Build Update #15

Moved into the apartment at Penn State Erie. I sprayed my last coat on Friday, and left Saturday morning. To transport the guitar for the 2 hour drive meant hanging the guitar, as it was in the booth, on the clothes hanger hook in the minivan. I kept an eye on it during the ride to make sure it didn't swing around too much. I kept it hung in the closet for 4 days until i thought it was cured enough to sit in the guitar stand. Humidity hasn't dropped below 60 since i got here, so it may take some extra time to cure.



The guitar in its stand. The tuners were popped in for shits and giggles. I cut the string slots shallow in the bone nut using homemade feeler gauge saws. I think that, if you prepare and use the saws properly, they can work just as well as expensive nut files. I used a dremel to cut the teeth in the gauges, alternating the angle of the cut. I essentially aimed to replicate the alternating angled teeth on a standard saw. Before cutting these teeth, however, I round the edge of the gauge using some sandpaper, so the cut in the nut will have a round bottom, instead of a square one. The slots will be cut starting with a thin gauge saw and then continuing upward in thickness until reaching the final gauge. The nut will be completed once the finish is cured.



The headstock turned out very purty. The 'orange peel' shown on the finish (in the reflection) will go away during final sanding and buffing.



The epoxy grain filler i used was a pain to remove and in some spots i was a little too zealous on sanding it back to the wood. Some grain, especially around the pickup cavities, has shown through the finish. Speaking of finish... I used one can of sanding sealer (5 coats), and 3 cans of lacquer (5 very thin coats, followed by 10 wet coats [only 8 on the neck]). Some of the grain should disappear during final sanding.

I set my date for final sanding/buffing on Sept. 17th. So my next update will most likely be then.

-Andrew