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A budget-inspired build – Part 3

We left off at the pickup routes being handled. There is very little work left to do to complete the body. With the pickups being routed already, we needed room to run the wiring so a 3/16” drill bit was used to handle the wiring channels for the pickups, and the bridge ground. Before the channels were drilled the control cavity had to be routed to allow an easy path to run the drill bit.

1

Control Cavity Route

The control cavity wasn’t the easiest part of this project. For one there wasn’t a template that I had available so one had to be made, and secondly the depth (1 ¼”) required created some issues on the collet of the router slightly catching the edge. Since this has been budget inspired from the beginning, buying another bit to get a better depth was out of the question, as was relying on the collet to hold any less on the shank of the bit than ¼” for fear of it flying across the shop. Luckily the second route for the plate removed the burn marks. I initially thought of using wood from the scrap pile, and actually followed through. I didn’t have enough with similar grain pattern, but it turned out nicely using just the wood.

2

Control Plate

Getting the plate to fit slightly under the body was chosen as it didn’t look or feel just right being perfectly flush. Placement of the controls was predetermined before finishing the cover. Various test fits were made to determine how well the controls felt laid out inside the route before any drilling for the control holes was completed. Since this is using a 5knob Glockenklang 3-band preamp and two switches placement had to be fairly tight.

3

Control Placement

From here the 3/16” drill bit was used to handle the wiring channels for the pickups, and the bridge ground. A final test of the controls was handled. So far all the controls including a 9v battery and battery holder fit nicely inside the cavity with plenty of room left over if need be.

4

Control Test Fit

Now that the body work is complete with the neck pocket routed, body cut to shape, forearm & belly cut, pickup route, control cavity route, and wiring channels all finished the time to spend the bulk of the build on finishing has finally approached. There are many options from here on finishing a guitar body. Some prefer Lacquers whether Automotive or Nitrocellulose, Varnishes, Oils, and even some just rattle can from the hardware store. Regardless of which route you decide to take proper preparation and time pre-finishing is required. I started building a sanding batten so the body could be held with a C-Clamp while sanding, and also while finishing.

5

Body Batten

This body batten was made quickly out of some leftover pine that was used for painting trim. At this point I start with 60 grit. I should mention at this point I do most of the final sanding by hand and not with any DA or Orbital sanders. I prefer to work on the finishing sanding slowly from a low grit and end at 400 grit sandpaper. Using both foam and rubber blocks the body is blocked until the machining and tooling marks are removed. Once 220 was hit I use a waterbased grain filler on the body that is naturally a Mahogany finish color. Since I decided to stick with an oil based finish with Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil grain filling with a natural color seemed the best route. The grain filler that was used was locally sourced at Intercity Lumber in Tampa,FL and is “Whisper Woods” that is made locally. It being waterbased can be reduced with additional water to ease the use. I apply it generously to the body and rub it in until it is partially dry and remove the rest of the residue with old towels. I allow the grain filler to sit for 24hrs before sanding back some with additional 220. A second coat was used to evenly fill all the grain and allow the color within the filler to saturate any open pores. The end result was slightly darker of a shade than the natural Mahogany.

Stay tuned for the start of finishing and the final reassembly…

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