David's PRS and Matt's Tele

[mistermikev]

12 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said:

 

Thanks chaps, I'll have a look into those if I do a string through in future. 

I have a question regarding these string-through holes - I drilled 7/64 holes from the top as that is the size of the holes in the bridge, and I drilled 7/32. Would it be easier/less fiddly to string up if I enlarged the the 7/64 holes? or is it better to leave as is? I was contemplating enlarging the holes in the bridge, but they're so close to the secondary screw holes that it's not wise to enlarge the bridge.

my experience has been - maybe!  if the holes are perfectly aligned and the exact diameter then it wouldn't make a dif at all... but in my experience that is never the case as the bridge might tweak ever so slightly as the bevel on the mount screws persuade the bridge one way or another... so I always drill those top holes out a hair more than they need to be... I'd rather have the string rubbing on metal than potentially wood AND metal!  then again whatdoiknow?

[mistermikev]

6 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

I'd look at it from the viewpoint of the user. If the 7/32" holes from the bottom have a hard transition between them and the corresponding 7/64" holes, there'll be a lot of string mashing during attempts to thread the end through. Equally, opening both out to 7/32" will cause the same thing to happen at the bridge. I'd take a countersink and make the transition angled internally if it is not already. Without the appropriate size countersink, a twist drill run in reverse is enough to do this. Don't run it forwards, otherwise it'll self feed, plus reverse burnishes the wood inside the drill hole making it smoother for the string to ride into the narrower portion.

for the record... this is a good point and a great reason to own a taper bit... but I always drill the ferrule hole just 1 nipple hair deeper than it needs to be... so in theory once you get it in the hole it is a straight shot to the hole in the bridge plate.  As prostheta wisely points out... you don't want a little ledge in there.  I think the angle between the two is so slight... and given the diameter of a low e string is maybe .054 and your top holes are at least .109... there's a lot of room to fudge!!

[Prostheta]

These are the Grainger ferrule blocks I have. I could do with getting one in brass (they don't do gold). I angled this to fit under a Hipshot 11deg multiscale bridge. They're very nice.

I maybe drilled the through holes a little too large, as these will likely require a little of that string mashing to pass strings through the bridge....

[mistermikev]

2 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

These are the Grainger ferrule blocks I have. I could do with getting one in brass (they don't do gold). I angled this to fit under a Hipshot 11deg multiscale bridge. They're very nice.

I maybe drilled the through holes a little too large, as these will likely require a little of that string mashing to pass strings through the bridge....

that does actually look a lot nicer w/o the screw holes on the side.

[Prostheta]

The all-important tone screws? I think this would need epoxying in place, or retention purely from string pressure.

[Bizman62]

3 hours ago, Prostheta said:

These are the Grainger ferrule blocks I have.

They sure do look to be of better quality than the screw hole ones - which I'm using in my current build. Then again, there may be a slight difference in price as well.

 

[ADFinlayson]

Thanks for the info mate, I found a 6.5mm twist bit in my box of odds and sods which is a hair smaller than the ferrule holes, ran that in reverse in the hand drill and that has certainly made the transition slightly more funnel shaped. I think that will do the trick  

[Prostheta]

Great to hear it! It's crazy how many guitars I've owned where the string through holes require excessive string mashing. I mean, this is the 20th century now not the dark ages!

[ADFinlayson]

New tuners arrived, big improvement. I kind of like the chrome on the back, it will tie in nicely with the few chrome screws and the chrome neck pickup

Gave her her namesake with a silver decocolor pen, black would have been better but I don't have one, then 6 mist coats of cellulose sealer, just out of a rattle can, carefully sanding back the area around the pen with 320 to blend it in as much as possible.

Then these pics are after wiping back the first coat of Danish oil. it's had 4 subsequent coats, the 4th coat I flooded with oil and sanded with 600 wet and dry to get the body nice and smooth. Not trying to fill grain though so I wiped the excess of straight away.

Now we know why this was a £300 bit of walnut.

[mistermikev]

8 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said:

New tuners arrived, big improvement. I kind of like the chrome on the back, it will tie in nicely with the few chrome screws and the chrome neck pickup

Gave her her namesake with a silver decocolor pen, black would have been better but I don't have one, then 6 mist coats of cellulose sealer, just out of a rattle can, carefully sanding back the area around the pen with 320 to blend it in as much as possible.

Then these pics are after wiping back the first coat of Danish oil. it's had 4 subsequent coats, the 4th coat I flooded with oil and sanded with 600 wet and dry to get the body nice and smooth. Not trying to fill grain though so I wiped the excess of straight away.

Now we know why this was a £300 bit of walnut.

looking quite nice w some finish on it.  bravo

[ADFinlayson]

1 minute ago, mistermikev said:

looking quite nice w some finish on it.  bravo

thanks Mike, one job I've still got to do is tidy up the nut slot. I was trying to use a bit of binding wit ha strip of sand paper stuck to it but I feel like I haven't got the right tool for the job to get the floor perfectly level. Any tips here? 

 

[mistermikev]

6 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said:

thanks Mike, one job I've still got to do is tidy up the nut slot. I was trying to use a bit of binding wit ha strip of sand paper stuck to it but I feel like I haven't got the right tool for the job to get the floor perfectly level. Any tips here? 

