RobOG DuoSonic 25.5 w/NEW Pictures!

[brandon.]

So the package finally came today after being jerked around by UPS for a couple of days.

Here are the pictures so far...


Everything looked great when I opened it...


I threw on the bridge and placed the neck in the pocket (with the slightest amount of sanding) just to see what it'll look like...



So far it looks great, the space between the bridge and pickguard might bother some people but I don't mind it.
The ferrules that I have are way too big for the holes robert drilled me... should I just enlarge the holes to accept the ferrules? makes sense to me, but maybe there's some problem I'm not seeing. I also need to get a control plate and some pickup covers to complete the project.

I'm still trying to decide what colour, I was thinking a natural stain or something like that, or, black, because I love black and tortoise shell.

So I still have a lot of work to do, but hopefully it'll turn into a pretty neat rock beast.

Thanks Robert! Oh, and the pickguard looks great!

[robert(original)]

ARE YOU THE GUY THAT CONTACTED ME THRU EMAIL?!!?!?
if you are please please please send me your address!

[DGNR8]

To each their own, I say. Every model of guitar has unique features. And you spelled it properly.

[brandon.]

I sent my address, did you get it?

[robert(original)]

pm it to me, i started phasing out that email address and a couple weeks ago i pulled your body out from under a pile and did a.
"where the hell did this come from?"
thought about it and remembered you but i have pretty much forgotten my password.
i'll try to find it and log back in.
but just pm me your address and it'll be on its way in no time flat!

[brandon.]

updated! with pictures!

[roofiez]

hot

[Mike]

should I just enlarge the holes to accept the ferrules?

Yup. find the drill bit you need to use using a piece of scrap wood. They should push in a little and need some tapping with a mallet to site completely.

[robert(original)]

the wood may be soft enough that you can tap them in.
but i bet you have a neighbor with a drill bit the size you need.

[robert(original)]

after re-reading that, ups didn't get it there on friday?
bastards.
when did it get there?

[brandon.]

UPS said they tried to deliver it on friday, but I think they tried to use our clearly unused front door that only leads to an enclosed porch.
The info I got from the tracking number said they'd try again on Monday.

When I got home from school on monday there was nothing, and nobody had been around,
so I called ups an had them send alerts to the driver to call me within the hour. An hour passed and still nothing so I called again
and they said the previous call request hadn't been opened by the people who relay the messages to the drivers.
So they sent another one. An hour past and still nothing.

Anyways, they made no attempt to deliver it on Monday, but called me Tuesday morning and said it would arrive between 4 and 6.
It came at 4 today.

I would have been fine picking it up, but instead the guitar was going on a field trip around town all day monday.
The customer service was kind of crappy too, they complained that they couldn't leave a message on the phone, so they
said I wouldn't have known if UPS called, but I explained to them about the wonders of call display and how I would know if anyone had called.

That's the story.

[robert(original)]

yeah, ups, and usps can be kinda shitty sometimes, but in there defense my old ladys dad and a customer of mine work/have worked in a postal office and its hell.
apparently in lafayatte indiana they have postal warehouse that in the main floor there is a catwalk with tinted windows and they will walk and watch you work, to make sure you are doing a "good job"
and the customer of mine once told me that in the 7 years he worked there he attended 5 meetings upon which they told him that the most productice a person is a pissed off person.
on the other hand.
my girlfriends father worked as a mail carrier for 23 years and there were times when they would yell at him for the simple fact that they thought he would walk faster.
this same company denied him any health benefits when he found out he had emphema. thats why your body is the last body to leave my shop, and from now on its only high dollar custom jobs and repairs, i gotta support a farm ya know.

at anyrate.
the guard is cut for a shortscale neck and the pocket area is a lil bit small than a 25.5 (less than 1 mm) so 2 mins with 80 grit paper will take care of that.
as an fyi i used the same ferrel holes as the squire tele deluxe.

[brandon.]

I'm sorry to hear about your girlfriends father, it's terrible he can't get health benefits after working there for so long.

As for the pickguard, I just gave it a few passes with an exacto knife and it works fine.
I also drilled out the ferrule holes about 2 hours ago too, everything went fine.
Hopefully I'll have more pictures in the next couple of days...

[brandon.]

so I'm thinking of routing 2 channels in the body so the wires from the pickups can just sit inside instead of being threaded through the holes.
I think adding these two will make the wiring easier...
The dotted lines between the 2 pickups and over to the switch hole are what I'm talking about... It's a bit hard to see.



Are there any obvious reasons not to do this that I'm not seeing?
The two routes at the top for the switches are there just in case I feel ambitious and decide to throw them in,
but if I add these 2 channel routes, then I can do all the wiring on the pickguard before putting it in place...

what do you think?


edit: also, I've decided to do this in a natural finish, but I'd love to give it a darker stain, anyone have any tips on pulling this off?

From the directions I got from robert a while ago it sounds like I should
-sand it down smooth
-grain fill it
-sand again to 360
-clear coat
- sand with 1200-2000 (does this imply wet sanding?)

and then repeat 15 times...
which step did you mean to repeat? all of it? or just the sanding? ...or the coating?

thanks again

[robert(original)]

you gotta sand between each coat.
so try this out for size.
sand the body as smooth as possible.
then lay down some grain fill, sand again.
do some mist coats, sand them back, and do some more mist coats, sand those back, i think that this will give a good, smoother finish to actually start the real coats.
do the rule of three,
do three coats, 1 hour apart from eachother(or longer)
wait 24 hours, level(wet) sand with 1200 gritt-1500 grit.
do this about 5 times.
then move up to 2000 grit and continue the same pattern about 5 more times.
then level sand it one last time. let it sit for a month, and buff it out.

[brandon.]

so I stopped by home depot today...
they had no idea what "grain filler" was and they thought I was crazy.
I did a quick search and found out that "Grain Filler" is hard to find in Canada... maybe cause its referred to as something else?
wood filler is something different right?

I talked to a guy there and he suggested this method for sanding, staining, and clear coating...
-sand to 360
-apply coat of stuff that helps the wood "accept" the stain
-stain it
-clear coat it with Minwax polyurethane stuff
-wet sand between coats of clear for a glass like finish


Now this all sounds fine and dandy to someone inexperienced like myself, but is there anything i
n that explanation that is just blatantly wrong when working with guitars?

[robert(original)]

there is this powder i used in the archtop i made, i wish i could remember what it was.
basically its cheap, powdery, you mix it yourself.
you could actually just shooot loads of clear coat until its all filled, but thats not costs effective and its a waste of time.

[Richard]

Ive always dreamt of a standard scale Mustang/MM/Duo/Bronco.

[Mages]

so I stopped by home depot today...
they had no idea what "grain filler" was and they thought I was crazy.
I did a quick search and found out that "Grain Filler" is hard to find in Canada...

nah man, they are just ignorant. I've had similar experiences. unless you are at a hardware store that actually specializes in finishing products, they will just give you stupid responses like that. as you will notice home depot only has sand paper up to like 600 grit. yea... not so good for finishing things. I was seriously in this one hardware store and I asked the guy, "do you have any 1000-1500 grit sand paper?" and he says, "no, you're asking for something that really doesn't exist." yea. really. that is what he said.

I'm pretty sure you can find grain filler in canada, it's just you have to go to a place that actually specializes in finishing supplies. big box hardware stores won't have that kind of stuff. try smaller hardware stores and hobby shops.

[brandon.]

thanks for the tip, I'll see what I can track down tomorrow.
I'd love to get a refinish done right for once, the other one I did came out all satin-finishy and crappy.
It's so tedious but I guess it pays off in the end.