FrankenWashie's Second PBG Build, SV-1

[FrankenWashie]

cool result mate.
another thing to consider is that steam can also damage pre existing finishes you may wish to leave in tact

I would never consider doing this to one of my other guitars without the services of a professional Luthier, that is for sure. There is just too much I do not know to contemplate something like a board strip on my Takamine or Eastman for example.

SO the next step is going to be the hard part, Laying out the Fretboard and fretting it!

[stan]

I would never consider doing this to one of my other guitars without the services of a professional Luthier, that is for sure. There is just too much I do not know to contemplate something like a board strip on my Takamine or Eastman for example.

SO the next step is going to be the hard part, Laying out the Fretboard and fretting it!

oh yes, the fun part.

i redid the fretboard on my Harmony the same way, luckily I was refinishing the neck anyway, but steam iron did the job

[FrankenWashie]

oh yes, the fun part.

i redid the fretboard on my Harmony the same way, luckily I was refinishing the neck anyway, but steam iron did the job

Yes i have read that thread, how did it end up? there seemed to be no conclusion, i'm hanging now!

[stan]

havent finished it yet , truss rod in, new fingerboard on, not fretted yet, i like how it turned out so far

[FrankenWashie]

Okay wise ones,

I am going a full coverage paint finish, what is the recommended sanding limit prior to spraying an undercoat, and subsequent topcoats? Do you go as far as 400 grit? 600 grit? 800 grit?

Once undercoated successfully, obviously there is a need for sanding back or knocking off high spots etc, what grit limit should you set on that?

Where should one draw the line on smoothness of surface?

...and.....GO!

[Dedman]

I usually go 600 before priming, 800 between coats, 1000 on the final clear coats.
Where to draw the line is up to you, on solid colours I make it glass smooth, on the ES and the LP there is traces of grain but very feint. you really need to go looking for them

[FrankenWashie]

Thanks Dedman, I shall continue sanding...YAY?

[wokkaboy]

Hey Frankie, I'd agree with what Dedman says, 600 is a good level to lay down primer and then I go up in the grits after that to level colour coats

[DrNomis_44]

@ FrankenWashie Personally, I reckon there's no substitute for giving a surface a decent sanding-down prior to finishing it with paint, or some other kind of finish, I think Dingobass would agree on that, seeing as his mantra is "Sand, Sand, Sand, and Sand again", look at it this way, at least you're giving your arm-muscles a good workout in the process, seeing as I'm a bit of a skinny guy, I can't really say much about my arm-muscles, though....hahahaha.

[FrankenWashie]

Given the fact that the second finish attempt on the EXA-1 is still drying which precludes copious amounts of sanding in the vicinity I started messing around with building a fretting jig. (Yes, I realise that it would have been easier to get DB or another luthier to do it. No, I'm not an absolute Masochist. Yes, I probably am a very silly man.)

The results (while not wholly complete) are below. I had started cutting a blank fretboard (Rosewood) to test how everything works.




I still need to fix the toggle clamps, add a couple of magnets to the saw guide and glue that home and fix a handle to the sliding bed to ease movement and some general tidy up and sealing of the edges.

So far the simple little test has demonstrated that it cuts square and supports the Fret saw reasonably well. Now I just have to see how accurate I can be with measuring out and cutting the fret spacings.
There are a couple of adjustments to be made to it, but on the whole I am pretty well satisfied with the outcome.

Edit: before anyone has a moment about wasting a rosewood blank as a test, this blank had some splintering at the base end, so was effectively useless. I have filled this with CA to hold it all together, as this is a test piece for both fretting and probably inlay work, I am not too fussed if I duff it.