RestorationAD Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 The ugly tools always end up being the keepers. Its not ugly. It can cut the 24th fret on a 24.75 scale without touching the other frets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 I'm sure Peter is enjoying the excuse not to have to post updates. The weather has been seriously draining the last few weeks. Big storms today and tomorrow though. That should clear the air for what, ten minutes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 He he, pretty much so. Best summer in years. Too bad it seems to coming to an end now. On the other hand the slightly cooler weather is way better for building... Got quite a bit done now, and I actually thought that I should be able to wrap things up on this one today, but more on that later... I finally got to mate the finished body to the neck, always a pleasure so see what it will finally look like. started on the string locks, all hardware comes from Ola Strandberg of Strandbergs guitar works. I will write a review of these later on. First you need to drill two holes per string lock, lining everything up over a double angle..lucky for me I can draw it out in CAD and just glue a template in place! the locks are installed using one screw and one pin like so all of them there, including a rough cut nut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 You need to make sure the ground wire get in touch will all of the base plates, a bit fidgety... But it is almost invisible when all base plates are installed then the moving top parts need to be installed. These contains the tuner part and can also be slid back and forth to adjust the intonation. Cut the nut and stringed her up Done the adjustment and tried it out. I thing I will stick to 6 strings also in the future, 7 at the most... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 So, pickups. As this will have angled pickups I got some extra work to make the bobbins for this. I have 7 and 8-string bobbins, but all of them have to short string to string spread. At the same time I have bobbins that have the correct string spread, however those are only 6-string bobbins, what to do? This is what I do. I start out by grabbing a few bobbins with the right string spread from the drawer with scratched or dented bobbins, three screw bobbins and three slug bobbins of each string spread, as I'm using 53 mm spread for the bridge and 50 mm spread for the neck. I put tape and a few guiding slugs in one of the bobbins I cut up the two other slug bobbins and use the third bobbin as a guide, both lengthwise and sideways. when it all match up I use the trusty old super glue to glue them together. The tape prevent the guide bobbin to be glued to the others. I do the same thin with the screw bobbins and now we are talking zebra pickups deluxe. 3/4 black and 2/4 creme... Two keeper bars are hacksawed to pieces and carefully aligned before we're off to the winder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 winding adapting the base plates (the "recipe" calls for a base plate) using four wire cable as it is not possible to go back after the pickup is molded and if the customer somewhere down the road want a split sound this is a bit of insurance. checking that the fit in the mold, and there I had to halt for the day. I thought I had enough epoxy at home but I must have finished it all. New epoxy on its way but I will have to wait a few days for it to get here. so no more updates for a few more days, again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Nice work Peter. Thanks for sharing the tip's along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Nice work Peter. Thanks for sharing the tip's along the way. TNX. I try to share as much as possible as I hope that in the end it might help somebody to avoid a few of the misstakes I have done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 People that don't share their mistakes are just people that don't want to share a graceful fix. :-) Those are some very weird bobbins. Are you topping them with wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 People that don't share their mistakes are just people that don't want to share a graceful fix. :-) Those are some very weird bobbins. Are you topping them with wood?He is going to encapsulate them in epoxy! When he is done all you will see is the adjustable poles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Duh. I should have been looking at the words instead of just reading the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 But don't they look great in their state of grand weirdness? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Quarter-zebra has some mojo, perhaps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 Anyway, won't be any funky colors visible in the end. The epoxy just arrived and I aim to finish the pickups today. First, get all things you need together. This stuff cures in 3-5 minutes so you don't have any time to run around looking for something you misplaced (some crappy pics here, apologies for that) The epoxy itself, black pigments, a micro scale, mixing cup, some mold release wax (more on that later) sticks for stirring, brushes (more on that yet later) and lots of cover on the kitchen bench. This is messy stuff. First batch, 20g epoxy base mix in a good amount of pigment. The first layer need to be super-black. Mix well. Then add 20g hardener and mix for 20-30 s (no pics, this need to done quickly then I "paint" the bottom and the walls with epoxy to form a "shell". The epoxy is low viscous in the beginning and just keep running down to the bottom, then comes a "sweet spot" for maybe 10s before you start to drag strings of half-cured epoxy around and ruins it all. Next small step is to remove the epoxy from the tips of the divots for the screw. This usually makes for a much cleaner alignment between the pickup bobbin and the mold Heres a trick; use the mold release wax and rub that into the threads of the pole screw you will use later on. Then insert them "backwards". This plugs the holes so that the epoxy cannot run into the pole screw holes. And the release wax stops the epoxy from