DIY SG Build thread (mission aborted, but now back on course!)

thecolourbox

So last year for my birthday my lovely girlfriend bought me a DIY guitar kit, an sg shape, as I fancied something with humbuckers and a shorter scale neck for jazz playing. I've had quite a few disasters with it in the past which I've moaned about in various threads, but as the finishing of the wood part is almost done I thought I'd restart a build thread to show some photos.

The various stages of this have (briefly) been thus:

1. I tried first of all to stain it with wood wax, but didn't read the description correctly and the body had already been primed for paint, so the varnish stuff didn't really stick. So I had to sand it all off

2. I then decided I'd try and spray paint it, so got the primer on, it dried, hanging on my washing line in the garden. I put the copper layer on, started drying....then it started raining. So I had to bring it inside quickly, had nowhere to put it, so I wrecked the paint job lying it down. So I had to strip it again.

3. So I went back to varnishing it, decided it looked crap, stripped it again....

4. And spray painted it again, much better this time, copper on the front, black on the back and sides. I let it dry for a few days, brought it in to fit the rest of it together....and oh no, the bridge pickup cavity is not wide enough, so the guard goes on at an angle, and I can't fit the bridge i the holes.

http://i.imgur.com/DCzOFLS.jpg

So after a while of wondering what to do and how to fix it, I finally managed to get the shop to respond to my complaints about the kit not fitting together.

thecolourbox

5. They agreed to send me a new body, which when I dry assembled it, did indeed fit, yay:

http://i.imgur.com/Hk9OIvy.jpg

So I thought, right I'm not going to faff about, i'm going to get a Wudtone staining kit and do this properly (thanks to @andypwudtone for his company's excellent quick service on that). I've gone for Dark Tease.

So this is what the body looked like neat as it were:

http://i.imgur.com/QcVCrTj.jpg

I remembered this time that the wood came primed so I completely sanded it so it was down to proper wood. Followed the detailed instructions diligently on the site, and after a few coats of base layer and highlights, it looked like this:

http://i.imgur.com/bE9Nwow.jpg

Not actually as dark as I was expecting but actually a much nicer colour for it, the instructions were easy and the varnishes leave a nice feeling finish on them. As shown above I'm not averse to changing plans depending on circumstance so the fact I've probably done something wrong in order to not get the darker colour is actually a blessing in disguise, as it looks rather nice to me. Yes it looks patchy and uneven and I'm sure with more skill or knowledge I could have got it looking much much neater, but I quite like the vibe. It looks old, it looks shabby chic, and it suits what I will be playing on it

underdog

I really like the copper colour you were using on the previous body, what paint is it?

thecolourbox

I have done the neck as well, frog taping off the bits I didn't want. I didn't fancy spray painting again and potentially ruining another piece of wood, so I think I'll just live with it being wooden coloured

http://i.imgur.com/v9XxQC7.jpg

So i'm now happy with the colour, I have applied the first topcoat, and here are some pictures - in reality there is more of a slightly shiny glisten than my phone camera was able to pick up but maybe you can still see it a bit. I think I'll need another coat on top according to the instructions. That will probably be done Thursday night if it has dried out properly.

http://i.imgur.com/YPc0IhE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5ZuiXBs.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/qq5Jh70.jpg

thecolourbox

So once that is all dried up, I'll have the Ikea bit - sticking it all together.

The electronics were previously "solderless" which was a bonus to me as it's been a long time since I soldered. However in trying to remove them from the slightly-too-small tunnels of the old body, most of the solderless connectors have now come off so I'll have to have a go at soldering again! Hopefully that won't be too bad though

thecolourbox

@underdog I think it was one of these from Homebase

http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/rust-oleum-copper---metallic-spray-paint---400ml-508781

However, it took an AGE to dry, it was really hard to not have it running everywhere, and whilst I knew nothing about spray painting before hand it did seem like it wasn't great paint to be honest. If you know what you're doing though it might actually be ok, who knows! Apparently it's cheaper in B&Q but I don't live near one of those

underdog

Cheers mate, I really want a copper Les Paul.

thecolourbox

This is where my idea came from originally for the copper:

http://randomville.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/oo-152.jpg

normula1

That's the one "Gretsch" that I actually like the look of

thecolourbox

normula1;957707" said:

That's the one "Gretsch" that I actually like the look of

One day, one day

thecolourbox

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a639/matthew_goodwin1/Mobile Uploads/IMG_20160207_154848_zpsc5w7xl2f.jpg

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a639/matthew_goodwin1/Mobile Uploads/IMG_20160207_154903_zpsp2n94rii.jpg

thecolourbox

So after working hard on it yesterday putting the neck in place and remembering how to solder, today I have what resembles a complete guitar.

