Any Guitar Builders?

[Bobo]

On 5/29/2023 at 7:29 AM, kissTheSky said:

 

All super bitchin rock machines!  Dude!

[Boomerang]

Recently found an original ESP "Pacer" style 80's Kramer online which looked like it needed some TLC. Really like some of the early Kramer guitars and was rather curious as to how many pieces of lumber the bodies were manufactured from, i.e 2, 3, 4 piece etc. (4 piece in this case), not sure what type of timber, possibly Poplar ?

 

Someone had painted this guitar Light blue in the past. I stripped the paint using a heat gun and lightly sanded with 220 grit.

Believe the original colour was a Blue candy on what appeared to be like a champaign metallic base. Anyhow, this will be refinished in "Olympic White".

Installed the threaded FR body inserts for the floating bridge. Originally, the FR posts were just screwed straight into the body. These original FR bridge posts are hard to find at a decent price, so it was decided to upgrade to the later Floyd Rose inserts instead.  

Another modification was made on the neck heel. M6 OD M4 ID X 10mm SS threaded inserts. Taped, screwed and Tite Bonded in. This is an after market Roasted Maple Fender Style neck. This option seemed more appealing when considering the idea of giving this old Kramer a newer life.

Reshaped from the "Fender" head stock to a"Pacer" beak style and converted for a Floyd Rose nut. Was happy with the pre fit trail, everything worked out great when a couple of "E" strings were fitted.

Nearly finished fabricating the neck plate. Made from 3mm thick Marine grade aluminium to original neck plate dimensions.

These neck plates are originally an odd size and not the usual standard Fender type.

Looking forward to playing it, just need to remain patient.

 

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by Boomerang

[kissTheSky]

Great looking project. Finish sanding is the part I’m woefully underperforming. All my guitars need to be seen from a distance 😄

[wheelsup_cavu]

Nice work @Boomerang.

 

Wheels

[Bobo]

Finished building this for my niece.  She's been a good girl.  It's a kit.  Super fun.  Sounds great and plays great.  Now I make one for me in Sherwood Green.

[Boomerang]

Looks great Bobo, lucky niece, she will love it.

I installed a partly finished guitar neck today. I ended up making the neck plate from carbon fibre. All aligned great.

Happy with how the shape of the neck turned out.

Paint is next on the list. (others in progress).

 

[kissTheSky]

Looks great guys!

Painting is the part I’ve never tried. I am generally worthless in finishes, so I don’t want to make it worse by attempting to paint. 🫣

[Bobo]

Wow, carbon fiber plate.  I wonder if tuners could be made from CF, or parts of tuners...lighten up the head a lot.

Edited October 19, 2023 by Bobo
made more bitchin

[wheelsup_cavu]

Is there any news regarding anyone's builds?

 

Wheels

Edited November 13, 2023 by wheelsup_cavu

[kissTheSky]

On 11/13/2023 at 7:32 AM, wheelsup_cavu said:

Is there any news regarding anyone's builds?

 

Wheels

Nope. Not on any of mine. Work is kicking my derrière….

[Boomerang]

On 11/14/2023 at 2:32 AM, wheelsup_cavu said:

Is there any news regarding anyone's builds?

:) Yep, this one is ready for paint now. Neck aligned, bolted with 10.9 High Tensile Flat head cap screws, Hipshot Bridge fixed to body. Bridge Height looks good,  Intonation for 25.5" scale length looks okay for adjustment. I'm actually doing two of these. The other one will be a hard tail as well, only the neck will have a Rosewood fretboard on a roasted Maple neck. I cant decide what colour to paint this one. Was thinking: British Racing Green, or Blue Pearl on a black base, maybe green pearl on a black base? I already have so many colours to choose from.. Need to think about it some more ..  

[Boomerang]

Body is two piece Alder.

[kissTheSky]

Very nice @Boomerang! Blue Perl would be my choice.

[wheelsup_cavu]

Looking really nice @Boomerang.

 

Wheels

[Boomerang]

My son expressed interest in this, so this one will be his. (He has a Kiesel, I was just happy he liked this one too ). He decided on "Blue Pearl" in the end, first choice was a Pearl Mink, which sort of looks like a steely Reddish Silverish colour. We tested crudely just by smearing some of the pearl powders on the black primer. It's normally sprayed on a masked test panel which shows the differences between 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, the overlaid coats etc.

