Watching a bunch of your videos this morning reminds me of something: Don’t rush. You’re always careful and chill when working and your results are always excellent. This is supposed to be a relaxed, fun, creative process. Thanks for reminding me of that.
Been watching guitar building on UA-cam sites from all over the world. David Fletcher is by far the most informative and no nonsense builder bar none. 6 months ago I'd struggle to restring a guitar but now I'm on my fourth project. A Strat Style, 2 Les Paul Styles and a PBass. Dave Fletcher's You Tube Video's have been excellent in providing all aspects of guitar building techniques and I sincerely appreciate his help with my projects. Been a Bass player since I was sixteen, now if only I could play guitar!
thanks. There are a lot of people that charge to show what you do.-I thank you for doing this for free. I have missed your videos. I have learned a lot from you. I have built a few guitars now and several strat necks for people and it is all because of you. Thanks again. You do amazing work.
Old bluejeans are great for burnishing. I'd also suggest that if viewers are using lacquer thinner for their dyes that they consider a respirator if their shop isn't absolutely wide open with forced airflow. Even denatured alcohol can get pretty whiffy if you're leaning over it on a work surface. Gorgeous work as always, David.
that's a wonderful video that gives great visual references to the sorts of results a home builder can get with a little effort and patience.Well done and thank you!
You sir have inspired me to craft my own guitar and possibly turn my woodshop into a Luthier shop!! I found your videos very informative and I had very few questions if any due to your ability to explain everything so clearly. You sir are an Artisan of the truest form of the word an artist and teacher.
I thought I have seen all your videos. Guess I missed this one. I have built a tele style guitar, and used your videos as a guide. I am in process of applying tru oil. To the neck and body and wanted to find out how to finish it. You have answered that question. Thanks for all the info you have provided!
Great video, I LOVE Tru oil. I u8sed to mess around with PU and it was always flattening coats, removing drips and lumps. Tru oil hardly ever makes a drip, only if you really put on too much. I like to do the first layer of Tru oil on bare wood with a brush to soak it in, after that I will switch to thin layers with a small cloth.
I used this same method for the necks! ...then after each string change I dab a bit of good quality lemon oil on a scrap pics of T-shirt ...not only does it clean the wood naturally .but protects the hard work building up the layers of finish...also it acts as a moisturizer as well ...but just use a tiny dot per fret area...then wipe away....love the smell too!😀
I dunno if you've discovered this since, mate, but if you mix your tru oil with armor-all about 50/50, the oil cures almost immediately. Instead of a 12 hour dry time its more like 5 - 30 (depending on your mix, how heavy you applied, the method you applied, how saturated the wood already is, etc) minutes. I've put 31 coats of tru oil on the top of this archtop over the last day and a half.
Good results using miniwax natural wood finish, not water clean-up. Oil based wood finish and quick drying finish. Add the colortone stain drops to a small amount of. Miniwax natural wood finish. 50 drops +/- of miniwax wood finish and add 10 drops of stain. Mix as best you can and incorporate stain onto your application pad. Apply by hand paying attention to achieving the desired coverage and uniformity of density of color across the guitar surface to avoid unwanted patchiness. The miniwax wood finish provides a thicker medium in which to suspend the tint pigments. The commercial wood finish wool not absorb into the sanded wood surface as rapidly as tint thinned with paint thinner or water. The much thicker consistency of the wood finish/stain mixture slows down the absorption of the tint into blotchy spots where the grain is softer and more spongelike. The thicker medium instead of paint thinner provides you with greater control over the quality and distribution of your tinted stain finish. This method is useful when you encounter work pieces made of more than 1 type of wood because different wood types have different absorption properties. And you also may want to even out the depth that the stain reached into the wood surface, levelling out the coverage and density of the color distribution.
Great work, thx for this....just doing my first tru oil project on a Warmoth Tele neck, previous owner had not finished the back of the neck and it felt rough and was getting dirty. I followed your suggestions and it's working great
Long time no see, glad to hear from you, obviously you got lots of work, no wonder, very instructive and educational vids you`re posting, with potensial of giving your followers high skills....thanks a bunch, man!
