FireFly Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 Hi! So, all my shop tools are under a tarp in a storage unit here in NYC. Unfortunately, this means I can't build anything from a block of wood (and haven't been able to for the past 2 years... but that's another story). I have the build bug though, and I still have all my finishing tools. So I offered my services on Craig's List so I can keep up my craft and not get too rusty. I have, on the way to my home, a pretty cheap-o electric violin, and a super cheap Explorer kit coming in. This thread will be about the explorer. It's supposed to be a one piece body (doubtful considering the size of an explorer) with a set maple neck, all routes done, and no finish. I will be finishing it, inlaying the fb, refretting, upgrading the electronics and hardware, and installing a kahler. I've been given freedom as far as the finish is concerned. I'm probably going to go with white, with black hardware, or the opposite. This thread is meant to demonstrate my repair/mod abilities, and not my building skill. I haven't actually built a guitar from the ground up yet. I'm just waiting for the kit to arrive, so pics will be up by next week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 Sweet! You sound excited about it. I'm looking forward to watching. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 I have a thing for Explorers.So when you get to the electric violin we should talk about pickups... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted April 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 So when you get to the electric violin we should talk about pickups... o'rly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Looking forward to your build, fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted April 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 M'kay, here's what we got! The electronics and parts are fine, so we're just gonna box those away for now: Right out of the box, the first thing I noticed was that the body is not a one piece. All this means is that it is a prime candidate for a solid finish. As I took out the electronics and control cover cavities, I got a good look at the front pick guard. It looks like it had shotty craftsmanship at best. This is easily fixable with a scraper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted April 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 At least all the joints are nice looking. No gaps Blemish on the heel. I can fill that with a mixture of CA and wood dust. Again, the guitar is being painted, so no biggy there. And a sizable ugly thing on the fingerboard.. not too sure what to do about this... Even with the blemish, the fingerboard is straight, and the frets are level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 What's that body wood Ames? Alder? The routes have a pine-ish look to them. You might try some Danish oil on the fingerboard and see if it hides that blemish. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted April 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) And we will top it off with a little bit of shotty routing. Looking at this, I can say that it is obviously a second. No big deal. I can fix up just about everything on this thing, except for the blemish on the fretboard... I've never seen anything like that... [edit] I'll try the Danish Oil. Thanks! It feels odd compared to the rest of the neck as well... The neck fits the body pretty snug, which is nice, but there is a bit of a gap near the bass side. Also, forgive the messyness of my place. Someone just moved out, and I haven't quite gotten everything where I want it to be yet. I haven't really even decided if I want to live here, either. Edited April 23, 2013 by FireFly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted April 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 What's that body wood Ames? Alder? The routes have a pine-ish look to them. You might try some Danish oil on the fingerboard and see if it hides that blemish. Ah! Right, I forgot to mention that. The guitar is listed as "solid mahogany." Its not the reddest looking mahogany I've ever seen, but *shrug* looking at the grain closely, and comparing it to the mahogany body I have for my SG, I'd say it might be... its really light weight though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Phillipine mahogany imo. Looks like a fun project honestly. I've been gassing for an explore guitar for a long time, so Im looking forward to see this one completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Come to think of it I've gotten some really light colored Honduras Mahogany before....You're probably good there. And, we're a bunch of guys, we don't see no stinkin' mess. Honestly, I had to go look through your pics again to have a clue. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Not phillipine(luan),because that is not a mahogany and would put the seller at risk of fraud or whatever "Genuine" mahogany can be very light and very light in color as well.I also have bought Honduran which was very light in color.If it is Honduran it will have black in the pores,that is the big giveaway http://www.deanwood.com/genuine_mahogany_lumber.