Build Your Own Electric Guitar!

Step 5 PREP THE BODY

PLUG THE PORES What you use to prep the body for paint depends on the chosen finish that you will go with. For a solid color finish you will want to fill any of the pores with a wood filler or Bondo glazing putty. I prefer Bondo because it dries quickly and sands smooth. Use one of those plastic speaders that you can get for mud at a paint or hardware store and press the filler firmly into the pores and gaps in the wood. Cut diagonaly accross and against the grain to fill the pores and gaps better. Use a sanding block and a 220 grit paper and after the filler dries to ensure an even flat surface. Only use your hands to lightly sand on the rounded edges or hard to reah areas of the guitar. The roundness of your fingertips can cause depressions in the woods surface so stick with the sanding block on the flat areas. Inspect the surface to see if any pores or gaps remain and repeat the steps if needed. Then clean the surface with a tack cloth to remove any dust.
Stewart MacDonnald has a great finishing schedule that I would recomend reading before you start the painting process. You shouldn't need to fill any pores on the neck because necks are usualy made from maple which is a tight grain wood. All that's need for it is a sanding with 220 grit paper unless you want to leave the neck natural and unfinished. I recomend using at least a few coats of sanding sealer of clear gloss laquer to protect the wood fromdirt and grime that comes from playing.

Comments

[incubusmadman]

So even if i get really good gibson pickups (i'm building a les paul style guitar) would using plywood cause a noticable diminishing of sound quality versus mahogony, ash, or maple? I know plenty about tone woods from playing acoustic guitar, but i rarely play electric. any help would be awesome

[mechaghostman2]

In the electric, you want soft wood. Hard wood makes higher tones, and soft wood gives low and warm tones. Plywood might make a slight difference, but if you use plywood, you will still be happy when it's all done. Plus it's extremely light weight and easy to work with. So Plywood is the cheap and easy out of it. But it will still sound great.

[Susan1]

Thanks to you and everybody for their info.

[incubusmadman]

thank you very much good sir, much appreciated

[carpe_noctem]

about plyood being easier to work:
       thats certainly true if you are using a plunge router but if you don't have access to one and have to use chisels and do it the old fashioned way (like i'll prolly have to lolz), using plywood is nearly impossible, because of the crossing of the grain from ply to ply)

[mechaghostman2]

Not really, do each board seperately how you want them to be inside and out using a simple drill  jigsaw, put together, glue, and clamp. (I used 6 pieces of plywood). Wait a day then start sanding, after that, paint it, put the bridge and neck on, and put the pickup in the hole you cut for it, put the pots, switches, and jacks on it. Then do the wiring (I made mine soart of hallow in the areas of the hardware so I could get to them better. After that, string her up and play!

[Maggoo]

Please don't use plywood.

If you want an easier wood to work with, then get basswood. Or, if you like punishment, get a real hardwood like Oak...

But, don't use plywood (you were joking...weren't you?)

with a wood like basswood, you can paint - oil - stain the wood to suit your taste. You can't do all that with plywood.

[mechaghostman2]

Plywood worked wonders for me, layer after layer with just a jig saw and a drill. It works great for me.

[M P L]

 I would have never thought of plywood, but I bet with that many ply's she's stronger than a sherman tank! Nice thinking outside the lines,,,

[mabu4237]

 where do u get templates

[JAZ97]

you can go online and look for the guitar your building and get the size and try to break it down, or if your building your own guitar its up to you to decide the size so really its up to your or the metric system really.

[davidpaul23]

wat should be the thickness of the wood and wat material of wood can be used for making the body?

[sonicthechao]

try using mahogany or maple. When it comes to thickness, it probably has to be at least thick enough to house the electronics, and thats about it

[ToxicPinkPoison]

And the bridge, depending on the type. >_< On my first guitar that I built (knowing nothing of what I was really doing other then my wood working knowledge) I managed to measure the wrong width and didn't take into consideration that the bridge went through the body so it ended up being too thin, I have to buy a bridge and tale piece instead of the tremolo I wanted to use.