So, Last Friday night rolled around and I couldn't wait any longer.
I cleaned up from the 4 kids doing home schooling in lockdown and started a dry fit - to check scale lengths and such. Pretty impressed that things are looking straight right outa the box, and that the neck placement needed no major adjustments.
I was happy enough at this stage to glue the neck.. allowing it overnight to set, so that the weekend would see some progress... and no, the UHU glue stick is just being used as a spacer..
So I spent a little time Saturday planning the build and getting a start on different aspects of the body. I also cleaned up the garage a bit so i could start working on this somewhere other than the dining room table... After all, I was starting to push my luck there...
I played around with all sorts of ideas for the headstock design, trying my best to annoy my mates who I thought would have an interest in this sort of thing.
Not sure what finish you plan, but if stain is involved, definitely check the top first for glue spots. Use turps, metho or mineral spirits to avoid raising the grain. Goof-Off or acetone rubbed in with a soft (brass) wire brush will normally get rid of them, but avoid getting acetone on the binding (and beware of Goof-off as well as that contains acetone) as if softens and then dissolves it.
You've glued the neck on now, but I'd check the neck angle and the height you've got at the bridge using a straight edge along the top of the neck. On several ES-1s, the neck angle has been too shallow to fit the supplied bridge on and get a good action because it won't go low enough. If it's only slightly out, then getting replacement post inserts with no rim on them so they sit flush to the top can get you an extra 1.5mm, which can sometimes be enough, or at least make it a lot better.
Otherwise you end up filing down the underside of the bridge at the ends.
Hi Simon, thanks for the quick reply. It looks like we are on the same page. I checked the neck break angle when I was checking the bridge position.
I did notice the nut protrudes too far towards the bridge by about 1mm, but I can file that back when I get to finalising the setup.
I decided.on an opaque finish, so it will be a bit more forgiving in regards to glue etc, but I still had a good look over it anyway. I still need to resolve the rough nature of the neck joint, but that will be next weekend.
This is pretty exciting though, and I am enjoying the project.
It's certainly making me remember everything I've ever forgotten about guitars. 😀
You may not be aware but none of your photos are showing (getting a gray 'no entry' sign up instead). You may be seeing them as they will be cached on your computer.
The link to them is possibly too long, maybe 200 characters, even though they do seem to end in .jpg
The video links work.
You are certainly progressing.
What's your plan for the finish? Obviously a solid one. Pelham Blue maybe?
Hi Simon, thanks for the heads up, I'll jump on the computer in the morning and see what I can do about the photos.
I'll be putting the colour on this weekend (crossing fingers) so I might leave it a surprise. That's not the first mention of Pelham blue though... Popular colour that one. 😀
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