Q4 Challenge - a guitar

TTony

After a brief diversion via the "feck-up, how could I fix this" thread, I'm now pushing ahead with this one.

Spot the clever design feature, intended to aid the player when needing to insert something into the jack socket on a dark stage ...

As I'd left it.


The blue stain had faded a bit after it dried, and I'd rubbed it back to remove any highspots.  So, looking a bit unexciting and anaemic.


And then, after the first phase of Liberon Easy French polish.  Took about 15mins to rub a decent amount on - maybe 2-3 "coats" effectively.


Looking a bit more interesting again


That's touch-dry virtually immediately, but it is a bit rough in places.  So I'll be giving it a bit more attention with the fine abrasives before applying any more polish.  I'll leave it a couple of hours before rubbing back, just to give it a bit more time to dry/harden.

paulnb57

That top looks really good

TTony

Thanks @paulnb57 - I'm hoping it's going to look a bit better after some more attention through this weekend.

Been swamped at work for the last couple of weeks, so this had been pushed aside for a while.  

Christmas will be here soon, so need to get on with it 

TTony

Final coat of the day.

It's built up pretty quickly, easy to apply, and it's starting to develop a nice gloss finish.  Happy with the product.

Tomorrow I might try some 0000 wire wool to smooth it off, and then a bit of wax to shine it back up again.

Then I can start assembly!

TTony

Did a bit more work on the finishing today.

Rubbed back with 0000 wire wool, and then some wax

Getting shiny



Got some polish on the back too



This is probably the "best" finish I've managed on a home build, and one of the easiest too.

Very happy with the Crimson denim stain on the front, the Osmo white on the back/sides, and the Liberon polish over the top.  No reactions between any of the products.

It can rest for a few days now, and - with luck - I'll get to do some assembly work next weekend.

paulnb57

Thats looking really good, its amazing how the colours pop when clear coated. Im looking forward to trying the finish

Andyjr1515

That top is breathtaking, @TTony .  In fact, the whole build is pretty darned fine...

TTony

@paulnb57 - I've found this easier to get a good finish than the oil products I've used in the past, and no harder to apply.  I'm going to stick with this for the next few builds.  Give it a go!

@Andyjr1515 - thanks, though I think Mr M Tree had a bit more to do with that top than me!  


The next challenge will probably be getting the Graphtech Ghost/piezo system installed and working properly ... saving that for next weekend!

PeteC

That looks absolutely marvellous @TTony ;

i just finished refinishing one of my DC juniors in amber shellac French Polish tinted with cherry dyes and it feels great and looks pretty good.  

i know not everyone likes french polish as a solid body finish but it feels great and certainly doesnt kill the tone

if the Liberon is anythinkmlike a traditional french polish you might find that it does sink back a bit in the next couple of weeks while the surface hardens up a bit.  Ive ended up doing about 8-10 bodying up sessions to get a really good sheen.  YMMV of course

theres some good stuff on YT by Andys Guitar&Bass that features him refinishing some 80/90s gibsons with french polish and they turn out very well 

anyway - that flamed blue denim
and white combo looks stunning 

with the piezo option too that guitars going to be fantastic .  

 

TTony

Cheers @PeteC - maybe I should leave this a week or three before putting it together.  I'd be a little annoyed if I put it together and then found that the finish sunk back and I had to take it apart again!

Roland

Nice work Tony. Blue and white is my favourite guitar colour scheme.

Rabs

Yeah..  Looks great Tony....  I also really like the natural binding effect   

AustrianJohn

TTony said:

After a brief diversion via the "feck-up, how could I fix this" thread, I'm now pushing ahead with this one.

Spot the clever design feature, intended to aid the player when needing to insert something into the jack socket on a dark stage ...

As I'd left it.

Lovely looking guitar!

Almost every one of my builds has my "signature oops" by the jack socket.

TTony

Determined *not* to rush this one, so I'm giving the finish coats plenty of time to harden before assembly.

With this job not yet done, it's probably time to start another

GSPBASSES

If you're thinking of another built, I have some full fat Les Paul standard with plan Maple caps on them (for Gold tops) I also have some thin bodied Les Paul standards with Flame Maple caps at reasonable prices. All the Les Paul are B stock, hence the lower price than normal.

TTony

Bit of a New Year push to get this put together before I have to go back to work.



Piezo saddles, which go into grooves cut in the underside of the bridge pickup surround. 

In the pic below you can see the top E isn't quite in place (I hadn't tightened the screw at this stage), but the others fit nicely into the grooves.  I also rounded off that edge of the pickup cavity so the piezo wires weren't bending at a hard 90degs.




Just a bit of soldering to do ...


I'm going to try to be clever with the battery positioning, and mount one of the standard opening 9v battery holders on the underside of the cavity cover, just to make battery removal / changing a bit easier.

My current puzzle is that I've got a "spare" red wire coming from the pre-amp.  It's next to the two (red & black) that connect to the battery, but not sure what it's supposed to connect to.

Any suggestions?

TTony

TTony said:

My current puzzle is that I've got a "spare" red wire coming from the pre-amp.  It's next to the two (red & black) that connect to the battery, but not sure what it's supposed to connect to.

Any suggestions?

I *had* read the installation guide, honest.

But missed the bit that says this is a spare power source for active pickups.  As I'm not using actives, I have correctly not connected that to anything!

TTony

Wired it up, and it passed the screwdriver-tap-on-the-pickups test for the magnetics.

Went to attach the neck so I can string it up and test the piezos are working properly too ... only to find (or not find) the neck fixings that I thought I'd put in my build box for this one weren't in the box.

I've got some others, but the bolts are about 5mm too long.  Yes, I could cut them down, or I could just be patient and order some of the right length.

I'm being patient.

PeteC

Very nice indeed @TTony    Very interested to see what you think of the piezo pickup as well - thinking of doing one this year in a build as a gigging guitar for myself for the extra acoustic-y bits. 

TTony

IT LIVES !!



Just stuck couple of strings on it to check the electronics all work as they should (they do) and to put a bit of tension onto the neck.  My main concern was whether the Graphtech Acoustaphonic system would work correctly - I bought it s/h many many years ago and it's been languishing at the back of a cupboard since then.  The saddles are brand new though.  All seems fine.

Neck appears straight and true, but I'll give it a few hours before I start work on the setup - nut cutting, saddle adjusting, etc.

With some knobs on




Somehow, I managed to get all of the connected in the right places and soldered, first time.  The battery is just taped to the underside of the cavity cover now - probably need to find a better arrangement for that.