CoronaCaster - A Build Thread

Ok - I miss my Jazzmaster, and kinda want another Tele.. I was never head over heals for the Jazzmaster electronics and kinda wanted a guitar that was different than everything else I have. So I'm going to venture into the Telemaster / Jazzcaster world.

Body - Ash - There's a small outfit out of North Carolina (Rosser Guitars) that CNCs made-to-order guitars bodies. I selected strat neck pocket, humbucker neck PU and vintage tele bridge routing.

Screen Shot 2020-04-30 at 8.16.49 AM.png


The Finish - I'm going to play with linseed based paint and truoil. I've been doing a lot of reading and they're the finishes that I really really like. I know it'll take a lot longer to dry and complete but I think the net result should be pretty great. It did require learning about grain filler (not wood filler), sanding sealers, BENCH COOKIES, oils, etc.. because ash needs a lot of attention and prep work.

The benefit of the linseed paint and tru-oil is that I won't miss out on the grain of the guitar. Otherwise I would have just bought a MJT in Charcoal Frost. I also like the danger of the TruOil soaked rags spontaneously combusting. <- Apparently it's a thing if you wad them up. They generate heat while they're drying and sometimes go Boom Boom Boom like that one band from a few years ago.

The Controls - I ran with the GunStreet Tele harness. 5 way switch with Volume Bleed.

Position 1 - Neck
Position 2 - Neck & Bridge Parallel
Position 3 - Bridge
Position 4 - Neck & Bridge Out of Phase
Position 5 - PAF voicing - From GunStreet - With this set up we tried to create that distinct Classic PAF sound. We cut most of the low end and some of the mids creating a nice top end clarity like a famous PAF bridge humbucker

Fun right?

The Pick-Ups - @smurfco was generous enough to donate a harness and some NOT Lindy Fralins, buht... I changed my mind on the configuration and I'll be returning those to him. I've been hearing great things about McNelly pick ups so I used my company's health and wellness reward gift card to pick up these badboys..

Neck - McNelly Cornucopia:
Screen Shot 2020-04-30 at 8.36.02 AM.png





Bridge - McNelly A-5+ Sig - Got a good deal on Reverb - Starts around 2 mins on the bridge



Big thank you for the donations - @smurfco (Tele Bridge & Comp Saddles) and @DinoMikeSr for the ferrules!

I think that's it for now.

Oh - I'm currently debating on whether or not to refinish the headstock to match to the body... We'll see when I get the body done.
 
I've been tempted many times to buy a body from Rosser. Let me know how good the body is.
 
“because ash needs a lot of attention and prep work”

IDK, it’s not much different than other open pore woods to work with in that respect. Personally I always use a decent quality grain filler...skip those cheap-ass hacks you see suggested online. The cool thing about a DIY finish is that you can use whatever you want and go for whatever look you desire & level of ‘quality’ you are willing to work to. Good luck and I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
 
Lerxst said:
“because ash needs a lot of attention and prep work”

IDK, it’s not much different than other open pore woods to work with in that respect. Personally I always use a decent quality grain filler...skip those cheap-ass hacks you see suggested online. The cool thing about a DIY finish is that you can use whatever you want and go for whatever look you desire & level of ‘quality’ you are willing to work to. Good luck and I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Click to expand...

I bought AquaCoat grain filler and will mix with some dark brown (water based dye) to help pop the grain.

Screen Shot 2020-04-30 at 9.42.22 AM.png
 
Last edited:
w/r/t linseed oil paint, what kind of film thickness are you expecting compared to more common methods? What's your application method?
 
Lerxst said:
w/r/t linseed oil paint, what kind of film thickness are you expecting compared to more common methods? What's your application method?
Click to expand...

Ok - I needed to put this down in writing so I can just have a roadmap and have people better versed in the process to offer suggestions.

  • Raise the grain - Use water in a spray bottle to spritz the body and sanding it back with 220.. Doing this two or three times
  • Apply Sanding Sealer per instructions
  • Apply Grain Filler (tinted brown) for da grain pop.
  • It'll get a little hazy here - the idea with the linseed paint is to dye the body. This video sums it up:

  • I got some Japan Drier to help speed it up
  • Then once I'm happy with the color, I'll move to the multiple coats (10-12 seems to be the standard) of TruOil.

It'll be a process.

Thoughts?

I have a couple of sample boards to practice the process so I don't josh up the body.
 
RyanNo3 said:
anything on the above @Lerxst ?
Click to expand...

I've made my own stains and dyes, and used commercial products like transtint but I've never used artist oils & japan drier; I could see that being intriguing if I already had the materials on hand.
My personal prefs tend to run toward product like transtint that have smaller pigment particles, which I find tend give you more consistent results. If this is the first time using this process, definitely hunt down some sample ash scraps to experiment on and make sure you're going to get the desired results. I'll usually do a test piece or two just to make sure things turn out like I think they will....sometimes they actually do!
 
So we made some progress (on a sample board)

Grain Raise x3 - Check
Sand board down to 220 and hit it with a couple of coats of sanding sealer. - Check
Hit the board again with 320 and then 400. Ooo wee that's smooth. - Check
Ran three coats of grain filler - 2x dyed dark brown and 1x clear just to make sure I didn't really miss any spots.

** My concern here is that I can see some places not completely filled in, like I sanded too deep but we'll see how this plays out.

Coat heavy -
Screen Shot 2020-05-04 at 9.38.16 AM.png


Sand back -

Screen Shot 2020-05-04 at 9.38.07 AM.png


Used my linseed based oil paints to color the board and used some masking tape to play with pinstriping...

Screen Shot 2020-05-04 at 9.38.34 AM.png


Added some Japan Drier to get drying time down to a half day or so instead of a few days. We'll see where we are this afternoon
 
yeah - half a day is not enough...

So those *were* nice and even until I tried to put on the first coat of Tru Oil around 6 hours later. It wasn't Japan-Dried enough and boy-howdy did I josh this up three ways to Monday.

I've started a second test board. I've repaired the first one as much as possible to continue my training in finish triage.... I've got frustrating hobbies...

PS - It should go with out saying @Mark Wein , I'd be a WAY better guitar player if I invested half the time just playing this dumb instrument instead of building stuff for it.
 
My guitar body finally showed up!

I've been practicing on this sample ash what seems like an eternity and it's getting better.

I may have to do a little shaving to get the neck in the pocket... It's so close...

upload_2020-5-19_9-36-29.png
upload_2020-5-19_9-37-11.png


upload_2020-5-19_9-37-35.png


upload_2020-5-19_9-38-12.png


I think UPS lost my McNelly Neck Pick up... I "shipped" on 5/13.

I also built a bat box and got a little crazy with the outdoor adhesive..

upload_2020-5-19_9-39-35.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top