Martin
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Post by Martin on Dec 2, 2016 12:45:34 GMT
Does anyone have any experience of these kits? Cards on the table....I loved building my uke last year, and have been looking for a cheap mountain banjo kit that I can get stuck into - thing is, there's not much to one of those things, and after an hour or two, that would be it. Obviously, a decent acoustic is beyond both my skills and my available space/tools/dedication - does anyone have any recommendations for a kit that takes some time and care to put together, but isn't just a log and a saw in a box? I have seen some electric guitar and bass kits that might be reasonable, but again, some seema bit too simplistic - everything is drilled and wired, so it's just 'painting by numbers' to assemble it. My missus is keen on the idea as it makes a good Christmas pressie (saves her searching for the perfect pair of socks for me) and it will keep me out of trouble for some time. I thought this bass kit looked promising, but I'd be glad of suggestions too. www.ukmusicsupplies.co.uk/?shop=shopitems/guitar.full.size.diy.kits/luthier.diy.bass.guitar.kit.al209.right.handed.neck.bolt.on.al209.aspx&prev=?shop=shopitems/guitar.full.size.diy.kits&pageindex=-1 |
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francis
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My main instrument is: Whatever I'm building...
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Post by francis on Dec 2, 2016 16:38:41 GMT
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Dec 5, 2016 11:05:01 GMT
Thanks francisIt might be cheaper to just buy an old crappy guitar on Gumtree and then take it apart, (attempt to) refinish it and put it back together again. Just for kicks  |
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Dec 5, 2016 21:23:07 GMT
Ok, it's done. A crappy guitar has been procured this very evening. When I say 'crappy', I may be giving it too much credit. It's the worst looking instrument I've ever owned. I'm embarrassed that I actually paid cash for this thing. It looks bloody awful. I was prepared for it being covered in stickers and being a bit grimy, and the seller stated it had a few scratches, but that was to be expected. Well...it has many nasty gouges in the wood, the tuners have been replaced and the new ones don't fit, the end pin has been shoddily re-positioned, the pickups are grubby and chipped, the plastic knobs are cracked, the screw heads for the bridge seems to have been stripped and there are big join marks where the body has been put together showing through the paintwork. The stickers are horrific, and they actually cover up more terrible gouges in the body. The fingerboard has a couple of minor dents, but is more disgusting than ruined. The frets are horrible, but seem in ok condition and they are not sharp. To top it all, the previous owner has left the guitar near a burning candle and the back of the headstock has been badly singed. I haven't opened it up yet to check the electrics, but I'm sure further terrors await. So why did I buy it? Well, the room was dimly lit when I checked it, I concentrated on the neck being solid and straight rather than the state of the body, and....I was in a hurry  So, I have a real pig in a poke, but I bought it with the sole intention of taking it apart, cleaning and refurbishing it as far as I can, taking back the finish/removing the paint and re-finishing, hopefully with oil. Even if it doesn't work, it's going to be interesting, without worrying about destroying an expensive guitar. I don't see how I can make this piece of garbage any worse. So, I might keep this going here as a fun project with progress if and when I make it, if anyone's interested. I will probably ask for advice, and my first query is....with deep body gouges, is it best just to sand the whole thing back to the lowest level or used some kind of filler? What's the best method of filling the old end pin hole so I can put the thing back where it belongs? That's all for now, but feast your eyes on the BEFORE pics                 |
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Dec 5, 2016 21:40:02 GMT
Looks like hours of fun (hard work) await you, Martin  I know we love a good build thread - I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to the reverse |
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R the F
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My main instrument is: bandsaw
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Post by R the F on Dec 5, 2016 22:11:42 GMT
What you didn't notice is... it hasn't got any strings. Now that is a problem.
Advice: a roll of masking tape to make labels telling you where every screw, every knob, every anything came from. In ten months' time you might not remember. (I do this with furniture repairs and still manage to put bits back on in the wrong place or backwards. I know that's surprising, Leo).
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Dec 6, 2016 12:29:31 GMT
Looking forward to watching your progress Martin - should be a really fun project - all the best with it! Keith |
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Post by peterh on Dec 8, 2016 11:12:38 GMT
I'm no expert but I thought "road worn " guitars were worth a premium, just give it a good clean and resell it! kind regs Peter |
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brianr2
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Post by brianr2 on Dec 8, 2016 11:38:06 GMT
It would be fascinating to see the hideous duckling become a swan. I assume you will be retaining the Bieber sticker?
