Acousticraft

By hard wearing, I was referring to its properties as a bearing material.

Nice work there. A Tele will be my next project when I get out of the red and get the green light from my wife.

What brand of single coils are they?

I think a tele with Humbuckers is not the real deal. Nothing like that tele twang I say.

If you want a simple overdrive to fit have a look at

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_p..._Overdrive.html

I calculate that if the bridge is in its lowest position, the saddles will be approximately 14.5mm (9/16") off the top of the guitar.

If you draw it out at 5/8" you will be fine. You will need to work out approximately where the saddle position will be and work out your neck angle off that. Draw your intersection line taking the thickness of the fingerboard (1/4") into account as well. I calculate my neck angle without worrying about the action height, just a line along the top of the fingerboard touching the saddle top when it is at its lowest position. Once you have finished the guitar and raised the action to stop fret buzz everything works out fine.

By the way that is the same bridge I used on my semi-hollow guitar. The only drawback is the intonation adjustment is on the pickup side of the bridge instead of the back. That means you have to lower your bridge pickup down to have access to intonate. Not a major problem though.

I dont think you need to worry about the slight difference as the exstra fingerboard length can go to the edge of the sound hole. You may get an extra fret in it.

But with the longer 25.5" scale length you can probably get a lower action because the strings have more tension.

Brass will certainly brighten the sound and is hard wearing.

They is no "proper" position as such unless you are using a LP pickguard which is spaced to suit two pickups.

The closer to the bridge you go the more trebley the guitar will sound on the bridge pup.

It may be a case of positioning it so it has the same gap between pup and fingerboard and pup and bridge so it looks right aesthetically.

Do a Google search and you will probably find something. What colours are the wires?

You wont get a true single coil sound only a big drop in volume when coil cut. I did that on my first electric but IMHO it was a waste of time as I preferred the richer humbucker sound to the kind of thin sound you get.

Why the 500K ohm pots? Most single coils use 250K ohms.

I don't think aluminum would be a good material as it would wear too quickly at the contact point. Use a bone or Tusq saddle as they are proven.

Fill it with sound.

Yes it is 17 degrees and from what I have read Gibson tried a lesser angle and went back again to 17 degrees.

It apparently sustains better with that angle?

Lots of preferences out there. I have read that bone density can vary from one nut to another but whether that makes any difference is anybodies guess.

When I built my first acoustic I used a plastic nut and saddle. My local music shop showed me a Tusq nut and demonstrated the difference between plastic and Tusq by dropping them on the counter top. The plastic nut sounded very subdued compared to the Tusq that had a sharp ring in comparison. I put the Tusq nut on and straight away the guitar was more alive, I then changed the saddle and again it brightened up the sound. It is quite unbelievable the difference it makes. Even a cheapo guitar will sound a lot better with the change.

So thats why I'm sold on Tusq and its so easy to file and slot etc.

I have tried Corian but its not as bright sounding as Tusq.

I have always used "Tusq" nuts on both my acoustics and electrics as it is so easy to work and sharp sounding when dropped on a hard surface. I also use Tusq for saddles on acoustics as I think it really transfers vibrations efficiently.

What nut material do you like?

I see you are a lefty. A really beautiful looking axe. Well done!

Where did you get your hardware from?

I have a cheapie taiwenese made suction gun which is a Devillbiss copy that actually does a good job. The idea of having a regulator right at the gun is a good move if like me you have a compressor thats too small. That way there is no pressure drop when you pull the trigger. I found I got good results by cutting back the air pressure to about 25psi and spraying a just wet coat using laquer. That way there is little overspray plus air consumption is minimised.

I reckon like playing a guitar 90% is the skill of the operator and 10% the equipment.

Have a look at stewart MacDonalds site as they have wiring kits listed plus wiring diagrams.

It really boils down to what size pieces your timber merchant has in stock. If you can get by with one piece then all the better

Mark your center line and thickness and cut the shape of your neck and peg head. Mark guidelines about 10mm/3/8"in on each edge you need to shape. Clamp a block of wood in a vice and clamp the peg head to it and position so you are working at a comfortable angle and use a spokeshave and cut back to those guide lines evenly on both edges. You will need to make sure you are cutting with the grain and learn to roll your wrists to just take a thin slice each time. Adjustment and sharpness of the blade is crucial to easy carving.

When they look even you can then start radiusing off the corners bit by bit. Don't remove the center line and keep closely inspecting it and run it through your hands as that is a good guide to unevenness. If you have a heel block like I fit to my guitars then it needs to be fitted up and glued on before you start the carving process.

I then use a fine file to dress it up for the next stage and then sand with 120 grit going finer till about 320 grit.

When you are fine sanding it with your hands you can feel any slight variations there might be.

It is a good idea to leave the neck a tad wider than your finished fingerboard so once the truss rod is installed and the fingerboard is glued on then you can then carefully sand back with a straight edge block so all edges are beautifully flush.

Now I have done a few necks I find it one of the most enjoyable parts of the guitar building process.

If you aren't that confident practice on some scrap wood before you attack that priceless quilted Maple neck you might have.

Yes

Get a digital multi- meter. They are a lot easier to read and more accurate than an analogue type. I have had one for about 18yrs and it still works fine. I use to use it every day when I used to work as a Diesel Mechanic. It measures up to 500 volts and fits in your shirt pocket. The audible continuity tester is the most useful thing for wiring on guitars as is the ohm meter for checking pot values and outputs etc.

Is there a reason why you don't just get a 3 way Tele/LP switch? If you really want a mini switch then yes you would need an on/on/on. There is no place from memory to put an earth wire on to a mini switch and they (mini switches) are used generally to coil cut a humbucker.

Guys thanks for the quick replies. Anything to keep prices down is appreciated especially when converted to NZ dollars.

It is like building a boat. The hull is the cheap part and the cost is in the hardware.

Those Wilkinson locking tuners look tempting at such a good price.

Any glue for acrylic should work OK as that is what Weld on cement is. I had the same problem trying to get Weld On 16 in New Zealand but found an Auckland company here through Goggle that sold it so was lucky. They were not aware you could glue plastics to wood with it.

I would recommend doing a Goggle search and you may find someone nearby sells the stuff.