copperhead

I'm refinishing a les paul that has been previously finished with wipe on poly ,It's sanded back to the wood now

So do I need to use grain filler even though the pores were previously filled ?

thanks........................ awaiting a responce

Hey, does anyone have before and after pictures of a guitar that has yellowed over time with nitrocellulose lacquer? Preferably a natural finish over figured wood. I'm curious to see just how dramatic the change is. How quickly does nitro begin to yellow? Thanks!

it will take a decade . its more of a clear transparent than poly i built several guitars in the last 2 years a couple necks nitro finish & 2 with poly the 2 poly necks are naturally yellower than the nitro neck & after 2 years the nitro is not changed

I am totally amazed (in a good way) when I hear about people that actually hand wind (as opposed to hand guide like most of us do) a complete pickup. I started with a really simple winder made from an old sawing machine (really simple, double stick tape on the wheel that can be turned by hand when using the machine, I have no idea what it is actually called) and have from that built two more winders. I find it much easier to build a simple winder than doing it buy hand, but as mentioned, still full of awe toward those who actually does it by hand. Cudos to you all!

SM have instructions on winding pickup with a simple hand held drill.

When doing HBs there are one key factor that is often overlooked. Mismatching the coils. In general, tightly speced coils in the same pickup produce a more compact sound with more high end attenuation. For a "clearer" sound with "airier" treble (OK, the descriptions getting worse and worse but I think you get it) you can try to mismatch the coils with 5 to 10%. it will open up the sound. From your description I would wind the neck pickup with quite tight tolerances between the coils, still a bit less than 5000 turns per coil. The bridge I would take as high as possible (might be too much, but thats what I hear when I read your description) for the first coil and then back off considerable (the 5 to 10% mentioned) on the second coil.

I started out with SM kits. They sound OK. But remember that for the first ten or so pickups it will not be the quality of the parts that determine the sound. It will be how you wind it. After some 10-20 pickup you might start to get consistent results, and thats when you should start to worry about parts quality.

after all that your addicted

I'm going to PWA 3 times a week

"PICKUP WINDERS ANONYMOUS"

The Shinto rasp is under 30 dollars... what is your time worth?

The answer to that is pretty sad really, when you divide the dollars by hours....

In this case though, its not about time or dollars. Its just about having an idea, and trying it out to see if it works. Hell, I hardly ever use rasps anyway. I use chisels and palm gouges where most would use a rasp.

On the other hand those Shinto rasps are pretty sweet. I'm pretty sure I'll have one before long....for those times I do use them .

SR

when you get it done post some pics thats a great ideal

im not new to pickup winding

Sorry if I sounded like I tried to lecture you, that was not my intention. I have a tendency to not being able to stop myself sometimes...

you are a real asset here SwedishLuthier i love building guitars but this year im too busy building pickups , any time you can put me in my place haha cheers man

i dont think all tele pickups have a metal baseplate

No, there are several versions, including some for the cheaper Fender or Squire models, that have a molded plastic bobbin, pretty much like a HB bobbin, but of cause differently shaped. Can't find a good pic of one right now... The thing with those pickups are that the plastic surrounding the magnets add to the thickness of the pickup, altering the sound. If thats a good or bad thing, wel I leave that up to you. With this type of bobbins it is possible to push a magnet up or down for sure. Please make sure that you have a plastic bobbin before attempting to push the magnet up or down. Look for the mold line across the top of the bobbin. However these cheep pickups are often not equipped with magnet pole pieces. They have steel poles and a ceramic bar magnet underneath. And then its not possible to push the magnets up or down. On the other hand it is much easier to push a steel rod out and grind it ti the desired length. But in the end a Texas Special is not made with a plastic bobbin.

i cant add a picture this wont allow a link from photobucket

Its a bit tricky. Copy the "direct link" that is visible directly beneath the specific picture in the album mode (or whatever that is called) from Photobucket and paste that into the pop up, erasing the "HTTP//" thingy that is present when the pop up appears.

heres a a ling to ebay

its a US tele just look at the 2 pictures

http://cgi.ebay.com/Telecaster-American-Br...=item415150a1b0

a couple years ago i built some strat pickups with stew mac flatwork and magnets the old vintage the magnets which they have a odd size & the 4 inner magnets were a little loose i did not superglue them in the assembly of the bobbin & you could move the magnets up or down without causing a short , i dont recemed trying this anytime sorry if i sounded like a nooby ...."i dont think all tele pickups have a metal baseplate" im not new to pickup winding

No...there are lots of variations, but a traditional fender bobbin is as shown in SL's post and the bobbins are made of fibreboard, so effectively paper. Also, the wire is enamel insulated and excessive heat from the grinding may well heat things up melt and short coils and probably damage the magnets as well.

If a pickup has a integral kind of "magnet" holders...say like a typical HB bobbin, you can remove magnets or more correctly slugs and screws as the wire is protected. Some single coils are made in a similar way but you would have to be sure that this is the case.

