Friday: Partly cloudy. Top of 30C

It's hot and windy today, perfect weather for drying off the finish, gotta love it when that happens.

Lunch today was a ham roll with Branston pickle. I’m beginning to regret buying the leg of ham – turns out my girlfriend doesn’t like ham unless it’s cooked into something – so it’s up to me to eat it all before it goes bad.

After yesterdays debacle involving the finish peeling off of the neck, I read the manufacturers note and wiped off the shellac sealer with some lighter fluid. Always read the instructions! I ended up applying some low-grade polyurethane with a brush. Yes, with a brush. I’ve painted a million things with polyurethane using a brush and it comes up fine. It’s very easy stuff to work with – it’s slow drying which gives the brush lines time to fall back under their own weight into a surprisingly smooth finish. It isn’t as perfectly clear as the automotive acrylic clear coat, it has a golden brown hue which really warmed up the untinted maple neck. There are a few ever-so-slight brush lines but they’ll sand out in the next step. The down side to this particular poly is that is takes about a week before it has degassed enough to bring inside – it’s VERY smelly.




I shot a final clear coat this morning – SAG CITY!!!! . They’ll sand out easy enough, but it’s a little disheartening after so much work.




The pick guard came this morning, so I cut it to the shape I want. It looks pretty smart!




I also got the controls wired up neatly. I don’t like the feel of this particular three way switch, it feels a little bit rough and grindy, I might try to get a bit of grease in there to make it feel nicer.




I’ll post pictures when it’s all assembled as well as a sound clip, for those of you who are interested, in the General Music section as soon as it's done.


Stage dress. Do you guys wear anything particular when you gig? I wear a suit in the soul band, jeans and boots in the country band. Nothing over the top, but from an entertainment point of view I think it’s good to look the part. I was once crucified by an audience and band members alike when I turned up for a gig wearing a faded red t-shirt and shorts for a gig, and since then have tried a little bit harder.

I got dragged out shopping with my girlfriend a few days ago and bought a few items of clothing that will look good with the shell pink guitar – a light blue linen suit jacket and a candy apple red tie. The girl in the shop told me not to wear them together, what the hell does she know. I’ve never bought clothes just because they’d look good with a guitar before but it made the trip fun.


Anybody gigging this weekend? I have one Saturday night from 9pm 'til 1am. Once we pack up and have a drink it's about 3am by the time I get home. It's a late night but it's a fun place, it pays well, they give us dinner AND provide us with a slab of beers on ice.


Thanks to all for participating in the LR’s this week, much appreciated.

Gig wear: I used to be more concerned about it when I was a 18-25 and worried about trying to pick up women from the audience. Aw, who am I kidding, I kept thinking about that until ... OK, I still think about that. Now, on those very rare occasions when I might get up and play a song or two with my friends at their gigs, I just wear something reasonably suited to someone just over 40 (meaning I'm not trying to look like somebody I'm not) and try to go with something that's at least clean. I will make sure I'm wearing my Timberland hikers because they have a wider sole than tennis shoes which helps maintain balance when trying to work pedals - especially in close quarters.

Buying clothes to go with a guitar is a new one on me, but I think it would make shopping for clothes far less dreadful than it is most of the time.

Thanks for sharing the building project. I really learned a lot of stuff I had no idea about before. I've always considered this to be sacred ground that I dare not tread upon, but you've demystified much of that for me - so many thanks. Plus, it took a lot of "gumption" in my book to share your pink project.

Phillip

!!! UPDATE !!!

Due to excellent weather for drying I was able to wet sand the finish and got it looking just about how I want it to. It's not super glossy, it's more of a satin finish but it suits the pastel colour very well. The neck is still wet and won't be done for some time, but here's what it looks like for now (there's till a bit of residue on it in these photos)





I'm very happy with it. It's far from perfect - the finish wouldn't compare to a production instrument, but for a first build it's come up just fine. At this time I have my fingers crossed that it will play well too, and that there aren't any serious problems with alignment when the neck goes on.

I will make sure I'm wearing my Timberland hikers because they have a wider sole than tennis shoes which helps maintain balance when trying to work pedals - especially in close quarters.

I had a lot of trouble at pedal time when I started wearing my cowboy boots. I think that the "leaning back whilst soloing" thing was born when someone overbalanced in boot heels.

it's -3c and snowing here today, Sunday is supposed to get down to -19c (-2f) coldest it's been here in six years apparently. I don't mind the snow much but but temps like that chill you right to the bone.

