#3 Is A Single Cut

[RestorationAD]

Holy crap Paulie, you sure paint some vivid mental pictures! The first time he did that. You need to get those on canvas sometime.

As far as a demon uke...yeah it almost does have to be done. But I may need some input on the construction. I figure the scale would be a little over 8 inches. I'd need something to make tiny frets out of and tiny tuning machines. I guess the little pup could be wired directly to a mini jack. That would be a tiny pup RAD.

I wonder if there is such a thing as a pattern following bit for a dremel.....

SR

Oh yeah bar frets made out of paper clips and the tuners could be #2-56 allen heads with holes in them and inserts.

And I would make a blade then.... cause blades rock. With a little wee mini pot and a mini input.

Tuning stability might be an issue. ;]

[ScottR]

Surely there are some small worm geared posts out there in the modeling world somewhere that could be modified into tuning machines.

On the other hand I'm thinking a full sized strap would be a must so you cold wear it slung low on stage and look cool. Probably have to break out a Chuck Berry/George Thorogood duck walk right across the stage.

SR

[Workingman]

Cool idea, what a bout friction pegs? You could find some cheep violin ones and cut them down.

[ScottR]

Cool idea, what a bout friction pegs? You could find some cheep violin ones and cut them down.

That's a thought The friction peg set up from old classicals might not be too bad to reproduce to scale either. But they have to support steel strings.

SR

[Workingman]

They do on violins and the tension is higher too.

BTW Barbeque, blues and beer should be starting again soon.

[ScottR]

BTW Barbeque, blues and beer should be starting again soon.

I should hope so, it's the second week of May for cryin' out loud. You must be going through withdrawal by now. It's a sympton of living too far north.

It never really stops down here....at least in my backyard. Just have to take the random week off to let a cold front clear out.

SR

[Workingman]

Hey I have been known to do it in the snow. I don't hang out on the deck drinking and listening to music though.

Its been over two weeks since it last snowed here in VT.

[ScottR]

So after I polished up that little guitar shaped piece of myrtle burl, I was sitting in my chair....you know the chair, the lazyboy recliner that putts you to sleep as soon as you lean back? Well that's the one I was sitting in...and I have this light right next to it and I was admiring the chatoyance in the wood and noticed that under that light I could see all kinds of scratches that I couldn't see when I was polishing it in my garage--facing the sun. Well hell. So I went through the grits again and made it shine even more.

You may notice my guitar in that picture. this weekend I wired up all the controls except the pickups...and put them back in the box. Then I shaped the nut and slotted it....at least to the initial stages. It'll get completed during the set-up. The guitar's been curing for almost three weeks...and my brisket's smoking, and my blues are playing, and my beer is cold and dammit I gotta do something to that guitar. So I began the initial leveling. I'm going very light and just knocking the tops off of the orange peel and any runs. I figure less lacquer will finish curing all that much faster, right?

I'm not trying to get completely level with this grit. My plan is to get to the bottom of the pits with a pretty fine grit, which should have me in pretty good shape in terms of having all the deeper scratches polished out.

I keep smelling it to see if I can smell any solvent. I smell plastic but not solvent.

I plan to go ahead and let it cure the rest of this week and continue this weekend.

If I can stand it.

SR

[chops1983]

If I can stand it.

SR

Haha i know that feeling all to well!...hurry up and finish it allready, 3 weeks is enough! My semi Tele has been hanging in the shed waiting for buffing for a while now, been way too busy to even look at it. The motivation is almost non existent cause i can't spend money on parts until november when we get back from Europe!

That little guitar is shining like glass Scott...looks sick!

Chad.

[ScottR]

If I can stand it.

SR

Haha i know that feeling all to well!...hurry up and finish it allready, 3 weeks is enough! My semi Tele has been hanging in the shed waiting for buffing for a while now, been way too busy to even look at it. The motivation is almost non existent cause i can't spend money on parts until november when we get back from Europe!

That little guitar is shining like glass Scott...looks sick!

Chad.

Hey Chad.

I remember reading in your thread that we wouldn't see those teles again till they were done. The other day I was peeking at who was looking at what and noticed you were in your teles thread. I thought woohoo! here we go.

Not yet though, huh? Well that trip to Europe will surely help keep your mind off of them. It must be getting close. Waiting for that must be hard to stand too.

