Guitar Build #1 - 3/4/2015

WRAP-UP AND LESSONS LEARNED

Welcome to the final post of Guitar Build #1. What a journey this has been for me! In the beginning I was inspired by my father to build a kit guitar and was hoping to learn more about the inner workings of an electric guitar than I've ever been motivated to learn about in my nearly 30 years of playing...not to mention saving tons of money by NOT buying a Gibson. I would have been perfectly happy with a well playing, great sounding Frankenguitar. In the end I strongly feel that I came away with so much more...

Not bad! Although I think I want a new pickup ring in the bridge position...

This guitar, while intended to look like an antique or relic, is truly beautiful. I definitely achieved the relic look with the exception of the nut and bridge/tailpiece. Both of those components look very new, but the features and functionality that they brought were necessary. I will say that after much curing on the surface, the finish has matted down a little more than I wanted. The finish is still beautiful but could use just a little more gloss...I guess she has that "aged 50 years" look right outta the box, so to speak. Lesson learned #1: apply more varnish than you think you need! Honestly, if I were to build another relic, I'd use the exact same supplies and processes (except pre-wash the rags more to avoid lint...FUCKING LINT MAN!). However, if I were to build another guitar I'd probably opt for a more modern nitrocellulose spray lacquer finish over the top of dewaxed spray shellac (this would bring out the grain more than just clear lacquer alone).

Pretty glossy...but still has an aged look to it!

 Speaking of lessons learned that are indirectly related to the finish....Lesson learned #2: drill the hole for the bridge ground BEFORE finishing the top. This would have saved me some damage to the finish, which on this build is being explained off as "character" or "age" haha. More finish-related lessons learned...Lesson learned #3: do a better job taping the binding and other surfaces that aren't supposed to receive a particular finish. There are a couple spots on the binding that have the mahogany color from the back that I was not able to scrape off with an Xacto knife. Once again..."character". Lesson Learned #4: buy a kit with binding all the way around the guitar, neck, AND headstock. This would have made the headstock much more appealing in the end as this build has a pretty rough looking finish on the headstock. More on the headstock, especially related to the next possible build being spray lacquered, Lesson learned #5: don't purchase the maple veneer on the headstock. This will ensure uniformity between the back of the headstock and the face.

The Switchcraft toggle switch is REALLY nice to use! So are the knobs...

Lesson learned #6: pore fill the mahogany back! This build I wanted a more antique look so I didn't pore fill, but if I were to opt for a more modern look I would certainly need to pore fill in order to ensure a glass-like finish. Finally, and possible most importantly in regards to the finish, Lesson learned #7: SAND THAT MOFO DOWN to 400 or 600 grit BEFORE finishing to ensure a very smooth surface AND to knock off any residual glue from the factory. This glue remnant left a few spots on the face of the guitar where the finish didn't fully take...which, in the end, looks like light spots on the finish...no bueno!

See the light spots in the red by the binding?? Glue residue...

Moving onward...filing down a teflon coated guitar nut is really not friendly to the lungs. Lesson learned #8: wear a protective mask (this also applies to finishing as well since the fumes aren't very nice either). Additionally, protective gloves are a good thing (I wore them for a while, but after I ran out I didn't buy them or wear them anymore...)! Now on to electronics...

The Gotoh 510 bridge/tailpiece set is really amazing!

Lesson learned #9: if you want boutique pickups, order them in advance of the project. They often take 4-to-6 weeks or longer from order date to arrival date. Due to this, I actually opted for Seymour Duncan Antiquities (even though I was originally going to get the Whole Lotta Humbuckers) which are surprisingly a hand-wound set of pickups! I must say that the tone of this guitar is absolutely amazing! Ballsy, fat, expressive, and just has that bell-like chime when you really dig into the strings...I've not heard a tone like this from a guitar in person, EVER. I've heard it on old albums, but never in person, not even from a real Gibson. I don't say this out of pride of building this thing, I say this out of nearly 30 years of playing and hearing TONS of guitars! You could say I'm happier than a pig wallowing in its own shit in regard to the tone of this guitar!

Looks like something straight outta 1959!

Lesson learned #10: my hands are not well suited to wiring, or maybe I just need practice. HIRE someone to wire the guitar. Had I listened to myself this time, I could have saved myself $65 (the original quote was $60 to wire, but was upped to $125 as all my wiring had to be ripped out and re-done) and one electrocution. 

