Watch this BEFORE you build a GUITAR!

[@suncinder]

The guitar came out incredibly well! Cant wait to play it! Loved every second of the video, Jake. Super proud to have our music in it and I hope everyone enjoyed the tune! 🎵🎸

[@MightySawdust]

I did enjoy your tune!

[@MakewithJake]

Rock on! The song turned out awesome, really made the video, if I do say so myself... :-)

[@MightySawdust]

@@MakewithJake I thought it was Jake² all the way!!!

[@Thefrawkster]

You can use foam earplugs for the tuning key holes, works great.

[@GloMo357]

That's a great tip actually, thank you

[@Thefrawkster]

@@GloMo357👍🏻

[@okiwatashi2349]

Great idea, thanks

[@okiwatashi2349]

When sanding at all, try and use a block rather than folding over fingers. Obviously there are some bits, but blocks make it easier to avoid going through at edges

[@craigparse1439]

8:58 I see an "N" on the pickup closest to the bridge and I see a "B" on the pickup closest to the neck. Was this intentional, or did the pickups get mislabeled? It looks wonderful!

[@burningidburningid2145]

Came here to say the same thing.

[@bradsmith2345]

@@burningidburningid2145 Me too :)

[@ADFinlayson]

That's a great result, especially for rattle cans. Something I learnt a little while back is to wet sand with mineral spirits instead of water. It will prevent the issue of lacquer cracking because it won't cause the wood to expand.

[@glenwardgross366]

Jake wax any exposed wood to keep water off it during wet sanding. I hope this helps. Great tip you passed on to those that do not know about it. Warming up any rattle can is a great tip. It adds some pressure inside the can and lowers the Viscosity so you can spray more smooth layers. Hence the phrase Shake Rattle and Roll. What that means is you shake the can and it rattles, then you roll it up and down the dinning table a few times so the colder paint falls to the bottom of the can. Bet you didn't know that.

[@erikrummel6277]

I smashed the like button and bam 💥 my bridge posts installed themselves!!!!!!!! Great tip!!!!!

[@MakewithJake]

Glad it helped!

[@rodmacrae3611]

A quick wash coat of shellac in all those tuner holes and every other exposed part ahead of time does wonders for not getting water in the wood.👍🏽

[@FuzzyJohn]

8:52 Use something (rag, newspaper) to protect the guitar body when you solder right on top of it.

[@MakewithJake]

Good idea! I like living in the danger zone.

[@TheUncleRuckus]

The hot water trick to warm the can is good practice with any Rattle Can paint or sealer. Also sanding in between coats with 4∅/4-ought steel wool will prevent the orange peel effect. 👍👍

[@jakepiascik7277]

For the water in the screw holes, you can use a toothpick in the hole and trim it down enough to stay out of the way, but still enough to pull it back out. Also when painting and staining a guitar with f-holes like this one it can help to fill the cavities with an old shirt or rags so that no water, stain, and/or spray gets into the wood inside the guitar.

[@ScottWalshWoodworking]

The finish came out great! Really love the blue burst

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks man! I'm really happy with it overall. But also glad it's finally over...lol

[@Cole.Claeson]

So smooth with that like button😂 Such a cool build and very detailed. I’ve been wanting to build a guitar for a while but wasn’t sure where to start and maybe just buying a kit and painting it is a good first step.

[@MakewithJake]

Go for it! Its really not too bad, and tons of fun!

[@PierceThirlen2]

An auto parts store that sells car paint will typically also sell sandpaper as fine as 3,000 grit. It's recommend using that before buffing.

[@MakerBeach]

This video rocks! That clip of the wax shooting all over your drill press is hilarious. Keep up the great work!

[@MakewithJake]

It wasn't hilarious in the moment....but Im glad I got it on camera. lol

[@ChrisBarnard-vd2fj]

Jake, thank you for sharing your build process, very helpful. The guitar looks great. I wish I had a workshop like yours.

[@waggyquack974]

To avoid the problems with using water for wet sanding, do your wet sanding using white spirit. This dries quickly and does not cause the grain of the wood to swell.

[@codelicious6590]

When i used to refinish bikes i would hit them with steel wool between each coat followed by a few passes with tack cloth to get rid of wool residue.

