Codename Swansong

[guitman32]

I just realized I never posted a pic of the jack recess I made (idea coutresy of Mailden69 - THANKS)

I precticed a on a lot of scrap and the drill press. When I finally settled on the correct angle of the drill press base, I clamped up the body and drilled it. I planned it so that once I drilled the big recess with the forstner, I would have enough room to switch over to a 1/2" bit without moving or un-clamping to body, and drilling the smaller hole for the jack. This turned out to be very helpful and convenient!

One thing: I was VERY lucky in that the flush mount jack I am using

A) Can be inserted all the way in without hitting the bottom of the cavity

When insterted, does not hit the tone pot. This was not that big of a problem, because I knew I could just switch to mini pots if need be, but I like CTS pots, and it fits

Next time around I will be more careful to take this into account!

Also in the pic you can see that I recessed the areas where the controls are to be mounted. I like this, as it allows me to leave as much wood as possible on the guitar, and only drill out for the controls.

[Maiden69]

remember before you start finishing that you have to cut the inside of the jack hole to an angle in order to have the nut sit flush. A chisel will do nice for that.

[Guitarfrenzy]

Looking great, and this is one example of a In Progress that needs pics in the actual post. I would have loved to seen the pics in the actual post, instead of having to click 1,000 links to see them all. Great job on the guitar bro.

[guitman32]

Guitarfrenzy: I think I will go through and revise my posts with pics in the actual posts. ..when I get some time, of course

Maiden69: I was wondering about that. I wasnt sure if you just kindof shimmed the nut tight at an angle or if there was an easier way to cut out the material. Chisel it is! Thanks for the advice as always.

Now on to a finishing concern...Im not sure if I want to use nitro, or maybe look into something else. Right now, I dont think I am ready space-wise for a spray rig, so the easiest option would be to use rattle cans of nitro. Would that not do this project justice? What are your thoughts?

[RGGR]

Get guitar ready with primer......and baby bottom smooth. Spray cans are options.....but definitely let local Auto bodyshop (with decent spray booth) finish guitar with nice layer of clear.

[Maiden69]

RGGR, have you seen the guitar? Nice alder body and awsome bubinga veneer!! You don't want to cover this up with primer, do you!?

If you are going to go for a natural color, and are using spray can, go to a local Lowes and get DEFT sanding sealer and gloss clear. You can't go wrong with it. The S Sealer dries nice and sands easy, and fills the littlke grain exposed from the woods easily. It does look milky, but once you shoot the clear over it, it turns crystal clear. AS you can see here, sanding sealer and clear.

Just dust a few SS coats over the bubinga before applying it thick, since you don't want the venneer to get soaked and lift off. It should be an easy job. My only concern is the edges of the body. A nice binding will be a great addition, kinda like a flames Koa, or flamed maple.

[RGGR]

RGGR, have you seen the guitar? Nice alder body and awsome bubinga veneer!! You don't want to cover this up with primer, do you!?

Yeah, cover everything. Sorry, my bad.

[Pibrocher]

I am digging the control area. Its a tricky part of the guitar to get right if you are doing anythign other then standard. Gotta make sure all those pots and wirings fit. I have totally shot myself in the foot with an ourageous cavity that was too small. Looks good though, like you took the time to plan all the space allowances.

[guitman32]

No pics, but UPDATE!

Unfortunately, I am on a semi-long term job in Houston, so I cannot work on the guitar on weekdays any longer. That said, I was at a Lowe's the other day, and picked up a bunch of Deft products.

4 Cans Sanding Sealer (spray cans)

1 Quart Sanding Sealer (brush on)

5 Cans Semi-Gloss lacquer

2 cans Black Rustoleum brand lacquer

I have two questions regarding these products:

1. Is using spray s+s preferred over using the brush on stuff?

2. Is the black I purchased OK? I couldnt find any opaque lacquers from other manufacturers.

3. I forgot about primer. Is there laquer based primer, or can I just use standard autmotive spray primer?

My goal is to start spraying the body this weekend...I have modified the volute and I will post pictures soon.

[Maiden69]

the black you purchased is not OK, as soon as you spray DEFT over it it will wrinkle like crazy. I only use the spray stuff, it lays better so there is less sanding involved. Look for a hobby shop around you and get a water based paint for your base. I like Createx air brush paint. It won't react with the DEFT and dries in a few hours. If you are using S Sealer you don't need primer.

Try to keep the paints the same, rustoleum suck for guitars, I use it to paint the undercarriage of cars and trucks, but I will never paint wood with it anymore.

