My new Jagsquire!

[Rudy4]

Here's my new "in the white" 24" scale single pickup guitar in it's almost complete form. It will get 3 coats of "milk paint" and Osmo PolyX hard oil finish on the neck. That will happen later when the weather turns nicer, but it's getting played like this until then.

I built it as an instrument for myself, but also as a complete "how to build" on another forum, including CAD plan in pdf form.

I'm a big fan of shorter scale and single pickup guitars, so this one combines those two fundamental concepts from two iconic electric guitars in a simple and inexpensive format.

I've been making a few of these because the body is so much fun to build. It's constructed from two 48" 1" by 10" common pine boards from the local big box store at a total cost of under $10. The bridge is also unique, as it can be removed from the body easily and accommodates either nylon tied strings or steel ball end strings. The way the body is made allows it to be easily chambered with multiple large Forstner pockets, and the entire completed guitar comes in at 4 pounds 13 ounces.

I designed the body and bridge from it's inception to be easy to modify, and this one was built THREE different ways; first as a "silent" nylon strung guitar, then adding an undersaddle pickup, and lastly converted over to steel strung with a single mini-bucker added. Although it was purposefully run through the three modifications for demonstration purposes I have to say the "silent nylon" was REALLY nice as a late night "Don't wake the S.O." couch guitar.

[rockabilly69]

Nice looking build, did you build the neck from scratch?

[jricc]

That's an incredibly versatile build Rudy. I admire your skills. I love the removable bridge and the fact it can be strung with nylon or steel strings.
Very cool.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Nice looking build, did you build the neck from scratch?

Yes, with the exception of a few of the components such as tuners and mini-bucker the entire instrument is scratch built.

[SaintClarence27]

Looks great already! The older I get, the more curious I am about weight (not my own, though I could stand to lose). What's the weight on this?

I'm thinking that when I finally get around to building a guitar, I'm going to have it be as light as humanly possible.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Yes, with the exception of a few of the components such as tuners and mini-bucker the entire instrument is scratch built.

Fantastic!

[FrankHudson]

Looks like a neat idea well executed.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by SaintClarence27

Looks great already! The older I get, the more curious I am about weight (not my own, though I could stand to lose). What's the weight on this?

I'm thinking that when I finally get around to building a guitar, I'm going to have it be as light as humanly possible.

They don't get much lighter than this one! The total weight (not including the strap) is 4 pounds 13 ounces.

Yes, as an "older gentleman" I'm strongly attracted to lightweight guitars, and even in my earlier days of playing bar gigs often I disliked slinging a lot of weight for a 3 or 4 hour gig. I built myself two "thinline" Teles so I could play easily for that length of time. I bouight cheap MIM Teles and modified them with a new body and other changes. At the time the MIM Telecasters had way better necks than their American made counterparts.

[Rudy4]

Here's a previous version, done as a "silent" nylon strung guitar. It shows what the guitar looks like after the "milk paint" is applied. I love finishes that are EASY and look good!

[joeappel]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

It will get 3 coats of "milk paint" and Osmo PolyX hard oil finish on the neck. That will happen later when the weather turns nicer, but it's getting played like this until then.

Very cool. Osmo PolyX looks like a really interesting finish.

[SaintClarence27]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

They don't get much lighter than this one! The total weight (not including the strap) is 4 pounds 13 ounces.

Yes, as an "older gentleman" I'm strongly attracted to lightweight guitars, and even in my earlier days of playing bar gigs often I disliked slinging a lot of weight for a 3 or 4 hour gig. I built myself two "thinline" Teles so I could play easily for that length of time. I bouight cheap MIM Teles and modified them with a new body and other changes. At the time the MIM Telecasters had way better necks than their American made counterparts.

That sounds positively featherweight and amazing.

[PTony]

Very, very cool. Nicely done. And the milk paint looks great. Would you do a thin nitro over it or leave as is?

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by PTony

Very, very cool. Nicely done. And the milk paint looks great. Would you do a thin nitro over it or leave as is?

Thanks for the comments, they are appreciated.

I've got the older nylon string with "milk paint" (General Finishes Blue Moon color) and have played it a bunch over several months. I purposefully wanted to experiment with this as a paint finish to be left without a top coat and it has been very robust, with no wear from contact areas.

I probably would not have considered "milk paint" because it is known to be soft and easily damaged, but wanted to try the General Finishes brand, which is formulated in traditional milk paint colors and luster, but is actually a water-based alkyd enamel paint. It is self-sealing and does NOT require a top coat. It takes 3 weeks to fully cure and is quite resistant to damage after that.

I used three quick coats and it is really easy to apply uniformly with a foam brush and self-levels, leaving no brush marks when dry.

It is available in 31 colors at the present time.

General Finishes Milk Paint