The metal plate under a tele bridge pickup does tend to be a part of the sound of traditionally built tele pickups, it does effect the 'shape' of the magnetic field

sorry i didnt read down far enough texas specials got it

I forgot that tele pickups have that base plate which is important to the sound and prohibits the 'pushing in" of the magnets to make them flat that I have heard of people doing with strat pickups.

I'd be taking SL's advice here and not attempting such a thing, maybe his offer to make a new one.

Alternatively, perhaps a radical angle of pickup adjustment might yield some good results without messing with it. If doing it as a paid thing, you are running a big risk of destroying the pickup and you will be taking it on yourself to be cutting it up.

I'd be seriously speaking to the client about options like selling the pickup and getting a new one like SL is offering that is just right, maybe better. If not and they get hacked, without the 'clients' permission, you'd be up for a new pickup and likely the cost too...plus damaging reputation and everything.

i dont think all tele pickups have a metal baseplate this is a pic of a US standard tele pickup which which has a plastic bobbin & no baseplate . i cant add a picture this wont allow a link from photobucket

So i put an irongear rolling mill in the neck of my latest build, i feel it is quite cutting and has alot of clarity but lacks bass and just plain fatness! Im wondering if by swapping out the alnico V magnets to something else it would become fatter? If so what magnet would you guys suggest trying? These pickups are a reasonable price so im thinking i might have a play with some different magnets to get a feel for what it might do.

Also where do you guys buy your pickup magnets? If anyone wants to sell me some that would be cool.

Thanks for the help.

Chad.

try an alnico 8 you will get a brightar sound but not loose ay bass or a a4

http://stores.ebay.com/Addiction-FX-Guitar-and-Sound

dennis is a great guy to deal with

Hi again I am about to rewind a Humbucker for a friend i am going for a PAF like tone I want to also mismatch the coils like Gibson did on their Burstbucker models.

Which coil is the best one to add the extra turns to and is 100 extra turns too much or can I go more ?

i have heard both have been mismatched i would overwind the screw side as the slug side it more magnetic .i know some boutique winders that mismatch as much as 300 turns

I am about to start winding my own pickups I need to clear a few things up first.

*Is their a tonal difference between an unpolished bar magnet as opposed to a polished one?

*At lot of pickup makers seem to prefer enamel coated wire over poly coated wire is there a sound difference between the two providing the same gauge of wire is used?

*I have read somewhere that there are high and low quality magnets,

If this is true how can I tell a good one from a bad one.

Will lower quality magnets sound worse given the same type of magnet is used.

StewMacs pickup parts and kits are a rip off. Is there anywhere else I can buy this stuff from. The only other place I know of is Mojo Music Supply.

thanks.

there is no one place to get perfect humbucker parts. stewmac parts are a little costly but you can make a ok sounding humbucker from there kit . now mojo sells kits aswell .stew mac screws sound pretty good ,and there keepers are ok . mojo has more variety and cheaper as for wire poly & plain enamel do have allot of similarities in sound i have made some great sounding pickups and i will continue to use poly . plain enamel is double the price as well if your new to winding i would not be messing with PE wire practice with solderon poly wire

rosewood body would be very costly i heard those rosewood teles are very bright sounding . but we need to know what kind of music do you play ,what kind of a guitar you want to build .there is allot of good sounding wood thats pretty cheap. i would try any of the softer hardwoods poplar, alder,basswood ,mahogany ,,,,,,,.....swamp-ash or any local wood

you could use bondo or wood filler i have used both with no problems

id clamp it overnight at lease

Thanks Prostheta for the link, and Drak thanks for the thread. I'm trying to flatten it now. I went with the method of spraying the concave side with water and put it covex side up on my bench and put a bag of cat litter on top of it. So will see how it comes out.

On another note Drak you have any pics of that burl guitar finished it looks great. Once I flatten this maple it going on top of chambered walnut and going to just put an L.R. Braggs T-Bridge no other pick-ups. I Want an acoustic but don't like the feel of an a true acoustic guitar.

Anyway, Thanks again

Scott

use a steam iron ,steam both sides and keep steaming after a while it will become flexable you should be able to push it flat the clamp it between two straight boards or on a table or something

I just got a fret slotting mitre box and fender fret scale template from stewmac in order to start making my own necks. The problem I am having, I don't know how to align the template to the routed neck blank in order to get an accurate and precise cut. I can understand using this with a fingerboard blank but I can't wrap my head around the setup for a one piece neck. I know it can be done, I've seen it before. Any help would be appreciated.

what i did was find the center or your template,mark it then from one end to the other with a sharpie or something you think stewmac would have this already done ,then do the same with your fingerboard ,now with your miter box setup and screwed to you bench put your template in ,in the first notch put your saw in place it will be your start where your like all guitars with angled headstock ,the end of your fingerboard will go rite up tight to your saw align the drawn lines on you fingerboard with the one on your template with 2way tape stick the template to you board the lines a for the taper in most fingerboards

maybe you know all this ,if its a strat or tele style with a small nut your starting point will be back about 3/8" from the end

those lee valley blues are very nice i really liked the peacock blue also you might try these guys

http://www.woodessence.com/pigmentsdefault.html

1 Water based filler (mixed with liquid stain)

2 Sanding sealer (if I need it)

3 Watco glossy Lacquer

4 Polish

There are a couple of unidentified variables which will change that list.

