betocool Posted April 20, 2018 Posted April 20, 2018 Good luck! IF you have experience with wood (which I didn't have much until I started) it should be ok. I wonder what he reckons is wrong? Frets, alignment, neck not straight? I'll re-do the neck of the Esquire-like guitar I built year and a half ago, not one of my finest moments... but hey, it was only numero uno. I hope by the time I retire from work in 25 years I can start making a living out of this... Cheers, Albert
Gee Emm Posted April 20, 2018 Posted April 20, 2018 I'll let you know next week, when I get it home :)
Jake Posted July 11, 2018 Author Posted July 11, 2018 On 04/04/2018 at 1:05 PM, betocool said: 01 Apr 2018 And we're done! No joke! I gave it a quick wipe, added the pickguard which was sanded, buffed and polished, gave it a tune, and a tune it plays! I'll see if I can upload some actual tunes later on, but now this cheapie is hanging on the wall of sound at arm's reach for use. It's not perfect, far from it, but for a quick and dirty project it took longer than expected but turned out nicer than expected too. It also looks a bit 'relic'd' if you look closer, especially in the back, and the finish is a bit off here and there, but all in all, it passes the 2m test (as in, it looks great from 2m away). Notes to self, work on the neck dimension and leveling skills, improve the spraying, and be patient. I leave you all with the pics now. Cheers! I finally made it back to this thread but your pics are not showing for me, Alberto.So I have some for you. I can’t put down the Thinline, too much fun now it’s finally finished. 7
betocool Posted July 11, 2018 Posted July 11, 2018 Wow! That looks real classy! Congratulations! I was wondering these last couple of days what you were up to... Here's some proper pics of the finished Jr build from last time, I guess that whole Dropbox thing did not work out quite well with the links. Here's a link with all the details in case you're interested (this one should work): https://betocools.blogspot.com/2018/01/diy-el-cheapo-les-paul-jr.html Meanwhile, I'd been working on a cheap acoustic one, just because I had the wood. This is the result, less than impressive but still it plays not bad at all (as in, real nice for what it is really): This one above is "pre-aged", "vintaged", "road-worn", you name it. It was a case of finish it before it finishes you. Dimensions are a bit off, but the intonation is top notch, and the string settings are pretty good also, nothing to complain about, and no buzzing so far. Cheers, Alberto 5
Jake Posted July 11, 2018 Author Posted July 11, 2018 They look awesome! You have been busy Alberto. I have amassed timber and a few tools towards an acoustic but it will be a while before I start.Was considering a Jr for the next build, after the Strat I am currently working on. But I might be doing an SG instead. So many guitars to build.I bought some P90s and Humbuckers already as well as heaps of timber. Just need shed time.Envious of your acoustic, it looks great.
betocool Posted July 11, 2018 Posted July 11, 2018 Thanks Jake! I had a chat with my neighbour the other day, saw him chucking thick long planks of wood on his front yard, so I asked him if he's using them and could I just take one. Sure, he says, doing the whole patio new, this is the wood from the old patio, saves me chucking it in the bin myself. So I got about 4 - 5 metres of some patio planks, very well weathered and dry, about 6 cm thick and roughly 20 cm wide. Don't know what wood, but after playing a bit with the saw and some planing here and there to remove the paint, they look awesome from the inside. I'll see if I can do a before-after pic these days. Next for me (after a short break and mucking about with a few bunk beds for the kids plus other random stuff) is a modified Red Special, which will probably not be too red, will be hollow, with f-holes and a set of P90 pups, basically, a Casino - Red Special hybrid of sorts. But I'm getting ahead of myself. So many guitars indeed... at least I don't have to buy them anymore! Re the acoustic, you'll probably cringe (a bit) when you see the innards... A former IKEA shelf... oh the shame... and the neck out of ply. I'm still proud about the neck binding though... it took ages with a file, but it was worth it. Cheers, Alberto 1
Jake Posted July 11, 2018 Author Posted July 11, 2018 Plywood neck!!!??? Wow, I'm impressed! It will be interesting to see how long it stays straight, but my guess is you won't have any problems. How does it sound?
