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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 3:34 pm
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nikininja wrote:
Kong, if I may be so bold.

It may be a good idea for you to apply another coat of filler. Mix it wet but very fine and apply it very liberaly over your already filled areas. Dont scrape any off and leave it to set. In the morning sand it back flush (use a flat block too) so that it will have all come off except for a fine layer ontop of your first coat.

Filler dries by chemical reaction. It shrinks as it sets. You may not see it as a level line across the body but you likely will once a coat of paint goes on. The grainy texture on 2 spots of this is a prime example of it.

Mix it quite wet so it sinks into any shrink cracks, rather than sitting ontop of them.

Looking good mate. I'm just about to strip a jackson body. It looks like sappele in the neck pocket and balsa wood on the top, judging from the dings.


Nik - thanks for the advice. I do feel that the repairs are a little rough and that was why I was going to re-attempt on the largest hole. The filler I used came pre-mixed in a tube and is very thick. I wonder if I could wet it or if I need to purchase a different filler. The one I used is from Elmer's.

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Last edited by Kong on Sun Jun 06, 2010 3:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 3:38 pm
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It looks like a standard gypsum based plasticized filler to me. Just dump some on the lid, sprinkle some water on it and chop the water into the filler with the scraper/knife your using. Couldn't be simpler mate. Just make sure its well chopped in and that the filler is thin enough. I try and get mine like gloss paint rather than plasticine

Remember, overfill and sand back when its dry. :wink:

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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 3:46 pm
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nikininja wrote:
It looks like a standard gypsum based plasticized filler to me. Just dump some on the lid, sprinkle some water on it and chop the water into the filler with the scraper/knife your using. Couldn't be simpler mate. Just make sure its well chopped in and that the filler is thin enough. I try and get mine like gloss paint rather than plasticine

Remember, overfill and sand back when its dry. :wink:
This is great advice. You don't want any kind of abrupt lines around your patches, or they will stick out like you wouldn't believe after painting and clear coating.

prep work is the most important part of any finish/refinish job. repairs make this doubly so. if you even wonder at all if something is good enough, then it's safe to say it isn't. Put in the work now, or you will really regret it later.

with the filler you are using i would do what Niki says, and let it shrink and settle in, then sand, but then I would probably repeat it all a couple times.

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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 3:59 pm
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Got nothing to add to the excellent remarks already made.

So I'll just say: you're doing fine, man! :D

Frankly, whoever filled the trem route on Dave Gilmour's Black Strat could have learned a thing or two from you, so carry right on. 8)

Can't wait to see this thing progress. More strength to your elbow. Onward and upward!

:D - C


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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 4:04 pm
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Hmm...I really fancy buying a body off of ebay now and doing a build of my own :) something over a course of a few months most likely due to money not being very great right now but ill document it and bring it on to show people :)

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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 4:35 pm
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Okay, advice taken. I applied a watery mix of filler over the area of the claw mark repairs and cracks. I set it aside for tonight and we'll sand it back tomorrow and see if we need to repeat.

After the back is satisfactory, I plan on doing the same process to the top near that trem-rout filled in area. Loving the advice everyone so keep it coming.

I've been gassing for a Sherwood green strat with a mint green pickguard for ages and that is the color I'm planning for this one.

I don't have great reserves of patience and I need to remind myself that this is not a race. I'm going to take my time from here on out and try to make it come out as nice as possible. My original attitude was that it was a basket case to begin with and nothing could make it worse. Now I want a strat I can be proud of. (I'm still not that concerned about the hidden cavities though :P )

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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 5:52 pm
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Kong, fantastic work so far.

Kong wrote:
I'm going to take my time from here on out and try to make it come out as nice as possible. My original attitude was that it was a basket case to begin with and nothing could make it worse. Now I want a strat I can be proud of


There it is! That cross over between: "Pfft who cares it's just a muck about bit of kit" to "I actually want this thing to turn out alright". Welcome to the world of guitar making :).

The best part is, you can ALWAYS make it better (ie look at ceri's work). And you've done a stellar job so far, most of the damage is taken care of, all you've got left to do is drill some holes and screw some things on :) Piece of cake :).

Also Sherwood green + Mint pickgaurd.... FANTASTIC IDEA! Getting me GASing as well. What colour hardware? Silver or Gold? What wood for the neck? rosewood, ebony, maple..... (AAA birds eye maple from warmoth... which is off the charts fantastic btw)

I suppose the answer to some of these questions is gonna be: "Wait and see".

