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Hey there folks, and welcome to my build diary.
This build I intend to be my best foray into guitar making yet.
I'm building an IB-1 kit which will see me enter the world of Wudtone for the first time (DB, are you seeing this ;) ) which will hopefully streamline my build process.
Attached are a few photos of the kit in its raw form, and I'll keep you all updated as I go.
Let's have some fun! :D
Cheers,
Brodie
Adelaide Student, Kangaroo Island Guitar Builder.
(PS. Feel free to check out my MB-1 build I am completing concurrently with this one)
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...1-P4110088.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...6-P4110092.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...8-P4110096.JPG
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Besides the few rough edges you scored a great kit there.
That inlay, wow. And the maple top beautifully consistent. What a score.
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Cool. This is one of the more uncommon, but very attractive kits and you have got yourself a lovely top. I just finished mine and let me tell you it was an effort. Be prepared, you will have to make a few modifications. Have a read through my build diary and you will get an idea of what's in store.http://www.pitbullguitars.com/commun...iewtopic&t=638
That inlay looks a lot cleaner than mine was, but a little 1200 sandpaper and steel wool polish and you will bring out the colour and the definition in that sweet little dragon. Trust me, worth the effort.
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nice looking kit Brodie, bit of sanding will sort out those rough edges. That flame top is a winner, worth popping the grain with a coat of black stain then sand it back will make the flames pop more. What colour stain you got planned for the top ?
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Howdy all.
@DanMade: I was super excited when I unwrapped the body to find that maple underneath. Simply breathtaking I reckon, so hopefully I can do it justice.
@PabloPepper: Thanks mate. I'd looked through your diary prior to purchasing, and the way yours was progressing was part of my inspiration for buying. Definitely got to put the man hours into that fretboard to make it the best I possibly can. Any suggestions you can offer for doing so would be much appreciated. :)
@Wokka: I'm delving into the world of Wudtone for this one, because of the awesome results I have seen on here. I've loved the Azure Lagoon colour ever since I saw it so I am definitely going with that for the maple top. I always intended to pop the grain, and after consultation with a fine gentleman named Dingo Bass I have decided to go with either Black Magic Woman or Dark Onyx (whichever one is more black) as a first coat, sand it back, then Az Lag on top. As for the back and sides, I want them dark. So, again after consultation with the Wudtone Master, I am going with a Feast Watson stain base coat, with the remainder of my BMW or DO Wudtone on top. Hoping it will turn out beautifully. :)
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sounds good Brodie, I'd recommend to pop the grain with the feast watson prooftint black stain will be darker than both dark onyx and BMW, thats if you want the flames really dark.
This is 2 coats of the FW on a PRS flame maple top and the results after rubbing it back and colour coats.
You won't get that depth with DO or BMW
Food for thought anyway
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...1-1st-coat.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...9-20.36.43.jpg
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Look out! Someone has done their homework! I like you.
Wudtone is designed to be applied to bare wood. I don't think it's gonna work with the feast watson. Black magic woman is notorious for being the most most difficult to get even, that's why I used dark onyx. It ended up pretty black on the back, but still quite translucent. I'll have some more pics up in a few days so you can see what I mean.
You've certainly got the right attitude, dude. Read up and don't be shy about asking questions. There are plenty of guys here happy to help. :) Oh, and flattery will get you everywhere. Thanks!
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@Wokka: Thanks for the suggestion mate. I think that might be a little too dark for what I'm looking for, but I will definitely use Feast Watson on the back for a more solid black. It's good to know that Wudtone works on top of FW as well. As a side note, that flamed PRS looks gorgeous.
@Pablo: Yay! Someone likes me. :D
Having worked with Dark Onyx, do you think it would provide a nice base for grain popping the maple top, without being too black and detracting from the Azure Lagoon too much?
