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First I started with a quick mock-up to see if all parts are here.Attachment 10859
Then on to shaping the head stock to a Gibson type. I made a template from an old S.G. copy I've had for 30 odd years. Then cut it out with a jig-saw, a bit of filing with a half round rasp and sanding,sanding,sanding. Then I put a couple of coats of Mahogany stain onto it.Attachment 10860Attachment 10861Attachment 10862Attachment 10863
Such an exciting kit Wayne. Nice mahogany stain on the maple!
nice progress Wayne
great colour on this guitar, nice start
Thanks guys, I appreciate the good words. I wasn't going to go with the mahogany because it looked purple in the bottle, so I got a couple of different testers and tried it out on some plywood and I'm glad I chose the mahogany,it looks great. I'll post a couple of pics.
This is the start of the staining. I started with some colour reducer and a couple of drops of stain,then added more stain to the mix to darken the edges.
Attachment 10879.
Attachment 10880.
Attachment 10881.
Then I went full colour around the edges and blended it in. Wasn't easy with the blending but I persisted.
Attachment 10882.
Attachment 10883.
Now I'm ready for a couple of coats of clear poly.
Man these ES-3s are becoming popular and there are some amazing bursts happening on them. All of a sudden everyone wants a jazzbox.
wow looking good
Burst looks really great! Will look even better with some clear on there
cheers,
Gav.
Thanks for the encouragement guys, every bit helps. I did the wiring while waiting for poly to dry for the next coat.
Attachment 10975.
Then I put another coat of poly. Damn spray gun fell off the bench with one coat of poly left to apply and split the nozzle in half. Went to buy a new nozzle but that brand of spray gun is out date, so I had to buy a whole new spray gun. Unfortunately a bit more complicated than the last and it's spitting all over the place. This new spray gun is so bloody temperamental.
Put the final coat of poly on, not 100% happy with it, what do you think?
Attachment 10976 Attachment 10977.
While waiting for the poly to dry I installed the machine heads.
Attachment 10978.
Most ES-175 have a rosewood bridge under the tune-o-matic bridge so I'll be looking into this possibility next.
That looks gorgeous in the sunshine! Great job on the burst Wayne.
Had a bit of trouble putting the wiring into the body, the wires kept breaking at the solder points. Plus the coloured wires were visible through the F hole, so I took all the wires off and started again. This time I made a wiring harness with longer wires and black heat shrink and black mini cable ties. This time it worked perfectly. Sorry no pictures taken due to tiredness. No sooner had I made it,it was installed.
Next job was to glue the neck, no problems there, all went well.
Attachment 11296
Next I added the strings and adjusted the bridge hight to get string clearance. Then took some pics for you guys.
Attachment 11297Attachment 11298
Attachment 11299
Attachment 11300
What a beautiful guitar well done!
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Glad you got the wiring worked out Wayne. It's looking great.
very nice looking build Wayne, glad the wiring worked out, well worth doing what you did.
Might as well enter it into June GOTM
That really is lovely. Beautiful work.
Looks so good. Reminds me of an old ricky burst
Oh! I just noticed the inlays, was that stock or did you do that/have it done?
A complete build diary in less than a month and only 2 pages long...? I'm jealous... again!
Take heart Muzza, I am 5 months and in and haven't even looked at electronics yet, never mind a finished finish!Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzza
That sure is purdy! Nice job Wayne!
Love the colours. Really nice build Wayne.
I'm nearly 4 months in and I've just last week put my first finish coat on.Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankenWashie
Electronics?
Huh?
Hey Muzza, you sound as sad as your dog looks in the avatar.Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzza
4 months and still getting around to final coats.......Ah, I can remember that and hopefully now as the seasons are changing there won't be much if any humidity to contend with. Just colder overnights that also prolong DT curing time.
The fret inlays are stock on the ES-3 neck.
Finally finished,just had a couple of small bits to do. The truss rod cover,which I made from the pick guard that wasn't going to go on. I tried to copy the Gibson bell shape, cut it down to size with a fret saw
then used the bench grinder to get a better shape.
Attachment 11414
I also had to add the strap lugs, now all done. I had a great time building this guitar, cant wait for the next one, especially with such good quality kits available. I might even go back to a bass guitar I started back in 1978. but that's for another time.