Post by edvard on Aug 13, 2017 1:09:25 GMT -5
Hey folks, I've been away, mostly because I'm playing my brand new #1 A LOT. Now I'm back to show you what's been going on.
Attempt #2 was scrapped due to a crack developing, and because I found a hardwood pallet (actually, I've found a few... lots of planning to do) and I wanted to use that instead of the Pine I was using. I made a base layer with some Douglas Fir 2x4's I had around and topped it with the Oak slats from the pallet.
I regret selling the Warmoth neck I had, but I needed the cash at the time, and it was the least painful thing I could sell. In it's place I bought a cheap neck from China because I am still not a rich man, but at least I won't be tempted to sell it, and I wanted to find out how good these things really are.
I made up a few different ideas for headstocks and cut dummies out from some non-hardwood pallet slats.
Finally settled on a design that was reminiscent of the old Ovation headstock, but different enough to be more of a tribute than a rip-off.
Got it all cut out and tuners in place. I found out afterwards I got the centerline about 1/16" off, but I was assured this wasn't a huge deal, so I let it slide. Next time...
The tuners are some "headstone" style things I found on eBay. Yep, Shenzhen's finest.
And here is the neck test fitted to a routed and sanded body. If anybody wants to try one of these Chinese necks, just be aware that the bottom of the heel is a few hairs wider than 2-3/16", and it's neither a round heel like a Strat, or a flat heel like a Tele, but somewhere in between.
Here I've hogged out the pickup and control cavities with a Forstner bit, cleaning up the edges with a chisel, then routed the rest to final depth.
Along with not being a rich man, I'm also not very patient when it comes to certain things. Grain filling and waiting for paint to dry are some of those things.
I decided to go with Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil for the finish, for a few reasons:
1- It's hard to do wrong
2- It doesn't take a month to cure
3- It has hardly any fumes, so I can do the finishing in my basement, instead of my woodshed/workshop.
(my workshop/woodshed is bone-chilling cold until June, and then sauna-stifling until October)
Here the body has a nice gloss developing. See this article for how to do a high gloss with Tru-Oil:
www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/how-do-you-get-a-high-gloss-from-tru-oil-finish.711780/
in fact, bookmark it, very informative.
Next time, if I do another Oak top, I'll grain fill with a dark color, then dye it green
Here I have wired up the pickguard I cut from PVC sheet stock also known by the brand name "Sintra". I used it because I had plenty of cast-offs from working at a sign shop, and it's easily cut with a utility knife in a pinch. Let's see... two 500k pots, a Gibson-style selector switch, mini-toggle for series/parallel switching at the bridge pickup, and a .022 'bumblebee' cap for bragging rights.
Oh, those pickups? Well, I've done single coils and humbuckers, never been a fan of P-90s, so I thought I'd try mini-humbuckers. Turns out these aren't just mini-humbuckers, but Firebird-style mini-humbuckers. How do they sound? Smoother than single-coils, and more growl than regular humbuckers. I love 'em. Despite the Seymour-Duncan logo on the baseplates, those aren't Seymours. Nope... once again, Shenzhen's finest. They sound surprisingly good. Probably no comparison to REAL Firebirds, but I can honestly say these are the best pickups I've ever played.
And here it is, all strung up and standing out from the rest of my stable.
After some setup and a fret leveling, this is now my favorite guitar. The Chinese neck and hardware are honestly better than I'd been led to believe, though I'll admit someone must have had a hangover when they tapped the saddles for the bridge adjustment screws . If I had the money, I'd go for the "good stuff", more for the fit and finish than anything, cause it all does it's job in the end. All in all, a good experience. I've learned a lot and gotten a better than serviceable guitar out of the deal, and will have the skills to do better on the next one.
Next one, you say? Oh yess... the bug has bitten...
Attempt #2 was scrapped due to a crack developing, and because I found a hardwood pallet (actually, I've found a few... lots of planning to do) and I wanted to use that instead of the Pine I was using. I made a base layer with some Douglas Fir 2x4's I had around and topped it with the Oak slats from the pallet.
I regret selling the Warmoth neck I had, but I needed the cash at the time, and it was the least painful thing I could sell. In it's place I bought a cheap neck from China because I am still not a rich man, but at least I won't be tempted to sell it, and I wanted to find out how good these things really are.
I made up a few different ideas for headstocks and cut dummies out from some non-hardwood pallet slats.
Finally settled on a design that was reminiscent of the old Ovation headstock, but different enough to be more of a tribute than a rip-off.
Got it all cut out and tuners in place. I found out afterwards I got the centerline about 1/16" off, but I was assured this wasn't a huge deal, so I let it slide. Next time...
The tuners are some "headstone" style things I found on eBay. Yep, Shenzhen's finest.
And here is the neck test fitted to a routed and sanded body. If anybody wants to try one of these Chinese necks, just be aware that the bottom of the heel is a few hairs wider than 2-3/16", and it's neither a round heel like a Strat, or a flat heel like a Tele, but somewhere in between.
Here I've hogged out the pickup and control cavities with a Forstner bit, cleaning up the edges with a chisel, then routed the rest to final depth.
Along with not being a rich man, I'm also not very patient when it comes to certain things. Grain filling and waiting for paint to dry are some of those things.
I decided to go with Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil for the finish, for a few reasons:
1- It's hard to do wrong
2- It doesn't take a month to cure
3- It has hardly any fumes, so I can do the finishing in my basement, instead of my woodshed/workshop.
(my workshop/woodshed is bone-chilling cold until June, and then sauna-stifling until October)
Here the body has a nice gloss developing. See this article for how to do a high gloss with Tru-Oil:
www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/how-do-you-get-a-high-gloss-from-tru-oil-finish.711780/
in fact, bookmark it, very informative.
Next time, if I do another Oak top, I'll grain fill with a dark color, then dye it green
Here I have wired up the pickguard I cut from PVC sheet stock also known by the brand name "Sintra". I used it because I had plenty of cast-offs from working at a sign shop, and it's easily cut with a utility knife in a pinch. Let's see... two 500k pots, a Gibson-style selector switch, mini-toggle for series/parallel switching at the bridge pickup, and a .022 'bumblebee' cap for bragging rights.
Oh, those pickups? Well, I've done single coils and humbuckers, never been a fan of P-90s, so I thought I'd try mini-humbuckers. Turns out these aren't just mini-humbuckers, but Firebird-style mini-humbuckers. How do they sound? Smoother than single-coils, and more growl than regular humbuckers. I love 'em. Despite the Seymour-Duncan logo on the baseplates, those aren't Seymours. Nope... once again, Shenzhen's finest. They sound surprisingly good. Probably no comparison to REAL Firebirds, but I can honestly say these are the best pickups I've ever played.
And here it is, all strung up and standing out from the rest of my stable.
After some setup and a fret leveling, this is now my favorite guitar. The Chinese neck and hardware are honestly better than I'd been led to believe, though I'll admit someone must have had a hangover when they tapped the saddles for the bridge adjustment screws . If I had the money, I'd go for the "good stuff", more for the fit and finish than anything, cause it all does it's job in the end. All in all, a good experience. I've learned a lot and gotten a better than serviceable guitar out of the deal, and will have the skills to do better on the next one.
Next one, you say? Oh yess... the bug has bitten...