Unfortunately the pics of your guitar won't load on my work computer so I'll have to wait til later to comment on it

As for gig clothes, I dress for the venue, which was usually a dive bar so jeans and a t-shirt, sometimes a flannel and usually chucks for shoes. Wish I was gigging this weekend but not in a band at the moment

-Dave

Hey Blarg,

Finish looks really good, your soldering though, could use a bit of practice. The ground on the tone pot looks either cold or oxidized.

I guess I would dress relative to the gig, but don;t want to look like you can't blend in with the locals.

Again, I think your guitar looks great, your doing a hell of a job for your first time at it, My first two paint jobs didn't look perfect but that's how you learn.

You guy's are having trouble with too much humidy while it's dry as a bone here, temps in the single digits and below Zero, even my big humidifier can't keep up.

For some reason we don't get a ham on the bone except for on the holidays, Easter and Christmas, we bake it and have it for dinner but the leftovers are my favorites, not only for sandwiches but I love a nice thick slice fried with my eggs for breakfast, the frying brings out the sweetness of the meat, another favorite is to chop it up in small pieces and fry it up with onions, green and hot peppers, garlic and potatos sort of like a hash, it's a meal in itself.

The bands I was in were mostly hard rock so it was jeans a t shirt and my cowboy boots or chuck taylors.

This weekend it's just a bit of jamming with a couple of old friends before and after the football games.

gary

Great week of LRs.

Good to see Big Pink in the final stages.

Patiently waiting for the assembled pic. Pro'lly not as patient as you! hehehe

Stage dress. Do you guys wear anything particular when you gig?

Haven't played in bands since college. At the time it was "college wear": whatever you had on that day.

Anybody gigging this weekend?

Good luck to all ya band members.

jamie in nc

The shell pink Tele looks great! You should be very proud of the quality of the work that you have done.

My weakness is soldering so I can't criticize your wiring, but It looks about the same as I do on my projects. A good soldering iron and the right kind of solder at the right temperature is key to a good job.

Yes, I have a gig this weekend! My band RAGs is playing at a Mexican restaurant called, La Mexicana, in Germantown MD Saturday night. I'm looking forward to it

Please see my announcement in the Public Announcements section of this board.

Clothes for gigs: I used to dress up more in different bands, even wearing a tuxedo when doing real formal jobs, but usually we just wear what we wore all day. Blues and country bands are jeans wearing bands, but a nice shirt can really add a nice touch.

I may make that a New Years resolution: Dress up for gigs!

My weakness is soldering so I can't criticize your wiring, but It looks about the same as I do on my projects. A good soldering iron and the right kind of solder at the right temperature is key to a good job.

This is it, I used to go to the soils lab to do my soldering as my irons were crap. For Christmas the wife bought me a Hakko 936 station. Heats up in about 25s, and keeps tip heat really consistant. It is also adjustable temperature. It makes soldering effortless and that is important. I also use eutectic solder (63/37) as it doesn't have that inbetween pasty phase where the lead/tin solution has melted but left solid lead behind. Also makes a difference.

There are a lot of wires here, and will be a few more soon as I get my push/pull phase switch in there.



Things to notice, the solder is never bumpy or coarse, it flows around any of the joints and wires smoothly. This is a joint that was hot enough. If your solder has a surface texture/ isn't free flowing, the materials weren't hot enough. Always tin wires before attempting a joint, heck you can even tin the reciever and make things really easy, but I don't usually do that (unless soldering neutrik cables). You heat the joint, then apply solder to the joint, not to the iron, however it is good to have a bit of solder on the iron itself to aid in heat transfer, when dealing with really small joints like in a guitar, I like a small needle tip (permitting it can hold the heat, my station can) and I run it through the MIDDLE of most lugs then it heats up pretty quick and holds the wire there for me mostly (although I usually loop it around).

The big tip off on your work is the grounds, they should be nice smooth puddles, the difference between yours and mine is I took advantage of a shielded cavity. Correct me if I am wrong but you used these switches and pots before? Typically if that is the case it is best to clean all the old solder off with wick or a sucker, then start new stuff.

The project looks good, Blarg. Now looking forward to hearing it.

I know you guys with weekend gigs will rip it up; or, whatever it is you are planning on doing you will make it happen. I am kinda jealous. I am finding writing to be addicting, but I am really wanting to play a few old fashioned bar gigs and see if we can get a couple folks to buy in.

