My First Guitar-OM Blog

[Diane Kauffmds]

The pores are filled and now I wait. It'll sit a few days to allow the shellac to really dry and harden. I've mixed 8 ounces of a 2# cut of blond shellac, which will take a couple of days to completely melt. From here on out, I'll be applying the shellac with a pad and polishing between thin coats. It's not a true french polish, but it's a viable alternative for me.

I wanted everyone to know that I found a 5 degree wood reamer for the Martin bone bridge pins. Harbor Freight Tools may not be the place to buy an electrical tool that gets daily use, but for things like clamps, it can't be beat.

On my first two fretboards, I used a double sided hammer to set the frets. This time, I set the frets before installing the fretboard, so I used a clamp. This is BY FAR, my favorite clamp; this quick release clamp is all metal and has a 6" opening. It's deeper than my other clamps, so it's useful for 99% of what you need to make a guitar. http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-bar ... 96210.html

Also, for those of you doing a Martin build, or using Martin style bridge pins, you'll need a 5 degree wood reamer. Harbor Freight Tools has a 5 degree wood reamer: http://www.harborfreight.com/t-handle-reamer-66938.html

[Diane Kauffmds]

Finishing is in progress. Here are photos to show my progress:

[Kevin Sjostrand]

It's gonna be a beaut!

[MaineGeezer]

Incredible grain patterns and color.

[Diane Kauffmds]

I pronounce the back as

"DONE BABY!!!"

I took these photos to show the reflections. Truthfully, this is the last coat of shellac, which still has to be rubbed out, so technically, it's not "done". This is what I've learned:

1. It's taken innumerable thin coats of shellac I applied the shellac with a pad, using enough shellac to evenly cover the back, but not pooling or dripping. I tried using different brushes and different pads/cloths, but a simple, folded, 100% cotton "flour sack" cloth (about 8" square and folded up), ended up being my weapon of choice. I tried to apply it without overlap and in one direction. It took a fair amount of shellac in the pad, but I did not put a lot of pressure on the pad to lay out on the guitar. I had the tendency to try to "even" it out, which resulted in the pad sticking. I finally learned to ignore it if it seemed to go down unevenly, which was tough to do. It evens up, eventually.

3. I used all of the sandpaper wet (water with a couple of drops of dish soap), to decrease its aggressiveness. I leveled the shellac between coats using 600 grit wet sandpaper, then I progressed to 1200. For the last few coats, I used 1000 then progressed to 3000. Any grit under 600 was too aggressive for this method of applying shellac. I had to be careful; even at 1000 grit wet, the finish is so thin, you can easily sand through it, as I found out the hard way.

4. Between the last 3 coats, I leveled the shellac using 1000 grit and progressed to 3000 grit, all wet.

5. This layer is pretty much like glass, but I'll polish it out with Meguiar's Ultimate Polish, Prewaxing Glaze. After researching the internet, I found Novus #2, and this Meguiar's formula recommended. I couldn't find Novus locally, but easily found Meguiars.

I still have the sides and top to do. The sides are 75% done, but I decided that it would be easier to finish it separately from the back.

The top will be a satin finish, like the neck; this will tie everything together. So when I finish the top, I'll be finishing it with 0000 steel wool. The guitar box is shellac, but I made the "command" decision that the neck would be satin poly, to combat wear and tear from my hand while playing.

[johnnparchem]

It all looks really good!

[Diane Kauffmds]

It all looks really good!

Thank you John. We'll see what happens with the finish. I expect to have to rub it out again in a couple of months.

[MaineGeezer]

Luverly! I see you did the volute on the back of the neck. I had planned to do that too, but screwed it up so that detail will have to wait for my next guitar build.

[Diane Kauffmds]

Luverly! I see you did the volute on the back of the neck. I had planned to do that too, but screwed it up so that detail will have to wait for my next guitar build.

Thank you Steve.

I was trying to tie in the color of the mahogany neck to the Peruvian walnut sides and back. I vacillated on whether to make the volute PV or maple. I decided on the PV but wonder if it would look better with maple.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

That sure is shiny!