The Big D (ES-1G)

Hi all,

Well it's been a long time since I've posted here, but a new page in life has begun and I also have 3 new kits to build. This ES-1G, a ES-12G and a MK-1. Lots of build diaries coming up.

This one however is for the ES-1G. It is going to be a present for my father who has wanted a ES-335 type guitar for a while. Since it is a present I have chosen to upgrade the tuners to the grover mini locking tuners and have changed the pickups to the Tonerider AC-2's. The plan is to finish it with a tobacco sunburst'ish finish with Wudtone, as my dad really likes the tobacco sunburst style. Having never used Wudtone before, it will be interesting to see how the finish comes out.

The guitar arrived without a scratch on it, actually all three of them did. I'm impressed that there doesn't seem to be any real glue marks around the binding and very few machine marks.

My only concern is the neck joint. It is a tight fit but not a very clean fit. On one side it looks like it doesn't seat all the way but the other side seems to be not to bad. Looking from the bottom it also looks like the bottom of the neck pocket isn't level. Not to sure how to fix this, perhaps some careful sanding?

Well off to find my sand paper,

Cheers,
Brian

Hi Brian. Have you had the kit a while? If it's only just arrived, the wood may settle down after travelling. It did a lot on my ES-3 (though it did travel many thousand miles) and took about a week.

Before it sorted itself out, I was wondering how best to try and determine which bit needed sanding to get everything fitting well, but I never really came up with a plan that I found satisfactory. Have you tried clamping the neck (as if glueing it) to see if it improves under pressure? If it can be forced together, then maybe leave it under pressure for a few days to see if it will stay that way. If it can be forced together, it should hold when glued, though it's obviously better if it fits nicely in the first place.

Otherwise maybe try fitting a small set-square around the neck heel to see if that has been cut straight, or measure the depths, front and back, of the body neck pocket to see if one side is slightly higher than the other (plus measure the corresponding neck cutaway depths to see if they match.

I had thought on mine of maybe trying to get hold of some thin carbon/copying paper, slipping that into the joins and seeing if it marked where things touched and didn't mark where they didn't, but I never had to do that in the end.

Well I fixed the neck fit. After a close look at the neck I realised it needed a light sanding on the sides. After a minute or so of sanding with 120 grit it slid in like a charm. I clamped the neck down and then put the bridge and saddle on and put the two e strings on and everything seemed to fit nicely. Now starting the sanding on the body.

Cheers all.

Hoorah! Good luck with the rest of the build.

Yes, I love the shape and the look of these. I have an Epiphone Casino that I have owned and loved for years. I would never part with it, so I probably wouldn't build one of these kits just because it would be deflating if it didn't feel and sound similar.

I do look forward to your diary on this SRVB as its a gift it sounds as though it will be a labour of love and hence probably an absolute knockout by the end!

gotta love those hollows and semi's. I look forward to your builds!

This is indeed a labour of love. Sorry for the lack of updates but I've just been sanding. I've got the neck fitting well, and tomorrow i should be done sanding then i can start trying to accomplish a tobacco sunburstish finish. I'm very excited to try wudtone for the first time. I also just ordered all the equipment to do a fret leveling job so that will also be a first for me. I can't wait.

sounds good SRV, no point posting sanding updates !

which wudtone colours are you doing the burst with ?

Hi Wokkaboy, I'm going to be using goldenrod for the inner colour and dark onyx for the dark colour of the burst. I'm trying to get a tobacco sunburst'ish finish.

Hi SRV, those are pretty hard colours to burst being at each end of the light and dark scale. Our good friend Callum aka Pest tried that burst on his LP many years ago (he was 15yo at the time) and it was hard to get a nice blend/transition.
Have a practice run on the burst on scrap wood before you attempt the real deal. You might find a third colour red stain could work better in between the black and gold

I also have a cherry flamenco that i can try to use as a transition, we'll see how it goes. I'll try. It'll make for an interesing experience anyway. We'll see how it goes. Pictures to come either way :)

no worries SRV, cherry flamenco will be a good transition colour. I'd go thin on the dark onyx on the edges to start with, you can always thicken the dark edge later but hard to remove on a thin flame maple veneer if it's too thick

Well after sanding the neck down to 400 grit as per the wudtone instructions and sanding the body down to 320, I decided to start staining the guitar. I started tonight with the neck, just to get a feel for applying the stain before starting with the body. I really like the way the stain goes on, I also like being able to apply it while sitting at my kitchen table instead of making a spray booth up and trying to find a good day to spray etc, plus living in a small condo the whole spray painting thing isn't really an option. I'm using the vintage amber neck tint, so two more coats then the top coat.

