An itch to scratch

[avengers63]

Scrounging for a new piece for the neck, I came across a piece of cutoff mahogany. It's the EXACT length I need, just barely wide enough, and I only needed to plane off less than 1/4" to get it to the standard 3/4".

 

Routing for the truss rod. Is it me, or does it feel decadent to use a piece of bubinga as a fence.

 

Custom, one-off neck taper template. I HAVE to keep it, even though I know I'll never use it again.

 

Neck roughed out, then routed to the template. The t/r channel went a little long, so I put a little spacer at the end. No long term harm.

 

And the perfunctory "march of the hammers" pic, gluing on the f/b

 

Basic pickguard shape routed. I screwed a piece of scrap MDF to the body template, cut it out close, then used a 1/2" (I think, maybe 3/4") rabbit bit to get it to a uniform distance from the edge. Also, the body got a simple roundover. More shaping to come later.

 

Another unforeseen thing cropped up this morning also. Shortening the scale to 22" SIGNIFICANTLY narrowed the neck at the heel. There's prolly 1/4" difference between it and the standard StewMac neck template, so I'll have to rig up a jig. It's not really a problem, it's just something I didn't think about happening.

This is looking like it'll be the fretboard inlay. It'll go in the upper register, above the 12th fret. It can be angled a bit if necessary to fit inside the width of the fretboard. The rest are likely to be abalone dots.

 

The rest of the day will be spent in assembly/wiring of other projects.

[ScottR]

On 10/30/2021 at 3:17 PM, avengers63 said:

And the perfunctory "march of the hammers" pic, gluing on the f/b

Yep, love it.

SR

[avengers63]

Neck, out of the clamps, fretboard trimmed. I'm not gonna shape the neck until I get the inlays in, and maybe fretted.

 

It prolly took 2 hours, but I finalized the shape of the pickguard. I also got a big sheet of textured plastic to use as p/g material. It's twice the size as a "real" blank for the same price.  I'll prolly look into un-textured pieces in the future.

 

Another 90 minutes and the body is routed. I'm leaving the neck pocket for another day. I need to log some time with my ZOOM 8-track.

[avengers63]

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights.mp3

And speaking of the ZOOM 8-track, this is my 1st attempt of MANY to come. It's a far cry from perfect, but for a first try, it ain't too bad!

[ScottR]

1 hour ago, avengers63 said:

I also got a big sheet of textured plastic to use as p/g material

That texture really makes the bevel stand out.

SR

[avengers63]

Not much of an update. I spent all day yesterday inlaying the fretboard. I DID end up going with the Chinese dragon, as well as abalone dots and an abalone lower-case J at the 1st fret. Her name is Josie, so it'll work as both my "logo" and her name.  Today I had to do a 2nd round of epoxy to fill in all the holes that remained. I mixed the epoxy with ebony dust. Unless you're right on top of it, you won't be able to see the outrageous gaps.

Also, her mom decided the body needed to be turquoise. Good thing ash dyes so extremely well.

Bonus shot of the corporate gas card I forgot to turn in before I left work Monday.

[avengers63]

Inlays cleaned up, fretboard sanded, frets installed & beveled (but not dressed).

[ScottR]

Wow!

SR

[avengers63]

21 hours ago, ScottR said:

Wow!

SR

That's how I feel when you break out the chisels. 

[ScottR]

2 hours ago, avengers63 said:

That's how I feel when you break out the chisels. 

I think I get it.

Just thinking about the detail work and the cutting of tiny pieces of shell and making a nice fitting space for them makes my eyeballs vibrate and my hair itch.

And you make it look easy.

You keep your scroll saw and I'll keep my chisels, and we'll just enjoy and appreciate what the other guy does.

SR

 

[avengers63]

Oh......  I get it now. I didn't make that Chinese dragon. I bought it from an eBay seller super cheap. Now, had I the raw materials, I prolly could make it, but I can't claim credit for this one. 

 

In other news, I habitually have difficulty with the wiring, but I can't stop myself from making it harder than necessary. Everything is all wired up and ready to go (hopefully). I used a 5-way switch and an auto-tap schematic from Seymour Duncan. The Hamer pickups I'm using were previously set up as a plain HB, so it wasn't difficult to figure out what was the start/end of each coil. 

Also, these pups are HOT. The neck is just under 20K, and the bridge is just over 20K. As singles, they're still clocking around 10. Being that hot, they're prolly ceramic. As ceramics are pretty bright and they're tapped, I used 250K pots to peel a little back off the top end.

[ScottR]

1 hour ago, avengers63 said:

Oh......  I get it now. I didn't make that Chinese dragon. I bought it from an eBay seller super cheap. Now, had I the raw materials, I prolly could make it, but I can't claim credit for this one. 

You could.

The hand of God inlayed on a fretboard.

I rest my case.

