Re: Chinese PRS kit build
I've been working steadily on this build but haven't posted in a couple months. Here's a quick description of what I've done.
Finally got the dye job right after several attempts. I had to sand it down each time it didn't come out right, and luckily didn't wear through the veneer. The blue would dry with a red sheen, so it was tough to tell how the colors were blending. I found out I could put oil on it to get rid of the redness. I also created a headstock veneer and dyed it. Here's a decent shot of the end result.
Next I moved on to the atrocious frets. I basically pulled them all up, super glued the slots, then put them back in. I was able to use a clamp to press the center of the frets down, but I had a hard time compensating for the curve. I jimmyrigged a couple clamps in to a makeshift press. It did enough to get the frets stable, but the ends were consistently higher than the middles. Lesson learned, I'll get a proper tool for this in the future.
The control cavity was routed out, but it had no ledge for a cover. I had to get creative with a Dremmel by creating a pseudo router, basically freehanding it. Turned out very well. I cut a piece of aluminum for the cover, and I'll be putting another dyed veneer on that. The neck was glued in after that.
Next I leveled the frets. I did a lot of research on DIY methods, and ended up buying a marble thresh-block-something-rather from Lowe's. A roll of sandpaper was impossible to find, even online, but I got lucky and found it at Harbor Freight. Also picked up a StewMac fret file on eBay for $35, which I'm happy about. Once I had all the tools for a proper level, I practiced on another guitar and got comfortable with the procedure. Now, the problem I mentioned about the frets not sitting evenly, this really screwed with the leveling. Basically, the frets were mostly level down the center of the neck. But with the ends sitting high on many of them, I ended up talking TONS of metal off. Yeah, this has been a learning experience.
On to the bridge. After the debate about shimming the neck or the bridge to compensate for the angle, I decided to go with a wrap around. I drilled the holes and it fits magnificently. I strung up the high and low strings to check alignment, and the fret leveling appears to at least be consistent, even if it's ugly.
Now it's on to the clear coats. I'm using TruOil, and it's slow and tedious. So another couple weeks of daily coating, then polishing, and I should be able to move on to wiring and setup.
