Leaving The Kits Behind: Two New Scratch Builds

My last sequence of blog posts in October/November, chronicled my SG jr build, based on a body and neck from Precision Guitar Kits.  While the build was fun, and the guitar a blast to play, ultimately it didn't "scratch the itch" of what I wanted out of the build process.  What I finally realized was that I no longer wanted to be the assembler of someone else's ideas and craftsmanship: I wanted total control over the process from idea to finished guitar.

I've been working with wood since the late '60s, and playing/repairing/modifying guitars for almost as long, so what was holding me back? Fear of the unknown.  And fear of math!  The geometry and calculations involved in building a neck from scratch is a daunting prospect.  But heck, what did I have to lose? I don't build guitars as a business, I build for therapy and my own amusement. So what if I end up with some fancy kindling wood. Luckily, I ran across a wonderful series of guitar building videos showing the tremendous craftsmanship of Dave Fletcher, of Fletcher Handcrafted Guitars in Australia. His clear descriptions of his process and techniques gave me the confidence to take the plunge.

So, since I don't believe in half measures, I've planned two builds: a set neck guitar using maple and the walnut left from trees taken down in my yard, and a slightly simpler build that I'm calling my "Pine Top Tele."  The "Pine Top" build is ahead of the walnut build. I've just completed the neck and am thrilled with the results.  Lots of planning time, but not as difficult as I had anticipated. Nothing more satisfying than turning a slab of maple into a neck using rasps, files, card scrapers, and sandpaper.  The wood, construction, scale, neck contour, headstock shape and finish I want rather than someone else's idea.

I don't plan on detailing every step of the construction, but I'll post some progress pix, and the occasional tips. In that spirit, here are a few of the Pine Top Tele at the rough body/neck shape stage:

Body "sandwich" of birdseye pine, red oak, poplar

24.562" scale maple neck with rosewood fret board

full scale drawing for reference

Plus a sneak peek of the "Walnut2" setneck:

SG jr Kit From Precision Guitars Done

The SG junior is done! Click on the SG jr link on the right side of the blog to see a sequence of pictures.  I'll post some thoughts and suggestions, as well as a Youtube video with soundclips when I'm feeling better.

Suffice it to say, it plays like "buttah!" The tone, with the Seymour Duncan vintage P90 is straight up rock. Absolutely nails early Leslie West/Mountain.

SG jr Build: Finishing-- The 3rd Time's The Charm

Ok, it has taken 3 tries, but the padded on Shellac/dye finish is looking good. Heeding my own advice to be patient has paid off.  That, and reading some fine articles on modified French polishing techniques.  Steve has some great info on applying shellac here.  A few things I've learned along the way:

1. Shellac is in a class by itself as far as behavior.  Excellent technique with varnish/paint/poly/etc. won't help.  You must learn a whole new way of thinking about/applying finishes to be successful with shellac.
2. The effort is worth it.  The finish is beautiful, doesn't require expensive equipment, and the fumes won't drive you out of the house.  Then why don't the major manufacturers use it you ask? Because it takes lots of time and lots of skill, something that just doesn't fit into a corporate business plan.
3. When you make a mistake with shellac-- and it is "when," not "if," a small pad with a bit of alcohol is the magic eraser.  Not something you can do with other finishes.
4. All denatured alcohols are not created equal. The percent of ethanol (alcohol) and other ingredients added varies greatly.  The purer, the better, I've found. I imagine the 190 proof Everclear from the liquor store would be great, but the local Home Depot had 95% pure denatured alcohol under the Klean Strip Green brand.  Much smoother application than the "regular" denatured alcohol I 1st used.
5. Heavy, food-grade mineral oil sold at your local grocery/pharmacy makes a great pad lubricant.  Use sparingly!
6. Zinnser Sealcoat shellac (dewaxed) cut 1:1 with the alcohol makes a great mix for slowly building a finish. 

Sanding everything back down (again!) because I wasn't happy with the color went quicker than I expected, thanks to a pad sander.

Dust collection a must! You can see the neck isn't sanded back yet.

To raise the guitar off the table and to protect the finish, I use pieces of scrap wood wrapped in rubber shelf liner and a clean cloth.  a scrap block inserted in the pickup rout does a great job also.

Sanded, ready for dye.

Almost done applying shellac. Wood block fits in pickup rout to raise body off table and protect new finish.

 The finish has a nice even glow, and a great, deep amber/orange color.

 I'm going to let it sit about a week before final polishing.

SG jr Build: Pickguards, French Polishing & Patience

Lots of bad migraine days have slowed things down, and it's been one step forward and two steps back.

I've had mixed results with the modified French polish method I had been using to apply dyed shellac. The color was great, the neck was perfect, and the back was getting there.  Then, dummy me didn't follow my own advice to be patient.  I picked the guitar up by the neck too soon and left finger marks.  Lots of spot sanding and re-applying of finish then ensued over the course of a few days.  I got it back to 95% and the back was starting to smooth out with the same methodology: build up some body coats, knock it back with an olive oil and abrasive rub, then apply some glaze coats.  While the results would look great to a casual observer, in the end I just wasn't 100% happy.  What to do? What to do?

I could just finish the front the same way, give it a final polish, assemble the hardware and be done with it.  Unfortunately, I know that little OCD, perfectionist voice in my head would just keep getting louder, waking me up at night, saying :you know you should have just stripped it back and started over."  So to avoid any additional sleepless nights, I'm going ahead and sanding everything down, and starting fresh.  Actually, the SGjr is hanging like a dressed deer in my basement right now: gutted and stripped, just waiting for me to decide whether to stick with the modified French polish, or an easier application.

Ah, decisions, decisions...