[guitman32]

Update: I modified of my previous posts to include actual pictures inside the post instead of a link.

[guitman32]

UPDATE:

I did most of the wood filling/final sanding on the body. It is nice and smooth now.

The lighter spots on the body are the wood filler. I used DAP brand Plastic Wood. It is nitro based, and is very easy to work with. I highly recommend it! That little mark in front of the string holes on the front of the body is for the bridge ground.

[n8rofwyo]

Looks like you're well on your way, let us know how the spraying goes - especially the pitfalls/successes. Keep up the good work.

Nate Robinson

[Maiden69]

Hey, by looking at that pic, the jack hole looks mighty close to the control cavity, if you haven't cut the angle with a chisel yet, I would recomend you make something wedge shaped and glue it on the inside, you don't want to make this area too thin, because pushing the cable in and out could break the thinb wood.

Other than that I like the guitar! I don't know about that filler you used, since most wood filler tend to shrink with time, but everything else looks good.

[guitman32]

Nate: I know ive been slacking a little bit on my process descriptions, but I will definetly not do so when time comes for paint! I thinkive said it before, but a good paint job is almost as hard as building the guitar itself, and requires even more patience.

Maiden69: I have actually already carved the inside of the jack with the chisel as per your advice, and it looks like there is adequate wood to support the jack. That wedge idea is nice though, because I had some trouble getting the chiseled area 100% clean. That would be an easy way to compensate for my less-than-perfect chisel skills

[guitman32]

I know its a pretty pointless picture, but this is a shot of the body with two light coats of sanding sealer. It is unsanded.

There are two small dings I forgot to sand out, so I think I will drop fill them with s+s and sand them flush. Since I will be out of town all week, I decided to swallow my pride and order some black nitro from the Gutiar ReRanch. I am planning on ordering 3 cans to be on the safe side...is that enough for the color coats?

In the picture, I am hanging the guitar with a clotheshanger...bent to fit in one of the neck holes. I used this method for a little while on my last finish (the flying V), but then switched to making a plank with holes drilled to fit the neck pocket holes. This way the body is much easier to handle, as it is screwed onto the body as the neck would normally be. I will make one as soon as I can work on her again. The only troublesome spots that I found to be hard to spay using this setup were the horn/aanj areas. These areas, along with the sides of the guitar in general I think would be best sprayed with the guitar lying flat on a rotating platform. I might construct something like that next week, but for now Ill make due. Overall, the first coats went on nice and even. Next steps are to sand these coats down with 320 grit, and spray on some more sanding sealer. I will continue this progression until the body is nice and smooth. Then it will be on to the primer/color coats.

Cheers

[Maiden69]

I think that one can is enough for the base coat. On this guitar I used only 1/4 to 1/3 of a can of duplicolor. Your base doesn't need to be thick. It just need to cover evenly, I think that on that blue strat I did 2-3 coats of 2 light passes each. As soon as the color was even I started the clear.

[guitman32]

Well, I think a little update is in order...

I have been working out of town for the last month, so the guitar has been at home with no progress on the finish at all. All that is left is finishing the body and neck now, as all the shaping and final sanding is done. I also need give the frets a good leveling too.

With some luck I should be out of town for one week more, and then itll be high noon for guitar work. For my next project, I am thinking either a LP style, or something radical, like an explorer. The one thing keeping me from an explorer style is that I do not have the tools to prepare large pieces of wood for the larger body blank required. The one thing i am sure about is that I want my second to be a set neck (I think I will leave a neck through till later).

To address this issue, I was considering the purchase of a planer. Would you all recommend purchasing a planer from Home Depot or somewhere similar? I am thinking a 13", and nothing too heavy duty...just something that will get the job done without issue. I think that purchasing a planer will really allow my guitar building creativity to reach a new level, as now I feel limited to buying ready made body and neck blanks. Let me know what you all think!

[RGGR]

....I was considering the purchase of a planer. Would you all recommend purchasing a planer from Home Depot or somewhere similar?

I would advice you getting on the phone and do a quick round of phone-ing local woodworking companies. Betya... they will let you use their planer.

Planer is machine you only use a couple of times per build.

I use planer of local woodworking company and trading 6 pack for full use of machine I don't consider a bad deal. I haven't met anyone yet who will say no to these kinda requests. People just love helping out people.

And even if they charge you small fee ($5-10), it's still more cost efficient then buying $1500 machine.