[@Daddy53751]

I do the same thing but for unknown reasons I hate steel wool, and just use like 800 or 1000 grit wet/dry. Definitely makes final buff/polish easier with less clear loss due to sanding. Unless I’m doing flake, then no.

[@theeugenicsprofessor9212]

The trick to glass top finishes is to wet sand 1500 grit in between clear coats

[@tomasengstrom6362]

OFMG!!! IT WORKED! I smashed the LIKE button and the press-fit bolt for the bridge just went right down! 😝

[@Gregabalese]

You did a great job. I have built a couple of kits had getting perfect guitar ain't easy for a novice. But it a great experience. Good luck to you!

[@lancersbowchuckle960]

Good idea for wet sanding prep is use paste wax in the milled holes where you don’t want the water to touch the raw wood you couldn’t finish. Use a cotton swab and spread it out inside the holes. Then use a cut off cloth rag to remove the excess. There is some expansion from the wax so be sure to do it before you spray finish, and let it set for about forty eight hours to settle.

[@jamro217]

Great job!. One tip: 9:04 N (neck pickup) is in the bridge position. That is why it wouldn't fit. The pickup rings are fitted for the arch of the top. Switching the pickups also makes the sound balance out. The neck position is usually a weaker pickup because it has more string vibration (and a stronger signal) to work with than at the bridge. I smashed the like button and my guitar kit is still in pieces in the basement.

[@heyfoo2]

I just ordered Leo Jaymz of this type of guitar today. Going to build it and probably go for finish like this one. Great video, thanks.

[@TVsBen]

If you apply the polish to the buffing pad instead of the guitar, and then hold the body to the pad before you turn on the drill press, I think you'll get a lot less mess.

[@MakewithJake]

Yeah, lesson learned....

[@tonyhull4350]

As a new not very good woodworker. You will see every mistake but if you don't tell most people will never know. Love the color

[@boahnowers]

for keeping the polishing step a little less messy I recommend just "tap out" all the compound on the area you are working on first. that way there is less in one spot and less chance for it to splatter everywhere!

[@MrKanti-yy5ux]

I also regretted doing a semi-hollow for my first guitar project. The electronics have actually been busted for a while and I just keep putting off repairing them because getting those pegs back in just sucks lol. Great work on the finish. Looks sick.

[@eskrimadorchris]

Nice looking kit build! A few pointers for you: 1) Dry fit everything before you start so you can see how every piece and component will fit together and where there's play you may need to address. 2) Rattle cans for paint are fine, but rattle can lacquer isn't great. There just isn't enough hardener in the rattle can (unless you use K2, X2 or Nitro), so talk to your local body shop if they can spray clear when the do small parts. 3) With veneer finishes, check the seams carefully for glue squeeze-out. I noticed as you were dying there was a good sized blob that you corrected, but there were other areas that were still not taking dye. Using paints, colored markers, colored pencils (as long as they aren't wax based) or even nail polish that can match the coloring and cover it to hide the flaws before clear-coat is advisable. 4) Check the frets on the neck. While it may look nice, check the level of the frets and the fret ends. Kits are put together with the intention the builder will be going over it with a fine toothed comb. The frets are pressed in at the factory, but no time is taken to insure they are leveled, crowned, polished and edge-dressed. Again, beautiful looking build! Looking forward to the next kit video!

[@davidarnold3321]

When I buff I apply a small amount with rag or towel that way it won't splatter all over the place.You may have to go back to some places after you finish. Can up area and look carefully for rough spots. It is better to take your time.

[@CMRWoodworks]

The finish came out looking awesome! Nice job on the blue.

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks! I was really impressed, I thought it would be way harder.

[@dboone7670]

Am I crazy, or did he install the neck pickup in the bridge and the bridge in the neck?

[@MakewithJake]

Anything is possible. I may have installed them backwards at first, but the final build is correct. Nothing was labeled in the kit, so it was a bit confusing for a first build. Thanks for watching!

[@aryp420]

That's the same thing I was thinking. The pickups were labeled "B" and "N" and they were obviously in the wrong place lol. Looks good though

[@markpell8979]

@dboone7670, yes, he did put the pickups in the wrong holes the first time. But that doesn't mean you're not crazy. 😉 Whether we're right or wrong, probably most guitar players are at least a little crazy. It's almost required.

