Resonator build

[fender3x]

... Use SM clear filler on the top prior to staining this seemed to go ok, it took the water based stain ok not as well as just the wood without filler, allowed several hours for stain to dry then applied a coat of poly hmmm not impressed the poly was still tacky in places after 12 hours, put it in the morning sun which helped a lot to the point where I was able to successfully sand it...

How is it now? Did the poly completely harden? I can't remember if you mentioned which poly you're using? It occurred to me that you might want a protective "cap" between your stain and your poly, or between your filler and your stain, or both.

If I used a water based product over another water based product, I will generally put a cap of platina (a.k.a. ultra-blonde) shellac between them. It's almost as clear as a water based poly, it will stick to almost anything and almost anything will stick to it. It's also cheap and dries fast. Since I wipe or brush on everything but solid color paint, I end up using it a lot to keep water in top coats from activating the water in under coats. Although I don't tend to use oil based finishes, lots of people use platina shellac to guard against compatibility issues between products. Just a thought...

[Tgraham]

Thanks fender I’m using feast and Watson oil based poly. After the previous hitch with not drying all seems to be going well atm. I’ve glued the neck and will put some finish coats on before final set up. Really like the ease of application and quality of the finish with the poly.
I’m going for the “ just pulled this guitar outta the swamp” look

[Tgraham]

You don’t get much room on resonators for creative finishes.
I bought a pickup after pondering options for a while, I had to use a Dremel to “shave” quite a bit off the nut on the cone that the screw secures the spider to the cone. According to the instructions this is a normal requirement. This was scary but all seems ok, I attached the pickup to the cone and hooked it up to an amp - gentle tapping on the cone with a pencil was magnified a lot so will be interesting how it sounds when all set up.
I’ve set an old French coin into the headstock - maybe asking the Cajun gods of French Louisiana to imbue some Cajun rhythm into the guitar and my playing

[Tgraham]

It’s certainly an interesting build

[fender3x]

Looks great! I have seen guitars in that green...Nicely "vintage" without being common. Looks way better than anything I have seen pulled out of a swamp...and I live near the Everglades. Will be curious about how it sounds. I like the coin in the headstock as well. Nice touch.

[Trevor Davies]

+1 for looking great. I like the headstock. I'm curious about the sound you get from the piezo type pickup.

[Tgraham]

Will certainly let you know Trevor, I glad this was not my first build, and also glad you paved the way for resonator builds.

[Tgraham]

Finished product, strings on tuned to standard tuning for now, pleased with the final result. Volume unplugged is quite loud, I would say a bit louder than other my other acoustic steels. ATM it has standard strings on it - lite electric, I will try heavier acoustic strings to compare, it might take a while to find my preferred set.
The pickup works really well after a bit (a lot) of messing around fitting it but well worth it I think.

Certainly an interesting build.

Hmm what’s next

Cheers
graham

[Trevor Davies]

Looks great. Well done!

[Tgraham]

Thanks Trevor really appreciate yours and everyone else’s suggestions and advice with the build.