Very helpfull I bought some of the white timbermate too use as grain filler but I didnt know I could thin it out with water thats awesome im also going too add a few drops of trans tint so I can get the dark grain lines like you did, Thanj you from America Stay safe & God Bless..
Thank you Fletcher. Hugely informative and I intend to use your methods for my (first) guitar kit build. Looking forward to checking out your other vids too. Cheers!
My god fletcher you uploaded, thank you. Im thinking about on taking the journey to my first build. went back to some of your videos and im glad youre ok.
Hey! great videos, i can see your channel instead of netflix XD.. i have a question, is there any substitute or similar product to the tru oil? here where i live is imposible to find it.. thanks!
To get right up to the frets when adding the stain, you could maybe use a credit card wrapped in the cloth you're using. Use like a brush working back and forth between each fret.
Don't you need a protective lacquer coat first before the filler??? I used dark brown timber mate on my first experience finishing Ash, nicely popping the grain. I forgot to shoot it with lacquer first, it stained the white grain all to hell, so I had to sand it for days to get it out. The second try I gave it a nice thick protective lacquer coat first and it worked great. If I do it again I'll certainly use Timber Mate again - and NOT forget the protective coat. Good stuff.
Just a word on those non-slip mats you have the neck resting on. I refinished a Tele recently with nitro and it 'fish-eyed' on the back in exactly the pattern of the non-slip material. Really enjoy the videos by the way. I've learned loads from them. Thanks.
Nice work and glad you're back! Just when I planned to build a guitar from a bubinga blank and do the finish with danish oil. That's probably going to look a lot like this stained mahogany in terms of color.
Mr. Fletcher. I really enjoyed this video and you reinforced the basic techniques of wood finishing whether or not it's a guitar, coffee table, cigar humidor. I have been a woodworker all my life, as well as my father, and grandfather and this is exactly how I was taught. I look forward to my first guitar build, and will definitely keep referring back to this video. Thank you for all you do!
Hey Fletcher,looking forward to seeing your next video.id love to see you do a tele style guitar with a set neck and 2 humbuckers set up with 2 volume and 2 tone and tuneomatic bridge and tailpiece.that would be awesome.and I know you would make a great one.cheers brother
Exceptional video. Thanks for sharing, I’m embarking on a similar journey and has answered almost all of my questions.. curious as to why you chose danish oil over tru oil for the body?
Great video mate! I have a very important question that I hope you could address... I have tru oiled my neck like you did here but( I followed your directions to a tee,except for the wax) I would like to apply a waterslide decal on the headstock. My question is...can I apply tru oil over a waterslide decal? thanks in advance!
Hi Fletcher, love your channel! Is it better to use Laquer thinner as opposed to water for mixing the stain? I found it hard to get an even stain using water. I´m assuming the wood doesn´t absorb as much on the end grain when using laquer thinner.. Would mineral spirits work just as well?
There's no reason to put Danish oil on real thin, the first 1-3 coats depending on the wood will absorb it like a sponge. I just did a shelf made of dense white oak and man that absorbed it all the way to the fourth coat, heavy ones too
I strip off the horrid polyurethane finish off most of my guitar necks. Birchwood & Casey Tru Oil and Wax are my go-to every time. Just cleaned up my Ernie Ball Music Man neck in a very similar manner!
It's necessary to mention that this method can be used only!!!! if your neck or whatever is sanded extremely accurate. If any tiny scratch is left after sanding your stain will get in there an will look terrible.
Watching a bunch of your videos this morning reminds me of something: Don’t rush. You’re always careful and chill when working and your results are always excellent. This is supposed to be a relaxed, fun, creative process. Thanks for reminding me of that.
Been watching guitar building on UA-cam sites from all over the world.
David Fletcher is by far the most informative and no nonsense builder bar none.
6 months ago I'd struggle to restring a guitar but now I'm on my fourth project.
A Strat Style, 2 Les Paul Styles and a PBass.
Dave Fletcher's You Tube Video's have been excellent in providing all aspects of guitar
building techniques and I sincerely appreciate his help with my projects.
Been a Bass player since I was sixteen, now if only I could play guitar!
That's beautiful. I'm gonna do that to my Squier VMJ 5.
