My first build ES-1GT

[davidhart]

Thanks Simon,
The headplate started out at 6mm. I sanded back the headstock somewhat to get rid of the slight curve and the final thichness is 15.4mm.
I chose the upgrade to Grover locking tuners and fitted them to make sure it all worked. Plenty sticking out.

[davidhart]

Well, back to online shopping. Have nitro, need to spray, need equipment.

Bought a second hand 40 litre, 2.5HP compressor for $40. A further $60 to get it working (I knew in advance that it had issues getting up to pressure). So, new pressure switch, piston and rings, gaskets, valve plates, filter, a bunch of O rings and some oil...phew! it works like new and I've still come out at about half the cost of a new one of the same specs.
Add a hose and some Nitto fittings and I'm set.



Now for a spray gun (Voilamart LVLP) and an inline filter - this matched the cubic feet per minute that my compressor will deliver. And of course a respirator:



Stll waiting for warmer weather....So....

[davidhart]

I masked up and marked my frets then leveled them with my sanding beam.


I then re-crowned them with a triangular file and a crowning file and polished them with fret erasers working up through 180 grit, to 400, to 1000, to 1500 and finally 2000 grit. I then finished them with a polishing disc in my dremel.

[davidhart]

Now that I've finished with the inlay and fretwork its time to glue in the neck.

Did I forget to mention that I scraped the binding after I stained? It cleaned up really nicely and got rid of a few imperections, especialy around the f holes.

I had already dry fit the neck and checked the scale length and angle of the neck by installing both E string tuners and strings, all looked good.

I cut some wooden blocks to use with the clamps and added some cloth just in case, applied the glue - I'm using Titbond original - and clamped it in 2 places.



It is starting to look more like a guitar.



That was 2 days ago, so now my build diary is up to date.

More to come, the temperature is rising, slowly but surely.

[davidhart]

Finally the weather has warmed up enough to get started on the Nitro Lacquer.

I set up a corner of my shed as a spray booth with the large plastic bag that my daughter's matress was delivered in.



I ran a cord as a pully with loops so that I could hang my guitar at 3 different levels then started spraying.
I'm using Mohawk Nitrocelulose Lacquer and Diggers Lacquer Thinner with a 50/50 mix.



I spent many days over a 2 week period doing 2-3 coats a day on the warmer days.
Here is the progress:

-----------4 Coats-----------------------------------8 Coats----------------------------last Coat


14 coats in all. I was aiming for 12 but as each coat was quite light I decided to add 2 more to use up the nitro that was already in the gun.

It is now hanging in my music room,which is the back half of my shed, to cure.
I've heard times from 2-4 weeks but I'm going to give it a full 4 weeks before I wet sand and polish.

I forgot to mention before that I also added a bone nut. A low cost but worthwhile upgrade I think.

[davidhart]

I have decided to upgrade to Tonerider Birmingham pickups and went with a black set with no covers.
I ordered them direct from the Tonerider website in the UK and even though they were on backorder, they still arrived reasonably quickly.
Great customer service, they replied to my questions really quickly.



Of course, now that I have pickups with splittable coils, I will have to upgrade the electronics.

I went for Bournes 500k push/pull pots audio taper pots for the volume and full size CTS 500k linear pots for the tone controls.
The CTS PUSH/Pull audio taper pots are full size but unfortuanately the switch is the same diameter (25mm) and there is no way I would get them in through the F hole. The Bournes pots are a smalled diameter.

I also bought a Swithcraft switch and jack and some .022uf Sprague Orange Drop capacitiors as well as some shielded cloth covered wire and some heat shink tube.

Here is my wiring loom.



I temporarily attached the pickups to test the wiring - I got the switch back to front the first time - always worth a check!
The electronics are now ready to go.

Getting closer!

[Trevor Davies]

Looking great. Love the final look of the red!

I got a set of Birminghams last year for my DSCM build. They are very nice.

[davidhart]

Thanks Trevor,
Glad to hear that you like the Birminghams. I have no idea what they will be like, I've seen a few good reviews but there isn't much out there. Theres going to be quite a gap between the pickups and the frames without the covers but I think I can live with that. I can always add the covers.

[Drashkum]

I had been thinking about getting the Birmingham set for my build. Do let us know how they sound after you finish your gear.

The build looks lovely

Drashkum

[davidhart]

Thanks, I'm planning to wet sand and polish on the weekend and can then install the hardware.