Jerry Donahue signature bridge pickup (based on his '52 blackguard, so low-ish output, but on the higher-end of a “lower output” range, if you follow) and a new P-Rail for the neck - which is supposed to provide P-90, blade Fender-y single coil and humbucker all in one. Since it is Seymour I have decided to try it; if I think it is jack of all trades and master of none, I will likely swap in a Fralin P-92…
A few things left to do before the finishing starts…
Drill the holes for the bridge mounting holes:
Check…
Bore the hole for the input jack:
Check…
Final sanding with 120, 220, then 320 grit paper and a wiping down with naptha:
Check!
The naptha wets it and dries quickly, that’s why the wood looks a little darker in the pictures. Kind of tells you what it’s going to look like when the finishing oil goes on.
One more thing. I was thinking about the whole reshaping the headstock thing and decided that I wasn’t comfortable enough doing it so I decided to leave it as it is. For the same reason, I’m not puting a logo on the headstock either. I’ll wait to do that sort of stuff after I practice on some scrap wood a few times.
I did decided to mark the guitar another way:
The neck plate will cover it:
See 
- I felt more comfortable doing it this way. That way if I messed it up, it would be hidden. Anyway, she’s ready for the finishing process. I’ll start that tomorrow…
I love the logo under the neck plate; it’s like an awesome rock-and-roll secret!
Got home an hour or two ago from a Burlington Mardi Gras parade, a 40 minute multi-thousand audience members gig on the back of a flat-bed. I played keys with tunes from the Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, Mountain, Cheap Trick, Van Halen, James Gang, and Tommy Tutone!
ETA: And am now watching The Last Waltz and cooking chilli!
Sounds like a perfect day!
Let’s start to get her nice and pretty…
First, I attach a makeshift “neck” with two screws into the neck pocket:
This allows me to hold on to it while I’m applying the oil with out touching the body with my hands. I also hang it to dry in between coats by the t-bar at the top. Anyway, I’ll be using Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil Gunstock Finish:
It’s kind of a mixture of oil and varnish. It darkens the wood a bit and gives it a slight amber hue and after 7 or 8 coats, a nice satin luster. To apply it, I just put a small bit on a lint free cotton rag (an old cut up t-shirt works great) and start rubbing it in:
A little bit of this stuff goes a long way. A little 3 oz bottle will do about 20 - 24 coats, which will be enough for 2 - 3 guitars. I concentrate on a small section at a time and just rub it on with a small circular motion until the wood takes it in. Here’s the top after I completed it:
You can see how much it darkens the wood. So I’ll let this hang to cure for about 10 - 12 hours. Once it’s cured, I’ll lightly buff it with 0000 grade steel wool and apply another coat. I’ll repeat this process for about 7 - 8 coats and she’ll be done. Then she gets hung in the closet for a week or so for final curing…
So all in all, it’ll take about 10 - 12 days for the finish to be done. That’s why I like the oil finish - easy and quick, but still beautiful if done well and with patience…
The oil coats are done:
Now it’s got to hang and cure for about a week. I got some things to do while I’m waiting though, so stay tuned…
Looks good. Just wanted to kibitz a bit. The Tru-oil could also be called a “wiping varnish” akin to Minwax’ “Antique” oil. It does have advantage over lacquer in that you don’t need excessive cleanliness nor expensive equipment (including personal safety gear) along with the VOC hassles.
But, to assuage the champing WordMan, attaining that “shaving mirror” finish will take just as much labour, maybe more. Tru, one doesn’t have to wait for solvents to escape and it’s certainly more “relaxing” to the finisher.
The mirror finish is possible with Tru-Oil. I still need to buff this finish out yet, so it’ll get slicker…
One other thing that would probably make it more polished is filling the pores before I started the Tru-Oil. I like the open pore look though, it gives it a more organic and broken in feeling - kind of like an old friend…
Sweet!
What am I going to want to do to care for this, aside from general cleanliness and carefulness?
Just wipe down the neck with a clean rag after heavy playing and clean the body with some guitar polish once in a while. Not too hard…
But keep in mind that an oil finish is not as sturdy as poly or nitro. Dings will happen a little easier if you’re not careful…
What’s weird is while I’m building a guitar, I’m very anal about dings and scratches. My sanding process can border on OCD. But once the guitar is finished and I’m playing it, I really don’t care. Dings, scratches, buckle rash, wear through - they all just add to the mojo…
Well, I got a lot done today. The knobs are done:
They came out pretty good. Next, I waxed and buffed the finish of the body which has been hanging in my closet curing for the last seven days. I use this stuff called Renaissance Wax:
… and apply it in sections with a lint free rag using small round strokes. It dries pretty quickly and tuns the surface kind of cloudy. Then I buff it out with another lint free rag and a little elbow grease and it comes out like this:
Nice and shiny. This wax does a pretty good job of keeping the fingerprints away. I also put the sticky copper in the control and pickup cavities:
… and remember those flush string ferrules, they’re in:
Damn, that’s nice work, Big Shooter.
The wiring is done and the pickguard and bridge are on:
All I have to do now is install the tuners on the headstock, bolt on the neck, and set her up…
Wow that looks phenomenal. I’m ordering a case tonight and will get it shipped to you.
Well, Eonwe, your child is born!!!
Crappy pics, I know. I’m not that good of a photographer. I’ll let my wife take some better pics before I send it to you. I just wanted to show you and everybody else that it’s done.
It plays pretty nicely and sounds great. That extra tone option on the 4-way switch sounds dope. I think you’ll find it to your liking…
Final specs:
- Korina body modeled after a '59 Telecaster, finished in oil.
- Goncalo neck with ebony fretboard and Fender standard thin contour
- 25.5" scale
- 1 5/8" graphite nut
- Gotoh vintage inline staggered locking tuners
- abalone dot inlays and 6105 fretwire
- flamed copper Thinline-style pickguard with matching knobs
- 4-way switch with extra tone option of pickups wired in series
- Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II pickups
- six saddle vintage style ashtray bridge
- Electro-socket output jack
- shielded, cloth lined wiring and copper shielded control cavities
- strings are Ernie Ball Power Slinkies (.11"s)
Eonwe, I’ll need you to email me your address. I’ll ship it as soon as I the case is delivered…
oh *jeez *- what a work of art.
**Eonwe **- we need a full report, like, yesterday…
**BigShooter **- I bow to your craftsmanship. Well done, sir; I say, well done.
Sweet!
I’m now thinking how I can off-load some of my piano-related duties in the upcoming month so I can spend hours of quality time with this!
Wow, great work. Fun thread.
Do please have a photographer take some glamor shots!
I got my wife to take some better photos:
She’ll be shipping tomorrow morning. I’m sure Eonwe will give her a good home…
Thanks to everybody who was interested and read along. It was fun…
Eonwe - feel free to post a review in this thread if you like once you get it and have a chance to play it for a while…
BigShooter, I’ve been a lurker on your guitar building threads and I just wanted to commend you on your works. They have a homely, gritty feel, but are beautiful because of this. It’s like the guitar equivalent of the girl next door. There are flashier things out there, but in the end you want to spend all of your time with the simpler things - the more authentic things. This isn’t the guitar that I wouldn’t allow my friends to touch, keeping it in a case in the closet for fear of dings and scuffs. This is the type of guitar I would insist my friends play, while I told the saga of how some guy on the internet built it for me as a hobby and the fact that it was handcrafted. I hope to see more builds in the future.