Fantastic result!! Thanks for taking time to show all of us how!! You almost have to be a mad scientist mixing colors and thinners! Great info!!
Fletcher Handcrafted Guitars makes me wonder whether there's a Luthier Handcrafted Arrows.
thanks. There are a lot of people that charge to show what you do.-I thank you for doing this for free. I have missed your videos. I have learned a lot from you. I have built a few guitars now and several strat necks for people and it is all because of you. Thanks again. You do amazing work.
You have given me the confidence to apply my on finish. I like the hand rubbed and buffed finished with oil...
Thank you for sharing.
The most gorgeous neck finish I’ve seen demonstrated.
Very well spoken. I like the way you demonstrate and explain what you are doing along with the reasoning behind it. Very well done!
Old bluejeans are great for burnishing.
I'd also suggest that if viewers are using lacquer thinner for their dyes that they consider a respirator if their shop isn't absolutely wide open with forced airflow. Even denatured alcohol can get pretty whiffy if you're leaning over it on a work surface.
Gorgeous work as always, David.
that's a wonderful video that gives great visual references to the sorts of results a home builder can get with a little effort and patience.Well done and thank you!
I used your video to tru oil a tele neck for a project and I am VERY HAPPY with how it turned out ! THANK YOU VERY MUCH !
Lovely attention to detail, I love the way that you even clean up the routed cavities on the body!
I followed this schedule on mahogany using leather dye and wipe on poly and got a spectacular finish. Thanx Mr. Fletcher.
fantastic video, my son and I have just got guitar kits for Christmas and we will surely refer to your videos. Thanks much!!
You sir have inspired me to craft my own guitar and possibly turn my woodshop into a Luthier shop!! I found your videos very informative and I had very few questions if any due to your ability to explain everything so clearly. You sir are an Artisan of the truest form of the word an artist and teacher.
I thought I have seen all your videos. Guess I missed this one. I have built a tele style guitar, and used your videos as a guide. I am in process of applying tru oil. To the neck and body and wanted to find out how to finish it. You have answered that question. Thanks for all the info you have provided!
Great video, I LOVE Tru oil. I u8sed to mess around with PU and it was always flattening coats, removing drips and lumps. Tru oil hardly ever makes a drip, only if you really put on too much. I like to do the first layer of Tru oil on bare wood with a brush to soak it in, after that I will switch to thin layers with a small cloth.
Glad to see something from you - your vids are always full of really useful info, thanks!
I used this same method for the necks! ...then after each string change I dab a bit of good quality lemon oil on a scrap pics of T-shirt ...not only does it clean the wood naturally .but protects the hard work building up the layers of finish...also it acts as a moisturizer as well ...but just use a tiny dot per fret area...then wipe away....love the smell too!😀
Wow, the best guitar finishing video i have seen on UA-cam. Very well done, sir.
That tru oil sure pulls the figure out, absolutely beautiful!
Thanks for sharing!
Welcome back man! You are the best luthier in the world. Love your videos!
Greetings from Italy
I dunno if you've discovered this since, mate, but if you mix your tru oil with armor-all about 50/50, the oil cures almost immediately. Instead of a 12 hour dry time its more like 5 - 30 (depending on your mix, how heavy you applied, the method you applied, how saturated the wood already is, etc) minutes. I've put 31 coats of tru oil on the top of this archtop over the last day and a half.
Good info. I never knew you had to rise the grine before you apploy the stein.
Good results using miniwax natural wood finish, not water clean-up. Oil based wood finish and quick drying finish. Add the colortone stain drops to a small amount of. Miniwax natural wood finish. 50 drops +/- of miniwax wood finish and add 10 drops of stain. Mix as best you can and incorporate stain onto your application pad. Apply by hand paying attention to achieving the desired coverage and uniformity of density of color across the guitar surface to avoid unwanted patchiness.
The miniwax wood finish provides a thicker medium in which to suspend the tint pigments. The commercial wood finish wool not absorb into the sanded wood surface as rapidly as tint thinned with paint thinner or water. The much thicker consistency of the wood finish/stain mixture slows down the absorption of the tint into blotchy spots where the grain is softer and more spongelike. The thicker medium instead of paint thinner provides you with greater control over the quality and distribution of your tinted stain finish.
