Retired Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 1426444393[/url]' post='1640280']Thank you. Can't say I'm not scared. Been dealing with it (hormone resistant metastatic prostate cancer) since December 2012. Been through 2 surgeries, 4 rounds of radiation and oral chemo drugs, but the disease started spreading during this latest round of radiation in January & February, so they tell me it's time to "nuke" it with chemo. Theoretically, it will kill the disease regardless of where it may be hiding. You don't know how I'm praying that they're right. The well wishes mean a lot... It's kind of hard to give you a definitive answer. I think it really depends largely on your experience and patience. There are better kits available (top quality woods, CNC cut bodies, perfect neck/heel joints etc), but you're probably looking at $600 - $700 for those kits. At that point, I think a lot of guys would opt to buy an Epi or a used Gibson. IIRC, I paid roughly $200 for this one. I had no fitment issues with this example, though I have heard of poor neck angles, play in the neck pocket and so forth. The first time I dry-fit the neck and body, I felt it was a solid enough platform that I didn't mind putting in the time & effort to turn it into a pretty nice instrument. But again, I have 30+ years of modding and repair experience, so I felt I was up to the challenge. Out of the box, the finer details were definitely on the rough side. The inside edges of the F-holes were unfinished and not very pretty. I sanded them as smooth as I could get them and then lined the inside edges with strip styrene. Leveled to the surface of the guitar and polished to a nice gloss. The frets were surprisingly even (only 2 were out of true), but the oxidation was pretty nasty. So I did a fret level & recrown, then polished up to 8000 grit. Finally hit them with 3M Scratch Out and they look brand new and are perfectly level. You DEFINITELY want to use fret protectors when you're doing this kind of work. When I was satisfied with my work, I oiled the fingerboard to nourish it and bring up a nice sheen. The top and back woods (at this price, I have to assume they're flamed maple veneers) look pretty nice, but the walnut sides are several pieces (I believe I counted 5) and the headstock has a scarf joint. Doesn't bother me and I think they're actually stronger than one piece neck/headstocks, but I know a lot of guys feel this connotates "cheap." Well, yeah price-wise it was, but I already figured I'd be putting a substantial amount of work into this project to make it what I wanted it to be so none of that really bothered me. Might not be worth it to somebody else, but when someone asks what kind of guitar this is, I'll have the satisfaction of being able to say "I built that." There's a lot to be said for that... So, would I recommend this kit? I guess my answer would have to be a qualified "yes." As long as you're aware of what you may be getting into and don't mind the work, it can be a lot of fun. Good luck with the chemo, I too am jealous of your guitar project. Wish I could do something like that. It looks great. By the way I too went through cancer, had a brain tumor that was supposed to have killed me. That was 28 years ago, still here so know what it's like. They even took 2 cups of bone marrow from each side of my hips, drilled 200 different places and I had the oral and liquid chemo both which took 2 1/2 days in the hospital each session. That didn't make me as sick as the radiation treatments though. Radiation made me throw up every glass of water I drank so if you survived that the chemo isn't as bad. They gave me all but one chemo drug so they hit me heavy. Good luck and may God bless you with your treatments. Main thing I can say is have a positive attitude and keep praying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 1426444393[/url]' post='1640280']Thank you. Can't say I'm not scared. Been dealing with it (hormone resistant metastatic prostate cancer) since December 2012. Been through 2 surgeries, 4 rounds of radiation and oral chemo drugs, but the disease started spreading during this latest round of radiation in January & February, so they tell me it's time to "nuke" it with chemo. Theoretically, it will kill the disease regardless of where it may be hiding. You don't know how I'm praying that they're right. The well wishes mean a lot... It's kind of hard to give you a definitive answer. I think it really depends largely on your experience and patience. There are better kits available (top quality woods, CNC cut bodies, perfect neck/heel joints etc), but you're probably looking at $600 - $700 for those kits. At that point, I think a lot of guys would opt to buy an Epi or a used Gibson. IIRC, I paid roughly $200 for this one. I had no fitment issues with this example, though I have heard of poor neck angles, play in the neck pocket and so forth. The first time I dry-fit the neck and body, I felt it was a solid enough platform that I didn't mind putting in the time & effort to turn it into a pretty nice instrument. But again, I have 30+ years of modding and repair experience, so I felt I was up to the challenge. Out of the box, the finer details were definitely on the rough side. The inside edges of the F-holes were unfinished and not very pretty. I sanded them as smooth as I could get them and then lined the inside edges with strip styrene. Leveled to the surface of the guitar and polished to a nice gloss. The