vulture

It was winter, my first neck on my Strat was in summer and came out O.K. apart from the odd fly landing on it, but the second was in the winter and we were having a lot of rain. I would definitely say it was the moisture getting trapped in the coat. I kept trying to melt it out with the next layer which didn’t work then I ended putting too much on and cracks appeared all over the finish which I now know is a common problem. (learning curve) I ended up sanding the whole thing back and went to a spray shop supplier that mixes rattle cans while you wait and they suggested I tried a clear two pack what they use on cars which they mixed into rattle cans. It worked without blushing and I only needed three coats. Providing you use it in a couple of days there are no issues. That said the finish doesn’t enhance the wood at all and looks plastic in my opinion. I will try and persevere with Nitro in future; try warming up the workshop and using a dehumidifier. Or even brush applying it so I can add retarder or thin it in some way. Moving onto the expense of a compressor and spray-gun is something I would like to avoid for now for what is a hobby. It’s nice to share information on this as there’s only so much you can gleam from utube and books. I find with uTube there is as much bad advice as good and a lot of the stuff is American and not as readily available over here.

Thanks, looks a lot more successful than my first build. Finishing being the biggest learning curve. I used rattle cans of nitro lacquer and had massive problems with blushing. How did you apply yours?

Hi, I was considering a compound radius fret board on my next build. I have been watching many Utube videos with various ideas/jigs, mostly american as they seem to be lot more geared up than we are or seem to more willing to share information. All which look fairly involved. Both of my Les Pauls have standard tubular radius fret boards which I have played happily for many years, but I'm ever trying to push forward and improve on the next build. I know it's possible to do this without a jig if your brave enough. Has anyone tried this before? Is the difference noticeable and worth the effort? John

Thanks, GIBSON ALNICO V “STAPLE”. seems ideal. Although at first glance it looks as though Gibson no longer make them, but I believe Loller do something similar? Will look into it!

Hi, I have a couple of build and refurbs under my belt. The first on my own design went pretty well aside from my pick up match wasn’t the best so I want to get it right for me on the next one. I’ve always played les Pauls and SG’s and favoured that sound until I salvaged an old Hofner senator out of a skip and refurbished it, it had been butchered by whoever threw it away to accommodate a two pickup configuration. I sourced the closest pickups I could find to what would have been on it originally, and used a staple pickup on the bridge and a Hofner Diamond (not plus) on the neck position. I love the sound and would like something very similar on my new build, but wanting to avoid anything second hand or with Hofner logos on it. Is there anything with similar sound?I was lead to believe these are both single coil pickups with a double magnet (electrics is not my strong point). Was considering a P90 or mini-bucker? Nothing too powerful though would prefer to drive harder. And advice/suggestions would be welcome. John