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  1. #16
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    Feb 2007
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    blue mountains
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir Stinkalot View Post
    Looking great Paul ..... please do one more and do a full wip
    When it comes to cutting the fretboard slots how accurate do you have to be on the spacing as to not effect the tone?


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    As Paul said it is important that the frets are in the right place or the instrument can not be played. There are a few fret calculators on line however so anyone can have a go.
    https://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator
    I only do a couple of fret boards a year so still do it all by hand. I had to reduce the set on a dovetail saw to cut the slots the right width and tap the frets in with a rubber hammer. Google will show a few youtube clips on how fretting is done. It is a bit daunting before you start but after the first one is done (and it plays) then you find it is just another woodworking task.
    Regards
    John

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  3. #17
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Valla Beach
    Posts
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    Finally up to finishing stage/s. It's been a long haul, had family visiting from Sydney, (the son who is scoring one of these guitars.) I've spent a lot of time working on the frets ensuring they are all nice and even in height etc, recrowning. I was a bit surprised that they were not to bad to start with. But now I am 100% happy with them. The neck is as straight as.

    Got most of my other measurements, neck, headstock etc, to where I want them and today did the final sand. I sanded the main surfaces down to 2000 grit. I am not totally sure if thats the way to go using WOP, but I experimented with some offcuts first, for a few coats and they felt very mmmm lovely.

    First time I have used WOP. I am thinking that between coats I lightly rub back with OOOO steel wool, and see how many I put on. Then I end up cutting back very lightly with a polish using a buffing pad on my ROS. I think the pad is called a Surbuf pad, bought a pair a while back haven't tried them yet.

    Sorry the pics only give the back, I now have the guitars on hooks hanging in the wardrobe in the spare bedroom.

    Paul
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  4. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Valla Beach
    Posts
    1,184

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    Hi Guys,

    4th coat of WOP now done, and looking pretty good. My aim is for about 15 coats, we'll see if I get that far.

    Fretboard is finished, it has 2 coats of 50/50 boiled linseed oil and white spirits.


    Paul
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  5. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Valla Beach
    Posts
    1,184

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    Hi guys, I put the 12th coat of WOP on yesterday, and its looking veryyyy nice indeed. One full day between coats, rubbed back very lightly between coats with 0000 steel wool. I will do 15 coats and then give it a good few days to dry completely. My 2000 grit W&D has not arrived yet, should be soon (for my ROS).

    Then a very light buff (wet) to even everything out. Then a buffed on polish with liquid polish. That's the plan anyway.

    Paul

  6. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Valla Beach
    Posts
    1,184

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    15th coat done today. I'll leave these now for some days. The 2000 w&d still hasn't arrived yet, no rush. Give the WOP plenty of time to set nice and hard.

    Paul

  7. #21
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Parkside - South Australia
    Age
    45
    Posts
    3,316

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    Looking good Paul. Have you sourced the hardware yet?
    Now proudly sponsored by Binford Tools. Be sure to check out the Binford 6100 - available now at any good tool retailer.

  8. #22
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    North of the coathanger, Sydney
    Age
    68
    Posts
    9,417

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    Very nice looking guitars - well done
    That purpleheart looks really spectacular

    Quote Originally Posted by shanesmith80 View Post
    Very cool and interesting. My daughter wants me to build her a guitar but I've got no idea where to start.
    easy as
    1. get plans
    2. obtain timber
    3. panic
    regards
    Nick
    veni, vidi,
    tornavi
    Without wood it's just ...

  9. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    back in Alberta for a while
    Age
    68
    Posts
    12,006

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker View Post
    Very nice looking guitars - well done

    Quote Originally Posted by shanesmith80 View Post
    Very cool and interesting. My daughter wants me to build her a guitar but I've got no idea where to start.
    easy as
    1. get plans
    2. obtain timber
    3. panic
    I'd add a few earlier steps
    1. clarify if she wants an electric or acoustic
    2. try to talk her out of an acoustic -- you're tone deaf / not at all musical / etc.
    3. fail -- bugger
    4. get plans and a "how to" book
    5. go buy a 1/4 sheet of 3/4" ply and some 20 mm dowel rod
    6. start building jigs

    I'm not at all musical so can plead -- I won't be able to tell during the build if the finished article is playable.
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  10. #24
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    North of the coathanger, Sydney
    Age
    68
    Posts
    9,417

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    7. Give up, acquire new supply of wood and send to Paul321 with heaps of cash! Ask for wip photos to show daughter!
    regards
    Nick
    veni, vidi,
    tornavi
    Without wood it's just ...

