# Guitar build #2 in progress....



## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

My oldest son recently asked if I'd build him a solid body electric guitar.... my 2nd guitar project. We agreed on a unique slightly goth shape, green curly maple front, and a black back made from ash. A purchased unfinished Les Paul style neck is on order, which will likely be painted black. The head stock will be shaped to compliment the body...maybe some color compliments too. It'll be trimmed with gold and black hardware. The pickups will be a GFS Fatbody single neck, Wilkinson single mid, and a double humbucker from an OLP John Petrucci Signature guitar. We're still deciding on a wiring scheme, but it'll likely be a simple 5-way switch, tone, and volume pots. 

So far I've traced out a template shape that I'd acually build for him (first few way more radical), cut the front and back blanks from the template, and have shaped the front using a combination of router bits and hand chisels. Lots of sanding too! I've also cut a chamber for the electronics in the back, and have fashioned a cover. The back will likely be painted black, but since the first step in popping the grain on the maple was to stain it black, I stained the back at the same time...no harm done, and if the paint ever chips, it'll reveal black stained ash. The next step was to sand off the black stain, leaving just the darkened grain on the maple. Kelly green was then added to stain the front. I was ready to give the Transtint dyes from Woodcraft a shot, but rather than make the 28 mile round trip and spend $18 per 2 oz bottle, I decided to experiment with the RIT fabric dyes from local stores...$3 each, and so far the results have been really good. 

The template: 









The roughed out body routed using a pattern bit on the template:









The front side of the back piece with the chamber for switches hogged out:









The back stained black, with chamber cover (back will get black lacquer):









The maple front after receiving black stain, then sanded:









The maple front stained green:























Here are some files pics of the neck. It'll get black lacquer and a shape to compliment the body:

















More to come!


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

Very cool design!

Maple looks awesome! :thumbsup:


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Looking great man. I love your dye job. Can't wait to see the finished product. I'll be watching this thread for sure.
Ken


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

I love that dye job, I've never done that before is it a hard process or about the same as staining?


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

rrbrown said:


> I love that dye job, I've never done that before is it a hard process or about the same as staining?


The dye job was pretty simple. It takes a couple of extra minutes to mix up the dye with hot water, then I applied it with a foam brush and wiped up the puddles. I'd definitely like to do more with it.


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## Ella Menneau P. (Jun 7, 2009)

Gorgeous! I can't wait to see the finished piece!


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## kenmtb (Jul 15, 2010)

I am in awe! Can you post a youtube video so we can see and hear.
The color is beautiful. Green is one of my favorite colors.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

*Updates as of 8/17/10*

Here's where things stand as of noon today. All the parts and hardware are in. 

Here's the top with the natural maple revealed on the sides. There's one coat of spar varnish to protect the stained surface, plus help prevent fading. 









The back now has black paint. While rounding over the edges, we liked the look of the natural ash revealed as well, so we've decided to keep it....got some sanding ahead. 









Here's the top and back together next to the unfinished Eden neck. The maple and ash should take on a more golden color as we clear coat it. The neck will get black paint.









Since all the parts are here, we couldn't resist a sneak preview of how it'll look. The unfinished neck is just sitting there, as are the pickup covers and knobs. These pics give the illusion that we're much further along than we are, but we're encouraged by the look so far.






























Still to come...some sanding of the back, many more clear coats (lacquer), cut outs for the pickups and input jack, more clear coats, fine sanding, shaping the neck, painting the neck, more clear coats, very fine sanding, drilling holes for the tuning pegs, final clear coat, wiring everything, setting the neck, polishing, stringing it, and sound check! (I probably forgot something too...) :laughing:


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Holy Crap!!! That's looking amazing. I love stuff like this that you see unfold before your eyes. Thanks for posting this one. I'm looking forward to the final product.
Ken


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

*Updates for 8-18-10*

Some cosmetic changes took place last night...the two-toned back revealing the natural ash is out, and the back is black again, as planned. It was just too sloppy and detracted. 

Here's the painted back, and the top with a couple of clear coats sitting on the back:























Today I added a curly maple veneer to the front side of the neck headstock to match the front of the guitar. 

Here's the neck with the veneer in place:









After receiving black dye:









After sanding the black away, the green dye goes on:









Back to work tomorrow to find out if I'm still employed...


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Man that's turning out great. It looks stunning. 



>


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## Melinda_dd (Aug 5, 2010)

I love it, it looks like a reptile! it's great


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

*Update for 8/20/10*

Here’s yesterday’s update:


Adding the shop-made curly maple veneer to the front of the headstock was a little tricky because it’s attached to an existing neck. My plan to rout down the face to accommodate the thickness of the veneer didn’t pan out as planned because the radius on the fretboard made it rock. Instead, I ended up using the flat edge and back of the “paddle blank” as a reference and sliced the cutout on the band saw. Once the veneer was in place and glued, I cut the shape with the BS as much as I could, then sanded to final shape with my OSS. The headstock is now shaping up fairly nicely. The back of the neck will get black paint, then I’ll reveal the natural curly maple edge on the headstock like the front of the body. Next I’ll drill the holes for tuners, give it more clear coats, and some fine sanding, etc.


















