flying v – the final chapter

It’s finished. December 2020, I took delivery of a Solo Gear guitar kit – Flying V - all the parts. Like a model airplane but instead of a plane, a full-size guitar. I figured it would be fun to build with the help of my friend Kevin Gullion of The New Vintage. There were delays - COVID19; he got busy; I got busy. In recent weeks, we finally finished painting. That left assembly. Kev did the wiring. That was tough. I put on tuning pegs. That’s the easiest job. Truth be told, with all the add-ons and upgrades I probably could have bought one cheaper, but it was fun to learn, and I ended up with a cool guitar in the end.     

green flying v

Flying V sessions 5 + 6. Where does the time go? Summer holidays and life in general put my V guitar on hold. We’re now in the home stretch. I have made two recent visits to my friend Kevin’s workshop. Kevin makes The New Vintage brand guitars. Painting and sanding have been happening. I picked a satin military style green which will look great next to the tortoise shell pickguard. We sprayed, waited, and sprayed, and repeated. A week later I came back to sand with fancy 800 grit paper. We resumed the spray and wait thing, this time with clear coat. It looks smooth and fancy. Kevin used some tricks to cover some flaws. It’s not perfect but it will have mojo. We have more treatments planned for the body, then assembly. Stay tuned.   

flying v guitar prep

Flying V guitar session No. 4. My kit is closer to being a guitar. Kevin, of New Vintage Custom Guitars, said the next step is to mock-up the guitar to make sure everything fits. Before that, the new pickguard needed to be cut. That was all Kev. He’s highly skilled around band and scroll saws. He traced it and expertly cut it out, plus other bits, from the tortoise shell material. It’s multi-ply plastic. No tortoise was harmed. We then mounted most of the parts and drilled holes where the strings will pass through the body. It all fits together. Perfect. It almost looks like the guitar it’s going to be, except for the colour. After a couple of weeks off, the painting will begin.  

sanding the v guitar

Body before and after sanding and scrap of painted mahogany.

Will the sanding ever end? Session No. 3 on the Flying V kit involved a palm sized power sander to flatten wood plugs on the body. Two holes remain for the bridge. Now you can’t feel the plugs. You can see them, but they’ll be hidden when the guitar is finished. Kevin, of TNV Custom Guitars, tells me the body came with grain sealer so the next step was to sand the body – 400, then 1200 grit sandpaper to make it smooth for painting. I pushed the paper all over the V to make it smooth. It will eventually be army green. We tested paint on a scrap of mahogany. Next session, we’ll spray clear coat on the scrap to make sure it’ll work and mock up the guitar before we paint the body.

flying v guitar update

Sanding the Flying V headstock and neck.

Session No. 2 on the Flying V kit. Two vaccines for Kevin and me so we’re up close and personal. Sanding and more sanding to make sure the neck is smooth, 200 grit, 400 grit, 1200 grit. Also, touch ups plugging tiny nicks in the wood so they become invisible. One special job is rounding off the top of the headstock. (see photo) Guitar kits come with angular headstocks to avoid a Gibson lawsuit. A minute on the sander and it has that classic V look. We are going a little rogue on the design. Changing the bridge and making a custom pickguard so some plugged holes on the body were required. Glued in some wood. It has to set. Ready for session three – sanding the body.  

Check out Kevin’s custom guitar website - The New Vintage

my aussie tenor

I have never been to Jupiter Creek, Australia, but I own the guitar, a tenor guitar. I bought it about 10 years ago on Ebay. One of the attractions was the large Australian penny embedded in the body. I’ve always been intrigued by tenors – four strings, sometimes tuned like the high four of a six-string but there are many tunings. Vintage ones are expensive and rare, like the Gibson played by Neko Case. The one I bought was relatively cheap. I recently had it cleaned and set up. It plays like a charm. I finally learned its origin story. It was handmade by Rob Dick which makes me love it even more. If memory serves, the seller said it was the first tenor Rob made. I wish I could ask him.