cknowles Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 I've been lurking on the board for some time now, and reading threads back to 2004. Of particular interest are the Saga kit topics that keep croping up. For your enjoyment I'll post a couple of pics here. 6 hours of sanding very carefully with a randon orbital sander and 100 grit paper brought it down to the bare wood so that I could apply a finish. You can see the bass wood grain peaking through the dark walnut and mahogany stain mix. The curly maple top shows up better in this pic, without the flash. http://www.sourcecable.net/~cjknowles/my-s...a/images/18.JPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 (edited) Nice you built a buick from a guitar kit? ok link works now. Edited October 10, 2006 by pmarlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cknowles Posted October 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 I really hated the plain jane neck, so I experimented with some stains and sanding techniques to replicate a spalted look. This pic shows the stain, with just one coat of clear on it. Nice you built a buick from a guitar kit? ok link works now. It was no small feat I'll tell you!! Pick guard and truss rod cover were simple black plastic so I picked up some nice vener in maple and mahogany, laminated it and made these. First try I ended up making a left handed pick guard by mistake! Fortunately I made extra just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 Nice. I bet that wood pickguard will look sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightLamp Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 wait...is that all the wood that comes stock with the saga kit?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Wow im suprised, I looked at some of the kits on ebay and if the hardware is halfway decent its a heck of a buy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cknowles Posted October 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Pick Guard and truss rod cover are my own creations and did not come with the kit. I"m also making my own inlay, never done that before either. I started with some aluminum siding to get a feel for the tools before destroying my teeny piece of MOP. Also created a dummy headstock to experiment with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prauny Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Brian has inspected these kits, and he seems to think that under the maple veneer, its not solid wood. He thinks its particle board. Can you see real wood in the neck pocket and pickup routes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cknowles Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 On mine it appears to be multiple pieces of bass wood laminated edge to edge, then as a top piece mated to a bottom, much as you would build a normal Les Paul. A minor sand through in the maple top shows more bass wood rather than particle board. However I wouldn't put it past them to hide some in there in inconspicuous places I counted 5 different pieces of wood for the back portion of the body alone. It's hard to see from this pic, but there is a horizontal seam about 5/8" below the top in the pickup cavity. Looking in the pickup cavities there are some nasty tear outs at the ends of several of the strips. However they are at the join between the top half and the bottom main body, if that makes sense. I'll take a pic tonight to illustrate better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prauny Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 I have on e more question.... did you do a dry fit before you went to work on it? I ask this because ive heard tails of bridge hole in the wrong place and so forth. What say thee? Ive also heard of them being great, with no problems at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cknowles Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 I pre-assembled and gave it a basic setup to make sure all was good. The holes in the neck were shallow so I had to drill deeper. The neck joint was tight but tended to lift a bit as the screws were tightned. I resorted to clamping the neck in place while turning the screws. Other than that everything lined up and installed as it should. I was very careful with the electrics and did a condinuity test on each connection while it was all on the table. No cold solder joints. I was actually quite pleased and surprised at the action and the sound quality. I didn't ground the bridge properly and had a minor buz when I touched the loose string ends (to be resolved at final assembly) One thing I did notice though was the the neck pickup is not quite parallel with the strings. Not sure if this is normal or adjustable. Aesthetically I didn't care for the angle, so I may make my own trim covers to adjust for that mis-alignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prauny Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Sweet!!! Could you do a sound clip when its finished? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cknowles Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Absolutely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Wow this thing looks terrific. I too would love to hear it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cknowles Posted October 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 Here's a view inside the neck pocket. Looks like basswood in this shot. However, looking at Universal Jems website you can see that they definitely used something different at another time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth guitars Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 The carved top on a Saga LP kit is laminated paper, not wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cknowles Posted October 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 The carved top on a Saga LP kit is laminated paper, not wood. That would explain the weight! Brian put sheilding paint in for me when I ordered my SAGA throug Universal Gems. So I can't see what the material is behind it without removing the sheilding. Regardless, I'm still having fun, and getting more inspired to build my own real one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth guitars Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 It's not paper, but a thin layer of flamed maple veneer. Looks nice and hides the glue lines of the basswood of mdf whatever. There is a veneer, but its on top of a paper carved top - its a gray colored material made of many layers of thin paper. This paper top is glued to the wood back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 It's not paper, but a thin layer of flamed maple veneer. Looks nice and hides the glue lines of the basswood of mdf whatever. There is a veneer, but its on top of a paper carved top - its a gray colored material made of many layers of thin paper. This paper top is glued to the wood back. No is not. I think that AlGee recerved one a long time ago. And itf it was paper I'm sure that he would had post it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth guitars Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 No is not. I think that AlGee recerved one a long time ago. And itf it was paper I'm sure that he would had post it!!! You will not notice it unless you look into the pickup routes where you can see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 How you are not going to notice a paper top? If you carve into it, and wood shavings come out I think that it is wood.... now this is not my experience, but if he had RE CARVED his top and paper came out, you bet that everyone in the forum will know by now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth guitars Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 How you are not going to notice a paper top? If you carve into it, and wood shavings come out I think that it is wood.... now this is not my experience, but if he had RE CARVED his top and paper came out, you bet that everyone in the forum will know by now! Not sure I understand, its a kit that is already shaped, why you would do further "carving". Its covered in a maple veneer, you will not see what is under it. We have looked at them and this what we have seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Not sure I understand, its a kit that is already shaped, why you would do further "carving". Its covered in a maple veneer, you will not see what is under it. We have looked at them and this what we have seen. AlGee's Saga Thread To be fair, he was using the PRS-style kit, not the LP-style, but I'm also having a hard time buying into this "paper top" thing. I know it's definitely a veneer of some sort, but that's probably just the top 1/32 or 1/16, not the whole 1/2 thick top. Who is this "we" you keep referring to anyway? Is more than one person in your shop posting under the same name or what? You mentioned in another thread being able to get Saga kits for $75 or so, are you actually selling them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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