Gavs ES-2T Florentine

[gavinturner]

hi guys,

My birthday has been and gone and left me with 3 new Pitbull boxes in the man-cave here at Holgate. Joy! Although I'd put in my orders, I am particularly happy with a totally unexpected ES-2T kit. Awesome surprise!



The kit looks good - there is just one patch of glue to deal with and fortunately it isnt on the nice maple veneer. There is one particuarly crappy fret however that looks like something red has been spilled on it and some 80 git sand paper has been used to try and clean it up. I think i'll be able to sand it flat again with a little patience.



The veneer has a subtle quilted figure that I'm liking - I've never handled quilted maple before, so will be a nice challenge to get it to pop. I think I'll be rocking a trapeze tailpiece on this one with a fixed tune-o-matic bridge. Dont like the swirly tailpiece supplied so will probably replace with a simple one.



I do have one issue that I need some advice on from the set-neck gurus out there. Although I've worked on 2 set-neck builds in the past, the kits came with the neck already fixed in place. As a result I'm pretty nervous about getting it perfect. I'll post my question about the neck (with pictures) in a follow up post.

cheers,
Gav

[gavinturner]

hi guys,

I have one question about how to tackle the set-neck on this bad boy. The neck itself is nice and tight, without any large gaps to either side. It goes down right to the bottom of the pocket, sitting nicely against the heel of the body.





My issue is with one side of the fretboard that looks a little too high - there's a sizeable gap between it and the body even though the heel of the neck seems to be sitting nice and flat in the pocket.



So what is the solution here? Should I sand down the flat base of the neck on that side? Should I just fill the gap with Timbermate? I'm a total noob as soon as a woodworking issue raises it's ugly head, so any help you Pitbull bretheren can bestow on me is most welcome.

thanks,
Gav.

[lawry]

Hi Gav.
I'm no set neck guru. Hell, I'm still on my second build, and it's a bolt on. However, my first build was a set neck RC-1 and after watching the videos and reading the posts I boldly went where I had never gone before. I took my time, went carefully and, in retrospect, it wasn't as scary as I'd led myself to believe. I'm certainly not fazed by doing another if required. With your experience in guitar building I don't think you'll have any problems. Hopefully they are not 'famous last words'.

[WeirdBits]

What is the cross-sectional (horizontal) angle of the fretboard like in relation to the body? i.e. Is the end of the fretboard level across the body with the body just a little low on the treble side, or is the fretboard skewed and sitting high at the lower edge due to a misshaped heel or neck pocket? You may also want to check the longitudinal neck angle in relation to the TOM bridge you plan on using, just to make sure that gap isn't indicating another potential issue.

If all the angles look good, it could maybe just be solved by glueing a thin strip of matching binding horizontally under the lip of the fretboard binding and then sandng it down to the thickness required. As it's the lower edge you won't really see it so would probably end up being almost invisible... no woodworking, only plastic working required. Just an idea.

[Pedrovelo]

Sorry Gav, can't help you with the issue but will certainly be watching this one with interest. Looking to do this one as my next build.

[gavinturner]

@Scott: thanks for the pointers. I'll take a closer look at the angles to see if the heel is tilting the fretboard. If it isnt't, then i'm going to have to fill the gap with *something* not sure what yet.

thanks everyone for the encouragement. Once I get past this issue and get the neck set it's going to be an enjoyable build !!

cheers,
Gav.

[Gavin1393]

The issue is that the soundboard/top of the guitar body is curved whereas the fretboard is straight. Hence a minor adjustment is needed. Apply some 120 grit sandpaper down the intended resting place of the fretboard, then proceed to sand the fretboard. In no time at all the fretboard will take on the curved shape and then should fit beautifully!

Incidentally, this is also the problem often when a bridge rips itself off the soundboard of an acoustic guitar. The soundboard is also curved and the hapless builder just sticks it on flat without first curving it in the same manner described! Then said builder wonders why the bridge eventually tears away from the soundboard (often taking chunks of fibre with it).

[gavinturner]

Thanks Gavmeister!
Just so it's clear for me - when you say 'sand the fretboard' I'm assuming you mean the underside of the fretboard where it lays along the body?

Thanks,
Gav.

[gavinturner]

Got some sanding done today. Started with 180 on the sides and back to try to remove some of the original sanding marks. Moved on to 240 and then 360. After one go round with 360 it was time to raise the grain with metho and then another pass with 360 to knock it down again. On the front I began wth 240 and then moved to 360. Grain was raised with method here too, but the sanding was much lighter - I really dont want to sand through the top veneer! Smoooth.



You can just see how smooth it is huh? :P. In the photo you can also see my very first build - a Jackson-Style V. I have just finished giving it some poly (!), shining the crap out of it, and adding shielding. It sounds awesome with it's Entwistle Dark Star Pickups! Rock on - Hoorah!

cheers,
Gav.

[stan]

great work Gav, is the fret board flush now?

That V looks goood!