madbeanpedals::forum

General => Open Discussion => Topic started by: Willybomb on April 19, 2016, 05:49:04 AM

Title: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on April 19, 2016, 05:49:04 AM
A friend of mine picked this up and gave it to me as a project gift.  An old Canora superstrat type thing, I'm going to reshape the horns right down and refinish it.  What color or method I'm not too sure, but I do know it's a plywood body so who knows.  I had a plywood guitar floyded and dimarzioed 23 years ago and it was great, right up until it got stolen out of my car.  I don't think I'll floyd this at this stage of things.
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: culturejam on April 19, 2016, 12:26:02 PM
Cool!

What color are you thinking for the refinish? I say you go balls-out and do a clear finish to show off that plywood!
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on April 19, 2016, 12:54:19 PM
My last one was clear, so it's definite on the books. That or a clear dark cherry style
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on April 30, 2016, 05:07:47 PM
A bit of progress..

Planning stage, and after half an hour with a jigsaw and a coarse rasp... next step will be to sand and fill.
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: galaxiex on April 30, 2016, 08:30:53 PM
Yeah! That body shape looks better already!  :)

Kinda got a bit of an old Teisco or other 60's Japanese vibe to those horns.  8)
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: nzCdog on May 01, 2016, 12:12:43 AM
Yeah big improvement on the shape!  More pics!  ;D
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: jimilee on May 01, 2016, 01:54:38 PM
I feel like a competition is underway! Great guitar project. My last build was a plywood strat I'm pretty sure, resonates really well, I was really surprised.


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Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on May 04, 2020, 11:45:17 PM
Ok, so four years later, one baby, multiple pedal builds, and an interstate move later, I finished sanding this down.  Well, actually, I borrowed the neighbour's heat gun paint stripper.  Whatever the finish was on this, it laughed at chemical stripper back when I started it.

The plan, as it is, is to use a black stain on the edge and cutaways to highlight the layers, and then sand it back a bit.  I'll then use a rosewood stain over that and the rest of the body, then hit it with a clearcoat.

These edges are pretty much open pored, so I'm going to look at tinting watered down PVA or some clear Elmer's glue to fill the gaps, both of which I used to fill and smooth out the glitter paint in my Eeepy Beepy build.

I'll probably cut a black scratchplate for it, HH most likely, black hardware.  Probably a blocked trem as I can't be bothered blocking the trem rout for a fixed plate bridge.  I may or may not sand the headstock.  The neck itself seems pretty good.
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: jimilee on May 05, 2020, 02:06:00 AM
I felt a disturbance in the force, looks like a nice project.


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Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on May 06, 2020, 02:34:01 PM
This is not going well.  The rosewood stain was nice and red, the black was very black.  So I put them to get a darker red and ended up with chocolate.  Not good.  I've sanded it back a bit today, and I'll probably get a clear red to go over it again, hopefully to make the paler bits pop. 

The sanded top surface pic is after I wiped it with a wet t-shirt to get rid of some dust and see what was happening with the colour.  Not great.  A yellow stain over all this was suggested, but I'll go with red.

This guitar shall be named "Fugly".
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: alanp on May 06, 2020, 04:18:07 PM
I'm really digging those last pix, actually. With some good gloss or varnish, that could really work.
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on May 07, 2020, 01:43:41 AM
QuoteI'm really digging those last pix, actually. With some good gloss or varnish, that could really work.

Yeah, it's growing on me and I think it has some real potential.  I'd really like to have the layers showing.
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: MTK on May 07, 2020, 09:27:41 AM
I don't think I've ever seen a plywood guitar. Is it heavy?
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on May 07, 2020, 09:37:43 AM
QuoteI don't think I've ever seen a plywood guitar. Is it heavy?

Not with the horns cut off!
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: gordo on May 07, 2020, 01:52:03 PM
A lot of Epiphones are plywood.  I have one of their nicer double-necks and it's a plywood body and a relatively soft mahogany pair of necks.  Although it's a very nice guitar, over time the hardware all starts to work it's way loose.  I ended up removing everything and using fine dowels to plug all the holes and redrill everything.  Solid as a rock now and stable tuning.
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on February 08, 2021, 09:28:05 AM
Quick update.  I messed up to varying degrees along the way, so I sanded a bit of clear back, hit it with black etching primer, then emptied a can of Spraymax 2k onto it.  Cut it back, decided to get a proper buffing attachment for my drill, and off we went.
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: jimilee on February 08, 2021, 02:05:57 PM
I'm jealous! That looks phenomenal. I haven't had a new one  for about year.


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Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: gordo on February 08, 2021, 02:51:48 PM
Wow, that looks really good.
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: mjg on February 08, 2021, 08:52:09 PM
Nice one!
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on February 08, 2021, 10:13:51 PM
I've cut the scratchplate too.... (did this before the polishing).
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: jimilee on February 09, 2021, 01:56:39 AM
You're just gonna keep going aren't you? I'm gonna want to build another one, so keep it up.

That looks really nice.


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Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on February 09, 2021, 08:41:45 AM
Quote from: jimilee on February 09, 2021, 01:56:39 AM
You're just gonna keep going aren't you? I'm gonna want to build another one, so keep it up.

That looks really nice.

Well... it's more that the original guitar was given to me and I feel obligated to see it through.  I currently have no real attachment to it beyond my usual "Ah, crap, stuffed up again, have to fix it and get it perfect" but we'll see if that changes when it's finished.
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: matmosphere on February 09, 2021, 11:17:00 AM
I really like the picture with the pick guard.
Title: Re: NGD (also not Jimilee)
Post by: Willybomb on March 16, 2021, 08:20:49 AM
I can't seem to update this thread with more pics...