[@Daddy53751]

@@markpell8979absolutely correct! When it comes to instruments there’s really no wrong answer per se. it’s the life long experiment of searching for the magic EVH kinda led the charge on “the search”.🤘🏻

[@markpell8979]

@@Daddy53751 And as with the painter Bob Ross, some great things about guitars were probably "happy accidents."

[@BassadorWoodworking]

I am so happy that I am not the only one that has trouble with guitar wiring diagrams specifically 🤣. Great job on the build! It is beautiful!

[@MakewithJake]

Dude, right? Im not really sure why, I deal with electrical diagrams for far more complicated devices on a regular basis.

[@LellowYorry]

Looks really good! Might have to try this myself

[@myoneblackfriend3151]

You can use cardboard to make a backsplash to keep your work area neat while polishing. You can also use plastic cling wrap around your tools.

[@MakewithJake]

Good call. I made a huge mess.

[@genedeahl7453]

Thanks for doing this. I have always wanted to try it.

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks for watching! It was a super fun project, and I highly recommend giving it a shot.

[@simpson6700]

Beautiful paintjob, you made that look easy.

[@Badhands55]

I’ve never had any luck with that grain filler- ever

[@Mr986Willis]

There are alternatives to using water as your sanding lubricant, such as naptha or GooGone cleaning spray they don't expand the wood if they get into holes.

[@anabolictiger9466]

Can you do a detailed video on how to put the pickups, volume knobs, plug etc. in?

[@WoodworkingYouTubers]

Added this to a playlist on my channel. Thanks for the video.

[@MakewithJake]

Awesome, thank you!

[@marcstreiff6067]

Nice, I'd suggest routing out an access panel on the back side

[@MakewithJake]

Semi hollow body guitars typically do not have an access panel on the back. (to my knowledge at least). I believe it is either a sound or structural concern.

[@michaelkeudel8770]

Use different grits to sand, light sanding with a heavier grit allows you to get a flat surface (get rid of orange peel) faster, the 1200-1500-1800 grit would be last before polishing to remove tiny scratches cause by the heavier grit. But yeah, wet sanding sucks, I still have to do it on my 1973 Mustang that I painted in 2007.

[@hayabusa1572]

i can only dream of having a guitar like these. new sub here from the PH

[@lawndart188s]

I like the how the color came out

[@1freexp511]

Hey man if you are struggling with pulling wiring use a lead get that through first then tape the wire to your lead and pull. Also the sanding part if you want to make les of a mess wipe a thin layer down instead of globs that should reduce your splatter a ton. GREAT JOB OVER ALL 🤟

[@mrsaizo0000]

I bought Fishman Fluence pickups for my ESP, by accident I made the connector/cables for the pickups "too short", had to improvise. Does work however, and even have a killswitch, 5-way toggle and 1 push/pull (tone) control. Looks like a normal ESP, until you start playing it..

[@ClarenceCochran-ne7du]

You need to completely wire the harness outside of the guitar and then feed it through on a semi hollow. Usually making a jig that matches the layout of the guitar. That's how the big boys do it.

[@HowIDoThingsDIY]

I've never used grain filler. Interesting! Also, those fret board inlays look sweet! Great build man!! Full watch!

[@MakewithJake]

Same here! But as you can see, there are some potential weird effects.... I think most people dye the grain filler, which would probably help even out the tone.

[@HowIDoThingsDIY]

@@MakewithJake I can see it being nice when you know you plan to paint something.

[@scottyV1000]

I got a good laugh when you said you couldn’t play - same thing here but I’m good at collecting. It turned out nice - I hope I can do as well. I’m starting out with Strats but I have a LP down the road.

[@meckev400]

Get a car headlamp restoration kit from an auto shop. Super fine grain sanding discs up to 3000 grit.

[@Woodified]

Great video. Thanks for the tip about warming up the lacquer. I plan to build an electric guitar from scratch. So far I've gotten as far as buying a board to make a solid body. Based on my research it's not going to turn out well, LOL ....but should be a good learning experience.

