Gitarre designen • Designing the Guitar
5
Gitarre designen •
Designing the Guitar
Löten
Alle Kabelenden in diesem Bausatz müssen verlötet
werden. Dafür wird ein Lötkolben oder eine Lötpistole,
Lötzinn und etwas Vorkenntnis benötigt. Befestigen
Sie die Kabelenden mittels des Lötzinns an den vor-
hergesehenen Stellen der Elektronik und stellen Sie
sicher, dass die Verbindungsstelle unbewegt trock-
net, um fehlerhafte Lötstellen zu vermeiden. Da der
Lötkolben äußerst heiß wird und das Lötzinn giftige
Dämpfe verströmen kann, sollten Handschuhe und
ein Mundschutz getragen werden. Lötarbeiten sollten
unbedingt auf einem feuerfesten Untergrund ausge-
führt werden.
The DIMAVERY DIY guitar assembly kit
Cutting the headstock
Lacquering and finishing the guitar
is partic-
ularly designed for you to design it according to your
own creative ideas. For that, it is factory prepared. All
you need is some tools and lacquer paint.
The headstock comes in a generic form, ready to be
designed after your own ideas. Be sure that enough
material remains on the headstock to install the tuners
and string holders. And keep in mind that relieving the
headstock of too much material may cause balance
problems on the instrument.
For the lacquering the parts, the neck (via the pre-drilled
holes at the neck junction) and the body (via the pre-
drilled hole in the milling groove for the neck) can be
hanged up. The wood does not have to be prepared
anymore. Do the lacquering in an open, dry and well
ventilated room. Be sure to wear a dust mask while
working!
.
.
.
Not every kind of lacquer is usable for guitars. Different
kinds of lacquer have different effects on he optics but
particularly on the sound of the instrument. There is a
wide range of different lacquers to choose from
according to personal preference. Recommended types
of lacquers for guitars are based on nitrocellulose (NC)
or polyurethane (PUR/DD). Not recommended are types
of lacquers on alkyd resin or similar basis. Those are
often too hard and have negative effects on the vibration
behavior and thus on the sound of the instrument. And
they are not very sweat and grip resistant, which will
result in negative effects on the appearance.
There are different methods to lacquer and finish a
guitar:
•
aerosol lacquer
•
two-component lacquer with a spray gun
•
staining
•
oil or wax finish
All of these possibilities have pros and cons and
require varying degrees of effort.
A primer has to be applied before lacquering. That way
it is ensured that the lacquer can be applied evenly. The
color of the primer should be brighter than the following
lacquer, typically grey or white. A white primer
enhances the effect of bright colors. If the guitar is
being stained, a colorless primer is recommended.
Staining the guitar is the easiest designing method.
With staining, the guitar can be colored or the natural
grain of the wood can be highlighted. But stain is no
covering paint, so in both cases the natural grain of the
wood will shine through. The stain is prepared
.
.
.
.
according to the manufacturer specifications and
applied liberally with a brush or a sponge.The smallest
amount of effort can be achieved with aerosol lacquer
but they can be detrimental in quality. It is recommended
to dispense with complex color combinations and to
concentrate on a simple single-color design. Two coats
of lacquer should be applied.
A spray gun opens up a lot of possibilities, but it takes a
certain amount of skill and the right equipment. Please
prepare the mixture of lacquer and hardener according to
the manufacturer specifications. In between every layer
of lacquer the previous layer has to be roughened before
applying the next layer.
After the lacquering process the guitar should be
finished with clear lacquer. The clear lacquer is applied
he same way as the color lacquer before, a couple more
layers are recommended though. It is recommended to
let the lacquer fully dry and harden for a couple of days,
before polishing.
All cable heads in this kit have to be soldered. For that,
a soldering iron or gun, some solder and a little bit of
knowledge are needed. Use the solder to attach the
cable heads to their respective places at the electronic
parts and make sure to let it dry without moving to avoid
faulty soldering. Because the soldering iron gets really
hot and the solder emanates dangerous gasses, you
should wear gloves and a mask. Soldering should be
done on a fireproof surface.
Finishing the guitar
Soldering
.
.
.
