AGJM-1 - First Build

Hi all,

This post has been a long time coming. I've been lurking around here for awhile, admiring all the great looking builds. We had a few issues with my delivery, but thanks to Adam's persistence I finally got a chance to get stuck in over the weekend. Thank you, Adam :D

I ended up with 2x kits. One of which the body was damaged, & the other the neck was no good.

With Adams advice I was able to fit the good neck into the good body, & sent the other back. The fit was tight, but with a bit of sanding I got the neck to fit nicely. Before:
https://i.imgur.com/SiGj53u.jpg

& after:
https://i.imgur.com/6eJUwXc.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/RNmGRk9.jpg

It was looking nice & straight.. I did a mock build & to me the strings looked evenly positioned on the fret board. (forgot to take a pic).

I am keen to get this as close to an SG Jr as possible, & I was in need of a bit of sanding/shaping therapy so I took to the contours with a file & some P60 sand paper:
https://i.imgur.com/odxQ5X3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7t6LeY9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/L05wLEd.jpg

In the time it took for the second kit to arrive, I cut & shaped a new pickguard on 3 ply. I'll need to tweak it a bit later, to follow the contours a bit closer. or I might start a new one & cut it closer to the bottom of the P90.
https://i.imgur.com/dS1aBJz.jpg

I've bought a new P90, which was slightly too big to fit the pickup cavity. I nervously hit it with a trimmer. It's a bit rougher than I hoped, but the dogear cover hides my handy work.
https://i.imgur.com/1Hc2CKC.jpg

I then hit the sanding block for a few hours, & a few hours more, before I coated it with timbermate -

https://i.imgur.com/XEYJWJB.jpg

I sanded it back down after it dried.. but it looks as though I need to keep sanding to get rid of some marks:

https://i.imgur.com/eb7LYOH.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GkkkdpX.jpg

I might leave that until next weekend, when my finger prints have grown back :rolleyes:

Welcome Dan. I'm a newbie but those contours look great!

Agreed, this is a really nice solid start. Looking tremendous.

Definitely worth the hard yakka to get those contours done. It's not a proper SG without some bevels.

Gotta love the AGJM!!!!:cool:

Welcome Dan.

Thanks all.

I did a few more hours of sanding over the weekend, another coat of of timbermate that I watered down really thin, & more sanding. After that I gave it a coat of water based Cherry Red stain.

https://i.imgur.com/eBaN4oY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/d62bczy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/sZKGmdY.jpg

I had hoped that by thinning out the timbermate it would have helped in raising the grain, but I'm not sure if it has helped. The grain has lifted in places on the ends & is a bit rough

https://i.imgur.com/68AZavP.jpg

I'll have to get out the P240 again. Any tips on how to deal with this?

Also not sure if I'm 100% sold on the shade of red.. I may knock the colour back on the next coat, & darken it up a bit more.

Love that colour there mate. Remember it will darken up under whatever clear coat you plan to apply. Go back with maybe 400 first instead of 240 and see if the grain settles a bit. If you need to apply more colour after knocking off the raised grain, maybe you could increase the red concentrate, so you end up using less water. Therefore less raising of the grain.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bakersdozen

Love that colour there mate. Remember it will darken up under whatever clear coat you plan to apply. Go back with maybe 400 first instead of 240 and see if the grain settles a bit. If you need to apply more colour after knocking off the raised grain, maybe you could increase the red concentrate, so you end up using less water. Therefore less raising of the grain.

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Thanks. Yeah, I don’t mind the red either. It’s just a touch more vibrant than I was hoping. I’ll give the 400 a go..

The plan is to finish it with Tru Oil. But I want to get the neck on before that.. & I’d prefer to shape the headstock, & level the frets before I glue that in place.

Nice work with the contours, I'm also building this model as my first guitar and also ended up with some quality problems with the neck/neckpocket.. ended up getting a 25% cashback from Adam.
Keep up the good work

Quote:

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Originally Posted by macke_magnusson

Nice work with the contours, I'm also building this model as my first guitar and also ended up with some quality problems with the neck/neckpocket.. ended up getting a 25% cashback from Adam.
Keep up the good work

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Thanks. Yeah, they seem to be struggling with some quality issues on this model, hence them being pulled from the store. I hope they can resolve the issues.

Today I shaped the headstock -

https://i.imgur.com/hr8r5t0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/KPRiKqn.jpg

I also rubbed back the rough patches of the body, & gave it some more stain. Not 100% happy with the results. It is a bit blotchy & the grain is not taking the stain in some places.

https://i.imgur.com/FkfrpzL.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/DpcsEIs.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/m23xjn5.jpg

Whilst I'm happy with the overall colour, I think I might need to look at stripping back & perhaps starting again with an alternate stain type

I decided to try darkening up my stain. I had a half tube of crimson watercolour laying around, so I mixed it in with the Truecolor stain. It's gone on a lot more consistently, & darkened it up nicely. Much happier with the depth of colour. I'll give it another coat later this afternoon, I think.

https://i.imgur.com/cyQdBew.jpg

Yeah, I think the darker red is the right choice. Looking good.

