gpcustomguitars Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 With the Yamaha rebuild almost done, I can start on this old project! This is a guitar for me, I've always loved SG's, but I've wanted to add some twists of my own. I will probably make a classic one at some point, but current specs are: 2-part mahogany body 1 piece mahogany neck, no angle ebony fboard tortoise binding & pickguard hotrod and 2 graphite stripes for tuning stability veneered headstock from both sides, w some MOP inlays smallish frets, 2mm wide 2 custom made hums balance pot, 2 tones, 1 master volume Hipshot Trilogy bridge, hence no neck angle Finish is still not decided on, but definitely not 2k, it's tru oil, shellac or nitro...also red or mahogany brown??? I still have to check the fretboard for straightness, install the frets and dress them, sort out a few dings and scratches from 10+ years of storage and finish the shape of the neck. IMG_20160109_182919-001 by Goran P, on Flickr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Oh wow! I have an SG in the works which is a weird build for me. Not entirely from scratch, as it is parts from two different projects! A Les Paul neck blank and an EB-0 body. They work together, albeit with one fret's worth of neck movement.... Quite a severe bevel set you've got going on there....I think it makes the treble-side cutaway look a bit shallow? Glad you're going your own way with the design :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted January 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Sounds very interesting! Any pics to show? The cutaways are supposed to be even, it must be the pic angle, but keep in mind I did this over 10 years ago, so I have to look it over and measure and double measure a lot of things, starting with scale I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be 25.5, to go along with the no neck angle and the Trilogy Strat replacement bridge, but I'm not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Yep! Pretty vanilla stuff. There's a bit of a stain which I think the final colour should hide. The angle makes the shape look a bit odd, however it's SG-shaped for sure. The truss rod slot is slightly off-centre which is why I've not done any kind of feature on this build or prioritised it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Very nice! Looking forward to see some progress on this! What's the body thickness? I have some mahogany of really similar color in my stash that I've only made one neck out of so far, and I remember it as really light and resonant. I think that the stripe won't be that visible, probably not visible at all when you deduct the tenon area, pickups etc. Is the neck 3 piece, can't say from the pic? Btw, I'm repairing an acoustic for a guy who's brother is a demonstrator/salesperson/repairman in a company for old furniture restoration and one-off finishing of such products AND he plays guitar. He came along yesterday to my shop and the talk was very interesting - lots of practical knowledge on all types of finishes, plus I got invited to go see the works and get some samples and a set of dyes...nice They use and make scrapers all the time, so he offered to show me how they do it. So my ideas on finishing this might change a lot in the near future. Have you made any decisions on hardware? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I brought this body down from the 46mm (!!) it originally was down to a more SG-like thickness of 38mm. I'm still going to bring it down to around 35mm, however at this stage since it is being stored I hardly want to go anywhere near to the finished size. I can clean it up close to the time. That stain is a bit of a flaw in the wood, however I agree that it is mostly meaningless once the rest of the cutting gets going. I'm still undecided whether to go for a single-pickup Jr style configuration or not. It's tempting because I have so much tenon going spare. I'd be happy to extend that waaaaay into the body, tradition be damned. The pickguard will hide that nicely. I've been throwing around the idea of an aged nickel wraparound or perhaps a TOM/stoptail. The ABM 2504 and ABM 3020 would pair up nicely with an aged nickel cover on a Bareknuckle Riff Raff. I've a set of Kluson Deluxe tuners which should match the lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Scrapers are an invaluable tool to make and to use. The simplest is a Stanley knife blade with a hook turned on it using a screwdriver handle. Great for quick repairs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted January 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 I use those a lot, even more after your advice some time ago to turn a hook that way! I always have at least three on the table. Usually, I turn the hook so that the index hole on the blade is in my left hand when working downward, that way I don't have to check which side is which. With thickness going down, your stain in the wood should be perfectly fine! Nice hardware, I would still go with 2 pups for better sound range. How thick is the planned tenon? Could you still have at least a part of it's thickness going full length? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 The tenon is exactly 35mm deep and 125mm long so it has more than enough depth to sit deeply in the body! