Progress

A bit of a delay on the build due to a number of things, one of which being a delay in receiving a shipment that includes most of the parts I’m going to be using. It looks like it will arrive after Musik Messe now.

I have started on the neck though. I’m using a Mighty Mite medium V profile (MM2905V). As with all Mighty Mite necks, it has a thin satin finish on it. In fact, if it had a slight tint I would see no need to do anything to it, as it feels great. However, it is a bit pale, so I’m going to darken it up with button polish.

First thing to do is remove the nut. Very simple – score along both sides of the nut with a box cutter to loosen any glue or finish, then gently tap it out.

Then on to applying the shellac. I got frustrated with the button polish on the body – it seemed to go on too thick, and uneven. I decided to try again on the neck, but with a more diluted solution. I carefully measured equal amounts button polish and meths, then using the same method as the body began applying coats on the fingerboard. It went on very thin, drying almost immediately. The temptation of course is to try to add a further coat straight away, but I find it better to leave it 45 – 60 minutes to let it dry thoroughly.  You have to be careful to avoid too much build up by the frets or it will be uneven.  The picture to the left is after about 4 coats. I then let it sit overnight and gently rubbed with 0000 steel wool to smooth it out. This also lightened the build up a bit. I added another 4 or 5 coats, then flipped it over. The back of the neck is much easier to shellac as there are no pesky frets to get in the way. Smooth even strokes, and 10 coats were on in no time. There’s a very small bit of streaking on the back of the headstock, which I will address in about 4 or 5 days after I’ve let the shellac harden. I will hit it with the steel wool, then add a couple of 25/75 thinned coats to even it out. Once that is fully dry, some T-Cut to bring up a slight shine, and it is time to fit a nut.

I really like the feel of shellac – it is not at all sticky, and builds to a finish with great depth, allowing the figuring in the wood to show through.

Now to finish the body before I head to Musik Messe on Thursday.