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Justin's guitar


ScottR

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Just about now I'm remembering how delicate shell inlay pieces are. I'm using this small hobby vice to support the part while fine tuning it will tiny files and folded pieces of sandpaper.

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I'm using some adhesive backed vinyl to create my inlay template. Lucky I work at a place that has plenty of scrap of this stuff. I covered the fretboard and used a razor blade to slice the slots of the 12th fret (and 11th).

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I sprayed the back side of the inlay piece with adhesive and placed it where I wanted it. Then I used an exacto knife to trace the edges.

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Peel out the inside and you get a nice high contrast template to route the inlay cavity.

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SR

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The inlay is so wide I was worried about the sanding through the ends while radiusing the fretboard. So first I tested it on an offcut and radiused that. Looks like it will be OK.

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Time to make the real cuts.

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Of course my tiny down spiral router bit broke just before I finished. It was not so difficult finishing the cavity......but it took forever to clean up the inlay and the cavity to get a fit. I marked it way too tight and was not able to cut as accurately as need be for that tight of a fit. I spent several hours snading the inlay and the cavity to make it fit.

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I doused the whole thing with a Zpoxy ebony dust mix and let it cure over night. And had to sand it off the next day.

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SR

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Thanks Stu. I'm thinking Justin is about ready to see it attached to the body too.

I blame it on my dogs. I used to put in an hour or two after work and progress would be somewhat quicker. But since I've gotten two little dogs, I tend to go out in the back yard and play with them after work instead. I mean.....when two living beings are so enthusiastically happy to see you when you arrive home from work, how can you not spend some time with them? The hot damn you're home! feature alone is enough to make dogs worth having.

Time to fret. Always camber the slots to allow for the radius of the fillet on the tang. Simply said this will allow the frets to seat flush to the board.

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Then verify that your slot depth will accommodate the tang.

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I hammer the frets in using this little tool made from an offcut of bubinga. It has a fret sized slot and I just slide it along the fret while tapping with a hammer.

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SR

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I got a picture today of my son and my soon to be daughter in law and the reason the moved to Colorado...they're posing in front of a mountain pass. I think I like the idea of having a daughter in law.....I don't have any daughters..........I've never even had a sister. The poor girl probably has no idea even what to call me.........or what to think of this goofy old fart that poses exotic beers along with his exotic woods. She can call me anything .....but mister. She probably doesn't even realize how much we have in common..........she loves my son,.....and my dogs. Hell, I'm pretty sure she's even fond of my wife! We're just the same....at least on the important stuff.

I got excited and skipped a couple of steps.

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Prior to tapping in the frets, one must cut them to size and they must be of a little tighter radius than the fretboard. This will make them want to hug the board when they are set.

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Mask off the frets and mark a line on the crown. Then level. Reapeat as necessary,

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When I'm fretting I slow down from the blazing pace I've set and spend quite a bit of time getting the ends just right. I hate feeling fret ends when I'm sliding up and down the neck. So I take a lot of time getting them flush and rounded and fit to the rounded edge I like on my boards. I understand that the flat beveled fret ends can be comfortable too......but they look like the end of a chisel to me and those edges get sharp when the frets sprout during the winter.

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SR

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WOAH! What are all those Tele parts doing on that Les Paul? We all have seen plenty of Les Paul style electronics, i.e.: double humbuckers, V-T-V-T controls ect...on Tele's, but this is the first I have seen this. Bold choice. That bridge plate is going to hide too much of the quilt. So is the switch plate. For that matter so is the neck pickup... :wOOt

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WOAH! What are all those Tele parts doing on that Les Paul? We all have seen plenty of Les Paul style electronics, i.e.: double humbuckers, V-T-V-T controls ect...on Tele's, but this is the first I have seen this. Bold choice. That bridge plate is going to hide too much of the quilt. So is the switch plate. For that matter so is the neck pickup... :wOOt

Justin really loves the Les Paul shape, which after all has been described as perfectly proportioned. He also fell in love with these vintage spec reproduction broadcaster pickups. And if you're going to have tele type pups, you at least need a tele type bridge. I actually have seen a version of tele hardwar on an LP shaped body and it's not bad at all......albeit the top is flat and the finish considerably different than this will be.

http://www.fanoguitars.com/models/alt-de-facto-sp6/

When you think of a hardtail bridge and humbucker combo, the only difference in wood coverage is the half inch between the bridge and pup. The neck pup doesn't cover any more area than a humbucker either although it is in a different shape. And Justin really likes the idea of that control cover.

LightninMike

Very nice looking guitar. To mirror what the others have said, that is a great looking neck.

The top is going to be that quilt? If so, may I suggest you don't use the usual tele control plate? just mount directly to the top, and access through the back

However that control cover creates an engineering problem that will have to be solved. The top will be carved into a gentle curve and the control plate is flat. I have several options to get around that, but the question remains -will it look good? So a couple of mock ups will need to be made to test the options out, and the fallback position is to forego the control plate.

SR

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Without curving the control plate you are going to be hard pressed to blend it in nicely.

A subtle recess on the plate should help but the real issue will be as the top slopes away at the butt how to deal with that. One idea is to use a smaller control plate. Like one from a Fender '51 Precision then set the switch in the wood instead of the plate.

Can't wait to see how you figure this one out.

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Without curving the control plate you are going to be hard pressed to blend it in nicely.

A subtle recess on the plate should help but the real issue will be as the top slopes away at the butt how to deal with that. One idea is to use a smaller control plate. Like one from a Fender '51 Precision then set the switch in the wood instead of the plate.

Can't wait to see how you figure this one out.

You and me both brother.

Curving the control plate would be perfect, but the compound radius involved is going to make that a non-option, I think. If there is a way to tilt it sideways slightly and get it down to one radius or at least just one axis, curving it might work.

If I had a plate that was a quarter of 3/8" thick brass, I could inset it and contour the surface to follow the carve. The smaller control plate is an idea with merit.

Another option is a shallow inset prior to carving that would end up being a slight inset on the bridge side and a slight pedestal on the edge sides. Another is to plane a flat spot in the carve at whatever angle to the surface that yields the smallest flat area ......and try to blend that into the carve.

All kinds of options really, but are any of them any good?

Love the fret dressing! :hyper

Gracias amigo!

And to you as well senor pliable plantain.

SR

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Probably not the best options.

Now a piece of 3/8" aluminum might work for you... but still even polished on a machine it will never look like chrome. Seems like a lot of work.

Best option probably.

"Another is to plane a flat spot in the carve at whatever angle to the surface that yields the smallest flat area"

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