demonx

Ok - fun police! It was more of a chuckle then if you want to get fussy!!! Would that be CTM ? (Chuckled to myself) ??!!

Mahogany Headstock & Rosewood cap in clamps: I'm taking a risk on this one as I've used a cap I've had sitting there, but the grain is sideways. It'll either work and look greak, or just be wrong. I haven't decided yet but I'm taking the plunge! The new neck blank.I made this from the offcut from the old failed neck. There was just enough thickness to the millimeter so I had no room to screw it up. While I was doing the scarf joint I had to wonder if my straight edge was playing tricks on me! I had it on the wood on the linisher, it normally gets straight in a flash, but today it took effort after effort. I actually went and got a different straight edge just to double check! Got there in the end and now I'm waiting on the headstock lam.

Pretty much everything here in Australia ia WAY more expensive. We're just used to it. You guys get it easy! To add to the blow of inflated prices, unless you have a special licence, you cannot import paint/chemical products. Then even if you do, most of the USA companies won't sell it outside the USA. If they do it has to be shipped not sent by air, which takes 3+ months, so it's just not worth it.

Funny - I laughed. With that said though, it is the guys pioneer post - so he's having a go. But to the op, your post is lacking a few pics - that's what wasthemann is getting at. My first impression is that as a first build, the timbers are a bit ambitious and you should maybe try something a bit more boring first, but who am I to judge. You might pull it off and get GOTM (guitar of the month) for all I know. But since statistically most people botch up their first build... enough said.

The sperzels weren't any smaller, it was just that I could buy them as singles. Those ones above look like they've got massive keys. When you see my latest build evolve you'll understand why I wanted small. The headstock is tiny and the tuners will "just" squeeze on.

Most people cut the slots deeper than needed. I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Thanks for the replies. I just bought a 4 X 3 set of single Sperzels from Warmoth. Never used Sperzels before but I've heard good things.

Thanks mattia - they're kinda ugly though!

That's what I always use, I was looking for smaller

What is a good quality tuner that has small buttons and small case on the back so I can squeeze them close together? I need 4 normal 3 reverse for a build I just revised

Heres the board blank I plan to use for this rebirth:

I'm going to paint it all black...Joking!

I started this guitar 5 or 6 builds ago, it was one of those projects where everything goes wrong but you keep on going. Then I get a phone call from a guy who'd played one of my guitars and insists he wanted me to build one for him, so this "unfinished project" got shelved and has been collecting dust since. Now that I'm getting towards the end of the Black V I've been building, I've been racking my brain as to which of the million builds I want to do - then it hit me -FINISH THE ONE YOU ALREADY STARTED... Specs (revised build, not how it started with): Carved Superstrat body - 7 string. Victorian Blackwood Body wings Queensland Maple Center with Quilted maple cap Ebony stringers Tasmanian Blackwood 1 pce neck Figured Ebony board Headstock - most likely maple No inlay Ebony Binding on Fingerboard 25: scale So here it is to date: The slab of Victorian Blackwood (Damn heavy stuff): Test fit of the body pieces: Screw up #1 ... Router tearout. This was the first time I'd attempted to cut a body with a router. Ended in foul language. After another unsuccessful router incident - I no longer cut bodies with the router. I slept on it and decided this was too good of a body to be firewood. I seperated the tearout as much as I could, broke a few pieces off, filled it all with glue and put the pieces back as best I could: The repair was successful. I forgot that it was even damaged until I looked through some old pics to make this post! Pre drilling a few holes ready for the router: Test fitting the heel of the Tasmanian Blackwood neck: Screw up #2... I'd made a board from a real nice piece of Birdseye maple (cant see the grain in this pic) - when I went to dock the end, the saw blade ripped and smashed the crap out of the end frets. I managed to salvage this as I'd made it a 25 fretter, so I cut it back to a 24 fret neck. It was a personal build for me, so I wasn't too concerned. A bit pissed at the time, but I survived. I made a headstock from the best piece of Sassafras I had. Looks awesome in person. This pic shows the ebony binding being glued to the maple board, but you can see the Sassafras headstock: Screw up#3 THIS IS WHERE IT ALL WENT WRONG!!! I have since changed my neck carving method - but long story short, I carved through into the truss rod slot. Firewood. I tried to remove the fingerboard to re use, damaged it in the process. Firewood. Headstock is un-recoverable. Firewood. Truss rod salvaged. I used it in the Groges guitar build! So - Heres where it changes. I've dug through my board blanks, have a real nice piece of Ebony I've been saving. It's a mixture of light browns to dark browns and black streaks that swirl up the board. Pics to come as I restart progress on this build...

I should mention those are our local prices, the same stuff is probably quarter to half the price in USA

Considering it's the same products you'd find on a "top end" show car it'd bloody well wanna look good! I think the clear costs about $480.00 for the smallest tin, the hardener for the clear $88.00 then the thinner for the clear is $50.00. Then add the primers and color, there's around $900.00 minimum purchase to do this paint job. Of course that paint will do several guitars, but that's the minimum outlay for these products to start off with. So it's not exactly hardware store grade product! I've used cheaper clears before and they just don't compete.

I do it all the time. I don't use stains at all. I make my own Candy 2k paint by mixing special 2k dye into Basecoat blender. This is the same way that a paint shop mixes Candy 2k if you buy it from them. Here is one here I did recently using that method - sprayed clear, let the clear cure, sanded it back, sprayed candy and burst then clear again:

Congrats guys...

Yes. Auto 2k. All PPG base and clear and Autothane primer which is PPG anyway

Third lot of clear... looks awesome! You can even see the reflection of my hand and T-shirt in this photo! Now to let it hang for a week before I can wet sand and polish.

After the second coat of clear:

Primer sanded back to 600 Then I untape the board egdes, knock back the primer so it's flush and retape about half a bees dick above the primer line so theres no tape lines in the finished paint: After everything is tack ragged I spray a tack coat - I spray this with the same technique and pressure as I'd spray a full coat, I just move the gun about 4 times faster Then onto the full coats: Clear to come soon - I'm having lunch while the basecoat flashes off, then I'll spray three coats of clear.

This guitars not for me so I have to make sure it's presentable!

Same here... it's mixed emotions. I love the look of them and really want to make one, then when I look at a thread like this I think "**** that!"... Then the excuses come out, "I don't even play acoustic" - then back to step one a month later where I really want to make one! You're doing some awesome work mate. Can't wait to see the finished guitar.

That looks great! Better than great! I like it! I like your version better than the one linked earlier in pearl. The tibmer looks more natural, softer transition of colors making it more apealing to the eye.

You're just making excuses for her showing you up! hahahha On a serious note though, I'll say what I've said already - you must be so proud. This is a great thread. Guitars coming along nicely.