YAY for another build thread :)

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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:27 pm
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wow rotsa ruck


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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:40 pm
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I used a wetter solution of filler yesterday and sanded it back today. Looking for advice, should I give it one more go on the back. Here are my pics from today. If another round of filler is needed, should I re-excavate any of the prior filler?

Image
Image
Image


I also go most of the old finish out of the trem-cavity.

Image

When the back is done, I'll go 'round to the front and do the same near trem rout repair.

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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:53 pm
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It might just be me, but I think you are probably a couple treatments from done.

Other advice would be to use a BIG sanding block. it makes it much easier to keep the surface level and free from swales and valleys. And use a light touch, anything more than the weight of the block risks digging the filler out of the wood.

This is a big job, and i think there's no such thing as overly cautious on it.

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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 3:33 pm
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Dont scrape out the old filler, just layer ontop of it. It's all about the mix mate. Get that mix as fine and smooth as possible. Also try pushing down into the cavities instead of just scraping over the top of it.

Another coat or two and it should be good to go. Wish my sanding was as good as yours. :wink:

Image

Kind of doing the opposite of your project :lol:

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Post subject: EPIC FAIL?!?! :cry:
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 4:34 pm
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This body just moved one step closer to "EPIC FAIL" territory. I had a little trouble cutting out the hole for the trem-block.

It all started well enough as I drilled small holes around the perimeter from underneath.

Then I used a small dremel style cutting wheel to finish cutting. That is where I ran into problems. Part of my so-called "glue joint" failed (due to no glue of all things) on the side near the jack. Then the hole was such a mess I tried to clean it up with a drum sander on my rotozip flex shaft attachment and I ended up with a giant trem hole. I will not quit, but I'm somewhat unsure of what to do next, and disappointed.

In all honesty I originally had thought to make this a hard-tail as I never use the trem. I'm thinking I should fill in the hole and maybe go that route. Or I could just install a vintage style trem and have a freakishly large trem hole (1 3/8" wide) on the guitar. I really should not be allowed near tools :cry:

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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 3:35 am
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Hello Kong!

Nice job so far and I wouldn't beat yourself up too much over the trem route. If it makes you feel any better, I've done far worse!

If you fancy a hard-tail now would be a good time to commit. Fill in the trem & spring cavity. You did a pretty good job with the floyd so I don't think you'll have any major problems. Buy yourself six string ferrules and a hard tail bridge and turn your strat from epic fail to EPIC SUSTAIN! I'd recommend the Hipstot type for a comfortable feel as I like to rest my palm on a hard-tail bridge.

I admire your commitment to this build mate. I was a coward and gave up when I seriously “epic failed” my last build. I have a good feeling about yours and rekon you'll end up with sweet axe at the end of all this!

GAME ON!

Enjoy and good luck!

Andy

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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 4:45 am
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Andybighair wrote:
Hello Kong!

Nice job so far and I wouldn't beat yourself up too much over the trem route. If it makes you feel any better, I've done far worse!

If you fancy a hard-tail now would be a good time to commit. Fill in the trem & spring cavity. You did a pretty good job with the floyd so I don't think you'll have any major problems. Buy yourself six string ferrules and a hard tail bridge and turn your strat from epic fail to EPIC SUSTAIN! I'd recommend the Hipstot type for a comfortable feel as I like to rest my palm on a hard-tail bridge.


Thanks Andy - my last post was a typical overreaction on my part. I was flying by the seat of my pants with no plan or dimensions, so that was bound to happen. But even if I had been able to match the previous hole, I now think I would have needed to fill it in.

I want to go with a 6 point vintage trem. I bolted a neck on the body to get the measurement for the bridge placement and the bridge screws would have been too close to the original hole cut for the block. So I've got to fill the entire hole and the re-cut a hole for the trem. I'm currently working on filling the hole. I'll post pics when I make a bit more progress.

I'm back to feeling very good about the build. Even if I end up with a few minor flaws, I want a Sherwood Green Strat bad. A finished body from Warmoth would be about $300 - $350. On Ebay a beat up Sherwood Green body goes for almost $600 and a mint condition unit is over $800. This build is fun and I'll be able to do the whole guitar for about $400 - $450. I also have to remember that this body was ready for the garbage heap.

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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 4:51 am
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Kong wrote:
I want to go with a 6 point vintage trem. I bolted a neck on the body to get the measurement for the bridge placement and the bridge screws would have been too close to the original hole cut for the block. So I've got to fill the entire hole and the re-cut a hole for the trem. I'm currently working on filling the hole. I'll post pics when I make a bit more progress.


Sounds like a good plan! I have a little thing for green (and purple) guitars :D

Looking forward to your next post.

Andy

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