Also, I saw I picture of your RC-4 neck next to your IB-1 neck, and you made that inlay shine like nothing I have ever seen! What is the secret to your success there, because I want mine to be just as good as that. Cheers. :)
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I think dark onyx is perfect as a contrast to the azure, but it might not be as dark as you want for the back. I only did two coats of the deep colour coat on the back, but it lightened with the clear to a slate Grey. I guess, just use lots of the deep colour coat is what i'm saying.
My inlay had blobs of glue all over it and the rosewood, so it started out as just trying to clean that mess up, but I started with 400 sandpaper and a lot of time. After I had removed all the excess glue I went to 800, then 1200 and then steel wool. It felt smooth, looked heaps better, so I was happy. Grabbed the trusty Bigbends fretboard juice and oiled the fretboard to clean it up and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. The colours and the different inlay materials all stood out like crazy. It looks as though you might get away with starting at 1200.
Also, I used sandpaper with my fingers, but I read Gavin saying use a paddle pop stick to wrap the sandpaper around to get in between the frets. Good advice that.
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Beautiful kit brodie! That flame top is something else. Sounds like you're on top of your finishing plan, so awesomeness is sure to follow! Love the sound of your colour choices and will be following your build with keen interest!
cheers,
Gav
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Thanks for your interest Gav.
Big day of sanding planned today, and I'll be ordering some Wudtone soon. :)
Keep your eyes peeled for updates.
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Hey Pablo, only just noticed the awesome advice you offered! I got too hasty skipping to page two every time.
Thanks for that mate, will be very handy. Starting work on the fret board tomorrow. :)
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UPDATE:
I have begun the arduous task of fixing up the inlay. I spent 2 days on it, and finished 4 frets - This could take a while, I thought to myself. Then I discovered that lots of little white flecks throughout the black that I initially thought was glue is in fact a grain filler of some kind, because it is spongy when you poke it with a pin. My fix will be to carefully stain it with a black dye, and it seems to be working very well. This has also helped cut my finishing time down markedly.
Photos will be up soon, once I get 'er done.
Might I say though, a 1200 grit fret board feels mighty fine indeed. :)
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UPDATE:
For those of you who may (or may not) be curious as to my inspiration for this build, check out these photos.
This is my favourite beach back home and on a good day there is nothing more beautiful than the turquoise waters there. Therefore, Vivonne Bay at noon, on a sunny day is one of my favourite places in the world and thus my tribute idea was born. :)
http://cdn2.eldersrealestate.com.au/...4/04/Jetty.JPG
http://cloud.pleasetakemeto.com/phot...-bay-41500.jpg
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great inspiration, looks lovely
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UPDATE:
Whilst waiting for some nice weather to do some building outdoors for a change, I have begun work on some indoors jobs. Working through the fret board is slow going, but holy heck is it worth it! So far I have finished 5 frets, with 800, 1200, steel wool and some of this:
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...ax-600x600.jpg
Attached below are some photos of fret-by-fret comparison of finished vs. unfinished. Now I don't know about you, but I reckon it is progressing pretty darn nicely. :D
http://i.imgur.com/AI1JxOY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ReD91hn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/jCUlxgS.jpg
Once I have finished up with the fret board I will be moving on the re-profiling the rear of the neck. As with my MB build I am aiming to flatten it from this into more of a 'D' profile.
http://i.imgur.com/WUUgX2v.jpg
More pictures and updates as they come for those who are interested enough to read through my ramblings. Peace. ;)
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Houston, we have a problem, and it's major.
Twelve (6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18 & 21) frets have raised from the board enough to get a fingernail underneath them, predominantly treble side only (16 & 21 have middle raised). I haven't adjusted the truss rod or anything, and the neck does not appear to be warped. How do I fix this to ensure it doesn't happen again, and what might have caused this?
DB, Gav, or any other master luthiers, I'm looking at you for this one. Help me please. :?
http://www.realmadridfootballblog.co...11/10/halp.png
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Just hammer the frets in, if not put some super glue underneath and clamp them down.
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UPDATE:
Hammer = Nada on frets. Getting my clamps in a few weeks, so I'll try that next. Nerves are mounting though... :?