frets were surprisingly even (only 2 were out of true), but the oxidation was pretty nasty. So I did a fret level & recrown, then polished up to 8000 grit. Finally hit them with 3M Scratch Out and they look brand new and are perfectly level. You DEFINITELY want to use fret protectors when you're doing this kind of work. When I was satisfied with my work, I oiled the fingerboard to nourish it and bring up a nice sheen. The top and back woods (at this price, I have to assume they're flamed maple veneers) look pretty nice, but the walnut sides are several pieces (I believe I counted 5) and the headstock has a scarf joint. Doesn't bother me and I think they're actually stronger than one piece neck/headstocks, but I know a lot of guys feel this connotates "cheap." Well, yeah price-wise it was, but I already figured I'd be putting a substantial amount of work into this project to make it what I wanted it to be so none of that really bothered me. Might not be worth it to somebody else, but when someone asks what kind of guitar this is, I'll have the satisfaction of being able to say "I built that." There's a lot to be said for that... So, would I recommend this kit? I guess my answer would have to be a qualified "yes." As long as you're aware of what you may be getting into and don't mind the work, it can be a lot of fun. Good luck with the chemo, I too am jealous of your guitar project. Wish I could do something like that. It looks great. By the way I too went through cancer, had a brain tumor that was supposed to have killed me. That was 28 years ago, still here so know what it's like. They even took 2 cups of bone marrow from each side of my hips, drilled 200 different places and I had the oral and liquid chemo both which took 2 1/2 days in the hospital each session. That didn't make me as sick as the radiation treatments though. Radiation made me throw up every glass of water I drank so if you survived that the chemo isn't as bad. They gave me all but one chemo drug so they hit me heavy. Good luck and may God bless you with your treatments. Main thing I can say is have a positive attitude and keep praying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 First I want to say WOW! Nice work! I love was thinking myself of buying a SG style kit! And then i'd like to wish you the best and let me tell you it is an inspiration for me to see your way of living. Transforming all the negative stuff into good one! Thanks for sharing. There should be more people like you on this planet! Greetz Marcos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Good luck with the chemo, I too am jealous of your guitar project. Wish I could do something like that. It looks great. By the way I too went through cancer, had a brain tumor that was supposed to have killed me. That was 28 years ago, still here so know what it's like. They even took 2 cups of bone marrow from each side of my hips, drilled 200 different places and I had the oral and liquid chemo both which took 2 1/2 days in the hospital each session. That didn't make me as sick as the radiation treatments though. Radiation made me throw up every glass of water I drank so if you survived that the chemo isn't as bad. They gave me all but one chemo drug so they hit me heavy. Good luck and may God bless you with your treatments. Main thing I can say is have a positive attitude and keep praying. Thanks so much and the perspective certainly helps my outlook on my chances. I really do try to keep a positive attitude, and I'm generally pretty successful. But there are those times where the thoughts overwhelm me and I get really scared. Then I get frustrated with myself because that's not positive thinking. Then one of the kids will say, "Dad, you're human. It'd be kind of weird if it didn't scare you. RELAX..." And I climb back in the saddle & do my best. It passes, but definitely not a pleasant state of mind when it comes crashing in. And congratulations to you on kicking cancer's a$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 First I want to say WOW! Nice work! I love was thinking myself of buying a SG style kit! And then i'd like to wish you the best and let me tell you it is an inspiration for me to see your way of living. Transforming all the negative stuff into good one! Thanks for sharing. There should be more people like you on this planet! Greetz Marcos. Thank you so much! Though my kids would beg to differ on more people like me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 So... Back to the build. Last night, I set my sights on getting a little more done. Not a super exciting update, but it's stuff that has to be done regardless. I installed a set of TonePros locking tailpiece studs, ground wire, conversion bridge posts, a Gotoh lightweight aluminum tailpiece and an ABR-1 bridge. I've read that the lightweight tailpieces enhance resonance & promote an "airy" tone. Reality or BS? I have no idea, but I suppose I'm about to find out! Figuring I was on a roll, I moved on to the tuners. Originally, I'd planned on using Grovers. I wasn't thrilled about the weight (I know, I know...it's just a set of tuning keys, but the whole set is surprisingly hefty). Accordingly, I reamed out the mounting holes to accept the diameter of the posts & the locking nut. Of course it was then that I discovered TonePros carries a set of Klusons that are vintage spec and appearance, but have modern fine tuning ratios (17:1 IIRC). That meant using adapter bushings, which