Saint Guitar Company

Close Up

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:53:17 +0000

Assembly

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:50:36 +0000

Well finally the finish work on the custom guitar is complete. Now it is time for assembly.
The set up process, to me, is almost “zen” like. This is where the guitar’s feel and sound comes to life. First, control pot cavity is completely shielded with aluminum tape then the control pots are dropped in and sodered to the pickups.
After the tuners are installed the bridge is placed and the the nut is cut entirely by hand. We make our nuts from raw materials this way we can have total control of the quality. From there we set up and adjust string height, intonate and complete fret work as needed.
When it’s time to play test, the best part is hearing what kind of character the particular guitar will have.

Base coat….Almost there!

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:19:50 +0000

Once the base coat goes on the grain really begins to “pop”. Even though it is the beginning of a tedious process, this is where a guitar really begins to look like a guitar. This will be the first of many coats that will create a smooth gloss finish. The blue on the fretboard is tape so finish doesn’t get on the fretboards playing surface.

Base Coat

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:06:12 +0000

The color decision.

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:03:32 +0000

With so many cool looking guitars out there, and so many different color combinations, sometimes it can be quite the chore to decide on a color for a new guitar. Unless custom ordered, I try yo pick out a color that will be appealing to all while still keeping the WOW factor. I have found that as long as you enhance the natural beauty of the wood ….. you can’t go wrong.

This guitar was inspired by a vintage guitar I saw a couple months back. Its a mellow brown color with a burst effect on the figured maple top. The back and neck will be unstained so the natural beauty of the wood can be exposed. I’m thinking I’ll do a gloss top and headstock while the sides, back and neck will have a thin base-coat of finish, leaving a natural open pore effect.

Demo Guitar #1

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:00:37 +0000

The Finish Process

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:57:57 +0000

The finish process is the most tedious process of guitar building. In my opinion there is no tougher task than getting a mirror, high-gloss finish over the top of a figured maple top. Because wood is such a natural thing it often does what it wants to do and some times it can make a guitar builder’s life very frustrating. In case you don’t know what goes into a guitar’s finish, I’ll walk you through the process of a high gloss finish.

1) Wood Preparation- Sand the entire guitar with grits 120, 180, 220, 320, 400 ensure there are no scratches showing on the guitar.
2) Tape off areas that will not be stained. Stain guitar the desired color, Add burst effect if desired. Let dry.
3) Spray first base coat to seal in color.
4) Add pore filler to fill in grains to create a flat surface over the entire guitar.
5) Lightly scuff sand entire guitar then apply another base coat. Let dry.
6) Lightly scuff sand entire guitar once finish dries then add a heaver base coat. Let dry
7) Sand guitar with 600 grit in attempt to get the finish completely level. If the guitar has a perfectly flat finish go to the next step…if not repeat the last step. Assuming the guitar is ready for the topcoat, clean with a tack cloth then apply first topcoat. Let dry. Once it is dry, sand with 600 grit until finish is perfectly flat. Then apply another heavy layer of top coat.
9) Once dry, it is time for the final wet sanding. Using 2000 grit paper I sand the entire guitar until it is perfectly flat (be careful not to burn through the finish or else you are back to repeat the last step. If all goes well I move to 2500 grit, wet sanding the entire guitar.
10) Now, I do my last sanding step with 3000 grit (maybe overkill but the finishes turn out awesome)
11) After 3000 it is time to polish. I use two polishing steps, a rubbing compound then a high gloss polish. Be sure not to polish too long in one spot or else you could burn through the finish and have to go back to your finish coat steps again.

Guitar is ready for assembly.

Ok, with the process I described nothing went wrong. I didn’t mention any minor runs in the finish or fisheyes in the finish that had to be tended to. Its nearly impossible to go through this entire process and not have any hick-ups. Also, I didn’t account for dry times, all of which prolongs the process.

The Idea here is to let folks know the tedious process of guitar finishing. It makes me appreciate a beautifully finished guitar even more because I know first hand what it takes to get there.

Stay tuned for pictures of the finish process on Demo Guitar #1.

admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 05:10:18 +0000

The Process

admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 05:06:33 +0000

Guitar building is an ongoing process of improvement and learning. For the most part, my current operation is efficient for what I need it to be, however, that doesn’t mean that I am satisfied. I am always envisioning better ways to to do things and the best part about it is when I have those “ah ha” moments. In manufacturing they call it “breakthroughs”. Recently I had a “breakthrough” that reduced one of my process times by about one third the time but this isn’t really what this blog is about. This blog is about doing things the hard way. I take pride in creating build processes around the guitar rather than building guitars around the processes. This means that I won’t sacrifice critical tone creating aspects of the guitar in order to make guitars faster. My way might not be the most time saving at all times, but it will always be the best way to get the results and the best guitar possible.

admin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:33:10 +0000