My first build: DTL-1

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Originally Posted by rjmc

Is there any particular word or sentence that you would like to learn in Portuguese?

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Do you know of a diagram like the one on this page explaining what different the parts of the guitar are called in Portuguese? I suspect that if I refer to "a fruta seca da minha guitarra", people will think that I'm mad...

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

No, the strings just lie across the top of them. I've got a set on one of my Teles and they are fine. The original Fender Tele round brass saddles didn't have any slots either.

If you find there are string spacing issues with them and want to move the strings slightly from where they naturally want to sit, you can of course cut a small notch with a V-shaped needle file. But you should find you don't need to as the string-through holes on the bridge will be evenly spaced.

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Excellent -- thanks!

Back in the UK to find that the Hipshot tuners have arrived. Test fit:

Attachment 33950

As expected, the screw holes don't line up with the factory-drilled ones:

Attachment 33951

...so tomorrow I'll drill two holes the same size in the headstock offcut and plug one with a toothpick and fill another with light wood filler, and see which is least conspicuous when some of my finish is put on top.

It might be hard to see here, but the top two tuners in this (staggered) set have the string hole (technical term) only just accessible:

Attachment 33952

Are PBG headstocks unusually thick? Shouldn't matter, anyway, as the tuners are locking ones so there's no need for multiple turns around the peg. And anyway it's the thin top two strings.

Anyway, I love the way the open gears look.

Attachment 33953

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Are PBG headstocks unusually thick?

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Genuine strats & teles are in the range of about 15mm.

If the headstock is thicker than 15mm and it's an issue for you, either practically or aesthetically, it wouldn't take much with an electric sander to thin it. Work 80-120 grit down to 240.
Now would be the time before you get any finish on there. (which is going to make it marginally thicker again)

As long as you can fit the string through the hole, you'll be OK. You want the B and E string holes to be as low as practically possible so you don't need to use string trees.

I fitted some of the Hipshots (enclosed versions) to a friend's Fret King, where the original height-adjustable Gotohs just weren't locking properly. I used the backing pieces and that covered up the holes without needing to do any filling-in.

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Genuine strats & teles are in the range of about 15mm.

If the headstock is thicker than 15mm and it's an issue for you, either practically or aesthetically, it wouldn't take much with an electric sander to thin it. Work 80-120 grit down to 240.
Now would be the time before you get any finish on there. (which is going to make it marginally thicker again)

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Headstock is between 14.7 and 14.9mm thick according to my shiny new digital caliper (can't remember who recommended getting one, but it's an excellent toy :-) so it looks like all is well.

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

As long as you can fit the string through the hole, you'll be OK. You want the B and E string holes to be as low as practically possible so you don't need to use string trees.

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Thanks, makes sense!

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

I fitted some of the Hipshots (enclosed versions) to a friend's Fret King, where the original height-adjustable Gotohs just weren't locking properly. I used the backing pieces and that covered up the holes without needing to do any filling-in.

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That's certainly my plan if I can't fill the holes in a reasonably invisible way -- but to my mind it looks better without the backing piece:

Attachment 33969

...than it does with:

Attachment 33970

If it was a vintage instrument where I wanted to avoid drilling new holes then everything would be different, though!

[edit] The backing piece doesn't actually quite cover the pre-drilled holes in this case, now that I look closely -- about half of each one is visible:

Attachment 33972

I LOVE those tuners man. Yeah clearance is fine since the locking tuners don't require wire wraps around the post.

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Originally Posted by Andy40

I LOVE those tuners man. Yeah clearance is fine since the locking tuners don't require wire wraps around the post.

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Yup, when I saw the design I almost bought them on the looks alone, but the reviews were great and now that they've arrived I can say that they seem very well put together -- very solid feeling. Looking forward to trying them out :)

So, time to try the different methods for filling the existing tuner screw holes. I want the test I do on the offcut to be as similar to the reality as possible, so first step is to measure how deep the holes are with a toothpick and masking tape:

Attachment 33973

Next, measure the diameter -- the easiest way turned out to be to break off the tip of a toothpick, stick it into the hole, and then measure its diameter at the point it entered:

Attachment 33974

Double-check the width of my 2mm drill bit:

Attachment 33975

All good, so masking tape as a depth stop on the bit:

Attachment 33976

...and drill the holes in the offcut:

Attachment 33977