JayT

So I've got a decent finish on these bodies finally...maybe not the high gloss look I wanted, but I think with the rattle-can semi-gloss spray paint I used and my newbie skills this is as good as it gets. In other words - I'm not starting over again  

I think with more practice I'd get better results --- painting, wet sanding, rubbing compound, polishing, waxing --- it all was a bit much first time out doing two at once, and both opposite ends of the color spectrum I had to clean up alot and re-using sandpaper & polishing pads was usually a bad idea I found out (the hard way)

There are some small & micro scratches still but I'll be call this a 'slightly relic'd' finish, so don't mention them...and maybe one day I'll try to improve the finish. Probably not.

Now I just have to wrap-up the head stock paint finishing and assemble! 

So nice! Looks like something Ron Swanson would approve of and/or make.

https://media.vlipsy.com/vlips/kn0zTIaA/480p.mp4

On 5/6/2020 at 11:32 AM, komodo said:

My actual real-world problem right now, is that I have NO space for any finished guitars. Seriously, I've got to sort that first.

Easy solution, I have plenty of room. Ship them to me

On 5/7/2020 at 3:11 AM, argytar said:

Wow ! It took forever to finish!

I am wet sanding now and tomorrow I will use the buffing wheels!

We ‘re getting close!

story of my life...except I have no buffing wheels. For me saying/thinking that I'm "getting close" always jinxes me back to rinse-and-repeat mode -- or should I say strip-and-repaint mode.

Looking good!

great start looks so good - love the improvisation/experimentation of methods and tools...for sure a page out of my book

Great job! I think the end results are better than to be just "ok with" 

Welp, a few updates after a long absence...glad to be back here after a few frustrating weeks.

the cracked head repair went well I think 

and both neck backs are finished with TruOil just have to wet sand and polish 

The bodies have been a challenge painting and getting results I was happy with. Many coats, many wet sanding sessions, many scratches and exposed wood at edges!

i could deal with that but the biggest problem was when I felt it was getting close all the holes would swell with water...like under the paint. I coated the holes with TruOil but that didn’t help. It was like the water was getting between the wood and the paint!

Ended up taking both down to wood and repainted.

Black was first coat of semi-gloss, White is now primed.

going to SLOW DOWN and give more drying time. Going to only dry sand with more/higher grit paper...or at least try that route.

if I ever paint a guitar again I’m either using nitro or staining...spray painting is just too problematic for me

looking awesome, great work!

This build is looking great! Impressive work...that nut jig looks like something I need!

As far as color (or colour) that first green would get my vote.

3 hours ago, ScottR said:

you seem to be getting the mistakes out of the way early.

I do appreciate the positive spin on: "Jeez, you've really screwed up in every conceivable way!" 

2 hours ago, n8caster said:

be careful about cutouts with a small radius (like the pointy end of your teardrop shape), especially in the direction of the grain. Cracks will tend to propagate from those points.

Yep, this occurred to me...after the fact.

1 hour ago, Prostheta said:

Pre-empting is preferable!

100% AGREE!

Good news is that the crack re-glue seems pretty solid and is all but invisible from the back. Once I re-paint/re-finish I'm thinking only I'll be able to spot it...and I know that it will bother me every time ai pick it up.

Welp, back-to-back (self made) disasters...

Disaster #1 - for some reason I accidentally sprayed primer on top of the semi-gloss on the black one...what was going to be final coat. So I figured "hey, I'll just apply more semi-gloss top then finish!" well, that didn't work at all --- so I stripped it down to wood (no pic) am have primed again.

I can live with this mistake.

Then onto the white one's neck, just finishing final buffing, I thought looking pretty good...

...then...

Disaster #2: I'm calling this one "The Infamous Neck Buffing Launch of 2020" .... can you guess what happened? I bet you can...

Once I retrieved said neck from across the room I was bummed that I scratched the pain... 

but kinda relieved that it wasn't wors... ---- oh, holy hell...

So now I'll try to glue it back... *sign*

Both are my carelessness so I can't blame anyone/anything else. It is what it is, live & learn...whatever.

And to top it off both of lumberyards I buy wood at are closed, and even if they weren't I 'd get a ticket fro driving there due to lock down orders here.

Things could be worse I'm sure so not sweating the small sh!t

I just noticed the tentacles loop on the 3|5|7|9 (and so on) frets ... nice touch!

You did already mention it, but still -- I'm a bit slow

oh man, this is beautiful. I am taking notes. Love the white, how was the logo done? By hand or stenciled, silk screen?

#9 = kinda Dead Kennedys (not a bad thing!) ... if you're doing a homage this is great, -- otherwise #5 would get my vote for clarity alone, not that logos need to be 100% identifiable as something, but you for sure don't want it to be identified as some letters other than "D.I.G"

Numbers 1,2,3,4 & 11 have a high-tech/software feel IMO.

Numbers 6,7 & 8 remind me of designer clothes logos...but still #8 is very interesting 

#10 would be difficult to reproduce in 2-color, worth thinking about

I don't see this fingreboard detail on your 2nd drawing, are you losing that?

