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Well, my first project has arrived. Quick (but not comprehensive) dry fit shows the neck fits very well. Tight but not overly so. A bit like a girl I knew in my youth (I suppose that was inappropriate, bit I'm sure I will find out soon!). Just have to work out how to post the photo's from my phone. I am going to have a whole lot of fun as I approach my twilight years!
good stuff Melkor, what kit was it again and photo's please ?
If the neck fit is too tight then a light sand of the heel is recommended - don't force it
If you can change the title would be nice to add the model and add your name so it's easy to reference for other forumites
Good luck with it, now let out the secret and say which one you have bought......
It's the lefthand LP with mahogany body. I'm impressed with the quality. As i said, I have to work out how to post the photo's. I'm internet handicapped. Bear (bare) with me.
no worries Melkor, if you have trouble you may need to make the images smaller is the most common problem.
I love the LP-1M model too, can't beat mahogany
Thanks Wokka, I will get some pics on soon. how
do I chang the title of the post?
Melkor its been that long since I changed a title, might need moderators to do so, so maybe send Brendan a private message and tell him what title you want.
Think last time I had to change it you needed moderator privileges
If you simply go and edit the post, there should be a line for the title right at the top of the edit box (under the 'reason for editing' box which no-one bothers to fill in).
Hello all. I have found a small issue with the nut on my kit. It is sitting up on the binding which means it is not flush with the headstock. Adam has offered to replace the kit with a new one but Reckon someone out there would now how can fix it. I still can't work out how to post pics on the forum so I can email a pic to someone if that's okay
You need to be able to reduce the pixel size in a photo editor until the longest edge is a maximum of 1500 pixels. The overall file size also needs to be less than 1GB, so if you've got an adjustable compression level for saving as a jpeg, then try and keep the file size to less than say 800MB. I normally save any edited photos to my desktop (so it's easy to find).
Then pick the 'insert image' icon on the toolbar above the text entry window, select 'From computer', then browse and find the image. Once it's selected, you then need to click on the 'upload file(s)' text below the browse box. You'll probably find that nothing then happens for a few seconds, and then suddenly you'll see a numerical image reference appear on the screen. If nothing happens (unfortunately you don't get an error message), it's because the picture was too big.
Alternatively, host the picture in something like Imgur (but certainly not Photobucket) and add a link to the picture itself (not the web page the picture is displayed on) via the 'insert image' icon. If you tick the 'Retrieve remote file and reference locally' box, then the image and file size again needs to be less than 1500 pixels and 1GB (as you are basically uploading the image again, just from the remote site, not your PC).
Here's a pic of the nut on my guitar. Looking on Youtube this should be a relatively easy fix. Just looking for advice on the best way to go about it.
Hi Melkor,
just tap the nut with a small hammer to break the glue bond, If you have a fret hammer that is ideal. Then with a sharp blade or small saw you should be able to cut/saw the binding and remove what is under the nut. Don't glue the nut back on till the guitar is strung up and you might have to adjust the height of the nut - they are generally too high
Thanks Wokka, I thought that would be the case. I reckon I'll replace it with a bone nut and that will be a job that I complete somewhere at the end of the build. I have to add pics via my work computer so here are a couple for when I un-boxed it on Friday. looks like a kit guitar in a box!
kit looks good Melkor. The images are too small to get any detail but looks like some nice flame maple
I saved them at the smallest resolution so I will send the next ones at a bigger size. I have to load up on sandpaper and other bits an pieces before I get started, so more pics to come in the future. Thanks for the advice mate.
no worries Melkor. In case you haven't read from others, the flame maple veneers are very thin so I usually only run a light 320 grit paper over it. Its less than 1mm thick so very easy to sand through. Don't worry about any small pits or bumps on the surface, the clear coat will fill all the pits and you will get it flat.
Rest of the body will need a fair bit of sanding from 120/180 grit to remove machine marks
I guess you are looking to stain the top, I usually stain first and then light sand the top. Water based stain will slightly raise the grain so sanding afterwards does too jobs in one. It also allows you to do a second coat to even the coverage if required.
