Construction Log for KMG J45-Style Dreadnought

dave d · Post by **dave d** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:17 am

Thanks Tony. Yes, it is ebony and the strip of lighter-colored wood running through it makes it simply fantastic.

TonyinNYC · Post by **TonyinNYC** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:51 am

I have a few Brazilian rosewood fretboards that I got for cheap because they have interesting grains. I love them and I am happy I got a deal on them!

George · Post by **George** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 8:30 am

Dave, do you have any pictures of how you shaped your headstock? Would you mind sharing your procedure?

George

Tim Benware · Post by **Tim Benware** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 9:55 am

ddietz wrote:Thanks Tony. Yes, it is ebony and the strip of lighter-colored wood running through it makes it simply fantastic.

I have really come to like the color of the striped ebony. This guitar is shaping up great.

dave d · Post by **dave d** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 12:05 pm

George wrote:Dave, do you have any pictures of how you shaped your headstock? Would you mind sharing your procedure?

George

George, I didn't take any photos of that. The shape is similar to a Gibson headstock in that it has curves, but the dimensions are quite different. I drew the shape onto a piece of thin plywood and then cut it out with a bandsaw and sanded the curves and corners with a belt sander. Once I had the shape I liked, I cut it in half. Then I used one half as a mirror image and traced it onto the headstock blank. Again cutting it out on the bandsaw and sanded some of the curves with a sander and finished the neck portion by hand with rasps and sandpaper.

George · Post by **George** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 12:49 pm

OK. Thanks Dave! That's pretty much how I did my first one. I thought you might have used a router.

George

dave d · Post by **dave d** » Fri May 10, 2013 10:22 pm

Where was I? Ah yes, on to the finishing stage.
First, some pore filling. I'm using Zpoxy. Mixed in equal parts, apply, let dry for a day, and sand or scrape off the excess.

: The pores in this Peruvian Walnut are fairly deep.; DBD_7945.JPG (45.98 KiB) Viewed 804 times

: I use a scale to measure equal parts by weight.; DBD_7949.JPG (60.35 KiB) Viewed 804 times

: Smeared into the pores with a credit card, with the grain, perpendicular to the grain, 45 degrees to the grain, etc. Then take off all of the excess with the same card and wipe it on a rag dampened with denatured alcohol.; DBD_7951.JPG (77.01 KiB) Viewed 804 times

: Let it dry overnight. If I recall correctly, I did my sanding here lightly with 320 grit w/d.; DBD_7967.JPG (85.74 KiB) Viewed 804 times

: The shiny pores still have zpoxy in them after sanding, therefore they still need more.; DBD_7968.JPG (126.71 KiB) Viewed 804 times

: Photo taken after another coat, and more sanding. See the uniformly dull area on the lower left of the guitar? That section is basically done (no more shiny or dark pores there), but other areas need some more.; DBD_7988.JPG (82.9 KiB) Viewed 804 times