Hello World! My first guitar project

[ross.pearson]

It’s a bit larger and deeper than a factory bevel, but it looks fine to me. There are no rules, and if there were, they can always be broken.

I just go at mine with a belt sander until I’m happy, then a random orbital sander, then hand sand until complete.

Cheers! Yeah I think it's gonna be okay. Definitely comfortable and needed the weight loss (don't we all).

I'm trying to keep dust down due to my living situation. I probably could have run a cable out to a distant corner of the property and set myself up, but it seemed like less effort to do it this way. It definitely wasn't less effort. Kind of fun though, I really enjoy making shavings.

[ross.pearson]

I've painted this body so many times now I'm not even gonna talk about it any more. If you see the body look slightly different in future pictures just assume I've been at it again.



I've decided since I'm apparently terrible at planning my work before I start, but great at biting off more than I can chew, that I should do my first ever inlay. I'm considering using jarrah as it will provide a really good contrast, and jarrah wood filler will be a good way to hide the inevitable sins.

I'm planning to give this guitar to my best friend for his wedding or as my Best Man gift to him at his bucks. It depends on when(if) I ever finish it. His name is Mark, and this is my first build, so this will be the Mark I.




On top of that, continuing this apparent anti-powertool bias I have, I'm going to attempt it by hand. I thought I might be able to make some inroads with scalpels and needle files, but that's lunacy. They will definitely come into play for final shaping and finessing though.



The missus is heading down to the big smoke today and I was hoping she could stop past toolmart to grab a fret saw and some blades, but they don't have any in stock. I'll likely stop past Carbatec on my way to work Monday and grab one. Until then any inlay work is on hold. Gives me time to make an inlay work stand/frame anyway.

In other news, my Homeland fret rocker turned up in the post. Unfortunately it lives up to its name and literally rocks on a flat surface. I tested out on my LP that has some string buzz and was like "Damn, I got some BAD upper frets". But it turns out the smallest straight edge on the fret rocker has a slight curve and rocks on literally everything. I'll attempt to fix it using my leveling beam, but yeah. I hate that you can't trust anything you buy these days.

[ross.pearson]

I blacked up the edge of the fret rocker with a sharpie and took it to the waterstones.



Engineered flat me arse.

A couple of minutes later and it's flat enough that it's no longer rocking against a straight edge. Still not perfect, but it's definitely good enough.



I did the same for the other edges, even though they didn't seem to be problematic, aaaand I'm super glad I did.



And since I was out here flattening things, I decided to grab the cheap crappy "luthier" files I bought off amazon and turn them into something resembling actual crowning files. I flattened one side completely on the bench grinders. Firstly on a regular stone, then over to a tool sharpening stone to help smooth the surface. I took it back to the sharpening stone after this photo to clean it up some more, then ran it over the waterstones.



And I rounded each corner slightly to make them safe.



I did this on the bastard file first, as I've got plenty of spare cheap ones of those. Now I've got a better idea of the process I'll do the single cut file when I can find the time.

They're not perfect, but they should work just fine.

As you might be able to tell, I don't like to do things the easy way.

[Simon Barden]

For cutting out inlay you really want a jeweller's saw, which is a much finer version of a fret saw. It will allow you to cut out a lot more of the shape than a fret saw will, before turning to files and sanding. As the teeth are smaller as well, it's a bit kinder to thin fragile inlay material. Might need to be an internet order though.

[ross.pearson]

For cutting out inlay you really want a jeweller's saw, which is a much finer version of a fret saw. It will allow you to cut out a lot more of the shape than a fret saw will, before turning to files and sanding. As the teeth are smaller as well, it's a bit kinder to thin fragile inlay material. Might need to be an internet order though.

Cheers for the advice. I've gone ahead and placed an order online from a local supplier for a jewelers saw and about 140 blades, because I know I'm gonna be breaking the hell out of those things.

Hopefully I'll get it by the weekend!

I just painted the back and sides of the body and somehow managed to get black paint on the front, ruining it again. I've chosen the worst possible product and application method.

But I wouldn't be me if I didn't

[Simon Barden]

Have you tried turning yourself off and on again?

[ross.pearson]

Have you tried turning yourself off and on again?

Several times. Tonight's method is Taylors special release shiraz.

[ross.pearson]

I've discovered that if you search for perfection, all you find is problems. If you search for adequate, all you find is still problems. However, if you get sick enough of something you eventually just say "screw it" and and start applying finish.

The direction I've gone with would probably be considered shabby chic, or weathered beach house. Or flotsam, perhaps.

Anyway, more paint, more sanding, more mineral spirits, more sanding, more problems uncovered, more serious sanding, more paint, more mineral spirits, more sanding. And then say "I can't get it better than this without going insane" and start applying wipe on poly.



I'm thinking 2 coats a day for a couple of days, then light sanding, then 2 coats a day for a couple more days, then leave it to cure for a few weeks before wet sanding, buffing, and polishing.

Or I'll just do a bunch of coats and then steel wool it and say good enough.

We'll see where the muse takes me.

EDIT: I should mention that self-deprecation aside, I've gotten pretty much the result I had in mind when I started. I want this guitar to look weathered and worn.

[DarkMark]

I quite like the look you’ve achieved, and my name is, “Mark”. Just saying 🤷

[ross.pearson]

I quite like the look you’ve achieved, and my name is, “Mark”. Just saying 🤷

Hi Mark! Your username infers the existance of a nemesis, LightMark. I'm glad you like it! With the amount of effort I feel like I've put in, it reminds me of my favourite Dolly Parton quote:

“It takes a lot of time and money to look this cheap"

I'm fairly happy with it but there are some issues that no amount of sanding seems to have resolved. At the end of the day it's fine and kinda fits the theme, but next guitar will definitely be better. I really just want to finish already, but I know there's loads of work left to do.

Second and final coat of poly for today complete! I ended up light sanding with 400 grit before applying. Instructions suggested 240 grit between coats, but it didn't feel entirely necessary. I'll probably just keep building up more coats until the weekend, then figure it out from there.

It photographs way better at night.



And some booty shots