And last but not least...Lesson learned #11: measure twice, work once. I measured for aligning the tuners as well as the input jack...all of which ended up crooked. But, alas there's that "character" thing I keep speaking of.

Not a performance demo, just seeing how my newly built axe sounds! Lots of buzz though...perhaps new tubes are in order...

Thanks for tuning in! I've had a lot of fun and do believe that I will do this again! I really, REALLY like the electronics and tone in this one, but I'm not sure the direction I'll take the next one. For sure it'll have the upgraded AAAA tiger maple cap (MORE GRAAAAIIIINNNSSS), and also have binding around the body, neck, AND headstock. Tune in!

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 2/26/2015

This is a post both on what not to do, and what I've had to do as a result...

The Internet is a great place for information. In fact, without the Internet this entire project would have never happened. However, the majority of my fowl-ups are also due to the Internet (my look of despair/shame below...).

Case in point, electrical grounding. Going into this project I read numerous articles about how, in addition to the ground circuit between all the electronics, the bridge needs to also be grounded. I read numerous articles on how active pickups need not be grounded to the bridge, but passive do. I read numerous articles on how covered pickups are shielded and therefore do not need grounding to the bridge. What the hell does all this grounding do anyways?

Well, grounding the electronics is always required, and I won't go into that. However, grounding the bridge, which is really grounding the strings that touch the bridge, is done to prevent the annoying buzzing that occurs when you lift your hands off of the strings. The Internet was both right and wrong on this one. Active pickups do not need grounding, check! Passive pickups need grounding, check! Covered pickups do not need grounding, WRONG! In this style of a guitar, unless you are installing active (battery powered) pickups, you must ALWAYS ground the bridge. This is done by drilling a hole (if one doesn't already exist) between the bridge stud hole and the control cavity. Then, you shove a wire into the hole and pound in your bridge stud creating a friction fit. The other end of the wire is soldered into the ground circuit and BANG, no more buzz.

So, here's what not to do...DON'T BUILD THE WHOLE GUITAR ONLY TO THEN REALIZE YOU HAVE TO GROUND THE BRIDGE!!

Here's what TO do...DRILL THE HOLE FOR THE BRIDGE GROUND LOOOOONG BEFORE YOU POUND IN THE BRIDGE STUDS!!

OK, so what did this mean for my project? Well, today I had to REMOVE a bridge stud...not for the faint of heart. Essentially I could try to use channel locks and some leverage to pull out the stud or I could create a lever of sorts. I found the exact thread for the inside of the bridge stud and bought a bolt that matches. I also bought a large washer and a short section of PVC tube. By putting it all together like the picture below, I was able to simply screw the bolt in thereby pulling the stud out like a lever...sort of...

In the end I did a little damage to the finish around the stud...I guess we can consider that part of the "character" of this intentionally antique-like guitar. Here's a pic after the stud was removed...

You can faintly see the little rings I created in the process (the large rings are light reflections)...ugh. Next up was to drill the hole to the control cavity. This would be the same whether done early in the project or now, so here's a pic. This takes a LONG drill bit...

Drilling at that angle is crazy-making. In the end, I BARELY made it into the bottom of the control cavity...WHEW!! So, I guess some of you might be wondering where the pickups went and such...well, I wired the guitar up over the weekend. Once I plugged it in to my amp, bad things happened haha. I'm pretty sure I had some current running through me, or something. So, I took the guitar into my local shop where I know the owner is a whiz at wiring Gibson (and other styles) style guitars. He re-wired the whole thing, then called me to request that I drill this stupid hole for the bridge ground. So, today I picked up the guitar, performed the aforementioned tasks, and finally returned it to the shop for final wiring (and as you may notice in that last pic, I finally picked up a case for the guitar!).

I should have this guitar back in my hands, and completely done no later than Monday. I'm hoping earlier. I will definitely be posting a video to demonstrate the sound of this beast and I will certainly be writing the final wrap-up and lessons learned.

