hittitewarrior

Awesome. Two additional questions: 1) Do you guys sand at all between the thin coats? 2) Can I get a ballpark of how many coats some of you use? I hate asking this question, cause I know it varies by opinion/goals/etc. I'm 4 coats in, and it is looking quite nice... I don't want to stop due to impatience, but at the same time, I'm not sure how many more I should go (I'm assuming the extra coats are building durability into the finish). Perhaps that's the better question to ask: Bonus question: What should I be looking for/thinking about that is impacted by how many coats I put on? Thanks all!

I've done a crappy job of posting for awhile, but I am now applying finishing. I attached all hardware, filed a nut, strung up and got intonation and playability for the first time. Man was that exciting. I think I have some fine tuning of the nut left, but generally it seems to play fantastic. Disassembled all, Sanded up through 1000 grit, and then the first 4 micro-mesh levels (I know there is some overlap there). Tonight, I have put my first coat of Tru-Oil on the body. Debating how many coats to add... Any recommendations? I did a brief search, and it also appears that recommendation is to let it cure for 3-4 weeks prior to polishing (I'm assuming in my case, this would be going higher in the micro-mesh). Do you guys typically let it cure up this long? Thanks!

Thank you all for the input! Once I got around to actually taking all the tape off today (letting it sit for 12 hrs +), it actually appears it went quite well. No noticeable loose spots, and just a couple of areas that I need to go back and touch up. The biggest problem was the acetone mobilized the stain on the back :-\... didn't think that through well. Actually, perhaps a slightly larger problem is the acetone appears to have "bloomed" on the top... certain angles I can see it slightly. I am hoping it goes away with a good sanding... Time will tell at this point. Again, thanks for the input @Prostheta, and @curtisa. @Norris I have to thank you again too for asking if I was going to redo the pickguard... that question pushed me over the edge that I really did want another shot at it. Take two is already looking MUCH better than the first time around... Anyone have any tips on oil application? I'm using one of those lintless/high absorpency blue paper towels, and seem to be getting what I assume everyone calls "witness lines?" It is subtle, but visible when the light hits it right. You can kind've see it in the edge of the glare. I've tried steel wool between coats (making sure to blow off all the particulate), but it keeps happening... Perhaps I'm using too much oil per coat? One final pic - This is the one I'm making for my brother in law. Again, the pieces were from the scrap bin, mainly cause they were too short. The top is from 4 separate pieces. (as evidenced by the seam on the upper and lower horns)... I debated inlaying copper "stitching" to make it a little more intentional/artistic, but I'm still on the fence. My brother in law seemed to indicate that kind of thing wouldn't bother him, but I don't know... lol.

Alright... I went to do some binding tonight...It is ABS black binding... I saw a youtube video where some guy was dabbing pure acetone onto the wood, and then taping the binding on as he went. So this is the method I used. I took one corner of the tape off maybe an hr or two later, and it appears it is not bonding very well... Based on some of the readings I've done, I'm wondering whether I can just go back, take a piece of tape off at a time, and flood the seam line with acetone and then replace the tape? Thoughts?? Will I likely need to do this over? So now I appeal to the knowledge experts... what do I do??

Great build! Very impressive. Gonna have to remember this 50's circuit thing when I get to wiring. Sounds cool.

@Norris Thanks! After a couple of days being past the frustration of realizing where it ended up, I think so. I've got another piece of maple I think might work, but I will need to do some work to get it ready. This maple came from the scrap bin at the hardwood place nearby, and I cut it from the outer 3-4" of a log cutoff that they tossed in., so thickness is kinda variable on the cutoffs I'm debating whether I keep the idea of music notes being embedded in the DNA, but if I do that, I will probably scale them up to the same size as the parts that cross from helix to helix... Feels like a constant 2 steps forward 1 step back lol.

