Building a guitar

[jmitchell1532]

So, I just got my Carvin Bolt kit in the mail. This will be my first build. For those of you not in the know, Carvin sells the Bolt Kit, which is there version of a strat. It comes completely unfinished with a pre-wired pickguard and all necessary hardware. Alder body, maple neck, ebony fretboard, 3 singles with a 5-way selector AND a kill switch for the bridge pickup, traditional strat bridge. It's gonna be sweet.

Now for my question...

Has anyone ever built/finished their own guitar?

Now, I've been assembling/dis-assembling my guitars since I was a kid, cause I was always curious about how they worked. PRoblem is, I've never "finished" a guitar. Since the alder has some nice grain, I could go the easy route and simply tung-oil the body and neck for a transparent, worn finish. But I'm also interested in maybe a translucent blue-burst.

Idea? Tips? Advice?

[Obsidian Dragon]

I did one of the Carvin kits a few year back and it was a great experience. I thought I did a beautiful job with a dragon-burst color scheme. Apparently someone else thought so too and stole my guitar after a gig. I don't mind the money I put into it so much as the time and effort. I've been eyeing their quilted maple dragon-burst guitars for a while now.

Wood finishing is all about patience. Sanding, staining, sanding, burst staining, sanding again, clear coat or lacquer, sanding, another clear coat, fine sanding some more. wet sanding, polishing, buffing, etc. Each of these steps may be repeated several times until you are happy. There are some Youtube videos from the Paul Reed Smith factory tour that might give you some ideas. You might also want to learn about finishes like nitrocellulose, polyurethane, etc. Tung oil is a good idea for the neck but for the body I prefer a harder finish for durability against scratches and dings. Some people like the wood to breath but I actually think that a water tight seal prevents the wood from drying out or getting too wet and causing cracks and bending.

[jmitchell1532]

Thanks, Dragon. I just finished my first layer of black stain, applied by hand with a staining pad. When it dries, I'll sand it again before going for the blue (unless I think it needs more black for the grain to "pop"). I also got a few cans of poly to clear coat it later. When it's done, I'll post pictures on dropbox or something. I'll keep you posted with the progress.

As for the Carvin, how did it play? I've been eyeing their catalog for years, but since they're all custom, and I live in New England, I've never had a chance to play one. I've heard remarkable things regarding the neck.

[flommer]

Go here, look around

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Finishing.html

They also (conveniently) sell everything you might need.

BTW, I had Carvin build me a "custom" DC135, nothing too crazy, just some PU options, trans blue finish. Freakin love that guitar. I think Carvin makes the best value for the dollar instruments you could find. Fit and finish is perfect, extremely comfortable to play… See, I'm gushing

Some day I'm gonna go here http://www.warmoth.com and build the ultimate swamp ash Strat, solid maple neck..

Then I'm gonna do George's rosewood tele… sigh

[YYR123]

Wow clicked on that and saw Dan (Erlewine) - he is local here in Austin ! Neat

[brad383music]

Massive tip. DO NOT enamel paint, only acrylic. Enamel takes ages to dry, if it ever truly dries. Make sure that what ever your using as your base is compatible with what ever clear coat you are using. Otherwise be prepared to start over again. Leave it for a good 2-3 weeks before polishing and buffing. If you smell paint after 2 weeks don't touch it. I have made a few and believe me I have made the mistakes I'm warning you about and has to start over. I've for a pretty good system going now!

[brad383music]

Oh and leave to completely dry between coats.

[brad383music]

[jmitchell1532]

So, originally I was going to clear coat it with poly, but after a few days of letting the blue cure, I decided to tung oil it instead. I LOVE "worn" looking, faded guitars. I assembled her last night (of course it's a "her," right?) and only one word comes to mind...

WOW!

This thing sings. The radius of the neck is similar to a Strat, but I find it to be, I dunno...cleaner sounding, if that makes sense. The intonation was practically spot on out of the box, just some minor tweaking. And I adjusted the action slightly so it follows the radius of the neck. I'm digging the mini-switch that engages the bridge PU in different positions. This thing is a tone monster.

The only problem I have now is...I want to build another one!

If only time/money were unlimited, right?

[AvidEditor]

Originally Posted by jmitchell1532

So, originally I was going to clear coat it with poly, but after a few days of letting the blue cure, I decided to tung oil it instead. I LOVE "worn" looking, faded guitars. I assembled her last night (of course it's a "her," right?) and only one word comes to mind...

WOW!

This thing sings. The radius of the neck is similar to a Strat, but I find it to be, I dunno...cleaner sounding, if that makes sense. The intonation was practically spot on out of the box, just some minor tweaking. And I adjusted the action slightly so it follows the radius of the neck. I'm digging the mini-switch that engages the bridge PU in different positions. This thing is a tone monster.

The only problem I have now is...I want to build another one!

If only time/money were unlimited, right?

Can you upload a picture somewhere so we could see it?