BonzaiBob

another question;)

Would a mahogany back with maple top be a good combination?

Ok, all i really need to know is, what brand of Aerosol/brush on guitar lacquer is best? Would i need coat of sanding sealer first?

And this is all that's need yeah? There's nothing i'm missing? What about polishes etc? i'm looking for a clear glossy finish that will show off the quilted maple.

If you laquer it, it's as hard as spray painting - if you're good at it, it'll be easy

If you want alternatives, I just had a go on a piece of scrap and found my next guitar's finish. I wiped 3 coats of sanding sealer onto it, letting them dry between coats and then sanded to 1000 grit. I then put 3 coats of Briwax on it and let it dry - then a good polish with the cloth and hey presto - GORGEOUS finish.

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cool... Heh, i have no idea if i'm good at it, i'll soon find out..

So all i would need is to sand it smooth, and then add a few coats of laquer? That's it?

The main thing i'm worried about is how long stuff like that takes to dry,, this will most likely be done in my bedroom, and as you can imagine, if it takes days to dry i may have some slight brain damage by the time it's dried

Is the laquer applied with a brush? How many coats?

I know it sounds like i know sweet fa, but i just need to get my facts right before i start any of this.

Ok i'm about to invest in a deluxe tele body from warmoth, with a quilted maple top.. I want to give it a clear, natural finish.. But before i invest in the body itself i need to know how hard this is?

I have not done this before so excuse my ignorance.. What materials(laquers? etc) would i need?

I've checked the tutorials but as far as i can see there is nothing regarding a natural finish..

Again, forgive my ignorance

i don't know what it's like in The UK, but living in the rip off country that is Ireland, i and pretty much every musician i know buys ALL their gear online..

www.thomann.de and www.musicstore.de are the most popular online stores with a huge stock list and shipping costs are almost non exsistent..

www.chrisguitars.com is cool too, website is pretty crap but don't let that put you off, service is excellent.

Replacing a pickup in a Strat is literally a matter of desoldering two wires and replacing them - go for it! 

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Yeah, i had a look into it myself after posting this and realized it'll be quite simple,, so i'm waiting on my pickup, the 25w soldering iron i ordered, and a nice white perloid scratch plate..

pimp my strat

I have just ordered myself a SD JB Jnr for the bridge position in my Strat. I've never installed any pickups so i don't know whether i should have a go at doing this one or get a pro to do it?

Is it hard? i know how to use a soldering iron, just never used it for this purpose.

Thanks,

Dan.

any news on this, i wouldn't mind taking a shot at it.

Hey man, nice work. I quite the headstock, as well as the volume nob. Not sure about the backplate though.

What was your first project?

Ah jaysus, you're just following me about the place, aren't ya! Boards, GigSmart, here. Where next???

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I think you'll find that you followed me to gigsmart. Muwa ha ha

What about putting a JMP-1 into the effects return of the DeVille? If it has a loop that is. Dunno what price ENGL's are in Canada but they're Mesa distortion and Fender cleans for a fraction of Mesa's price. Which is nice.

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Beat me to it Feylya, was just gonna suggest ENGL.

how will you know if it's yours or not?

Hey Guys, thanks for all the replies.

Yeah i'm taking it one step at a time for now, i ordered that book ''how to build an electric guitar'' that's recommended on the main site. I'll start off reading that and getting an idea on where to start.

Originally i kinda wanted to delve into the deep end and make a PRS'esq guitar, i'm a big fan of a carved top!! This is obviously going way ahead of myself though

So i think i'm gonna start on something a little more simple, so it's a telecaster for now methinks.

I'll be practising on lots of scrap wood first to get used to shaping it and routing etc but as soon as i feel confident enough i'll be going for the good stuff. To be honest i don't think i'll have *too* many problems with the wood, i pick stuff like that up fairly quickly. It's the wiring i may find difficult, i've no clue about that what so ever! I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron but the scematics i look at for pickups are way over my head!!! But i'm sure it looks like that for any beginner. I have an old epiphone that i can use to practise that kinda stuff though.

I have to say i'm VERY excited about starting though, every guitarist should have their own custom guitar.

Hi People, Just joined up today. Forum's great, lots of info!

I'm thinking of putting together something myself, however i am a complete novice with no tools and no experience at all!

I don't want to get too ahead of myself or anything. I don't think i could handle shaping a neck etc. I might just get myself a big plank of mahogany or maple or something and start on a body and get a neck from warmoth or something.

I was just wondering if anyone had any general advice? Is making a guitar 'hard' for a beginner?

I think i may get stuck when it comes to stuff like routing etc.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

Looks excellent man, be sure to update us.

First Post. Go me!

Looking forward to seeing the end result.