Summer Jaguar build

[Steadyriot.]

Always scouring the net for a cool new project, I found this cool neck over at boobooguitars.co.uk for a really good price because the heel is slightly oversanded (55 instead of 56mm) . As a sucker for short scale guitars, I couldn't let it go:



It's got this weird sorta V shaped profile on the back with not a lot of shoulder. 10-14" compound radius and medium frets.

And with a new neck, comes the need for a body! They also had a hardtail Jaguar body online, one of which I always wanted:



As you can see, it's pretty rough around the edges; straight from the CNC. That's OK, I've had Guitarbuild (I'm 99.9% sure these are Guitarbuild.co.uk's blem parts) bodies before and their Jaguar contours aren't right anyway, so I don't mind having to do a little shaping. I'll keep my JM Jag alongside it for some shape inspiration

At least Stijn approves..


I'm also pretty sure I have a full set of plates, I'm up to the neck in pickups and parts so the only thing I miss is maybe a tailpiece and some vintage style tuners. That's good news, as I don't want to spend too much on this one. I'll probably keep it around as a bit more of a throw around next to my more delicate and expensive guitars.

Only thing I haven't made my mind up about is color! So maybe you can help me out OSG, I've considered a pastel, black, aged, throwing stickers at it, staining it, metallic's. A big part of me doesn't want it to be too pristine, so I won't baby it (and finally dare to throw on some of the 5637 stickers laying around) plus, I'd kinda like to try my hand at relicing. It'd be fitting, as all the bands I play in are punkrock bands. So that's the way I'll probably drift, but I'm open to suggestions!
One thing's for sure, whatever color gets picked; it'll be Montana spray paint.



If only we still had a dressing room...

[Lotek]

Great starting point. Patience with the sanding and filler and the rash spots will easily be hidden. My color vote is Royal Blue or Ultramarine.
Cool Cat!

[ShortyMedlock]

I'm in the same cunundrum with my Jag color desicion... leaning toward Candy Apple red or 1970 Dodge paint code FY1 yellow...

https://www.dodgegarage.com/news/articl ... olors.html

[threewordname]

Montana stone washed denim is a rad color, especially with a parchment or mint guard.

[s_mcsleazy]

when did montana stop doing frozen raspberry? that was the colour i did my baritone jazzmaster in.

[HNB]

when did montana stop doing frozen raspberry? that was the colour i did my baritone jazzmaster in.

[s_mcsleazy]

when did montana stop doing frozen raspberry? that was the colour i did my baritone jazzmaster in.

it's called the yanderemaster for a reason.

[Steadyriot.]

I'm in the same cunundrum with my Jag color desicion... leaning toward Candy Apple red or 1970 Dodge paint code FY1 yellow...

https://www.dodgegarage.com/news/articl ... olors.html

Oh man that's a rad yellow! There's enough CAR out there if you ask me!

Montana stone washed denim is a rad color, especially with a parchment or mint guard.

when did montana stop doing frozen raspberry? that was the colour i did my baritone jazzmaster in.

No they still do the Frozen Raspberry! I didn't post the color chart for the Gold line of paint, just the Montana Black one. Stone washed denim is part of that line too (great suggestion btw!):


I'm still undecided on the colour, currently leaning towards daphne blue-ish over shell pink-ish, black over shell pink OR going for a full on Gibson SG faded type color. Those Chiyogami threads Mackerelmint and Preservation did also keep eating away at me.
As of now, anything can happen!

Spent last Saturday doing some woodwork.

Started with the roundover, as Guitarbuild doesn't use the right radius on their bodies.


Now; I don't have the "right" radius bit if you want to get all vintage correct, but I'll take the 3mm difference.




It doesn't look like much, but it's a pretty big difference.

On to the hard labor:
As the body came right off the CNC, both carves had to be finished, which I did with my hefty sanding beam for the front, and one of the big spindles from my ROSS for the back, some rasps, a lot of scraping with a razor, and a bunch of sandpaper; all by hand ofcourse. JM Jag close by for reference.




Which gets us here:



Also shaped the headstock (which was just a tad bit too small for a regular Jag/Jazz headstock, get your shit together Guitarbuild!):


Ended working from home today with a little mockup, still need a stop tail and tuners; still undecided on pickups.

[Beebe]

Did you decide on a finish? I do love Montana spray paint. I used MTN 94 black before. It sprays out super soft and misty, dries quickly, and had a nice subtle multi color sparkle to it.

For a not too fussy look and a finish you can beat up and repair:

I'd sand it with something like hardwax oil to fill the grain with the slurry just a little. When that cures, spray over it with a dewaxed shellac. Put on several light coats, it'll keep the paint off the wood and make it easier to reverse. Do a bit of sanding with 400 grit just to knock off the dust. Then hit it with a couple very thin color coats of spray paint. Don't sand. When dry, go over that with a couple more coats of shellac. If you do the final coats super thin, you won't even need to polish
It. Make the shellac fresh with flakes and 190 Proof Everclear (fill it up so the flakes are about 1/3rd of the way to the top of the alcohol ... Maybe a 1lb cut)... I use Preval spray units because I don't have a gun. You can polish the top coat a little with 0000 steel wool if you want. Id just wait a couple week to make sure it is good and hard before doing that.

[Beebe]

Oh and if you use an amber shellac you can get a really nice subtle aged look over a lighter color coat.