stevenh Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 I'm going to refinish the awful florecent orange 80's guitar that I've had for quite a while. I need to fill in the two single coil pickup cavities and I was wondering what is the best method for doing so, and whether I should use epoxy or wood filler. Thanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 I'm going to refinish the awful florecent orange 80's guitar that I've had for quite a while. I need to fill in the two single coil pickup cavities and I was wondering what is the best method for doing so, and whether I should use epoxy or wood filler. Thanks for any help. ← the method that will probably give you the smoothest look when you're finished is to cut a couple of blocks of wood that will nearly fill the cavities. make them just a bit taller than the body so that you can then sand them flush later. glue them in and then fill the voids around the ends/edges with epoxy. it may take a couple of applications and again you want the epoxy to be just a bit higher than the surface of the body. after everything has cured properly take your sander and sand flush. i'm curious as to why you want to fill them and what you're going to end up using for pickups. good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenh Posted October 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 I'm going to refinish the awful florecent orange 80's guitar that I've had for quite a while. I need to fill in the two single coil pickup cavities and I was wondering what is the best method for doing so, and whether I should use epoxy or wood filler. Thanks for any help. ← the method that will probably give you the smoothest look when you're finished is to cut a couple of blocks of wood that will nearly fill the cavities. make them just a bit taller than the body so that you can then sand them flush later. glue them in and then fill the voids around the ends/edges with epoxy. it may take a couple of applications and again you want the epoxy to be just a bit higher than the surface of the body. after everything has cured properly take your sander and sand flush. i'm curious as to why you want to fill them and what you're going to end up using for pickups. good luck. ← Thanks for the help. I'm going to make it a one pickup guitar. It's just an idea. The current pickup config is H/S/S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombershredder Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 I'm gonna be doing the same thing on my guitar but i have a few questions. Mines H-S-S too. This is the first guitar I'm gonna be modding and refreshing with a new fretboard and stuff. It if comes out good i'm gonna equip it with a good quality humbucking pickup instead of the stock pickup that was in the guitar. Anyway- The pickup cavity needs to be filled with a block of wood like in the tutorial for converting your bridge(trem cavity is being filled). Shouldn't the block of wood be glued into the cavity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Crappy pictures...but http://www.angelfire.com/art2/guitars9023/tutorial.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Shouldn't the block of wood be glued into the cavity? definitely glue it in. i had to go back and read my original answer but i did mention glue. (still working on the first cup of coffee when i wrote it ) using bondo instead of epoxy works just as well and like egdeltar said in his tutorial..one application won't do it. epoxy shrinks just like bondo so be prepared to apply either two or three time in order to get it just above the surface of the guitar body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombershredder Posted October 29, 2005 Report Share Posted October 29, 2005 (edited) Thanks! EDIT: In the following tutorial http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/tht1.htm for converting from trem to hardtail the guy says- But after you prime it you will still notice those nasty lines which will show up in your finish. The solution is easier then you think, route a small groove along the edge of the entire joint and mix up a batch of epoxy based filler, since epoxy will dry a lot harder ( while still effected by heat will not show as easy). So isn't this the right procedure but ALSO glue the block in? Edited October 29, 2005 by bombershredder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombershredder Posted October 29, 2005 Report Share Posted October 29, 2005 (edited) What glue exactly is to be used for this? Is the same glue used while doing other stuff in making a guitar. Also what is bondo? its a body filler but what is that what is it used for? I want to know because i won't be able to purchase the products mentioned such as bondo but i'm sure there are substitutes. EDIT(AGAIN! Yes I don't think things through!): Shouldn't there be enough glue while gluing theblock in that it smears out and then it is cleared and then the epoxy based filler be used. Also what is an epoxy based filler and what is it used for mainly and where would i find it if i went shopping? Also could someone please talk alittle about the glues and help me out there so i can know. So when i go shopping i have to search for a wood glue? What else should i know? Edited October 29, 2005 by bombershredder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted October 29, 2005 Report Share Posted October 29, 2005 Thanks! EDIT: In the following tutorial