Tales from my workbench

[slingblader]

I thought I had posted some final shots when I wrapped up shooting finish on this one, but apparently I spaced it.

Since my buddy wanted a satin neck, I just shot a few more coats of the Mohawk instrument sealer and left it at that. It's pretty much just a satin nitro and Mohawk says it can be used as a standalone finish, so we're gonna try it. If he doesn't like it, I'll scuff it and shoot a couple coats of gloss over it. 

On the pore filling front, I handled the rest of the bad ones with drop fills before shooting the gloss coats. This worked really well. 

Anyway, here are a few extra pics. I'm going to let it hang until sometime around mid-September before level sanding and polishing.

Some drop fills.

There wasn't a great spot to stamp the date and number on the ziricote, so I just winged it. (wung it?)

I'm hoping to jump back to my Special build while this one is drying.

[BoogieMKIIA]

Really nice!

[slingblader]

Level sanded and polished my buddy's cherry and ziricote Strat over the past couple of days. Hope to be assembling it this weekend. Apologies for the sh!tty background. 

 

[Travis]

27 minutes ago, slingblader said:

Level sanded and polished my buddy's cherry and ziricote Strat over the past couple of days. Hope to be assembling it this weekend. Apologies for the sh!tty background. 

 

That top is FANTASTIC!

[scottcald]

17 hours ago, slingblader said:

Apologies for the sh!tty background. 

Yeah, cause that's what we're looking at.  😆  That looks phenomenal.  

[slingblader]

18 hours ago, Travis said:

That top is FANTASTIC!

Thanks, it's coming along nicely. Can't wait to see it assembled. 

[slingblader]

1 hour ago, scottcald said:

Yeah, cause that's what we're looking at.  😆  That looks phenomenal.  

Thanks, man! You would not believe how much of that compound is splattered all over the place. I tried to set up some cardboard shields, but damn, it just gets everywhere!

[scottcald]

2 hours ago, slingblader said:

Thanks, man! You would not believe how much of that compound is splattered all over the place. I tried to set up some cardboard shields, but damn, it just gets everywhere!

I bet.  That guitar looks like fine piece of furniture.

[slingblader]

Well, I got this one assembled today and started the setup. It's playing great now, but I'll let it sit overnight before I try to tweak it any further. I really like the SD Everything Axe pickups. I added coil split on a push/pull pot for some options. 

I still need to mount the trem cavity cover. Once that's done, I'll give it a final polish and remove the protective plastic which is still on the pickguard, then take some better pictures. Hopefully my buddy will be picking it up next weekend. I think he'll like it.

 

 

[crunchee]

That is one nice lookin' axe, that's a fantastic build!  Your buddy should be very pleased! So, is there a "Bond, James Bond" connection with the serial number? 

[G Man]

"I think he'll like it".   Think he'll like it?  Think he'll like it?  WTH?  Anyone who doesn't like that needs their pulse checked.  She's a beauty, and I don't even like strats.

[slingblader]

5 hours ago, crunchee said:

That is one nice lookin' axe, that's a fantastic build!  Your buddy should be very pleased! So, is there a "Bond, James Bond" connection with the serial number? 

Thanks! I think he's gonna love it. It was just happy coincidence that this is my 7th build... although number 6 isn't actually finished yet. LOL I sorta jumped this one to the front of the queue.

[slingblader]

34 minutes ago, G Man said:

"I think he'll like it".   Think he'll like it?  Think he'll like it?  WTH?  Anyone who doesn't like that needs their pulse checked.  She's a beauty, and I don't even like strats.

Well, thanks! Yeah, It's pretty safe to say he's gonna like it. He has seen pictures throughout the build process and of course he has been making a lot of the choices for woods, pickups, etc. I myself would not have chosen the black pickguard with that top, but in the end it is going to look cool. I was pushing for the gold anodized aluminum guard, like I put on my P bass.

[duncans]

O love these photo build stories, processes. You really have a talent for this. Great Job!!!

[hamerhead]

5 hours ago, slingblader said:

....I myself would not have chosen the black pickguard with that top.....

I'm with you there. It's OK, but it's tough covering that top with anything.

[slingblader]

5 hours ago, hamerhead said:

I'm with you there. It's OK, but it's tough covering that top with anything.

Agreed, but those pickup routes had to be covered up with something.  We never really discussed doing really tight routes with no guard, perhaps we should have!

[slingblader]

Well, things didn't work out last week with our schedules, so the guitar is being picked up tomorrow. In the meantime, I completed the final setup, did a final polish and removed the plastic from the pickguard. I took the opportunity to snap some better photos, and here is the final result.

 

[cynic]

The backside of that headstock is very slick.

[slingblader]

17 hours ago, cynic said:

The backside of that headstock is very slick.

Hey, thanks! I had some ziricote offcuts and didn't want them to go to waste. I gave some to the wife for her crafty projects and put a piece on the back of the headstock. I think it's a nice accent.

[Drew816]

Killer, nice work!

[slingblader]

2 hours ago, Drew816 said:

Killer, nice work!

Thank you!

[slingblader]

Well, my buddy Mike came over today and test drove his new guitar. It is now in a new home and Mike is very happy. My God, we're getting old and gray.

 

 

For a comparison, this was us in 1986 or 87... bass player and guitar player. We've lost some inches in height and gained quite a few in girth.

[Drew816]

Love the 80's pic, rock on!!

[gorch]

What a fantastic build! This is a strat to my tastes. And I normally dislike them all.

[slingblader]

2 hours ago, Drew816 said:

Love the 80's pic, rock on!!

Thanks! Man, we lived large in those days... had a ball.