Wave guitar build project

Megii

dchwhite said:

Looks very nice already

Thanks very much dchw!

Megii

Quite a bit of updating to do:

First up, having sanded the headstock face back to the wood (and removing the old Starfield logo in the process), I have been gradually building up layers of Plasti-Kote clear satin acrylic spray. Early this week, I had reached a point where I had a good smooth surface, and could apply a logo transfer. I printed the logo several times onto Lazertran inkjet decal paper:

Just patting down the decal with kitchen towel, and making sure no air bubbles:

Once dry, the decal backing turns white:

But fear not, it will all come right in the end...

 

Megii

Here I have sprayed a layer of clear acrylic over the top, and the logo backing turns clear again:

Built up quite a few more layers, allowed time to cure, and then used a cork block with 1000 grit wet and dry paper to sand the surface flat over the logo - due to the thickness of the decal, the finishes visibly rises over the logo otherwise:

Everything nice and flat here:

A few more layers of acrylic over the top, and it is looking nice, so job done. The acrylic finish is bringing out a bit of flame in the maple, which is cool. Hope you like my Gothic letter "C" logo!

 

monquixote

Good work fella. 

Enjoying this thread. 

Megii

Cheers mq! Really glad if it's providing some entertainment, thanks.

ddlooping

Progressing nicely.

When the guitar will be in playing position your gothic "C" will look like a pram or a bed with a canopy.

Megii

ddlooping said:

Progressing nicely.

When the guitar will be in playing position your gothic "C" will look like a pram or a bed with a canopy.

Cheers dd!, I did think of putting the logo sideways, but then it would look like a man waterskiing with a giant umbrella when stood upright... 

Megii

OK, more things have been happening, so some more catching up to put in the thread. One is I have been making a nut from camel bone, just some pics of the process - I'm using the milled-flat surface on my B&Q box level to get the bone piece to the right width to just fit in the nut slot:

Then a case of checking the fit, so the nut sits nice a stable, with no gaps. And then carefully sanded the excess bone from the ends to get a nice flush fit with the sides of the fingerboard. That's all I've done on this so far, will probably wait until I'm fitting some strings to shape the top and cut the slots.

 

Megii

And have been working some more on the body finish in the last week - I pronounced the job finished a couple of days ago, and am just letting the whole thing cure and harden for a while, before fitting any parts. In the end, I used 3 Wudtone base coats, and 3 layers of the Wudtone clear satin top coat. Really I'd call the result more of a soft gloss than a Satin, but actually I really like it and wouldn't want to change it now. I think the reflections help to highlight the curves nicely. Pleased with the wood colour too, it has darkened a little compared to the bare wood, but it's not too warm in tint, and the grain has been brought out nicely. To my eyes, the wood has a kind of milky/buttery look that I really like. The light colour is going to contrast very well with the black chrome hardware too.

 

Megii

One more lol:

 

ddlooping

Great result with the finish, Megii.

Megii

ddlooping said:

Great result with the finish, Megii.

Cheers dd - a definite plus for Wudtone I think, I can't deny I'm pretty pleased with it.

andypwudtone

hi there, lovely shape on the body. 

After a couple of weeks of curing you can if you want simply rub with plain photocopy paper ( just as you would with sand paper ) and it will help to develop the patina especially on the curves etc. Thank you for choosing Wudtone and really look forward to seeing this guitar ready to rock.

kind regards

Andy Preston 

ChrisMusic

I have to say that is a lovely looking finish, although it has increased the intensity of the wood, those photographs show the basic look, colour and feel of the wood are coming straight through.  I really expected it to change hue and go warmer like the oil and varnishes do.  That is really nice.  Looking forward to the rest of the build Megii.

Rocker

Very nice work my friend.  Hope you enjoy playing your handiwork as much as we enjoyed watching your build....

Megii

Thanks guys, I do appreciate you taking an interest. I'll say again, I think the Wudtone kit has been an excellent choice for this guitar. At one point I was thinking maybe I should have been more adventurous, and gone for one of the interesting kit's with a wood stain - I quite like the idea of the amber with real gold to highlight the grain - but actually I think the natural look is right for this build. I have been doing a bit more on the build, having not posted for a while, so will get some pics up soon to bring things up to date.

Megii

Have got a bit behind with this thread, so time to get it back up to date. One thing I've done is designed and made a truss rod cover:

Testing the shape with a paper cut-out:

Making the cover from black pearloid:

Cut out the outline with a fret saw:

Then bevelled the edges, and finished with fine wet and dry:

 

Megii

A last couple of shots of the plain finished body, plus neck, before I start shielding the cavities, and fitting all the hardware:

Still can't believe what a great job www.guitarbuild.co.uk did on that body... I spoke to Phil (the owner) and he confirmed my suspicions that he'd used a super-lightweight piece of swamp ash to make it, nice one that man!

 

 

Lixarto

Looking great

Megii

Shielding the cavities with copper tape - I love the look of the copper tape against the ash, and for some reason I find this about the most satisfying bit of the whole build. Apart from finishing the guitar of course...

Then put linking strips of copper tape through the wiring ducts, and some time needed with a soldering iron blobbing solder along all the seams between adjacent sheets of copper tape, to ensure electrical continuity:

Was just about to check the fit of the neck pickup in that shot also.