My new project.. Turn a door into a guitar

[Rabs]

With this kind of work, you should use it as a resume for a guitar tech and be his apprentice for a while. You could learn way more from an experienced tech just by watching than you could from the internet. Great work, though.

Yeah I have certainly thought of all that... Need to finish the first one first :) Then we will see where it goes.

 

If it goes well I will do all I can to advertise it on social media and stuff.

 

I am also planning something special but we will see how that goes ;)

[LPguitarman]

Lookin' good Rabs.

[Rabs]

So not much of an update today.. To be honest my fretting was so so... Ive been spending the last two sessions trying to fix it as best I can but its very slow and fiddly.. As in my last posts im clamping them down filling with rosewood dust and supergluing and not all of them are taking.. BUT not all is lost.. its not bad enough that it will make it unplayable.. It just means A LOT more work for me.. But that's why we learn :)

 

So one side is done.. Needs cleaning up a but still but I will do that when I have finished the other side (which should be tomorrow)

 

So what I was doing today was while glue was drying I would do other little odd jobs that also need doing at some point.. This included making a test template for my controls and wiring and boy im glad I checked it..

 

This size is fine (and yes I know I should probably have gone for an L shaped toggle switch, but I will make it work :))

Apart from that im happy with the spacing

 

HOWEVER.. when I went to drill holes to check and see what size and if they fit ect I came across another issue.. I got short shaft pots as when I looked at the long ones they seemed too big.. BUT the wood is about 2mm to wide for them DOH!!!!!!!! not really much of an issue, pots are cheap and I will use them in the future.. So I will have to buy some new ones

 

Then the last bit for today.. I got some new coloured Nitro today.. An orange for this build and a red for the second one.. Did a quick test with them and am pretty happy with the colour

 

So.. that's all for today.. just a small update.. More tomorrow :)

[Rabs]

Im back in the saddle again :) For anyone who didn't see I had an injury a week or so ago that ive been recovering from (some kind of strained tendon or muscle.. Anyway.. all back to normal again this week so back on with the build.

 

So today I did two things.. Mainly finish gluing the frets down and then did some more colour tests.

 

So heres my little fret jig.. did the whole other side today (it takes a while)...

 

Then when they were dried I started sanding them down very carefully

 

Very slowly they begin to take shape

 

And not looking too bad.

 

Also they look pretty lined up.. theres a few high spots but all in all not bad at all

 

Nearly there.. Tomorrow I will tape the board up again and make sure each fret end is just right.

 

See below for some more colour testing.

[Rabs]

So I had a slight accident.. Whoops.. If you see I splatted the back of the neck Oh well.. I should be able to sand it out, but must be more careful with these dyes.

 

Anyway.. I was just testing two different brown colours I have which I intend to use for the back of the guitar.

 

This is the dye and I think looks pretty good

 

And this is the walnut nitro spray I have..

 

Before

 

After

 

Both look ok.. But the stain acts as a grain filler too so really highlights the wood... Maybe I should try spraying the nitro over the dye? Hmmmmm may try that on the morrow.

 

So now the fretboard is pretty much done.. the next things are gluing the headstock veneer, drill the peg holes and then glue the nut. THEN I can glue the body and neck together.. So im hoping now that will be done maybe tomorrow, Monday at the latest. We are nearly there boys and girls.. Hold on ;) And thanks for watching

[surfpup]

Lots of progress, Rabs. This thread is epic. Enjoying seeing you tackle this project.

[Rabs]

Lots of progress, Rabs. This thread is epic. Enjoying seeing you tackle this project.

Cheers man.. I was stifled by my injury for a week.. But the next few days should get more interesting :)

[Izzy]

he next few days should get more interesting :)

 

I hope you're doing better from your injury. This thread already is interesting. Nice and slow is the way to go when you're doing something for the first time, and sharing your mistakes and frustrations makes the whole thing more exciting. Thanks for the excellent pics.

[Rabs]

I hope you're doing better from your injury. This thread already is interesting. Nice and slow is the way to go when you're doing something for the first time, and sharing your mistakes and frustrations makes the whole thing more exciting. Thanks for the excellent pics.

Thanks Izzy :)

 

Its good to know that people are still finding it interesting. The comments I make like that are usually more due to my own frustrations than anything. I want to hear this bloody guitar more than anyone :P

 

And yes my arm is mostly better now.. I did a good 4 hours yesterday and am having a very slight relapse so I have only done a small amount today. (see below)..

 

I do however have something special im lining up that should really end this thread with a bang.. But that's still several weeks away (cos once its finished and sprayed I need to leave it 2-3 weeks to cure before final buffing).

[Rabs]

Sooo, just a small bit of work done today.. I have a slight back ache from leaning over when I work, I only got 5 hours sleep last night and my arm was playing up a little.. So I decided just to do an important but quick bit..

 

The nut.

 

I have been struggling a bit to get this nut area flat.. You get one side done and the other side is to high or low or the middle isn't quite flat etc etc. But that's probably down to bad technique. One of the things I hope to learn more about in the carpentry courses I am going to do.

 

So here you can see. I had to file that area down to just below the fretboard to get the right height.

 

BUT I went too far trying to get it perfect AHHHH!!! :) And when I say too far, im talking like 1.5mm or something tiny like that but when it comes to string height if its too low it will cause buzzing and wont play properly so must be done right.

 

So I now have to fix this (which is the frustrating thing about making mistakes, it usually takes ages to fix them adding to an already labour intensive process).

 

So I used my chisel and got a curl of wood (that's how small the mistake was).

