Refinished. New details.

I know it's been a while since I updated this blog but I've been keeping busy with many things. This project is back on the table again though, so let's see where it goes from here.

Let's Slap This Thing Together

 I'm so busy with three or four projects I barely have time to post about this one. I will try to say as much as I can now, and as time permits later perhaps I can add to what's here.'

I've glued the top to the body of the guitar. I used a whole bunch of those little clamps (I added more than you see in this picture). They can be tightened down gently so as not to exert a lot of pressure, while being secure.



Next came the neck. Since the mortise and tenon were pre-fitted and tweaked to the right angle all I had to do was glue it in place. This didn't mean that I ignored my alignment during the process, it just meant that it was straightforward (so to speak) to get it seated properly. The bungee cord pulled the neck in toward the body, while the clamps provided downward pressure into the proper position.

For added security, I drilled for two hex bolts into the bottom of the neck set.

 Sighting down the cluttered room... er, I mean, down the fingerboard, I can see that the top of the pickup covers line up. The edges have been routed, but not yet cleaned up by the time this pic was taken.

 After cleaning up the routed edges I began to glue on the binding. I used plastic binding, and the Loctite cyanoacrylate (superglue) held in place very nicely. I didn't even need to tape it down to dry, I just held it in place for a few seconds every five or six centimetres at a time.

More work on the paint job being done now. Waiting for that to dry before I can continue with the remainder of the details. I still have to put the frets on the fingerboard, install the tuners, and then I will be pretty much ready to start setting up for stringing it.

The taping job looks pretty sketchy around the sound holes but it actually worked quite well. Difficult to tell, but I essentially taped the inside edges of the holes with the tape sticking upward, creating walls of sorts. Then I covered the openings at the top of the walls with more tape.

New Wires, A Go

Finally, wired up and it works! Yay.

 Red wire goes to the tip, which is what goes into the jack. Black wire is the ground wire, and it's wired onto the body of the jack.

 The pots, volume and tone, came pre-wired, so all I had to do was attach the bare and green ground wires onto one of the pots.

The three way switch. Black is ground, and is wired to the body of the switch. Red wires are both from each of the pickups. White goes to the volume pot.









I'd been having some issues with an annoying hum when I plugged it in to test it, but I discovered it was due to the fact that the Drive knob on my amp was up too high.

Soldering

 Hole drilled through end block. It is 1/2", to accept the Fishman endpin jack.

I'm soldering the "hot" wire to the tip lead of the jack here. I then soldered the ground wire (no pic, sorry).

I see now that I could have made my end block a little thinner, as I only just had enough room to thread the bolt onto the inside and tighten it enough to feel secure. You can't really see in this photo, but I have put a piece of ebony down the centre of the back end of the body, where the endpin goes into the guitar. This will be both decorative and add extra strength.

So that I don't forget which wire comes from which lead I labelled them. Wouldn't do much good to forget which wire is which and wire them backwards to the electronics.

The "tip" is simply the lead on the jack that connects with the plug end on the cable.

In With the Old, Out With the New

I want this thing to give the impression of an antique, so I sanded down the stain and re-applied two times to give it a worn look. Once the surface is fully glossy it should look pretty good, if I say so myself... and I just did.

Quick and Easy Sunburst

 The three way switch required a half inch hole, which I drilled with a forstner bit (flat bottomed drill). It makes a nice, clean cut.

I think most people wait until the guitar is put together before starting the colour finish, but I decided to go ahead with the top. I wanted that "tobacco sunburst" look, without having to source the high priced specialty stains. So, I went to the hardware store and found some spray stains by Krylon (one of my favourite paints for many projects). The lighter colour for the centre is Honey Gold.

 The darker colour for the edges is Redwood.

I placed the guitar top on a 5 gallon pail and sprayed around the edges, aiming the paint outward, away from the centre of the guitar. Gently, I swept over with light sprays until I had the desired effect.

I will sand it all very smooth when it's dry and apply several coats of gloss clear coat after the guitar is all assembled. I want the sides to be dark, and the back to have a similar look to the front. The neck is black, and I will blend that into the sides of the guitar body, and probably add some gentle black spray in the "waist" of the guitar as well.






As of July 22, I have taken the finish a step further. Since I want the feel of an antique item, I have given it a faux finish. The colour seems more muted here, but it's actually a little brighter than this. However, I sanded it down to give a worn look and then applied more spray stain. If you look very closely you can also see where I have started to notch the pickup inset holes to allow for the metal tabs that hold the height adjustment screws. The four little pieces to the right are the decorative covers I made to hide those notches. They essentially do what a pick up ring would do on most electric guitars; which is to say they cover the holes and provide an anchor for the height adjustment screws.

Getting Wired

Wiring is coming along. This pic doesn't show where I am at this point, I've progressed since. It was easier to wire things up with the pots in position, allowing for making sure the wires are long enough and that I'm actually connecting things to the right spot according to the schematic.

All I have left to do is figure out which leads I'm supposed to wire on the endpin jack, and solder my ground wires. You may be thinking I should know how to wire the jack, but there are more connection points than there are wires going to it. When I have more time I will have to refer back to the information on the jack.