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 That might be Paulownia instead of a version Mahogany. Is it really light for its size? It would also explain the pine like tearing on the routes. Khaya (African Mahogany) is one of the lighter Mahoganies but it is usually darker than that. Sapele is heavy Most Honduran Mahogany and the South American/Yucatan versions I have encountered have been heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Just read Wes' post. Looks like he is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Not phillipine,because that is not a mahogany and would put the seller at risk of fraud or whatever "Genuine" mahogany can be very light and very light in color as well.I also have bought Honduran which was very light in color.If it is Honduran it will have black in the pores,that is the big giveaway http://www.deanwood.com/genuine_mahogany_lumber.html Right. A chinese company immune to our fraud and copyright laws who is selling counterfeit copies of guitars would NEVER dream of labeling phillipine mahogany as "true mahogany". This "One peice mahogany body" MUST be honduras or african mahogany because they said so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 It's not luan,Frodo...any fool can look at the grain texture and see that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) African Phillipino Her guitar you were saying, Gandalf? Edited April 23, 2013 by bob123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted April 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 I bet you the bottom join is african, and the rest of it is phillipino ONWARD!! So I went over the piece for a few, and I went through the grits between 60 and 600 getting rid of all the little dings, factory sanding marks, and splotches of mystery stain that I found all over the thing. Its nice and smoothed out now, and the only mystery stains are on the tail side. There's no getting those out, because that's end grain. I then did some measurements and found that this kit didn't have a neck angle built into it. Since my router is in storage, I had to make a shim out of some spare mahogany from my SG build. So... shimmed, glued and clamped! Next, I'm going to make some mahogany plugs with the plug cutter, and fill in those bridge mounting holes. I gotta go to storage to get the plug cutter though... I might as well pick up the router while I'm there. More later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Who said African?Once again,African is not a mahogany..."Phillipine" is not even any one species of wood,it is a collection of cheap mahogany look alikes Philippine mahogany is different from most other mahoganies because it ISN'T a mahogany at all but any one of a large number of species (mostly of the genus Shorea) that are lumped together and sold as Philippine mahogany even though they are not mahogany. Now,what is usually referred to as "phillipine mahogany"(genus shorea) has a "layered" look to the grain...in fact,if you look at the photo you provided you can even see the loose grain that sort of lays on top and shuffles loose in spots no matter how you sand.It also has a slight "waxy sheen" similar to limba but much more slight If you look at Fly's photo,the grain is not layered ...it is much more tightly bound together and with sanding will lay down rather nicely,and obviously with the angle of the photo you can see not a trace of waxiness You see,Bob...the difference is that I have actually built from "phillipine(luan)" and also from "genuine"(which in spite of the name is not the only true mahogany,it is just a name" as well as Honduran,African,and common substitutes.So one of these days you might want to stop arguing and start listening,because your rate of learning so far is slow enough to try the patience of a monk. By the way,color is no way to identify mahogany.It varies widely even among the same species and darkens with exposure to air over time Anyway,I think I should stop participating in this hijack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygtr Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 I wish all hijacks were as detailed and informative as this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 What EXACTLY is "true" mahogany then? I guess Im misinformed here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted April 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 (edited) I wish all hijacks were as detailed and informative as this one. Well, it IS a kit. I was expecting derailment, or ignoring. But then again, it is a bunch of guys going "OMG I MIGHT GET TO SEE HER BODEH!" so i can pretty much forget being ignored. I'm totally learning a bunch about Mahogany though! :popcorn: Edited April 24, 2013 by FireFly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 What EXACTLY is "true" mahogany then? I guess Im misinformed here... Well,apparently mahogany is being broadened to include Khaya(African),which is something I think is recent,because I quite remember it being listed differently. the plant family Meliaceae, characterized by tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs having alternate, pinnate leaves, usually branched clusters of flowers, and fruit in the form of a berry or leathery capsule, and including the chinaberry, cedars of the genus Cedrela, and mahoganies of the genera Swietenia and Khaya. I guess it pays to stay current...you know,they recently put the hackberry tree into the hemp family...interesting,eh? Wood classification is pretty tough stuff,and it varies even by area sometimes...mahogany is a terribly confusing group...main thing you should remember about phillipine is that it isn't much good for necks...I have used it on bodies though and it sounds very nice,but it's hard to work because of the loose grain that tends to come loose and flake off.African is pretty dense and great for necks or bodies But then again, it is a bunch of guys going "OMG I MIGHT GET TO SEE HER BODEH!" Huh?You must be crazy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidwestGitarz Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 So Firefly, how about an update on this kit build? I am very interested as I was planning on maybe doing one of these if it wasnt complete junk. I know they are not the greatest, but maybe it would be a good first for me to get acquainted with. Would you share where this kit came from as well? Anyone, else know of these or other kits and which place sells about the best version quality-wise? I know I'm asking for a lot there when I use the word "quality" while referring to one of these kits, but hey, I gotta ask anyway. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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