Andyjr1515

16 hours ago, ScottR said:

Awe thanks Andy! That's ahfully kind of you to say so.

SR

Awe is it?   (cue intrigue music: dum der dum dum )

I remain in awe....

On 11/19/2023 at 5:10 PM, henrim said:

In your solution the hollow bolt acts like a bushing. But if someone installs the same tuners in to an existing guitar with straight holes there is no bushing

Yes - you are both right 

For folks reading this who have no idea what's being discussed, it is this thorny issue for builders, modders and repairers:

Tuner manufacturers use a variety of ways to support the spindle.  There is no standardisation of method or sizes, which is why when you are replacing tuners it is worth looking closely at the specs of the guitar or bass the tuners are for and the specs of the replacement tuners themselves.

But yes - in general = the methods commonly used to support the spindle are these:

1. A push-in bush: usually used with straight-sided holes (but not always - this one below in practical terms actually needs a larger diameter hole at the top of the headstock to allow the bush to be 'pressed' in!).  Often found on vintage guitars and basses :

2.  An externally threaded bush.  Think Fender.  Here, the bush screws into the tuner body and is a smaller diameter than the body cylinder it is screwing into.  As such, the hole needs to be stepped.  This is usually achieved by simply drilling a larger diameter from the back and smaller one from the top or by using a stepped drill.  It could also be achieved with a sleeve fitted at the top of a straight-sided hole, although I've never seen that in practice.

3.  An internally threaded bush.  These require straight-sided holes.  Here, the bush has the larger external diameter, is smooth-sided and uses a straight-sided hole.  These are often used on bass guitars

Absolutely top drawer quality build, Ash.  Knockout!

Lovely job

Looks pretty splendid to me...

Those rings are super! 

20 hours ago, avengers63 said:

That's what it's looking like to me too. 

Yes, me too.  Still a help though, even if that turns out to be the case, as the trees won't have as much work to do...and the friction will correspondingly be lower. 

10 hours ago, ScottR said:

This gets me to the fun stuff.

Carving!

Let the rabid beavers feast!

SR

OOOOOoooo... here we go     The bit I've been waiting for 

The pickups delay is frustrating, though.

I fully agree - that backplate looks good 

Bummer about the tuner hole damage.  I have to admit that I have had more damage 'events' with tuner holes than any other area over the years.

On 11/8/2023 at 9:47 PM, avengers63 said:

For the past couple of months, I've been going further and further down the rabbit hole of pickup theory and construction. The magnet type comparisons have REALLY opened my eyes... or ears as it were.

These two dudes have been an invaluable source of information:

https://www.youtube.com/@CSGuitars

https://www.youtube.com/@DylanTalksTone

They both cut through the marketing, voodoo, and various other piles of BS and get to the real, unbiased information.

Yes indeed.  Comparisons of just the various Alnico types (III IV etc) show the HUGE differences in both tone and output.  My favourite for a LP-style layout humbucker arrangement are Alnico IV's (4)

Nice seeing the concept start to take shape.  I like that top wood very much

On 11/9/2023 at 3:58 PM, ScottR said:

I tuned in looking for the beginning of a nice build and BOOM! This thing hit the ground running like a newborn in track shoes.

Beautiful timbers and the dye job, burst and finish are stunning.

SR

Me too!!!!

What @ScottR says above, @ADFinlayson  - all of it! 

16 hours ago, woodfab said:

was thinking of trashing the whole project

Well, very pleased you didn't!  Watching with great interest

Build is coming on well    

I like zero frets and fit them to many of my own builds.  Yes, as @killemall8 says, the spacer can/should be a lot lower - its only function is to keep the strings in their relative positions and you don't want it to be a source of buzz or binding.

I'm sure you have this in your plans, but the other thing you will need to do is to add grooves in the fretboard end piece at the headstock side of the spacer so that the string can go from the zero fret directly to the tuner pegs (or string tree) without touching anything else.  That way you maximise the break angle over the zero fret and avoid binding or buzzing of the string over the fretboard end. 

29 minutes ago, ScottR said:

I think anyone that heard that before seeing it would be totally stunned that it was coming from a guitar Barbie could play.

SR

I agree.  It certainly punches above its weight...quite literally  

1 hour ago, Bizman62 said:

The bass strings now seem more articulate and flavorous, the treble ones still sound a bit ukey especially when strumming chords.

Yes - I quite agree.  With both sets of strings it's the strumming that gives the game away.   Also, that last note of the last piece - 12th fret, 1st string  - that really is the maximum resonance and not just my playing  

I've been messing around with strings a little and have come across a set that I think suits the tonal dynamics pretty well.  It is a mixed tension set from Savarez, their Corum Red/Blue set.  The bass three strings are high tension and the three treble strings standard tension.

I think it balances out the resonances from the strings.  Although this set will allow me to tune one or two semi-tones lower, I think the 'three semitones above standard' still suits best.

Here's a second set of short demo sounds in different styles, again recorded directly into my little Zoom H2n recorder.

Finally, the varnish is now hardened and today is final polishing day   As discussed before, you can't power buff this type of varnish and application (if you do you quickly burn through the shiny top surface into the flattened/matt lower coats and can end up with a series of contour lines).  Final polish for me is a rigorous hand application of Meguiers Ultimate Compound - a very gentle cutting auto-polish.

On 11/6/2023 at 2:28 AM, ScottR said:

I think I've become much better at hiding mistakes than building guitars.

I think that applies to many of us 

Yup.  Could be a winner!

Many, many congratulations on an extremely well-deserved win of October's GOTM!!! 

It is magnificent by any standard...but as a first build, well...that's absolutely off the scale!  

First shots are beautiful timbers.  And then we have a simply perfect neck lamination This is going to be splendid!

2 hours ago, henrim said:

Sounds good for such small instrument!
 

Cricket or rock'n'roll. Equally bad for your instruments.

Just gotta love him...