Hetfield Inspired Nomad Build (Body is In; Staining Started)

OrcJuice

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:headbanging: First off, hello all.
I'm a (recently turned) 41 year mediocre at best guitar player that has recently decided he wants to assemble a guitar. My son has asked to get into the instrument recently and he is 11. The wife & I purchased him a Jackson Minion RR, which he is in love with. If he sticks with the hobby, then my plan is to build him a really nice RR Vee in the future as a gift.

In the meantime, I want to cut my teeth on a James Hetfield (ESP Snakebyte) inspired Nomad for myself.
I have the EMG "Het Set" pickups already which come with the pots and wiring and I recently purchased a Nomad Swamp Ash body from Warmoth.

I will use a TOM bridge and tailpiece and the neck pocket is coming angled to accomodate.

1st question is: What pickup rings do I need?
Answer: 1 tapered (thin) & 1 tapered (medium)
https://www.emgpickups.com/parts/mounting-rings.html

2nd Question: Has anyone here ever used Minwax stain for their guitars? If so, how did it turn out? I'm thinking of using a transparent black or red for mine.
Answer: I think I'm going with Crimson Guitar Black stain and possibly ColorTone Ebony Grain Filler.

3rd Question: How to finish?
Answer: I have decided to use Wudtone finishing kits. Going to use a clear kit for the neck and their Black Magic Woman for the body with satin finish. Can't wait to order it and get started.

*Edit*
The body is in.
PUs are in.
Tuners are in.
The neck is ordered.
Need to order bridge and a few misc. hardware pieces (input jack cover, truss rod cover, etc.)
Thank you to anyone in advance!
 

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Welcome to the forum. It's good that you will build a guitar for your son when he's ready. That's very cool. Glad to see you've ordered your Nomad already. Looking forward to photos as you progress.
 
Welcome. The tapered rings are for a carved top guitar, like a Les Paul. For the Nomad you want flat rings. The differences refer to the bottom of the rings, tapered being curved to fit on a rounded surface. Flat being meant of course, for a flat surface. Good luck on the build and don't be shy about asking questions, folks here like to help.
 
PhilHill said:
Welcome. The tapered rings are for a carved top guitar, like a Les Paul. For the Nomad you want flat rings. The differences refer to the bottom of the rings, tapered being curved to fit on a rounded surface. Flat being meant of course, for a flat surface. Good luck on the build and don't be shy about asking questions, folks here like to help.

Thank you for the reply. Alright, that makes sense. So my next question is: "Which flat do I need? Flat Medium? Or Flat Thin?"

Also, unrelated...for the dang questions for verification. What is the answer for Sting watching me? I've tried breath, move, step....

Again, Thank you in advance.
 
Have to pull you up there, Phil. You're describing the 'arched' rings. The tapered rings are flat-based but with angled tops to make the pickup more parallel to the strings when using an angled pocket/tall bridge (like a TOM).

If you're set on getting the rings from EMG, 1 each of the thin and medium tapered rings is what I'd suggest. That said, the flat ones would work perfectly well too - they just wouldn't look as good close up.
 
OrcJuice said:
PhilHill said:
Welcome. The tapered rings are for a carved top guitar, like a Les Paul. For the Nomad you want flat rings. The differences refer to the bottom of the rings, tapered being curved to fit on a rounded surface. Flat being meant of course, for a flat surface. Good luck on the build and don't be shy about asking questions, folks here like to help.

Thank you for the reply. Alright, that makes sense. So my next question is: "Which flat do I need? Flat Medium? Or Flat Thin?"

Also, unrelated...for the dang questions for verification. What is the answer for Sting watching me? I've tried breath, move, step....

Again, Thank you in advance.

  Whether medium or thin will depend on the height of the strings from the body. Which determines the height of the pickups. I can't remember off hand how high the strings sit on that type of body. Maybe someone who currently has one could tell you.
 
Fat Pete said:
Have to pull you up there, Phil. You're describing the 'arched' rings. The tapered rings are flat-based but with angled tops to make the pickup more parallel to the strings when using an angled pocket/tall bridge (like a TOM).

If you're set on getting the rings from EMG, 1 each of the thin and medium tapered rings is what I'd suggest. That said, the flat ones would work perfectly well too - they just wouldn't look as good close up.