I also ordered the tools to do a fret levelling and dressing so that will be a fun first experience. I'm very excited about this project and the new skills that I get to learn.

Cheers,
Brian

Nice neck colour Stevie.

Nice start, classic looking neck

Hi all,
Sorry for the lack of updates but was on vacation diving, but back at it. I'm having some trouble with the dark onex stain, it just doesn't seem to take in some areas. I tried to sand it down and i Hanne tried a wire brush to pen up the grain but hasn't seemed to work. At this point I'm tempted to sand the black off and just take the cherry flamenco out to the edge.

Oh a friend of mine sent me this comic. I almost fell off my chair, I'm glad the pitbull guitar kits are better than this

Does rather look like a glue problem around the edges. I've just finished sorting someone else's neck issues on an ES-1 here in the UK and that's suffered from a similar problem when they've tried to stain it. If it is glue, then rubbing off the black may still give problems with getting a good finish with the red and you may need to try Goo Off.

Did you stain all the way out to the sides previously with the other stains and have no issues, just when you applied the black; or did you leave the edges clear and have only applied the black to them?

The edge only had the black stain. I tried the deep colour coat and it just seems to be on that side that doesn't really take.

I'd sand back the edges a bit and try using Goo Off. I've never used it but DB recommended it on another build and others seem to have had success with it.

Use it in moderation because you don't want to soak the wood and loosen the glue holding the veneer on. So several light passes. After each pass, dampen the wood with a bit of turps turps to see how well you're doing. If all the glue has gone, you should get all the wood dark with the turps and clearly showing the grain. Let the wood dry thoroughly each time after using the Goo off and the turps.

I'm looking for goo off online and can't find it. Is goof off or goo gone similar? Is turps like turpentine?

Goof off mate. Available at Bunnings.
Turps is mineral turpentine. It cleans like Methylated Spirits but evaporates much much slower. Also from Bunnings

Oh excellent, thanks. I'm in Canada so don't have Bunnings, I'll look around. Thanks again.
Cheers,
Brian

Oh ok, Well I don't know what they have in Canada but I assume any major hardware chain should have it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stevierayvannabe

Oh excellent, thanks. I'm in Canada so don't have Bunnings, I'll look around. Thanks again.
Cheers,
Brian

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you can probably source it through StewMac Brian. I think thats where i got mine from.

Good news, my girl friend had some goof off under the sink, what a gal. I'll sand the black back a bit then try some goof off and hope that the black will take a bit. Tomorrow will tell.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stevierayvannabe

Good news, my girl friend had some goof off under the sink, what a gal. I'll sand the black back a bit then try some goof off and hope that the black will take a bit. Tomorrow will tell.

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She's a Keeper! Look forward to seeing the result.

Sorry, my mistake on the name. Fingers crossed that it works.

Hi all,

Well this post has been a long time coming. A lot has happened in the last while in my life and I have been a bit distracted and not posting much.

Not to hold anyone in suspense, I did in fact finish this guitar and gave it to my father for his Christmas present Dec, 2017. He has been playing and enjoying it ever since. I tried to upload some pictures of the guitars but unfortunately my pictures are too large. I'll have to wait until my wife gets back and can show me how to resize the pictures on her MacBook (I am not skilled in the ways of the apple).

Since then I have built 2 more guitars, the 12 string version of this one, that was for me, and a left handed ST-1 kit for my brother-in-law, as a present from my sister. I have really enjoyed building these kits. My next project is a Mockingbird style kit, and after that I'll probably be building a Bass kit for my wife, who has recently taken to the instrument

Hope you enjoy.
Brian

Thanks for the follow up. It’s great to hear that builds are being played and enjoyed.