Progress!

Click image for larger version.  Name: 34. Neck 4.jpg  Views: 146  Size: 67.3 KB  ID: 35881
Click image for larger version.  Name: 39. Neck w. Finish.jpg  Views: 141  Size: 68.7 KB  ID: 35882

Between work and life getting in the way and me nearly losing the will to live trying to get the scratches out of the endgrain on the sides, I hadn't done anything on the guitar for a while. So to get back into it I focused on the neck. Printed off a template and spent an hour with a coping saw and sandpaper cutting and shaping. Came out pretty well apart from near the nut on the treble side where I cut slightly inside the line. I was able to more or less mask that with a file and a lot of sanding. First pic is just after cutting/shaping, second pic is from last night with the first coat of Crimson's finishing oil on.

The fretboard is still raw, I'll apply the oil to it a bit differently from the rest of the neck but it does highlight how much the oil colours the raw maple. It's really humid here and the oil was still a bit tacky this morning after hanging for about 7 hours in my bathroom (I don't have a balcony or even windows that open!) so I think I'll be lucky if I get two coats applied per day.

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Click image for larger version.  Name: 41. Body Rear.jpg  Views: 160  Size: 67.1 KB  ID: 35886
After getting somewhere with the neck I went back to the body. I finally managed to hide the scratches that I can't seem to avoid putting into the body endgrain by taking a little more time to follow the grain while sanding. It's very swirly so it took a while but it's not looking too bad now. I've given up on removing the factory scratch marks, they're just going to be a feature of the finished guitar.

I re-coloured the front and back then sanded with 400 grit to try to get a burst. With the way the ash absorbs the stain it's not perfect but it's not too bad either. Tonight I'll go back over everything with 400 to lighten the colour a bit, then redo the colour on the edges to darken them. I'm in the home straight now. Hopefully after tonight all that will be left will be clear-coating, fret dressing and final assembly.

Because I just can't leave good enough alone, I also got a set of pickups delivered from axetec in the UK - stacked single coils where you can engage one stack (slightly hot at around 7.5K) or both stacks together which are 11K in the neck and 16K in the bridge! The toneriders will still go in first. But I also ordered a spare pickguard and control plate, as well as some new standard pots, a push-push pot and a mini toggle switch to do some trick wiring with the new pickups.