OM-40 Deep-Body

[RnB]

I'm not quite sure how to lay this all out since it was started back in 2006 as an X-mas gift from my wife. She had actually 1st bought me an M&T Hog (dread) kit from Martin's 1833 shop, but I didn't care for it & returned it. I wanted something a bit fancier kit w/ a Dovetail & some bling. :>) I ended up going the upgrade rout w/ a kit I saw on ebay...from a seller called Tippie. Description: 'this is a high-end kit'...lol! They say; hindsight is 20/20...? Long-story short, I started building it asap & got to the point where it was all boxed, neck assembled & then shelved it for all this time for fear of that infamous 'dovetail joint'. I had carved it up w/ my chisel to where I almost really messed it up. Thankfully, through perseverance, I managed to save it. This was a fancy kit & I wanted it to come out OK. Occasionally, I would get back to it, but it would always end up on the back-burner.

In the mean time, I had accumulated parts & zoot for other acoustics, figuring I'd better get a handle on building skills & how a neck joint works. So...time has come & I really want to finish it up. I took pics along the way for reference, but my procedure at the time was somewhat novice, thinking I could handle this kit & it was not going to be a problem...hmmm!

I'll post some past pics, but they will be w/o explanation. It's a basically a Martin IRW kit w/ hexagon fret inlays & flamed Maple binding. I'm calling it a OM-40 DB. I changed a few things that were add-on's & were not w/ the kit orig (binding on neck & hdstk). John was extremely accommodating! The Engelmann top came joined, but the rosette needed installing. The sides & maple binding were pre-bent. Nut width is 1 3/4" & bridge spacing is 2 1/4". I now have it to where I'm spraying the final finishes on w/ Nitro. At last, I'm nearing that light at the end...

These 1st pics were taken w/ an older camera. It's since been retired...















I had the neck sitting OK, but it was never tight. I recently shimmed it for a good fit...



The next post will be of the progress I've made recently...
Rich

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Rich,
This guitar looks very fine! Nice nice job so far.

Kevin

[RnB]

Rich,
This guitar looks very fine! Nice nice job so far.

Kevin

Thx Kevin. These next set of pics should show a transformation...

I pore-filled the neck & body w/ Z-poxy. Sanding sealer has been applied (about 5 coats). When I bound the top w/ the wood binding, I didn't cinch it up tight enough. Consequently, there were quite a few small gaps around the tops perimeter. I spent a great deal of time fixing them by drop-filling w/ S&S. After 40 years of pro painting & dealing w/ compressors, pressure pots, spray guns et al, rattle cans work for me. I use Deft & Mohawk now. I can get a good finish w/ it.

I stained the binding 1st by using Trans-Tints from Woodcraft (honey amber & medium brn). Thinned it down to the degree of tone I wanted w/ water. Taped off the sides (not that it mattered) & went around w/ a q-tip. I had shellacked the top long ago, so any stain wiped off easily when I slipped. Between staining & Zpoxy, the white in the purfling gets a little yellowed. I carefully scraped that off w/ a razor blade. Sand throughs are an easy fix w/ water-base stains. A lot easier than w/ an oil stain...

Neck finish


Sealed


After all these years, the top has it's own aging toner...


I dry sanded the sealer w/ 600 grit paper & let sit for a few days between coats to be sure the spots that were drop-filled were nice & hard enough to sand. After level sanding today, I began lacquering. I'll usually sand in-between coats after getting a good buildup. Sanding w/ naphtha & 800 grit, Moving to 1000 & finer grits as I near the end. For the most part, I'll follow the 'rule of threes' when lacquering. I also don't like to put a lot of lacquer on.


Kind of a blurry pic. I think the lacquer was getting to me...


Rule of Threes:
From the finishing forum (a lot of this depends on conditions, weather permitting & can vary...yada yada yada):
The rule of threes is intended for nitrocellulose lacquer and is described as:
3 passes (side to side, up and down, side to side) = 1 coat
Wait 3 hours and repeat, 3 coats per day for 3 days or until you have gone through 2 cans of clear.
Passes should start on the light side by passing quickly to give a misting, the first few coats should look dull. Gradually slow down your passes to give a wetter coat.


Rich

[tippie53]

nice indeed.
I use a 10-1
10 coats 1 hr apart
and it doesn't matter who or how it is what you end up with. It isn't what you put on but what you let on.
Nice details and I am sure it will be a sweet box.

[RnB]

Spent the last few days applying finish. I have enough coats on the body to call it quits & let it sit before final sanding. All toll, there are about 8 coats on the back 12 on the sides & six on the top. I wet sand smooth before going on to another set of spraying. On one pass for the top that I had prepped for another coat, I made the mistake of wiping the top down w/ Naphtha & not waiting long enough for it to evaporate. Consequently, the lacquer went on terribly w/ separations & loads of orange peel. I spent some time sanding it down smooth again and resuming later on. Since I do spraying w/ the guitar on a lazy-susan, the sides end up w/ more finish due to flipping the guitar over repeatedly. I hope no one questions me on my unorthodox ways of spraying. Totally Guadalajara, maybe?...but it works for me. Like Tippie says: "it doesn't matter how you get it on there, it's what you end up with".




Can't see it too well in the photo, but this top has incredible silking on it. John sent me a choice piece of Engelmann along w/ this kit... :>)


The neck has a satin finish now, but I've decided to gloss-up the hdstk face & went about shooting it. I've put 3 coats on on top of the satin & was wondering how many coats other's usually apply to ta Hdstk Face to give it that deep-shine? It seems, no matter how much I put on, I can never get away from the the lacquer sinking into the grain. I Z-poxy it 3 times & it was OK as a satin finish, but I'd like to get it looking like glass. More lacquer or wait & see after a week when final sanding it done...?

[johnnparchem]

Great looking guitar. Nice clean work and really nice finish work.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

If your headstock was filled, you may just be seeing orange peel. When you think you have enough on, level it and see what you end up with

[RnB]

If your headstock was filled, you may just be seeing orange peel. When you think you have enough on, level it and see what you end up with

I let the hdstk & body sit for well over a week before level sanding w/ naphtha & progressively finer grits of paper. The hdsk's much improved, but I still see some grain showing. Not enough to bother me though. I usually use 3M products for the final buffing, but this time I only used Ultra-Finish as a rubbing cmpd & it didn't come out to bad. I need to go over it once again. I don't use machines, all by hand. Somethings got to change, my shoulders are really feeling it.

Sitting around my tiny shop for the last 7 years wasn't too kind to the top, as it has accumulated a few blems, although fairly insignificant. To make matters worse, carrying it around the house the other day, the neck fell off & landed right on the top...grrr! Luckily, the scarring occurred where a pkgd goes & will hide my touch-ups. I modified a D-45 Tor-tis Medium pkgd to fit that I had about the shop.

I need to mount the neck & bridge & then it's onto setting it up. Not sure about the tiny frets I put in long ago. They might get pulled in favor of bit taller wire (.095w x .045h) that I favor. Also, got a feeling that work's going to get in the way of progress for a week or so come mid-week...?

[tippie53]

looks nice bet it will sound good as well

[johnnparchem]

looks good, Set her up!