[@MakewithJake]

I think you'll do great! I was surprised how well each stage turned out. I think it's easy to get overwhelmed on a project like this, so just take your time and go slow and I'm sure it will be great! Full disclosure, there were a bunch of small flaws and errors I made in my guitar. So many in fact, then when I put them in the video, it felt like a complainer video. Lol. But overall, I'm really happy with the learning experience. Good luck! Hit me up on Instagram if you have questions!

[@godsinbox]

I would install the pickups in the correct bridge and neck positions.

[@caiden31]

Love the guitar I wanting to build one like the esp eclipse e-ii raideer blue

[@ModernMountainLiving]

I find success by sanding between Laquer coats with 0000# Steel Wool. It keeps the rage peel from building up. Nice job.

[@zaurike]

Love the video and your presentation style.

[@srnfr270]

Use a hand held machine to polich insted of the drill press

[@wallyodom8254]

Did you ever make a video of this guitar being played?

[@tanner4828]

It's on my bucket list, too.

[@MakewithJake]

Nice! I was never a kit person, but this was actually a lot of fun. Highly reccomend!

[@Burtsc]

Nice ! Thanks for doing this.

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks for watching!

[@deandee8082]

pickups are wired into your switch first, not pots...

[@nicolashadler]

Came for Cinder's music, stayed for highly satisfactory video hahaha Subscribed!

[@MakewithJake]

Welcome aboard! Glad you liked it!

[@mikemahoney5943]

N is for neck pickup. B is for bridge pickup.

[@mattheweastman8984]

Awesome video and great build!

[@MakewithJake]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@RobertHollander]

Button smashed. Thanks for the reminders.

[@michaelorourke7032]

This was very informative. Thanks for a great video.

[@666pinkster]

Use fishtank tubing for fishing wires n pots bro

[@NelsonWoodworks]

Awesome job Jake!

[@MakewithJake]

Thank you!

[@nobelj3137]

he installed the pick up in the wrong spots and decided to leave them their ??? 9:04 look he clearly labeled them n and b yet he installed them in the wrong positions ? has anyone pointed this out to him ? he completly brushed past in in the video .

[@MakewithJake]

Dude, Im right here! haha Short story is that they were marked wrong.

[@MightySawdust]

Like the intro of Jake2, that was cool. I'll eventually get a kit and do something like this. But first a few other projects I have lined up and wanting to do, oh and edit stuff already done. Like my "Ultimate Workbench", should have part 3 coming up soon!!

[@MakewithJake]

Dude awesome! Definitely get one in the ole project to do list. Lots of fun. Thanks for watching!

[@Stage_5_Entertainment]

Next time you Spray a guitar spray with a light and look from the side you can see this way if its the lacker is smooth or not

[@trukr817]

For the buffing, two things. 1 don't put a bunch in one place, little patches across it works better. 2 use an orbital buffer, it's made for that, drill presses are not. But even the drill press would not sling it if it was applied as above. Drill press can also burn the finish if you're not careful. Nice looing guitar.

[@mrwaffles1394]

Spread the polish around before you turn on the buffing wheel and it won’t splatter as much.

[@MakewithJake]

Great tip! Thanks for watching!

[@gribbo14]

Absolutely beautiful job. I hope mine turns out half as good 😂

[@MakewithJake]

awe thank you! You can do it! Just go slow, and it will be awesome.

[@BoneheadGuitars]

If it's just dye, you can actually just buff it off of the plastic with clothe, instead of scraping. That AquaCoat is tricky junk. I never had a lot of luck with it. And it shrinks, so it generally takes multiple coats.

[@aholder4471]