turned out really nice. They look like the original equipment thanks to the larger body diameter and standard size outer flange: Then the doo-doo hit the oscillating air circulation device. Drilling the pilot holes for the mounting screws was a royal PITA. In 30+ years of working on guitars, I've never encountered maple this hard. Broke one drill bit and bent another one. And the screws still didn't want to go in. The screw heads & slots are so small, it was damned near impossible to get enough torque for the threads to bit into the wood. After 3 hours of frustration, 2 blisters and a LOT of swearing, I managed to "git 'er dun." Son of a gun! She's actually starting to look like real guitar! Thanks for following along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I had no idea you were dealing with these health issues. I am wishing you all the best ans sending healing mojo your way. That git is looking gorgeous too, nice work there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 All different styles of guitar kits are plentiful on ebay (in the section for Guitar Builder/Luthiers), but I got this particular kit from a Canadian dealer online. Even with shipping, his pricing was about $140 less than the exact same kit on ebay (the ebay listing didn't offer free shipping, so in addition to the $229 they wanted for the kit, drop shipping from China or wherever it originated would've been another $100 or so). The two double cutaway Junior kits I mentioned earlier are made by Faber and I got those online from someplace in Germany (I'd have to go dig out the invoice to remember exactly where), but I do remember since I was buying two, the seller gave me a 30% discount and ate the shipping. In the long run, I still made out quite a bit better cost-wise than buying from a North American seller. Out of the box, the Faber kits exhibit a much more refined level of detail & finish than the 335-style I'm currently working on. But I'm seriously enjoying the challenge of making this kit into (hopefully) a real "head-turner." The trick is finding a selection of kits (ebay is a good start), find one that interests you and do a little research (was able to find that many of the Explorer-type kits feature undersized bodies, which isn't readily apparent in the listing photos). Once you find one that meets whatever you criteria you've decided it needs to meet, shop around for the best price you can find and you're on your way. I've seen some kits, similar to yours, on Etsy, from a seller called Albatross Guitars. Going to have to look into this properly methinks! How did you make that headstock cover? Did you buy one and modify? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 I had no idea you were dealing with these health issues. I am wishing you all the best ans sending healing mojo your way. Yup. Genetics & gettin' old are a real peach. My Dad was diagnosed at 72 and lived to 80 or 81. I'm 54 so it reared it's ugly head pretty early with me. That git is looking gorgeous too, nice work there. Thank you kindly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Lovely job so far. Great thread. Only thing I would have done differently (of course, I couldn't do any of what you've done - but let's pretend!) would have been to complete the inlays all the way up the neck. I have never managed to get the reasoning of stopping the inlays at the 15th fret. The other things I couldn't stop myself doing would be a Varitone circuit and I'd do the reverse of the lightweight tailpiece - a TP6 fine tuner. But that's me and you is you and mighty fine is the job thus far. The headstock is superb. My best wishes with the therapy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 I've seen some kits, similar to yours, on Etsy, from a seller called Albatross Guitars. Going to have to look into this properly methinks! How did you make that headstock cover? Did you buy one and modify? Albatross is one of the kit makers that has been noted as "hit or miss" in the research I did. I believe this is a Derulo kit, but I wouldn't want to have to swear to it in court. But again, depending on your skill set, determination and patience, I believe any of the kits can be built up into a really impressive instrument. The headstock is not a cover. It's paint, clear coat, a decal, a very thin inlay and LOT of elbow grease. Details are in post #5 of this thread. If you buy a kit, you've gotta post pics...and have fun with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Lovely job so far. Great thread. Only thing I would have done differently (of course, I couldn't do any of what you've done - but let's pretend!) would have been to complete the inlays all the way up the neck. I have never managed to get the reasoning of stopping the inlays at the 15th fret. The other things I couldn't stop myself doing would be a Varitone circuit and I'd do the reverse of the lightweight tailpiece - a TP6 fine tuner. But that's me and you is you and mighty fine is the job thus far. The headstock is superb. My best wishes with the therapy. You know, I used to feel the same way about the inlays, but when I unboxed it and saw the fingerboard with the block inlays instead of the trapezoids or dots, the first thing that came to mind was "Sheraton." So although I thought it was unusual, it isn't wrong per se, and I just left it the way it was. I'm looking at a number of wiring options. There will be a coil-split for certain, but I'm looking at phase/parallel/series