New to guitar building and the forum - I have some questions.

[bradley_thunderbird]

Hey everyone, I'll try to keep this as short as I can. If I am not in the right place, I apologize and will take the post down.

My name's Bradley, I'm 15 and guitars have been a very intense interest of mine for a long time now. My favorite guitar and the one I play every time I pick a guitar up is a 2023 Gibson SG Standard '61 and I absolutely love the way it plays, but I'd love to build a guitar with its own personal flair and which would have everything I want in a guitar. While I have done a bit of research into building guitars and have a general idea of what I want, I do still have some questions regarding all sorts of topics. I'll try to ask the questions and keep them brief.

- Regarding fret wire and neck profiles offered on Warmoth's website, which options would get me the closest to the neck on my SG? I know for a fact that I'd like my custom guitar to play as similarly to my SG as possible.

- How would one do a good-looking burst finish on a guitar, or just a good looking finish in general? I've tried Googling this question, but I haven't gotten a clear answer. I know that the first time you do something it won't always turn out perfect, but I've got plenty of time to kill, and I want to do the best job possible.

- Are there any books or other websites on guitar building that this community would recommend?

- And finally, where do you all source your guitar finishing supplies from? If it helps, I am looking for either a burst finish, transparent finish or a finish similar to something you'd see on a classic car.

Thanks for reading through this, I appreciate it. I am looking forward to reading any answers you all might have.

 

[stratamania]

Hello Bradley,

For necks and fret wire start by looking at neck profiles.

Guitar Neck Profiles

warmoth.com

SGs tend toward thinner neck profiles, so perhaps a standard thin, 1 11/16" nut width. But measure your neck depth etc to be sure.

Frets 6105 or 6150s might be close. But again measure.

Warmoth fret size options on replacement necks.

When buying a replacement neck for your electric guitar, fret size and material is one of the most important considerations. Warmoth lets you choose from nickel, stainless steel, or gold, and from a range of sizes to suit your playing style.

warmoth.com

For books etc. take a look at the thread Welcome to the Forum in my signature, that thread has many links in it to builds, tips and tricks, book recommendations etc.

 

[NedRyerson]

Finishing is a tough game and takes a lot of time, practice, and making a lot of mistakes. A good YT source is Brad Angove. While he's based in Canada so the products he uses are Canadian in availability, the techniques he demonstrates are very good sources of learning and universal. I adapted a lot of his techniques in my own building, and I'm in the Midwest US.

This series from StewMac is also a great set of instructions that start with some universal concepts on how the prep works, followed up by using regular ol' rattle-cans to apply a solid color.

Finally, for any kind of spraying, make sure you have a well-ventilated space for it. A garage or shed with open space and air flow (and where your parents aren't storing any valuables ). If you're going to spray in a basement, make sure you can open windows and fit box fans in the sill to get good airflow and not choke out your family.

(and get lots of tarps and plastic sheeting material because spray flecks get everywhere and is almost invisible to the eye)

If you want to avoid spraying, you can hand-apply dyes or stains as well as top coats. That also takes lots of practice and making mistakes, because conditioning the wood is an extra step that might not always be necessary in spraying.

Not saying you can't or shouldn't do this at all. Far from it, my man. Just setting some expectations that, while we all get the desire to get finishing as perfect as possible, it takes a long time to master. Sometimes, you only learn when you make the mistakes yourself so you know exactly what NOT to do next time!

And always feel free to ask questions here. That's what this place is for! You're absolutely in the right place.

 

[TBurst Std]

The W offers nice finishes at a decent price.

 

[Mitch]

If you want a burst gloss finish, let Warmoth do it. If you add up the cost all of the supplies that you need you will find that doing a finish yourself is not cheap. Plus, without any experience the finish that you will create will look amateurish. For my first Warmoth build I had the finish done in cherry burst. I have no regrets.

 

[Rick]

Absolutely check out the books in stratman's thread. My favorites are dan erlewine guitar repair book which you could get cheap at Abe books, 1001 guitars , and Kelly s fender book which is probably not on the list.

As a first ... you could do a simple oil or poly finish, if you've taken any wood shop classes ... by 15 I had ... simple stain or dye ... anything more complicated unless you have access to tools or experience probably best to let warmoth do the finish. Those guys are good .