Until then, cheers!
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 2/19/2015

Wow, it's been a big couple of days around here...and not necessarily good ones.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to have my good friend from work lend me his socket set (no commentary on why I don't currently have a socket set) so I could finish installing the tuners. This process involved sliding the tuners into the holes, then drilling holes for screws from the back of the headstock, screwing the screws in, and finally ratcheting the hex nut on the front side down. The screws were so f*%^ing tiny and a PITA to screw in I ended up trying to drill a little further in for each hole to make it easier. Suffice to say, my fingers got really sore and so my judgement was a little off...soooooo, a little hole accidentally got drilled through the face of the guitar from the back. Needless to say, I was angry to my core. On top of that, even after measuring twice, the tuners ended up a little crooked. Double anger.

After settling down (not by much), I did some research and even Gibson has some QC issues and often lets Les Pauls off the line with crooked tuners...just not holes drilled through the headstock :\
However, I felt a little better...even more so that the task was completed and I was moving on.

Today the remainder of my parts arrived, except I only ordered one volume/tone knob instead of four...which makes me kind of an idiot, but whatever. Since yesterdays issues were fresh in my mind I decided to tackle the next step which could result in the most damage to the guitar, the bridge and tailpiece. These pieces require hammering little posts into the guitar face. Obviously this could lead to hammering directly into the face of the guitar thereby making me want to set fire to the damn thing a la Jimi Hendrix. However, this did not happen.

I carefully hammered in the posts and installed the two pieces. I must admit, they are stunning. I am really glad a spent the extra $15 (<10% difference from stock Tune-O-Matic) on the Gotoh 510 set. Here's a pic!

This pic is a little unflattering of the finish, but that's OK. The lighting sucked...Also, the switch and switch plate were not actually installed. I was attempting to do that, but realized that I need to drill a relief into the wood to make it fit properly. Hopefully that will not be traumatic...so, we'll see you tomorrow for that! I'm hoping that I have this sucker done THIS WEEKEND! We shall see...

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 2/12/2015

Well, here she is! She looks like a complete (or somewhat complete) guitar! The glue has dried, so I removed the clamp and, after sweating whether or not this was going to be a bust, I picked her up. To my complete elation the joint was rock solid. *WINNING*

Next up, I broke out my measuring tape to make sure that the scale was on. This would certainly determine if the guitar would tune and retain good intonation. So, after measuring from the nut to the 12th fret, and then again from the bridge (of course pretending the nut and bridge were installed), I determined that the measurements were exactly equal and have thus deemed this a success! *MORE WINNING*

Here's a pic with the neck and body as one (it actually looks like a guitar now!)

Once again, the blue tinted photo lights make the grains and colors dance around, which from this angle makes is look like there is no red in the sunburst. Strange, but I like it!

I think I'll take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow I might install the tuners, but after that it's a brief Vegas trip and then waiting for more parts to arrive before I can move forward. You know what that means?!?!?

This.

Wifey made us some margaritas, so...

Cheers!
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 2/11/2015

Well, today was the day (or, one of THE days...)! Today was extremely short, but will define the success of this project. Sure, having an ugly finish would affect the overall outcome, but the guitar would still be playable and sound good. However, today was all about gluing in the neck...which, if not properly done could result in an absolutely unplayable guitar. Whether it becomes a really expensive paperweight, due to REALLY bad gluing, or a somewhat playable guitar that continually sounds like crap because the neck is *slightly* off resulting in horrible intonation, etc is completely up to the events of today. Unfortunately, even though I've already glued the neck in, I don't have data to report until I can remove the clamp and start taking measurements...ugh.

Here's the latest pic I took of the top (don't mind the awful blue lighting-it makes the colors on the guitar look WAY off, but still cool) followed by a rather unremarkable pic of the guitar with the clamp on the neck/body joint (don't mind the pads of paper, I felt they would be easier on the finish than the steel clamp).

Time to go and worry for 24-48 hours...maybe a libation (or so) will help...

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 2/9/2015

Just wanted to check in with a new pic for y'all today. The back and sides have been curing now for a few days (I think a few...), and I've still been applying more finish to the face of the headstock, but I wanted to get an idea of how this baby would look all put together. So, over the weekend I removed all the remaining painter's tape and slid the neck into the body...of course, since my hands were now full (and I was excited), I called my wife over with her phone to take a quick snap! So, here it is!

Sometime this week I'll actually glue in the neck and next week, after a brief weekender I'll be ordering and installing the hardware and electronics...ALMOST THERE!!

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 2/7/2015

Well, I think the finish is complete! I didn't apply nearly as many coats to the back and neck as I did to the top, but I also wanted a somewhat more natural look and feel to it. This means that the pores on the mahogany still feel like pores and are not perfectly smooth like glass. Here, take a look!