http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/tht1.htm for converting from trem to hardtail the guy says- But after you prime it you will still notice those nasty lines which will show up in your finish. The solution is easier then you think, route a small groove along the edge of the entire joint and mix up a batch of epoxy based filler, since epoxy will dry a lot harder ( while still effected by heat will not show as easy). So isn't this the right procedure but ALSO glue the block in? ← he's saying pretty much the same thing that i am..you won't be able to cut a perfect block of wood..there will be gaps around it. after you glue it in using any good wood glue you fill the gaps with epoxy or bondo. again, you want the epoxy or bondo to fill all of the gaps and to be a little taller than the surface of the body. when it has cured completely you sand it down flush with the surface of the body. What glue exactly is to be used for this? Is the same glue used while doing other stuff in making a guitar. Also what is bondo? its a body filler but what is that what is it used for? I want to know because i won't be able to purchase the products mentioned such as bondo but i'm sure there are substitutes. EDIT(AGAIN! Yes I don't think things through!): Shouldn't there be enough glue while gluing theblock in that it smears out and then it is cleared and then the epoxy based filler be used. Also what is an epoxy based filler and what is it used for mainly and where would i find it if i went shopping? Also could someone please talk alittle about the glues and help me out there so i can know. So when i go shopping i have to search for a wood glue? What else should i know? the glue can be any good wood glue..titebond II or III, elmer's carpenter's glue..any good wood glue. bondo is used by body shops to repair dents. it's a filler that works well, sands well and cures hard. you can get the glue and bondo patch kits at most well stocked hardware store. the epoxy that we're talking about is simply a type of glue also found in most hardware stores on the same isle as the wood glue. it comes in two parts..you sqeeze out equal parts of each on a piece of scrap wood, mix them thoroughly and then apply. one part is a catalyst that causes the whole thing to harden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombershredder Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 Where do you live UncleJ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 Where do you live UncleJ? ← little town called wimberley, texas..southwest of austin...why, are we neighbors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombershredder Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 No we're not neighbours. I live in India. In New Delhi. So for me to continue with guitar making I am going to have to order stuff and pay a good 50-100$ for shipping. Concerning wood and woodworking tools there is plenty available here. I'll prob just have to pay for the books and fretworking tools and little stuff like that. My point is that I guess I am gonna first have to search around here and see what are the wood glues available here and then compare them to what you are reccomending and then choose an equivalent for bondo and titebond. For you i guess its easily available, so thats why i asked this.... ....Also could someone please talk alittle about the glues and help me out there so i can know. So when i go shopping i have to search for a wood glue? What else should i know?..... I'm totally clueless i know for sure bondo and titebond aren't avaiable here and i don't want to use something weak andwrong and stuff. Also maybe i'm making it more complicated than it is. Maybe wood glue is just standard everywhere and a simple wood glue would do. I guess its prob the epoxy based filler i'm gonna have trouble finding also because i don't know where i can find them. Mahogany is used in making furniture. So I'll just go and look around places like that. I might even do a small woodworking/furniture making course or workshop just to get the hang of things or i needn't also but it sure would help. But for that epoxy based filler i don't know where to look and what it's used for and same with paint and stuff. I prob don't need to order a spray gun man. I am pretty sure i can get a decent spray gun here. Even paint. I've read on this forum that paint used on cars n stuff can be used. But again my knowledge is just surface and ain't very deep and once i know more i'll prob be able to say. But if you have anything that i can relate to information wise. It just doesn't do it for me when you say ..USE BONDO. NOw you know why. Thanks for all your replies and the tutorial Edgeltar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 would you be able to put a good fit block of wood in then fill the gaps with wood glue and saw dust? I ask because i JUST filled my project mockingbirds neck pocket with a block of wood and have gaps with no epoxy/bondo on hand, so would wood glue and sawdust work? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 I've done the wood glue/sawdust thing...it works better if you use really fine sawdust. Bombershredder --titebond is just a brand of wood glue, you shouldn't have any problem finding that. And Bondo is just a brand of the stuff they use to repair dents in cars, you'll certainly find that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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