Build No 2

SteveF

Thank you kind sir!  

SteveF

Bridge and claw holes and wire channels drilled. First coat of finish on. Tung based oil finish on the neck and a satin black for the body.  

Kurtis

That's looking great.

I thought the wood looked nice as it was but the black looks good. 

SteveF

Thanks I was 50/50 on natural or black but after seeing a few open grain black guitars I quite fancied this look

guitaraj

Agreed the black looks superb. Can I ask what you used for that? Lovely work

edit: is it a stain under the tung oil on the body?

SteveF

It’s a tung oil on the neck. The black is from @BoltGuitarsUK as they have started selling their finishing system separately. It’s a really simple wipe on finish. I’m not actually sure what base it is though. 

https://boltguitars.co.uk/product/single-colour-system/

guitaraj

SteveF said:

It’s a tung oil on the neck. The black is from @BoltGuitarsUK as they have started selling their finishing system separately. It’s a really simple wipe on finish. I’m not actually sure what base it is though. 

https://boltguitars.co.uk/product/single-colour-system/

Thanks for the info, I might have to try this on the Tele I’m building.

SteveF

I’ve used it twice now. Once on this guitar and once on a Bolt kit which I made previously. I was pretty happy with the finish for a non-sprayed finish and it’s held up well since

SteveF

Some more coats today. Will now leave for a bit and then apply the top coats. 

SteveF

Got a bit over keen and forgot to take photos during much of the assembly etc.  There were a couple of issues I had to resolve along the way.  My control cavity wasn't deep enough for the switch so I had to rout further whilst trying not to wreck the finish.  The bridge also didn't match the holes from the template (lesson learned, use the actual bridge next time) so had to plug the outer 4 and redrill.  All went fine with no mishaps though. 

I will need to replace the nut at some stage.  I managed to chip out the bone whilst cutting the slots - is there a back or is bone just brittle and prone to chipping?  Either way, it's working fine and not very noticeable, but I will replace. 

Finally, just need some string trees and I am trying to decide before I get the drill out whether to put the rear cover on or leave it off. 

The good news - it plays fantastically and the @OilCityPickups sound brilliant.  The Forces Sweetheart humbucker especially - exactly what I was going for. 

OilCityPickups

Oooooo that looks nice!

SteveRobinson

The black looks great, very 1980s Habitat!

SteveF

SteveRobinson said:

The black looks great, very 1980s Habitat!

My parents had a living room funiture set (tv unit, stereo cabinet etc) in black ‘ash’ (chipboard!)

SteveF

OilCityPickups said:

Oooooo that looks nice!

Sounds good too, thank you sir!  

BillDL

I really like scheme you chose with the cream plastics, tortoise shell pickguard, and black body, and I especially like the grain effect of the body.

SteveF said:

My control cavity wasn't deep enough for the switch so I had to rout further whilst trying not to wreck the finish ......

I managed to chip out the bone whilst cutting the slots - is there a back or is bone just brittle and prone to chipping?

Not sure what you mean in saying "is there a back" with reference to the bone nut, or whether it's a typo.  Bone's just brittle, that's all, and can be compounded by internal weak sponge-like "osteoporosis" patches that you aren't aware of until you sand, file or saw into them.

I've had the same issue with switches.  On one occasion I went by the depth given in the spec when I bought the switch and routed to that, and on the other occasion I mis-measured the depth of the switch myself.  Fortunately this was realised at the dry fit before finishing on each occasion.

Did the Bolt Guitars satin finish dry absolutely rock hard, and roughly how long did it take before you were confident it was hard enough to handle normally?

SteveF

Hi Bill. Yes ‘back’ was a typo/autocorrect. I meant to say is there a knack? 

Sounds like I got a brittle patch. I don’t think I was doing anything wrong as such. Just filing carefully and the slot file kind of bound up and then chipped the nut as it came loose. 

Lesson learned on doing a dry fit of everything. Bridges before drilling mounting holes - don’t trust the template. And the cavity. It was a good 10mm out I just didn’t click. I assume the template instructions were for one of those little box type blade switches. 

The finish seems to have dried hard. I always leave it about week after the last coat - normally this is just what fits in with my life more than any science as by coincidence I finished the last coat on a Sunday so couldn’t do anything until the following weekend.  I am happy enough with it. I still intend to buy a spray system at some stage but for a hand finish I don’t think you can go wrong with this. Pretty cheap too.  I used some of the leftover oil from the kit for the neck. They send way more than needed. I reckon I could do a couple of dozen necks. I don’t think they sell the oil separately but I'm sure they’d sort you out 

BillDL

No, Bolt Guitars don't sell the finishing oil separately, only the dye, lacqer and abrasive pads, however I have a bottle of Danish Oil and one of Tung Oil that could easily last me several dozen neck applications each.  I've grown to really like oil finishes on necks

SteveF

Yeah I love the oil finish. Very smooth feeling.