Envirocaster #25 Is Done!!

Tuesday Morning Guitar Porn

Here are two reasons I love building guitars:

Both have three coats of clear Target Coatings EM6000 gloss water-based lacquer. Many more to go.

#25 and #26 Are Getting Close...

Guitar #25 has 15 coats of Tru-Oil and is ready for final assembly.

Guitar #26 has about 8 coats of Tru-Oil, which is a little more than halfway done.

Today's Guitar Building Progress...

...has been slow and tedious. Right now, I am focused on touching up the finish. Patience is the key!

Both of these guitars are about to be treated to numerous coats of Tru-Oil.

This one is done and hanging up to fully dry.

Current Guitar Builds

I have 5 guitars currently in the works. The plan is to have them ready for the Christmas shopping season. Check 'em out:

#22 has been level sanded and is ready for polishing.

#23 has been level sanded and is ready for polishing.

#24 is ready for stain.

#25 has two coats of Tru-Oil and is ready for more.

#26 has been stained and is ready for Tru-Oil.

Carving Up A Walnut Guitar Body

For my Walnut body, I decided to add a nice carve to the top edge. I used a half round Japanese Iwasaki file to do all of the work. It took about 30 minutes and a lot of elbow grease.

Routing Three Envirocaster Bodies

Yesterday I cut out three Envirocaster bodies. Today I routed pockets and drilled the bridge and neck mounting holes. I should have taken a photo of all the wood chips and dust I generated!

The body in the center is American Walnut while the other two are Alder with Maple caps.

Now comes the fun part: sanding and finishing.

Guess What I Did This Morning?

Making Single Coil Bobbins

Today I made a set of single coil bobbins for one of my Envirocaster guitars, which is currently under construction. Check out the progress:

Fixing Sand Through

While level sanding the water-based lacquer on one of my guitar builds, I accidentally sanded through to the wood on one of the sharp edges. Here is how I fixed it:

Even with a light touch and 800 grit sand paper, I still managed to sand through to the wood on this sharp edge.

No problem. I just wiped on some of the paint I had left over from spraying the back. It took about three coats to cover the damage.

Next, I used a q-tip to apply some clear water-based lacquer. Four thick coats were applied about thirty minutes apart.

After the last coat of lacquer had dried, I lightly sanded the area with 800 grit to blend. Now I can proceed with wet sanding the whole body. Hopefully, I won't have to deal with any additional sand through before I buff. If I do, I'll repeat the process.

Buff Time

This is how I check the quality of my buffing. If I can see the reflection of a lightbulb directly over the guitar and it looks sharp, it's done.

Finishing 3 Guitar Necks

I used Dark Brown Rit Dye to stain the Maple. Then, I sanded off the excess to reveal the hidden figure. For contest, I sanded the fretboards more aggressively. 

To seal in the dye and protect the wood, I rubbed in a generous amount of tung oil.

Dig that figure.

Next, I'll have to workout what my logo will look like.

Dealing With Uh Ohs

They happen even to best luthiers. You know, those pesky little accidents that most of the big time guitar manufactures won't even deal with. They just throw the piece away and start over. I don't have that luxury nor am I able to justify the practice morally.

Yesterday while final shaping a neck, I had an uh oh. The following photos show how I fixed it:

There is no way I can throw out a neck because of something so small.

After cleaning out the chip with a hobby knife, I cut a piece of Maple and glued it into place with extra thick, slow set CA glue.

Twenty minutes later, I cut the piece and sanded it to match. After the finish is applied, I doubt anyone will be able to see the repair.