SR

[mistermikev]

7 hours ago, avengers63 said:

Oh......  I get it now. I didn't make that Chinese dragon. I bought it from an eBay seller super cheap. Now, had I the raw materials, I prolly could make it, but I can't claim credit for this one. 

 

In other news, I habitually have difficulty with the wiring, but I can't stop myself from making it harder than necessary. Everything is all wired up and ready to go (hopefully). I used a 5-way switch and an auto-tap schematic from Seymour Duncan. The Hamer pickups I'm using were previously set up as a plain HB, so it wasn't difficult to figure out what was the start/end of each coil. 

Also, these pups are HOT. The neck is just under 20K, and the bridge is just over 20K. As singles, they're still clocking around 10. Being that hot, they're prolly ceramic. As ceramics are pretty bright and they're tapped, I used 250K pots to peel a little back off the top end.

7 hours ago, avengers63 said:

Oh......  I get it now. I didn't make that Chinese dragon. I bought it from an eBay seller super cheap. Now, had I the raw materials, I prolly could make it, but I can't claim credit for this one. 

 

In other news, I habitually have difficulty with the wiring, but I can't stop myself from making it harder than necessary. Everything is all wired up and ready to go (hopefully). I used a 5-way switch and an auto-tap schematic from Seymour Duncan. The Hamer pickups I'm using were previously set up as a plain HB, so it wasn't difficult to figure out what was the start/end of each coil. 

Also, these pups are HOT. The neck is just under 20K, and the bridge is just over 20K. As singles, they're still clocking around 10. Being that hot, they're prolly ceramic. As ceramics are pretty bright and they're tapped, I used 250K pots to peel a little back off the top end.

is an interesting wiring, clever.  they are sending the bridge series link to live to give you the slug coil, while sending the neck series link to ground giving you the screw coil.  bridge, bridge and neck, neck, both split, bridge slug by itself -if I'm reading it right.  

that's a nice dragon inlay.  I've seen that seller (from thailand or malasia?) and thought  their inlays really look nice esp for the price.  would love to see a bigger more detailed picture of it.  gonna look sweet.

EDIT: side note... man I'd like to slap these fools who list thousands of inlay "stickers" in the luthier section on ebay.  makes it almost impossible to find actual inlay.  

[avengers63]

Scott: I'm honored that you remembered the Hand Of God inlay.

MisterMikeV: Will this do?

[mistermikev]

30 minutes ago, avengers63 said:

Scott: I'm honored that you remembered the Hand Of God inlay.

MisterMikeV: Will this do?

yeah, that is lovely.

[ScottR]

9 hours ago, avengers63 said:

Scott: I'm honored that you remembered the Hand Of God inlay.

Dude, that thing was, no is-- unforgettable.

SR

[asgeirogm]

I had to look up the Hand of God inlay after these discussions, man that thing is a work of art, kudos @avengers63

[avengers63]

CUSS WORDS

I got the neck shaped this morning. No problems there. It's currently drying thoroughly from the mineral spirits wipedown before it gets some oil.  In the meantime, I did a test fit to see how everything would look. 

And then things went pear-shaped... again.

The control cavity is too shallow for the blade switch by 1/4"-3/16". Were I to rout the cavity deeper, I'd only have about 1/16" left. That's not enough for my comfort. Even if I WERE OK with it, there's great possibility of the wiring at the crest of the blade to contact the foil shielding, possibly grounding it out.

I was sooooooo close to being done.

more cuss words

I have two options that I am aware of:

1) Cut the hole and make another cavity cover for the rear. This would let me save the pickguard, wiring plan, and soldering I've already gone. I REALLY hate both wasting product and re-doing something. This also requires nothing more be bought.

2) Get a basic 3-way switch, a couple of DPDT mini-switches, make a new p/g, and re-wire the whole thing. This is the lease palatable to me, but probably the right move.

 

If anyone else has a better idea, I'm wide open to suggestions.

[Charlie H 72]

I see nothing wrong with option 1! I have a guitar I keep on modding (fated for death by mods, it seems) and it has a cover on the back for similar reasons. Doesn't bother me one bit. 

another option: Locate the switch (color on the back with a soft pencil and place the pickguard where it belongs to get some graphite to transfer) and just rout that spot deeper. 1/16" would be ok in a small area, I bet. 

Love the Corvus shape - so weird. Dragon inlay goes great with it too. 

[Bizman62]

On my current build the control cavity ended up to be too deep, leaving the top too thin for my comfort. So I fitted in a piece of 3 mm Baltic Birch plywood. It's tone enhancing since the tone pot will sit on it! So in case you think you could almost do with a 1/16" top, a fitted piece of aircraft plywood might do the trick. It's available as thin as 1/64"

[avengers63]

Here's the real pisser. The wood I started out with was almost 2" thick. As it's for a girl, I wanted to make it thinner and lighter. So I kinda did this to myself. I also haven't made one in quite some time, so there are things I simply forgot to do... like make sure the cavity is deep enough

[avengers63]

On 11/16/2021 at 1:07 PM, ScottR said:

Dude, that thing was, no is-- unforgettable.

