#2 - EXM-1 Guitar Kit...

[wazkelly]

Geez, doing a stain finish is going to be tough with all those different grain patterns.

Using sanding dust mixed with pva glue could work in filling that section joint.

As for doing grain filler.....don't sand too much more if you want filler to do it's thing.

Cheers, Waz

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[Simon Barden]

You're going to need to sand the surface flat after applying the grain filler, so there's no need to go OTT with grits before the grain filler's applied. I'd stop at 120 grit myself, but make sure the surface is as flat as it can be.

Yes, sawdust and PVA would work as a filler, but it's not going to take any stain so you'll have a very visible line. As I've said before, and as Waz says, you're going to have a hard time getting a stained clear finish to look right with that body. Sometimes you need to look at what the body wood is telling you and forget your initial ideas. It really will look better with a solid finish.

[SamSquare]

Would a veneer be an option if he’s hellbent on a stained finish?


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[Simon Barden]

The problem would be getting a veneer that's big enough. The EX style is a lot longer and wider overall than a normal guitar body (LP/Strat /Tele), so the normal veneer pieces from luthier suppliers will normally be far too small. The bigger the piece of veneer, the more it costs.

Though I have found this thin self-adhesive veneer, which is relatively low cost and comes in a sheet big enough (200cm x 60cm) to do a front and rear. You'd end up with a join line at the edges, but that would be far less noticeable than the current mismatch of woodblocks on the front of the guitar. https://www.thewoodveneerhub.co.uk/c...ck-wood-veneer

Whilst Sapelle is probably the closest wood to mahogany, this would probably better for getting that yellowish Korina look (though you'd have a mismatch between the top/back and the edges/neck.
https://www.thewoodveneerhub.co.uk/c...ck-wood-veneer

[rjmc]

Thank you for all your replies.

I agree with Simon in first hand, if the kit was mine, I'd go for a solid finish. I'll ask my friend about the options you gave me and see what he wants to do.

Btw, Simon, about the veneer:

Any of these bellow would fit? How to properly "install" it and finish? Also there's an issue with the back, would it be a also a good solution?

https://guitarsandwoods.com/veneers-...373949533.html
https://guitarsandwoods.com/veneers-...250405446.html
https://guitarsandwoods.com/veneers-...856980272.html

Thank you for your patience and wisdom!

[Simon Barden]

measuring my EX-1, you'll need veneer that can cover an area of at least 600mm x 480mm.

If you go with bookmatched veneer, then the overall size of two pieces must be greater than the above. Because of the body shape you could slide one piece forward and one back (as long as the overall width was wide enough), but then you'd lose the bookmatch effect and it would look really odd.


Your first link has veneer that is just two small (the picture show two sheets of veneer, so is only 360mm wide overall and 500mm isn't long enough).

The second one is a possibility f you had two pieces joining along the centreline of the guitar (with the join running through the middle of the pickup routs). The straighter the grain, the better it would look. What would look odd is if the grain was going off in different directions on the two pieces of veneer. You 'd have some ability to cut the veneer at an angle so that it lined up as best it could.

The third one will again be too small.

So the second veneer is the only one that really works at all, but how well it could work will all depend on the actual pieces you get and how straight the overall grain is. The straighter it is, the more like a korina Explorer it will look.

You could always ask them to pick the pieces with the straightest grain, or even send you photos of what they have so you can select the pieces.

Yes, it would do for the back as well.

The body's flat, so its easy enough to just glue the veneer to it. One half at a time. You'll need quite a few clamps and a nice flat bit of wood to act as a press.

You'll need to be careful to avoid getting any glue on the face of the veneer, so be quick and wipe off any excess glue that squeezes out with a damp cloth.

Once you've glued one piece of veneer on, then you can trim the excess veneer with a sharp knife, using the sides of the body as a guide.

Then stick the second piece of veneer on and repeat the process. You'll need to ensure that you don't get any glue squeezing out along the centreline that doesn't get wiped away, so only apply a very thin layer of glue, and leave the very edge of the second bit of veneer uncovered by the clamping board, so that you can just see the join to wipe it, and can ensure that the two bits of veneer are tight against each other with no gap.

I'd also make a paper template of the body shape before putting any veneer on, and mark the pickup routs and other holes on it, so that it's then easy to know where the holes are to then cut away the veneer over the holes with a sharp knife.

[JimC]

Veneer is getting on quite advanced work if you're not used to working with wood and don't have a good workshop and tools. And building for a mate rings a few alarm bells for me 'cos if it doesn't work out as neat as one hopes you feel kinda guilty and end up wanting to rip it off and try again, and that can get expensive.

I kinda wonder if there's a way to exploit all those different woods and patterns to get something very unconventional. Even exaggerate the joins. I'm not suggesting this but i can sort of imagine putting a millimetre deep saw cut right over that bad join and the others and filling it with a contrasting filler so each join is a narrow stripe, but its something that could very easily end up like a complete dogs dinner. It would also be tricky work.

Me, realistically, i think this body is destined for a solid finish...

[wazkelly]

I was faced with a similar dilemma on my 2nd Telecaster build where the strips of Alder were mismatched in both colour and grain pattern. With a bit of creative thinking outside the box it ended up as my sole GOTM winner.

Quite often we struggle with what was the initial vision before box of goodies arrives to then reveal a truly different beast to work with......beauty and the beast probably best sums it up. The trick is harnessing the beast's inner beauty.

Solid colour is the possibly the easy way out but it may be better to explore a few other ideas first to preserve some of the natural timber's beauty.

Left field ideas.......use a blow torch to burn/scorch the surface and then sand some away.....a bit like a reverse grain fill......make it look like it was salvaged or reclaimed from a fire. Alternatively you could go for a distressed or weathered look. On my Tele the chemical wash did the best job in hiding ugly grain, mismatched colours and obvious joint lines and maybe worth considering.

Cheers, Waz

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[Simon Barden]

But rjmc's friend wants a plain Korina-style EX, which does rather limit the options somewhat!

[DarkMark]

If staining is what rjmc would like to do, would a darker stain give a more uniform appearance? I guess he could always try the finish he wanted and sand it off if he doesn’t like it.