My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

Looks great Erik, you must be happy with that.

Were you keeping your rattle-cans in warm water during the spray process to stop them getting too cold and 'spitting' ?
 
Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

crusty philtrum said:
Looks great Erik, you must be happy with that.

Were you keeping your rattle-cans in warm water during the spray process to stop them getting too cold and 'spitting' ?
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Thanks. I'm very happy with how it's turned out so far.

Oh yeah, I had a bowl of warm water out there and went back and forth between the two cans I started with. I would also start the spray just off to the side so if it did spit, it wouldn't land on the guitar.

These rattle cans have an adjustable nozzle so I can have it spray horizonal or vertical depending on the direction I'm spraying. They don't spray in the traditional big round circle, more flat like what you'd see from a spray gun.
 
Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

ErikH said:
These rattle cans have an adjustable nozzle so I can have it spray horizonal or vertical depending on the direction I'm spraying. They don't spray in the traditional big round circle, more flat like what you'd see from a spray gun.
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Yeah, that's a useful feature. Whenever i used rattle cans, i found that paint would collect around the nozzle, and i used to keep a rag nearby to occasionally wipe the nozzle clean in case a blob of collected paint suddenly came loose and landed on the job.

I had a look at your site with the other pics, it all looks like it's coming along great. How are you feeling ? If it's anything like what i went through, there'll be one half of you going "Oh yeah, almost there, yeah, yeah, yeah" and the other half going "Take it steady boy, take your time", kinda like having a kid and an old man inside you at the same time. hehe.
 
Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

crusty philtrum said:
How are you feeling ? If it's anything like what i went through, there'll be one half of you going "Oh yeah, almost there, yeah, yeah, yeah" and the other half going "Take it steady boy, take your time", kinda like having a kid and an old man inside you at the same time. hehe.
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I'm feeling good actually. There are moments like you mention here but for the most part, I've been able to keep myself at bay and really make sure each step is done right before going on to the next.

This morning I laid down coat number 3 and currently waiting for that to dry. Then another round of light sanding and then coat 4. There's a run spot on the back and one near the neck/body joint that need to be dealt with. Nothing serious. After today, the painting should be all but finished, aside from the headstock, which will be black, but I want the rest of it completely dry before I tape it off to spray that.

Thanks for all the comments and following. This is a guitar I've been wanting again for a long time and like I said in at the start of this, original SG Jr's are just too expensive these days and the RI's from the late 80's-early 90's are hard to come by. This is the next best thing, IMO.... make one.

More pics once the painting is done and cured.
 
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Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

Fantastic. I may have to wait a year or so but I'm pretty sure I'm going to treat myself to one of their LP Jr kits. I know I'll be referring back to this thread pretty regularly, too.
 
Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

Thank you, sir.

I like the look of their LP Jr double-cut kit myself. If I ever do another set-neck, it'll most likely be one of those.

Hopefully this thread proves to be helpful to many. I also have the whole process documented on my web site with pictures.

Also see crusty's thread. I got a ton of info there on finishing even though some of what he did does not apply to me since I'm using acrylic lacquer and doing a faded finish.

4th and what looks to be the final coat is on and drying. I sanded out the small runs with some 320 grit. The whole thing is looking really good now. There are some spots where you can see the open pores but I'm kinda digging that. It adds to the look. I'll see what it looks under good lighting before deciding if another coat is necessary or not. I don't think it'll matter either way.
 
Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

Thanks y'all. It's been a labor of love for sure.

Paint is finished. It took another thin coat on the front and back to fill in some of the pores. After looking at it under really good light, I could see the pores really well and decided to give it another coat which is OK. All the coats have been applied really thin. The great thing is that I was able to achieve the faded look that I was going for.

The face of the headstock is now black. There's a touch-up area I need to get near the nut where the tape covered it up so wood is showing there. Noticed that when pulling the tape off. A simple fix with a q-tip that I'll deal with tomorrow.

Still plenty to do yet. The next challenge is cutting and filing the back plate. If all goes well, I could have it fully assembled next weekend. This paint dries and cures pretty quick but I am purposely letting it sit for longer before putting any hardware on.

I took a quick pic on my phone with the tape off but it's not that great. Tomorrow I'll be taking better pics and uploading them. Stay tuned.
 
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Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

Ya know.That looks fabulous. I wonder if theres a market to build these set necks ? Am thinking someone with the mad skilz of the OP could actually hire and train a small 1-2 man p/t crew to crank these baby's out on a nationally marketed scale. Wiht some refinement, and a shop, these could be done with some consistency. Maybe even be an authoriized builder. IDK.
I'd sure be interested.
 
Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

That's looking great already, can't wait to see the finished guitar. Nice job.
 
Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

This turned out to be a great weekend. Weather has been perfect for getting the finish done. And I can say it is done in that department for what I was going for.

I managed to get the bridge inserts in (with the ground wire), the truss rod over on, bridge pins on, and the back plate template is made. I still need to trace the template on the material and cut it out. That will most likely be the final piece with the extra work to do there.

Here's some updated pics after the final sanding with 1000 grit.

As always, more pics of this stage can be seen here: http://www.erikhansen.net/pgksgjr.php

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And here is a teaser with the bridge inserts and posts in with the pickguard laying over the top.

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Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

100th post!

Looks awesome Dude- I'm going home for a week, make sure you text me some pics! I won't have much internet access while I am gone
 
Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

JeffB said:
100th post!

Looks awesome Dude- I'm going home for a week, make sure you text me some pics! I won't have much internet access while I am gone
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Thanks. Drive safe. Will keep ya posted. I just *might* have it wired up tomorrow night. All depends on how much I get done tonight.

This paint dried faster than I thought it wood and feels totally cured, especial after I drilled the hole for the truss rod cover screw. That's good cause it means I can get most of the hardware on sooner. :)
 
Re: My attempt at a set neck build - Precision SG Jr.

It looks great. Is the black headstock face going to have the slightly porous look too, or are you going for a Gibson-style glassy smooth finish there ?

Funny thing, getting the finish done seems like a huge part of the job, but once it's done.... the next stage seems huge. Then the next stage after that. But it's the attention to detail that will make it really special. Take your time, don't put yourself under pressure. I think you're going to end up with a guitar that will put a big smile on your face for years to come.

Maybe we should have a 'review' thread in about a years time to see how the people who have been building stuff recently feel about their instruments when the dust has settled and they've really spent some time tweaking and playing their babies.
 
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