JB-4M - First Build!

[glenwilliam]

Thanks Simon

[glenwilliam]

I've made a little bit of progress through the week. I started with putting a clear coat on the neck. I really like the colour of this fretboard and neck so didn't want to do much with it.
I've used a satin polyurethane varnish rattle can. I've done 3 coats so far with some light sanding in between. Happy for some feedback on if this is enough (I could go on forever!).


I decided after doing this that i should have done more of a build with the bridge, machine heads etc in place as per the instructions so I stopped with the neck varnish and put the bridge on. The process was fairly simple though nerve-wracking. I didn't want to stuff it up and have unnecessary holes in the body!

After the bridge and heads were in place i put the top and bottom strings on to see how I went. I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the results. Perfect? Nah. But very happy with it for my first build!

Can see below here how the E string is a little further in than the G string (assuming the fret markers are in the right spots!) but not by much.



And the action is not too bad at the 12th/15th fret - though adjustments can come later:


After putting it together like this I could see a lot better how nice I think the neck is turning out compared to the raw body, so i took a couple of extra photos of that


Next up I guess it's time to give the body a bit of a sand and paint. I was in two minds about a natural finish or solid colour but after unboxing I have decided on a solid colour because of the different piece at the top of the body (see previous photos). I think I am going to go with the nitrocellulose surf green from Sydney Guitar Setups (open to any tips from people who have used it!)

Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed to this thread so far and all the other build threads in this community - it's such a wealth of knowledge!

[Simon Barden]

Don't forget the string thickness and that the E is a lot thicker than the G. Distance from each string to the edge of the board looks fairly equal. So the spacing looks fine to me.

I'd probably stop at 5-6 coats of the satin varnish, especially if you've been sanding a bit after each coat.

[glenwilliam]

Cheers Simon

[Andy40]

Looks good to me as well

[glenwilliam]

Got a notification from Auspost this morning to say something is in my parcel locker so I'm hoping that's my nitrocellulose surf green! Could be a productive weekend ahead

[Marcel]

Hope you got a can of primer and one or two cans of clear gloss to go with that can of green... Makes all the difference to the final finish to Nitro IMHO.

Have you grain filled and sanded the body?

[glenwilliam]

Sure did Marcel

I have been sanding but no I haven't done any grain fill. Thanks for the heads-up!
Is sanding sealer the same thing? Any product you'd recommend from Bunningtons?

[Marcel]

For my PBA-4 I used Timbermate to do the grain filling and that is available at that big green shed. I used a Timbermate color that closely matched the natural color of the body

As for the Nitro primer I got it at the same time and from the same place I got my Vintage white Nitro. Same for the clear gloss Nitro. Sydney Guitar setups. Yup, the Nitro cans almost cost as much as the kit, well, it certainly felt like it did.

Only did one coat of the primer. Got 4 coats to the body out of one can of the Vintage white, and then 3 coats out of one can of the clear gloss due putting some clear on the neck.

Timbermate, (really rub that stuff into the grain.)
Sand
Primer
light sand
color
very light corrective sanding
clear gloss (point where I jumped to light finish buffing)
level sanding (1500grit up to 8000 or more grit)
Finish buffing and polishing.

[glenwilliam]

Excellent. Thank you kindly for the advice!
I just went back and looked over your PBA-4 thread again. I like your finish and the texture from what the pics showed so I'd be happy to have a similar result. I definitely thought the nitro cans would go a little further than 4/3 coats!
I get what you mean about the cost.. though I thought at least if this thing doesn't sound all that great and it doesn't get much use it should still look nice hanging on my wall!

Off to the big green shed after work