Precision Guitar Kits SG Special Project

[PAFHumbucker]

As SatelliteDog noted the old PGK SG kit is back and I ordered a kit about a month ago and she arrived yesterday.

One piece body, 59 neck with dot inlays and binding, ebony headstock overlay, and a double p90 route. I'll be drilling the holes for the wraparound bridge bushings myself. I didn't want the offset holes and they could drill the offset holes or leave them off. I'm going to throw a batwing pickguard on her.

The plan is ebony grain filler > cherry stain > tru oil.

Step 1. Glue the neck. Now I'll let it sit for 2-3 days while Alex Ovechkin stands guard.

One slight change is the headstock doesn't have the open book nib in the middle anymore.

 

[PixMix]

A great looking piece of mahogany you got there. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress.

 

[Huntroll]

It's always a challenge to drill that long thin hole to the bridge bushing for the ground wire.

Good luck with it !

 

[Satellitedog]

Yeah!

 

[syscokid]

As SatelliteDog noted the old PGK SG kit is back and I ordered a kit about a month ago and she arrived yesterday.

One piece body, 59 neck with dot inlays and binding, ebony headstock overlay, and a double p90 route. I'll be drilling the holes for the wraparound bridge bushings myself. I didn't want the offset holes and they could drill the offset holes or leave them off.

What a cool project, and it's nice to see PGK offering a more Gibson-ish style on their SG's again. Congrats... .

Good choice on the ebony overlay. I really believe this is a better material for an overlay than the old fiberboard style.

On drilling your own bushing holes...: Was there an option with PGK to have those bushing holes drilled the way you want?

 

[PAFHumbucker]

What a cool project, and it's nice to see PGK offering a more Gibson-ish style on their SG's again. Congrats... .

Good choice on the ebony overlay. I really believe this is a better material for an overlay than the old fiberboard style.

On drilling your own bushing holes...: Was there an option with PGK to have those bushing holes drilled the way you want?

Thanks. Your thread from a few years back sold me on the ebony overlay with Tru-Oil.

I asked if they could drill the bridge holes parallel to the pickups and they said they could either drill them offset or not at all which I found a bit weird.

 

[Joncaster]

That's awesome!
I've been eyeing PGK's DC junior for far too long now, and noticed their SG shape now looks like the older one,
So now i'm dreaming about both, haha.
Good luck with the project!

 

[syscokid]

I asked if they could drill the bridge holes parallel to the pickups and they said they could either drill them offset or not at all which I found a bit weird.

That really is a bit weird. I'm assuming that CNC machines are used to drill the post holes. Should have been and easy adjustment to the CNC's parameters, even if PGK charged $50 for the option. But WTF do I know...

 

[PAFHumbucker]

Yeah I would have gladly shelled out 50 bucks for them to drill the holes for me. Now that the neck is glued I'm measuring, re-measuring, measuring again...and repeating that entire process before drilling the bridge holes.

Hello OCD my old friend...

 

[Huntroll]

I would say to mount the batwing pickguard and transfer the bushing locations from that but . . .

Since its a p90 guitar with a STOP TAIL bridge, that BATWING pickguard is going to be a TALL order.

A tall CUSTOM order.

Although I found this pic in the media folder -

Cream through black does look cool !

And I can see why you'd want the bridge parallel .

 

[papagayo]

Great! I will Watch this thread.

 

[Joncaster]

I'm curious, may I ask why you want a wraparound parallel?
To use an intonateable one?

 

[PAFHumbucker]

I would say to mount the batwing pickguard and transfer the bushing locations from that but . . .

Since its a p90 guitar with a STOP TAIL bridge, that BATWING pickguard is going to be a TALL order.

A tall CUSTOM order.

Although I found this pic in the media folder -

Cream through black does look cool !

And I can see why you'd want the bridge parallel .

I picked up a completely blank SG pickguard and I'm going to use my router and p90 templates make a custom guard myself. I had to drill out the holes for a new guard for my SG Special Humbucker which has a wraparound bridge. That was easy though since I could use the old one ply guard as a template. I'm using that pickguard somewhat as a guide. The scale length matches up with the PGK SG.

I'm curious, may I ask why you want a wraparound parallel?
To use an intonateable one?

It is really an aesthetic thing. I love the look of 60s SGs with the parallel lightening bar bridge, batwing pickguard, and p90 pickups. It is just a classic looking guitar IMO.

 

[PAFHumbucker]

I haven't made much progress this week other than playing around with where the bridge studs should go and mocking up the placement of the bridge.

I did pickup some vintage 60s grover tuners from the bay to throw on her.

 

[Joncaster]

Ahh, sorry i missed the batwing part, that all makes sense now haha.
Batwing FTW!

 

[Huntroll]

I urge you to research all the options as far as a bridge goes.
I wouldn't necessarily go with a bushing mounted unit.
I would look for a lower, rectangular, adjustable, plate or strat type of sorts.
And not be hindered or limited by the bushings.
Then shim it up as needed with ebony or whatever.

 

[PAFHumbucker]

The holes for the bushings are drilled. I tried out a 7/16 bit on a piece of scrap wood first and the bushings were too loose. I went with a 27/64 bit and the test fit was good.

Turns out the hole they drilled to run the wires through the pickup cavity goes partially through the treble bushing hole. That makes life a bit easier.

 

[Huntroll]

Lookin' good.
Can't wait to see the finish and pickguard on it !

 

[PAFHumbucker]

I put on some wash coats of ebony grain filler to darken the pores and raise the grain. I sanded with 320 to smooth things out and the dying has commenced.

I'm using a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner with Colortone stain. After applying a few light coats of cherry I added a few drops of mahogany to the mix.

She's hanging out in the basement at the moment.

 

[PAFHumbucker]

I was playing around with the HDR settings on my phone. This is probably the closest to what it looks like in the flesh.