Drak

Thanks Mr. Scott. I use Imgur for pic hosting, which I thought everyone and his brother uses now, so I don't know what's up there...Yes, forgot the smell, smells a bit like cinnamon but not quite, but 'spicy' like that (not as spicy as Camphor Burl tho, I love that smell). Ha, you just never know...I also listen to Sean reasonably often and am a fan of all that type of music. But I'm not a massive fanboi to the extent of building a guitar after him in some kind of hero-worship thing, it's not 'that'. I just heard what I heard, and I tend to follow my intuitions when they speak to me. About another 1/2 hour of sanding and shaping and it'll be ready for dye and finish, might get there by tomorrow. I'm still not 100% on the color scheme yet, still culling through my collection of pics I've accumulated over the years. It will be hard for me to hold back and not go full-on quilt-crazy on it, its going to be personally challenging to have some reserve. But I do know I want to use creme colored P-90 covers so it has to match up with that. I keep telling myself all 'cowboy sunset' colors are OUT, don't even go near them, haha. This caught my eye as a possible color contender, and goes well with gold hardware too:

I think I remembered, its Spanish Cedar.

So this is one of the upcoming burst jobs looming on my horizon. About the title: I honestly can't really explain it, I just sometimes get messages or intuitions about things, and I pay attention. And for some reason, this guitar wants to be leaned into something Sean Costello would play. Although as many would know, Sean passed away many years ago. I've got nothing beyond that, so it is my Sean Costello double-cut P-90 build. What that means (to me) is nothing crazy lunatic fringe finish-wise or sound wise. Something more delicate and traditional. Sean tended to play a goldtop P-90 Les Paul that was pretty well worn-in. Jason Lollar actually rewound his pickups for him once and named a Lollar P-90 model after him (w/o his approval, as the story goes). And his music was traditional gutsy bluesy-soul influenced. So the P-90's I'm going to use are along that vein, right down the middle, no heavy-duty overwound stuff. Yet, I'm not going to copy anything I've done so far finish-wise, I'm thinking a 'Lightly Toasted Almond' color is my working model at the moment. I was working on it today actually, it's nearing dye stage now. This pic is from February 2015, it is sitting in the back, in the corner, the double-cut, this is the oldest pic I can find of it. You can't see much of it but more pics will be coming as it's getting ready for heavy rotation now. It's very light, and I can't even remember the name of the core wood now, but if you throw a bunch of light hardwoods at me, I might remember. Looks a lot like Mahogany but its not, and the color is a little bit lighter and more pinkish than Mahogany. Dents with a fingernail super-easy. But it's really light, which everything about this build is going to be, light and delicate, nothing heavy-handed or dark or weirdo-metal sticky.

IIRC, the Lawrence Q filter is recommended for humbuckers, it 'kind of' turns them from full HB sound to a SC sound, if I'm remembering correctly, it wouldn't be recommended for a regular Tele bridge, but you should check my math on that to be sure. Yes, I know exactly what you mean and have aimed for that myself more than once. The only real way I came up with was to move the location of the bridge itself, to 'scoot it up' toward the neck as much as possible within intonation tolerances. This means the saddles will be moved farther back toward the back end of the bridgeplate. Thus separating the pickup and the saddles from each other as much as physically possible. Which I think you already have grasped the concept, based on your toploader comment. Check any other similar build you've done and have properly intonated. Then measure the distance from the nut, precisely, on that guitar. From the high E to the low E, know those distances so you know your saddle travel tolerances. Because you're going to be pushing it to its limits and you don't want to wind up with a low E that won't intonate because the saddle wants to be further back than you have the actual physical room for movement. Use that measurement along with how much saddle travel you have available to mark your bridge placement location. That's really the only way to get distance between the saddles and the pickup. Unless you use a generic string-thru bridge that has no pickup cutout in it, those 'shortie' bridges. One of these things...with this, you can (obviously) put the pickup anywhere you want it.

Thanks! I love'em too, I had no idea how these would come out (going in), but they're coming out great.

So this is what I got for you about that jack cup. I found a thread from Jemsite where someone else was doing the exact same rebuild thing you are, same guitar. So you can check the thread to see how his came out and see if you want to alter your plans based on what he did. Anyway, about 2/3 the way down the first page, Frank Falbo responded to the guy about the jack cup. And he said just leave it as-is and to take your time cleaning it up as much as you can. If Frank Falbo said that, I wouldn't question it, I would go with his recommendation. Although I find it completely puzzling why a factory-build guitar has a part that doesn't dis-assemble, since it had to be assembled in the first place. If it could/would come out so you could clean it up and re-install, I would believe he would have said so and the guy before you would have done it. So, I wouldn't touch the thing from here on out. I would actually be really careful with it unless you have formed other plans. I would plan on having to clean it up, doctor it, fix it, whatever, but apparently they don't willingly come out. I would just stick that in the plans, one more step that needs attention at some point. If it were me, and it doesn't come out w/o breaking it (which I find really puzzling as its a factory guitar)... I would look at its renovation as a sort of 'mini-project' unto itself. Same Re-Build as Yours If that were me and I was contemplating removing it, I would DAMN sure have a working and successful plan in mind before I removed what's there. Remember, this is all about proceeding forward w/o shooting yourself in the foot, especially unnecessarily. You have reached the first cliffhanger for your project, it probably won't be the last, but learn how to proceed without setting yourself backwards. The reason I say that is because I read the words 'O-Rings', (OMG) hahaha!

