Dub's Wacky Project Guitars Thread--we're baaaaaack

[dubkitty]

wow, i didn’t expect that to show up. methinks there’s been behind-the-scenes upgrades/updates.

that last page makes me slightly dizzy because there’s so much different activity that it confuses me slightly, and i’m the person who did all that shit.

[dubkitty]

i went ahead and drilled various holes in the Lido body, and it went really well. turns out the correct bit for Fender pickguard screws and vintage bridge screws fits it the Dremel, which is far easier to use than the full-sized drill. i used a smaller bit to score pilot holes in the center of the hole tracings, which also improved my accuracy. i still have to do the strap buttons and, when it arrives, the jack plate. i’ll have to take the bridge back off so i can move the edge of the pickup cavity closer to the neck…with the bridge aligned with the string-through holes it’s about 3 to 4 mm too far south. having used the Dremel to embiggen the control cavity in the Kondor body it shouldn’t be a problem. by the time i do that the rest of the parts will be here.

i also mounted the bridge plate on the green Squier body and managed to get it aligned correctly without redrilling anything, which is a big relief. i need to trim back the pickguard just a bit at the end of the neck pocket so the neck will fit flush against it before i drill the mounting holes in the neck heel, but that’s like 20 minutes of work with a craft knife. i always appreciate using pre-owned Fender bodies because all the screw holes are already drilled.

[dubkitty]

i had to fit the neck to the Tele to see how it looks. i’m liking this more and more as i go.

[dubkitty]

and a duo shot. or perhaps a double shot.

[dubkitty]

moved over to the Galaxiemaster today, preparing to drill the neck mounting holes. i’d previously cut three shims for the sides of the neck pocket which is wider than the heel, but when i fitted it together it needed a fourth shim. with two on each side there shouldn’t be any issues. with the shims it’s tight enough that the shims slipped forward as it got tight, so i glued them together and then glued the paired shims in place. this should be OK because i used small amounts of wood glue which will be easily removed if necessary. i’m going to let it dry overnight and work on it more tomorrow.

i want to get all three of the current Fender-oid projects into husk form so i can see that i’m making progress. while i’m about it i’ll also do the strap buttons and mount the Bigsby. the straight sides of the tremolo rout will make it easy to position accurately. i might get Pickguardian to make a plate to cover the rout from the same material as the pickguard. it’s getting close to time to work out the final pickguard design and layout, which makes me nervous.

i think i’m going to work up the wiring for the rotary switch well before the wiring gets done, so it’s out of the way. i could possibly do the entire wiring loom as well, leaving enough slack for placement. i decided that doing the volume on the upper bout doesn’t require that much wire so i think i’m going back to that arrangement, though the all-in-one-place’s simplicity appeals as does revising the lower part of the pickguard design. i don’t have to decide immediately. with the neck and Bigsby on i should be able to evaluate the necessary bridge height so i can consider my options. though i really hate the idea of doing the drilling i’m mulling using the studs that came with the Musima bridge which would require less fiddling than some form of archtop base. the only advantage to an archtop base would be having space for piezos under the bridge body, and since i still haven’t heard a Oyster or Graphtech demo that appealed i’m giving up for now. i think the method of starting with small holes done with the Dremel will help me get them straight.

[dubkitty]

since the Galaxiemaster body is unmarked it’ll make a perfect place to use ferrules on the neck bolts rather than a plate. i wanted to do that with the Tele, but there’s an impression from the neck plate.

i’ll need to remove some wood from the back of the body rout so i can get the bridge pickup a little closer to the bridge…in all the Höfner photos i’ve seen it’s well closer to the bridge as can be seen in the photos. i won’t be able to get it as close as the one example, but probably can ballpark the distance from the other photo with the mute in front of the bridge.

that one definitely would fall afoul of my reality rule: don’t wear anything cooler than you are.

[dubkitty]

i went ahead and drilled the neck for the bolts, using the simple method of using a bit that’s the right size and going through the existing neck bolt holes in the body. it should be about as straight as it can get. i used the big file to smooth and straighten the edges of the pocket, which were a bit uneven where the back of the pocket was removed.

i can’t really leave the neck mounted until the ferrules get here, but i can position it with a couple of bolts and measure the 25.5” scale to place the bridge mounting studs. i put one shim in the neck pocket to get a bit of neck angle, and might have to go to two; i won’t know for sure until the bridge is in. but we’re zipping right along.

