Dual builds 2020

[blinddrew]

I hear you on that one!

[McCreed]

Progress had stalled a bit (again).
Managed to get the cavity shielding done today. No pix. Nothing all that exciting. Mostly posting this as a motivator for myself!

Because I'm installing single coils into HB routes, I'll be using modified HB mounting rings plus conversion plates that I custom made.
So this will require some creative shielding to achieve continuity. The back of the conversion plates will get a layer of copper tape (think of them as individual mini pickguards) then the cavity shielding extended through the mounting ring.
It may sound convoluted, but I've done it before and have a method that works.

I'll also connect the 3 cavities (p/u x 2 + control) with hook-up wire.

[McCreed]

Well I got the Les-Tele finished off today.
Still have some minor tweaking to do (mainly fine tuning the intonation) but it set up very quickly with no issues so far.
Plays very nicely and sounds great too.

I love the CS Twisted Tele neck pickup and it pairs well with the CS Texas Special in the bridge.
I was worried that this guitar might sound too bright with such a light mahogany body (the whole guitar weights in at 3.22kg) and single coils, but it has not been the case. I'll get better feel for it once I can crank it up tomorrow when Mrs. McCreed is out!

I had a couple of firsts on this one, and of course learnt a lot.
I wasn't necessarily a true build as much as it was a total do-over, but I'm pretty happy with it.

[Bakersdozen]

Glad it all worked out for you mate. Looks tidy AF!

[dozymuppet]

Very tidy. Wouldn't mind seeing a pic front on, as well as a profile. No demands here, I'm just keen to take it all in.

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[jugglindan]

I love the red and the finish looks awesome. But the whole guitar is causing some dissonance in my brain. The more I look, the more it switches between tele and LP. My brain struggles to classify this, much like this optical illusion. So on that score, your Les-Tele is working very nicely indeed!

[fender3x]

Love the hot rod color. This looks just killer

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[McCreed]

Build #2 of 2020 (strat) has gone backwards. I'll go so far as to epic fail

I finally began wet sanding this yesterday and only got through the 600 & 1200 when I got some thin spots appearing in the tinted clear. At first I thought it would be ok as the two main spots would be under the bridge and the pickguard and were quite small anyway. As I continued, I had a bit show up at one of the cutaways.

Now, just as a refresher for you... I did this with a metallic silver acrylic lacquer base coat (over primer) then a few coats of clear over the silver, followed by 4 coats of "blue clear" (clear acrylic lacquer tinted blue).

The result was promising for the kind of effect I was going for, but I obviously didn't get the blue clear as even as I had thought. With that wonderful thing we call hindsight, if I had done some coats of clear clear over the blue clear (got that?) I probably would have been sweet.

So after the initial disappointment, I thought maybe I can make lemonade out of these lemons.
I started intentionally sanding through the blue clear down to the clear on top of the metallic silver. I went around the perimeter where the edges start to roll over thinking I could create a pleasing effect sort of like a reverse burst.
The key word in that sentence is "thinking" however I should add "wishful".

The more I worked it, the more looked like a dog's breakfast. It was just horrible and stupid looking.

Trying to stay positive, I've taken the opportunity curve the neck pocket more than I had when I originally shaped the body. I will just re-prime and re-spray the whole thing. Fortunately we've got some warm days ahead in S.E. QLD, so should at least get the priming done.

I'll probably go with a solid metallic base coat, possibly something like a sapphire blue.
This may also involve some more experimentation by alternating colour coat/clear coat/colour coat etc.
I have read that a real depth of the metallic flake can be achieved this way.
I now have two guns so I could go back & forth between colour & clear easily within one painting session.

However I could just as easily be setting myself up to fail again. I guess there's always a plain solid colour if plan B goes pear-shaped too.

[Cliff Rogers]

Don’t ya just love sanding? 🤪

[blinddrew]

It's what brings us together!
I feel your pain McCreed.