Berserker

+1 on the Veritas line, and Lee Valley is one of the elite companys to purchase through. I own all three of their spokeshaves.

Phew! $28.00 shipping. That's a dealbreaker, thank goodness. I was ready to pull the trigger too. Gil

Thanks for all the tips guys. I went ahead and purchased a Safe T-Planer. Pretty slick. I'm going to change the 1/4" blade with my 1/2" blade, tighten it up and use the regular fence this time. I used the resaw point fence last time and admittedly it very well could by all my error. I haven't used it until now. As for the one I messed up, I think I'll try veneering it to salvage what otherwise is a nice neck build. Gil

It's these kind of days when I just want to say "#*%$ - it" and buy an Allparts neck. Sawing the headstock down on my second of three tele builds and the band saw blade drifts in the middle of the cut rendering the new neck useless and increases my firewood inventory. I was using a 1/4" blade on my delta 14" band saw and thought that would be sufficient. What size blade do all of you use to do resawing? Specifically for cutting down the headstock. I'm purty good with woodworking but admit there really hasn't been the need for much resawing in my shop. I just don't want to waste anymore good wood. What's your secret to a smooth, flat, accurate cut for the headstock? Thanks all. Gil

Here is one of the most versatile tools I have in my shop and affordable. Rigid OSS Gil

Two potentially expensive and addicting hobbies.....woodworking and guitars. I have a full shop at home and recommend taking it slow. Do your research on the tools you buy and then search for the best deal you can. Save up and buy quality! Gil

As far as a marketing ploy to drum up sales I'm thinking probablay not. The only two guitars from Fender that I see these pots are in the VHR '52 Tele and the Eric Johnson signiture Strat. Seems to me they would play that card more than twice. Anywho they were $ 4 a piece, so still pretty reasonable and seeing that I'm trying to stay as true to specs as I can get this was a no-brainer. Would be cool to see some testing though. Gil

+1000 on the Performax. I have the 16-44 variety and it is a workhorse. Very dependable and accurate. Gil

That's incorrect. If you want a flat surface via planer, you will need to join a face first. And most times bodies are edge joined by at least two pieces.....heck a lot of big name geets are three or more. Just as strong. Sorry dude, but I'm with K on this one. I've done it many times, and it works great. From a rough piece of lumber: 1) Plane face A until all of the rough surface is gone. I usually do it in 1/64" incriments. It will NOT be perfectly level because B is not level yet. 2) Plane face B the same way. B will now be ALMOST paralell with A. 3) Re-do A with a pass or two to make it level. 4) Re-do B. Now you're totally level. But that only takes care of the wide surfaces. We're dealing with 4" - 14" wide pieces that are usually 2"+ thick. That's why you need a jointer. Before I had one, I was trying desperately to true up the "thin" sides with a table saw, but it just didn't work. Bottom line, if you're gluing pieces together to make the final width, you need a jointer. Dude, His dudeness, duderino...I like that. Anyway, unless you do special preparations such as Fryovanni mentions with his shimming and straight edge technique you're fooling yourself if you think that your are getting it flat by merely flipping the stock. But, hey there are more than one way to skin a cat. We'll just agree to disagree. I'll keep doing it my way. Gil

Well, after speaking with Fender I've got the "lowdown" on these pots. Fender does not sell their parts direct, but they did give me a contact to someone who does; Music Parts Guru http://www.musicpartsguru.com/ Phone 630-521-9170 The 375k pot part number is # 007-3133-000 Gil

That's incorrect. If you want a flat surface via planer, you will need to join a face first. And most times bodies are edge joined by at least two pieces.....heck a lot of big name geets are three or more. Just as strong. Cam, even with a drum sander you will need to exert quite a bit of elbow grease in the way of hand sanding depending on the grit of paper used on your drum. Planers are invaluable to general woodworking shops. If you only plan on making guitars with your tools then I probably would opt for the drum sander over a planer. Just need to be a little more patient. If you plan on other woodworking ventures aside from luthiery such as cabinetmaking or furniture you should consider a planer first and when able get your drum sander. But, that's just one woodworking schlep's opinion. Gil