Which wood is the body made from? Is it an open grained wood or closed? If it's a closed grain wood, yo don't need to fill.

Is the filler stain-able? If so, you won't need to color the filler at all.

Once the grain is filled, the only purpose I can see for sanding sealer is to prevent the finish from bleeding out the dye. If you use aniline dyes, I don't believe this will be an issue, but I'm not positive. Dye a piece of scrap but don't seal it. Test the finish on it. If the dye doesn't bleed out, you've saved a step. If you DO use it, be extremely careful when sanding it smooth NOT TO SAND THROUGH. You could easily go through the dye as well. You can't seal the wood first before applying the dye to avoid the risk, either. If it's sealed, the dye can't penetrate into the wood. You're a LOT better off in this case if you don't have to use the sanding sealer. Any and every film finish (which lacquer is) penetrates into and seals the wood great with the first coat.

Alternately, you can use sealer to fill the grain. Many of us have done this with great success. With a dyed top, this could be a risky proposition, as I described above, but it COULD be done. You'd simply apply coat after coat, sanding between coats, until the grain is all filed up. I've done this a few times and it works great.

Again though - if you use grain filler and the finish doesn't bleed the dye, you don't need to use the sanding sealer.

Just to throw a wrench in the gears... you can use shellac as a sealer. It will seal the wood great and it doesn't have the occasional adhesion problem with finishes that sanding sealer can have. The only problem is that it doesn't sand well.

Now take some pics and show us what you're working on!

well sanding sealer gives you that nice first coat really its the same of many coats of lacquer but its very easy to sand its thick it kinda fills in imperfections as for grain filler it can be colored with any oilbased stain i never tryed to color it with waterbased stain or dye, i dont think it would be compatable i colored some for a guitar body with minwax ebony black stain it turned out ok

dye or stain(waterbased) this is not as easy as it seems i would wet the wood before applying dye especially the edges endgrain

washcoat 1 to 2 coats of lacquer over the dye

if your applying grain filler for open grain wood it will be here after the washcoat

sanding sealer 2 to 3 coats i usually brush it on with a foam brush sand off most if it will be sanded off anyway

then you lacquer

nice find, but just one thing to worry about some dye's do fade .i use these

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=...190&p=42996

or this

http://www.woodessence.com/dyesdefault.html

Ok, that definitely helps. I'll check out benjamin moore paints this weekend.

Does it matter what kind of sanding sealer I get? Should I look for a water based one or a nitro one?

not all sanding sealer is compatable with nitro lacquer the benjamin moore is ,look for vinyl toluene in the ingredients

i would use watco lacquer,benjamin moore sanding sealer ,and the benjamin moore grain filler thats all i use always had great results

ok, so I've had my guitar built and ready to paint for ages and haven't got around to it yet. I've been trying to track down what supplies I need, what I can buy in my area (Vancouver, Canada) and here's what I've come up with:

Colour Tone Water based filler (from stew mac)

Colour Tone Concentrated Liquid Stain (Stew Mac)

Watco glossy Lacquer, apparently this stuff is nitro and it comes in a spray can, and I can but it at Home Hardware around here.

here's the link: http://www.homehardware.ca/Products/index/...atco_gloss_319g

The reason Im going with the watco, rather than a stew mac lacquer is because they cant ship aerosol stuff to canada.

My plan is to Stain the guitar black and do a glossy lacquer over that. Now this is where I need some help. I've heard that you need to use sanding sealer somewhere in the process but I'm not sure what product to buy if I do. Can I just use the watco lacquer as a sanding sealer?

The next thing I'm not sure about is what order to apply these finishes in. What I'm assuming is something like this:

1 Water based filler (mixed with liquid stain)

2 Sanding sealer (if I need it)

3 Watco glossy Lacquer

4 Polish

Is this correct, or does the sanding sealer go on before the stain/ grain filler?

Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated! I've searched forums high and low and gotten a ton of info so far, but I just want to make sure if exactly what I'm planning is going to work out.

Thanks!

filler if your using open grain woods

i usually go analine dye (waterbased) first, then a light coat of lacquer sometimes called a wash coat to seal in the color, then grain filler here in canada which you can get at any store that sells benjamin moore products then sanding sealer which benjamin moore also carries, i use couple of coats of that is works very well sands very easy then watco lacquer . which i use as well with great results

birch as been called "poor man's maple" i think is alot like maple its not quite so hard its good for necks ,acoustic bodies whatever....give er

im talking about about 18" away from a heat lamp not to hot same as a nice hot day not a kiln

anybody ever use a heatlamp to speed up curing time on a nitro finish ...after all coats are applied or even between coats

i just started applying waterbase analine die on a ash tele body i just made i have some nitrolacquer which i was planning on using but the only local grain filler i could fine was benjamin moore and i think its for poly not lacquer so what can i use instead of grain filler to fill the pores shellac maybe or maybe i should use a poly finnish