So this is my first PBG build and my build of any kind. I’ve modded my old knock-off Strat to within an inch of its life, build a few stereo speaker kits and done a fair bit of soldering, so hopefully I don’t make too bad of a mess of this kit. The kit arrived at the weekend and I’ve been gathering tools and measuring everything, measuring again, and measuring again.

I had originally thought of doing a Gilmour-style flat black body, but now I think I’ll aim for something like gavinturner of these boards did with his Black Ash Tele. Only difference is I’ll wet sand the initial oil coats to fill some of the grain with the sawdust slurry. I can’t find Tru Oil here or get it shipped for a non-extortionate price, so I have some high build finishing oil and black water-based stain on the way from Crimson Guitars. That’s apparently a reverse-engineered Tru Oil copy, so we’ll see how it goes.

A few limitations (apart from my own abject lack of skill): we’re in a serviced apartment which is basically a hotel – so no windows that open and not great ventilation. Also we have a two-year old so the sawdust has to be kept to a bare minimum. And I’m only in Hong Kong for the year and I left all of my tools back home in Ireland, so the last couple of days I’ve been gathering up the essentials that I can’t borrow.

Not planning to seal or do any other grain-filling. Sprays are not an option and I want to keep the indoor sanding to a minimum. Actually, I’m going to have to go to a little square around the corner from our building to do any serious sanding. That should get some interesting looks from people…