Have fun--take pics.

Scott

[jer7440]

Hey Scott,

Love the build. That top is gorgeous!

I had a quick suggestion for applying CA. When I used to build RC planes I would saturate different parts of the wing with CA and I would wrap a cheap plastic sandwich bag (not a ziplock...the really cheap ones that fold over and tuck in) around my finger and use that to spread the glue. The CA doesn't stick to the plastic that those bags are made out of. You could put your cloth pad in one of those bags and try that to spread the CA. It might work better.

[ScottR]

Hey Scott,

Love the build. That top is gorgeous!

I had a quick suggestion for applying CA. When I used to build RC planes I would saturate different parts of the wing with CA and I would wrap a cheap plastic sandwich bag (not a ziplock...the really cheap ones that fold over and tuck in) around my finger and use that to spread the glue. The CA doesn't stick to the plastic that those bags are made out of. You could put your cloth pad in one of those bags and try that to spread the CA. It might work better.

That's a thought worth trying, I wonder if saran wrap would work the same way. The thing about the cloth pad is it soaks up excess and you don't chase runs like you do with cards. And the ridges are not as high. Leveling out those CA ridges was not all that different than leveling the lacquer orange peel I'm leveling now. There is no doubt the stuff polishes like glass. And I repaired a couple of dimples pretty much the same way as you would with nitro...with the same results and no witness lines. At this stage it feels harder than nitro, but my nitro will get harder as time goes by. So....it makes a great looking coating, but the application methods available pretty much suck especially when compared to spraying. On the other hand drying and cureing is about as fast as it gets.

SR

[jer7440]

I have a black limba body I'm going to need to pore fill soon, I may have to give CA a try.

[ScottR]

Drak says he only does two grades of micromesh a day at the most (I think I remembered that correctly) when leveling and polishing his finish. I did not have that intention....but that's pretty much how much I could get done. These shots are polished up to the 3600 mesh--front and back anyway. The neck and sides are at 3200. I must say this is the highest gloss level I've ever had at 3600. I suppose that means I'm finally doing it right. It probably doesn't hurt that my wiping cloth is cut from the back of a 25 year old denim work shirt and has been sprinkled with aluminum oxide powder (used to load strops for knife and tool sharpening). Only 4000, 6000, 8000, and 12000 to go.

It's kind of looking like another brown guitar huh?

I think it is safe to say that by this time next week--Memorial Day at the latest, this baby will be playin'.

SR

Edited May 22, 2011 by ScottR

[pauliemc]

Lookin realy good scott. Cant wait to see this thing all finished up.

PS. there aint nothin wrong with brown guitars, some of the swankiest guitars iv ever built were brown

[ScottR]

Thanks Paulie, I can't wait to get it finished up either.

In fact as I'm impatiently waiting for the weekend to arrive so I can finish the polishing and get this set up a question about nut slot depth/height comes to mind. The common wisdom as stated by Melvyn says when pressing a string at the third fret, it should barely clear the second fret if the slot depth is correct. And then we have zero frets, which I understand are the same height as all the other frets. If a zero fret works equally well (or better depending on your point of view)as a nut for setting string height at the headstock end of the neck, then logically the nut slot depth could be anywhere between the string clearance height as stated by Melvyn, down to flush with the frets.

Surely, this affects the height of the saddles at the bridge. I would think the saddles would need to be slightly higher with a zero fret set up or at least require a bit more neck relief to avoid buzz. And the strings would be closer to parallel to the fretboard using a nut over a zero fret? What am I missing here? I have no experience with zero frets.

SR

[RestorationAD]

Thanks Paulie, I can't wait to get it finished up either.

In fact as I'm impatiently waiting for the weekend to arrive so I can finish the polishing and get this set up a question about nut slot depth/height comes to mind. The common wisdom as stated by Melvyn says when pressing a string at the third fret, it should barely clear the second fret if the slot depth is correct.

Almost described it right... you push the string against the second fret from the third position (first marker) and you should just see daylight under the string and the FIRST fret. I know what you meant though and I am slitting hairs.

I have been using Melvyn's method since I was 18 and it never fails as long as the neck is straight when you do it.

