IB-1Q Screamin Demon Dragon - build #8

[Marcel]

It took almost a month of trying not to, but... well most of you know how things are when you have a bad case of GAS...

I tossed and pondered for ages, shall I get a real RG, or save and wait to get a Jiva, or will I go with a kit ?... Priced one, checked websites and found the others would be double if not quadruple or more in a strike to the wallet, so ultimately as I do enjoy the building process almost as much as playing I took the most economical path and got the IB-1Q kit.

A comment here for our Aussie post... This is my 8th delivery from PBG and ALL have been delivered in a timely manner. Also that all have arrived as if Adam had handed them to me personally it perfect undamaged condition...

Okay, so I opened the box.... And WOW !!! The Dragon inlay is Awesome. Great colour, incredible depth... the photos don't do it justice. And while the quilting isn't quite as impressive as some of the images of quilted guitars you may find in Google images it is still very nice and balanced and in some ways a little understated. It will be interesting to see how it progresses when colour and finish coats are added.

I took some photos of the damped down slightly for the benefit of all you visual creatures out there... Not too many outlandish plans. Keeping all the original hardware and the supplied Floyd bridge for now, but I do have a set of Ibanez IBZ humbuckers that I want to try.

[DarkMark]

What a wonderful looking kit, Marcel. I look forward to seeing how this one turns out.

[Marcel]

It may look wonderful, and for the most part it is... but there are problems.

Did a little sanding with some 280. Basically it was checking and removing lifted grain from when I damped it down the other day. All seems good, nil glue spots of any note. Neck fit into the body is very snug, tight enough to hold together comfortably without any screws, so I'm very happy about that. And measuring the 12th fret and the most likely final position of the Floyd style bridge looks very promising for the future intonation setup.

It's worth saying that this is more an S type than a RG type body. Curved front and back, and quite slim at the edges. It will be interesting affixing the cover plate over the control cavity as that will need to bend about 10mm if it is to sit flush against the body. No such drama for the trem spring cover.

I thought to check the fitting of the jack... Hmmm... Now there is a problem. The hole measures 15.72mm across yet the rubber grommet that mounts behind the jack flange measures slightly under 17.5mm... The awkwardly drilled hole through the face of the body is 2mm too small.!!!...Buggar !!!

[Simon Barden]

You can always cut the edge of the rubber grommet down, presuming the metal part of the flange is narrow enough to fit.

Looks like you might need to square off the rounded side of the cavity where the end of the jack barrel pokes through in order for the nut to screw on properly and not just touch the wood at two points.

[Marcel]

Not quite Simon.
The metal lip to the socket is 16.5mm so the hole is too small for even the socket to fit in properly. I doubt I'll find a smaller socket so enlarging the hole is the only option, and if I'm doing that then may as well take it up to the right size for the grommet...

As I'm not keen on getting a expensive 17.5mm drilling bit it looks like it's Dremmel tool time...

[wazkelly]

Sexy looking kit Marcel.

I don't own a Dremmel and would probably spend hours using 80 grit paper wrapped over something round and long enough to fit down the hole, which is exactly what I had to do when installing upgraded Tuners on the MMMB4 a couple of weeks ago.

Good luck with the sanding/hole enlarging.

Cheers, Waz

[vh2580]

Hi Marcel
A little different but dependant on actual through hole size would a screwed end pin be an alternative.
Thread is 9/16 (14.29mm) Could potentially screw in without modifying the hole in the body?
https://www.realparts.com.au/electro...-pin-jack.html
http://www.switchcraft.com/productsu...spx?Parent=884 Item 153 pdf spec

[Marcel]

Thanks Tony.
The Switchcraft option certainly is a preferable way to go as it will fit the hole nicely. Only downside is it's chrome rather than Black but as it will be hidden deep inside the body I doubt anyone will notice.

I might wait a little and see if there is anything else I need from Realparts before placing an order.

[FrankenWashie]

It may look wonderful, and for the most part it is... but there are problems.

Did a little sanding with some 280. Basically it was checking and removing lifted grain from when I damped it down the other day. All seems good, nil glue spots of any note. Neck fit into the body is very snug, tight enough to hold together comfortably without any screws, so I'm very happy about that. And measuring the 12th fret and the most likely final position of the Floyd style bridge looks very promising for the future intonation setup.

It's worth saying that this is more an S type than a RG type body. Curved front and back, and quite slim at the edges. It will be interesting affixing the cover plate over the control cavity as that will need to bend about 10mm if it is to sit flush against the body. No such drama for the trem spring cover.

I thought to check the fitting of the jack... Hmmm... Now there is a problem. The hole measures 15.72mm across yet the rubber grommet that mounts behind the jack flange measures slightly under 17.5mm... The awkwardly drilled hole through the face of the body is 2mm too small.!!!...Buggar !!!

I had this with an IB kit and had to use the dremel with a coarse sanding sleeve on it to ease the hole open a bit more it's fiddly and time consuming but it can be done.

[Marcel]

I had this with an IB kit and had to use the dremel with a coarse sanding sleeve on it to ease the hole open a bit more it's fiddly and time consuming but it can be done.

Glad I'm not alone FW.

The humorous side of me had the thought the factory must be making a lot of holes with this size drill bit as not only is it smaller in size but it must be as blunt as Granny's kitchen butter knife that she got as a wedding gift. The hole is by no means a clean cut, huge chunks (relatively speaking) have been ripped out from all around the hole. Lets just say that if I were not to dremel it out then I will need to mix up some spak-filler just to get the surface back to an even kilter for sanding before finishing. It is truly a 'bit rough' down that hole, sorta reminds me of 4WD country, or maybe a moon scape ....lol ....

Who would have thought that a single simple hole would eat up so much time and effort ?... Ahhh... the joy of building.!