First build - chime in please.

[troyw]

Hey all!

I started on my build and wanted to get a thread going to post my progress as some of you have suggested.

Here is the Carvin neck I got before I did anything to it. It's a "rock hard maple" neck with a rosewood FB and graphite nut.



Nothing special to look at here just a reference point. I know the fretboard looks like crap in these shots. I had a few spots I needed to sand where there were some minor scratches and I didnt wipe it down well enough before I snapped the shots.

Here is the neck after about 7 coats of tru-oil. It looks really nice and feels great. I have a few problem spots on the headstock in the front. Seems to be puddling up in some areas especially near the nut and the top. Not sure why cause i've been really careful to wipe off the excess with the grain at the end of each application. I keep knocking it down with steel wool but it wants to come back for some reason. does anyone know if Carvin seals their necks with anything or just sands them smooth?





I'm going to do two more coats on the neck today and then let it cure. I might have to do a few extra coats on the headstock depending on how it looks after these ones.

Now it's a waiting game for the body...coming from Bernie Hefner. (I know, I know, Don't hold my breath right?) He said it should be going out in two weeks when I talked to him a week and a half ago so we'll see...

Still trying to figure out what I'm going to do for color on the body. I want to dye or stain it black to enhance the grain...then sand back and add the color over the top. I've had mixed signals about what I should use (stain or waterbased dye) I've been told that dye will be blotchy on ash but I've also been told it won't. Flexner had an article on "battling blotches" and stated that Ash doesn't blotch much so I'm still trying to figure what to do.

more later...

[troyw]

Well, the neck is pretty much done. I'm adding a few extra coats to the headstock cause I had some bad spots to remedy but it's about done. I've read that it should cure for 1 or 2 weeks after the final coat and before steel wooling it. Does that mean don't touch it at all?

The reason I ask is that I talked to Bernie today and the body is coming out monday. I want to do a mock up before I start the body finishing so I can drill the bridge holes, etc...plus I just want to make sure everything is a snug fit before moving forward.

In order to do that though I have to put the tuners on so I can sting up the two Es and line up the trem. (wilkinson 6 hole)

Do I need to wait two weeks to do that? That's gonna kill me cause i'm ithcin' to get this bad boy going!

i'll post pics of the body as soon as I get it.

T

[troyw]

Hey all,

Well my body came in today as promised. I was pretty psyched to get it and when I opened it up it looked great...the grain pattern is really nice and it's very light 2.14 lbs



The problem is when I turned it over it's got these 3 spots that look like they've been filled...



Here are some closer shots....





Seems to me that even it they were going to fill it they should have used a light color.

The other thing was that when I tried to fit it to the carvin neck, the neck is about 1/16th too wide for the pocket. It looks like it's mostly toward the very end of the heel on the neck. I tried fitting a squire neck in and it was perfect.

So, I guess my question is two fold....the obvious one being should I send it back for the marks on the back? (I want to do a translucent finish)

and two...how should I handle the neck adjustment if I keep it? Shave a little off the neck seems like the easiest and safest bet but I thought i'd ask here.

Help!

Troy

[Structo]

Yes he filled what looks like a knot hole or other defect with filler.
Is this the 50's or 60's profile body?

If you plan on doing a sunburst you should be fine since I think the transition band will most likely cover them. Especially if you do a three color burst.
You do realize of course that you will have to grain fill the body right?

That is a light body, most would consider you fortunate in that regard.
About the neck, unfortunately, even those there are known Fender measurements on the neck widths and pocket widths everybody makes them a hair different.
I probably would have went with a Fender licensed neck vs the Carvin.
Carvin doesn't really say that their neck is going to fit a Fender body, if I'm wrong about that I apologise.
Another thing, a lot of people aren't aware of it but, when you fit a strat neck to a strat body, the neck should be placed over the pocket and pressed down.
Not slid in from the top of the body.
It should fit like a jig saw puzzle piece.

Don't sweat the finish on the neck.
You can level anything out with either fine sand paper or steel wool later when it is hard.

[7String Thing]

Id leave the marks for character. Its pretty cool lookin.

That light weight may loose some bass, but it should sound good.

