The Locking nut is fixed

Man locking nuts get hot when you put them on the grinder. Rather than try to lower the nut seat on the neck I just ground the Locking Nut down using hte side of my grinder and finishing with my belt sander by hand.
When you get the open string action right it makes a world of difference.
King V is ready for sanding and finishing ...

Testing finish

In order to see what this puppy will look like with just tung oil I wet it with water and took some pics. I might stain it with vintage amber first....

First look at the electronics cover. I am seriously considering small magnets instead of screws...

Boredom creaps into the boring mind

Strung the King V up to get a final fit before sanding and etc...

2 things. One I botched the angle of the trem claw screw and it sticks up 1/16" over the back. Looks like a job for the deadblow hammer.... but I will probably fill it and re-drill. The trem recess missed by an 1/8" on the upper side so I will clean that up too.

Overall I was amazed at how well the thing plays without a real setup yet. I wish I had recessed the neck into the top a little more.... to late now.

Boredom creaps into the boring mind

Strung the King V up to get a final fit before sanding and etc...

2 things. One I botched the angle of the trem claw screw and it sticks up 1/16" over the back. Looks like a job for the deadblow hammer.... but I will probably fill it and re-drill. The trem recess missed by an 1/8" on the upper side so I will clean that up too.

Overall I was amazed at how well the thing plays without a real setup yet. I wish I had recessed the neck into the top a little more.... to late now.

Next up RR V Project

This is one massive hunk of 8/4 Ash. I bought the billet 20 years ago. It has been a body blank for around 12 years. Originally it was the replacement body for my RG470. However I have grown to like the RG and it is time to do something new with it. The cool thing is it is really going to make 2 guitars. One bolt on and one neck through. First up will be the bolt on. I am using these bolt on projects to refresh my skills as it has been a while since I built anything...

Links to the photos

Moded Model 5 Project
The King V Project
Saving Jackson Project

Beater V

I filled every hole in it with Bamboo skewers and epox/Padauk dust mix. Then I routed it for the Kahler. After the mock up I realized I am going to either lower the neck in the body or redusce the neck angle for the new bridge.... This looks ugly but when I strip it, sand it, seal it it will all be covered.

Gibson Faded V

I bought it as research.... ha.

Model 5 to San Dimas

I really hated the purple poly coated 1989 Model 5 Charvel for numerous reasons. One was because it was a Fort Worth USA and not a San Dimas. It had 2 pickups, an active boost, three knobs, a 5-way, twelve coats of poly, and it was heavy. So here is the results of a massive overhaul. I think I will refinish it all white soon.



Stripped all the paint and used Super Glue to refinish it. The poplar sides where very soft until I hardened them with the Super Glue. No need for a heavy finish now. It soaked into the wood so far I was able to shape some contours and still have solid Cyanoacrylate permeated wood.

Moved the input jack to a strap jack and re-contoured the back shedding weight as well as hard edges.





Filled the neck pickup with a maple block.



Simplified electronics with a coil tapped 1989 SH-6 Seymour D and a push-pull 500k volume knob and built an aluminum bracket to fasten the SH-6 directly to the body.



Mounted the volume knob in the input jack hole. Not a great idea cause it is hard to get to. I will fix this before I refinish it.

Saving Jackson Neck and tuners

This is the neck after the rough coat of Cyanoacrylate Glue. I will sand it with 400 and maybe re-coat it. I filled all the tuner holes with dust and Cyanoacrylate. Since it is a beater and intended as a player I really don't care what it looks like.

I think V's are the most efficient builds

V's that are cut right waste almost no wood. This is an example. I have enough of the wings left to build a second body. And you can cut the sides with a skill saw and angle aluminum guide...

The V Templates

I bought a nice piece of acrylic from lowe's and a laminate trim bit. Yes I screwed it to the top of the V to make the copy. Used some sheetrock screws and a countersink bit. At the time I didn't plan on rebuilding the firewood V.

Terror Twins

The terror twins... This is farther into the project.

King V Project Trem Routes

Forstner this ... Yes I used the forstner to rough out my pockets...


But after some router work they look a little better...

Saving Jackson Kahler style

Decided to put the cheap Jackson together as a beater. I have a slew of 80's parts that I am using. I am fogoing the stock TOM in favor of a vintage Kahler Flyer. I am not sure about the pickups yet. I have the original Jacksons, a set of JC80's w/20db boost out of my Model 5, or a strange set of German Ultrasonics I might use. The tuning keys are cheap allparts circa 1989. After stripping the neck and cleaning it up I lost a mm or so. It went from a 43mm to a 42mm nut. I am refinishing the neck with superglue /clapton style=""/. The hardboard top of the V will get the same Superglue treatment before paint. Wicking the hardboard with Cyanoacrylate makes it hard as a rock. I have used this technique on Basswood and Poplar guitars before finishing them because it is not as heavy as an epoxy or poly.

King V project Neck Pocket

Routing neck pockets at a 3 degree angle... I used a bastard file under my template for the angle. I am recessing the bridge so I want the neck close to the top of the body...

King V project

Routing neck pockets at a 3 degree angle... I used a bastard file under my template for the angle.

Saving Jackson

The other V I picked up was painted with car paint and green.... And the second Jackson neck I scored for cheap had been bolted, glued, and painted into some monstrosity to look like a neck through. I bought the wasted remains and cleaned it up. The King V turned out to be some unknown wood with a hardboard top and back. I could re-top it with the back of a poster frame... I bought it as a template anyway.





The humanity...

King V project

Ok pictures of the V after some work. I am posting this all at once so timeline is shot. It took roughly 2 weeks at Christmas to get here...

King V projects underway...

So I got a JS30 King V Body from ebay.... the plan was to build a King V and to use the JS30 as a template. So after getting the wood together, buying some parts, and a spare Jackson neck or two I ended up with some interesting prospects.



Basically I will have a King V made from Padauck, Wormy Ambrosia Maple with Mild Flame, Purple Heartwood, and my enemy Cocobolo. I am highly allergic to Morado and Cocobolo dust. Sucks. Never was when I was younger... now my nose swells shut and drains for days after exposure. I can't even sweep my shop without dust protection.

Here is the padauk body blank. You have to love the motorcycle tie downs...

King V Neck Pocket

Routing neck pockets at a 3 degree angle... I used a bastard file under my template for the angle. I am recessing the bridge so I want the neck close to the top of the body...