I’m at what I consider the high risk stage…after hours of planning, cutting, shaping, staining, and sanding, I’m now cutting holes in the front of the guitar. It’s easy to inflict a few battle scars, and it generally just stresses me out a little.


























The guitar is coming along pretty nicely and faster than I planned, but I’ve been going at it pretty hard the last couple of days. The shop’s a mess, I’m tired, stressed, and need to back away for a while before I really goof something up! (it definitely happens and the writing’s on the wall right in front of me!) Time to mow the lawn, take a nap, tidy up and the shop, and hit the shower. Better to rejuvenate and come back to this later…after all…this is for fun, right?


Evening update: Well, I couldn’t stay away forever…tonight I painted the back of the neck, and the cover for the electronics cavity. That’s definitely it for tonight, but I'm starting to see some daylight at the end of the tunnel!


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

It's looking great. But you don't sound happy with how the machine head is coming out. I guess they're book matched and you were aiming for that effect. With the shape of the head, where the centerline of the match ends up, it does draw from the shape IMHO. Did you consider orienting the match this way? 










I think I would've laid it that way, or else just use a single piece of veneer. Or else, keep it just like it is! Either way this thing is eye candy and no one will ever notice it once the strings are on and that thing is glaring in the lights.





.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

Hi TT - Yep...good eye. The headstock is just the most recent of the type of oversights that happen to newb builders like me! The head started out as a blank rectangle, and I got the idea to add a curly maple veneer to the front of it to match the guitar body. So I made a book matched veneer piece the same size as the original rectangle....the problem is, since this was really Strat style headstock, and not a Les Paul style afterall, the angle all heads one direction and ends up asymmetrical so my book matched proportions went out the window. Doh! :blink: Sooo....that's pretty much the way it's going to be cuz I'm not redoing it!:no: 

We start with great expectations, then slowly work our way back to reality! :laughing:


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

*Update for 8/21/10*

*Update for 8/21/10:
*
The pressure's on! (on both of us!) I glued and clamped the front to the back today....definitely a critical step. I used the guitar templates to help even the clampling load, and used a piece of scrap plywood to put pressure in the middle....19 clamps in all. 


















Gotta work the next couple of nights, so won't be making much progress for a few days.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

knotscott, I wish I could see all the pictures! I guess I'll have to look at them later, when I'm not supposed to be working. Guitar builds are great, aren't they?


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## AlexDeer (Aug 27, 2010)

It amazes me how people can turn simple wood into an instrument of love. I recall watching a violin maker assemble a piece once, and it won my wife over so much that she made me buy one.


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## txpaulie (Jul 21, 2010)

Nice work!:thumbsup:
I envy your skills.
Keep the pics coming!

p



> ...and it won my wife over so much that she made me buy one.


Cool, I've always wanted to own a violin maker!:laughing:


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

Thanks for the comments everyone. 

It's been a couple of days since I made an update. Partially because of my work schedule, and partially because I've had to redo some steps. I pondered leaving the problem portions out of this post, but for those who are following this thread hoping to learn something, I'm going to mention it. 

*The problem....* when I removed those 19 clamps, some of the clear coat lifted from the front of the body....the finish obviously wasn't dry enough. I spent time researching possible repairs....super glue was one suggestion, but ultimately ended up sanding the clear coat and green dye back down to wood, then redid the clear coats on both front and back. The sanding and redying only took 60-90 minutes...the real time loss was reapplying the 6-8 coats of lacquer with 20-30 minutes between coats....loss of close to a full day's progress. My work schedule will keep from proceeding for close to 24 hours, and there's no more clamping require at this point, so with any luck, the new clear coats will dry nicely without incident







. I won't be rubbing out the finish for a couple of weeks anyway. 

Inexperience with lacquer and impatience with drying times are undoubtedly the main culprits that led to this problem







, but I suspect that some of the issue may be with the original Rustoleum "Special Lacquer" spray, or at least my habits with it. I didn't think too much about it until I tried the Minwax and Deft spray on lacquers, which behave and smell much differently than the Rustoleum. The Rustoleum smells and dries more like poly....never having used spray on lacquer before, I assumed it was normal. The Minwax and Deft smell strongly of acetone, and dry much more rapidly....dry to touch in a few minutes. I can't say that one is better than the other, but for my application and my habits, the Deft has left the smoothest coat, goes farther per can the Minwax, and was the cheapest of all 3. The new clear coat has much less of the "orange peel" effect than the Rustoleum left. Though it'll still benefit from some rub out, this little debacle may turn out to be a blessing in disquise. 