This method is useful when you encounter work pieces made of more than 1 type of wood because different wood types have different absorption properties. And you also may want to even out the depth that the stain reached into the wood surface, levelling out the coverage and density of the color distribution.
Good to see you back Mr Fletcher... like the sealy bag trick
To this day, Fletcher's guitar vids are still the best.
Great work, thx for this....just doing my first tru oil project on a Warmoth Tele neck, previous owner had not finished the back of the neck and it felt rough and was getting dirty. I followed your suggestions and it's working great
I love a maple neck, and your video is exactly why I do. Beautiful.
You're my favourite guitar builder and make the best videos. Thank you, and i hope to see more
Fletcher - nice job on both the guitar and the video, one of the best I have seen. Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely beautiful. I'm just starting a new build and this is exactly the finish I will use. Many thanks Fletcher!
Great to have you back - please keep the videos coming
Thanks for your time
Long time no see, glad to hear from you, obviously you got lots of work, no wonder, very instructive and educational vids you`re posting, with potensial of giving your followers high skills....thanks a bunch, man!
I'd love to see a picture of this all assembled! Thanks for the video. I could have used some of this when finishing my first guitar with true oil!
and he's back! missed your calming voice. please do more!,
Wow! What a good looking fretboard!!
Hi David. Great to see a new (old) video. I just came back form office and thats a great way to start the weekend. Hope everything is ok. Take care.
Very helpfull I bought some of the white timbermate too use as grain filler but I didnt know I could thin it out with water thats awesome im also going too add a few drops of trans tint so I can get the dark grain lines like you did, Thanj you from America Stay safe & God Bless..
Good to see you back !!!! I learnt so much with your videos !!!!! Thanks a lot !
I'm preparing for my first guitar build and this video has been very helpful - thanks a lot!
37:22 minutes of my day very well spent. thanks again fletcher!!
Other guitar finishing videos make me want to do it myself. Yours makes me just want to buy the guitar from you. Good job!
Thank you Fletcher. Hugely informative and I intend to use your methods for my (first) guitar kit build. Looking forward to checking out your other vids too. Cheers!
Really nice work, looks great. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Great work David. Thanks so much for making this video.
My god fletcher you uploaded, thank you. Im thinking about on taking the journey to my first build. went back to some of your videos and im glad youre ok.
Mr Fletcher, good to see you back again. I miss your videos.
Fletcher...like everyone else has said...welcome back. Missed you brother!
Hey! great videos, i can see your channel instead of netflix XD.. i have a question, is there any substitute or similar product to the tru oil? here where i live is imposible to find it.. thanks!
good to see you back, thanks for the tips and greetings from Arizona
To get right up to the frets when adding the stain, you could maybe use a credit card wrapped in the cloth you're using. Use like a brush working back and forth between each fret.
Don't you need a protective lacquer coat first before the filler??? I used dark brown timber mate on my first experience finishing Ash, nicely popping the grain. I forgot to shoot it with lacquer first, it stained the white grain all to hell, so I had to sand it for days to get it out. The second try I gave it a nice thick protective lacquer coat first and it worked great. If I do it again I'll certainly use Timber Mate again - and NOT forget the protective coat. Good stuff.
Definitely Australia. You can hear the bloody birds in the background :)
David, you really are the best master builder, I hope someday have one of your guitars.
Glad to see you back in action.
Great to see you back, Mr Fletcher! I have missed your videos. Learned a ton from you. Thanks.
Just a word on those non-slip mats you have the neck resting on. I refinished a Tele recently with nitro and it 'fish-eyed' on the back in exactly the pattern of the non-slip material.
Really enjoy the videos by the way. I've learned loads from them. Thanks.
Can the wood still "breathe" and age under the Danish Oil ?
Nice work and glad you're back!
Just when I planned to build a guitar from a bubinga blank and do the finish with danish oil. That's probably going to look a lot like this stained mahogany in terms of color.