options too. Just trying to figure what I might find the most use for...I mean aside from being able to split the coils. Never tried the lightweight tailpieces before and figured I'd give one a shot. If it sucks, I can always throw a standard one on at a string change. Thank you for the headstock compliment. I'm rather proud of the whole endeavour, but commemorating my daughter's memory with the rose and the gold logo against the black background is a pretty striking appearance that I'm quite pleased with. And thanks for the well wishes on the therapy. It all does mean a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderchild Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Great looking kit, where did you get? And if I may ask was it very expensive? looking forward to seeing and hearing the finished project. Also good luck & God speed on the chemo, my wife has been going thru chemo since Jan. Faith in God, positive attitude, and plenty of prayers will get you thru . Will add you to my daily prayer list. God bless. TC ps: the folks over in the Epi lounge are very free with prayers and good vibes too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Hayden Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 flyingfrets first off I pray for your health to heal . you head stock design is awesome and Erin would be proud to have her memory on it. I always wanted to buy one of those stripped down guitars on Ebay and make my own.Good job on yours and best wishes 4H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Albatross is one of the kit makers that has been noted as "hit or miss" in the research I did. I believe this is a Derulo kit, but I wouldn't want to have to swear to it in court. But again, depending on your skill set, determination and patience, I believe any of the kits can be built up into a really impressive instrument. The headstock is not a cover. It's paint, clear coat, a decal, a very thin inlay and LOT of elbow grease. Details are in post #5 of this thread. If you buy a kit, you've gotta post pics...and have fun with it! Thanks mate; completely missed that post earlier in the thread! Very tempted by a 335 kit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I'm very impressed with this. I've been stuck with nothing to add but another "nice " but I've got to say I'm inspired. Got to look into this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Great looking kit, where did you get? And if I may ask was it very expensive? looking forward to seeing and hearing the finished project. Also good luck & God speed on the chemo, my wife has been going thru chemo since Jan. Faith in God, positive attitude, and plenty of prayers will get you thru . Will add you to my daily prayer list. God bless. TC ps: the folks over in the Epi lounge are very free with prayers and good vibes too. Thank you. I'd imagine everybody's definition of "expensive" will be different, but no, I didn't think it was too bad. With shipping, it was right under the $200 mark. There's also the "you get what you pay for" factor. If you've been following the thread from the beginning, you'll recall that though the basics were there and it's a stable, solidly built platform for what I had in mind, the level of refinement was pretty rudimentary. flyingfrets first off I pray for your health to heal . you head stock design is awesome and Erin would be proud to have her memory on it. I always wanted to buy one of those stripped down guitars on Ebay and make my own.Good job on yours and best wishes. 4H Thanks so much. I still miss "Daddy's Little Girl"...imagine I always will, but it's nice to hear that you think it's a worthy commemoration. Yeah, getting a stripped body/neck from Stratosphere or one of the other guys on the 'bay is a good option too, but I wanted to push myself a little further than that. This one started out as one of the kits you can also find there (though I found a better deal outside of ebay). Thanks mate; completely missed that post earlier in the thread! Very tempted by a 335 kit! Y'know, what I think is odd is that I'm not really a 335 kinda guy (more into Les Pauls & Juniors). But I thought if I was ever going to have a 335-style guitar, it was going to be one I built. Then I found this kit (I found at least 4 of this design from different manufacturers online, so definitely shop around till you find one that appeals to you). What really caught my eye, and yes, I'm well aware at this price point, it's a veneer, was the bookmatched flamed maple top. As rabs & I were discussing earlier, a nice stain would've given the grain some serious depth and made it really "pop," but I'm quite pleased with the result I got leaving it natural. Wiring (as with any 335, Sherry or Casino) is going to be the real bugger! But you take the good with the bad, and overall, yeah, I'm still having a blast! I say "Go for it." If I can do it, you can too. Besides, it'd be criminal of me to keep all this fun to myself! I'm very impressed with this. I've been stuck with nothing to add but another "nice " but I've got to say I'm inspired. Got to look into this. And I can respond with nothing but "Thank you,"...or maybe "Ta." But I appreciate the comment never-the-less. And yes, DO look into it. As I was just telling TM_Fisher, they're a LOT of fun (well, as long as you understand what you're getting into). It just may become as addictive as Gear Acquisition Syndrome. GBS, anyone...?!!