StewMac OM kit - Finished!

[H165]

I've been watching this thread a while. Looks good!

[srick]

Originally Posted by H165

I've been watching this thread a while. Looks good!

It’s been a very rewarding and humbling experience. And am already looking forward to #2. I am 99% sure that I will build another kit- the amount of armamentarium needed to bend the sides and the increased complexity needed in shaping a neck from the get go (plus a few other operations) is more than I want to take on.

#2 will be built in an external mold and a bolt on neck.

OTOH, I am finding it really tough to cool my jets and make sure that everything is OK before I glue the neck, the bridge, and do the setup. And how is it going to sound? As I said, a very humbling experience.

[srick]

Cant believe I’m at this point. Over the last couple of weeks, I French polished, then I French polished some more, then I messed up the surface, then I sanded it back and French polished some more.

The neck turned out to be a piece of cake - Gluboost fill and finish pore filler followed by Truoil. I wondered how well that would have worked on the body where I used Aquacoat.

Well, the result was “good enough”. It actually looks nice, and I am proud of it, so it’s clamped. Don’t look too closely, there is a slight gap between the shoulder of the neck on the treble side and the body. The heck with it. It’s my first guitar build and I am going to proudly wear that error. Of course when I dry clamped, it wasn’t there. Yup, I let my emotions overrule my brain and I went ahead anyway. Sometimes, you’ve got to move on.

A bolt on neck would have made this operation a lot easier. Next time folks. Hey, gettin’ close to the end! And how do you think it will sound! *

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Guitar - You ain’t goin’ nowhere…

* There was a silly story floating around a few years back concerning Ted Nugent. He was really jealous of Eddie Van Halen’s sound and desperately wanted to get his hands on the Frankenstrat. When he finally did, he was dumbstruck. Nugent was purported to say, “It sounded just like me!”

So yeah, I know the answer to my question .

[srick]

Big shoutout to AGFer Jmackay66 who sold me the clamp and StewMac adjustible bridge caul seen in the middle. It made gluing the bridge a breeze! Thank you! (The right tool for the job y’know).

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[srick]

The strings are on! And it sounds like… a guitar!

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Right now, things are changing by the minute as the wood learns to become a guitar. I’ve left the saddle high for now and will probably start bringing the action down tomorrow.

I really appreciated:

• Not having to bend the sides
• Only having to do a mild shaping of the neck
• The really good CNC fit between the neck and the tailblock
• preglued top and back
• Pre-cut rosette channel and pre bent rosette
• not having to slot the fretboard
• a pre- drilled and slotted bridge
• YouTube and the internet for more advice than I could have ever dreamed

And I’m already missing the process and looking forward to #2!

[Fathand]

Originally Posted by srick

The strings are on! And it sounds like… a guitar!

Attachment 99499

Attachment 99500

Right now, things are changing by the minute as the wood learns to become a guitar. I’ve left the saddle high for now and will probably start bringing the action down tomorrow.

I really appreciated:

• Not having to bend the sides
• Only having to do a mild shaping of the neck
• The really good CNC fit between the neck and the tailblock
• preglued top and back
• Pre-cut rosette channel and pre bent rosette
• not having to slot the fretboard
• a pre- drilled and slotted bridge
• YouTube and the internet for more advice than I could have ever dreamed

And I’m already missing the process and looking forward to #2!

Congratulations. It's a warm fuzzy feeling when you get one done, it sounds good and you realize you are playing something you built.
I just made all the parts and moulds for 4 guitars and will now build them one or two at a time so in a way I'm now building from kits.

[misterg]

Congratulations! That looks superb.

I've enjoyed following your build.

I'm convinced that (if I get that far) my build will collapse into a folded mess as soon as I try and string it up!

Andy

[srick]

Originally Posted by misterg

I'm convinced that (if I get that far) my build will collapse into a folded mess as soon as I try and string it up!

Andy

I’ve been worrying about that too ! So far, so good. And from what I understand, a lot of luthiers have that fear and experience the horror at some point during their careers.

[Bob Womack]

Congrats and it looks nice!

Bob

[Neil K Walk]

Congratulations and good work!

[dnf777]

Congrats Rick!
Looks like a beauty!

That first strum is a magical moment...akin to other firsts, that need no further explanation! (only a fellow luthier would understand anyway...my wife just gave me the strangest look when I tried to explain!)

But yes, you are taking the same tack I did, in moving to taking on more skills, namely side bending. I have a combination of an external mold (bought pre-made) and used that as a pattern to make my bending cauls on a press. (with heating blankets). Once you get the hang of "feeling" the wood give way, its actually kinda easy and fun. I throw in flame-maple binding with the sides in the bending press, so I get pre-shaped binding as a bonus, and its really easy to glue it. Just lays in its groove, with no high-tension clamping/taping needed.

Bolt on necks are fine with me! Dove tail joints are like moving up from college ball to a AAA team. Making/shaping your own neck from blanks is the jump from AAA to MLB!

Congrats again! Cant wait to see #2!

Dave F

[phavriluk]

With all the skills a first-time builder needs to somehow exercise, I think it's torture to inflict a dovetail neck on the builder. Little gets learned and a whole lot of anxiety gets generated. Trevor Gore, Bob Taylor, and Dana Bourgeois must be wrong, huh?

[srick]

Some more observations:

• My experience doing setups and repairs has been invaluable. I knew what to look for and where I wanted to go. The initial setup in fact, was pretty much complete within an hour. Woodworking skills were a must. And magnification\lighting - oh you need magnification to get to the next level. BTW, Harbor Freight has a really decent Optivisor like headset for under $20.00.
  
• I already miss my routine of heading down to the basement for a couple of hours and doing a little bit more every day.
  
• In the next several months, I will do a lot of organizing of the shop and prep for #2. Over the last few days, I have discovered a lot of sharp edges and corners around the shop that I wasn’t aware of. Each time I bang the guitar into one of them, my gut clenches. And I need to get to work re-sharpening my tools.
  
• I am dealing with the perennial issue of when do you stop? There is always one more thing that can be done better. Today, I’ll touch up the finish and tweak the setup. I’ll probably polish the nut and refine the saddle. Crumbs need to be vacuumed out of the interior. And yes, it will get played a lot!
  
• I need to purchase a case and humidify it.
  
• I still can’t believe that not only did I complete the job, but it resulted in a decent, playable guitar. And it’s awfully interesting to hear how the guitar’s sound is evolving with time.
  
• I find myself even more in awe of the luthiers that I know. Each guitar they build is truly a work of art.
  
  And how do they make a living? It’s truly magic!

[jricc]

Man that looks great! Love the french polish, congrats srick! I am envious of your skills. I can barely use a hammer...

[enalnitram]

Congrats! It looks very nice, and if it sounds anywhere near as good as it looks, you'll be very happy.

If you keep going with subsequent guitars, you'll appreciate the control you have when introducing more and more steps, beyond what is available in a kit.