Actually, I think we're both kind of right. Depends on the manufacturer's way of describing them. I've seen it done both ways. But, in the long run, your probably closer to right than I am. At least for EMG, I haven't used them too much so must defer.  :icon_thumright:
 
I was hurried before and didn't have proper time to think this out. I was mistaken in my first post about making it seem like the term "tapered" referred to the bottom of the ring instead of the top. However, that's only because I've never really seen a tapered ring that didn't have a curved bottom, as they are meant for guitars that have a belly. The angle on the ring offsets the curve of the body. Maybe I'm old and out of it,  but I can't for the life of me figure out why one would want a tapered ring on a flat body. The thickness of the ring would bring the pickup up to proper height for a TOM, not an angled top.
Perhaps someone can tell me if I'm wrong on this, and if so, why you would use an angled ring on a flat body?  Thanks.
 
Phil, hopefully this will show up.

Here is a side shot of my 80s Hamer Chaparral Custom with Floyd and set neck angled pocket. You can see the lie of the string is at an angle from the neck to the bridge, the flat angled ring on the humbucker follows a similar angle. The front of the body is flat.

Of course if it is more like a Strat with a recessed rout this would not apply but if it is an angled type of neck pocket this should show the idea.

 

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stratamania said:
Phil, hopefully this will show up.

Here is a side shot of my 80s Hamer Chaparral Custom with Floyd and set neck angled pocket. You can see the lie of the string is at an angle from the neck to the bridge, the flat angled ring on the humbucker follows a similar angle. The front of the body is flat.

Of course if it is more like a Strat with a recessed rout this would not apply but if it is an angled type of neck pocket this should show the idea.

OK, I can see what you mean. With an angled pocket on a flat body it would work out. I didn't do a lot of work with Floyd type bridges, so hence, the unfamiliarity. With the strings not parallel to the body you would need some angle to the pickup. Thanks for the update.  :icon_thumright:
 
I agree with thin & medium tapered as the low magnetic pull on EMGs means they need to get closer to the strings than passive pickups, so the pickup angle will help.
Also I believe Hetfield runs his pickups at 18v so check if you have enough space in your cavity for 2 batteries
 
gingataff said:
I agree with thin & medium tapered as the low magnetic pull on EMGs means they need to get closer to the strings than passive pickups, so the pickup angle will help.
Also I believe Hetfield runs his pickups at 18v so check if you have enough space in your cavity for 2 batteries

I appreciate the information. I'll be modifying this myself so I'll be able to do whatever.  :headbang1:
 
So, I'm going to update the original post as questions are answered and I'll change the title in keeping with what the current conversation is about.

First of all, thank you everyone who has helped thus far and thank you for all future help.

My next question is...stain. I'd like to do a transparent black or red and was thinking of just using Minwax stain. Anyone have any experience with that or recommend a different stain to suit my needs? I'll try and post some pictures of what I'm going for.
 

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Minwax isn't bad, but I've found it sometimes isn't as transparent as I wanted. I've had good luck with leather dye. You thin it way down then bring it up to the shade you want with multiple coats.
 
PhilHill said:
Minwax isn't bad, but I've found it sometimes isn't as transparent as I wanted. I've had good luck with leather dye. You thin it way down then bring it up to the shade you want with multiple coats.
Just an FYI, here. One thing I've found about leather dyes working with leather. There's a difference between dyes in the pigments used. Lincoln dye is my preference because I can use it with an airbrush where the pigment in Fiebings will clog the airbrush almost immediately. Both are alcohol based dyes. I haven't tried other brands of dye. I don't know how that relates to wood but it might be a factor if you're going to spray it. If it's going to be wiped on, then it probably isn't a concern.

What brand of dye have you used for this?
 
Fiebings mainly. I don't spray it on, so I can't say how it runs thru the gun. I'll have to try Lincoln. I know Fiebings is thick, that's why I thin it down a lot. I tried aniline dyes like Keda, but didn't like them. Hard to get consistent color, kinda splotchy.
 
If you try Lincoln, I'd be interested in hearing how it compares for wiping it on.
 
While we are on the topic of stains. I'd like to add a question.

What do you use to "seal" or "finish" the stain after applied?
Also, can you stain the headstock? I assume yes. And can or should you stain the back of the neck or just oil it?

Again, thank you in advance!
 
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