The primer under this metallic base is a black epoxy 4:1 primer, (the metallic base is a Montana Metallic Black pressure pack can).

Primer was sanded first with 240 then 400 grit sandpaper, (dry), then blown off with compressed air an Prepsoled) (Wax and grease remover).

I only just put the base on this morning, as it's a nice 24 C. I will let this Black Metallic base completely flash off/dry, then mix up some blue pearl in clear and start building the pearl up for the shade or tone on how much can be seen over the black metallic base. The mix will be 70/30. 70% being the acrylic lacquer thinners. 

If all goes well, that will be just clear coated with X2 coats, left to dry, lightly sanded with 600/800 grit, prepsoled, wiped, blown down then finally sealed with 2:1 Matt COB, (Clear over base 2 pack). 

Wishing all a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.

 

[kissTheSky]

Very nice @Boomerang! Really has that black pearl sparkle. 

[Boomerang]

Happy New Year for 2024  Wishing all have a really good one. 

Blue Pearl overlay over the Black Metallic Base, (X2 coats today). 

[Boomerang]

2K polyurethane  applied yesterday. Just need to allow a week or so to pass now, then wet sand with 1200 lightly to remove the Orange Peel, cut/polish etc.

My son wanted a gloss finish rather than flat. It's been a very long time since I painted anything like this. Last job similar to this was on a Dodge Phoenix in the 90's. 

 

[Boomerang]

This is what the 4:1 white epoxy primer looks like after 5 coats in total. Three coats are applied first, then left to dry a few days, sanded with P 240 dry, blown down with compressed air, prepsoled, wiped with a new clean cotton cloth. The work is blown down again and wiped with a micro fibre cloth before 2 more coats of primer is applied. (This Primer is available in Black as well, that's what the Blue Pearl guitar was primed in).

In approx a week, this will be dry sanded with P320-P400 sandpaper, blown off with compressed air again etc, etc.

The next coat will be the colour base coat. (Montana Brand acrylic spray cans are cheap to purchase and work great, much cheaper than the 1K coloured group base paint option). 

There are purple sanding sponges on TEMU that are really cheap to buy and they work very well. Ali Express has good gravity fed 1.4 tip spray guns for around $100 US $130 AU. I bought the colour bases in spray cans from Amazon. The pearl powders, 2:1 polyurethane clear over base, polyurethane thinners, 4:1 epoxy primer, acrylic lacquer thinners, blue painters tape were purchased from ebay. The Prepsol, (wax & grease remover), Local Bunnings or hardware store.

The P grades of sandpaper Iv'e mentioned can produce a good result. Some folks will use finer P grades, which is not necessary, yet could create adhesion issues during tape removal , etc.

Best advise I can offer painting wise is: 26 c degree day min temp, low humidity, 50/50 paint overlap when spraying. Decent lighting situation in order to see the paint atomise on the surface during paint applications. Spay cans: shake more than recommended and place bottom half of cans in hot water prior to using them, (they just spray better). Remember to wipe all the Prepsol off with a new clean rag, if you don't, "Fish eye" may be something that will need fixing and that's not fun when using overlays such as pearls or candy colours. This generally means = Start again. 

The don'ts: Stay well away from any enamel paints when doing jobs like these. Enamels don't play nicely with Acrylic or other 2 pack products very well.

Crows foot is generally the result. This also = Start again.. The paint needs to be removed.

Wishing all are well. 

S!

 

 

[Boomerang]

I forgot to mention, (regarding the blue pearl guitar), the pearl coat was made up with Acrylic Lacquer Clear and sealed with just 2 coats of Acrylic Lacquer Clear.

Mid sanding is a very light scuff, which is kind of like a light wipe over with a P600 sanding sponge, (dry). That assists with adhesion for the following 2k coats X3.

Iv'e discovered I'm out of cutting compound, so I will be trying the Mothers Professional Rubbing Compound 81138, which is a little less aggressive than the 3M brand I run out of. The cut will now be sanded with P 1500 wet & dry sandpaper prior to the polishing. 

