FINISHED - Oh, Well - why not

monquixote

Superb work!

Ducking into swan complete!

ThePrettyDamned

Ronseal hard glaze is magic?!

Andyjr1515

ThePrettyDamned said:

Ronseal hard glaze is magic?!

Does just what it says on the tin   )

monofin

Simply stunning!!

RedRabbit

Great work.  You've definitely turned it into something different.

To be honest I wasn't sure about the additional contouring at the start but they really work with the final design.

Andyjr1515

RedRabbit said:

To be honest I wasn't sure about the additional contouring at the start but they really work with the final design.

None of us were, @RedRabbit   )

sinbaadi

Said it before but it's a fantastic looking guitar, congrats.  Glad you kept the truss rod cover.

Andyjr1515

sinbaadi said:

Said it before but it's a fantastic looking guitar, congrats.  Glad you kept the truss rod cover.

Thanks, @sinbaadi.  Me too - it looks right in the full perspective.

Andyjr1515

By the way, I've realised that the overdriven sound clips are both of the bridge pickup - reckon I picked the wrong sound file.

I'll correct that when I get a moment 

Andyjr1515

Tried it in band practice tonight - really, really pleased with the sound...especially the P90 setting.

imalone

Liking that overdriven sound, wherever it's coming from.

Andyjr1515

I don't know if it's just me in the world that does this, but for my own guitars (and I offer the same to people who sometimes buy them), I always do a final neck profile 'fitting' once the thing is all finished and playable.  Not straight away - it always takes a little bit of playing to home in on anything that needs tweaking.

My preference is a deep-ish neck but with a 'V' profile.  For me it is the best both worlds - for both chords (where I need the depth to stop getting cramp) and also lead / 'thumb over the 6th string' laziness, where you need an absence of wood in the way.

In 30 minutes, I've added a soft 'V' - I'll then play it for a few days and either recoat the matt varnish or shave a bit more off.

The tools:

A plastic bag held round the body with an elastic band...

 

...a standard cabinet scraper...

...and some 120; 600 and 1000 grit sandpaper (I think you know what that looks like) 

I hold the guitar like a back-to-front cello and gently shave the contour I want.  The great thing is, because it is still assembled, you can instantly get a true feel for shape.  Shaving it in that position also gives you very good control of the scraper.  

In my case, I put a very soft 'V' for starters:

Then sanded it progressively finer to smooth it out.  Quick wipe down leaves me with this:

It feels better already.  I'll play it a couple more days, then either give it a couple of light coats of matt varnish, leave a few days then sand with 1000 - 2000 grit (to seal the wood but leave it feeling silky smooth but unfinished) or tweak it a bit more before doing the same.

Anyone else do this or it it just me, the crazy man?? 

Andy

paulnb57

I've never considered this, however it has legs and I may give it a go on a Partscaster, wish I known about the Fb Challenge sooner, I'd like to have had a go

KingNothing

I have a box of inks I used in art college.. hmmm they are about 15 years old, I'm tempted to try them on my tele build but use my airbrush.  Is it just ordinary ink you are using?

Andyjr1515

Hi, @KingNothing Yes - the first ones I tried with ink was calligraphy ink, but nowadays I tend to use Diamine standard inks. This one was a standard turquoise and blue. It's possible that some of the inks will fade a bit over time, but I haven't had any problems and my guitars are always out in the light.

KingNothing

Ah great, it looks really nice.. I've just glued a few bits of off-cut veneer to some wood and I'll have a little experiment tomorrow with the inks.  Cheers.

Andyjr1515

If you have any issues or questions, just shout.

Interestingly, this kit build is STILL my go-to gigging guitar, causing MrsAndyjr1515 to ask "what on earth are all the rest are there for?"

KingNothing

Haha, I'm quite lucky as my Mrs likes me buying guitars but I think she just see's them as holidays because I end up flogging one for spending money... But when one goes, two appear.  A man can never have too many guitars. *fact*