First Build - LPA-1

Hi All,

First build kicking off with an LPA-1.
This one came with the Flame Maple top in the recent sale.

I've had it a couple of weeks now, there have been some delays in getting started. (I may have ordered the kit while halfway through redoing the kitchen and dining room. After some intense negotiations with my lovely wife, the rooms may need to be finished before more work is done on the guitar...)

Put together a mock build on the weekend, and it looks pretty good.
Only one issue, with one of the tuners not screwing in properly. It may work if I really forced it, but this one won't screw in properly to any of the tuners.

Here's the offending item...

Attachment 5559

The switch was a tight fit. I had to remove the nut from the bottom and just run with washer and nut on the top in order for it to fit. I guess I could sand a bit more out from under the body to give me some more space.

Rest of it seemed to fit really well. The neck was a pretty tight fit, I've put a few pictures in, I'm assuming it's fitting correctly? There's a tiny gap at the bottom that's no real issue I don't think.

Attachment 5560

Attachment 5561

Everything else lined up pretty well.
Here's some of the top etc:

Attachment 5564

Attachment 5565

Second post, won't go into too much detail:

I assume glue? How will I remove this from the veneer top? Super light sanding or wire brush?

Attachment 5566

Slight ding, no real dramas though. Tiny bit of sanding should be ok.

Attachment 5567

Lastly, the back:

Attachment 5568


Not sure of the colours yet. I have a bit of sanding to do before I even think about that.....

Really keen to get started. Excited to see how it's going to work out. (now to get painting my dining room....)

Nice guitar Sandman! I had some glue spots on the veneer as well as a few very serious tape marks. I was pretty nervous about sanding the veneer since I have never worked with veneer before, just solid wood. I just used some 150 and cut a small piece (about 7mm square) and just wrapped it around my index finger. Used very very light strokes with the grain, and when it was almost to where I wanted it, switched to some 220 and continued, then when it was almost completely gone, wrapped a bigger piece of 220 around a clean rag and went over the whole area. Worked great and didn't harm the veneer at all.

My switch cavity was really tight too. I ended up using a dremel with a plunge route bit, and took out 3.5mm before I could get the plate and nut on, and the switch fit perfectly. I used a caliper to measure the plate and nut (before routing the nut barely threaded on) and started at 2.5mm, then checked, then adjusted tiny bit, tested, repeat...

Good luck!

Thanks for the tip kenfu, I'll have a crack at it that way.

Can you flick me an email with a pic of the underside of the tuners, (so I can see the number stamp) and I will dig up a replacement for you.
Oh, and your postal address would help too :)

dingobass at pitbullguitars dot com

Sandman, consider replacing the tuners if you can. They are the weakest link in the factory hardware IMHO.

OK, finally had some time to start this build over the weekend.

Sanding. Lots of sanding. In fact that's all I've done so far.... down to 400. Probably give it another go this weekend as well.

A couple of questions about the body preparation.

I've read a lot here about Timbermate and grain filling?
What's the suggestion with this one (Ash Body, Maple cap)- is it something that people want to do, or is something that should definitely be done . I'm not going a solid colour, so it doesn't have to be perfectly flat.

I'm not yet 100% sure about the plans with colours etc, but currently I'm planning on the back and maybe the neck having some form of art/drawing on it - my daughters mate is pretty good, and wants to do a guitar. Has done a lot of work on surfboards and skateboards in the past.

He normally draws in sharpies or posca paint pens.

What's going to be the best way to firstly prepare the wood (some form of light stain I'm thinking to give a relatively blank canvas) - and then protect the drawing afterwards - obviously the back is going to get some wear and tear through playing?

The top I'll then work out depending on the colours he uses etc to see what will go with it.

dingobass, I emailed Adam about the part and he said he'd send a replacement. I haven't got it yet - but then I didn't send an address.... I'll send the photos through via email, thanks.

Hey Sandman, plans sound good

Sandman - Ads should be able to get your address by matching up a few things - order, guitar, email address, etc. That said, usually a couple of days for delivery - depending on Australia Post. Main thing is that someone's looking after you :).

Hey Sandman,
Will get a new set out to you ASAP:)

Great, thanks db

Slow progress on this one, doing it as I have the time.
Have put Timbermate on and sanded back to 400. May have to give it another crack though, not 100% happy with it.

Big weekend - dove in and did the headstock.
Was a bit nervous, but came out OK I think.

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Went a bit close to the line with the jigsaw, but all seemed to work out in the end.
Dug out a few scratches with the jigsaw as well, wasn't quite as smooth as I would have liked, so a bit of sanding to be done...
In hindsight, I think I'd cut from the back next time, just in case.

Tools used:

jigsaw, files, sandpaper wrapped around a Carlsberg bottle....

Hey Sandman I like the headstock shape its original. Hope you drank the Carlsberg stubbie before the sanding the curved face haha

Nice one. Headstock is very original and pleasing to the eye. I like the contrast between pointy top corner and rounded bottom one

Sent from my GT-I9506 using Tapatalk

Looking good so far Sandman

Nice headstock shape there Sandman! Looks great!