  11. #25
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Valla Beach
    Posts
    1,184

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    Hi Chaps, Thanks for those humourus comments. And yes I have already purchase all the accessories for these two guitars. I spent much more on these two than all my previous guitars. When I do the final pics I'll list all the accessories. Roughly I am spending a total of $1,000 on the two guitars combined, not including the timber. Mal down at Boutique Timbers reckons that slab of Purple Heart would be worth $400 to $500. Cost me nothing, but it was a payback for a huge favour I did for a certain person.

    I am spending a fair bit on these two, as these will be my last guitars, that now makes ten I have made. No more, already decided that. They are a lot of work, as others on this part of the site will verify. I have even tossed out all my moulds I made for my acoustic guitar, the lot, all gone in the bin. I've got various templates I have made, they are all going out also.

    I'll just concentrate on my boxes from now on.

    Paul

  12. #26
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Valla Beach
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    Hi everyone, I haven't forgotten about these guitars. My intended finish was to follow a method this bloke did on Youtube, maybe you seen it. It basically involved sanding to 240 grit, then applying about 15 coats of WOP, then letting that set hard. Then using 2000 grit W&D discs on a ROS, and using a squirt wattle bottle, lightly squirt water over the finish, then gently rub it all back with the ROS, creating a slurry and wiping that off, more rubbing etc, till the finish is lovely and smooth. After that he uses buffing pads on his ROS, applies liquid polish and buffs it.

    OK, all went well with the 15 coats of WOP, left it a good week or more to set rock hard, by that time my 2000 grit W&D discs had arrived. So off I goes, spray light water, cut back etc etc. I was only doing one of the guitars at this stage, left the other one as is.

    BUT what was occuring was the lovely deep purple of the purple heart was turning a sort of faded purple colour. Losing all it vibrance and looking washed out.

    What was causing this, surely it wasn't filling the grain all the way through 15 coats of WOP. Or did the WOP react to the water, I am not sure.

    I then used the 2000 grit W&D again, but this time only dry. I must say the finish was like glass, as smooth as. I put a couple more coats of WOP over it, still a lovely smooth finish, but even though some of the washed out PH looked better, it was still noticeable.

    Soo today I got out my ROS again and using 120 then 240 grit, sanded it all back. Bear in mind I am only talking about the top and bottom of the body, the neck and sides are lovely.

    I sanded it back to 240 and no more. Thinking I would give the WOP something to bite in to. Now I intend to build up more coats again, and maybe a very light 2000 grit dry sand.

    The other guitar is still as is, I havent touched it yet, its still sitting in the wardrobe with its 15 coats of WOP on it.

    That's where things are up to, I am not really worried how long this takes to get a finish I am happy with. These will be my last guitars, and I want them to have a wow factor.

    In the meantime I am making and selling plenty of boxes.

    Paul

  13. #27
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Strathalbyn South Australia
    Posts
    1,141

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    Interesting that the colour was changing in the Purple Heart. I wonder if it may have been heat building up from the ROS through the water that was causing it, the WOP acting as a heatsink and transferring the heat into the timber? I wonder if doing it by hand (Although laborious) would be better?


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  14. #28
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Valla Beach
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    Hey there Cal, that's a very interesting theory, maybe you are on the money there. Yes by rubbing it back by hand would be a very laborious task. Oh and I forgot to mention it, the bloke on youtube that I was watching was doing a coffee table slab. He said he has used the same technique on making a guitar also. But then again all timbers react different to various things as we all know.

    So I think I only have two options here. Build my current layers up to about 6 layers and then do a very light sand with the 2000 dry and see what happens then in regards to colour and smoothness of finish.

    Or,........if that fails I hit it all back again and sand through all grades up to 2000 which I did initially before this hiccup occurred, and start over with the WOP.

    It's a shame the colour thing happened as the finish was soooooo smooth.

    Paul

  15. #29
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Valla Beach
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    Finally finished,...yesssssssssss,..!!

    Well chaps, my two guitars are now finally finished. It's been a long haul, with some breaks and time away in the middle of all this. The guitar that went light and greyish, I rubbed it all the way back with a ROS, and started over again on it. Somewhere I caught up to where I was and I lost count of how many coats of WOP finally went into these, maybe 30. The finishes have now turned out lovely.

    I am totally happy with the way these guitars turned out. I never thought I would be able to make a guitar of this quality. That's it now, no more guitars. Ten is enough. I'll concentrate on my boxes from now on.

    Just recapping with the guitars and what I used.

    Timber Purple Heart and Hornbeam
    Les Paul Scale Length
    Pickups are Seymour Duncan Vintage 1959 Blues
    Bridge is Gotoh through body
    Tuning Keys are Wilkinson locking type (very nice to use)

    Paul
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  16. #30
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Strathalbyn South Australia
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    1,141

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    Very nicely done Paul, you must be proud! Huge respect to you and your ability!

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