i also drilled the holes for the strap button screws, though they need the felt washers that are part of today’s delivery both because the areas they’re mounted aren’t flat (and in the case of the back button FAR from flat) and thus the washers are a must. i might just go ahead and do the bridge studs today…if i do that and the Bigsby there won’t be much left other than drawing and ordering the pickguard and the plate that’ll go under the Bigsby. that plate won’t go between the Bigsby and the body; rather, it’ll fit between the horseshoe rails and screw down at the front (2 screws) and rear (one screw centered in the curve). it should be fun seeing people trying to guess What’s Under The Plate. still tempted to try the Vintage Colt thing of putting springs in there for Strat-like faux reverb, but i’d need shorter, and probably floppier, ones because Strat tremolo springs are too long. too bad i don’t have a dead reverb tank. obviously there’s also nerveracking amounts of wiring.

after having the neck, body, and other bits and pieces sitting around for literal years it’s strange to see it suddenly start happening. the only other thing that’ll be weirder to get done with is the Double Jet. i’ll get a picture of the body when i’ve drilled everything and put the bridge and tailpiece on.

[dubkitty]

i got the bridge and Bigsby mounted. the bridge isn’t perfectly straight, but i reckon it’ll do. i guess one hole walked slightly while going through repeated drill passes with gradually increasing diameters, which was necessary because you can’t go straight into a finished surface with a 3/8” bit without chewing up the surface. the Bigsby is better. the straight edges of the tremolo rout were easy to use to line up the tension bar. i checked the string path and there’s plenty of room either way to set the bridge height. the package with the felt washers and the neck plate and jack plate for the Tele is waiting downstairs, along with the 8-position rotary switch. after i bring them up i’ll install the felts on the strap buttons, temp mount the neck, and take some pictures.

[dubkitty]

or perhaps i should have said “a picture.” it may not be perfect, but it’s badass. next thing here will be designing the pickguard. as noted above i’ll need to move the back of the body rout about 8 mm towards the bridge to get the bridge pickup into a better position. there’s really no good way to correct the bridge position so i guess it’ll just bother me forever. at least there’s plenty of room to adjust the intonation. the felt washers worked perfectly to get the lower strap button lined up so it’s perpendicular to the center axis. so that’s THREE Fender-oids in partially-assembled status. i think that’s enough for one day. next thing will be shaving the edges of the Tele pickguard so it doesn’t lap over the edges of the neck pocket, and then drilling and mounting the mahogany neck.

[dubkitty]

shifting gears again, i did some thinking on the Esquire. i ordered different capacitors for the Eldred mod because the .0016 i used didn’t sound great. trying to simplify things, i watched a video where a guy tested different capacitor options and i decided i liked the stock Eldred 3300 pf the best, so i ordered a batch of five silver mica caps…one cap was $7.95, while five go for $11 so it seemed a no-brainer especially given my less-than-fab wiring skills. the caps will be about a week getting here, approximately when the ferrules get here. at that point i won’t really have an excuse not to put it together. i guess this would be a good point to test the soldering station which STILL is in the box, not unpacked. it still needs the pickup rout opened up and the fingerboard sanded, but this one could be finished this weekend.

before i do that i’ll get the neck mounted to the Tele so i can get a picture of My Three Husks.

[dubkitty]

scraping down the Tele pickguard so it’s clear of the neck pocket was tedious but worked well. unfortunately when i went to actually install the neck it turns out that i need a notch in the body and pickguard for the spoke-wheel
truss rod adjuster, so that’s set back for now because i don’t have enough time today. i’ll work on the Esquire instead, since i now have the jack plate. if i’m feeling ambitious i could extend the pickup rout so the pickup fits properly, but that might also fall victim to time concerns.

[dubkitty]

did the Esquire stuff. turns out that poplar, being much harder than the mahogany Kondor body, wouldn’t grind down with the Dremel so i had to chisel out the front of the pickup rout so it’d fit since the pickup and string-through holes are too close together and moving the holes wasn’t an option. no major visible fuckups so i’m good with it. next i want to do the fretboard because it makes more sense than doing the wiring before i’ll be able to string it up. the jack plate is a bit lightweight but will do. the ferrules are shipped, but no tracking yet.

[dubkitty]

the obvious implication is that i’m also going to have to chisel out the neck pickup cavity in the Squier body as well as the end of the body rout and whatever other changes i make to the Galaxiemaster controls. oh, fun.

[dubkitty]

i suppose i’ll do the necessary work to get the Squier body to work with the heel-mounted spoke-wheel truss adjuster today…i didn’t realize when i got it that the wheel is set into a 22nd-fret overhang. shouldn’t be horribly difficult, but still a pain in the ass.

decided to change the Esquire knobs to white Russian Big Muff knobs from Small Bear, and the switch tip to white. i think that’ll work better with the light color and white pickguard. i’ll take the neck back off before doing the wiring because it’s much easier handling just the body.

[Blackened Soul]

Fun times!
I’ve been down that road a few times…
I like the look.