more photos attached because an update just sucks if you can't see what the hell is going on…...
more photos attached because an update just sucks if you can't see what the hell is going on…...
more photos yet again….
hope everyone enjoys……
cheers. I'm going to shovel now.
Like the ES build Whale, coming along nicely and keep the photos coming!
Current Projects
#Planning 5 String Bass
I really like where your going with that finish, nice work keep it coming.
Great progress pictures. Though I feel the need to go home and carpet my workbench now. I have guitar and workbench envy, wonderful.
I have my ES-3 and ES-1G kits for ages and for various reasons [major mod's planned -needed to get everything together] have only just started seriously on them today.
I've got some concerns with gluing the neck of the ES-3 in, it will be interesting to see what advice you are given regarding this.
Gluing the rear of the guitar neck to the bottom of the guitar body internal neck block doesn't seem a problem on the ES-3, as it's possible to clamp it.
But that leaves the two sides of the neck to glue onto the two sides of the guitars internal neck block, and no way I can see of clamping those sides to this internal neck block.
I'm thinking that there could very likely be gaps between the neck and body showing, and since both the body and neck would have been finished prior to gluing the neck in....how do you fix those gaps without ruining your finish?
I don't know if you have been thinking about this as well, but it's been bugging me for ages.
I just got my ES-3 in the mail yesterday, so it's great to see another build progressing ahead of mine - I'll be eager to see your progress and I'll probably ask a lot of questions. Speaking of which, one thing I noticed on mine is that the bottom of the neck opening on the body (the part piece closest to the back of the guitar, that the bottom of the neck glues onto) is very rough with lots of torn out fibres (I'll try to get a picture). I've looked at your photos but don't see what that shows that area clearly - does yours (or anyone else's whose reading this) look like that also? Wondering if it's a concern for strength when gluing. As tweaky mentions, you can't easily glue the sides so I'd think it's very important to get a solid glue joint on the bottom.
Oh, BTW what's that white block in your first photo at the top of this page?
I've just been trying to see if a small trigger clamp can fit inside the body and clamp either side of the internal neck block, against the neck when it's fitted.
I can get the clamp inside the guitar body, and I can vaguely get it into position, but the problem is that there is very little wood for the trigger clamp to clamp against at the cutaway side of the neck block...plenty of area on the toggle switch side.
It's doable, but I doubt the effort put in would be that effective or worthwhile in the long run.
The other problem would be trying to position this internal clamp, get it to actually clamp, and get the neck set at the correct neck angle all before the glue dries....I can't see it happening even at my optimistic mode.
hey Tweaky,
yes. gluing the neck is by far the scariest part of the build because if you mess that up your done for….
luckily the neck pocket on my kits is very tight so I'm not to concerned about clamping it on the sides. i plan to clamp it on the heel of the neck to the back of the guitar will the end pin will go and then on the top of the fret board and back of the guitar. i feel that will be sufficient. i will be using tight bond original glue. i would recommend that to everyone. don't use titebond 2 or 3 because it is waterproof and could never be steamed off and is more susceptible to creep.
there might be very minor gaps between the body and the neck but in my mind there is no real way to fix it and make it look perfect. one thing you could try is gluing the neck on prior to your last coat of clear finish and that may fill the void a bit.
when you glue the neck on i always use straws to get the excess glue out of the joints. give that a try and see what you think. last thing you want is a big glue joint showing up.