Töpex happens - LGRP weeks 38 & 39

For those of you not yet familiar with the term Töpex it is used when one out of carelessness or bad fortune makes a move which causes harm or ruin to a part of an instrument. A bit further down the post you will find a couple of examples.

But into what's been going on since last time. Since the neck joints are pretty much fitted there was cause to check some important lines and measures to be in place.

Then work on the 16" radiuses.

And of course sanding, sanding and more sanding and some more sanding on the necks and also bodies to prepare for the finishing.

And this is where we find out the first Töpex. This was caused by me dropping the body from the vacuum pump suction cup earlier in the spring. I thought I got away with just a scare on that one but sanding brought out cracks on the bottom. Well luckily they were quite small so a little glue and pressure did the job.

With a mahogany neck preparation for the finishing most often requires the pores to be filled. This time I felt going for the egg whites approach and went to work. All looked well but when the egg whites dried I realized the bubinga had leaked colour and now coloured all of the mahogany purple. First I thought "Oh cool it is closer to the bubinga colour now and will work". Until I started sanding and the colour came off unevenly and the neck was all blotchy.

So I spent quite some time sanding the color away especially sanding the slots was really a blast.

Third time is a charm also in the world of Töpex and this one really gave me a scare. I was checking the radius on my cherry guitar and somehow managed to drop the neck onto the top of the body so that sharp edge of the fingerboard dented it. This fix took some more thinking & TLC than the ones before but with the help of my teacher and some fellow students it got solved. To look on the bright side of things many lessons learned in the process and an original beauty mark now on the guitar.

After surprisingly sanding all of Friday morning I was thinking maybe I should just go home and start the finishing on Monday but gathered myself and now the bodies and necks rest for the weekend in the drying room with the base coat on. After all the excitement this feels like a good moment :)