One thing to think about is that although a planer can be used without a jointer the two really go together. A planer will plane an exact profile of the bottom surface of the wood. Proper use of a planer call for one flat face (jointer). A drum sander can level your work piece, but at a much, much slower rate. As mentioned before the three would be ideal. If I had to pick one I would go with a drum sander. Here is the order in which I bought some of my shop machines; 1. Table Saw 2. Band Saw 3/4 Jointer and Planer 5. Drill Press 6. Drum Sander Gil

Thanks to everyone who chimed in. I feel pretty good about the whole process and knowing that the pots are coming from a highly regarded source as Weber is. Gil

Would you just leave the tap alone (as is) or do I need to cancel it somehow? Gil

Bluesy, thanks a million for those values. It will save this electronics noob a ton of fiddling time. I like that set-up far better than mixing resistors. I did find these with the forums help 350K Audio tapped at 70K from the CCW end from Weber Weber Pots Comments??? Gil

Thanks for the replies guys. Pete, the values of the VHR are listed in the parts list supplied by Fender. Fender VHR Parts List I know that they use those pots in the Eric Johnson sig strat as well. I think I'm leaning toward bulk buying (I have other builds) the 300k's and testing them all. I wouldn't mind mixing the caps and resistors, but I'm worried a little about the taper, as mentioned. Gil

Yeah, I think I'll purchase a variety of pots, caps and resistors and have a fun day with the multimeter. I think in the end, like you said, it won't make a noticeable difference anyway to the "lay ear". Gil

Pots are not made in odd values like that. Why do you need such a specific value? If we could see the circuit, perhaps we can alter it to use a standard value (like 250k). Here is the wiring diagram....again from the Fender website. VHR '52 Wiring Diagram Gil

Pots are not made in odd values like that. Why do you need such a specific value? If we could see the circuit, perhaps we can alter it to use a standard value (like 250k).

I need them for my VHR '52 Tele build. If there isn't such an animal is there a company that will mix and match pots to get the said 375k value? Thanks everyone. Gil Edit/Delete Message

I just had a thought (imagine that) about the technique used to rout binding channels. As I see it a couple of the most frustrating problems that arise with freehand, or commercially bought channel jig are: 1. A unsteady router leading to inconsistent and misshaped channels. 2. Blow-out or tear-out mainly because there is no supporting material on the edges of your work piece. What if a guitar builder were to construct a second template, and exact replica of the original template, sans 3/16" or so from the edges. Could he or she then take that template, attach it to his finished guitar blank (billet), arm his or her router of choice with an up-cut spiral bit (1/8" or so) and a guide bushing and then proceed to rout the channel first, before going to the band saw and cutting your guitar body? I would think that the process would greatly reduce both of the aforementioned problems. Thoughts? Do you all have "go-to" technique that you like? I just think that buying a jig is a lot of cash for something with spotty results and hand-held.....yikes. Gil Edit/Delete Message

Holbren Give these guys a try for Whiteside bits. Usually some of the best prices out there. They always have sales going on as well. And if you use "Woodnet10" in the promotion area you can get an additional 10% off. Also, check out Pat Warner's Router site. Pat Warner It is very informative and he custom makes acrylic bases for many different routers, including the Colt. They are a big improvement on a already great lil router. For those of you wondering.....Woodnet is a woodworkers forum. Good luck, I love my Colt. Gil

Make sure you give Ron Kirn a try. The quality and detail in his templates are superior in my opinion. I just received a set of Telecaster templates from him and they are top notch. Now.....if I could just get him interested in creating a Rickenbacker template. Gil

Mickguard, Thanks for the offer! Seeing that I make minor tweaks on most of my builds anyways it would great if you could email or pm those tracings when you come across them. A very nice gesture I must say. I'm finishing a '52 Hotrod Tele right now. As soon as I finish I will get started in earnest on the Ric. I will be sure and do a build thread. Gil

I've just about finished upgrading my shop and I'm anxious to get back to building guitars. At the top of my list is a Rickenbacker '58 325 (just like John's). I've been searching for specs, measurements, templates, plans, blueprints and drawings of this, or any Ric, with little success. Aside from the specs that the Rickenbacker website offers I've come up with nada. Have any of our builders here attempted a Ric and, or have access to information. It would be sooooooo greatly appreciated. I think this build would be a challenge, but a lot of fun. And, of course it will be documented here. Thanks in advance. Gil