[troyw]

Originally Posted by Structo

Yes he filled what looks like a knot hole or other defect with filler.
Is this the 50's or 60's profile body?

If you plan on doing a sunburst you should be fine since I think the transition band will most likely cover them. Especially if you do a three color burst.
You do realize of course that you will have to grain fill the body right?

That is a light body, most would consider you fortunate in that regard.
About the neck, unfortunately, even those there are known Fender measurements on the neck widths and pocket widths everybody makes them a hair different.
I probably would have went with a Fender licensed neck vs the Carvin.
Carvin doesn't really say that their neck is going to fit a Fender body, if I'm wrong about that I apologise.
Another thing, a lot of people aren't aware of it but, when you fit a strat neck to a strat body, the neck should be placed over the pocket and pressed down.
Not slid in from the top of the body.
It should fit like a jig saw puzzle piece

Hey Tom - it's a 60s profile body....nice grain huh? I was a little bummed about the knots but the weight offsets that a bit. Not sure if i'm really doing what you'd call a traditional burst. I do want to go a bit darker on the edges but it's not going to be a bright to dark thing. more like a fade....

About filling...After seeing the actual wood I do understand more about what you've been talking about...at this point I'm at square one on that, I guess. But remember this is my first time doing anything like that so I'm trying to learn and understand as much as I can.

I measured the neck and it's off about 1/16 carvin does say that the neck will fit a strat but like you said slight variances are going to happen. I don't think it will be too big an issue. I guess all these little hurddles are good learning expreiences. I went with the carvin because I love the neck on my AC175 and I've played some others that I liked. (my late brother worked for them)

As far as putting the neck on the body. I've always done the straight in way like you said....never slid one in from the top. Lucky guess huh? LOL

Well, I guess I'll go back and read your post on grain filling!

Troy

[troyw]

Hey all - I'm back on it again. Went to Woodcrafter's today and picked up my filler, tint and sanding sealer.

A few additional questions...

The filler I got is Behlen Pore-o-pac and I picked up a small bottle of black mixol to tint it. Do I need to do a wash coat of the S/S before applying the filler? I've been reading about it and there seems to be two schools of thought. One being that NOT using the sealer first will better allow the filler to get into the pores but makes it hard to get off the surface wood.

The other thing is that I was going to do a mock up first so I can set the trem and drill holes for it as well as the pickgaurd. I'm thinkng that might be best done AFTER filling though in order to keep the filler out of the holes.

Feedback please...

Thanks,
Troy

[5E3]

The front of the body looks fantastic, so I would accept the fills on the back if it were me. But it's your call!

Looking forward to seeing your completed guitar! :AOK

[troyw]

Originally Posted by 5E3

The front of the body looks fantastic, so I would accept the fills on the back if it were me. But it's your call!

Looking forward to seeing your completed guitar! :AOK

Yeah, I was bummed at first but with the 2.12 LB weight and the grain of the front that went away pretty quickly...I'm happy with it.

Thanks!

[Mike9]

Nice grain on that body. I've used a Carvin neck on a couple of Fender bodies before and it fit them both perfectly. You can reduce the width of the neck, or widen the pocket - do that only if you intend to marry that neck to that body. Otherwise find a neck that fits.

[troyw]

I got the washcoat of sand and sealer on but I must have put it on too heavy..I've got a few runs in it that I can see. Should I send it dwon and do another thinner coat?

I used a foam brush to apply it since I don't have any sprayer. Would it better to apply it with a cotton rag?

[5E3]

I would definitely sand out any runs. Now is the time to fix any issues that might nag you later.

[troyw]

Now I've been told that maybe I should not have put down the washcoat before the fill since I'm using dark fill and want to enhance the grain lines. They said that the dark filler might not stain the wood with the washcoat on there.

You ever done this yourself? ...Anyone?

[troyw]

Here is the body ready to fill. I sanded back a few runs in the washcoat and it's ready to go. The grain already looks pretty good.

[troyw]

Got one coat of filler on. Looks good except for the red grain lines which did nothing at all. I'll let it dry and sand back and do another coat tomorrow.



Thoughts?