Finished Pics! Dreadnought Acoustic Build - Black Limba

Rocker

The installation of the guitar electrics is something else.  Well done.

Andyjr1515

Rocker said:

The installation of the guitar electrics is something else.  Well done.

Thanks!  A lot easier with the back still off, though

paulnb57

Superb Andy (as usual!!)

Andyjr1515

paulnb57 said:

Superb Andy (as usual!!)

Thanks, Paul

Paul7926

Just looked through the whole thread.  That is a thing of beauty.  Very impressive.

kaypeejay

Beautiful choice of woods and it is looking stunning so far. Really enjoying the thread, especially with the little details in your commentary.

Andyjr1515

Paul7926 said:

Just looked through the whole thread.  That is a thing of beauty.  Very impressive.

Thanks, Paul.  Much appreciated

Andyjr1515

kaypeejay said:

Beautiful choice of woods and it is looking stunning so far. Really enjoying the thread, especially with the little details in your commentary.

Thanks @kaypeejay ;

Sarge

Fascinating stuff, really enjoy your build threads and this is no different, your skill and approach to building is awe inspiring so thanks for the entertainment!
Gorgeous guitar porn! 

Andyjr1515

Sarge said:

Fascinating stuff, really enjoy your build threads and this is no different, your skill and approach to building is awe inspiring so thanks for the entertainment!
Gorgeous guitar porn! 

You are very kind, @Sarge       Of course, it may well turn out to sound like a bit of string stretched over a baked bean can...  

Paul7926

Andyjr1515       Of course, it may well turn out to sound like a bit of string stretched over a baked bean can...  

It wont but even if it did it's nice enough to be an ornament and a damn nice one at that.

TTony

Andyjr1515 said:

Sarge said:

Fascinating stuff, really enjoy your build threads and this is no different, your skill and approach to building is awe inspiring so thanks for the entertainment!
Gorgeous guitar porn! 

You are very kind, @Sarge       Of course, it may well turn out to sound like a bit of string stretched over a baked bean can...  

That's just the sound I've been looking for.

Don't trash it when the customer rejects it.  I'll even contribute towards the postage.

Andyjr1515

TTony said:

Andyjr1515 said:

Sarge said:

Fascinating stuff, really enjoy your build threads and this is no different, your skill and approach to building is awe inspiring so thanks for the entertainment!
Gorgeous guitar porn! 

You are very kind, @Sarge       Of course, it may well turn out to sound like a bit of string stretched over a baked bean can...  

That's just the sound I've been looking for.

Don't trash it when the customer rejects it.  I'll even contribute towards the postage.

Andyjr1515

And so to the finishing.

Those of you who have followed previous threads will know that, after trying allsorts, I prefer good old-fashioned Ronseal Hardglaze polyurethane varnish for my gloss finishes.  

I say old-fashioned - it actually is a new formulation to reduce some of the volatiles and that has given me some issues.  Suffice to say that I don't find the new formulation conducive to wipe-on application.  It really doesn't like the % of thinners I would normally add for doing it that way.

The way that seems to work best for me is max 10% white spirit and then a cheapo artists fan brush from Hobbycraft: 

 

I don't grain fill as such and I don't use conventional sanding sealers.  If you remember, I use a tru-oil slurry and buff approach to serve both of those purposes.  As always, I'm not saying that's what should be used, just that it consistently works best for me.

Of course, it does need to be fully dry (a week minimum) before the final sand and then the first light coat of the slightly-thinned varnish.  This is after the first coat:

 

  

I'll see how it goes, but I should be able to do a coat a day - morning for the back and sides and evening for the top - with a few two-day drying and scotchbrite sanding sessions in between.  The second coat of the back of sides has been done first thing and is in the cellar drying as I type 

Andyjr1515

3 coats done on the back and sides and 2 so far on the top: 

So far it's behaving itself.  With finishing, though, I always think it starts great, then goes horrid and then pulls back to OK.  So I've still got the horrid bit to come 

The back is definitely getting more Mordor!

 

 

The bookmatched bear-claws on the top really stand out now.  I once saw a beautiful Guild covered in them!  The other thing I like to see are the grain ripples (chatoyance?).  It's a good bit of spruce - David Dyke done us proud again  

 

3rd coat on the top will go on this evening.

While this is drying, I have chance to start finishing off the jobs left on the neck.  I have made the headstock a touch bigger than my last build, knowing that I wouldn't be able to keep completely straight string runs but, doing the mandatory full-size drawing to work out where to drill the tuner holes, have decided I need to slim the treble side just a touch to balance the visuals of the two sides of tuners:

 

It's only the middle two strings that will have a slight angle, so not too bad.

I used the template to drill the holes and to check whether I need to take the couple of mm off the bottom...but yes - I do.  They operate fine but I think they will look better filed down to the sharpie line:

 

 

I'll do that tomorrow and that means that I can start the final finishing on the neck too  

I reckon this will be playing tunes within 2-3 weeks, depending on how quickly the varnish fully dries.

DartmoorHedgehog

That really is a work of art @Andyjr1515 - if it sounds as good as it looks (I'm sure it will) then you're onto a winner.

Andyjr1515

DartmoorHedgehog said:

That really is a work of art @Andyjr1515 - if it sounds as good as it looks (I'm sure it will) then you're onto a winner.

Thanks for your kind words

It should be OK but, from my or Matt's point of view, we will both be happy either way.  That's because the deal is: if this sounds as good as the one he has borrowed for the videos (and has been very complimentary about), then this one is his; if it's not, then I tweak the neck of the one he's been using (to his preferred profile) and he keeps that one and I have this one

 

Jalapeno

Beautiful job ! Love it !

Andyjr1515

Jalapeno said:

Beautiful job ! Love it !

Thanks

Andyjr1515

With my method of finishing, the principle is "wherever you think you are in the process, nevertheless if it looks OK then STOP" 

The reason is that 'just one last coat' almost always goes wrong and then you have to sand down a couple of layers and build back up to where you had been a few days earlier.  Am I right, fellow builders??

So for the back, I have stopped   :

 

It's got there a couple of coats earlier than I expected, but trust me, it can only go downhill from here so I'm stopping.

The top, on the other hand, is NOT yet there.  It has had one less coat than the back and so might be OK at the next coat...or it might take a few:

 

 

The sides are actually OK but, at this stage I do Back & Sides  and then Top & Sides to ensure there is no varnish edge round the periphery.  So as I have to do at least one more coat on the top, the sides will have to be done more also.  But that doesn't worry me - the sides are a lot less fussy to varnish than tops or backs and so the chances of it all going to pot are lower.  This is how the sides are looking at the moment: