FINISHED - Oh, Well - why not

Andyjr1515

ThePrettyDamned said:

Blimey, it look class already mate.

Definitely on looking like a 60 quid kit anymore! Where do you source your veneer?

Thanks. Generally get the veneers off eBay.

ThePrettyDamned

Awesome.  I'm planning on doing a kit belated like, so I'll follow your instructions if you don't mind

Andyjr1515

ThePrettyDamned said:

Awesome.  I'm planning on doing a kit belated like, so I'll follow your instructions if you don't mind

No problem at all...but like following the guy in front in thick fog, you will have to judge whether I actually know what I'm doing myself. )

dean2371

This is really good. I havent got round to ordering a kit yet, but I'm building a Tele which i would like to veneer. Really interested to watch this progress. Also links to the blogs you mentioned would be really useful

Andyjr1515

dean2371 said:

This is really good. I havent got round to ordering a kit yet, but I'm building a Tele which i would like to veneer. Really interested to watch this progress. Also links to the blogs you mentioned would be really useful

Thanks, @dean2371  - I'll post the links later today...I've got a quick post to do and then a GIG!  The way I play, I have to get the gigs in quick...there might not be many more behind it  )

Andyjr1515

OK - again, I'll do this with photos rather than detailed explanation.

Trust me - it is at this stage everyone who has never done this before goes 'Oh C**p!'  There is nothing unusual or overly concerning about the following shots.

I rushed the second sheet (Brazil and Columbia were just about to kick off) and didn't press the joint hard closed.  The veneer swells when  it gets damp, then shrinks when it is ironed.  If you are doing an unstained bookmatch, you want the joint to be invisible.  There are a few tips and tricks to do that which I won't go into here.  For what I am doing, this, although it looks horrendous, is fine....trust me...

...and so is the chip...

The next 'OMG look what's happened!' is this:

This is caused by the same issue - the veneer shrinks, causing the natural fissures in this VERY thin veneer - to crack.  Also, it moves in different weather conditions and you get micro-cracks all over the place.  Again, you can reduce some of this, but I'll go over, if they are as extreme as this, how you deal with them.

Next is sanding the edge to:

• Create a nice flowing join
• Get rid of ALL PVA at the joint line.  PVA will not stain and will look white when varnished - it has all got to go.

On the edge join it's easy - just sand along the joint, creating the progressive edge and sanding away the PVA at the join, like this:

You should end up with something like this:

Easy to check for PVA - just wipe it with a damp (not wet) cloth.  PVA shows through as a white patch

1/2 hour's work has given me this:

Next job will be to fill the cracks

Andy

TTony

I'm looking forward to seeing how you deal with the cracks.

Because the first (and last) time that I tried veneering, that's exactly what happened to me - and I didn't fix it!

Andyjr1515

Hi @TTony

The one at the end of the control chamber is as bad as I've ever had.  If this wasn't a 'this is how you do it' slant, I would probably strip this side off and pick a better piece of veneer (I could see the fissures before I started which is never a good sign).  I think the big one will show to a certain extent but who knows?  The others, though, are fairly typical.  The challenge, when you are staining, is that you can't use the 'normal' filling techniques (slurry of lacquer or oil and sandings from the veneer or PVA mixed with sandings).  But there is a marvelous filler that professional decorators use that I hope I can illustrate will do the trick wonderfully well  

Then again, it may turn out rubbish!   I'll try it over the next few days... 

ChrisMusic

Enjoying watching this come together, very interesting and educational.

Thanks for covering the build in detail.

I am looking forward to the blog posts too.

One thought on the veneer gap is to inlay something contrasting like PRS do on the Santana model, & turn a problem into a feature...   