In comparison, I'm glad I was talked down off the Bridge of Leopard. Yeesh!

Tele is finished, Strat coming in behind it sometime soon. I loved doing this distressed work, I think it blends in perfectly, is not overbaked, was a boatload of fun to do, and looks great. To me, anyway, I absolutely love it. However, there are several burst jobs waiting in the wings, tho I really almost don't want to do them as I'm liking this look so much right now.

OK, I stopped the Strat neck work at this point and focused on catching up the Tele. You can tell the difference as the Strat has the Floyd flat shelf. Having a roll of Oak iron-on veneer laying around was just astounding how much faster it made everything go. Instead of hours prepping, gluing, and waiting, everything involved for a headstock glue-up, I was done in like, 10 minutes, I kid you not. By the last pic, the Tele neck is done. Veneered, dyed, pore-filled, sanded, lacquered, distressed, clearcoated. Done.

Funny Marauder story. PS, I like how Deryck has that single bridge HB moved northward a little for more thick balls tone. Funny his other guitarist has what appears to be a barden equipped Strat, Barden's not really known for being Metallica-approved pickups, generally, tho they do take gain really well. Anyway, I bought three of the original (Bill Lawrence designed) Marauder bridge pickups about 10-15 years ago. My lazy ass left them in the pickup drawer as I never got around to making a pickguard cutout router template for them. So they just languished for all those years. I just finally made the template a few days ago as I needed to make one for my old Kay Speedbump pickups too. So after all these years I can finally use those old (and very cool) Marauder pickups. I wasted no time, one is going in my new Oak Tele build in the neck. They all still have the shrink-wrap on the tops. Totally stoked to Finally get one of these in a guitar. Can't wait to see your Marauder Come Back to Life.

The weather was so nice today, I just kept right on going. Applied Oak iron-on veneer to headstock, dyed it and the neck, and shot two paper-thin coats of lacquer on it. Next up: Black pore-fill and distressed sand-back, then cleared. Veneer applied and whole neck dyed. Two coats of lacquer applied.

The neck I'm using I had planned for another build, which was black. I decided to use dark fretboard necks on both of them. This one already has the Floyd shelf on it. So since I had to strip it all back down, I introduced a soft V rear profile while I was at it.

Sorry, no one here will allow you to buy a Warmoth neck Luis. I'm going to call Warmoth and tell them about you and to refuse all your orders! And if I have to, I'll call Pimentel & Sons and set up an appointment FOR you. Don't make me go all Daddy Drak on you...

So I finished up the Moonshadow, all done now with the pickguard/pickup change. The Speedbump is actually probably the closest rendition of a Tele neck pickup I could have found (mid-5k pickup). One thing I didn't think about was that it is covered, just like a Tele neck. That realization hit me when I first plugged it in. I could 'hear' the effect of a covered pickup, and there is a difference. Like someone put a light 'blanket' over the top end, compared to the open-pickup strat that was in there. So actually it sounds more like a Tele neck than ever now.

It depends on how you intend to deal with the cracks. If you're just looking to fill in the gaps, then CYA glue will work best (with accelerator would be preferred). If you're going to clamp them shut, then Titebond. Titebond is not designed to fill gaps, it shrinks a lot when it dries and is very weak as a standalone solid, so it will need repeated attempts to truly fill the gaps. Titebond is designed to join wood surfaces together, like, touching each other, preferably clamped, in that situation, it is very strong indeed. CYA glue has no shrink. So it depends on whether you're gap-filling cracks or re-joining wood pieces together again. I thin down Titebond with water all the time depending on the situation, but I don't use it to fill cracks and such. I mean, you can put a fingernail dent in dead-dry Titebond. PS, wear a mask if you're going to sand that silver off, I don't know what's in that stuff, might be harmful.

I think I talked myself down off the cliff (again). Will go with the tortoise-guard, and maybe a Maple neck too. Then both Oak builds will retain a similar 'brother-build' quality in the end. It IS a 'Timmons-Caster' original-design after all (I remembered my design ethic and am going to stick to it) And Andy primarily uses maple necks, I feel I can't stray too far from my intended design purpose. But damn, I love those Leopard guards, I must find something suitable for them one day. How about a double-neck double-leopard? Now THAT would be Hair-Metal Glam to the 9's!