Very cool detail I thought. 

5 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

It's for steel string acoustics to pull the little string pegs out of the bridge.

After staring at it for 10 minutes I finally figured it out. The little guitar carved into it really has those pegs highly detailed, that tipped me off .  I only ever used that part on my peg winder

5 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

there's plenty of material above the pencil line, most likely all you need to do is to file the excess of

Indeed there was, but I already rounded off the other side, it was pretty loose in the slot anyway. The next try turned out much better...all done but the grooves -- then I can finally assemble this puppy!

Well, assuming I can get the electronics done. I accidentally got shipped a Strat style pre-wired kit so I disassembled that (which gave me the chance to learn about desoldering...got some wick and a pump, pump was useless for me) and will try to salvage needed parts onto a 3-way switch. Getting ahead of myself here...back to the nut!

5 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

the string grooves only need to be half the string diameter deep. Any deeper is an element in the recipe for squealing.

Thanks for that detail, I heard/read that they should only be that deep, but didn't know the reason. Half the diameter of high e is going to be difficult with these crappy files:

I wasn't going to spend $300 on the proper ones! Any tips here appreciated, 

Dammit ... half way finished and I realized I reversed the string slots...low E goes on the other side. 

ahhhh!!

could’ve been more snug anyway. Good thing I got 7 blanks

Ok started (over again) on shaping the first nut...wish me luck

oh, what is this little fork thing that came with the nut files?

Any help?

Looking great!

So as I find myself working from home (gives me an extra 2 hours a day building time without my commute --- a silver lining!) and waiting for first build to dry/cure I've decided on my next build design. I want to baby-step into something a bit less basic...

It is basically a double cut version of my first design/build, with a lot more carvings/contours (the most enjoyable steps!), rear control cavities, and an angled head. Thinking 10°  scarf joint rather than 1 piece carve (I'm open to expert advice here! hint-hint) and same 25.5 scale.

Also I plan to use higher-end materials and hardware all around (I went super cheap-o on my first g0). Push knobs - no switch, locking tuners. Possibly a set neck rather than bolt on...not decided yet if that's pushing my skills (probably so). 

I hear stainless steel frets are difficult to work and hard on tools so I'm not going there, even though I'd like too. maybe next build.

I've refined the head shape, more curves...here's old (left) vs new (right) ... my first attempt at the truss rod access was a bit of a mess...the drill bit dug into the head face pretty far up so I'm going to try for a real clean hole (that's what she said) maybe it'll be easier with angled head?

Also I'm not doing a nut slot (?) in the fret board...I had/am having a hell of a problem getting my current builds have a flat shelf and 90° walls for the nut to sit. I'm tempted to file down to the neck surface at this point...thankfully I back-burnered that as the finish is drying so I have time to contemplate what to do...but I digress...(will take any/all advice!)

I'm going to stain the high, flat parts of the body and leave the carved parts natural. Something like:

For wood, I'm going to have a maple neck (since I already have material) not settled on fingerboard, something dark or dyed dark. Body probably maple with some nice top/bottom ... could I say pancaked? I like the look of Japanese/Tamo Ash but have no idea if I can get it...hopefully it'll end up looking something like:

With the top horn being a bit narrow and upwards pointing I'm thinking the strap button will have to go on the back (location #3 or #4 I guess) ...which I'm not crazy about but see no other viable option.

Unless I really go off the rails and try something like Billy Sheehan does on his baritone 12-string guitar... 

I want the carve to tapper down really thin on the tail and arm contour, my buddy has an Ibanez that tappers front and back to about 1/4 edge...I liked the feel of that.

Thoughts? Advice? Thanks in advance!

8 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

The most important and challenging part of your process is to find a neck matching the scale length of your body.

could he just move the bridge?

1 hour ago, Bizman62 said:

let the enamel cure for half a year and apply some wax

Wait, what? I can't play this for six months? ... and if I decide to do that, should I wax after the curring?

Next time I'm going to nitro, live & learn I guess

painting/finishing advice needed.

With the semi-gloss paint I'm doing a coat a day (on 3rd) and in between coats I'm sanding back the orange peel & dust bumps. As a test (wondering if I'll ever get a smooth surface) I wet sanded an area up to 3000 grit and love that result. But is that the way to go if I want a protective finish? Like poly? Can I poly on such a smooth surface, will it adhere? If so, how far should I wetsand? I was planning on up to 5000 grit but not polishing/buffing the semi-gloss paint but rather buff the poly finish.

Or will the Rustoleum semi gloss be hard enough once polished and curred?

7 hours ago, Gogzs said:

Hmm, seems like the first half of the post doesn't render well on chrome/edge (works in firefox). Hope some mod can help out with editing the post if I messed something up. Thanks. 

I can only see the first half, 2nd half is just blank .... Using mac/chrome

But from what I can see great job!

Yes, regular wood glue works great. There’s not like “guitar glue” .... I use TiteBond