Encore Bass Refinish - 3 - Restoring the Fret Board - A Hidden Gem!

One project I haven't mentioned much is the Encore bass refinish I have been working on.  The guitar itself was purchased from a junk shop many years ago and I hardly ever played it.  

I decided to refinish the whole thing as it looked well worn the day I bought it so a couple of moths ago I stripped it down and repainted the body and the neck.  I sprayed it black but added racing stripes to the body a couple of weeks ago.

This weekend I decided to have a look at the fret board.  It was always my intention to re-crown the frets but I decided to clean the fingerboard initially.  I tried various solvents to clean the wood between the frets but int he end took some sand paper and to my utter surprise the fingerboard looks like it is made of light maple not something like the dark rosewood I assumed it was made from.

Years of use, sweat and beer must have accumulated to darken the wood leaving the impression this bass had a rosewood fret board.  I had to really work hard to get a nice even colour all over the front of the neck.

The picture below is a good example of the amount of grime I had to contend with.  There is always a chance that the wood was stained to look darker than it actually was, the white fret markers don't stand out that well against the light maple.

I used my random orbital sander to get right up to the edge of the frets and then sanded carefully across the grain with 400 grit sandpaper on some of the more stubborn marks and then eventually went over the whole neck following the grain to remove any sanding marks.

Gradually the true nature of the fret board is revealed! It's quite exciting to think that this has been hidden from me for so many years, I never suspected the neck would look so different and the light colour will fit in nicely with the ivory racing stripes I have painted on the body

Once I was happy with the fret board I masked the neck up just leaving the frets exposed ready for crowning.  I marked a indelible blue line on the top of each fret and then took a 3 sided file (with one edge ground smooth to avoid damaging the fret board) and started filing each of the frets.

The idea is to leave a thin crest or crown on each of the frets, the blue line shows this perfectly.

Once each fret had been filed to a peak I took some sandpaper and started removing the tool marks, starting with 120 grit, then 220, 400 and 600.  I then used my dremmill with a small buffing wheel and some abrasive compound to polish each fret to a nice shine.

Finally I used some Nevr-Dull to polish a really nice shine onto each of the frets.  the pictures below don't really do the neck justice.  I will post some more at a later date.

One final thing, I put a coat of sander sealer over the fret board and left it to hand and dry overnight.  I'm considering spraying a thin coat of lacquer over the face of the neck just to provide a little protection.  and hopefully keep this thing looking great for many years to come.

Another Ukulele Project - Making A DLP Custom Pick Guard

I would like to make my guitars (and ukuleles) look unique as a way of making the DLP Guitars brand recognisable, so while the general shape of the Telecaster is unchanged, there is scope to be creative and individual with the pick guard.  With this in mind I have decided to use something like my idea below of an oval shaped pick guard.

I have ordered a pickup, bridge and machine heads for the Telecaster Ukulele so while I'm waiting for them to arrive I thought I would make a start on the pick guard.

I started off by making a rough cardboard template just to give me an idea of how much blank material I would need and general proportions of the pick guard.  I will be using un-etched single sided copper coated PCB to make the guard, leaving the copper side polished and exposed.  It should gradually darken with age.

I roughed out the shape, the material can actually be cut carefully with good scissors but I stopped well clear of the outline as it does have a habit of  splintering and splitting. I then used my bench grinder to gradually shape the pick guard.

Once I had the oval shape I marked the position of the neck and nibbled the material away with the bench grinder.  I then used files to get the neck cut-out perfect and finally finished the edges to give a nice even gap all round.

I will have to wait for the bridge and the pickup to arrive before I can do anything else with it, but I'm please with the results so far.

DLP Guitars - Clear Out Time

Today I finished setting up the 3 guitars I have been working on for that past couple of months and listed them on eBay.  Fingers crossed I get some interest... The whole point of starting DLP Guitars was to test the waters and see if there was any commercial interest in what I create for fun.  Here are a few beauty shots and links to the auctions.

Firstly we have my refinished Epiphone Gibson Les Paul Special Model - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251322371207&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT

Next is the Handmade Thinline Telecaster  featuring dual P90 pickups. - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251322360636&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT

And finally the Handmade Thinline Telecaster 'Scraps' - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251322371207&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT

I can only ship within the UK so good luck if you are interested in buying a unique instrument made in Birmingham, England.

DLP Les Paul Prototype - 10 - A Little Primer

After a busy couple of days concentrating on other jobs around the house I finally had chance to do a little work on the DLP Les Paul Prototype.  I smoother out the filler I had put round the edge of the back cover and just have everything a once over ready for grey primer.