 

Glue

 

Clamp

 

Then I glued the nut in

 

Ok so I fixed the height but the nut isn't quite snug to the board and looks a little messy

 

So I used the same technique that I used to fill the fret holes.. Rosewood dust and glue :)

 

It looks messy now but will sand down nicely and fill the holes and make it all more solid

 

Also I tried to get my veneer piece on today and am having those same corner and flatness issues. And again am sanding and filling and it just wasn't getting any better.

 

So this is when I really decided.. Im not at 100% today so best stop before I do something I cant recover from both with the guitar and my body :) Which I think is an important thing about doing stuff like this.. Make sure your comfortable. If you try and do it while your frustrated or like your hungry or really need the loo (lol) or something like that you WILL make mistakes.

 

So.. more tomorrow. I am also going to think about my veneer piece.. Its very thick for a veneer but I am doing that as my headstock is a bit thin.. So it was again another fix for a mistake and causing me issues.. Hopefully I will come up with a better idea OR manage to get it to a level im happy with. Anyway.. Now the nut is done its just the headstock that stopping me gluing the body and neck together. So if I get around this last issue I will do both things tomorrow.. Then the fun really starts ;)

[Boston]

Rabs,

I've been following since day 1, and I must say I am impressed! Keep it up, she's gonna be a beauty.

[Rabs]

Rabs,

I've been following since day 1, and I must say I am impressed! Keep it up, she's gonna be a beauty.

Thanks man.. The kind words are appreciated..

 

Ive had to stop again for the last few days as my injury (muscle or tendon strain) has come back a bit but seem to be ok again today.. So I will be back again hopefully tomorrow even though I may give myself a little more time to heal... Its really frustrating as im so close to getting it done.. But better to be safe than sorry :)

 

So hopefully more soon.

[Dennis G]

I may give myself a little more time to heal... Its really frustrating as im so close to getting it done.. But better to be safe than sorry :)

Those bits and pieces will be there whenever you're ready. Frustrating sure, but give yourself time to heal. Great stuff so far.

[surfpup]

I don't comment that often, but I check the thread all the time. One of my favorite threads of all time here, Rabs. Keep at it.

[Rabs]

Those bits and pieces will be there whenever you're ready. Frustrating sure, but give yourself time to heal. Great stuff so far.

Cheers guys.. And yes I know id better do the right thing or I will pay for it.. We will see how I feel in the morning :)

 

But if not I must get back to it by the weekend at least.. I MUST!! ;)

[Rabs]

HELLO !!! Im BACK :)

 

So as most of you know the last update was about two months ago now.. Ive been healing which took just over a month.. And since then I have been doing a course on antique furniture restoration AND I have done a mod job for someone which all I will say now is it was a Gibson I was working on But that is now curing and I will let you all in on that project in a few weeks.. and boy is it a doozy.

 

Anyway, after a short break as I have been working during a heatwave and to a deadline I am now back on my own guitars again and more revved than ever about the whole thing. After what I just did doing my own guitars will now be a breeze :) Im still not going to rush them but I reckon we are within two weeks of finishing both builds (before the spraying).

 

So the last we were at was that I had glued the nut on and was about to do the headstock veneer which is what I did today. I need to let that glue over night so its just a quick update today.. Then tomorrow I will drill for the tuners and glue the neck and the body together, then we will really be rocking.

 

So I glued the headstock

 

nice and tight (and yes Izzy I double tightened ;))

 

and as many clamps as I can fit on there.. you can never be too clamped

 

 

So as I say that now need to dry..

 

So I did more on build 2 while that was drying which can be found here.. More soon (its great working on these again ) :)

http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/100387-turn-a-door-to-a-guitar-project-2/

[Dennis G]

Glad to hear you're feeling better and nice to see you back at it. I've missed the updates

[STEVIL]

Another one here glad to see your back up with the build again.

[Rabs]

Another one here glad to see your back up with the build again.

Cheers guys.. its great to be back at it, I cant wait to get these finished and get on with my next builds already :)

[moparguy]

I was just thinking about this thread this weekend and here it is, good to see you back in action

[bonzoboy]

It's great to see you getting back into the swing of things,I've missed your tutorials.Glad to see that you're feeling better.

[Searcy]

Good to see this going again!!

 

What did you use for the head stock veneer?

[Rabs]

Good to see this going again!!

 

What did you use for the head stock veneer?

Cheers man.. not long till we get to hear your pups now :D

 

And for the veneer it was just one of the pine panels from the door. The idea was less about adding strength but more about making the headstock the right thickness for the tuning pegs..

 

Which you will see very soon when I get my next update done a bit later :)

[Rabs]

Howdy all..

 

So today was a good one.. the body and neck are now one and are drying and the tuner holes have been drilled :D

 

So heres the head after the gluing, nice an tight that's what we like to see

 

So I went at the edges with a hacksaw

 

then the sander

 

So you also may have noticed the markings on the top near the nut. That's the position of the trussrod hole. So I wasn't exactly sure if it was right or not so I drilled a small hole

 

Then once I was happy with the position I went at it with a 10mm drill (the size of the wrench

 

Nice

 

Now as Searcy was asking.. I put that veneer on firstly as it will help a bit with strength (a bit) and mostly so I could make the headstock the right thickness

 

 

Continued below

[Rabs]

So I lined it up with my Double Cut

 

and X marks the spot

 

So again I need 10mm holes

 

AND bamo

 

Now the one thing I didn't think about was that really they need to be slanting slightly inwards from the E tuners or the string is going to hit the peg below it.. Im not 100% I got that right or not but we will see when the bridge is on

 

And here with the pegs on

 

nice

 

So now that's done. The job ive been waiting for, for a while.. Sticking the neck and body together

 

I made sure it was all lined up

 

and its glued and drying now.. (and yes I double twisted the clamps again :))