Fred's Build diary for DIY closing down sale 335 125 string

[FredA]

Hey guys,
So I jumped on the DIY closing down sale too and got a 12 string 335 style kit.
I also got a set of Wilkinson humbuckers from them as they were pretty cheap (no idea if it was really worth it...) and 2x sets of Wilkinsons tuners (same as the pickups I guess...).

For finish I'm planning to go with a clear natural and I wanted to try Aussie Oil, so I got a bottle too.

Pretty happy with the kit and the flamed maple top it all seems to get together pretty good:


Since then I've ordered a wiring upgrade for 335 (switchcraft switch and jack, 4 CTS pots, orange capacitors and vintage clothed wire with braided shield), new knobs to go with the CTS pots and a set of strings. All this from Realparts (amazing fast deliveries!).

I wasn't planning to start this one until my IB5 was finished... but I have to be very patient with this one as I want top make sure the DT gets time to cure and I need plenty of coats to get the dark colour I want)... so I got started on the 335.

I've prepared the body, sanded with 180 and 220, and then grain filled with pine colour timbermate as it seemed the be the best colour match:


I then sanded with 220, 320, 400 and finished with 600... and I almost went through the veneer!
I was mega careful with the edges as I read everywhere on this forum how easy it was to go through, but I started going through on the middle line.
I stopped just on time and there is only a small area impacted, very hard to see if you don't know where it is (and I won't tell!):


Anyway, I had to widen the pickup routes a bit as the wilkinson humbucker are a tiny bit bigger than the kit ones and they didn't fit. So I got the dremel out with the routing bit and slowly squared the pickup routings:
Before:

And after:

[FredA]

Then I read 20x times Gavin turner's blog entries on his experience with Aussie Oil and I got started.
Thanks heaps (again) Gavin for your very detailed blogs, build diary, etc. it's great to see how it progresses and get the explanations/rationale behind everything!

So I started by a first soak coat for the body, with a generous amount of Aussie Oil on the back of the body:

I then spread it as evenly as possible with my cloth and buffed it a bit with a clean cloth. I used the soaked cloth for the sides, and then for the front, adding oil as needed to get a nice coverage.
Pretty happy so far, it's not glossy yet, but the flamed maple looks very nice now. Also it's made the part where I almost sanded through the veneer disappear, so pretty happy with that!
Before:

And after:


Since then I added a second coat. I used the same quantity of oil for the 2nd coat and that was way too much. I guess the wood was very 'thirsty' for the first coat and will be much less now. I did leave some streaks this time, so I'll have to remove them with 1200 sandpaper or steelwool. But nothing too scary.

In parallel I've painted the front of the headstock black:

I've ordered an inlay sticker, we'll see what it looks like. I'm thinking I'll finish the headstock with clear acrylic once the sticker is on.

I'm still not sure how to go for the neck finish... Aussie Oil, or DT clear neck finish. I did my STA1 with the DT neck finish and it's not gloss, but I love the feel of it compared to my Ibanez' neck that's the standard gloss finish.
But on the other hand I'm thinking that I could glue the neck before finishing body and neck so I can fill any gaps at the neck level with timbermate and finish this with Aussie Oil so it all looks like one piece...

Any suggestions / advice guys?

Cheers

[tonyw]

Thats coming up a treat.

I havent started the body or the neck its been really humid here, like 90%+ but i will start with 220 and go very lightly from there to 400.

I am going to tru oil the back of the natural maple neck, i love the feel of that stuff, i will do the front of the headstock black and may even have a crack at making a decal or buy one with my logo on it. I will just titebond the neck and wipe away the excess, this will hide the join enough for me.

Seems on all these guitars that to install aftermarket set of HB's need to have the routes widened, i will just get the dremel onto it.

[Swanny]

Looking good, Fred! How much darker are you planning on going?
I forgot I had an Aldi version of a Dremel, and I used a file to widen my pickup routes... took a bit longer!

[wokkaboy]

nice start to the build Fred, that aussie oil looks really good after just one coat in the photos.
If you are okay with working with the neck glued in place and somewhere to hang it, I'd glue the neck early and get a nice neck to body transition

[FredA]

Thanks guys.

@Swanny: I don't plan to go darker, I'm happy with the natural look, the flamed maple looks very nice now that it's been oiled.
The first coat changed the colour of the wood, as if it was wet, but the second coat didn't change it further, it just builds up the thickness to protect it and based on Gavin's experiments should allow to buff it to a gloss finish after.

@wokkaboy: I actually haven't hung the body at all with the Aussie Oil so far. After about 20-30mins of buffing the oil with the cloth it feels quite hard already. I've been starting by the back of the body and buffing this until dry to touch, then turned it around with the back straight on a protective paper with a towel underneath, and worked on the front. I've not noticed any marks on the back afterwards where the body was resting on the paper. Pretty happy with Aussie Oil so far.

For the neck, I'm still to work out if I want the guitar all gloss (which means that the neck gets Aussie Oil too), or gloss body and DT semi gloss on the neck...
I guess if I go with the DT for the neck there's no rush gluing the neck, but if I want it all Aussie oiled I'll glue it soon so I can make a nice seamless neck-body transition...

Decision decisions!!! :-)

[Swanny]

No worries, Fred, I was assuming the second coat might deepen it a bit more.

[gavinturner]

Looking great Fred! After a few soak coats I found that it was time to do small areas at a time and really rub it in. Even on the second coat the shine started to develop, but I was only using small amounts in small areas. The first soak coat is a good idea so that you don't get any tide lines in the first place. Yours looking really great, and with each successive coat she'll look better and better. It really is amazing how much this stuff shines up after a few coats. But man your arm will be tired .

cheers,
Gav.

[FredA]

Thanks Gav.
I can tell already I'm going to exercise my arms with this thing!
But the good thing is that it can be done in multiple short sessions since it can be worked one small area at the time instead of having to do the whole thing in one long session.

[wokkaboy]

sounds like a plan Fred, maybe you should take before and after photos of your forearms, you may look like Popeye after a few more coats hahha