sam_two Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 I was recomended this forum by someone on metal sludge. For some time i have wanted to start a project, make a cool looking jaguar shaped guitar of some sorts. and TBH i never really had a clue where to start. I was at my local car boot this morning and i saw the body and neck of a guitar which is quite a rare thing to find at a car boot! (even rarer to find a cool shaped one! anyways i bought it for a £1 so it doesnt really matter if it is no good, wood is too bad etc etc. but at least it would be something for me to start on, paint and laquer etc befor maybe buying a decent body and messing it up right? So the guitar is in pretty rough shape. even in my novice state i kindof get the inpression it is a fairly cheap design (maybe even home made?) the headstock doesnt look that profesionally done. So i have pretty much come to the conclusion myself, unless someone would tell me toherwise that it would not be a great idea to invest all the money into hardware etc to get it running and i will only do like i said befor and finish stripping and then paint it for experience. But anyways i am curious as to what brand of guitar it is and to see a fully set up one (if only on ebay) so here are 3 pictures i took this morning. any help would be apreciated wether that be information on the guitar or what steps to take next. i have a feeling its down to the local hardware store to buy some nitromorse and some sandpaper though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 It's possible that was an actual mass produced guitar and it was experimented on. If you want to learn anything on finishing, have some fun on this one! If you don't have a palm sander or orbital sander, it would save you a great deal of time if you purchased one. Get some 80 or 100 grit sandpaper for the orbital / palm sander to take it down moderately fast then go at it by hand. Buy a hard rubber block to hold your sand paper, this will help a great deal with fatigue. Those pickup routes are big enough to house some 9-string bass pickups! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAK Guitars Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Yeah i agree, Have some fun with the refinishing process. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, but might want to get some experience refinishing, I'd say this would be the guitar to do it on. As far as what kind of guitar it is... I'm thinking it might be one of those "sears" guitars from the 60's or maybe its an old teisco or something. Their might be some kind of identification in the neck cavity or on the neck. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_two Posted June 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 It's possible that was an actual mass produced guitar and it was experimented on. If you want to learn anything on finishing, have some fun on this one! If you don't have a palm sander or orbital sander, it would save you a great deal of time if you purchased one. Get some 80 or 100 grit sandpaper for the orbital / palm sander to take it down moderately fast then go at it by hand. Buy a hard rubber block to hold your sand paper, this will help a great deal with fatigue. Those pickup routes are big enough to house some 9-string bass pickups! ok i'll look into one of those, i'm sure a orbital one would be best right? if i got one of those is it worth me nitromorsing the remaining paint off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_two Posted June 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Yeah i agree, Have some fun with the refinishing process. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, but might want to get some experience refinishing, I'd say this would be the guitar to do it on. As far as what kind of guitar it is... I'm thinking it might be one of those "sears" guitars from the 60's or maybe its an old teisco or something. Their might be some kind of identification in the neck cavity or on the neck. Good luck! i had thought of a teisco and looked around on ebay for maybe parts or similar guitars. but on those jaguar shaped guitars the headstock had more of a circular ball end to it. and i figured those style guitars would be pretty consistantly shaped and this is a bit of a miss match really. :s no id whatsoever on the body or neck,i think this is due to the work that has already been done on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 The odds of that having been a factory guitar (particularly the body) are slim. Probably a repurposed neck on a selfmade body in a project that was never completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarcrazy Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 I was recomended this forum by someone on metal sludge. For some time i have wanted to start a project, make a cool looking jaguar shaped guitar of some sorts. and TBH i never really had a clue where to start. I was at my local car boot this morning and i saw the body and neck of a guitar which is quite a rare thing to find at a car boot! (even rarer to find a cool shaped one! anyways i bought it for a £1 so it doesnt really matter if it is no good, wood is too bad etc etc. but at least it would be something for me to start on, paint and laquer etc befor maybe buying a decent body and messing it up right? So the guitar is in pretty rough shape. even in my novice state i kindof get the inpression it is a fairly cheap design (maybe even home made?) the headstock doesnt look that profesionally done. So i have pretty much come to the conclusion myself, unless someone would tell me toherwise that it would not be a great idea to invest all the money into hardware etc to get it running and i will only do like i said befor and finish stripping and then paint it for experience. But anyways i am curious as to what brand of guitar it is and to see a fully set up one (if only on ebay) so here are 3 pictures i took this morning. any help would be apreciated wether that be information on the guitar or what steps to take next. i have a feeling its down to the local hardware store to buy some nitromorse and some sandpaper though! The guitar you bought for the price of a soft drink has no