And then we have zero frets, which I understand are the same height as all the other frets. If a zero fret works equally well (or better depending on your point of view)as a nut for setting string height at the headstock end of the neck, then logically the nut slot depth could be anywhere between the string clearance height as stated by Melvyn, down to flush with the frets.

Surely, this affects the height of the saddles at the bridge. I would think the saddles would need to be slightly higher with a zero fret set up or at least require a bit more neck relief to avoid buzz. And the strings would be closer to parallel to the fretboard using a nut over a zero fret? What am I missing here? I have no experience with zero frets.

SR

In theory the nut slots can be cut to the depth of the fret height. It is really hard to get it exact though. Leaving a bit of daylight under the string gives you a measurable stopping point for his method. When using Melvyn's method if you take the nut slots all the way down until the string touches the first fret you always end up with an extra stroke of the file that takes it too low. Once the string is even a hair too low there is no way to tell if it is perfect or too low with that method. Of course then it will buzz and you have to fill the slots... You can always use Erlewines method of stacking feeler gauges to get the exact height of the frets... too much work in my opinion.

Zero frets are simple. No different than fretting the strings at the 1st fret. No extra compensation needed. They look stupid but they work.

I am fighting this exact scenario on a PRS right now (man I hate repair work). The nut was cut with tons of relief in the neck so the slots are low. If I straighten the neck the open strings buzz. SO you raise the action making it unplayable... SO you call the guy and convince him you have to make a new nut which is what I am doing.

[pauliemc]

As usual RAD is on the money. No one way to do nut slots, but menvyn & erlewains methods both work fine. Just make sure the neck is bolt straight & the frets are all spot on level before you start.

I usually start the slots & leav them too high as a start point. Then string up to playing tension & set the action at the 12 fret to about 2.5mm on the low E & 1.5 at the high E. then cut the slots from there untill each one is right.

You can find info telling you the correct height for each slot online, but its all bullshit. You need to compensate for the string gauge, some will move more than others when struck. take your time & you will get it no problems.

After you have the nut cut you can adjust for a tiny bit of releif in the neck & yer done.

[ScottR]

Thanks for that input gentlemen. My method so far is basically Paulie's- that is to start a little high by leaving a little bit bigger gap at that first fret per Melvyn, and then dialing it in with the strings in place. Rad mentioned filling slots if they are cut too deep or replacing the nut. I'm guessing shimming one would work as well - assuming it was done properly - solid fit and good craftsmanship?

SR

[ScottR]

I had a thought yesterday as I was working through the final micromesh grades. Buffing--hand rubbing as it were, is a lot of work. I happen to own one of those little Black and Decker mouse things, which is a small random orbital sander shaped like a tiny clothes iron. It has the hook part of velcro on its base and the various grits of sandpaper have the loop for easy changing. I wondered how it would work for buffing if it had a thick foam pad.

I sacrificed a koozy.(?) I can't say I've ever written that word; I wonder if it's spelled right. Anyway I traced a sandpaper pad and cut out a little larger shape from the foam.

Then I grabbed some old shortie socks to use as the cloth surface. The fit was tight enough to keep the sock on nicely. You just have to hold the excess space for toes up and buff away.

It worked like a champ. The foam pad was thick enough and dense enough to conform to the curves of my carve and yet provide a firm surface to polish with. It's sort of a poor man's buffer.

Enough for now. I'm off to put this baby together.

SR

[FireFly]

I have that B&D Mouse, and I'm totally trying that out!

[westhemann]

http://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-NO-HOLE-SANDING-COMBO/dp/B000H6JDDC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1306786536&sr=8-5

You need a different sander for these,but might be worth it

[ScottR]

Well......I got it put together. But I didn't finish getting it set up. That's what's tomorrow's for, right? The wiring works... and the pups sound great so far. I

need a different cap for the tone pot. I think I gave my supply to Hook....

RAD sends plenty of wire with his pick-ups.

Here's what we've got so far....more to come.

SR

Edited May 31, 2011 by ScottR

[pauliemc]

HOLY FOOK

[Skullsession]

Scott...I was wondering in the earlier pictures, but thought it might be angle. Is that headstock a little wider than the ones you've done in the past?

I have your caps?? Uh oh....I sort of remember you giving me a bag of those back when you built mine. I'll look for those tonight.

COOL! Get that sucker setup! We'll rock it this next weekend if you got time.