JGTay

Managed to get a good quality decal print done. Must be an issue with the inks in my printer, so as I had some work to do at my parents house I used their printer. After a couple of hours sprayed them with clear, 3 coats spaced out and then cut to size and applied to the headstock... And the main logo on the body. Will leave them to dry fully over night and then the clear coats can be sprayed.

Thanks. Got a couple of coats on today, no pics yet. Need to do a quick wetsand around the area for the logo tomorrow. Just having a few issues with the printing of the logo at the moment, have tried the recommended settings for the waterslide decals but the image comes out with a cracked eggshell look. Have tried a few different things, the only thing left is the ink... Will try on a different printer tomorrow to see if I get a better result and if not will have to buy some new ink for mine.

After a wipe down with a micro fibre cloth and a light cleaning with white spirit the plan was to pore fill... But seeing it with the shine from the cleaning and the pores showing through it had a really nice look to it, so I am going to go ahead with the nitro.

And the trees are definitely your specialty

Not yet Scott, will see what I can do once the clear coats are on

Sanded to 1000 grit and final coat of stain done. Even coverage all over, though the light reflections don't help the photos. Will mask off the neck in the morning and then the first coat of nitro can be done on the body and headstock. Once the first coat is dry enough I will get the logo in place... need to get it printed tonight so it has a good amount of time to dry before the clear coats. Have ordered the control knobs, last item other than strings, but need to know which gauge is required.

I was busy working through the grades today, got up to 400 grit and then had a phone call from my mum, reminding me it was fathers day, so downed tools, got cleaned up and the wife and I went out to visit our parents... Happy Fathers day to all the dads out there!

First coat of stain went on this morning. Small area to the right of the pickups where the glue was that hasn't taken the stain. Similar story on the back, small area bottom right of the middle that didn't take where there was glue Sanded with the 240 grit again taking the majority off and then second coat of stain. Still a thin line, so will sand it back again in the morning, will probably drop down to 180 or 150 grit to see if it removes that line. The back looks a lot better now, but didn't take another photo, will do it tomorrow. Once the stain had fully dried had a quick look at how the silver hardware looks against the stain. Only done the body so far as I wanted to check for any defects, everything else is looking good, so once the glue line is removed I can sand up through the grades and get a nice smooth finish on it ready for the nitro.

Yes, usually I use scraps of wood, but for some reason during this build I have been too preoccupied with getting the positioning right so I can access the areas needed... strange how a different shape can throw you off your usual methods.

Thanks Norris. Sanded the body to 240 grit yesterday, going to do the first lot of stain today before I go any higher as it will show up any marks I have missed. It looks clean, but stain always seems to show something up...

All bottom edges are now rounded over and have started working through the grades on the back. The cover is flush, grain isn't too far from matching and should look okay when it has been stained. Time to stop clamping it down, don't want any impressions leaving behind and need to access all areas during the sanding process.

Thanks Scott, good to have you along for the ride. I had similar feelings for "Vees" but I can honestly say this build has been an eye opener, extremely enjoyable process and it has improved my opinion. Really looking forward to the finished version and getting it strung up.

Thanks Andy. Have sanded the cover flat this morning, need to finish bevelling the edges and then the sanding through the grades can start. Also ordered the magnets for the cover, hopefully they will be here in a few days.

Busy few days, sorry about all the updates in one go... Started work on rounding the edges and getting some more shape to it. One edge left to do on the bottom, but decided to wait until after the cavity was done in case I needed to make any changes. Drilled through for the control positions to make it easier to mark out for the cavity. And got to work chiselling it out. Found the holes I had previously made for the pickup wiring, came in the perfect position. Have left plenty of room for the wiring to run at the side of the controls. Then set about making a cover out of one of the offcuts from the wings. Took a while to get it sitting flat all the way round. Just needs sanding level now. Tried matching up the grain as best as possible, Hopefully it will be close when sanded level... Have also made sure the flat area in the centre is the correct size for the logo, just need to blend in the angles a bit now. Very happy with the progress so far, once the cavity cover is sanded flush I can finish off bevelling the edges and then work up through the grades to get it smooth enough for the staining process. Also need to get the magnets ordered for the cover...

Truly stunning. I will even forgive the lack of trees...

This is the one I have been waiting for, looking forward to it Andy

The back is nearly levelled off, still need to do a bit more on the shoulders. May bevel the wings a bit yet to give a some comfort rather than a totally flat surface. Started getting some shape to the front, still more to do yet. The centre needs flattening out a bit more for the logo, so might level all of that section rather than having the angles, undecided at the moment... will get enough levelled off for the logo to sit flat and see how it looks. Slowly coming together, happy with the control positions and will drill through so I can do the cavity next.

Thanks and welcome to the forum. Hope you like the updates...

Excellent work Andy. Really looking forward to seeing the guitar bouzouki project

Slowly levelling off the back... One side almost there. And the wings are getting closer to the final shape. Also tested positions of the controls, starting to look like a guitar

You may well be right Roland, thank you and thanks to Graham for the reminder

Just a quick update today. Cut the second wing first thing this morning and got it glued, then clamped up. This afternoon it was off with the clamps. Free standing guitar anyone? Then started shaping the first wing, not all the way to the final mark yet, just enough to see the final shape and get an idea of how it will look, still needs quite a bit off the bottom. Will get on with the second wing to a similar position tomorrow and then can start getting in some details.

It was due to another build project I read recently that I remembered to do them, but I can't for the life of me remember which project it was... Have been following so many member builds. Otherwise I would have thanked the person for the reminder.

Started with the frets today. Hammered in place. Snipped both sides and then filed level on the right side And then the left side. Haven't done the fret level and crown yet, will do that once the body is done. Cut the first wing out and then put some nail pins in the side and snipped the heads off. Pressed down on the wing to get the positions and drilled. Then did the wiring access.... last pin hole almost lost, but enough there to position the wing when gluing. First wing being glued in place, made sure to leave excess on the wing when cutting and also did some steps for clamping, but the underside of the cut with the jigsaw got very close. Luckily it didn't go over Will cut the second wing tomorrow.

Thanks Bizman, very happy with how it looks.