Pretty sure you could have just sanded the wood filler and you would have accomplished 2 things you wanted at once, you would have got rid of the wood filler you shouldn't have used in the first place and you also would have gotten that super smooth finish you wanted in the beginning. Of course you would have had to use multiple grits of sandpaper, and probably use a kinda course grit till you got down to virgin wood passed the wood filler, and then a couple more finer grit till you got it super smooth. I think what you might have been thinking of is grain filler that is a dark kind of stain that you put on to pull out the grain is certain woods where it makes the grain underneath a darker color and then when you sand it and stain it it will have a 2 tone look to the grain. I think sometimes people call it filler, but it isnt like the puddy type of wood filler you use to prep wood before you paint it. And if I was gonna do this on a bigger scale, I would definitely want some big buffer wheels, on a workbench maybe with a mounted motor with a belt drive. Might as well get 2 big buffing wheels so it'll be balanced out and you can use one for stuff like open pore type finishes that you want to buff out to a semi gloss, and closed pore like this high gloss lacquer finish you did here. At least thats what I want to do, because I've been lusting after getting a set up to do exactly this. I grew up in a wood shop with my grandpa teaching me more stuff then I can remember. I treasure those moments but at the same time I wish I had been just a little bit older so I could have paid more attention and maybe learned more. I had one of those granddad's that were the man's man, does it all from building a house from the ground up to building cabinetry to repairing the old tube style tv's and radios. I didn't realize it at the time but I was basically getting one hell of an education on everything I would need to know to build and repair tube amps, build guitars, build houses, and repair cars....and being a musician my whole life who at the time my grandpa was teaching me this I was practicing piano like a concert pianist like 4 hours a day, and 6 or 8 hours if I had that much time tbh. And wouldn't you know it I grew up and only used the stuff I learned to build homes and fix my car when I needed to, while still playing music for the last 30 years. 🤦‍♂️ "WTH is wrong with me?" is what I've been thinking. So I realize this contradiction in my 40s now that the wife has left me since the kid is now an adult and out of the house. I guess she was just waiting on that to happen to bounce. But now I'm free to do what I want and I'm trying to figure out how to pivot into building amps and guitars and stuff. That would be so much more satisfying and fulfilling to me. And be way more harmonious with how I am naturally anyways. I could build and work on that stuff anytime I want and work all night if I want to. Here lately having the normal job working outside, I've been on that regular morning light till dusk schedule and I hate it. But it's paying the bills for now. Anyways thanks for letting me spill my life story in a comment section... enjoyed the video. I liked that you left in all tue things that went wrong and didn't edit them out. Life is a learning process and rarely ever do we go straight to expert mode in anything. Some people are so afraid of making a mistake that they never do anything new. It's like a mental health problem really, and kind of sad. I'm a huge Tool fan (hopefully not the obnoxious stuck up better then everyone else type) and naturally I'm a Maynard fan, that guy is a modern day Renaissance man. (And that is one of my goals as well. I love how he has fronted 3 bands, 2 that were top level touring acts and now he has a full Vinyard and winery and is basically building an entire town in Arizona, I think?) But I heard him say in an interview If you set out to do something, there is only 2 possible outcomes. You either succeed or you learn something. If you fail, that's up to you. It's all in how you look at it. So I never fail anymore, I just learn and move on. Hope that helps someone like it did me....

[@reddsshaker3477]

What? 😳 That was a chapter. Anyway, you lost me at “shouldn’t have used wood filler”. Of course you should use wood filler…..on open grained wood. The idea is to get the filler into the pores, and scrape it clean from the surface. Which he didn’t do. He should’ve taken a bit more time to make sure the surface was completely free of filler. Every high end vintage mahogany or ash bodied guitar you’ve ever seen has had grain filler in the pores.

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks for watching!

[@myoneblackfriend3151]

Well done, sir.

[@MakewithJake]

Thank you!

[@CobraFat2000]

Doesn't "B" and "N" stand for bridge and neck... when installing the humbuckers? Maybe the frames should be swapped instead of just flipping them around.

[@jeffmancuso2715]

Great video, guitar is beautiful

[@alojz300]

Loved the video! Hope you do more guitar stuff

[@MakewithJake]

thank you! Id love to build another one...maybe from scratch?

[@thefreyfactor]

2 suggestions. 1. The stick you made for the neck cavity, leave it attached and clamp it to a workbench. Then just use a car polisher. It get the biggest parts real easy. 2. Please oh please put a cloth down on the body as much as you can. You will cry when a drop of solder falls on the paint. Killer guitar though. this makes me want to build a hollow body.

[@BadAppleWoodwerx]

Looks good Jake! I'm currently still trying to finish up a bass I've been building (not on my channel, I have a separate guitar channel for that). Always love a good guitar build video! 😎

[@MakewithJake]

Thats awesome! What is the other channel called? (or send it to me on facebook, id love to check it out!)

[@RLLWoodworks]

Brilliant. That is all.

[@MakewithJake]

Thank you! That is all.

[@jeremyklein9679]

I wishbi had watched this before applying finish to my first guitar.