Here's the "*after*" pics of the "redo" on the front:


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Problems or not, this is still an awesome thread. Looking great and I'm glad that you're sharing it with us. Thanks for the update. :thumbsup:
Ken


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

*Update for 8-29-10*

Here's the latest:

The "final" clear coat has been applied (a couple of times! :laughing: ...hopefully this is the last). The neck is drilled and the tuners are mounted. The pickups are mounted to their trim rings, and the final electronics scheme is worked out. From here it's a matter of waiting for the lacquer to cure and deciding how much rubbing out I want to do...the results from the spray can are glossy and smooth in most places, but there's some orange peel and overspray spots in a few areas. Once that's done we bolt the neck up, wire the pups and pots together, mount the chamber cover, string it, and find the ear plugs! :laughing: 

I did run into a slight problem on the back where the neck and body meet. When I rounded over the back of the body, I should have stopped at the base of the neck....the neck is now narrower than the neck plate. A smaller two-piece neck plate is on order and will hopefully fit. It's one of the many small things amateurs like me are likely to run into, and fortunately, there are several decent alternatives. 

Here's the front of the body with the most recent "final coat":









...And the back with its most recent "final coat":









Here's a look at the original style neck plate that will no longer fit, and the two-piece replacement:
















Here's the finished neck and the pups in their trim rings:









And the back of the neck:









For those who are interested, here's the wiring scheme we'll be using:








A couple of 12 hour night shifts and some family obligations will likely keep me from until mid week, but I'm hoping to be done by the end of next weekend. More to come!


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Way cool. Hopefully you can post a video of it in action once done. It's a beauty. 




.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

*Update for 9-1-10*

Well, it's finally starting to look like a guitar. I spent today mounting the neck and the pickups. It appears that I still need to develop some sort of "string-thru" system for this type of bridge system...a realization I wished I'd had prior to adding a finish, but we'll figure something.







There's always risk with anything that penetrates the finish at this stage, but it is the back, and I'm not sure there's a viable way around it....if we don't go thru the back, he'll need to remove the bridge everytime he restrings it. Suggestions welcome!


























Still to go - wiring of the pups and switches, mount the 5-way switch & pots, put some screws in the cover, and string it....then we'll see if it sings! This will hopefully be the last of the progress report style posts on this. Once finished, I'll make a new post for a completed project. :thumbsup:


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## FiveOneSix (Sep 26, 2009)

*soooooo...*

what bits did you use to shape the top? i'm building an SG and i need to know how to do that. please give me the knowledge!!!


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

FiveOneSix said:


> what bits did you use to shape the top? i'm building an SG and i need to know how to do that. please give me the knowledge!!!


Hi Jason - I used a panel raising bit with a bearing that had an angled edge. The top and bottom were carefully freehanded using just the bit, with the bearing not hitting the edge. Then I sanded down the hard edges. Good luck...please post pics! :thumbsup:

It was something like this one but I didn't go as deep as what's shown:


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## burkhome (Sep 5, 2010)

Watching your progress with baited breath...Been planning a similar build for years...Hoping this is the year...What glue did you use to laminate the front to the back?...Gorgeous guitar, by the way.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

burkhome said:


> Watching your progress with baited breath...Been planning a similar build for years...Hoping this is the year...What glue did you use to laminate the front to the back?...Gorgeous guitar, by the way.


Definitely go for it....both guitar projects I've done have been extremely rewarding. :thumbsup:

The glue is just common yellow wood glue...Elmer's or Titebond.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

I feel like there was no closure with this project. Where's the finished pix and how's it sound and all that? I've been toying with the idea of building a tele or a strat and all these guitar threads make me want to jump in. :yes:


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

We can definitely fix that! Here's the link to the post of the completed project. You can also see pics by clicking on "My Photos" under my username. 

It sounds pretty darn nice IMO but I'm biased for sure! :laughing: ...all 3 pickups are upgrades from the stock China-Strat types, and have some unique tones. 

Let's see if these links still work. "Maestro" is a green horn, but he recorded these through his computer shortly after I finished the guitar. Each clip contains 5 riffs, each starting with the position 1 and progressing thru to position 5 (neck, neck/mid, mid, mid/bridge, bridge). The 1st clip is "clean", the 2nd clip has the distortion gain set to 10 on a Marshall amp. 


Clean sound

Dirty sound


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

outstanding! thanks for sharing, it's very inspiring.


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## cuneiform (Mar 8, 2011)

really amazing! ****ing beautiful! i have to thank you because i didn't think i could build a guitar, but right here you gave the step-by-step. thanks so much!!!


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