Jake Posted July 11, 2018 Author Posted July 11, 2018 Oh, I am also building a clone of the new Parallel Universe Strat for a mate. He's a country player.Swamp Ash body under way. He has an MIM neck for it but I am trying to convince him to make a new neck as well. 3
betocool Posted July 13, 2018 Posted July 13, 2018 I've read some people have used plywood on acoustic necks without issues, what with plywood being "quarter sawn" in a way. It actually does sound pretty good, I'd say a little less loud than a regular acoustic because of the size and position of the f-holes, but still acoustic-like. In the future I'm planning on a Tele shaped strat, with David Gilmour pickups, apple red, but that's still in the future, it's just a set of DG pickups cost about 600AUD, so it'll wait. And a Rick sometime in the future as well. Where do you get your wood? Do you know if it's possible to get thinner cuts of timber, say, 5mm thick or so, for tops and backs? Cheers, Alberto 1
Jake Posted July 20, 2018 Author Posted July 20, 2018 Work is going well on the present build, a 1 piece Alder body Strat with birdseye maple neck and ebony fboard. 4
Jake Posted July 20, 2018 Author Posted July 20, 2018 On 13/07/2018 at 3:23 AM, betocool said: I've read some people have used plywood on acoustic necks without issues, what with plywood being "quarter sawn" in a way. It actually does sound pretty good, I'd say a little less loud than a regular acoustic because of the size and position of the f-holes, but still acoustic-like. In the future I'm planning on a Tele shaped strat, with David Gilmour pickups, apple red, but that's still in the future, it's just a set of DG pickups cost about 600AUD, so it'll wait. And a Rick sometime in the future as well. Where do you get your wood? Do you know if it's possible to get thinner cuts of timber, say, 5mm thick or so, for tops and backs? Cheers, AlbertoI buy a bit from ebayer Maxsawdust. He sells all sorts of wood for bodies, necks, drop tops, caps, tops, backs and sides etc.
Gee Emm Posted July 23, 2018 Posted July 23, 2018 On 20/07/2018 at 3:18 PM, Jake said: Work is going well on the present build, a 1 piece Alder body Strat with birdseye maple neck and ebony fboard. Expand Now you're just showing off... 2
Jake Posted July 31, 2018 Author Posted July 31, 2018 Trying out sanding sealer which I keep reading about. Will sand it back tomorrow and then grain fill before attacking it with stains etc.
Gee Emm Posted July 31, 2018 Posted July 31, 2018 How ya gunna stain it, once you've sealed it? Workshop is looking the part.
betocool Posted August 4, 2018 Posted August 4, 2018 Isn't the sealer supposed to act as filler as well? Cheers, Alberto 1
LogicprObe Posted August 4, 2018 Posted August 4, 2018 On 04/08/2018 at 3:56 PM, betocool said: Isn't the sealer supposed to act as filler as well? Cheers, Alberto Expand Depends how much you have to fill!
betocool Posted August 5, 2018 Posted August 5, 2018 On 04/08/2018 at 6:37 PM, LogicprObe said: Depends how much you have to fill! Expand Ideally not much. In my case... a bit more. Usually. Cheers, Alberto
Jake Posted October 12, 2018 Author Posted October 12, 2018 Seems the shed is light years away. But my mate’s Parallel U iverse is finally finished. He’s pretty happy with it. He did the finishing. 5
betocool Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 Nice Job Jake! Been a while... but I've kept busy... Single Pickup Nighthawk based build, with leftover wood from a patio and a table, and fretboard stained with soy sauce. Still some work to do! Cheers, Alberto 3
Jake Posted October 13, 2018 Author Posted October 13, 2018 Soy sauce? Classic! It looks awesome, and once again you are doing some very impressive work Alberto.
Jake Posted October 18, 2018 Author Posted October 18, 2018 Started on templates for a new project. I promise this one will be as slow of the others! 2
betocool Posted October 20, 2018 Posted October 20, 2018 That looks suspiciously like a Les Paul... 1
Jake Posted October 20, 2018 Author Posted October 20, 2018 On 20/10/2018 at 5:06 AM, betocool said: That looks suspiciously like a Les Paul... Expand Indeed! But I have changed my mind, will do a Les Paul Junior Special with P90s first. No need for a carved top just yet.
betocool Posted October 21, 2018 Posted October 21, 2018 Carved top, that sounds like a too tall order for me. Will have to get good at building straight bodies and then maybe if necessary go to carved tops. They look awesome though...
betocool Posted October 21, 2018 Posted October 21, 2018 Bit of an update, some pics, not much to explain, but things are looking really good! This is the neck and the body hanging in to dry... still some coats of lacquer to go on: A new pickup cover just because... Can't wait to put it together! But I will have to.... Cheers, Alberto 1
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