Brian
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Dec 8, 2016 11:43:14 GMT
I'm just fascinated by the thought of watching Martin turn this into a banjo....  Keith |
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davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Dec 8, 2016 11:45:56 GMT
Martin,
For the endpin, the screws usually need something like a 3mm pilot hole. I'd get some 6mm dowel, drill the hole with a 6mm drill and glue in a piece of the dowel. Level off after the glue is dry and drill a pilot hole for your endpin. For the body gauges if you are going to strip the body and repaint just use appropriate filler - don't sand down further. If the wood of the body is nice enough and you want finished wood then you could consider sanding down to a clean wood surface if they are not that deep but without a thickness sander it may be tricky for you to keep a level surface over the whole body.
Fun project.
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Dec 8, 2016 11:54:19 GMT
I'm no expert but I thought "road worn " guitars were worth a premium, just give it a good clean and resell it! kind regs Peter Yes, you're right Peter. Sadly this isn't so much 'road worn' as it is 'repeatedly run over by a dumper truck and then left to fester for six years'  It would be fascinating to see the hideous duckling become a swan. I assume you will be retaining the Bieber sticker? Brian It took it apart last night, Brian and it's worse than I thought! The Bieber sticker will, of course, remain. I might even get some new ones  I'm just fascinated by the thought of watching Martin turn this into a banjo.... Keith Honestly, I wouldn't rule it out. It's the pits. Looking at the body after stripping everything else away, it's so roughly done, and the wood feels so nasty, I actually put it in the bin. It was handy for resting it on at the time, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed appropriate... Martin, For the endpin, the screws usually need something like a 3mm pilot hole. I'd get some 6mm dowel, drill the hole with a 6mm drill and glue in a piece of the dowel. Level off after the glue is dry and drill a pilot hole for your endpin. For the body gauges if you are going to strip the body and repaint just use appropriate filler - don't sand down further. If the wood of the body is nice enough and you want finished wood then you could consider sanding down to a clean wood surface if they are not that deep but without a thickness sander it may be tricky for you to keep a level surface over the whole body. Fun project. Thanks very much for this, Dave. I feel more confident about trying stuff like this now, especially since it's such a cheap guitar, but yes, that end pin solution seems ideal. You're no doubt right about filling the dents. I'm now sure the wood will be the worst quality, glued bits and pieces probably, and some of the gouges are about 5-6mm deep! Filler, primer, spray paint and lacquer is my plan for refinishing this now, after I've scraped and sanded the paint away. I think I want to refinish the neck too. It's not too bad, but does have several dents/scratches and there is, of course, that hideous scorch mark on the headstock. Ok to sand this carefully to rtemove the finish and burn mark? Would you lacquer this or perhaps just use an oil finish?  |
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davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Dec 8, 2016 12:37:44 GMT
I think I want to refinish the neck too. It's not too bad, but does have several dents/scratches and there is, of course, that hideous scorch mark on the headstock. Ok to sand this carefully to rtemove the finish and burn mark? Would you lacquer this or perhaps just use an oil finish? I suspect that the scorch mark may go deep - if so I'd keep it as a "feature". Lacquer is nasty stuff if you don't have the equipment and facilities to safely use it. Getting the neck to a nice smooth stripped finish and using something like Liberon Finishing Oil is probably the way to go. |
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francis
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Post by francis on Dec 8, 2016 12:41:02 GMT
You did say they paid you to take it off their hands - didn't you  Have FUN!!! |
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colins
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Post by colins on Dec 8, 2016 12:48:09 GMT
Yes Dave is right, steer clear of laquer finish as, unless used in a proper spray booth, can be dangerous. So use the Liberon as Dave says on the neck. I'd colour spray the body, your local Halfords is good here as car aerosols, which nowadays are water based, can give you a whole pallet of colour. The body woods on most of these clone guitars are usually really horrid, so sanding back and clear finishing is not usually an option.
Oh, and who says that the body has to retain the 'strat' shape, get inventive here, if that were in my shop it would soon get quite intimate with my bandsaw!
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Jo whoever he is.