Thanks for the advice fellow forumites. Yeah, I will probably go with a water based ink stain and gently gently with the sanding. I will post the pics as I go. Cheers
I use imgur on message boards. Drag and drop from your computer, select the resize option you want (large thumbnail is perfect for this forum) click the direct link and it copies automatically. Then paste it in you post put (img) before the link and (/img) after it, but use square brackets and presto, its in your post. If you quote this post you will see what I mean either side of the image link.
http://i.imgur.com/hU0RwDcl.jpg
Edit: Oops, didn't see this thread had a second page
After a number of botched processes I have finished doing the top of my guitar. Should have started with the black then the colour, but didn't which gave me no end of grief. finally settled with the last image, doesn't look too bad but it won't win GOTM.
cheers, Melkor.
looks great Melkor, what issues did you have ? Was it the order of the staining not putting the black stain down first ?
Just wait till the finish goes on. It will look fantastic.
Seconded. It should deepen in colour a bit and you've definitely got the figuring well defined.
Exactly Wokka, would have been so much easier had I done the black first. Any recommendations for the finish? True oil or something gloss.
Hello fellow Funsters, here are a couple of pics of where I'm at with my build. Neck is now on and I have stained the body and neck. I used Japan black which, when combined with the mahogany gave it a nice dark coffee kind of stain. Next step I think will be top coating the thing, not sure whether I'll go gloss or satin, but anyhoo I'll give it some thought. Also decided to go upmarket on the hardware, y'now, good pups, Gotoh stoptail and bridge saddle, tuning pegs etc. Have to save my pennies for that.
cheers, Mel
Nice, green and black rhymes.
Howdy, a pic of the gloss coat (x 2) so far. Unfortunately I found a hair on the surface AFTER I SPRAYED IT! So, I will have to sand that out and re-spray it before I work on cutting and polishing it. Cheers.
These things happen, especially when you don't have a pro spray booth and drying area. But looking very good. Presumably you'll be doing several more clear coats in order to get enough depth to cut it back flat?
For sure Simon, how many do you reckon would be enough? Flying by the seat of my pants a bit here.
I'd go for 5 to 6. You can leave it with less coats, but then it will wear through a lot quicker. Sanding it back flat and then polishing will reduce the thickness considerably (I'd allow 2 coats worth). So I'd say 4 as a minimum and 6 as a maximum as you don't want too thick a covering.
Thanks Simon, due to the contours on the front of the body, what would be the best way to sand it back? I have a 5 inch orbital sander or should I do it by hand with wet and dry. Or maybe some other way? I am assuming Auto grade cutter and polish to get the real shine going?
By hand with wet and dry. Use a block on the flat surfaces. Don't start with anything too coarse unless you really need to smooth out noticeable dips. I'd probably start at P600 (P400 minimum) and run up to P1500 or even P2000. After that, if you've got MicroMesh cloth or pads, then you can go from 3000 up to 12000 (MicroMesh has a different grit grading system to Wet and Dry). If you haven't got any Micromesh, then car cutting and polishing compounds will still give a shine - it's just takes a bit longer.
But it it is important to let the clear coat cure (the hardening stage after drying) thoroughly. The harder it is, the better the shine. You can use soft buffing pads in a drill to help with the polishing, but keep the pad moving and don't use too fast a speed. Friction can heat the surface and cause it to soften if you leave the pad in one place for too long. Even hand buffing can cause this, so keep moving around and go over the surface briefly multiple times rather than pick one spot and keep at that.
Thanks Simon, I'll get that hair out and go from there. Thanks for the advice mate.
Hello again all,
finally able to get back onto my little project which has stalled somewhat. I will post some recent pics soon but I have replaced some of the kit parts with better stuff, (pups, bridge saddle and tailpiece and some decent tuning pegs).
Cya.
Here are some pics showing the finish and copper shielding in the wiring cavity.
Maybe not. Can't figure this out.
Hey I’m on mobile atm so it’s a pain to link, but if you go into the build diary part of the forum there is a sticky regarding posting images via imugr
Melkor here is the link to the sticky Sonic was talking about http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=8108
Aha! If you can see the attached link it will show some pics of my project. A bit of info:
Gotoh tuning pegs, bridge saddle and stoptail. Bone nut by PBG, perfect! Some minor fitting of the strings but otherwise spot on. Staining job was a muck up but came out reasonably well. Just in the prosess of trying my hand at the wiring (will post more pics soon). Tone rider A4 pup set. Setting up the neck and doing the frets was interesting to say the least. Fret rocker tools are worth their weight in gold.