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich1978 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 just wondering what did you use to cut the inlay into the headstock with cause you got a really neat job of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Dremel tool with one of the etching bits. Didn't need to go very deep at all & the edges were "fine tuned" with a new x-acto blade. I don't own any specialized tools for that kind of work. Just a matter of figuring out exactly what I needed to do and knowing the capabilities & limitations of the tools I do have. Work slowly. Sometimes I may need to make two passes at something with two different tools to get the result I want, but it works...for me. Guess it's more of that "patience" thing I keep mentioning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Well...apparently I ran a little short on the "patience" I'd been touting. I expected to be finishing up the build this weekend, or at least getting very close (intended to have the new nut and the wiring harness installed), but I stupidly ran into a little medical set-back. Shortly after I replied to rich on the 18th, I was looking at the tuning keys and thought that one of them was installed a little crooked. The perfectionist in me couldn't leave well enough alone, so I removed the tuners and refilled the screw-hole with wood glue and a toothpick. I let the glue set up about an hour or so and thought, "I'm just gonna trim this back before I go to bed." Though I knew better than to do something like that being as tired and medicated as I was, but (you know what's coming next)...I did it anyway. Had a good grip on the neck just behind the headstock with my left hand and was trimming the toothpick down with my right. The Xacto blade caught about half-way through the toothpick and I remember thinking, "ah, that's not good - gotta be careful here." The thought no sooner crossed my mind when the blade went through...and broadside into my left thumb right down to the bone... Thankfully, I'm okay (other than being righteously embarrassed) but I got a quick and very painful reminder that some of these tools (Xactos in particular) are EXTREMELY sharp . DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME KIDDIES! In all seriousness, be careful working on your guitars and take nothing for granted. I've done a "fill & drill" probably hundreds of times in the last 30+ years and still managed to filet my thumb . Safety first...always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Hayden Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Well...apparently I ran a little short on the "patience" I'd been touting. I expected to be finishing up the build this weekend, or at least getting very close (intended to have the new nut and the wiring harness installed), but I stupidly ran into a little medical set-back. Shortly after I replied to rich on the 18th, I was looking at the tuning keys and thought that one of them was installed a little crooked. The perfectionist in me couldn't leave well enough alone, so I removed the tuners and refilled the screw-hole with wood glue and a toothpick. I let the glue set up about an hour or so and thought, "I'm just gonna trim this back before I go to bed." Though I knew better than to do something like that being as tired and medicated as I was, but (you know what's coming next)...I did it anyway. Had a good grip on the neck just behind the headstock with my left hand and was trimming the toothpick down with my right. The Xacto blade caught about half-way through the toothpick and I remember thinking, "ah, that's not good - gotta be careful here." The thought no sooner crossed my mind when the blade went through...and broadside into my left thumb right down to the bone... Thankfully, I'm okay (other than being righteously embarrassed) but I got a quick and very painful reminder that some of these tools (Xactos in particular) are EXTREMELY sharp . DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME KIDDIES! In all seriousness, be careful working on your guitars and take nothing for granted. I've done a "fill & drill" probably hundreds of times in the last 30+ years and still managed to filet my thumb . Safety first...always. And I was wanting to see the finished product today , well maybe next weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Damn man... that looks nasty... Ive had a few close calls myself with power tools... Its so easy for something to go wrong if you don't concentrate.. Ive had a flu recently which has left me really light headed on some days and almost dizzy.. I wont work on my guitars like that.. Too easy to make a mistake. But even sometimes when you do everything right accidents do happen.. So get better soon man.. (on all fronts)... Take it easy (as you can) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 So... Back to the build. Last night, I set my sights on getting a little more done. Not a super exciting update, but it's stuff that has to be done regardless. What did you use the hammer for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Fantastic job! Very best to your health and life in general. You've dealt with more than anyone should have to in the last months and you've got an incredible attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 What did you use the hammer for? Installing the tailpiece stud & bridge post anchors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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