a.miller Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 This is what she looked like two months ago:Here she is now: This doesn't have the neck that BigWheeledWagon and I discussed...that is for my next project! Seriously, building guitars is like crack. Crap -- I have more pics but it says I can't upload them....oh well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Crap -- I have more pics but it says I can't upload them....oh well. Just add them to another (separate) post (I think). Details friend, so I don't have to go back and dig up what is what.Like, lets start w/that neck. Fender or other? Neck Pickup (which looks great).And BTW you've picked almost the exact same color I re-finished my strat in last year. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 EDIT: Okay my additional pics worked. Jimmy -- The neck is the original squier neck. I stripped it, sanded it and refinished it in vintage tint nitrocellulose lacquer and added a Fender logo. The neck pickup is a Gibson 57 classic humbucker and the bridge is a Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue. The body was poly and I stripped it with a heat gun and puddy knife; refinished it with Krylon Ocean Sea Breeze Blue -- a dead ringer for Fender's Daphne Blue. All the parts were aged with muriatic acid fumes. I will gladly answer any other questions. This was a great project and clocked in around 2 months. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lynch Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Looks awesome! I love those old Tele's. I just stumbled on a '75 Mann "Telecaster" (made in the same factorys as Ibanez) for GREAT deal and I love it! One of the best playing electrics I have ever played. I am thinking of upgrading the pickups one day and I may need to pick your brain. I have been playing for about 12 years, but only in the last couple have I got into the technical side of guitars i.e. upgrading parts, truss rods, etc. Luckily I know a really good guitar tech! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Wow, that's a beauty. Great job! The only thing I would have done differently is to put Kluson open slot tuners on there...I love those things. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 Wow, that's a beauty. Great job! The only thing I would have done differently is to put Kluson open slot tuners on there...I love those things.Yeah, me too! Unfortunately, the neck was already drilled for the schaller style tuners. Thanks for the compliments! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oceanman Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 The neck pickup is a Gibson 57 classic humbucker and the bridge is a Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue.I'm looking into a humbucker as my neck pup, and have researched the JD bridge pup. Are you using a three way or four way switch? What sounds are you getting? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Twisted Acres Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Absolutely gorgeous! Have a ball playing it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anthony Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Nice. Love the humbucker in the neck - very Keef. Great job on the neck refinish. Never would have thought it a Crier .. err .. Squier. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigWheeledWagon Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Congrats on finishing her! I'm jealous. Did you give her a name? Still waiting on Warmoth to finish my new body and for the hand-tooled leather pickguard to finish up. The engaraved neckplate finally shipped Friday. Almost everything else is here (including the chrome spring cover you located for me -- thanks again), so it's making the wait that much harder. Seeing your completed project has certainly given me a boost. Oh, and where did you get the decal? I'd like to replace the decal on the neck I'm using on my project with a 50's style logo (as opposed to the 80's one), but most places I've seen are asking more for a simple decal than what I paid for chrome volume/tone knobs with mother of pearl tops. How's the other project coming along? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigWheeledWagon Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 This doesn't have the neck that BigWheeledWagon and I discussed...that is for my next project! Seriously, building guitars is like crack. Indeed -- it is addictive. I'm now thinking about putting some work into my Epiphone ES-335 (I believe Epiphone actually calls it the "Dot"). My wife got it for me for Christmas last year after I mentioned that I ould love to have a sem-hollow body electric. For a budget guitar, it's been really good, but I've got a feeling that with a little attention, it could be great. Now I just need to decide what to do to it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Groo Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Holy damn, nice work. It looks great. How's it sound/play? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 EDIT: Okay my additional pics worked. Jimmy -- The neck is the original squier neck. I stripped it, sanded it and refinished it in vintage tint nitrocellulose lacquer and added a Fender logo. The neck pickup is a Gibson 57 classic humbucker and the bridge is a Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue. The body was poly and I stripped it with a heat gun and puddy knife; refinished it with Krylon Ocean Sea Breeze Blue -- a dead ringer for Fender's Daphne Blue. All the parts were aged with muriatic acid fumes. I will gladly answer any other questions. This was a great project and clocked in around 2 months. Yeah, I never got a chance to reply back yesterday so lemmie say that thing does look fab. Great job. I especially dig what you've done with the neck and hardware. A really fine "relic" looking job: The pin-up girl decal is a nice touch too. If I buy a Tele (again) this year, and I'm trying my damnedest not to actually (self control yo!) I'm gonna ping you to see if you want the job of subjecting it an old logging chain and drum sander to give it that well worn look. Beautiful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Yeah, me too! Unfortunately, the neck was already drilled for the schaller style tuners. Thanks for the compliments! I guess that reveals my lack of knowledge. I didn't know the different tuners required different hole sizes. I've been considering stripping the Candy Apple Red poly finish off my Muddy Waters Tele. How involved is that process? (My dad has a wood shop and is an experienced woodworker, so although I'm pretty clueless at least I'd have a safety net). Also, what is the simplest method for applying the nitro finish? Edit: One more question...Is that pickguard mint green or white? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 Did you give her a name? Oh, and where did you get the decal? How's the other project coming along?I got the headstock decal from vintagemojo.com ($20 for two) -- oddly enough, their site has closed since when I ordered them two weeks ago. I think there is a guy on the reranch.com/reranch forum that makes them. The pinup decal I actually made by printing on a color laser transparency, spraying primer on the back and the coating it with spray polyurethane, then burying it in the clear coats. I'm waiting on the neck from Musikraft to show up -- waiting sure is a tough game as you know... She has no name yet. I've been calling her my blue baby, so maybe that will stick. However, my other project is gonna be blue too (sonic, not daphne) so we'll see....I guess that reveals my lack of knowledge. I didn't know the different tuners required different hole sizes. I've been considering stripping the Candy Apple Red poly finish off my Muddy Waters Tele. How involved is that process? (My dad has a wood shop and is an experienced woodworker, so although I'm pretty clueless at least I'd have a safety net). Also, what is the simplest method for applying the nitro finish? Edit: One more question...Is that pickguard mint green or white?Tuners -- I never knew either until taking the whole damn guitar apart Basically, the "schaller style" are the kind where there is a nut on the face side of the headstock that screws into the tuner. The (cooler) Kluson ones have little screws on the back and a ferrule that goes into the headstock hole, which they then hook into. Stripping stuff sucks. WEAR A RESPIRATOR. Out of all the $$ I spent on this project, that $29 was the smartest. 3M makes an organic solvent and paint respirator that works really well and is comfortable -- got mine at home depot....Anyway, I used a putty knife and a heat gun -- (do this outside it smells like hell), then took I took it to my friends shop and ran it through a surface planer. The nitro finish -- This is kind of a big step. I'll lay out my knowledge. It will take you around a month to do it with satisfactory results. It's not a really big deal (not too difficult) -- this was my first time. Patience is key and so is following steps. This is what makes vintage guitars look vintage and gives you the ability to do a "good" relic job. Sanding and Prep -- You really should sand the heck out of the guitar -- 320 grit, 400, then 600 -- find the higher grits at an auto parts store, like Checker or Napa. Over the course of the project you will need 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit -- $3 a piece). Then apply "Sanding Sealer". A company called Deft makes this, and it can be found in an aerosol can for about $5 at home depot. You do three coats of that, sanding between each until your finish is matte (it will be glossy after the sanding sealer). Wipe your body down between times. Primer and PaintI would order white primer and your paint from Reranch.com -- the store has some goofy hours, but they make the best stuff. I (unfortunately) learned about them after I started. I used rustoleum and krylon. The issue with those paints is that in humid climates (not me; Utah) they tend to wrinkle under multiple layers. Moving on -- I used 3 coats of white rustoleum primer from home depot and 5 coats of Ocean Sea Breeze Blue Krylon from Walmart. I sanded with 800 grit between each coat of primer, but not paint. Clear CoatsDeft, the same company that makes the Sanding Sealer, makes nitrocellulose aerosol lacquer. It is about $5 a can from Home depot. I used gloss and I used two cans of many, many light coats -- probably 15. You can do these about 3 hours apart, so you can knock them all out in a work week and a weekend. The "pros" suggest a drying and curing time of 30 days for nitro lacquer. Living in the desert, mine hung for two weeks and I figured what the hell. Since I was making a relic it wasn't that big of a deal. If I was going for some beautiful perfect finish, I would have waited it out. To achieve the smooth and satin look I got, I wet sanded with 800, 1000 and 1500. Then I took #0000 steel wool and rubbed the heck out of the thing -- this step made it come to life. The relicing I did with assorted screw drives and (the best thing) a chain. The wear mark on the arm is from a ton of steel wool rubbing. The PickguardThis was a Fender mint green pickguard. I wet sanded it with 1500, then 2000 and then rubbed it with #0000 steel wool. Very smooth, very satin and worn after. Then, for a relic effect I took Minwax "Golden Oak" stain and rubbed it around with a rag to simulate dirt. After I had the dirty look I wanted, I sprayed it with 5 thin coats of Deft satin. I think that answers all the questions. I don't mean to be long-winded, just trying to convey what I've gathered from God knows how much internet reading. I'm open to answer anything else. Like I said this was my first time and I think I got pretty good success. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 I'm looking into a humbucker as my neck pup, and have researched the JD bridge pup. Are you using a three way or four way switch? What sounds are you getting?I missed this one in my essay above. Yes on the three way switch. I've been using the middle position the most -- it's a great balance. Nice chording with wonderful solos. Comparable sound to....hmm...If you have the Allman Brothers live recording of Stormy Monday, you can achieve that "Jazzy" kind of sound. Really pleasant. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Thanks for all that info, A. I'll probably read through it several times before I decide if I want to start a refinishing project. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LCH Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 NICE work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FaintingGoat Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Very, very cool. Congrats on a nice job and cool guitar. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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