Build #2 - PSH-1 (Redux)

[dbeltrami]

My kit and also Viveks seemed to have large areas of glue that had soaked through the veneer edge.

I asked they guys at PBG to try to find me a good kit from what they had in stock. I'll hand it to them, they picked out one that looks to have a beautiful flame in the veener. So far I can only see one glue spot and that looks to be a surface one but I'll know a bit more once I get to it with some goof off and give the top an overall wipe down. The custom kit I got was tragic - there was glue everywhere.

When trying to remove the stains my grain opened up and it took ages to fill. I would count on a burst in your design.

I am going with a black/charcoal top and black sides/back. I think I will burst it on the top as well to have it blend into the sides. As I failed miseraby with the Bondi Blue DT on my first kit (which is a lovely olive green now, BTW...) I did some research and ended up going with this stain kit from TLC Guitar Goods -> https://tlcguitargoods.com/en/sustai...burst-2st.html. I am going to finish with their Danish Oil which they say is Tung Oil based. I gather it will apply much like Tru Oil. It may give me the tinting I need on my white binding also.

The neck angle will need some work as the action our of the box is way too high. I think you have seen all the discussions around vivek and I building shims.

I've watched yours and Vivek's build diarys with keen interest. I am waiting for my replacement wrap around bridge and will fit the bone nut before I start assessing how the neck angle is.

[dbeltrami]

I made one from an old plastic box was made from some gloss black plastic. Just sanded it down and applied a decal on it. Agreed the kit truss rod cover is ugly.

I really like it. So you only need the one screw, per the PRS style? Simon advised me that three screws would be required. How did you get the white writing on it? Is that a waterslide decal?

[mrpearson]

I really like it. So you only need the one screw, per the PRS style? Simon advised me that three screws would be required. How did you get the white writing on it? Is that a waterslide decal?

1 screw works fine on my real PRS, the bottom rests against the nut. White lettering is a waterslide decal from Nova Sublimination in Sydney - http://novasub.com.au/ They laser print them so pretty resliant to finish being applied on top. You will need to provide your artwork in vector format and any fonts with outlines applied (get a graphic designer to help if know someone) I am debating whether I should tru-oil over the decal on to make it a bit tougher and also seal the edges down to stop it peeling.

[mrpearson]

you flame looks really nice, similar to Vivek's and closer to a quilted finish which I think you wanted anyway. I went down to their warehouse and Adam opended a few boxes to choose from which was great as I got a pretty nice flame similar to a lot of the PRS's. Only drawback is a slight nick on the binding on the neck which I am hiding with a black sharpie. Going black is a good idea as any issues with edges being sanded can be quickly hidden with a sharpie :-)

[dbeltrami]

My Wilkinson bridge has arrived. It is a much nicer looking bridge than the stock kit bridge and has a lower profile.

I have clamped the neck to the body, slotted in the bridge and a couple of machine heads to check neck/bridge alignment and action height.

The good news is that the alignment and scale length look to be spot on . The pick routs are slightly off centre but there is room in there to position the pickups properly.

I think my neck pocket will need a shim, however. Going by @mrpearson and @vivek_rc's experience and from I can see with some nylon line it looks high. Would appreciate any feedback if these pictures give you enough to comment on.

[dbeltrami]

Just a quick update - I checked the neck angle again. This time I usied two clamps as I had a suspicion that the single clamp may have altered the angle as there was no pressure from a clamp over the bottom end of the fretboard.

It's looking pretty good, the nylon is pretty much touching the frets with the fretboard perflectly flat. I think this kit is in good shape.

[dbeltrami]

And... I'm on my way.

The first job I decided to do was to level, crown and polish the frets. This is a tedious job and I wanted to get it out of the way. I would have to say, having done this 4-5 times now, I think this is defintely my best result. I am sure I can get better, obviously, but I am very happy with the frets.

The fretboard itself is quite nice looking with a bit of character in the wood. I am not sure what it is made from (the PSH-1 kit description says it is rosewood) but I quite like the look. After the final polish of the frets I took to it with some lemon oil - and did it soak that up! It now has a much darker, deeper colour and looks a whole lot less thirsty.

The first picture is the neck straight out of the box. The next two pictures are after the fret dressing and fingerboard quenching.



I have turned my attention to the front of the body and checking the veneer more closely. I think I have only one small glue spot, so hopefully I can attend to that. It will be covered by black in my planned burst so it may not be too big an issue.

The more intersting observation looks to be some machine marks, or "cuts" may be the best way I can describe them, in the lower part of the body. I gave it a very light sand with some 400 grit sandpaper but it didn't seem to do much in terms of removal. By finger feel I cannot notice anything, it is very smooth. But they are too straight to be natural.

I've saturated the colours in the photo to make it stand out. It's not overly noticeable by the naked eye but I'm a touch concerned as to how it will show when stain is applied.



Any ideas?

[Simon Barden]

You could give it a go with steam - a soldering iron and a damp rag. It may not fix it 100% but it may make the scratches less deep

After that, I think all you can do is sand, as those marks are likely to show up when staining. I'd use P240, as the sanding scratches are quite coarse. Remember to sand with the grain, and not the direction of the flame pattern.

[McCreed]

I'd say your assessment of machine is correct, and they look like roller marks from the veneer processing or possibly eve the application to the body.
Good all-around advice from Simon, and P240 is probably going to be more effective.

[dbeltrami]

Folks,

This is my first set neck guitar build and I am starting to get paranoid! After re-reading build diaries from @vivek_rc and @mrpearson and their similar experiences with neck break angles and shims I am doubting whether I have assessed my situation correctly.

After my first attempt at checking the action, I was convinced I had the same problem. But when I dismantled the clamp, which I had positioned over the tenon only, I realsed that the top of heel had raised off the neck pocket. So I re-seated the neck used two clamps and world was looking good again.

But then paranoia set in and I started questioning whether the bridge was sitting too low becuase the bushings were not in; or whether the neck heel had a problem; or the pocket was too deep; the list of uneducated ideas goes on.

I think I am ok after testing this a few times but I wanted to ask a question. Would it hurt to put in a 1mm or 2mm shim to make double sure? I can always raise the bridge, but I can't lower any lower than the body.

Here's a photo of how low the neck sits in the pocket when it is properly seated down. This just looks too low to me, albeit the curve on this particular top is quite pronounced.