The pickguard is just plopped on there for the photo, so I'm assuming that Simon is right and it can be properly aligned in time. Thanks for the observation, Dozy.
I've been working on body shape, not too dramatic, as too much bevel will undercut the pickguard. There is s knot right in the middle, and I am hoping I can get a smooth, even curve in the end. The ash body is pretty hard, but no match for an old horse hoof rasp I brought in. Seemed safer than attacking with power tools.
When we sold our horses and all the gear, one of the things I did keep was the foot rasp.The ash body is pretty hard, but no match for an old horse hoof rasp I brought in.
It has been "repurposed".
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
Versatile piece of equipment indeed.
Some advice, please. I have done some reshaping of the body, as shown in the photo above. How do I best see the contour in detail, so as to insure a smooth curve and transition to the top of the body? Sometimes the grain makes it hard to see exactly what is going on.
I’d give it a very light ‘mist’ coat from a spray paint can, held at longer than normal distance from the body. Just enough fairly dry speckled spray so you can see the surface clearly but not enough for a full coat.
Don’t get too close with the spray as you don’t want it going on wet as it will soak in. Just so that its dry enough to sit on the surface, allowing it to be sanded off. High spots will sand off first, leaving paint in the dips.
Many thanks, Simon. I will spray with a color similar to the direction I want to go, maybe saving some excessive sand-back.
Just a thought to prospective builders who may see this - If you think you may upgrade the tuners down the road, make the upgrade when buying the kit. PBG's price for the Grover tuners with the kit is a whole lot less than what I just paid for D'Addario locking tuners to upgrade my AG (last winter's build). They are worth the money, but I could have saved a chunk.
You’ll really want to remove all the mist spray paint. If you leave any, it means its hiding in dips in the wood. Those dips will transfer to the finish, which means that you have to apply more finish in order to be able to sand it really flat. You can get the same end results both ways, but the first way saves time and money by not having to apply more finish than really necessary.
Just going back to finishing options...
I finished my ash tele in a similar way to that others have discussed here. Ebony timbermate, then blue nitro, then clear nitro. The timbermate really does highlight the grain. I was aiming for a smooth gloss finish, and didn't quite get there. Maybe I needed to repeat the timbermate process another couple of times. Another option would be to use a sanding sealer over the timbermate, as that will sand nice and flat. I've done this with tru-oil, but not nitro, though I have read elsewhere that people have successfully.
Thanks again, Simon, for keeping me out of trouble.
Jon, that is a killer guitar body. Thanks for sharing your experience and suggestions. Sanding sealer might be a good option. As I've said before of my experience with nitro (in a spray can), I could not get the smooth gloss I was looking for, but I kinda like the textured finish I ended up with. This one probably gets poly.
It takes a lot of sandpaper to smooth out the havoc a hoof rasp creates. It's looking pretty good, though.
OK, just read that poly does not bond well on top of sanding sealer. Good thing I am not in a hurry on this project.
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