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NKD Korina and ebony


Ua D

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Got me another Precision Guitar Kit. I did up a les Paul dc special a couple years back.  Love it.    Had it made to order with a mahogany body, plain maple top, maple neck and ebony fretboard.  Damn thing rings like a bell.  If you’re not familiar, they are made in BC Canada (CNC) with high quality tonewoods.  You can order a “stock” kit or have one made with a menu of options. Been itching for a pointy white limba guitar for awhile.  Don’t think I can afford a Hamer standard Korina even if one came up for sale.   I actually ordered one of the stock explorer kits last December but it came with a big streaky flaw on the upper bout.  It would have had cool character but it had a filled wormhole that went from the top to the side.  They graciously let me return it.  Great customer service from Kevin.    
 

Anyways, fast forward to May and I ordered  one again but with some of the made to order options.  Lead time said 7-9 weeks but it showed up in 6.  😀 Makes me a happy camper.   
 

So I ordered it with white limba body and neck, but rear routed.   I Just don’t like that big channel on the front.  Plus I can decide whether or not I want to rock a pick guard.    I’m kinda leaning towards a tortoise Pickguard. I also ordered an ebony fretboard and headstock overlay.   I have some gold hardware and all the parts ready to go.  I have a set of Gravelin Charlottes going into it.   Can’t wait.  
 

also any tips for getting that golden honey color on white limba?  I assume there is some amber added to the clear coat.  
 

I plan to follow this finishing schedule
 

sand fine, (maybe it seems sanded to a higher grit than my last kit from them)

Couple of lacquer wash coats

Grain fill

seal coats

tint coat

more clear

ok enough rambling   Pics and obligatory pic of the special I made 2 years ago


thiss the special I did.   Way to many coats of tru oil   

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and the new kit

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Great idea! The body has very nice grain. What can be said about an Explorer anyway? They are my preferred guitar shape. Are you having any ideas for the pickups already?

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26 minutes ago, gorch said:

Great idea! The body has very nice grain. What can be said about an Explorer anyway? They are my preferred guitar shape. Are you having any ideas for the pickups already?

This will my first explorer shaped guitar.   Gravelin Charlottes are slotted to go in. Already have em. could be crazy and order some tv Jones filtertrons and adapter rings.  
the grain is nicer than I expected.   I might have to contact Stike.    Get this done properly.   

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 That looks great!  I keep an eye on their Facebook group but haven’t yet pulled the trigger on a v or explorer.  

 Question.  Did you have to make special request to get one with clean grain like that?   
 

 

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4 hours ago, DaveL said:

 That looks great!  I keep an eye on their Facebook group but haven’t yet pulled the trigger on a v or explorer.  

 Question.  Did you have to make special request to get one with clean grain like that?   
 

 

I didn’t, but I think some streaking is too be expected normally.   I’m sure they could fulfill that request though.  I did have it made to order instead of one of the off the shelf kits.  It is 3 piece though.  
 

the one bit of character on it

 


 

 

image.jpg

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Awesome!  Loved that special you posted a pic of before. Will definitely be following the build on this one. Can’t wait for in process and finished pics. 

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13 hours ago, Ua D said:

This will my first explorer shaped guitar.   Gravelin Charlottes are slotted to go in. Already have em. could be crazy and order some tv Jones filtertrons and adapter rings.  
the grain is nicer than I expected.   I might have to contact Stike.    Get this done properly.   

Or, you may want to talk to Josh about a pair of his Gravitrons.   Just a thought.  

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3 hours ago, ptm1diver said:

Or, you may want to talk to Josh about a pair of his Gravitrons.   Just a thought.  

Well duh, how come I didn’t think of that first. Of course he makes a tron.     We’llsee, I’m still leaning towards the charlottes I got though for now.  

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7 hours ago, scottcald said:

Man, that looks cool.  Maybe (or definitely) I'm a doofus, but on that first one you did, why is the neck pickup not at the neck as it is on the explorer one?

Cuz that’s how the old school specials where with P90’s. Hamers necks are further into the body, the 22nd fret is into the body and inch or so.   On Gibson’s which these kits are modeled after the fretboard ends at the body (I prefer the hamer method), and there wouldn’t be enough wood to glue together at the joint and  the joint would be too weak.   I was expecting it be up against the neck when I ordered it but this is how they come from PGK.    I’ve gotten used to it.  

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19 hours ago, BTMN said:

That Baby's Gonna Rawk!!! Love the grain to the main body board. B)

 

ETA: No guard please. ;)

 I ordered it rear routed so if I didn’t want one I could rock it without.   🤘 
I have a big blank of tortoise w/b/w in case I want something different and a white one if I want classic.  
 

also neck all glued up, hopefully I’ll get all the little bits done this week and Sunday I can put some sealer coats on it.   

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6 hours ago, DaveH said:

Looks nice... Where does the quality fall in with other manufacturers like Warmoth, etc.?

I’d rate it about the same from warmoth for the body work and cnc shaping and sanding.  Plus you get a set neck which they don’t offer.   I think the woods are of a higher quality at a better price point than warmoth.    I’ve had warmoth and USACG stuff in the past.  Id say the fretwork is a bit better for the precision guitar kits also.  You do get a lot more options through warmoth, like nut width, scale, headstock shape,and more.   If you have the skills, I think a PGK could give you an equivalent quality guitar of a nice usa factory set neck guitar, vs many of the other cheap kits out there, which  I think would take a lot of skill and work to get an equivalent to a mid range import guitar.   IMO a full build from a high end luthier or smaller quality brand would outshine any kit put together by the the same top notch luthier.  I.e. I don’t think I could fully replicate my hamers even if I had a professional assemble and finish these.   I  have really come to appreciate  the true craftsman who build guitars. Still, I enjoy these projects and they are better than the budget minded attempts from Gibson .  All that being said, by the time you add up hardware, pickups, and the kit price, along with finishing products (sand paper, lacquer, tints,), the price is likely to get close to a decent Hamer Studio.   Standard prices are crazy high though(maybe not high  but out of my range it seems), and I really wanted the mix of woods and bridge type i chose in my first build.  At least this is my justification  

sorry long post ranting post.  Little too much Vitamin R.   Short of it, I’ve sold the warmoths in the past and the USACG neck I had.  The PGK I did up is still here and I play it a lot.  I hope this one is the same.  Either way you better like sanding.  And more sanding. Did you say you like to spend your free time sanding. Cool how about more sanding?

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

The Limba on this guitar is nice enough I contacted Stike about finishing it. 
 

Stike is Very busy and not taking on new orders until September.  I almost thought about waiting, but I have the materials already so I decided to press forward. Got to start some time.  

built me a little temporary spray booth on the back porch.  (Righ next to my garage door so easy to get the hose and gun in there.  
 

did some spray testing then decided to give it a go.  
 

Initial impression, Guns are way easier than a can so far.  We will see after the wash costs go on , how much amber I need to add to the clear.   
 

 

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