[@munterdoo]

And one more tip for polishing The absolute finest grit that you can get to use to polish anything out is actually toothpaste I was a trick and old head showed me a long time ago and he's absolutely right

[@meestuinier4486]

Any tips on how to get the colour darker near the edges? Looking great but didn't quite catch what paint you were using and how you applied it.

[@5beansalad]

"Sometime it's okay to compromise if it means action" Shit man, great advice. Thank you.

[@BurninSven1]

Thanks for sharing, this is cool to make it shine and everything but did it turn out a guitar that work, sound and play good?

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks for watching! Honestly, I dont play often (or well). I just like having guitars. So for me, it plays fine. But if you are big into good sound, I am sure it sounds bad lol

[@WoodcraftBySuman]

Great tip on the lacquer warmup (lol hopefully with just warm water). Give Deft lacquer a try. I've found it to be significantly better than watco/rustoleum/minwax variants. Edit: car polish compound application: take a random orbit sander with a buffing pad with hook and loop backing. Take er outside and buff away.

[@MakewithJake]

Awesome, Ill check out Deft for the next one for sure. Anything to reduce the amount of wet sanding next time....uhg!

[@DavidConnolly-zm1sn]

How do you feel about putting some wax around the holes before you wet sand plus be careful

[@richardwright345]

how did you glue the neck with all that finish on it.

[@MakewithJake]

I had tape on the neck so that there would still be raw wood to glue to

[@equinox747]

great video some really helpful tips, OMG i'm into a 7 year refurbish on my BURNS tr2 guitar ive had since '65 i really messed it up by changing it's original shape because all the resin had cracked, then i started to rebuild it as it supposed to be.shame i'll never get it back the way it was :( BTW i was hoping to resin coat it after i've prayed it, any tips would be appreciated :)

[@cool555breeze]

Fret level? 🤔

[@666pinkster]

Hey brother guitar looks great listen when you're wet sanding ....you want to wet sand not dry sand it. use warm water with a drop or two a dish soap as a lubricant . Start with 400, work your way up. 1200 from the start is too fine. 400, 600, 1000, 1200 maybe 2000 grit. Another hint..use scotch brite instead of sand paper. You dont wet sand bare wood ever.

[@stephencraig8578]

Do you assemble the guitar before you dye it to make sure that it plays ok? Then disassemble?

[@oldschoolcarl9247]

Use 3000 or 5000 grit for wet sanding next time

[@JulianFernandez]

looks great!

[@davidrussell8783]

No pick guard?

[@sunriseshell]

Looks good! I don't believe you're meant to use grain filter when you want visible wood. It's meant to be painted over. Also typically you add MORE lacquer after sanding, dry & sand, THEN repeat at least one or two more times. Lacquer is a LONG process, why poly is so popular.

[@reddsshaker3477]

Grain filler is used on transparent and translucent finishes all the time. Every Les Paul Standard has grain filler in the mahogany on the back. The idea is to get it in the pores, and remove it from the surface. Gibson tinted grain filler on the old SGs with cherry stain. The actual color you see on vintage SGs is the tinted grain filler itself, bleeding out from the pores as the clear lacquer was applied. I’m a luthier by trade, and I’ve done hundreds of finish repairs and restorations of vintage Gibsons over the last 40+ years.

[@sunriseshell]

@@reddsshaker3477 Well there you go! I guess I've seen some bad jobs that influenced what I said. I've also not worked with mahogany. My instinct would be to seal the wood with shellac if I was going with stove kind of transparent finish. Admittedly I'm just a rudimentary wood worker and novice guitar tech.

[@waggyquack974]

To fill the pores then wet sand with tru-oil or danish oil and then you get a slurry of wood dust and oil that is exactly the same colour as the natural wood. This fills the pores and seals the grain but remember to wipe off the excess slurry across the grain so you don't wipe the slurry out of the tiny cavities.

[@billmartyn-smith1364]

thanks

[@MakewithJake]

You're welcome!

[@MrAntisound]

if you put a big blob polish on the pad it always flies around the room, you'd be better of putting tiny specks distributed on the guitar. polish also slowly degrades into smaller particles, so putting one big blob on your polish pad also makes the place where you begin better polished than where you stop. Distributing small specks evenly on the guitar fixes that problem.