Brief picture update on progress: Started work on the pickguard. Was going to cut this pattern out, and then mount it on the copper pickguard that I have posted earlier. Decided instead to route the pattern out, fill with copper dust, CA, then sand. From a design perspective it turned out really well IMO... from an execution perspective, I have a lot to learn. There are supposed to be music notes in the helix, but they ended up being too small, and not routed deep enough, so they distorted when I sanded down. And then with the white maple, I accidentally left some larger grit sand marks in place. At this point, I don't think it is worth fixing. Generally I am happy with it, but would definitely do some things different in the future. Additionally I got around to doing some fret work. Not levelled yet, but started to dress the frets. Aaaand, stained the back of the guitar. Minwax Jacobean. The varying penetration of the poplar gives it a kind of "relic" look, and partially worn w/o sanding. Generally pretty happy with it. Next guitar, I am going to try to steer clear of poplar though.

@curtisa thank you. Also, fret work is coming up shortly... do you all find that you wish you had something like the SM Neck Jig? I'm not really at a place where I'm going to buy it... and I'm curious if I'm likely signing up for a lot of fret work -> string up, buzz, strings off -> more fret work.... I was assuming that if I got the fretboard as level as possible, then levelled the frets, that it would stay that way when re-stringing, but now I'm wondering. Thanks!

Quick question - for bolt on guitars... when you drill the holes through the body for the neck screws.... do you make these true through holes for the screw, or do you use pilot holes for both body and neck so the threads bite in both?

I definitely appreciate all the explanations... it's definitely clearer than when I started thanks to you guys! @ScottR is the pumice from the sandpaper? or are you adding some sort of pumice to the oil prior to adding to the surface? How many coats of Tru-Oil would you use? and I am assuming application method is just wipe on. I have a scrap piece of koa that I think is large enough for a pickguard. I think I'll try to give this a shot, and see what it looks like.

Hmm - a good question. I put up with a decent amount of personal abuse in terms of scratching, denting... kids, cat... Oh wait... Lol. As far as the guitar... if I sand it up to 1000 grit or higher, I wouldn't want an errant pick, or an unintentional brush against something to scratch... I'm not particularly hard on a guitar, but my only real reference point is the hard finishes that come on standard Ibanez guitars. I think I will go with Tru-Oil + topcoat of Shellac per your suggestion. I like the napthat/mineral spirits look, and the cost/complexity of that finish seems appropriate for this build too. Would you still use clear grain filler if using this finishing method?

Awesome. Thanks guys. I'm not so concerned about the durability of the back, but if I wanted to add some scratch resistance, what would you recommend on the koa top? That might be in conflict with the idea of oil finish, but I figured I'd ask. Edit: It looks like I could use a oil based wipe on Poly over Tru-Oil? I would think with the colors of koa, a slight yellowing of poly would not be so noticeable.

Earlier in the thread, we were discussing the merits of oil as an option for the koa. The back of the guitar is poplar, and intend to use dye on it. Can I use oil on the poplar with dye? Do I need to use the shellac to seal it at any point, or can I just stain first, and then Tru-Oil the poplar at the same time I Tru-Oil the koa?

Time for a quick update. Been spending some decent time working on this, with relatively few snafus (at least that I've noticed!!!). Got the neck carved, tuner holes drilled. Took a first pass at sanding to try to get most of the rough marks out, and routed the neck pocket, pickup holes, and binding channel. I need to make a couple of templates on the laser cutter for the last two routes, and for the control cover, and some pickguard ideas I have. Neck screws are on order and in the mail, so I'm thinking I will be mounting the neck shortly. Getting excited. I guess I'm going to have to start thinking about the nut and finishing the fret job.... Thinking ahead... do you guys typically string up and play it before starting a finish? I think I would highly value checking I don't have string action, or other issues early...

Good tips! I'd love to see pics of your examples. I'll try a couple more coats/sandback of the Minwax Jacobean (which really is a more dark brown) and see how it builds. Also, is poplar open grained enough that I should use wood filler? I know Koa is, so I will be getting some at some point during this build.., and I learned last time that walnut is as well...