I put a very light coat on the back cover knowing it is going to soak into the MDF.  It's late at night here and very damp and humid so I don't want to put too much paint on at this point.

Very dark grey primer! I put a little on the body but did miss a few bits out as I was holding the body with my other hand! Not a very professional way to spray but as I mentioned above, it is late here and dark and I just wanted to start the process off.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 15 - Reconnecting Electrics and Stringing Up

First job of the evening is to solder all the components back together.  These are the original Epiphone pots and wires however the switch, pickups and jack socket are all brand new.

Earlier today I gave the fingerboard a good clean and a coat or tow of lemon oil as the masking tape I used whilst levelling the frets had sucked a lot of the oil out of the top of the wood.

With everything tested and secured I restrung the Les Paul and tuned it whilst ensuring the strings did not buzz anywhere on the neck.

A quick test before I call it a night and the action is great before I even think about giving the guitar its final setup.

I loved the design and the colour combination seems to work well. 

It's a unique guitar with a unique finish which gives the guitar an old look with a modern twist.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 14 - Fret Levelling and Crowning

Now the paint and lacquer has completely dried I was able to sand the surface smooth with wet and dry sand paper and then use abrasive  pastes to bring the finish back on the Epiphone Les Paul Special Model.  I then decided to level and crown the frets.  I firstly straightened the neck using the truss rod and then levelled the frets with my spirit level (which has sand paper taped to the one side).  There was a lot of wear it took a little time to take the blemishes out of the affected frets.

Next I rounded the frets to the same profile as the the neck using my home made radius block and then I crowned the frets using a 3 sides file (with one of the edges ground round).  Finally I polished the frets with my Dremel and some abrasive creams to a high shine.

With the frets polished and levelled I will be able to refit all the electrics and strings and then tune and set up the guitar.  And maybe think about finding this beauty a new loving home!

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 13 - Still Not Happy With The Finish

Now here is something I haven't seen for a while in the garage, the Epiphone Les Paul stripped down and hanging up drying from fresh paint!  There was a few places where the lacquer was not as thick as I would have liked and I had rubbed through to the paint below.  There was also a couple of areas where the ivory colour didn't look right and needed to be removed completely.  For example there was a bit poking out under the neck joint which I wasn't happy with.

I think I may have been a little too keen finishing the surface and wet sanding as the lacquer had cracked in a couple of places so I decided to to strip everything down, touch up where appropriate and add another couple of coats of lacquer to blend everything in.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 12 - Polish and Assembly

I felt it was finally time to put the Epiphone Special Model back together so the first job of the day is to cut back the finish with wet and dry sandpaper and then polish to a gloss finish.

I started with 400 grit (wet) and worked through 800, 1200 and 1500 grit all wet with a little soap for lubrication.  I let the weight of the block do all the work.

Once I had finished with the wet and dry paper I went over everything with 'Brasso' and then a car polish and buffed to a gloss shine.

You can see the finish starting to shine through.  Its a lot of hard work but very rewarding!  Then it was time to put everything together...

The finish is beautiful and looks great both close up and from a distance.  It's not totally perfect but the imperfections are tiny and I'm probably just been too critical of my work!

I have fitted new pickups, bridge and tail piece, the switch is brand new and the control knobs are new.  The pots are original as it the neck plate and control cavity cover.

I also replaced the jack socket and cover plate.  I also the 'Rhythm and Treble' ring is new.

The machine heads are new but the nut is original. The vinyl graphics smoothed out great once I sanded the lacquer level on the headstock.

The guitar sounds great with the minimal of setting up.  I have learned a lot painting this guitar and cant wait to crack on with the next project.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 11 - Mock Up

I was originally going to refit the original Epiphone pickups but then decided to fit something slightly different instead.  I found some nice looking pickups on eBay and they arrived today.  

I decided then to mock up the new parts on the body... Wow, I can't wait to put the guitar back together again.  It should be ready to sand and buff very soon.

Telecaster Project - 13 - 3 Heads Are Better Than One

Earlier today the neck arrived for my Telecaster project, at the same time I started building a Stratocaster copy from a kit my lovely wife bought me for my birthday and of course the Epiphone refinish neck is hanging up in the garage drying.  I couldn't resist putting all three together for a couple of pictures.

They all look great for different reasons and they all have their own personalities, obviously they all are made of different materials, different size fret wire... Which is your favourite?

I can't wait to get this trio on their respective bodies.  I wonder which one will sound the best?