grabbing the screws. Nifty as Frank Z might have said. Next a small batch of 10+10g and some pigment is mixed. This is poured into the bottom of the "shell" and the pickup is placed in the "shell" and aligned properly. The rest of the epoxy is pored in the mold to hold the pickup in place. the lead wires are pushed inside the "shell", well outside the path of the hole for the fastening screw that is going to be drilled later on... A bigger batch of 25+25g is mixed and poured and the pickups are left to cure for an hour. this really crappy pic shows how flexible the silicone mould really is. This of cause makes the extraction of the pickups from the mould much easier. And there we have them! A freshly moulded pair of custom pickups. I'll let them cure completely over night before I trim the edges, drill the fastening holes, clean up the screw pole piece holes and try those babies out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Hot damn, Peter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Shoot! I checked on the pickups today after about 20 h of curing, and they warped! They look like something out of Willie Wonka's factory. Either the epoxy was a bad batch or I must have made something wrong while mixing (have not happened before and I have made at least 10-12 pickups like this). And I'm getting close to my personal deadline for this build as I need to start the next one that need to be done in the end of November as it will be a showcase for the "Holy Grail of Guitars" fair in Berlin in mid November. To speed things up I recommended the customer the EMG 57-8 and 66-8 as those are "PAF-ish" and available in the soapbar shape I already have routed the guitar for and I will probably get those in quite fast. Any other recommendations from the board? EDIT: I got in contact with the customer and we are going with the EMGs. Got them ordered and now I can concentrate on the show guitar for a few days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 That sucks Peter. Man, that guitar show has quite the line up of exhibitors. That is a beauty you've got with you in your shot. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Wow, that's a shame! Now that I'm forming my own covers, I've begun researching epoxy potting, and encapsulation. I don'[t like seeing this. I can't wait to see what you are taking to the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Scott: Thanks, I'm actually quite humble to be invited to this fine bunch of builders. I mean, Roukangas (it was Juha that invited me), Mitchihiro Matsuda, Linda Manser, Tom Ribbecke, Mikael Sandén, Nik Huber, Teuffel, Manne and the list goes on. So for anyone in the area of Berlin at the time, make sure you get there, It will be Guitar Bonanza! Original: I'v never had this problem before. I mixed up a test batch and it got quite a bit hotter than usual, so I'm assuming I got a bad shipment of epoxy. A little teaser for the show guitar maybe? The body is 2/3 done, the necks are semi done, the heads are already joined to the neck blanks and shaped, currently doing the fretboards. So I've come quite a bit on my way, but I need to finish it and buff it and get it set up and all... And I have the usual bunch of repairs coming in with a steady stream, so I'm very happy to pass on a bit of the profit of this build to EMG... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Will the 57/66 pickups look right with the slanted installation you have going there? The 57/66 pair are made as "soapbars" but they still have the visible pole pieces running down one edge which won't align with the strings if you install them slanted. Probably won't be detrimental to the tone of the guitar but cosmetically it might look a bit off? If the cosmetics are going to be an issue perhaps go with fully-enclosed soapbar EMGs (808, 808X, 808TW, 60-8, 81-8, 85-8 etc), Seymour Duncan Blackouts, or similar shaped pickups with a rail polepiece arrangement like Lace Deathbars or X-bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightninMike Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 So they are permanently warped? no heat and relax to get them back flat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 Curtisa: We decided to prioritize sound over look. The poles will look a bit out of place, but not worse than on a Strat with an angled HB in the bridge Mike: The epoxy is pretty much as-is after curing. When heated it will disintegrate ranter than go soft, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 What epoxy did you use? I found that epoxies like West System have enormous exothermic heat output when curing that a retarder (or slow curing in the fridge) helps with. I've had it run away from me in the past where the exothermic heat caused it to cured even faster, flaring it up with smoke and insta-curing into a bunch of brittle epoxy bubbles. Fun. Dangerous though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted August 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 This is a special casting epoxy, or maybe I should say "resin", a German brand; Artidee. I have used that brand for all my casting projects and never had it get as hot as it got with the test mix i did later on. When it works in a more normal way it might reach say 50-55C, not rally hot, more like nice and comfortably warm. The test I did might have come up to 70-80C or even higher. i still thing I got a bad shipment. I have ordered a new batch. I'll make sure I make a test I go on and use it for anything that is going to be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 All i can think of about the deformation is heat. Maybe try the same stuff but in a cooled environment. Sucks that your wind and other construction has been destroyed. Epoxy on its own has no mechanical structure to form a twist that I can conceive of. I suspect the pickup caused it maybe as a sink for heat, although I have no proof of this. The mass certainly isn't large. Unless the curing was uneven I doubt the epoxy was the issue. Saw them through. This could be a positive learning experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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