Long time between drinks, this has been very slow process due to, well a lot of things going on.
Checking the dates, I'm amazed how long this has taken me. I'm on a bit of push now to get things rolling again.

Decided to do the stain the top\sand it back thing to get some dark colouring in the flame top.

Progress so far.

Top stained with sepia ink (just purchased from the local craft shop).

Attachment 12153

Then, sanded back. I wasn't too sure how far to go. I was very cautious due to reading on here about sanding through the top as it is so thin.

I have ended up about here. Maybe I've taken too much off, I'm not sure. It's a bit patchy in parts, but I think that it should be OK in the end.

Attachment 12154

You can see a straight line underneath where the volume\tone knobs are going to be. That seems to be actually in the top. I've weighed up whether to keep going and sand it out - but I have a suspicion I could go through the top if I do that, so on balance I will leave it as it is. It's not too bad now, and I'm cautious about going too much further.

I've also put timbermate on the body, and sanded it all back to be pretty smooth. There's just one patch I need to work on a bit more, the top corner where your elbow rests. The wood grain is quite curved, so it's just a matter of patience and working with it I think.

As for the future plans?

I'm thinking of using Minwax White Wash Pickling Stain on the top, and a lighter coloured stain for the back of the body and the neck.
Haven't decided the exact colour yet, or the type of oil\seal etc. Minwax do a wipe on poly for the top that looks a piece of cake to use, but I have read that it's much harder to use than it's made out to be.

I'm still up in the air about that, so any ideas are welcome.

As for the stock parts supplied (bridge, pickup surrounds etc) I'm leaning towards buying some black ones, as I don't think that the cream that comes stock with the guitar is going to look that great. I'll do the stain first, and then work it out.

looking good Sandman, think the level of black ink left in the cap is fine and will look great stained. Doesn't really matter what colour you choose these flame maple tops will look excellent. I'd probably stain the veneer first then decide the colour for back/sides of the body and neck, it may turn out slightly different to your original planned colour.

I think you will find black hardware and pup surrounds will go better with the dark flames

good luck !

I'm liking the head stock design, look forward to seeing what colour you end up going with

Long time between posts. I've had a Barry Crocker with this, so have taken a breather.

My thoughts on the top were to use Minwax pickling stain on the top, for a blonde\white look that you can see the black through.
I applied the conditioner, then the stain. I just wasn't happy with the results at all.

It just seemed too patchy. Maybe I was too impatient, maybe I made a bad decision, I'm not sure.

This is how it came up. I was reluctant to keep going, as it was sitting like paint on the top, rather than soaking in.

Attachment 13252

So, after a lot of sanding to remove it all, I went again.
There was some shreds of the white left (but not a lot).

This time I hit it with the same ink as I had done the striping with, only white (because of the few bits of white left).

Progress:
Attachment 13253

It seems to have taken a little better, but still not 100% happy with it. I'm done with the sanding now, if I go again I'll be through the cap so I have to ride this out now.

Finished and with steel wool on the top:

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It's gone a bit more silver than white really, very surprising.

Here's the back, I 've gone with a teak stain:

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I'm just going to have to run with it from here. The top looks to have tiny, tiny marks in there that look like they need something better than steel wool to smooth even more. Is there anything to almost buff it out with? It feels great, but the tiny marks are bothering me!

After this I'm going to tru-oil (yep, a naughty word here I think!) for the finish.

It came with the chrome\white kit default from PBG, but I think I'm going to go black accessories rather than what came with it. If I'd done a great job, I would have looked at some better gear, but I'm thinking the PBG black gear for 40-odd bucks looks a great deal.

Sandman I really like that colour finish, its unique and I imagine it looks somewhat different in person. I agree with the Black hardware, you definitely need the contrast. But it looks a great job from this end of the internet! Good Save!

I like it, I'd name it Casper. :D

Only other colour option for the top would have been Teak all over but from memory it always looked a bit dark anyway.

Good save and totally agree with black hardware accents.

Don't worry too much about any slight imperfections in the surface levels as once you get several layers of TO down they should act as a filler and flatten things out. Also gives you something to wet sand smooth after about 8 or more coats.

That ash grain is cool. Great save Sandman

Thanks guys, certainly feel a bit better about it now.

Getting there now. This has been a sloooow build!!!

Oil is done.

Wiring is done and working.
Just got to screw everything in, then start to set it up.

Very hard to get a picture that really shows the bizarre way the top has come out...

Attachment 17200

Can't wait to just finally play the thing!

Happy accident , I'd say. I think it is different and interesting, i like it, great save

Thanks mate.

Next step. All put together, and plays. Some issues with the bridge I can't work out - I've started a thread in support.

Just got to resolve the teething issues, and get a decal on there:

Attachment 17256

Hi Sandman, just left a comment on the other thread.

I reckon you have the bridge facing the wrong way. The screws need to be looking towards the nut not the stop tail piece.

Cheers, Waz