In the meantime I have worked on making the input jack fit, as {a} the hole was too narrow, and {b} the rout isn't wide enough to get thread through (as encountered by Pablo). So to begin, I fixed the hole width:
http://i.imgur.com/yHpSgcu.jpg
Then faced with the no thread problem. Ugh. Out came the 40 grit (no power tools here, baby) and I carved out a rather well tapered location for it to sit in. As you can see, I tried to angle it son that the nut sits fairly square. Given my perfectionism, I will probably go back and make it sit perfectly flush. But here it is as it stands right now:
http://i.imgur.com/xMvrJtz.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Go7OWke.jpg
Almost... flush... OCD overpowering...
http://i.imgur.com/bRNvpo9.jpg
Last but not least, it is advice time. Around the lower horn, there is a slight gap where the rout for the binding was cut too deep. It is barely noticeable, but do you think it is worth filling? If yes, what colour TimberMate is best for basswood? Picture below.
http://i.imgur.com/6XmrtUt.jpg
Thank you! :)
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great so far, depending on your final finish, you might not need to fill as is may not be seen...
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Another day, another problem... Sigh...
Good news first though. Whilst waiting for my Wudtone to arrive, I sanded the body back to a beautiful smooth 400 grit. Went to Chopper's favourite hardware store and bought some Feast Watson Black Prooftint stain, and did the back and sides. One coat, and I'm ecstatic with the result:
http://i.imgur.com/lgUGplf.jpg?1
Now, the problem. I went about steel wooling the excess stain off my binding, which works wonders might I add. A few scratches will need a going over with 400, but overall pretty good. Anyway, I got to the bottom horn, and found that the binding had three cracks that weren't visible before staining that have soaked up FW into them:
http://i.imgur.com/G1FDcnR.jpg
I am at a loss as how to even attempt fixing this, so I'm looking for creative suggestions.
Thanks guys. :)
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I wonder if a cotton tip dipped in some metho could be used to, carefully and patiently, flush the stain out of the cracks. If it does start to move the stain the hard part will be stopping it from getting onto/seeping into the cap. Maybe tape up the top around the edge and use some paper towel at the top edge of the crack you're working on to absorb it. I suggest starting with metho as it is probably the most benign solvent and shouldn't cause any other damage.
Perhaps wait for some other opinions, particularly from the experts, before attempting a solution.
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I think Scott's suggestion is a good one. Just be careful. If the metho get's a hold of a good gloop of stain it may run where you dont want it. Been there too many times with Rosewood fretboards. It should definitely dilute the stain in the cracks though.
Another suggestion would be to scrape the binding with a razor blade to remove stained scratch and all, but I'd try to blot out the stain first.
cheers,
Gav.
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Cheers for the suggestions lads.
@Gav: As much as I would like to, I can't go the scrape route. I don't know if you can see in the photo, but the stain has gone about 2/3 of the way into the binding. If I scraped that much off it would look a little shifty. So I'll just have to try the careful methylated spirit application.
Any more suggestions for it if that fails?
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Brodie - if you can get the stain out, I've seen a youtube of someone using acetone to "gently melt" the binding to reduce any lines in a binding join (from memory he was binding a tele in black binding)... Having never done this myself, I can't vouch for the difficulty and outcome, but he seemed successful in the clip...
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hszYf0V7HlA[/embed]
He does a nice job on the Tele - even though it's not my choice in colour...
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Hey, hey, hey! Guess who's back in the land of steady internet?! That's right! ME!
But, all is not well in Brodie's Build Land...
ISSUE 1:
The cracks on the binding are not only localised on that bottom horn as first thought... There is about 7 or 8 different spots, all around the body, which I don't know how to fix. The previous suggestion of a turpentine bath didn't work either.
I need more creative options, otherwise I am going to have to do something drastic, like dye all the binding black, which seems about my best option currently.
ISSUE 2:
The frets won't reseat correctly, no matter what I try. Hammer didn't work. Clamp didn't work (I broke the clamp trying). What else can I do?
