Newbie ---

[rjmc]

Greetings from Portugal,

I have two kits to build (at least try), EX-1M and DTL-1. The first one is for a friend, and the second one is for me.
I have no experience on building instruments or wood working.

I've watched tons of videos and read lots of stuff... but when the kits arrived, I sh***** my self.... sorry for bad language -.- ....

Don't know where to start...

Help???

Thank you all!!!!!

[RocknRolf]

Hey mate, welcome!
Have a look at the materials, manuals on pitbullguitars.com, they will provide you a step by step process.

But a good beginning would be a mock up build, see if everything is there en fits. And maybe you'd like to give the wood some time to settle into your climate.

How are you going to finish the guitars?

Have fun

Rolf

[McCreed]

Olá e bem-vindo rmjc!

[FCD]

Hi Mate,

For my first build I was like you. Go slow be methodical and you will be okay

[rjmc]

Good morning,

I've checked both packages and everything seems to be in order. I thought about RocknRolf suggestion, and left everything in their packages. For the wood settle, should I leave it inside the packages, or outside? For how long, and how do I know it is settled? I knew that the woods would be heavy, but they are much heavy than my Epi LP Std. Is it normal?

My friend wants a finish like this for his explorer...

For mine, haven't decided... between a butterscotch, lake placid blue or burn it.

Regarding the finish issue, I live in an apartment, and my question is (didn't think about it before buying the kits), is there any way to achieve the finishes mentioned without damaging the house????

McCreed, are you Portuguese, or did you used a translator?

Last question

I've been reading the manual. At the "Fitting the Bridge/Tailpiece" topic:

"Don't press in the threaded inserts yet. Instead wrap either multiple layers of masking tape or some plastic tubing around the posts and push them into the post holes in the body. We aren't going for a precision fit, just something to hold them in place while we do some measuring"

All kits came with the bridge holes drilled, so what should I do in this step?

Sorry for my poor English and silly noobie questions...

Kind Regards,

[gpjt]

Olá rjcm -- I'm in an apartment too, and I haven't got on to finishing my guitar yet, so if any of the real experts here say something that disagrees with what I'm about to write, believe them and not me

But from what I've read, the best thing for people in our position is to use wipe-on or brush-on finishes rather than spray-on, because it's less likely to make a mess. One important thing to consider is where you're going to leave the parts while the finish dries. I'm lucky enough to have two bathrooms, and one of them is very well ventilated and has a beam where I can hang things, like this. Whatever way you use to apply the finish, you'll need something similar -- a well-ventilated and non-dusty space where the finish can dry. If you can't hang them up, the build guide has some clever ideas for supporting drying guitar bodies on pages 19 and 20.

[McCreed]

McCreed, are you Portuguese, or did you used a translator?

Not Portuguese, used google! But I took Espanol in high school! (I know they're not the same, but share some similarities).

I've been reading the manual. At the "Fitting the Bridge/Tailpiece" topic:

"Don't press in the threaded inserts yet. Instead wrap either multiple layers of masking tape or some plastic tubing around the posts and push them into the post holes in the body. We aren't going for a precision fit, just something to hold them in place while we do some measuring"

All kits came with the bridge holes drilled, so what should I do in this step?

Just as it says above, this is to temporarily fit the bridge & tailpiece so you can do things like set the neck to correct scale length position; align the neck with the E strings on, etc. before gluing.
The trick with set-neck builds is you only get one chance to get it right (and a limited time for adjustment once glue hits wood) so triple checking everything is important.

[rjmc]

Not Portuguese, used google! But I took Espanol in high school! (I know they're not the same, but share some similarities).



Just as it says above, this is to temporarily fit the bridge & tailpiece so you can do things like set the neck to correct scale length position; align the neck with the E strings on, etc. before gluing.
The trick with set-neck builds is you only get one chance to get it right (and a limited time for adjustment once glue hits wood) so triple checking everything is important.

The kit comes with all holes drilled... so, those checks and measurement's weren't previously done?

[gpjt]

Sadly, the measurements they do at the factory aren't perfect -- I'm a newbie like you, and as part of my build I put everything together, and found that the bridge wasn't quite straight when I used the pre-drilled holes.

So, I'm going to get some doweling (cylindrical wood that you can get from a DIY shop (loja de bricolagem)) of the same size as the pre-drilled holes, glue it in place to fill those holes, then drill new holes in the right place.

But I think I was just unlucky, perhaps I got a guitar body that was drilled by the apprentice at 5pm on Friday. Your guitar's holes might be in exactly the right place -- I certainly hope they are! But the reason to put everything together is to confirm that they are, and the reason to wait a week or so for the wood to adjust to your climate is to make sure that it has expanded as much as it is going to before making that check.

[gpjt]

By the way, I see you've started a build diary now -- that's an excellent plan! The regulars on these forums are amazingly knowledgeable and helpful.