Oct 25, 2007 (cont.)
I took the weights off of the guitar, and I discovered that a few of the edges were not glued down properly. I assume that I did not get glue to all of them, because some of them were properly glue down. So I used a toothpick to get some glue in there, a bit of wax paper over the veneer, and the bags of lead shot again. Now, I will just leave it be, overnight.
This is how I do my spot gluing/veneering. Also, one of my bags of shot has sprung a bit of a leak. I think that I will get some cheap pillow cases and put the shot in there.
This is what I had left over after I cut the body shaped piece out from the center.
After the has set, but before I have started trimming the edges of the veneer. What I will end up with the bare edges of the maple exposed on the top side. Then I have to feather sand the veneer so that it is not so obvious.
I used a x-acto knife to trim the inside of the holes for the pups, neck, and trem. The edges are still untrimmed. Again, I used the x-acto knife for that. I also knocked a few bits of veneer loose, which I glued back down.
Looking good right? I have feathered the edges, trimmed all of the internal holes. It is ready to go, right? Wrong. Can you guess what I have forgotten to cut out?
I forgot the holes for the Trem mounts. But, I remembered in time.
The edge of the black burst effect. I expect that it will take a few applications of stain to accomplish my desired goal. This is round one. And in the photo below, you can see that I have taken care of the trem holes.
A few things to remember when dealing with a dye or stain or like this. 1) Wear gloves unless you want your hands to stain black. This stuff will stick to your skin, and for quite a few days. 2) You will need a way of holding the body that won’t xfer stain from your gloves to the parts of the body you DON’T want stained. In this case, I have a neck stub that I use. In case you are wondering, a Tele neck fits this SC body quite well. Of course, I don’t know if a Tele neck is the correct scale. 3) When moving the staining towel around, be sure not drip on the body. I have made that mistake before, but not on this body.
The next few days will be dedicated to staining and finishing.
Nov. 2, 2007
When the stain had dried, I was not happy with the results, so I sanded it all off and started again, only this time with a stain that I had mixed.
I kind of, almost, liked it. Kind of a distressed, vintage-y look. But no. I mixed my own black stain and started over.
I am much happier with these results. The coverage is smoother, though perhaps not quite so opaque. Not as blotchy either. I think that the stain I was using was designed for more porous woods, such as Mahogany, where I have used it before.
I don’t think that maple absorbs the stain the same way.
And I started shooting nitro today. I use a California paint booth. And I use a respirator. And the back of that guitar body is black, not purple. Between the light and the color black and my camera, the color is not quite correct.
I will sand & finish coating next week, weather permitting.
Nov 6, 2007
I started spraying the next coat today, and I noticed that there were some bubbles forming on the surface of the finish. I suspect that, since the can was getting towards empty, that it was coming from the newest application. So I stopped spraying and I will start anew tomorrow with a new can of nitro.
Nov 7, 2007
I sanded out the bubbles and started spraying again, and this time I have started a run. So I stopped again. I will sand it out tomorrow, and start spraying again.
Nov 12, 2007
I applied the last coat of nitro today. Now the guitar has to sit & dry for at least 2 weeks. So that means that I won’t be doing any more work on this guitar until after T’day.
Nov. 27, 2007
After letting this critter sit for a few weeks, I have finally started putting it together. I am missing exactly one (1) part. A set of screws and springs to mount the pickups. That’s it. But the neck is on, the bridge is in, and it is all straight. I will need to replace the saddles eventually, as the height adjustment screws are stripped. But that is a minor issue, all considered.