But with a few issues unfortunately.

I did the soldering ok, I had to cut off the solderless plugs that came with the kit as they partially snapped when I had to remove stuff from the previous ill fitting body. That went ok, I've not soldered since I was 14 but how hard can it be?

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a639/matthew_goodwin1/Mobile Uploads/IMG_20160206_202410_zpspcx6w6za.jpg

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a639/matthew_goodwin1/Mobile Uploads/IMG_20160206_202414_zpsxepwyifx.jpg

But today when I've plugged it in to play, I'm getting a hum that only stops if I touch the pickup switch, which suggests a ground issue I think, any suggestions greatly received though. I don't know if it's to do with the soldering I have done, or the soldering I haven't done if that makes sense, ie if I have missed something. Perhaps on the switch?

thecolourbox

Also the great ICBM helped me out last night as once again the pickguard didn't quite match the holes on the body for the bridge bolts, and also once again the stupid instructions provided to me with this kit had things the wrong way around. The bottom portion of the bolt is indeed much better to go into the hole before the pickguard, so then you put the guard on and then bash in the top bit - worked perfectly.

Problem:

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a639/matthew_goodwin1/Mobile Uploads/IMG_20160206_215932_zpsmg7ihpav.jpg

Resolved:

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a639/matthew_goodwin1/Mobile Uploads/IMG_20160206_230428_zpsp2vhesjg.jpg

thecolourbox

So now I just have to trouble shoot the ground hum, and do a general set up on the guitar. The action is too high, the neck pickup needs adjusting to get it horizontally straight and the bridge pickup is way too low at the moment. Then I expect I'll need some intonation adjusting etc, once all is good I'll put the truss rod cover in place

The photos I've done with the strings on make it look lighter than it actually is - it's more like the picture showing the bridge issue resolved. the Wudtone finish is much nicer in person than I can manage to show it with my mobile camera, so thanks @andypwudtone.

I can't wait to finish it, not least because I want to play the thing but also because I can not be bothered making one like this as there are too many things I am getting wrong!

I had fancied trying to get an LP Junior type body to get it looking something like one of these, but to be honest...I'm done with making them http://eastwoodguitars.co.uk/airline-h44-dlx-taxicab-yellow/

thecolourbox

There are more things than I thought still to do.

The ground humming is annoying and the pickups sound pretty poor so might need replacing. Maybe some nice but expensive chrome covered emgs.

The pick guard doesn't fit brilliantly so I can't lower the action as the bolt things won't go down any further. So might have to get a new guard cut

The Jack feels loose, ie the cable wobbles a bit. Would be solved by the emg set maybe

Can't do the set up because the strings are too high, and I'm finding it hard whilst playing it nearer the nut to press strings down, so might need to make the grooves in that a little deeper

Isn't stating in time brilliantly though that could be because it's new and I'm fiddling about with it. But might also need new tuners as well.

If I add up all the stuff I've had to add to the original kit I might as well have bought a Gibson and have a nice playable instrument with a better finish

Sarge

thecolourbox;968354" said:

I might as well have bought a Gibson and have a nice playable instrument with a better finish

And learn nothing

thecolourbox

I've not learnt that much except to sometimes follow instructions, and sometimes to not follow instructions!

AustrianJohn

If this is a Thomann guitar kit (or something similar), then it cost around £68. Without upgrading anything you get a good guitar for a great price. Here's my Thomann SG kit build:
 

Although I'm not a great fan of the SG kit (rather bland), my Thomann Les Paul kit build, after a bit of work on the neck pocket and new electrics, is a better guitar than my Les Paul Studio - at about half the price.



 

thecolourbox

It wasn't a Harley Benton one, it was more money than that and therefore absolutely not worth the money as it's going to cost more than the original kit cost to fix it! But as my lovely girlfriend got it me I have to stick with it I'm thinking a perfect fit pick guard that I saw on a UK website, maybe some chrome emgs to make it all as playable as possible so as not to let the good Lady down

thecolourbox

@austrianjohn yours looks lovely by the way, much better than mine. Good work!

Whereabouts in Austria are you incidentally? I lived in Vienna for a while, in der Josefstadt.

AustrianJohn

thecolourbox said:

@austrianjohn yours looks lovely by the way, much better than mine. Good work!

Whereabouts in Austria are you incidentally? I lived in Vienna for a while, in der Josefstadt.

Thanks for the complement. With my early kit builds my first, second (and in one case third) stain/paint/varnish/oil job tended to be rubbish and after a few days I'd be sanding it back and starting again. However - learning is all about making mistakes!

I'm in St Johann in Tirol, near Kitzbuhel.

Good luck with the rest of your build.