Question: Would a decal stick on the headstock? will is work with the "oil"?
after all is finished yes it will stick
Mr. Fletcher. I really enjoyed this video and you reinforced the basic techniques of wood finishing whether or not it's a guitar, coffee table, cigar humidor. I have been a woodworker all my life, as well as my father, and grandfather and this is exactly how I was taught. I look forward to my first guitar build, and will definitely keep referring back to this video. Thank you for all you do!
very very nice indeed . . . . you are a gifted & Uber- Master of your craft Sir .. :)
thank you Fletcher! I wish you filmed more content
Great video. You taught me a few things I was unaware of. I really like the grain on the fretboard. Good job !
This is looking good for such an easy process.
Man I wish you had time to do more vids. Always love watching your work. Always inspirational and entertaining.
Glad you are making videos again, you inspired me to make my first guitar. Many thanks
Cary Marshall can you please tell how did it go? I'm about to start my first project
Your finishes look great and showcase the natural beauty of the wood. Do you have pictures of the guitar assembled?
That fretboard is stunning! Good job!
Hey Fletcher,looking forward to seeing your next video.id love to see you do a tele style guitar with a set neck and 2 humbuckers set up with 2 volume and 2 tone and tuneomatic bridge and tailpiece.that would be awesome.and I know you would make a great one.cheers brother
Awesome content as always! Please post more videos.. They're mesmerizing :)
Fantastic Work !!!. From Spain (Europe), Thank yoy so much for your help.
Thanks, I'm wanting to put together a Partscaster. This video is giving me the confidence to finish it myself. That body came out sweet.
Love your videos, your shop too, super clean!!!! Should make more:)
WOW, what a Beauty man! Nice work, well done.
Excellent how-to video. Much appreciated!
Exceptional video. Thanks for sharing, I’m embarking on a similar journey and has answered almost all of my questions.. curious as to why you chose danish oil over tru oil for the body?
Great video mate! I have a very important question that I hope you could address... I have tru oiled my neck like you did here but( I followed your directions to a tee,except for the wax) I would like to apply a waterslide decal on the headstock. My question is...can I apply tru oil over a waterslide decal? thanks in advance!
Hi, enjoyed the video.. HEADSTOCK DECALS - Can they be used with this finishing method ? If so, at what stage should they be applied ?
Good question!! I’m trying to figure that out myself….
So nice to see a new video! Love your guitars. B.
Fabulous tuition video love it learnt a lot
great looking guitar. i love to see more of your projects.
Hope to see more videos coming out. Always love your work
Hi Fletcher, love your channel! Is it better to use Laquer thinner as opposed to water for mixing the stain? I found it hard to get an even stain using water. I´m assuming the wood doesn´t absorb as much on the end grain when using laquer thinner.. Would mineral spirits work just as well?
There's no reason to put Danish oil on real thin, the first 1-3 coats depending on the wood will absorb it like a sponge. I just did a shelf made of dense white oak and man that absorbed it all the way to the fourth coat, heavy ones too
Fletcher is back woooohooooo
Wow! The neck turned out beautiful. Great job. 👍
another great job,i love the oil finishes,ice been doing alot of teak oil finishes,,hope we see more from you,its been to long
I strip off the horrid polyurethane finish off most of my guitar necks. Birchwood & Casey Tru Oil and Wax are my go-to every time. Just cleaned up my Ernie Ball Music Man neck in a very similar manner!
Thanks for the video. I've got an old 80s Ibanez that needs a freshening up.
I love your Australian accent! welcome back. Always been inspired!
This is super helpful, thank you! You've got a new subscriber.
I've never tried Danish oil, might have to give it a go. Great video Dave!
It's necessary to mention that this method can be used only!!!! if your neck or whatever is sanded extremely accurate. If any tiny scratch is left after sanding your stain will get in there an will look terrible.
Beautiful work and a great video, yet again.
"we're gonna tint it to the culluh that we noid..." heheheh that accent.
Nice vid! Very interesting.
i like it the best of all the accents. at 34:25 he made me crack up.
@@BLOVECU yeah, it's a very strong accent.
Damn dude! Fancy seeing you here! Naturally you would key in on accents. I'm picking up some good finishing tips here. Take care. 🇺🇸⚔️🍕🍺🎸🎸🎸
I strongly prefer the look and feel of that finish then the typical sprayed high gloss finish.
Really nice job, and great explanation at each step.
Thank you very much!