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Im really liking the colour. These are great kits.

I was planning on waiting until I got the neck on to start with the Tru Oil. But I got a bit impatient & gave the body a coat this afternoon. It has popped the colour nicely. Pretty happy with the outcome.

https://i.imgur.com/ocHiDTy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/dudAFQU.jpg

Looking good Dan

I've been working on the back of the neck this week. Aiming for a nice worn look like this:https://www.12fret.com/wp-content/ga...-full-rear.jpg

Getting close, thanks to a bit of tumeric watered down stain:
https://i.imgur.com/gI1gLMs.jpg

Today I took a break from doing coat after coat of Tru Oil & did some fret levelling.

https://i.imgur.com/11Xuh1w.jpg

I polished up the frets to 1200 grit, & then 0000 steel wool, & soaked the fretboard with linseed oil.

https://i.imgur.com/F9yQdJ3.jpg

The linseed oil has darkened up the fretboard nicely. I'm happy with how it has come up.

https://i.imgur.com/E1inF4p.jpg

Neck is going on..

https://i.imgur.com/34jVpbZ.jpg

That was a bit nerve wracking...

Looks great so far.

Really love the colour of the body man.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by OliSam

Really love the colour of the body man.


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Thanks man. It is very red. I've tinted the rest of my tru oil with a permanent alizarin crimson oil colour, which has tinted the oil a nice red wine colour. It should darken the colour up a touch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan_B

Thanks man. It is very red. I've tinted the rest of my tru oil with a permanent alizarin crimson oil colour, which has tinted the oil a nice red wine colour. It should darken the colour up a touch.

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Can't wait to see how that turns out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wazkelly

Can't wait to see how that turns out.

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Same. Not sure how much it will add, but hoping it deepens the red a bit. This is the difference between the red stain (bottom rag), & the tinted oil (top).

https://i.imgur.com/b50VSwv.jpg

Looks a bit more heritage cherry than bright red which should get better with each subsequent coat.

It's been a week of oiling of multiple coats, cut with a bit of steel wool, & wet sanding.

Mostly happy with how the colour of the neck is coming along.

https://i.imgur.com/ssAkJ3z.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/x2O6hVa.jpg

Overall I'm happy with how the colour has come up. Not 100% happy with the gloss level though. I would prefer something a little less glossy, & more of a satin matte sheen.

https://i.imgur.com/Pc0tCdw.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FZjf6me.jpg

I think you’ve done a great job there Dan, I really like how the grain is showing through.


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Nice work Dan, I really like the finish youve achieved. A couple of thoughts_ that endgrain on the top horn: it’s just how wood is sometimes, you can grain fill , clear fill or both. Bits of timber that dont take up stain: happens when you get different harnesses and grain tightness in the same pice, it’s a pain. One option that can work is sanding the harder section with a slightly rougher grade of paper.
Nice job

Thanks Stan & IGIAG. I'm happy how it is coming along.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan_B

Thanks Stan & IGIAG. I'm happy how it is coming along.

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Coming on well.
Looks like it will be a classic, as the SG junior has disappeared from the Pitbull shop.

cheers, Mark.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by king casey

Coming on well.
Looks like it will be a classic, as the SG junior has disappeared from the Pitbull shop.

cheers, Mark.

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Cheers.

Yes, it has. Shame.. they are a classic model.

New 3 ply pickguard material has arrived. I'm going to cut a new pickguard for this on the weekend.

3 more coats of Tru-Oil this weekend, & cut a new pickguard today.

https://i.imgur.com/3QPuiZt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/gVBJPkM.jpg

That’s coming on really well.


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Looking tops

After a few more weeks of oiling & wet sanding, I applied 2 last coats of tru oil & left that to cure for a couple of weeks. I have never been happy with the glossy finish of the tru oil, especially on the back of the neck which was a bit tacky & overly glossy. I tried buffing with steel wool, micro-mesh, & bear-tex pads, & was still not 100% happy. I ended up getting a bottle of Birchwood Casey Stock Sheen & Conditioner. I polished it up last night & again this morning, & it's come up feeling smooth as, & looking really nice. It has knocked the gloss back, & also made it look & feel more aged. It is a bit hard to photograph.

https://i.imgur.com/b3FYvO0.jpg

Happy with the finish I shielded the cavities & started fitting hardware. The pickguard is hand cut, & I had the pickup hand wound by Dave @ Leddin Vintage Guitars - https://www.leddinvintageguitars.com...dwoundpickups/ I got the vintage 60's P90 over wound to 9.5k to fatten it up a bit.

https://i.imgur.com/NtxjJUp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/AAzN1Ju.jpg

I got some Gotoh tuners & also fitted them. While fitting them I had a bit of a brain snap & popped the bit through the front of the headstock!.. kicking myself for not taking more time, & taping up the bit.

https://i.imgur.com/NX70zaW.jpg

OOOOOO Bad words...bad words at high volume.... Bugger.

It’s looking really nice now.


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