Marcel's GAS SGM-1 (PBG build #5)

[wazkelly]

Hi Marcel, I tend find full strength TO goes off and stickier quicker than 50:50 blend in any weather conditions plus a bottle of the stuff just seems to go that bit further.

[Andy40]

I've tried 50/50 TO and never had good results, im just not good at it. Full strength is the only way to go for me

[wazkelly]

I've tried 50/50 TO and never had good results, im just not good at it. Full strength is the only way to go for me

Really? Maybe I am a freak or just damn lucky. Thinning it down does make things very watery and can introduce runs which I overcome by almost wiping each coat 'dry'.....what I mean is that it with a rag you squeeze as much out as possible then open up the small square bit of cotton and smooth that all over fresh parts of the surface and keep going back and forth a few times to make sure it is not left too moist as that is when runs develop, and by doing it this way after a very short number of wipes the TO starts to dry and go a little bit tacky, therefore no more wiping.

Straight out of the bottle is good but if one coat laid is substandard it shows up through subsequent coats. Also tend to find that full strength does not like being 'worked' onto the surface and goes tacky quicker than when diluted. Have found that the thinner coats provide more depth or glass like appearance and wet sand a whole lot better too.

[Marcel]

I suppose Waz that be it TO or a rattle can or a LP spray gun or whatever kind of poly everyone has to find out what works for them...

After applying a few more full strength coats of TO to the body over the past few days I made the choice to set the neck today.

The 'strings' you see are 0.5mm enamelled copper wire held taught at the headstock with only a little twisting. The wood pad on the back of the body is a purpose made device with high density bubble foam attached so as to protect the finish on the body while spreading compression force evenly across the back area near the neck pocket. A.small pine block in the PU hole confines the compression force of the G clamp to only the tongue of the neck in the neck pocket.

TiteBond original glue used so 24hrs from now should see this neck fully set.

Interestingly the posts for the bridge and stop bar only required firm hand force to press in most of the way, and only a few taps with a small shoe tack hammer to be fully home... I am more than slightly concerned that the stop bar may work itself out of its hole over time.

[Simon Barden]

Might be worth pulling the inserts out (I hope you remembered the bridge earth wire) and sticking them back in with Titebond and maybe a few scraps of veneer in the holes to make the inserts more strongly attached.

[Marcel]

The post with the earth wire is the tightest Simon. Quite solid, but its partner above it I dare say if I used a decent pair of multi grip pliers I'd probably be able to pull the post out with minimal effort...

Including a dab of Titebond in the hole beside the post is most likely all it needs.

[Simon Barden]

Unfortunately having pushed the insert in once, the hole will now be wider and so the insert will be looser when pushed in again. hence the suggestion of sticking some thin bits of wood around the sides, as well as some Titebond.

[Simon Barden]

Titebond won't stick that well to the metal, so it won't make the insert impossible to remove if this is ever needed at a later date, but it will fill out some of the gaps.

[Marcel]

Imagine this Simon.... A precisely machined metal shaft sliding into a precisely drilled hole in a metal block with both parts covered in extremely thick heavy oil. There is considerable resistance however the parts do not freely move yet nor are they stuck firm.

There is a solution, just gotta find it...

[Marcel]

Fitted all the hardware, shielded the control cavity. completed the electronics using kit parts for now, so most of the actual build part is done

Just waiting for my headstock label thingamy, then I'll fit some strings...