 

[Boomerang]

Hi all, If anyone is planning on painting their own guitars in the future, or a timber product, just remember to "dry sand" everything. Some folks will wet sand the top coat prior to polishing and may have had some success doing so. However, there is a risk of swelling if any water enters or comes in contact with raw timber, (such as drilled holes for example). This can lead to cracks in the finish on your product. Just thought I'd mention this, it would be horrible someone putting all the effort in only to discover this was one of those harder lessons better avoided.

S!

[Boomerang]

I ran the polisher over the guitar body today in order to see how it's progressing. Needs a little more time, sure is slippery.

 

[Boomerang]

Son loves it.

This personal budget custom "ibanez look a like" is nearing completion now, just waiting on pickups from the UK to install. Value for me was my sons assistance, being one of those father son projects.  

[Boomerang]

Hi, Wishing all are well.

Today My son and I played the above Blue guitar after setting it up, sounds great, nice to play. I'll post some pictures really soon.

Below is the wiring circuit chosen, (which was fiddly). I found the ends of new guitar strings, (that are cut off), make great earths and help out with tricky fine connections.

Handy tools for nut fitting fine chamfering of edges etc was paddle pop sticks and wooden paint stirring sticks that have adhesive sand paper stuck to them. 

Was thinking about using an old looking car number plate for a pick guard on a Tele. 

The Rustins brand make great conductive paint for the electronic cavities on guitars, it drys fairly quickly in a warm environment and a little goes a long way.

I might try organic coconut oil for a rosewood fret board and see how it holds up, not sure if it will become rancid or not.

I've used a home brew of steel wool, vinegar, tea, green tea that was left to sit sealed for months. Applied, (well shaken), to raw Maple neck which made it appear aged, weathered. 

* Feel free to suggest any suggestions regarding any tools or recycled items that help out as well, would be great hearing about them.

S!  

[kissTheSky]

23 minutes ago, Boomerang said:

Hi, Wishing all are well.

Today My son and I played the above Blue guitar after setting it up, sounds great, nice to play. I'll post some pictures really soon.

Below is the wiring circuit chosen, (which was fiddly). I found the ends of new guitar strings, (that are cut off), make great earths and help out with tricky fine connections.

Handy tools for nut fitting fine chamfering of edges etc was paddle pop sticks and wooden paint stirring sticks that have adhesive sand paper stuck to them. 

Was thinking about using an old looking car number plate for a pick guard on a Tele. 

The Rustins brand make great conductive paint for the electronic cavities on guitars, it drys fairly quickly in a warm environment and a little goes a long way.

I might try organic coconut oil for a rosewood fret board and see how it holds up, not sure if it will become rancid or not.

I've used a home brew of steel wool, vinegar, tea, green tea that was left to sit sealed for months. Applied, (well shaken), to raw Maple neck which made it appear aged, weathered. 

* Feel free to suggest any suggestions regarding any tools or recycled items that help out as well, would be great hearing about them.

S!  

Coil split and high pass filter, nice!

I know there are other train of thoughts on this, such as using welding torch nozzle cleaners and/or a set of feeler gauges (filed to serrated edges on one side) to cut nuts, but I feel a good set of nut files makes the job into a <5 min job if you have the nut cut at the right height. I usually buy bleached buffalo bone nut blanks from bitterroot on eBay and shape and cut them after frets are leveled and crowned. 

I haven’t tried Rustins, but I also use shielding paint from StewMac, which I believe is similar. 

I use bore oil for woodwind instruments and lemon oil interchangeably on rosewood and ebony fingerboards a little container goes a long long way, and does not cause any odors. I put several drops and wipe ahead of winter to moisturize the board(s).

if you’d like to peruse, this is a great build of a distressed guitar. Dave Gilmour’s Workmate.

https://www.tdpri.com/threads/completed-motor_city_tele-2014-build-challenge-gilmour-workmate.467557/

I’ve used vinegar, steel wool, tea combination on a Douglas fir coffee table I’ve made, but it was a bit darker than I would have liked, so I’d recommend applying a very light single coat and waiting at least a day before going ahead with more coats as it darkens as it dries.

i would love to see the fully finished photo of the blue pearl, would you happen to have some?