As mentioned on the previous page, the bridge pup did not match exactly to what I told Tommy to do, so I had to do a bit of routing. I used the old chisel again. I had to go to the outer markings, which was not a big deal.
Next week, I start prepping the body and painting.
I also need to drill the hole for the bridge ground. Can’t forget that one, again.
Sep. 2, 2008
I drilled the holes for the bridge and the mounting holes for the pups, drilled the holes for the pots & did the final sanding on the body. It does not make for great pix, so I didn’t take any. I drilled the string ground hole from the route for the bridge into the control cavity.
And today I applied the first coat of clear gloss nitro. Just a thin base, or sealing, kind of coat. Tomorrow another coat of clear. Then Thurs. the black coat, and then Fri., if things hold together, the last coat of clear. YeeHah.
Place holder
Sep. 5, 2008
With just a light coat of clear gloss, the alder has turned a nice amber color. Ash, as I recall, does not do this. Perhaps this is why alder is not used for clear finishes, other than sunbursts, which tend to be amber-ish in the middle anyways.
The black painted body & neck do not show up well in photo’s taken outside.
The heaviest coat of paint in this project is the black coat. Today I put a thin coat of clear over the black. Now I have to wait 2 weeks before starting the final buffing process.
I will see if I can get some better pix before then.
Sep. 18, 2008
Today I will start the buffing process, using the MicroMesh package from StewMac. Kent from CBPerkins suggested I add a drop of dish soap to the water that my sandpaper is in. So I will try that. He said it will help prevent the finish from getting stuck in the sand paper, and give a glossier shine.
Sep. 18, 2008
I have the wrong size pots. I got short shaft & I need long shaft. I had the router out, and I was ready to deal with the problem this way, and use the short shaft pots, but I got wise first. So the wires are all sticking out the back & side.
So far, I like the look & feel of the guitar. The back of the neck feels really smooth.
It will probably take a week to get the new pots. 250k ohm long shaft pots are not a common item.
Sep. 22, 2008
It still needs major work, but the pups work, according to the tuner. It needs some major set up type work, which remains to be done.
But good news is good news.
Sep 23, 2008
I raised the saddles a bit, and that really helped. The neck & nut need some adjusting as well, but one thing at a time. :)