Thank you all for the insight! I spent the evening trying to get fretboard #2 flat... not sure what was going on but I was really struggling. One end got oversanded, and then once I got the rest of the board down to approximately the same thickness, the edges were consistently a hair lower than the center (It's an 18" sanding beam, and I tried all sorts of techniques... both hands in the middle, one hand on either end, lots of pressure, little pressure etc.)... I finally stopped with both ends just a little low, and then tweaked the truss rod to make it flat, which seemed to work. One corner is still a litttttle off, but I'm going to see what I get. All these router radius jigs are making me jealous! ... let alone CNC. I'm sure it doesn't remove all issues like this, but it's gootttta be easier. LOL. Oh well, it's part of the fun I guess. Here's where they are. (It's always fun to rub a little mineral spirits on, and take a gander at the end of the night). The one on the left will be for my friend. The one on the right is still intended for me. I've got some interesting ideas for the pickguard work still, and I decided I need to bind the body, so that one will be more of a learning experience. As I've mentioned before I'm cheap, and as everyone can tell... I'm learning.., so the main portion of the body is poplar. I've been trying to decide what to do when I finish the poplar. I was not a huge fan of how the finish came out on the first build I did... lots to learn to make it better. But in general, I wasn't a huge fan of the poplar. The polyurethane wipeon finish I did yellowed with age, and made the green/yellow tint of poplar too... something... not sure what to call it. It's still the first guitar I did, so I won't call it ugly, but it's approaching that adjective. Anyways, I think I may stain it black, and then sand it back. I ran a quick trial using Minwax Jacobean stain. I think I like it better. The green gets hidden a little more, and it kinda looks like a poor man's black limba. I think if I actually do it, I will use a true "ebony" stain. Curious people's thoughts, or if anyone has done this before on poplar.

Can someone point me to the favorite(s) fretboard mounting (curious how people "pin" the fretboard) and fretting examples/tutorials? I did some searching and found this thread and some comments by RAD part way down the page. Now I'm wondering if I rushed into fretting... since it is already fretted, do you wait til after shaping for fret leveling? I'm building a second guitar in parallel as a gift for my brother in law whom I grew up with, and just glued the fretboard on to his, so I may change my approach based on RADs comments in the above thread, and input from whomever chimes in. Thanks

Good to know - thank you.

I am afraid to answer in case you tell me too much BUT I tried to limit it to the space betwen the "teeth" on the tang. So approx .125" on each side. Maybe a little more if I got heavy handed, but probably not more than .130

I tried the 3D printed part... can't say if it works or not cause the printer crashed in the middle of the job... made the biggest mess I've ever seen on a 3D printer and ended up needing to have parts replaced on the printer.... So @curtisa I followed suit and made the more traditional diy fret bender. Cut frets, and used the drill press to press the frets in. I think I cut trimmed a little too much of the tang off, so I wicked CA into the ends and left it clamped up overnight. Hopefully it will be fine.

So I don't have a fret bender yet... I bought stuff to make the DIY design I've seen floating around here. And then I got to thinking... I have access to a 3D printer... and I'd rather not have to dial in the radius and create waste as a result. Could I just 3D print a fret bender designed for a 10" radius... So here is the design. I haven't printed it yet, and I obviously had to leave the channels a little oversized to allow for different kinds of fret wire (crown height/tang height), but I'm going to give this a shot. Obviously, I could still end up with scrap, and no ability to adjust anything, but if it works, it is quite simple... Anyone else tried this kind of approach? Edit: I added a straightener JIC...

Whoops - sorry I misread those. I thought that was in reference to finish on the bodies. Thanks for clarifying!

It occurred to me that I hadn't checked the levelness of the fretboard since gluing it down... It appears quite level with the exception of the highest 3 frets at the low E side. Here it did get sanded a little lower (.020"), but I don't think it is enough to warrant sanding the whole board down more. I'd be afraid of playing "whack a mole" What's the typical highest grit used on the fretboard before fretting?

I used an 18" radius beam to get it to where it is now, but the ends (1st fret, 21st fret) vs. the middle is where I'm seeing the subtle height difference. I'm wary of using the 18" beam again, for fear of sanding the ends down much more. Thanks for the info on the finish

I have lots of questions on the finishing side of things... Got some reading to do for sure. @Prostheta Does the oil+shellac method require/benefit from a buffing step at the end to get a high gloss? Or is it more of a satin finish with high figure? On a slightly separate note, to what grit do you all typically sand the fretboard before fretting? I've gone to 220 at this point, and think I'm getting close to fretting, but I noticed the center of the fretboard is ~.020" higher than the edges, so I was going to take one of my small clamping cauls and spot sand a little more anyway.