 

well keeping in mind I'm no one to learn from... I had a little jig I build specifically for cutting the nut slot as some of the sources for cnc'd fretboards I had just put another fret there instead of a slot.  basically with the headstock lying flat on a bench... it was a little jig consisting of two support rails with two other rails across the top.  assuming you get your neck centered on it... and lined up perfectly with the slot by using a straight board against one of the top rails.  then just run a bit through it. (being VERY careful to keep the bit against the fence created by the rail) 

for me... any filing/messing about in the nut slot would result in deformation so I just avoided it at all costs (not saying others might not be able to be proficient here.  that would give me a perfectly flat slot... and the rest is just massaging  (ie sanding) the nut thin enough to slide in there and enough on the bottom to get the string height approx.

[Prostheta]

[ScottR]

Yep, that is a very tasty walnut sandwich you made.

SR

[ADFinlayson]

Some progress today, not much because I spent several hours levelling and crowning these frets - jumbo stainless steel and binding is a pig to do and I wont be going down that road again in a hurry. But I got a coat of wax on the body and got the ferrules in, not perfect but they don't look too shabby.

I got the bridge pickup installed, it wouldn't fit initially so I had to file out the corners of the bridge slightly to get it to go in.

Also got the string trees installed 

Then after noodling for a while I decided there was too much meat on the neck so I wrapped the body in the towel and clamp it to the bench while I recarved the neck. I've done that a few times with strings on in the past. Not ideal but being able to play it while carving sometimes helps to get the shape right. One of the perks of an oiled neck. I need to get the dremel out to polish the frets then I'm waiting on parts before I can do any more. I'm waiting on a 5-way blade and an untapered pickup ring before I can assemble it. 

Oh, the tapered string through holes work like a charm! strings glide right on through. Thanks for the Tip @Prostheta

 

 

[Prostheta]

The simplest things often make a difference. This one's looking great as usual! The old school Fender type headstock marries well to Tele bodies in the right context like here. I agree about the locking tuners. So much more stable over standards, but heavier. How's the balance?

edit: I also noted that the headstock looks like it has been brought backwards slightly which reduces the excess apparent bulk that Fenders appear to have. That looks more compact and in proportion with the body....or am I just imagining things?

[ADFinlayson]

6 hours ago, Prostheta said:

The simplest things often make a difference. This one's looking great as usual! The old school Fender type headstock marries well to Tele bodies in the right context like here. I agree about the locking tuners. So much more stable over standards, but heavier. How's the balance?

edit: I also noted that the headstock looks like it has been brought backwards slightly which reduces the excess apparent bulk that Fenders appear to have. That looks more compact and in proportion with the body....or am I just imagining things?

Your'e right the headstock and locking tuners certainly does add a bit of heft to the neck, I don't think it's particularly neck heavy because although the body is heavily chambered, it was a very heavy bit of wood to start with. The headstock is a teeny bit shorter than original - the spot from the net to where the headstock tapers out is shorter. That wasn't for any particular design other than I tend to make things up as I go along.

That actually came out quite respectable. I was expecting it to be at least 8lb - 8 1/2

[Prostheta]

I'm going to dig out my old ESP LTD Explorer at some point and put on a set of those locking tuners. See what you've gone and done?

[mistermikev]

wow, that is impressive to get walnut down to 7lbs 6oz?  am i reading that right? must have been one hell of an aggressive semi hollow cut.

[Andyjr1515]

That's looking very classy, @ADFinlayson 

[ADFinlayson]

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

That's looking very classy, @ADFinlayson 

Thanks Andy!

7 hours ago, mistermikev said:

wow, that is impressive to get walnut down to 7lbs 6oz?  am i reading that right? must have been one hell of an aggressive semi hollow cut.

There is around 1/2 - 3/4" of meat left on the sides and top and back around around 6mm so not a huge amount of walnut left. I guess I'm going to be somewhere just over 7 1/2 lb by the time the rest of the parts are in. 

10 hours ago, Prostheta said:

I'm going to dig out my old ESP LTD Explorer at some point and put on a set of those locking tuners. See what you've gone and done?

I assume no liability. 

[kmensik]

I love this tele. I just do not like the pickup ring, because it is wider than the bridge, and to my eye it disturbs the convergence from bridge to nut. What about leaving the ring off? The cavity is so cleanly routed, looks perfect.

[ADFinlayson]

Would someone mind having a look at this wiring diagram and see if you spot any errors before I go making a pigs ear of the wiring? the 2 VOL 1 TONE threw me off somewhat!

[curtisa]

Looks about right to my eyes

[ADFinlayson]

There were indeed issues with this diagram. Fortunately @mistermikev came to the rescue and helped me figure it out. 1. My volume pots were wired backwards so they worked in reverse. 2. I had modern wiring not 50s so my volumes were both acting as masters instead of allowing me to blend in the middle positions (every days a school day). 3. after what felt like hours of debugging the awful hum that I was getting, Turned out my soldering iron was interfering - That one was especially annoying.

But it's made, finally. Thanks Mike.

Just needs a bit of a setup, little bit of a buzz at the upper frets to sort out