No - be proud of it Dan - we know what we like and we like what we see!
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Awesome Dan. That body is just beautiful!
cheers,
Gav.
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sensational Dan just sensational
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Looks sensational Dan! Nice work.
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Well I take it from everyone's comments, this body is sensationally beautiful, yep.
Thanks. I just hope the neck, fit and finish, and most of all the sound are up to par with the body.
As for sound there is a set of ToneRider hot classic's going in.
The neck is moving along, markers, fret slots and tuner holes done.
Can anyone suggest something i could use for side dot markers?
The circle I have drawn out here is going to be used to make a 12in radius sanding block. I will rout out the circle then cut the sections from outside each quadrant.
Then I will glue the sections together to make a block.
More info and pics tomorrow when it's done.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...0m17-image.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...i6hi-image.jpg
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Dan, is it my failing sense of scale or is that circle 12" diameter rather than 12" radius?
Do you have a colour in mind for your side dots? You could use brass or aluminium rod, silver, plastic or dyed wood tooth picks (or even thin knitting needles for fatter dots), or if you have some clear epoxy you could mix some powdered stain/dye to do custom colours... just overfill the holes as the epoxy will contract slightly as it hardens.
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Im feeling the same as Scott. Judging by the length of the neck lying close to the circle it does seem like a 12" diameter.
Clever way to make a block though.
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I think you just saved my skin there Scott. You are correct. I guess I'll have to flip the sheet and redraw it to a 12" radius. Darn it .
I thought something looked off when I started. I checked it three times too. I marked out one a few month's back that was correct. But it didn't occur to me that this time I was working off the diameter.
Thanks for your keen eye Scott. I nearly ended up with a 6" radius fretboard. A little more and I could of nearly strung it up as a viola. Lol.
Good suggestions for the side dots too. I was thinking something along the lines of the epoxy. But I couldn't find much else about today. Though clearly my brain wasn't working today.
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Nice save Forum folk. This is a great Build Diary, Dan.
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My brain musta been in snooze mode too . . . only just spotted this build.
What a beautiful slab of timber and what a superb finish you've put on it.
Tele's like this one just look so elegant.
Let's hope your head & neck do justice to your body (so to speak)
Yeah 12" radius = 24" diameter, just ask Pythagoras :P
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Ok, after some revisions of the mark out. I have cut the circle out with the router and then I cut the quadrant sections out on the bandsaw..
The cuts on the bandsaw were not completely even so I clamped all the sections together and hit them with a sander to flush and true the edges.
I cut two bits of ply for the face and back. 6mm for the back and 3mm for the face so it can conform to the radius. I space and glue the radiused sections along the base, then glue the 3mm ply onto the concave face. I had a caul cut to a 12" radius from my previous attempt at a sanding block. So I used this to clamp up the curved face.
I have made it bulky like this so I can use it between two fences and keep it square at all times. I used an off cut from the mahogany body as a handle, waste not, want not.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...ks14-image.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...01i4-image.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...z758-image.jpg
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Here I've just used some Ali angle for my fences. I mark a center line and use double sided tape to secure the neck in position.
I will say this wandoo is extremely hard. It took a solid 30 mins to get the radius sanded in with 100 grit sandpaper. Once this initial hard work is done I can now just work through the grits to remove any scratches.
It was a bit of an effort to make this sanding block but the results are worth it. Getting an evenly radiused fretboard is almost foolproof now.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...137q-image.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...q06o-image.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...3d33-image.jpg
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Looks good Dan, glad it worked out... nice stack of templates in the background too.
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Yeah, there's probably an easier way to do it but I'm a cheapskate and had to use what I had laying around.
Thanks again Scott for the heads up.
Edit. I just noticed looking at that last pic how off centre those last few fret markers are. Oops. They look worse than they are at the angle the photo was taken.
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That's pretty impressive, Dan.
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Dan - looks like you've got necks down pat - that new jig looks great!
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I want a DanMade fretboard sander!
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I've finished the neck over the weekend. I really enjoy carving the neck. Once you start removing material it sort of just shapes itself. As you work on taking less less off each section, the tool and wood will naturally form to the contour needed. If that makes any sense.
A neck profile is a very natural shape to carve in to a neck, is sort of what I'm trying to say.
I've also shielded the cavity's and wired it all up.
I'm using a push pull pot on the tone so I can run both pup's in series when it's pulled up. Though as these things usually go for me, the wiring is never completely correct the first time around. It all works as T style should. But when I pull up for the in series setting I only have signal from the neck pup. I think the pins on the push pull are reverse to the diagram I used.
I fitted the neck to the body and checked the alignment which was good.
I couldn't help but throw the rest of the strings on and give it a quick strum before the neck comes off again for finishing. Let's just say I had a smile on my face from the first chord. Almost didn't want to pull the neck off and have to wait another 2 weeks to play it properly.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...2o9f-image.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...w4e8-image.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...2273-image.jpg
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All I can say is *Wow*. What a fantastic result Dan. That is class all the way! Love it.
cheers,
Gav.
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Dan - is it worth looking at one of Gav1393's "things" - chrome pup surround? http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTE3WDUyNA...2C!~~60_12.JPG
Take full advantage of the beautiful grain on the wood?
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Stunning work, Dan
Keep Adam away from it, though! ;)
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Brendan- I thought long and hard about using a pickgaurd or not. In the end I went with one. Those single coil surrounds are very neat though. To late now as I've allready got screw holes in the body.
BG- I'm glad I'm on the other side of the country. Though that might not be to far for the TeleNapper.