In both pics, especially the first, you can see the pores in the shimmer of the light. Personally, I think it looks awesome! I know that the finish will knock down a little bit as it cures, so it may not have quite as much sheen to it (that's OK in my book!). I will, however, be applying several more coats to the face of the headstock to get it more shine, but I can do that while the rest cures.

Probably around Wednesday or Thursday it'll be cured and I'll be gluing in the neck! At that point it will look like a guitar! So, I'll see y'all in a few days!

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 2/6/2015

Just an update...

Not much visible progress in the past few days. Clear coating the back and sides...just like I did with the top, and just like the top I had setbacks.

The day before yesterday I wiped on some oil finish and realized partway through that the rag I was using was very lint-y which left a boatload of lint all over the finish. This, as you can imagine, was extremely frustrating!

This meant that yesterday I had to wet sand with 800 grit to remove the lint, which does have the side benefit of smoothing out the finish. It also meant losing a day's progress. So, this morning I woke up and wiped on another coat before work.

Long story short, not much progress...but some! No pics though...I'm thinking only 1-3 more coats total because I want a somewhat natural looking finish on the back. Hopefully this means the guitar will be curing and the glued together by the end of next week! Then, it's all downhill....I hope...

Guitar Build #1 - 2/3/2015

Well, today was another short day here at DTR Guitars International (ha ha). The back of the neck was feeling a little rough, so I buffed it a bit with 0000 Steel Wool. I then wiped on the second coat of Tru-Oil to the back of the guitar, neck, and the headstock. The mahogany feels like it's only going to need a couple more coats to achieve the natural look I'm aiming for. Once finished, I'm leaning towards buffing the back of the neck to a satin finish. The headstock, however, feels like it's going to need several coats to shine up just like the top of the guitar...go figure, they're both maple!

Here's the back of the guitar after coat #2:

Notice the buildup and shine on the sides of the guitar. It looks really nice and deep so far. There is very little evidence of the drippage from the top anymore, but really, who cares? If someone is so focused on imperfections of a homemade guitar while I'm performing, I'm probably not playing well enough!

I'll be back tomorrow to buff the whole back and sides followed by another coat. Time for a beverage!

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 2/2/2015

I had some apprehension going into today. Since finishing the top up (actually since long before that), I had noticed some drippage down the sides of the guitar (Tru-Oil). Additionally, the binding on the sides of the guitar were fairly well caked with the oil. Let me just go on record as saying that as much as I dislike scraping binding with an Xacto knife for cleaning purposes, I REALLY despise doing it when the binding has oil-based finish all over it. Truly messy and nerve wracking...but it got done (I did slip and make a nice small scratch on the top...this guitar is CERTAINLY not perfect)! I took a few minutes to sand down the back and sides, paying particular attention to the sides due to the oil drippage, with 320 grit sandpaper. In the end, there was still some evidence of drippage in the color. My hope was that when I re-applied the wipe-on stain that this would blend end (more on that later).

Like a total scatterbrain I didn't take ANY pics of this...so here's another of the top and all it's shine!!

I then re-applied the wipe-on mahogany stain (check out the first post in this series) to the back and sides. This made the sides and back look really deep and mostly concealed the marks left by the oil drippage. Once again, my hope was that re-applying the oil finish would completely conceal what was left of the drippage (more on that later...once again). Take in mind that all this was done two days ago on Saturday several hours after I buffed and waxed the top. Once again, I didn't take a single pic...I'm very neglectful lately...

Now to today...Today I taped off the fretboard so as not to allow any oil finish onto the board. I didn't tape the ends of the frets because I'm not planning on building the back and sides to nearly the thickness or shine as the top...this means I could easily scrape away (even though not my favorite task) the clear from the fret sides if I needed to. I wiped on a single coat onto the back and sides as well as the headstock (I do plan on making the headstock shiny like the top of the guitar) and that was that. It seems as though the mahogany doesn't soak up nearly as much oil in the first coat. Tomorrow I may buff with some 0000 Steel Wool and wipe on another coat. I may not buff...we'll see. I figure a single coat a day for three to four days should be enough to protect the wood, highlight the pores (it'll make the guitar feel more "real" to me at least), and provide a little sheen. The back of the neck I'm seriously considering buffing to a satin finish. Decisions, decisions...

