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GUITAR KIT WORLD Solid-body ST-style Guitar Kit, Manual

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GUITAR KIT WORLD Solid-body ST-style Guitar Kit Manual Download Page 11

Finishing

It’s beyond the scope of this guide to cover every available way to finish an electric guitar
but below are a few rules that apply to almost all finishing options:

● Carefully consider your finishing options with regard to how protective they are and

how they might affect tone along with aesthetics.

● Choose your type of finish based on the wood itself. For example, it would be a

shame to cover up a beautiful grain pattern with a solid color finish. Alternatively,
staining a less figured piece of basswood for example may not provide a great
aesthetic either.

● Wear gloves and a mask and work in a well ventilated area as required. Fumes from

some finishing products can be toxic.

● Clean the body of the guitar using a product that includes a degreasing agent
● Wear disposable gloves when handling the guitar after cleaning.
● Make sure you are working in a relatively dust free environment and make sure to

clean the cavities of the guitar body thoroughly after sanding. Dust accumulates in
the cavities of the guitar, and when turning the guitar over that dust will become
airborne.

● If staining, make sure to wipe away any excess that hasn't been absorbed after

approximately ten minutes.

● Be aware of the compatibility of the products you use. If painting using spray cans I’d

recommend using the same brand and type of paint for your seal coat, color coat
and clear coats.

● If you have to spray outside avoid spraying on windy days.

11

Summary of Contents for Solid-body ST-style Guitar Kit

Page 1: ...ep by step instructions to build a solid body ST style DIY guitar using a kit Even if you have never built a DIY guitar before you can learn how to get started by reading this tutorial There s nothing more satisfying than playing a guitar you have put together yourself 1 ...

Page 2: ... screwdrivers phillips head and flat head Pliers needle nose preferably Soldering iron Consumables Disposable gloves Titebond PVA or similar wood glue set neck guitar Small paintbrush Wood grain filler If open grain timber such as Mahogany or Oak Sandpaper Various grades from 120 up to 1500 depends on finish Finishing supplies This depends on your choice of finish Painters masking tape Assortment ...

Page 3: ...and volume knobs Assorted screws and washers Safety Precautions To complete your guitar kit safely also ensure you have the following on hand and a well ventilated work space to work in Protective eyewear Use protective safety glasses or a genuine face shield not regular prescription reading or sunglasses Disposable gloves Use disposable gloves if applying stains or oil finishes directly to the gu...

Page 4: ...hing The finished surface appearance of your guitar e g staining painting or applying a hand rubbed oil finish 2 Hardware Installation Fitting the tuners strap buttons bridge and pickups 3 Connecting the electronics Connecting the pickups to the input jack and incorporating a pickup selector and volume and tone potentiometers 4 Final Setup Adjusting the neck relief action intonation and pickup hei...

Page 5: ...he guitar body and neck under good light Identify problem areas as these should be addressed early on before commencing the project This includes large dents that require filling deep scratches that require sanding and glue residue on the surface of the guitar that will prevent your finish from being absorbed evenly Glue stains are only a potential issue for guitars with binding and or a veneer to...

Page 6: ...of moisture on the surface of the guitar Using denatured alcohol is a good option here as it evaporates before it is absorbed into the timber but water will also raise the grain of the timber which can then be sanded flat Generally grain will only raise once so you can be confident by taking care of it now you won t have any problems during the finishing process Dry Fitting the Neck You should als...

Page 7: ...ddle of the 12th fret and then doubling that number An ST guitar kit should have a scale length of 25 5 or 650mm If your scale length appears out by a few mm keep in mind the individual saddles can be adjusted forward or back via the intonation adjustment screws Check the neck fit The neck once inserted into the neck pocket should have very little sideways movement If there is a gap on either side...

Page 8: ...sed as a template You can also use cardboard which in many cases will be easier to work with 2 Using a coping saw jigsaw or ideally a bandsaw cut out the headstock shape and sand the edges of your template smooth 3 Taking a small clamp clamp the template to the headstock and carefully trace the outline From there you can either cut the new headstock shape using the template as a guide or remove th...

Page 9: ...back of the neck If your guitar has binding you can either attempt to mask off the binding which in most cases will mean some finish still permeates the masking tape and will need to be removed or not masking and scraping the binding clean with a razor blade before spraying your clear coats I d normally scrape the binding as this is a more effective use of time rather than attempting to mask But i...

Page 10: ...sing a tinted grain filler is a great option if you want to accentuate the grain pattern of the guitar as the excess will be removed when sanding but the filler used to pack the pores of the wood will remain in place emphasizing the grain pattern of the wood under a transparent finish Below are the steps required for applying grain filler 1 Mix up enough product to grain fill the entire guitar Fol...

Page 11: ...lated area as required Fumes from some finishing products can be toxic Clean the body of the guitar using a product that includes a degreasing agent Wear disposable gloves when handling the guitar after cleaning Make sure you are working in a relatively dust free environment and make sure to clean the cavities of the guitar body thoroughly after sanding Dust accumulates in the cavities of the guit...

Page 12: ...ol on the body of the guitar prior to finishing ensure you remove all fibers from the steel wool Always hang your guitar in a cool dry environment Do not leave your guitar outside to dry it will attract dust In most cases you can respray within an hour If you leave it longer than this you may need to leave the guitar for 24 hours and then lightly scuff up the paint with 600 800 grit sandpaper to e...

