Chambered Strat Baritone

[blue313]

I agree.  The Strat knobs work better on that mockup.

I reserve the right to change my vote once we see it almost finished.  :toothy10:

 

[stubhead]

I.M. GEAR MAN, FEAR MY TEETH!

Plastic knobs look cheezmo on nice wood, have you thought about metal Tele-type barrels?

These are small (5/8") black metal knobs, hunted them down in the wilds of Ebay, somewhere:

 

[TonyW]

G'day mate

yeah the thought crossed my mind initially as i do have some black tele knobs in my parts bin
but i am installing a tonestyler so i feel i need to have some sort of referance as to where i am dialled into,
but as was just mentioned in the previous post, i reserve the right to change my mind after its finished  :laughing7:

thanks for the input guys

:icon_thumright:

 

[rapfohl09]

Im late to the party but im actually feeling the Gibson Knobs, they are looking really good. Im glad you are making so much progress with this build, Ive been watching it like a hawk :laughing7:

 

[TonyW]

Better late than never lol

The guitar seems to have had a growth spurt as i have had some time to do a bit.
Hope to have it finished and recording before Xmas.

 

[TonyW]

Well i am a little behind where i wanted to be but i have all the parts except two 1 3/8" short neck screws.
Such a nice day here today i added a sanding and a coat of sealer to the project

Do some more tomorrow

 

[TonyW]

I made up some Timbermate filler to a slurry with water and covered the body with it using a plastic scraper and then i had to take it all of rather quikly then leave 2 hours to dry, i then sanded it back and repeated steps one and two, Tru oil filler sealer then timber mate filler i will then sand back until its smooth

A day after the coat of Timbermate neautral filler i spend a bit of time sanding everything back with 220 grit, time consuming and gives you Popeye arms. After the sanding i ran over the body with the brush head of a vacuum cleaner then wiped the whole guitar with naptha. A second sealer coat was then applied, i went a bit thicker and made sure i got everthing.

I have final filled the body and sanded it all back, its ready for a thick sealing coat as soon as i vacuum off the body and wipe it down with naptha. I look like a negative of a Welsh coal miner i am covered in filler dust.

I used neutral body filler on the first coat but it left the grain looking a little bit pinky so i added a slurp of Feast and Watsons maple stain to my liking, the colour of the paste will tell you what your getting. This filled the grain nicely and left it more natural.

Thick final seal needs to sit for 24hrs then we start with the coats of tru oil.

I have sanded back the sealer with 220grit then to 320 to 400 to 600 to 800 grit until the surface was smooth as glass. I then vaccumed with a light brush head and washed the body with naptha and did its 1st coat of tru oil. Tomorrow a sand back with 0000 steel wool run a magnet over the body and another coat of tru oil. Will decide how many coats when i get to around 15.

I have ditched the steel wool after 5 coats of tru oil, i have used steel wool since i can remember, then when browsing the shelves at my timber store i found this synthetic pad. Its brilliant stuff, no mess, saves time and does a great finish between coats of tru-oil.

FInshed the 8th coat of tru oil today Jan 5th 2010, the sanding pad makes things so much easier and of course its washable and reusable

8 coats of Tru Oil finished but the pic doesnt do it justice, its looking superb.

That brings it up to date for now

 

[blue313]

Good to know those work well for finishing.

I found those white pads to be a little too fine for cleaning that I'd normally use 0000 steel wool on.  They seem to be one grade higher than advertised as far as that goes.  I'm using their grey "000".

 

[TonyW]

I might try the 000 as i had a small blemish bit of very fine dust particles got into the finish must of been when it was drying just inside the top cutaway and i had to use a very fine wet and dry to take it off. I find the white 0000 just leaves such a nice finish for the next coat.

 

[MUYFUE]

Looks good so far!
The grain is really starting to come out.  :icon_thumright:

 

[TonyW]

Thanks mate!
i am currently doing a coat of tru oil a day, 9 so far, and have notice some black coming through the grain on the back like its bleeding, not heaps of it but enough to notice. I may put a hint of Walnut on the rear coat or maybe i will just leave it, the top is starting to look really stunning.

 

[TonyW]

Good to know those work well for finishing.

I found those white pads to be a little too fine for cleaning that I'd normally use 0000 steel wool on.  They seem to be one grade higher than advertised as far as that goes.  I'm using their grey "000".
[/quote

Good call this, i was using 0000 pad for a bit of a run on the back and it took ages with the pad to get it level, tried some steel wool on the other half of the run and it took 10 seconds. Picking up some 000 Saturday. Having said that the 0000 pad works well for buffing a shine after the wool.

 

[DangerousR6]

That is a stellar looking strat, that grain is just sweet...You should take a few shots at different angles... :icon_thumright:

 

[TonyW]

Yeah mate its really starting to pop, i am loving it, the look of the grain, only thing is swamp ash is hard work but if you take your time
it will come up sweet, the use of the timbermate filler and Birwood Casey sealer filler worked a treat.

i have 10 coats now and over the weekend i intend to clean it up until i mock a few things up on it and get some more pics.

I am thinking 5 more coats might even do it, will check it out then and make a decision to go on or not.


Someone asked once on the forum and that was how much tru-oil does it take? i have used 3flozs or 90mil on 10 coats on the body and 8 on the neck.

 

[TonyW]

10 coats and a quik mock up, needs a rub back and go again, will check it out at 15 coats and make my mind up then

I am also using this now as recommended to me by blue313 for sanding back, i use the "000" first then the "0000"

Wiring here i come, my favorite.

 

[DangerousR6]

Absolutely simple, yet elegant.... :icon_thumright:

 

[TonyW]

Absolutely simple, yet elegant.... :icon_thumright:

Thanks mate  ccasion14:

I wish filling and sanding swamp ash was simple, but i am right in the groove now and glad i jumped in at the deep end with the deep grain.
The prep and filling and sealing and sanding,  i actually seem to like doing it  :icon_scratch:

 

[TonyW]

I have rosewood pickup rings on it that i ordered from Stew Mac, i want to bring the grain up on them a bit and darken them,
should i just lemon oil them, i have plenty, or should i tru oil them knowing that the rosewood is oily
although in this instance a little dry.

 

[DangerousR6]

I have rosewood pickup rings on it that i ordered from Stew Mac, i want to bring the grain up on them a bit and darken them,
should i just lemon oil them, i have plenty, or should i tru oil them knowing that the rosewood is oily
although in this instance a little dry.

I'd figure a little lemon oil would be fine, I don't think I'd tru oil them....

 

[TonyW]

Yeah thats what i thought originaly as well, so thats the way i will go Lemon oil it is.

Going to be 41C or nearly 106f here today dont think i will be doing any finishing.