Here's a pic of the back AFTER the first coat of oil:

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 1/31/2015

Short post today...

Did a quick buff with fine-cut compound followed by swirl remover (using Meguiar's products and buffing pads with a drill attachment), and then waxed the top with Johnson's Paste Wax (used on bowling alley floors world-wide). It's ever so slightly smoother and shinier than before, which I *LIKE*. I may go back and buff/polish/wax another time tomorrow, but so far this is great!

Here's a few pics in different lighting and from different angles. Enjoy!

Time for some family time!

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 1/27/2015

Ok, the top is as finished as I am going to get it!

Since the last wet sanding (1500 grit), I've applied probably 4-5 wipe-on coats, and just now I wet sanded with 2000 grit sandpaper. The top is quite smooth, though definitely not as glassy as a lacquered factory-made guitar. At this point, it's time for a break as I let the finish cure over the course of 5-7 days. Once cured I'll trying buffing, polishing, and waxing the top with fine-cut rubbing compound, swirl remover, and paste wax. Then it will be time to start all over again with the back and sides of the guitar.

So, short post...and I'll see y'all in about a week!

Here's some guitar porn for ya (I'll probably update this post with another picture or two under different lighting...as I've said before, the finish dances with light and perspective so multiple pictures will be nice)! I'm off for some well-deserved tequila :)

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 1/26/2015

More of the same...

To this point, I've wiped on too many coats of finish to count. In between, I've wet sanded with 800, 1000, and 1500 grit sandpaper. Since the 1500, I've wiped on four more coats of finish, and after I get home from work I am going to wipe on two or three more. My idea here is that I'd like as many coats as possible before doing a final wet sand with 2000 grit sandpaper (I accidentally sanded a little too deep in one spot with the 1500...oops!). Hopefully, I won't need to apply any more coats after that final wet sanding. Here's some pics taken after sanding with 1500 grit paper:

I'm loving how both the grain and the burst colors dance around in different lighting conditions! I've never seen a lacquered sunburst do that before! You can see that the finish is really building now and is quite shiny. In the end, I don't believe this guitar will have that super glassy lacquered look we are all accustomed to from factory-made guitars. It will resemble a guitar that was made 100 years ago (but new, not 100 years old). I really like it, and it is totally unique as compared to a factory-made guitar.

Tomorrow I'll post one more blog with a final picture of the top before taking some days off to allow the finish to cure. Once cured, I'll be moving on to the back and sides of the guitar.

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 1/25/2015

Yesterday was a busy day. We spent half of the day out and about, but I did manage to get some more clear coats applied and learned a valuable lesson in the process. Considering that it's difficult for a camera to accurately portray the progress during this process, I only have the following picture which was taken after this morning's coat (which I'll delve into downstream a bit):

Yesterday I began the day with the realization that the entire first day was spent so that the open end grain on the top of the guitar could soak up every last drop of finish. Not quite the way I thought it would work, but it is still working out in the end so no big deal. I first buffed the finish with 0000 steel wool (as recommended by many-a-YouTuber). This left a ton of debris on the finish that I couldn't remove with a tack cloth. I plowed forward with another coat of finish anyways and then we left for half the day.

Upon my return home my heart sank as it seemed that I would not be able to remove the debris from the finish, which now included lint from the wiping rags I was using. I promptly threw the remainder of the rags in for a wash/dry cycle to try and remove some lint and also grabbed an old white t-shirt for use as lint-free rags.

I decided to employ another technique I learned on YouTube: wet sanding with Tru-Oil. I took some 800 grit sandpaper and a boatload of the oil and began *VERY* lightly sanding the top. I did this until the oil on top became extremely sticky. I then took one of my new lint-free rags and cleaned up the top. To my surprise I achieved two things: all debris was removed from the finish AND the finish was significantly smoother than before. This went a REALLY long way in my eyes towards a nice, glassy look. I later wiped on two more thin coats of finish.

This morning I went back to work with the wet sanding with Tru-Oil, this time with 1000 grit sandpaper. Same process as yesterday, and once done I took the picture above. It's even more glassy looking, and still debris-free! You can now see the sheen in the photos, but it really isn't representative of what I see in person. I will wipe on two more coats of finish today and move on to 1500 grit wet sanding tomorrow (plus two more wipe on coats) and 2000 grit the following day. On that day I'm not sure whether or not I'll add additional coats, so we will see!