******PLEASE HELP!******
On a positive note, my Wudtone arrived, so once I sort these issues, the final stages of the build can begin!
http://i.imgur.com/EmlbkkC.jpg
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Hey Brodie, did you put some superglue under the fret that was lifting and clamp it ?
Nice stash of wudtone there !
Not sure how to fix the cracks in the binding, the way I see it you have 2 options. Stain it black or it really needs to be removed and new binding glued
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Thanks Wokka. I am rather proud of this gorgeous little Wudtone collection. Will hopefully turn my guitar into something gorgeous too! :)
Anyway, I bit the bullet and am going all black. Seems easier than trying to strip binding and apply new stuff.
Pictures will follow. If it works, pictures of the build. If it doesn't, pictures of me crying. :P
We'll just have to see what happens!
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The binding is most probably ABS plastic. There is nothing that will 'dye' it effectively. I know this doesn't help the situation, but you should know before you get your hopes up. :(
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Well....fudge.
Other options then pabs and co? Not confident in redoing binding at all...
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This is a bit dodgy, but maybe mask and paint the binding white after you're done staining? The major drawback I foresee is the wudtone top coats might react badly to the paint. I would only consider this as a last resort.
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Brodie, I think you need to decide whether you can live with a minor flaw or whether you must have perfection. Then you will know how far you are willing to go to fix this. If you must have perfection, you may need to investigate re-binding the guitar. If you can live with it, finish the rest of the guitar and then enjoy playing it.
The only other thing I could think of was would be to deliberately score the rest of the binding, re-stain and see if you can get an eccentric black pattern on the binding. Thereby making the flaw a feature. It's risk though, because it might just end up looking really messy.
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That is a pretty good idea Fretworn. Revel in that which you cannot change.
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I actually really like that scoring idea. :-)
I'll try it out I reckon. Worst that will happen is I completely screw the binding, and I'll be no worse off than now. Wish me luck.
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Good luck with the binding Brodie. If you paint it or score it, I'll be interested to see how it turns out.
I have exactly the same issue with my current build, and being a hollow body, am reluctant to experiment with re-binding it. I decided I will live with it.
I do have a suspicion that this is an issue specifically relating to using stains, possibly specifically the Feast Watson stains. The way it looks on my guitar, I think it is not just cracks in the binding but a chemical run of some kind.
Cheers
Darren
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Good luck with the fix Brodie! For reference, every one of my builds has some flaw or other that I have decided to live with. It's the DIY thing unfortunately, and is both the pleasure and the curse of learning from the ground up. After 10 minutes playing the thing you forget the issue you agonised over for weeks ;).
cheers,
Gav.
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Cheers for the support lads, I appreciate it. :)
@Analyst: Hmmm... That is something I had yet to consider. More tests necessary methinks! I'll post results ASAP. Hopefully my mistakes can help you avoid catastrophes! :P
@Gav: You? Flaws?
https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/453310720/hB7B855E7/
I'd believe it if I saw it. Which I don't. :P
Just put coat 2 of FW on the binding, and it is actually holding colour really well. I have added 3 more score marks near the really bad lower horn ones to test the effectiveness of that process. Once this coat dries, I'll steel wool over the scores to remove stain and see what I think.
If I like the look, I'll do a few more patches around the binding, whilst leaving some of it pristine, to hopefully give it an edgy, arty look. If it doesn't work I'll keep applying FW coats until I get the desired colour.
We shall see what happens, but things are looking up, finally. :D
The neck is another story however... After my fruitless attempts to fix it, I handballed the matter to Nickosaurus for a go. He applied good quality G-clamps to the 7th, and tightened until he was sure it could take no more and the fret did not budge. I've already contacted Adam about it, and he's happy to order me a new one. Only catch is delivery would not be for another 2-3 months... Plus, I am loath to do so because I love the shell pattern in the dragon inlay, and don't what to risk getting a worse one.
My last resort is to see how much a pro (Nick Panousakis) would charge to have a look for me, with the intention of a possible re-fret. Otherwise, new neck it is, with a very long wait on finishing this build... Sigh.
