Claro Walnut birdseye and flame maple THINLINE

[johnnyfamous]

Originally Posted by tylermoss

OMG that neck is FANTASTIC.

Thanks. Got it for $170.00 on ebay.. A good deal I thought. The only issue is I had my heart set on abalone dots and they would not change them so I bought a few from china... Hard to get in Canada it seems..

Not super happy with the finish on the neck so i plan on refinishing it anyways...

[johnnyfamous]

common guys,,, no experience here with blood red stains and walnut?..

How about how to keep the stain off the maple binding and stripe? I plan on spraying only but not sure if "DYE" will seep under tape? then again it might look nice to have a red tint to it aswell.

[glen smith]

If you ever need abalone dots again, Bezdez on ebay sells them and he is in Canada:
http://stores.ebay.ca/bezdez/_i.html...&_sid=11557664

[johnnyfamous]

looking for some info on the bridge for a deluxe. I ordered a gotoh style from stewmac and was disappointed to have it arrive and all the screws on it are black, I dont like the look at all, not sure why black on gold is popular..

anyway any idea where to get the deluxe version , gold with nickel screws?? It appears that it is not as long to accommodate a humbuckers..

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,...ctures#details

[coolpool]

If you're looking for more ablaone or mop you could also look to timeless. For deluxe gotoh, allparts. I think that's going to be a gorgeous guitar!

[johnnyfamous]

thanks, i wasnt able to find what i was looking for at allparts,, but i stumbled upon this at warmouth,

http://www.warmoth.com/Stratreg-Flat...-P584C705.aspx

A strat humbucker version.. i looked at a bunch of thinline pictures and it seems that its been this strat bride all along??

I assume there will be no issue using this one on my humbucking thinline?

[johnnyfamous]

started to drill out the cavities, also the router bearing slipped, I made a mix of epoxy and router shavings...After a little finishing i dont think you will notice it.. but what a irritation..


so not getting much response to a few questions,

will the strat bridge work just the same, anything i should know about using it?

cant find the exact cavity depth?

thanks for any thoughts..

[glen smith]

I am not sure about a thinline but a hartail bridge is used on a tele blacktop.

[coolpool]

I'm sure a quick search through the forum should give you the answer re: the strat bridge, but I don't see any reason why it won't work. The only potential hiccups I could foresee is string spacing and possibly modifying your pickguard ( I didn't look at the specs that closely). If that all checks out, you are golden! Literally.

[Jimmy C]

Johnny, how's the build coming? I know you've been looking for answers, but I'm afraid all I have are questions for you. I'm also building (and by me I mean USACG) a claro-topped Thinline (the body is flame birch). I'm wondering whether you're gonna grain fill the claro. If so, what are you going with? Also, I'm one of those guys that just wants to clear coat. As a woodworker, do you think platina shellac would be the best sealer over the filler to keep as clear as possible? As a top coat I was going to use Tru-Oil, but I've been wondering about General Finishes' Arm-R-Seal. It's a urethane--it looks like it might go on clearer and glossier than TO and require fewer coats. My only concern is muffling the tone under a blanket of plastic. Any experience or thoughts?

Like you said, the wood cost a small fortune and I don't want to make any mistakes. Thanks, and I hope your guitar is coming along. It really looks like it's gonna be beautiful!

[johnnyfamous]

well back at it..

finished off on the drill press and now slowly routing the cavities.

also glued the top together..

noticed a slight bit of cupping on the body, hopefully this wont be an issue installing the top.

[johnnyfamous]

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

Johnny, how's the build coming? I know you've been looking for answers, but I'm afraid all I have are questions for you. I'm also building (and by me I mean USACG) a claro-topped Thinline (the body is flame birch). I'm wondering whether you're gonna grain fill the claro. If so, what are you going with? Also, I'm one of those guys that just wants to clear coat. As a woodworker, do you think platina shellac would be the best sealer over the filler to keep as clear as possible? As a top coat I was going to use Tru-Oil, but I've been wondering about General Finishes' Arm-R-Seal. It's a urethane--it looks like it might go on clearer and glossier than TO and require fewer coats. My only concern is muffling the tone under a blanket of plastic. Any experience or thoughts?

Like you said, the wood cost a small fortune and I don't want to make any mistakes. Thanks, and I hope your guitar is coming along. It really looks like it's gonna be beautiful!

hi, yup not many answers on here it seems I guess though knowing how to do everything takes the fun away a little..

I plan on using an epoxy to fill the grain. unlike traditional grain filers there is no Color but simply poor filling with clear. I have found that over time there is a slight amber hue associated with the epoxy but i dont mind that. Its easy- and cheap- Personally I have never had good luck with grain filler.. I can always see it..

I dont know much about the other finishes you speak of, I am a traditionalist and love Nitro Lacquer..

Shellac sticks to everything, and I know of no better sealer or barrier coat.. But they all have a slight amber..

sorry for the long delayed response,, I was in vegas for a while Would love to see your project?. I havent seen much use of claro

[johnnyfamous]

finished routing out the body, a few tense moments but it made it..

i am not going to add any rear access covers so i assume at this point i must drill a hole into each pickup cavity( pickups routed after top glued on) before i mount the top?

[hfw01]

I have a walnut topped guitar that I am working on. I am one of those, just clear guys. One of the recommendations for a filler/sealer I was given was Birchwood Casey Sealer Filler. It took about 5 coats to get it all the way filled, but it was cheap, not hard to do, and had no color to it. Check out my thread here: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/finely-fi...op-guitar.html to see how it looks. I am going to spray it with Nitro relatively soon, but have not gotten to it yet.

[guitar2005]

In terms of finish, dyes will bleed into the surrounding wood so a clean line will not really be possible.

You'd have to seal the wood and spray a tinted clear with paint masks to get a nice clean line, but the dye is not IN the wood, its on top of it and its effect won't be as dramatic.

[johnnyfamous]

Originally Posted by guitar2005

In terms of finish, dyes will bleed into the surrounding wood so a clean line will not really be possible.

You'd have to seal the wood and spray a tinted clear with paint masks to get a nice clean line, but the dye is not IN the wood, its on top of it and its effect won't be as dramatic.

Yes,, i was thinking that.. I am now leaning to coating the whole piece in a garnet shellac. Taping the maple off and airbrushing a red tinted clear on the edges.. It will give some depth I think... and warm up the maple to match the neck..

I ended up buying the start bridge from warmouth,, I think it will work fine..

I stumbled across the dream 180 pickups and have been getting excited about them. Hard to find sound clips though.. Was also maybe thinking using the 180 in the bridge and dream 90 in the neck..??

[guitar2005]

Originally Posted by johnnyfamous

Yes,, i was thinking that.. I am now leaning to coating the whole piece in a garnet shellac. Taping the maple off and airbrushing a red tinted clear on the edges.. It will give some depth I think... and warm up the maple to match the neck..

That should work BUT make sure that the clear coat finish you want to use is compatible with your sealer.

[johnnyfamous]

glued the top on,, and await its cure.. Keep having second thoughts on where the skunk stripe ended up...not sure if it should have been a little higher on the body..too late to over think it now..

waiting on a parts order from Warmouth for most of the hardware..

awaiting shellac order

I think ill go with the gfs pickups,, I was originally going to go with a boutique pickup, but not having much playing experience a cheaper pickup might be the best for learning what i like.. can always change it..

[johnnyfamous]

well,, i just read somewhere that i was to route behind where the f holes are before i mounted the top... I guess just cosmetic but I never saw that one coming..

not sure if it will look funny.. but i guess i cant do anything about it..

[glen smith]

Could you elaborate on the f-hole problem?