After the top is done, I'm going to let it cure for probably a week before going back to start over on the back and sides of the guitar.

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 1/23/2015

Setbacks, setbacks...

I fucking hate setbacks, but, they are apt to happen when attempting something for the first time. So, here I am at my first (and hopefully last) set back of this project.

After drying overnight, the guitar top had lightened quite a bit in color. See here:

I knew that once I began applying the oil-based finish that the colors would pop again, so I didn't worry much about that. So, I began with the first coat of Tru-Oil. All went well here, see below:

The colors look "wet" again, which really enhances the contrast between them and makes the flamed maple grain dance. Truly pictures don't do it justice. As your eye's perspective changes in relation to the guitar, the grains move around like looking at velvet. It's truly a sight to behold! The finish hasn't built up to the point of gloss yet, but given three coats per day for a few days, it will. Patience, grasshopper!

I had wanted to post pictures after every coat of finish, but alas the sun didn't cooperate. At any rate, at the time of writing this I'm just about to begin my third and final coat of finish for the night. I just went outside to take a quick peek at how the finish is building and noticed a small...maybe not so small...problem. The finish has dripped down the sides in three spots. So, I first grabbed my 0000 steel wool and tried to buff it out. No-go. Then I tried 800 grit sand paper. No-go. Then 320 grit. This mostly removed it, at least to the point that if I sanded back the entire back and sides of the body I could re-apply the mahogany stain I already applied back on the 19th. So...setback it is, although, I'm optimistic.This gives me a chance to scrape the bindings clean once again, and also to deepen the mahogany color on the back and sides. All in all, this sets me back one day. Lesson learned: heed the advice of YouTubers and USE LESS FUCKING FINISH PER COAT!!!!

Anyways, no need for a beverage now...I've already imbibed! I'm off for the last coat of the night and I'll report back tomorrow with before/after photos of the build-up of the finish!

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 1/22/2015

Busy day here today!

First, I needed to sand back the black dye I applied last night. This levels out the raised grains as well as removes the dye from them, yet leaves the non-raised grains with dye. The end result is an enhancement of the flame maple pattern so that it will be noticeable through the color coats. To do this I used an orbital sander with 320 grit paper. Using such a high-powered device was a little nerve-wracking (I did some sanding by hand as well), but in the end the guitar top looked like this:

Next up, COLOR!! My idea for a unique finish was to blend traditional Les Paul attributes with non-traditional. Typically Gibson does sunbursts in either Cherry Red or Tobacco Brown with Vintage Amber as the center burst color. I, with the help of my amazing wife, chose a different edge color: Red Mahogany. My hope was that it would be somewhere between Cherry Red and Tobacco Brown.

First up, I coated the whole top in Amber. The reason for this is that once the darker, edge color is applied there will be some bleed through of the Amber in the flame patterns of the wood. This is what is looked like after the Amber coat:

After drying, I applied the outer color (with a different rag). Then, using the rag I used for the Amber, I applied more Amber to the center and began blending (feathering) into the outer color a bit. After that, I used the rag I used for the Red Mahogany to continue to feather the area in between colors to blend them together. Since these are all water-based dyes, essentially I am playing with water colors. This means that to achieve a gradual blend of the two distinct colors I have to blend the colors together by pushing them around, so to speak. Anyways, this is how it looked after blending colors:

After drying some more, an additional outer coating of Red Mahogany (this time with a little more dye in solution) was applied to really accentuate the burst, and more Amber in the center then feathered. Here's the final results:

Now, for the headstock I had a different idea. I wanted a logo, but wasn't sure if paint or nail polish or other acrylic would be compatible with the Tru-Oil clear coat...SO, I fashioned a logo out of tape (my initals....go figure). After applying it to the headstock, I began dyeing the headstock in Red Mahogany. This is how the headstock looks so far (the tape hasn't been removed yet!):

That was a day! Tune in tomorrow for the beginnings of clear coating this beast! I'm super excited to see how this all turns out (as if I wasn't already)! But, one step at a time...

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 1/21/2015

It's a short day here today. I decided it would be best to take steps towards color coating the top of the guitar, so, today involved removing the old tape around the body and headstock and applying new tape to protect the sides from the dye I will be applying to the top.