I hate soldering. Looks like it should be easy, It is just a hassle, and I suck at it. My brother is amazing, so my skills have gone from bad to worse sense i moved back near him. He is getting sick of my projects, I think. Hell for me would be soldering grounds to copper back plates.

Gig wear is always an issue. I am playing with guys I played with in college right now. I'll tell you one thing, our clothes are a lot BIGGER than they were back then! One of the other members wives is an event planner, and she is booking our best gigs. So she made some noise about our look, and I thought all our problems were solved. Because if she let's our man O out play with us every week, we'd wear any damn thing she wanted! But alas, she backed off; so we are still on our own.

Currently we kinda have two approaches. We all have a decent blue suit, so sometime we go that route, no ties usually. Or we all go jeans and a nice button up shirt. We've talked about some gimmicks like hats, fake beards or goddy cheap sunglasses. But invariable one of us will forget to bring it...

A word of warning about trying to pick up women at gigs. It CAN work. And my band now has a total of 3 wives, 1 obnoxious girlfriend and 5 daughters. (Not to mention our free some-times sound mans bridezilla.) So be careful what you wish for....

Have a great weekend all!

Sirmy - You're right, my soldering isn't fantastic but it does the job. It's the sort of thing that requires patience and practice. A friend of mine who is severely pedantic is the best solderer I know - his work looks like a machine did it.


Bassman - I do have a sense of pride in the tele. Checked out your post, it's cool that you and zapco share instruments like that



JamieD - It will be fully assembled within 48 hours. I promise to get pics up within 10 minutes of it being completed. I needed to put one final coat of poly on the neck today which wont be dry enough for assembly until tomorrow evening (it's cool, humid and cloudy today). Hang in there!

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

Sirmy - You're right, my soldering isn't fantastic but it does the job. It's the sort of thing that requires patience and practice. A friend of mine who is severely pedantic is the best solderer I know - his work looks like a machine did it.

That a shot? Just playing. I am only concerned as yours will probably work, but it is a lot more fragile. Good joints are a lot more durable and shock resistant as the bond between material and solder is much higher.

I
Stage dress. Do you guys wear anything particular when you gig?

I've gone kilted for every gig over the past two years.

Here I am sporting the Ireland's National at the San Francisco St. Patrick's Day festival in 2010:



I have 19 kilts (in different tartans and styles) so I change them up from gig to gig. And, BTW, the ladies LOVE a man in a kilt! Trust me because I'm experienced.

--GDub

Sirmy - You're right, my soldering isn't fantastic but it does the job. It's the sort of thing that requires patience and practice. A friend of mine who is severely pedantic is the best solderer I know - his work looks like a machine did it.

That a shot? Just playing. I am only concerned as yours will probably work, but it is a lot more fragile. Good joints are a lot more durable and shock resistant as the bond between material and solder is much higher.

No no! Not at all! This guy is incredibly pedantic, I'm not saying you are . He uses a ruler for everything, even quick diagrams, white out whenever he makes a spelling error etc

I might give the soldering on the tone pot another shot, it does look pretty ugly.



Gdub - Love the kilt. I'm a Scot by birth so they're something I could legitimately wear around. I probably wouldn't weaar one when plying the pink guitar, that'd just raise too many questions/eyebrows. Nice looking amp in that photo in front of the drums - what is it?

Good luck if you do, a tip, if you will, something I like to do. When I solder grounds I don't want to have to do 7 or 8 or them, on a series/split parallel guitar I wired 5 grounds total. 1 from each pickup of the switch (necessary) 1 from output, one from bridge. The last one I so this. Instead of grounding the capacitor directly, I wire it to the ground lug of the volume pot, and instead of grounding the volume pot on itself, then carrying a wire over to the shared ground (which is not needed as you have nothing else grounded there) . This lets me put all my grounds in one place, without extra unnecessary joints. It also lowers the amount of ground connections you need to make by 1. Grounds are by far the most work as you are working with large heating areas.

Gdub ...Nice looking amp in that photo in front of the drums - what is it?

That's our old trusty SWR California Blonde. My wife uses it as her accordion amp at larger venues and festivals. That day I was playing through my Mesa Express 5:25 1x12.

--GDub

Here I am sporting the Ireland's National at the San Francisco St. Patrick's Day festival in 2010

What do you keep in that sporran GDub?