Thread: First build! - The story so far

Originally Posted by woodturner777

Wait until you are a good builder and from what I have seen so far your doing very well for a first build. but once your really good then you can buy more expensive tone woods as you will recover the costs when you sell the instrument.
Cheers Bob

You make a very valid point there Bob. Once I am confident I won't ruin some very good timber, I'll feel alot more confident spending more for it!

Cheers,
Yoz

G'Day Martin,
Have you ever tried King Billy.?
Cheers Bob

OK so today's update...

MOP finally arrived today so I can begin playing with the inlay, fret markers etc. soon. I decided to make a bit of extra work for myself and cut a cavity cover from sapele which I am really happy with.
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...te-2709002.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...te-2709001.jpg

So here it is after being bound, scraped and sanded to 180 grit all over.
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...te-2709003.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...te-2709004.jpg

And you finally start to get an idea of the final shape/appearance.
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...te-2709007.jpg

And then, just now applied a sealer coat to the back/neck (after sanding to 320 grit).
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...te-2709009.jpg

Really happy with the finish/appearance/colour of the sapele. Even with a sinlge sealer coat on it has a richer colour than I anticipated and is starting to show a great contrast to the binding.

Still waiting for aniline dyes to arrive for the top so will be working on fret markers next, interspersed with additional coats on the back. I have some newbie questions regarding wiring but will start a separate thread for that.

Cheers,
Yoz

So progress has slowed a little, between waiting for clear coats to dry and for supplies to arrive from various overseas sources...

But now I'm into the MOP inlay. For a while there I thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew for my first effort, but so far it has gone to plan and I'm pleased with the way its coming up. Here is the prelim sketch and detailed drawing, along with the raw material:
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...-July09064.jpg

And after a few hours of careful cutting, here are the pieces glued in place (with CA glue) and scribed:
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-17709007.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-17709008.jpg

Just one small piece to re-cut and then I can remove the pieces and begin cutting the mortise. Hope to have that finished tonight!

Cheers,

Shane

So CA glue sticks like ____ to a blanket. I knew that before I started but still didn't expect it to be so difficult to get the pieces off the headstock once I had scribed the outline. I also learned that paua shell isn't as strong as MOP... but luckily it glues together well with CA glue (and I dont think anyone will ever notice ).

Here's the mortise cut, the pieces fit into place and then glued (using clear 2-part araldite) and finally sanded smooth.
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-19709001.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-19709005.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-19709008.jpg

Then got into using the aniline dyes... bloody messy stuff and a great way to get in trouble with the wife. Applied a coat of red brown w/black to the top and sanded back to highlight the figure. Also applied a coat of the same to the headstock and lightly sanded.

And then finally today, applied a clear coat to the top. I intend to apply 2 clear coats, then sand smooth before spraying the sunburst using a Preval unit. The idea there is that if I'm not happy with the burst I hope to be able to sand back to the finish you see here and try again.
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-19709014.jpg

This is such a great learning experience. I haven't been so scared in years! Every time you touch this beautiful thing you're making you're worried you'll stuff something up but you just keep chipping away. I'm really happy with the way the inlay has come up. Still a bit of an experiment to dye the maple around the inlay to the shade I want without effecting the MOP or Paua but seems to be working so far.
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-19709019.jpg

Cheers,
Yoz

Looking good there Yoz, I just love that headstock, you are doing an excellent job on a first build.
Cheers Bob

That is a fine looking lapsteel. Great work. I recon you already have a second build in the planning stages. Am I right?

Cheers,

Peter

Thanks guys!

Yes Peter, the next project is firming up in my mind.... trouble is I can't decide if it's going to be a thinline tele or if I bite the bullet and try for an acoustic weissenborn style instrument. It will all depend on the workshop in our new house (we are relocating to Wellington in a few weeks and have yet to find a house) and how much time I have on my hands in my new job (which I start next week!).

...so I suspect the first thing on my "next to do" list will probably be a case for this lapsteel, which will be quicker and simpler than another guitar. I'm thinking of going back to my kayak building days and using marine ply and fibreglass...

Cheers,
Shane

nice inlay mate
looks sweet....

thinline tele sounds good....
do one with bent sides just to annoy Stu lol

Been offline for a while as I was trying to complete my project before life gets busy! Flat out finishing it this week and finally polished and assembled this afternoon. I'm stoked with how she's turned out!!! Needless to say I've learned a lot from my first build, and there are lots (and I mean lots) of small mistakes, none of which will effect how she sounds or plays. Sunburst turned out a little darker than I originally wanted (due to lack of experience and simple equipment) but the overall look is very close to the orginal idea that's was in my head.

Rather than post lots of links I just have two - one to an image and one to a slideshow of the finished product.

SIngle image:
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...arupdate-1.jpg

Slideshow:
http://s735.photobucket.com/albums/w...t=1d8a4810.pbw

The sapele body rings for ever!!!! Soooo much sustain! And much louder acoustically than I expected. And so happy with the inlay in the headstock.

The worst thing is I fly out tomorrow for the week so can't spend much time with her until next weekend...

Once again, some specs of the finished article:
Lap steel
25" scale length
Chambered sapele body with f-holes
Flame maple top
Rosewood f/board with MOP fret markers
Custom MOP & paua inlay in headstock
Wilkinson humbuckers (to be upgraded when finances allow)
Master volume, master tone, 3-way switch
Nut width - 49mm
Weight - 3.7kg

I just can't wait for the next one!

Cheers,

Shane

Now that is a sweeeet result Yoz, well done. You've got to be happy with that.

And welcome to the world of addiction!!

nice instrument for a first build!

in fact for any build

I will second that, brilliant build.
Cheers Bob

Originally Posted by R3R

nice instrument for a first build!

in fact for any build

Originally Posted by Yoz

G'day Bob. I don't think there is "no interest" out there. In my own case, I'd love to use your beautiful Tassie timbers for my next build but right now I'm unfortunately not in a position to afford them. I think they're worth every penny but for the time being they're out of my reach.

As for supporting local distributors... I work in importing and distribution of consumer goods for a very different market which is significantly larger than the luthier supplies market and we still find it hard to maintain price parity with our parent brands in the US and Europe. Like you, we differentiate ourselves on service but, unlike you, we can't differentiate on product as I'm selling the same product you see on the US websites. And in economic times like these, you have to expect consumers to be more careful about spending their money. So I understand only too well the challenges faced by the likes of ALS and guitarparts.co.nz. It's tough in this global marketplace and unless you can differentiate yourself, or consumers need your product immediately, you're going to find it tough.

Cheers,
Yoz

Yoz/Guys,

Im a new member to teh forums and this is my first post.

Yoz, Thank you very much for sharing this wonderful experience and wow...excellent result on your first build. I recently overhauled an old Korean Squier/strat copy. New electricals, shileded, bridge reset and now she plays very sweetly. But it got me interested in building guitars. Im not sure if I could start from scratch like yourself for my first build - Ill probably buy precut body and neck and just route and finish. But i must say you have inspired me and confirmed my passion not only as a player but as a budding hobbyist/luthier. I reallly want to do this now.

Thanks again, and good luck with future builds.

Ill post some pics on my progress in the near future when i make a start.

Cheers,

Manny.