intrinzic value on the street ! However , the knowledge & experience you will gain by stripping and refinishing this monstrosity is momumental . Do it over and over again . try stains , try dyes , try solid color finishes , hell try bicycle paint ! also take the time to de-construct the neck , play with the truss rod if there is one & re-construct the neck . Pull off the frets and see how they are designed . There is a wealth of potential learning at hand so enjoy the process then build your own guitar just the way you want when you feel ready . Then you could use this one as a paddle or something ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_two Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 thanks for all your help and advice! i will be stripping it. i'll go and find a orbital sander today and get to work! i will ask more advise when i need it. IE how to paint the body without painting the neck? do i take the neck off? even though there are no screws in the neck? (see i dont even know what this is called :s) thanks for being so welcoming! and guitar crazy. the neck and other certain aspects may be a monstrocity but you have to admit is is a reaaaly cool shaped body!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Could you take a picture of the back of the body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_two Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 here are 3 more pictures then. i'm reasonably sure it was a working guitar at some point. maybe just a very cheaply produced old one. there are still some bits of paint which need to be striped. along with drilled holes where the tuners went, the scrateplate when etc etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_two Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 right, i went into town today and bought some materials for the strip. i started off using nitromorse over the front and in the cavities where the electronics go etc (basically all over the front side of the guitar and alot of the sides. then washed it off with a washingpad and lots of water. so my question. (this method was basically assumed through my mothers interest in re-furbishing doors etc) is this how everyone else would strip a guitar? was i wrong to use nitromorse? is getting that much water on the bare wood of the guitar bad for it? all valuable lessons for me. this has actually become a project now. should i start a new thread in the projects section? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 You could start a new thread in the "in progress" section if you want. I wouldn't strip a guitar with chemicals, I'd be afraid of getting any of the chemicals into glue joints and weakening / destroying the glue joints. Honestly, I'd just take the 80 / 100 grit sandpaper on the orbital to it and keep measuring the body with a straight edge until you're able to get it consistently flat. Go at a rate of about 3-5 inches a second without applying too much downward pressure. If you apply too much pressure, you'll slow down the orbital and take even longer to sand down, not to mention it wont sand consistently this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_two Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 You could start a new thread in the "in progress" section if you want. I wouldn't strip a guitar with chemicals, I'd be afraid of getting any of the chemicals into glue joints and weakening / destroying the glue joints. Honestly, I'd just take the 80 / 100 grit sandpaper on the orbital to it and keep measuring the body with a straight edge until you're able to get it consistently flat. Go at a rate of about 3-5 inches a second without applying too much downward pressure. If you apply too much pressure, you'll slow down the orbital and take even longer to sand down, not to mention it wont sand consistently this way. thanks. i was more worried about what the ammount of water that was going on the guitar was going to do to the wood rather than the glue, but that makes logical sence. i'll dig out a orbital sander, i believe there is one about and continue from there and with sheets of sandpaper rather than the chemicals. did a good job though of getting the remainding paint off. but does leave the wood seeming really dry (once the water, has dried) would that damage the any aspect of the guitar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 The water wouldn't damage the guitar to my understanding, but I have never tried testing water on brittle wood before. I would think that would be a bit of a nono. If you're looking to wipe it down, try naptha or mineral spirits. If you're looking to clean the clogged pores out, try some kind of brush or a compressor. I use a compressor to clean out the pores, then wipe it down with naptha to clean off the smaller microns of wood the compressor usually misses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_two Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 ok, yeah you have pretty much convinced me the method i was starting out with is bad, i will use the sander and sandpaper from now on. one question about the sander. if one is completely stripping a guitar say one with a laquered finish. what would one do to ensure said lacquer/ varnish or what have you doesnt stick to the paper and then cause a circular in difference in the wood? just keep checking the paper and change reguarly? does anyone have a problem with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Clogging is very common with oily woods and stripping guitars with sandpaper. You can clean sandpaper up by rubbing other sandpaper against it, although that will wear down the sandpaper fairly quickly. Or you can use a rubber abrasive block, like one of these. I'm finding myself using it for everything, not just the belt sander like what it was designed for. To clean the orbital sandpaper, just rub the abrasive block against the sandpaper while the power is off. I'm sure powering it on and cleaning the sandpaper that way will be fine, but this is not how the block was designed. It might get kicked out of your hands and you might injure yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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