Page 13: ...ew working diagonally Once all screws are in place tighten and double check the neck alignment 2 Hardware Installation Next we ll install our hardware the pre mounted pickguard tuners strap buttons string trees and floating tremolo bridge There are some best practices to follow including drilling pilot holes and aligning your hardware correctly which we ll cover in more detail below Pilot Holes Dr...

Page 14: ...ink drill bit or similar to chamfer the edges of any holes in the cody of the guitar especially if painted using a solid color finish to prevent chipping You may want to drill less than depth on less dense timbers such as Mahogany and Basswood Installing the pickguard We ll start by installing the pre mounted pickguard The pickguard already has the pickups and controls pre mounted so the first thi...

Page 15: ...the pickguard as a template Once you have marked the location of your pilot holes select a drill bit approx the size of the screws being used for the pickguard and mark the drill bit at the depth of the screw using a small piece of masking tape to indicate the depth of your holes Drill the pilot holes keeping the drill straight Then position the pickguard and secure with the smaller screws found i...

Page 16: ...the body 2 Place the washers over the tuning posts then place the bushings and install the tuners by hand tightening 3 Align the tuners using a steel ruler see image below 4 Mark the location of the mounting screws drill your pilot holes and install the small screws 5 Remove the protective covering by firmly pressing masking tape onto the back of each tuner and removing both the covering and maski...

Page 17: ...raight line between them on masking tape to ensure a straight line to mark out the location of the pilot holes Installing strap buttons Strap buttons not only support your guitar when playing standing up the placement of the strap buttons also affects the balance of the guitar 17 ...

Page 18: ...f the holes Installing and floating tremolo bridge Start by inserting the bridge into the bridge cavity and positioning within the cutout in the pickguard The holes for the screws that secure the bridge at the front are pre drilled so taking 6 of the smaller screws secure the bridge in place Installing the input jack Place the input jack in the cavity and align until satisfied with the placement M...

Page 19: ...92 896 F in some cases When soldering there are two key areas to keep in mind 1 Tinning Tin your soldering iron and the components you are connecting to Tinning refers to maintaining a light coating of solder over the tip of your soldering iron and prevents the iron tip from oxidizing 2 Preheating Soldering is really about transferring heat The lug or component you are connecting to should be preh...

Page 20: ...20 ...

Page 21: ...seconds and then slowly introduce the end of your solder to the lug and wire Once the solder begins to melt take the iron away and allow it to cool Once cool check the connection by lightly pulling on the wire Connect the ground wire in the same way and then secure the input jack in place with the supplied screws Inserting the tremolo claw and springs Take the tremolo claw and place it against the...

Page 22: ...und ends of the springs over the tremolo claw end and the square end of the tremolo block I attach to the middle three positions on the tremolo claw but this is really up to you Once the springs are in place you may need to loosen the screws further or use a tool if unsuccessful tighten the screws back to approx half depth Connecting the ground wire to the trem claw 22 ...

Page 23: ...der and complete the connection If you notice the back of your trem claw has a wax like substance coating take some rough sandpaper and remove a section to help the solder adhere Once complete install your back cover by aligning the cover to the body holding in place with masking tape and following the same process for drilling pilot holes as done previously Your electronics should now be connecte...

Page 24: ...d in their slots This is fairly typical of Fender style guitars as the majority of necks have much less of a backward tilt compared to Gibson style guitars which typically do not utilize string trees You should have two string trees in your packaging One will feature a longer barrel which is to be used for the string tree between the D and G strings with the shorter one reserved for the B and high...

Page 25: ...d screwing the string trees in place 4 Final Setup The last stage of our project is setting up the guitar This is an important step that makes all the difference with regard to playability and tone Our final setup will consist of four key areas Floating the trem Neck relief String action Intonation Pickup Height I ll provide a basic overview of each below Also keep in mind the guitar should be tun...

Page 26: ...alf step shift in pitch when laying the bridge plate flat against the guitar body The amount of action provided by the tremolo depends on the interplay between the springs and the strings 1 Make sure the guitar is tuned to concert pitch 2 Loosen the mounting screws for the bridge on the face of the guitar by approx A turn Then tighten the two outside screws down 26 ...

Page 27: ...uler I prefer to hold down the first and last fret and then tap the 12th fret lightly of the low E string If the string is already sitting hard against the fret more relief is required If sitting well above the fret the amount of relief can be reduced To adjust the amount of relief adjust the truss rod using the hey key included in your packaging Turn counter clockwise to loosen the truss rod whic...

Page 28: ...w E side and 1 6mm on the high E side taking into account the different string gauges Make sure the guitar is in tune before checking and making adjustments Action is adjusted at the bridge Taking the small alum key in your packaging turn the individual saddle posts counter clockwise to lower the individual saddle posts or clockwise to raise the action You ll need to match the height for both to k...

Page 29: ... need to shorten it As mentioned earlier Your scale length is not a precise measurement as there is some compensation required for the additional mass of the heavier bass strings This is also why most bridges on electric guitar are angled away from the body of the guitar toward the bass strings To lengthen the string turn the intonation adjustment screws at the back of the saddle counter clockwise...

Page 30: ...ction the height of your pickups is mostly subjective and will depend on what you are hearing But if unsure a good starting point is 2 4mm from the top of the magnetic pole piece to the underside of the string However this should be measured when pressing down the last fret of the guitar 30 ...

Page 31: ...r You should also test the guitar by going through each pickup position and testing the volume and tone pot Also test for interference by taking your hands off the guitar and listening for hum If you hear any signs of electrical interference you may need to open the electronics cavity and check your ground circuit Lastly I d recommend playing each fret up and down each string and listening for fre...

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