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted February 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2016 (edited) OK, a small update - squeezed a little time for the SG in the growing line for repairs (which is actually very nice!) 002 by Goran P, on Flickr Fretboard needed some more leveling, higher grits and some glue cleanup, ready for the frets now, I think tonight! I'll use PVA instead of my usual CA, and the fretboard will stay nice and clean after wiping it down with a wet rag. I'll use Sintoms, 2mm, smallish, I like them and I think they will also go nicer for playing with a slide. I think I might make another set of black strap buttons, they might go well with black hardware and oil finish. On a side note, I'm making a wraparound bridge in aluminum, just hand tools for now. It'll probably go on a LP Jr I have in the works (if I succeed, that is :)) 0017 by Goran P, on Flickr 0016 by Goran P, on Flickr Edited February 6, 2016 by gpcustomguitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 6, 2016 Report Share Posted February 6, 2016 HAHHAHAHAHA Seriously Goran! Your complete lack of fear in making things is admirable to say the least! Man, my hat is off to you. Again. I love it. This is totally what it's all about, man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 It can either work or not, but I always hope that it will Not much of an update, just chamfered the slots and cleaned old glue in a few of them, but I can't resist showing off my (for a split second) clean work space! 003 by Goran P, on Flickr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Smart placement of the vise too; off to the right seems to be a pattern amongst luthiers working off one or two benches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted February 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 I keep it to the right most of the time, so that any electronics work is towards me on the bench, but it's also to the right when I'm cutting nut slots on the guitar. Just refitted a tele nut today like that, using a bone nut I made all the way from the butcher's. Good thing I have almost non-existing sense of smell Thinking of it, it's to the left only for work done on the headstock, mainly because of the light source position. BTW, what recipes do you guys use for preparing bone for the nuts? For my current batch I first made a good soup from it, and then boiled it for a while again, changing clean water a few times. Then it's washed with Fairy or something similar, and left in the sun for a few days. Seemed logical, but there must be more methods out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 Never prepared bone from scratch, however I've bought it as blank stock. Still smells like death ass though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 Likewise, although I didn't notice any smell. I've decided I'm not a fan of bone nuts though. Too grabby. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 That SG looks a really nice canvas to do some great things with, @gpcustomguitars On the one I built, I took the tenon one stage further : Tarrraaahhh! By the way, I'm mightily impressed with your workspace. And my wife is even more impressed with it's tidiness....along the lines of "Well, HE can keep his tidy, so why can't YOU??" I'll be really interested how this build comes out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Very cool so far! My wife echoes the clean space sentiment, much to my dismay.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Same here. Nina is enforcing a clean area policy on the workshop. I'm not so sure because it's supposed to best represent the real world right? Stunt junk and comedy fake dust piles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 My wife has given up on my garage. She does go a bit overboard with awestruck noises when I do get around to a major cleaning, but otherwise has completely given up on me. Real world indeed. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Well, the workshop is in a room straight off the rest of the house so any airflow will carry particulates around easily. I'm going to need to weatherstrip and add a brush seal onto the door. Plus buy an extractor....it never ends.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted February 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Great looking SG, Andyjr1515! The top looks great, maple? What was the finishing procedure? I'll post another pic, stating the usual state of things on my desk that pic was taken right after I cleaned the table following a repair that involved some sanding, and I couldn't find my chamfering file, so I was forced to clear the table It's now back to my usual creative mess. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 1 hour ago, gpcustomguitars said: I'll post another pic, stating the usual state of things on my desk that pic was taken right after I cleaned the table following a repair that involved some sanding, and I couldn't find my chamfering file, so I was forced to clear the table It's now back to my usual creative mess. Phew! Thanks ref the SG. Yes, it's a figured maple top. I used red calligraphy ink on this one and then wiped-on standard polyurethane varnish, thinned down with c 30% mineral spirits (I've done a mini thread on this technique in the Inlays and Finishing section) There's been some interesting debate and experiments manfully carried out by @Norris elsewhere in that section on the colour fastness of inks. They do vary a lot, but I think calligraphy ink, meant to be still be able to be read 1000 years or so later (think: Lindisfarne Gospels) is probably OK! Certainly this one (built for a fellow band-member) and used in our band practice last night still looks the same as when I built it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Just red ink and no darker sandback? Wow, that really makes more than a passing case for using inks then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 5 hours ago, Prostheta said: Just red ink and no darker sandback? Wow, that really makes more than a passing case for using inks then. No - just did the normal ink, sand, ink. I think I did that 3 times to darken the figuring. The ink soaks in very easily into any end grain in the features so darkens very quickly in those areas. Of course, for a more even colour all round, that can be a disadvantage because I can't think of any way to prevent the darkening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.