Andyjr1515

OK.  The filler I use is called different things in different places.  'Timbermate' or 'Metolux'  - it is 'Premium Joiners Grade 1 Part Wood Filler'  More specifically, I use either 'Light Stainable' or, more often, 'Med/Dark Stainable':

It is a paste, when new, but is mixable with water - or stain / ink!!!! - and will, to a certain extent, stain once dry.  It dries rock hard but - if you add water again - is completely reusable.  This has two great advantages:

• If it goes hard in the tub, you can get it completely usable again by adding a bit of water.
• You can decide to use it as a paste - for big holes and cracks - or you can water it down to use as a 'wash' of, for example, you wanted to use it as a grain filler.  

It dries hard but is eminently sandable (but wear a mask - it produces a LOT of dust).  I don't think the DIY chains stock it, but any builders / joiners / painters merchant should (I got mine from the local Johnstons and Johnstons painters and decorator's branch)

So this is the kit I'm going to use:

When it is new, it is a paste but mine's been opened a year or so so is pretty hard.  I scraped some into a yogurt pot, added the ink and stirred into a thin paste, wet enough to soak into the smallest of the cracks.

I then overfilled each of the smaller cracks.  It touch dries in around 15 mins so you can see as you are going if it needs a little more.

For the larger cracks, I just added some more filler to the ink mixture to thicken it up a bit (it tends to thicken up as you are going but, again, if it starts getting too thick just add a little more water / ink / stain

In the end it looked like this.  I'll leave it overnight and then sand it down, after which there should be just stain-coloured fills for all of the small cracks.

 

Doesn't it look rubbish with all of thise crack lines, whether they are the same colour or not?

Well - no.  It just looks like what it is - which is wood.  The cracks are always in the 'right' places and so it looks completely natural....even if it is turquoise 

)

Andyjr1515

dean2371 said:

This is really good. I havent got round to ordering a kit yet, but I'm building a Tele which i would like to veneer. Really interested to watch this progress. Also links to the blogs you mentioned would be really useful

Hi, again @dean2371  

I did a 7-part blog on veneering on the Richard's Guitars forum www.guitars.co.uk.  I think it is an open forum for reading only...  The index is here, with the first on 'Veneering Step by Step - Part 1' being posted in January 2014.  The link should get you to the right area on the index page - just scroll down a bit and you should see all seven parts.

Let me know if the link doesn't work.

Andy

Andyjr1515

Don't you just love the light evenings?  Managed to get the headstock cut. 

 It will have the same veneer and staining as the body.  I'll probably leave the neck natural, using matt varnish sanded back down to the wood.

imalone

Nice. Still playing with ideas for mine, bit more restricted on a 3-aside.

dean2371

thanks for the links, really useful. I think I'll have a go on my Tele build.

Andyjr1515

I sanded off the filler and then have to decide whether to also sand down the filler stain (the ink in the filler soaks into the surrounding wood.  The reason its a choice is that it is a very even figuring on the veneer so I can make a feature of the grain (ie cracks!) or try to hide them.  This is the first application of the ink.  With varnish, it will, of course, deepen significantly.

Either way, I will be sanding the ink off the top and re-applying to enhance the figuring.  Close-to it looks like peacock feathers...if you've got a good imagination 

)

dean2371

that looks great. Definately going to have a go, but unfortunately not as part of this challenge

Andyjr1515

Next is to start the cutaways:

For the back and sides I am going to do a mint green overlaid with the turquoise to give a teal shade.  The first covering of ink shows the PVA I've missed when sanding:

Easily sorted - just sand down and re-ink!

The final article will be MUCH darker than this, but this is the back starting to come together:

The couple of light patches were some contamination as received.  I sanded it off but its clearly gone quite deep.  I'm not overly bothered so will leave them be.

This is the top, with the newly received Jag bass control plate.  The ink is still drying here:

The cutouts need sanding again now the grain has risen but you get the idea?

Thanks for looking!

nutbox

Very interesting Andy ,coming on well you using the ronseal hard glaze again?

Andyjr1515

Of course @nutbox. - what else

sinbaadi

Beautiful work and a great colour.