One other bright note is that I successfully manufactured the pickguard and cover plate from a blank of pickguard material.  Using the router table to cut the bevel was a breeze, and I'll have the MDF templates for future use.

Pickguard isn't scratched: there's a protective film on the front

Templates

Shaping the pickguard on the router table

Shielding on back of control cavity cover

SG jr: Starting the Electronics

The wiring for an SG junior is very simple: 1 volume, 1 tone, 1 pickup, 1 jack, 1 capacitor.  While I waited for the finish to dry between sessions of French polishing, I did some of the wiring for the controls.  Plus I couldn't sleep, and what do we all do when it's 2am and we can't sleep? That's right, we solder!

I like to use the control cavity holes to create a cardboard template for holding the pots & jack in the correct locations relative to each other.  Makes final assembly much easier.  I'll line the cavity with copper foil, then just run the wires for the pickup and bridge stud ground, a couple of solder connections, and be good to go.

ground wire soldered to bridge stud insert

Finishing the SG jr Part 2: Adventures in French Polishing

Just a quick progress report on my SG junior guitar build:

After contour sanding, I glued up the neck and body.  I like Titebond II Dark wood glue for darker woods like walnut and mahogany. Like all glues, I resist the temptation to wipe off excess glue when it is wet.  I wait for it to dry and then the squeeze out comes away cleanly with a chisel or razor blade.

Once dry, the residue will come off easily with a bit of scraping.

The front of the headstock I wanted to darken for contrast, but did not want to just spray paint it black.  I ebonized, or pickled, the mahogany with a mix made from soaking a steel wool pad in vinegar for a day.  Once I clear coat it with shellac, it will look great.

The neck and back of the body are finished, except for final polishing & buffing. I'll tackle the front this week.  Both for aesthetic and health reasons, I decided to go with a modified French Polish approach, using shellac with a bit of dye added to deepen the natural beauty of the mahogany as I build layers.  I used standard mahogany color grain filler from STEWMAC after dying the body with own mix of alcohol dyes mixed with a bit of shellac sealer.

14 sessions to build the back and neck.  Creates a beautiful, thin finish that absolutely glows: if it was good enough for master violin makers, it's good enough for me.  Definitely time intensive, but time is something I have.

You can get a bit of an idea of the color and sheen after applying the sealer, dye, grain filler, body coats, & glazing coats of shellac.

Some people have asked about the durability of a shellac finish:  the best testimony I have is my great-grandfather's violin.  It was made in the mid 1800s, saw a ton of different conditions, and still looks good today.  Plus it's probably the easiest finish to repair, if it is damaged.

Posting more when I get the front done.

SG jr Finish Prep Part 1

I decided to forge ahead today with some basic finish prep on the SG jr, migraine or no. Sometimes the activity helps, and at least it takes my mind off the pain.

Regardless of the type of guitar build, I recommend these steps for anyone attempting their own finish and assembly with a couple of caveats:

Use caution if  you're using a bolt-on neck that already is sealed/finished. You'll need to know what the manufacturer used to avoid using an incompatible top finish that just ends up peeling and flaking off! Most bolt-on necks are maple which, as a closed pore wood, does not require as much prep, either.  A thin coating of Tung Oil maybe all you want or need.

Different woods require different preparation.  StewMac.com has some great information on flowchart form here.

I also suggest that you don't start any finishing steps until you have all your parts: bridge, tuners, pots, etc.

1.  You'll want to check everything for fit and alignment. If adjustments need to be made, it is easier before any finish is applied.  In the case of my SG jr build, I needed to slightly ream out the holes for the control pots as the CTS pots I'm using weren't slipping in as easily as I like.  Some Stikit adhesive backed 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel does the job admirably.  A pencil also works.

Adhesive backed sandpaper is a tremendous help in the shop.  As you can see, I also use it to shape a control cavity cover template correctly as well. I'll use the MDF template to shape the cover from a blank of pickguard material.  Or red oak. Depends on what I'm feeling later.

Using the table saw rip fence to keep the template square while I hand sand.

Template ready for use.

2. Mask off the fretboard, the neck pocket in the body,and the portion of the neck heel that will be glued into the body.  Glue adheres best to unfinished wood.

3. Contour sand using 220 grit paper, going with the grain.  You can soften radius edges to taste, remove any ragged edges left from routing (no ragged edges from Precision: thanks Phil!), and just generally check for rough spots.

4. Raise the grain by wiping all the sanded surfaces down with a damp (not wet) rag.  This will cause all the broken/rough end wood fibers left from the 1st sanding pass to lift.

5. Sand again-- lightly, and at a slight angle to the grain,  with a smaller grit paper. If you used 220 grit for the contour sanding, use 320 or 400 grit. I'll often repeat with 600 wet/dry paper on non-maple necks.

Stikit adhesive backed sandpaper is a great help.

6. Clean off the saw dust.  Brush, vacuum to get the bulk, then wipe the whole thing down with a clean, lint-free rag dampened with mineral spirits.

Mineral spirits wipe really reveals the natural grain & color.  Also reveals any nicks and scratches.

Save some sanding dust.  If you need to fill in a ding, you'll have matching wood to mix with some glue.

6. While everything is drying, you can play around with some tests of dyes or stains.  Two things I'm considering for the SG jr are "pickling" the front of the headstock to turn it black while allowing the underlying grain to be seen, and applying a slight stain with the sanding sealer to enhance the natural beauty of the mahogany.  I'll use spots inside the control/pickup/neck cavities that won't be seen to try various mixes.  The small black spot in the pic is from my pickling mix.

7. If I do decide to apply a dye tint, I'll do it before applying grain filler.

Coming up in finishing...

Grain filler, final sanding, seal coats,top coats, and final buffing & polishing.