This is how I taped it up:

You can sort of see the flame maple grain in this shot. In person it is much more subtle. So, the next step was to apply dark black dye to the top. This will "pop the grain", which makes the flame maple grain stand out much, much more.

Here's what it looks like with the dye applied:

Oooooohhhhhhhhhh.....GRAAAAIIINNNSSSS...OK, sorry, bad zombie reference. You can, however, see the flame maple grain much better now. That's that for today...seriously, SHORT day! The guitar top will dry until tomorrow. At that point I will sand back the black dye thereby knocking down the grain that was raised (due to the dye being water-based) and leaving the dye only in the flame maple grains. After that, color coats will be applied and *hopefully* the flame maple grain will still stand out through the color.

Time for a beverage!

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 1/20/2015

So, after allowing the guitar to dry I noticed a few spots that I missed with the wipe-on stain. Additionally, because the stain is water-based I noticed that it raised the grain fairly significantly. Since this could pose problems down the road for clear-coating, today will now be about sanding back the raised grain and applying a second coat of the stain. I decided that I didn't want to sand back too much so I am sanding with 800 grit sandpaper. Once done, I'll call today a wrap and move on to clear coating the back tomorrow (or dyeing the top...still undecided).

Here's the back after sanding:

...and here's the back after applying the second coat of stain:

It's time for a drink! See you all tomorrow!

Cheers,
Dean

Guitar Build #1 - 1/19/2015

Welcome to Dean's Guitar World. Here I will post about guitar music, guitar playing, and my guitar projects. I have been a guitar player since 1988, although I did take some time off over the past several years. I will post more in detail about that in a future post, but today we get to start off with my very first guitar build!

I am by no means a luthier. My father recently built a guitar (also not a luthier) for me from a kit he purchased online. This began my curiosity on the process so I began researching online. That was over a year ago. Lately I've been soaking up info through the Internet, and YouTube in particular, and have felt ready to move forward.

Over the holiday season 2014 I ordered my kit,  a '59 carved top electric (Les Paul style--see below), from Precision Guitar Kits (https://buy.precisionguitarkits.com/) and upon receipt have been so impressed with their work. I definitely recommend their kits.

For this guitar, I am going to apply water-based dyes and stains for color and apply a polymerized oil-based varnish (Tru-Oil) as the clear coat. This is due to the low cost of all the supplies as well as the qualities that they impart. Most guitars you purchase in a store are sprayed with either nitrocellulose lacquer or polyurethane, then UV cured for a short period of time before being buffed and polished to a perfect shine. I will be wiping on the stains/clear coats over the course of many days and then allowing that to cure open-air for several more days. This is a much slower process, but the Tru-Oil will impart more chatoyance to the wood grain than spray lacquer or poly. I *like* this!

This guitar will also have the highest quality components possible, ranging from a Gotoh 510 bridge/tailpiece to Seymour Duncan pickups and a GraphTec TUSQ XL nut, and all for a fraction of the cost of a real Gibson Les Paul. Additionally, the finish on this guitar will be totally unique as compared to commercial offerings.

As I stated previously, I am not an expert! This is my first time! If you want expertise, check out the YouTube channels for O'Brien Guitars, Big D Guitars, Brad Angove, Will Kelly, or even Precision Guitar Kit's channel. I also got information and ideas from Geezer Guitars and Fred Yen.

With all that out of the way, let's get started. The guitar is sanded to 320 grit all the way around, and I've taped the bindings and cavities so that I can start applying stain. I taped the cavities not necessarily for today's activities, but for when I finish the top of the guitar. I will be using, as I said, water-based dyes and oil-based varnish on the top and do not want it to drip down into the cavities purely for aesthetic reasons.

As you can see, I didn't fully tape the cavities and such. Why, you ask? Because I'm not spraying...ANYTHING. This gives me more control and thus, less need for completely taping things off.

I will begin by applying MinWax Express Color (Mahogany) water-based stain to the back of the guitar and neck. The directions on this product are pretty simple, which is most of the reason why I chose it! Apply a little stain, then wipe across the guitar with a soft rag and repeat until the guitar is coated. Here's what it looks like before:

And after...

So, that wraps the first day of this project. Tomorrow the dyes for the top are scheduled to arrive via Fed Ex (I shop at Stewart MacDonald). I haven't decided whether to dye the top or begin clear coating the back yet. Tomorrow is a new adventure!

Cheers,
Dean