mannym

Shame dude. I cut my LP neck with a handsaw and got better results.

John, ive followed some of your interesting and unique builds here for a little while now. Some I like and some arent my cup of tea, but I must say, this one is if one of your best builds. Its a classy axe. Thank You. Manny

Cheers Wes. That little piece of advice made all the difference regarding the finish. On the neck the tenon actually comes down to just inside the pick guard edge closest to the pickup. The fret board may make it seem a little shallow but theres a good 3 inches of tenon there past the end of the fretboard. Having said that its a little neck heavy - but not as heavy as the body. This one's going to be played sitting down! Im afraid of weighing it as I will hit double figures (in pounds). Probably looking at a 10-12 pounder there. Cheers Manny

All I can say is I love Micro mesh. The pads arrrived in teh mail and I levelled the surface with 400, 600 wet, 800 wet a nd 1200 wet. Then the wet sanding with teh micromesh began. all teh way upto 12,000. I round of cutting compound and some polishing with disk pad and soft cloth and now I can say its finished as well as I could get it done. Im happy with the way things panned out especially after back tracking on teh original paint job. I also love what these little pads did for my frets. Thanks to everyone's advice and heres to the next one!! Cheers Manny

That's why I quit routing bodies with templates. I now just use a belt sander and only use my router for the neck pocket and pickup/control cavities. Absolutely spot on. Ive only made 2 but learnt after the first, the belt sander gives me infinite control over a router. Cheers Manny

Ive rubbed the flat areas back up to 1200 and am now awaiting for my micro mesh pads to arrive. Ive got some 1500 to 20,000 and everything in between on the way. One lesson for young (at heart and in guitar making - not in years) players is the amount of stuff happening when you level and dull the surface. You discover a whole world of ripples, runs, and pits when the surface is duller. I found a couple of minor ripples/runs that I wouldnt have picked up after 5 or 6 coats of clear poly was applied. In fact i didnt pick it up until I leveled and dulled the surface with 400(dry), 600(dry), 800(wet), and 1200(wet). Thanks for prompting me to do this Wes. I reckon it's going to make the guitar infinitely better.

Thanks Wes. Ive got Wet and dry upto 1200 (400,600,800,1200)so Ill level and then when the pads arrive do as you recommend. Cheers and thanks again Manny

I hear you Wes. And I agree. I Dont have micro mesh available at the moment and have ordered some pads as I thing 1200 wet and dry may not be fine enough for a better finish. Will hit the surface with some mesh and buff after another week or so of hardening. Thanks for the feedback. Cheers Manny

Well guys and gals...my second build based on a LP Jr, is finished. Bad weather today limited the photos to indoor, but I did manage to play her and the P-90 is one of the best sounds youll hear! The guitar is heavy but the sustain is awesome. Ill try and grab some sound bites. Thanks for following the thread. Cheers Manny

Almost there. Ive slotted the camel bone nut and taped into place. Ill string her up now and check levels and heights adjusting the nut height to the desired level and then glue into place. Here's a shot with all the hardware. Cheers Manny

your first is better than mine! You are too kind Wes. I can only hope I catch up as close to your most recent effort. Cheers Manny

You know what. I once thought one day I may even be good enough to enter these monthly contests. No fricken way! There are some beautifully made pieces here. My vote counted. Sure Im a man of simple pleasures, but the beauty in this thread is certainly re-affirming.

Did you use the same gauge? Did you change gauges? You could try adjusting the Floyd's posts for a slightly higher action on the high E to see if that helps. make sure the new string is sitting as it should in the nut and saddle also. Sounds basic but you never know. Cheers Manny

Tonight I started test fitting all the components. I installed the pots and pickup so I can wire themup tomorrow. Guard is on. Bridge is on. Starting to look like an instrument. I just hope it plays well. Cheers Manny

Yeah, thats one thing I regret not doing better. Plus, I haven't radiused the board yet so I 'm really afraid of how much room I'll have after its radiused. My 2 cents worth and take this lightly as I am only finishing my second build from scratch. I would make the fretboard again. Its too cool a build to compromise on the quality and if you radius and its all over the place, it may effect the overall play-ability and fret placement. Youve learnt from this but dont settle for something that you may have regrets later. Cheers Manny

Thanks Anthony. Some more progress. I have sprayed 5 coats of clear poly, sanding with wet and dry 600 between coats, and am happy with teh finish. I'll leave her to harden for a week or so, before i buff. In the meantime I can finish the electrics. I used a 2mm thick old black paper tray to cut out a pickguard and cavity plate. I sanded with 1200 to get rid of some scratches, and after a couple of coats of poly theyve turned out great. Here's a couple of pics: Now waiting for some screws to arrive and my Ernie Ball 2210 strings. They are 10-50s or "Jazz" set with a wound G for the proper intonation on the vintage style bridge. Have a Great Xmas, Hanukah, Holiday season - and may your God or Godess be kind to you and your families. Cheers Manny

Considering that I'm a comic book junkie to begin with, that would be pretty sweet. Thats what made me bring it up. You remember the Comicaster? I could see an Incredible Hulk Corvus........ put in a hot humbucker with a coil-cut and use it in single coil mode. Until it gets ANGRY! lolz....... then kick in the bucker and shred! wo0t. Just throwin stuff out there... Wez - as usual , cool pics for ideas from you - love the individual pups. wonder what some piezo's under the fretboard at the 24th fret or so would sound like? Hmmmmmm...... I want to see a guitar made in honour of the greatest super hero in history..."arm fall off boy"..google him youll be amazed.

The Corvus - easily the ugliest string instrument ever made...Hell yes John - Make another one!!

Beautiful work sharkman. Love the contours and custom work all round. Cheers Manny

Thats coming along superbly. Beautiful use of timbers.

OK, I have sprayed the first coat of poly and so far looks OK. I think its going to turn out fine. Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated. Cheers Manny

OK. The old finish was stripped and the surfaces all sanded down to 320. First coats of Redwood stain applied. Now by experimenting with black tint at various strengths I managed to darken the color and create a dark tobacco color that I used to hand rub the burst in. Similarly here's the back. Now lest see how it turns out with the clear topcoats. Cheers Manny

Hey Garth, Ive seen you're build - great stuff. I used the Meranti for the neck, and Im using an Australian Red Gum (but i think its blue gum which looks similar but works a hell of alot easier). For the fret board im using Merbau (had some left over after a decking project). Washed the tannins out of it first.

Sure Wez. I used 80 grit to get the gunk off. there are a couple of pits and marks Ill try and remove if possible. I plan to prep with 120, then 180, 240 and 320. Anything higher probably wont make too much of a difference at this stage. My plan is: One full strength coat of Rosewood for the base - moderate application but evenly across the body. let it settle and dry for an hour or so, light sand with 320, and apply second base coat. Im wiping on with clean cloth. Then a darker tint (1part black/ 10 parts rosewood) for the transition - rub in and work/feather away from edges towards center (2 inches in). Finish with darker shade around an inch from the edges and use this for the body perimeter (1 part black/7 parts Rosewood. Again work this into the previous layer and transition. Given it will slightly darken with several coats of Poly gloss, Ill keep that in mind also.

Well, Ive been convinced by some here and on other forums and Ive decided that there's too much black in the finish, and Ive stripped it and will reapply the burst using dies I can control the strength, rather than paint in cans. I deviated a little too far from the intended finish. Good news, is it only took me a couple of hours to strip the finish and with a bit of finer sanding I can start re-applying. I will be rubbing in the burst as opposed to spraying it.