Actually, there IS a black pickup in the middle position, hard to see I know.

I got the Strat Leopard guard in. Lustful Leopard temptation is upon me again. I know the Tele is blackguard, that's a done deal. I just took the pics for fun...but the Strat, wellsir...which way does the weather blow today?

Yup, just from your first shots I thought it was a very nice piece of Mahogany. Just don't dig into it with your putty knife, have some patience, and you're on your way to the next step w/ no setbacks. And you're learning as you go, which is what builds skill sets for future endeavors. Depending on what your final finish plans are, you may not need to touch the cavities. I wouldn't sweat those at the moment.

So I will use the words ' temperature range' and 'finesse' again. As I said, I have a feeling you're 'just' creeping up 'into range' temp-wise, but at the low end. I understand that, you're being cautious and that is normal. But being overly cautious, with heat-gunning, makes your job harder. Being overly cautious And impatient is the worst combination and achieves the worst results. Bubbling and burning are at the other end of that heat spectrum, that's too hot and will burn the wood underneath, creating problems nobody wants. This is where the word finesse comes in. Finesse comes with experience, and you're gaining experience in real time and observing your results. You're learning as you go, and reporting results, which is all excellent. But understand 'the range' now, patiently go a little further (heatwise) than you have, and be observant and mindful. If you notice bubbling or burning or smoke, notice that too (and avoid it) but notice how long it took to 'get there'. And you will start to understand the temperature range available and the time in between too cold and burning/smoking. That's where heat-gunning becomes like a performance art, when you know the sweet spot and can hit it w/o being too cool or too hot. That is the artistry of heat-gunning, and it only comes with time and repeated efforts, being conscious of both extremes. That's where (and why) you need to take your time and not rush through it. You'll pass through 'the window' too quickly if you're impatient and go right to burning and bubbling, and you'll get frustrated by the finish not 'cooperating' if you never get to the middle of the window. When you get the hang of it, it's actually kind of fun and enjoyable. You're doing fine, you're learning along the way, just push the envelope a little bit further and don't rush it. You're looking for 'the window' of opportunity. Not too hot, not too cold, either way presents problems. When you learn to wait patiently for the sweet spot, then peel it off somewhat easily (or easier), you'll see the art of waiting for 'the window' and know when to pounce. Heat...and time...those are the factors you're working with here, you're manipulating both of them to your maximum benefit. The heat gun in the right hands is just like a paintbrush in the hands of a skilled painter who knows what that brush can do and can extract much out of it. About the pre-stain conditioner, I would advise against it, but everyone has an opinion.

I have a single-ply black Esquire pickguard coming Tuesday. I made a router template for the Speedbump pickup for when the Esquire guard gets here. I sprayed one of my Speedbumps today. Should have it done and mounted same day the pickguard arrives, I'm all ready for it.. I think this is going to look really cool and interesting. Think I'm going to knock the finish shine down a bit to match the guard, more or less. This pic is before I routed it out. I also needed a router template for a few old Gibson-Lawrence Marauder pickups I've had for years, unmounted, simply because I was too lazy to make the router template for them. Case corrected.

Unless I'm missing something, I'm not seeing a problem, or the need of a chemical stripper, or any wood filler. Unless you show me a chunk of wood that came up with the finish (which I'm not seeing), in which case I'd just tell you to get it hotter. You're going to sand the entire thing anyway once you get the finish off of it. I don't see any burn marks, so my recommendation would be to (1)shrink the area you're working on down and (2)get it hotter. The hotter you get it, the more it will want to loosen its grip and let go. They may have used a bonding agent or some kind of primer, but whatever, nothing is going to stop a heat gun. That's what I got for now, just keep going, get your area hotter, and work smaller areas at a time. Also, if you're using a metal putty knife, try to 'pry' with the grain, in the direction of the grain, don't go in sideways against it. I only say that in case you're not getting it hot enough and a piece of wood actually will want to come up with the finish. Getting it hotter will reduce that possibility. Because I'm not sure yet you're getting it hot enough. I think you're just getting it hot enough to 'just' break loose, but there is a temp. range available to you. And I think you're at the lesser end of the heat spectrum, which is making it more difficult than it need be. The hotter you get it, the easier it becomes to 'work' the finish off. As I said, there is a certain 'finesse' when it comes to heat-gunning finishes off.

Got several clearcoats on yesterday, as well as blacking out the Floyd cavities.

Don't ask me how I know...but I knew that (or something like it)...was coming.

OMG, I'm replying to a tonewood thread! Must analyze self, must analyze self! Danger Will Robinson! Right around 5 min. in he just gets right to the point of it all.