SR

Here's the sad thing with it....     I never finished the guitar. 

It was a mostly hollow semi-archtop, no cutaway. I was calling it The Rhythm King cuz it stopped at (IIRC) the 15th fret. I tried to get away without a neck angel (and failed), leaving the strings so close to the pups that it was unplayable. It's a set neck, so there's no easy way to come back from that one. I put a pair of (allegedly) Tiesco HBs in it. To date, I've still never heard them. 

I'm thinking seriously about paring down the guitars I have to what's 1) really good, and 2) not duplicating what another ax does. EG: I don't need 3 strats, regardless of the body shapes. The Rhythm King, along with the Hand Of God inlay, is one of those destined for deconstruction.

[mistermikev]

6 hours ago, avengers63 said:

CUSS WORDS

I got the neck shaped this morning. No problems there. It's currently drying thoroughly from the mineral spirits wipedown before it gets some oil.  In the meantime, I did a test fit to see how everything would look. 

And then things went pear-shaped... again.

The control cavity is too shallow for the blade switch by 1/4"-3/16". Were I to rout the cavity deeper, I'd only have about 1/16" left. That's not enough for my comfort. Even if I WERE OK with it, there's great possibility of the wiring at the crest of the blade to contact the foil shielding, possibly grounding it out.

I was sooooooo close to being done.

more cuss words

I have two options that I am aware of:

1) Cut the hole and make another cavity cover for the rear. This would let me save the pickguard, wiring plan, and soldering I've already gone. I REALLY hate both wasting product and re-doing something. This also requires nothing more be bought.

2) Get a basic 3-way switch, a couple of DPDT mini-switches, make a new p/g, and re-wire the whole thing. This is the lease palatable to me, but probably the right move.

 

If anyone else has a better idea, I'm wide open to suggestions.

you could make a little piece of wood kind of shaped like a football and do what ibanez does on the saber series.  also carl thompson kind of does something like that on his basses as the cavity is so shallow.  then the 5 way sits "on top" of the pickguard.  might even become a feature - not a bug.

[ScottR]

17 hours ago, avengers63 said:

Here's the sad thing with it....     I never finished the guitar. 

It was a mostly hollow semi-archtop, no cutaway. I was calling it The Rhythm King cuz it stopped at (IIRC) the 15th fret. I tried to get away without a neck angel (and failed), leaving the strings so close to the pups that it was unplayable. It's a set neck, so there's no easy way to come back from that one. I put a pair of (allegedly) Tiesco HBs in it. To date, I've still never heard them. 

I'm thinking seriously about paring down the guitars I have to what's 1) really good, and 2) not duplicating what another ax does. EG: I don't need 3 strats, regardless of the body shapes. The Rhythm King, along with the Hand Of God inlay, is one of those destined for deconstruction.

I'm presuming deconstruction does not mean destruction.

Worst case, hang that neck up on the wall., best case put the fretboard on another guitar....to be built at a later date.

SR

[avengers63]

1 hour ago, ScottR said:

I'm presuming deconstruction does not mean destruction.

Worst case, hang that neck up on the wall., best case put the fretboard on another guitar....to be built at a later date.

SR

The wifey wants me to cut off the f/b and keep it for art purposes. I put a shit-ton of work into it and it completely failed me, so I'm more than a little disgusted with the whole thing. If you or anyone else is interested in the carcass, I'm willing to listen. Other than that, I really have no attachment to it whatsoever. 

Speaking of which..... before and after

I went out to the garage this morning looking for tuners for the partscaster. I have 6 sets, all of which are 3+3. Looking through the pile for one to disassemble for the tuners, the Westone Dynasty was the only real choice. A maple body with a maple neck is piercingly bright. I don't like it, never play it, it's been gathering dust for several years, so it's doomed to die. While I was at it, I might as well disassemble the Rhythm King as well since it's been sitting at least 6-7 years unfinished.

I good news, the RK's pups ARE real Tiesco HBs. The clock in at just over 20K and are smaller than normal HBs, but not as small as minis. I gotta hold on to them for a bit. Seems like they ought to be worth a few dollars.

For the p/g, I bought another pre-routed for 2 HBs. I needed to put a route for the tele neck in the middle, so I used the aluminum shield as a placement guide, making sure it'd sit properly in the middle pup route. Then I used the template for final placement. The plastic film was still on it at this point, so that;s what was drawn on, not the p/g.

I took off 2 saddles to line up the bridge with the string holes and saw that it doesn't line up with the p/g. This is the type of thing you have to be prepared for when making a partscaster from Chinese parts coming out of different slave labor camps highly efficient factories of The Glorious People's Republic.

All things considered, I think it'll look pretty damn good when it's all done. The HBs are chrome covered, so the middle pup gives a real indicator for the final thing. Allegedly, they should be in today. I might or might not be able to get to the wiring today. If not, I can't touch it 'till Tuesday.