Given the choice, I'd always opt for a slightly bigger knob.
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Given the choice, I'd always opt for a slightly bigger knob.
Let me guess, you're here all night?!?! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Try the fish and don't forget to tip the waitress...
That's what SHE said!Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Very, very very niceQuote:
Originally Posted by Chuck
Looking good Chuck. Love your work on the pick guard.
Quick question with the aluminium pickguard: given some people use aluminium shielding tape instead of copper, I'm guessing that I don't need to shield the bottom of the pickguard? Would that be right?
Aluminium isn't as conductive as copper, but it should be absolutely fine.
Thanks Pabs - and I guess not the worst thing in the world if I need to shield it later on.
Aluminium is only slightly less conductive than copper (they make a lot of power cables out of it because it's so much lighter and often much cheaper than copper these days).
The real drawback with normal aluminium is its tendency for the surface to oxidise, as aluminium oxide isn't that conductive. Copper oxides are a lot more conductive (though you don't need a lot of conductivity for shielding to work). Aluminium is normally plated (often using tin) for electrical conductor use to avoid surface oxidation problems. Over time, bare aluminium will oxidise and its electrical conductivity will diminish at the place where it's meeting the copper tape unless you take the guard off and give it a good rub down with a fine grit sandpaper to remove any tarnish. Obviously this doesn't affect the internal resistance of the aluminium and so the shielding effect is still fine as long a s a good ground path can be achieved. This is normally through contact with the grounded parts of the potentiometers, so maybe every two years or so I'd occasionally just take the plate off and check electrical continuity from the pots to the aluminium. Ideally you should see a reading of around an ohm or so. Anything above 100 and I'd take the pots off and sand down the contact areas on both the plates and the pots.
There are also the standard issues with dissimilar metals touching each reacting and corroding when wet. You normally have to have salty water for this to happen, but unless you are performing night after night in hot clubs and sweating buckets all over your guitar, I don't really see a problem as being under the scratchplate, it's all fairly well protected.
Thanks Simon. I guess it's lucky the days of me performing night after night in sweaty clubs is long past! That said, I have sealed the top of the pickguard with a satin clearcoat - just in case there's one sweaty club gig...
Good move Chuck as that will also help with fingerprint stains and prevent eventual oxidisation if left untreated.
Hey chuck love the pickguard and stain colour, turning out to be a great build mate.
I'm now a fair way in on doing the gloss coats - gotta love the Sydney weather at the moment. When I started doing the gloss coats the body was certainly nice and smooth, but as I've been doing successive layers of the gloss I can now feel very small ridges that run with the grain. I feel like with about 10 coats on it should have enough to be able to buff back after curing, but given I've never done a stain finish like this (and indeed only ever worked with basswood rather than ash) I wondered if I should do even more? Any tips?
Attachment 21261
nice colour Chuck looks great. I was in Sydney last week for 3 day work conference and the weather was much better than Perth weather lately !!
I'd say 10 coats of gloss should fill in the coarse ash grain. You will know when you have enough layers when you run your fingers over the body.
Yes as woks said and if you keep doing the fine sanding between coats you will eventually sand off the peaks of the ridges and the valleys will fill giving you an even finish, great work.Quote:
Originally Posted by wokkaboy
Thanks guys, I'll let it settle for a few days then do a fine sand to assess how close I am.
And so, after the painful week of gloss coat curing, I was able to start the finishing process. As I'd put 12 coats of gloss on, I was happy to start with a light sand with 800 wet and dry to get a feel for how much I'd need to take off. As I mentioned earlier, I could feel what seemed like "grain ridges" in the top coat, but I actually quite liked them. I wanted a finish that was like an old antique (a well polished one!) rather than that "brand new" perfect finish, especially as the aluminium pickguard is such a contrast. So I did my 800 cut, then moved to 1200, then 1500 then 2000. The idea was to get everything in good shape to take the shine rather than knock it back to perfectly flat. Here's where we are at with a quick crack with some Maguiers Compound. Before finishing everything off I'll do some proper polishing, but I really like how it's looking so far - you can see in the lit section at the top the small imperfections I've kept to get the feel I'm after.
Attachment 21430
Now I've got to this point I can check the alignment on everything and get the pickup surround holes drilled - I wanted to wait to attach the neck to get this done as I still have the ability to expand the pickup holes a little should I need to. Hmm, maybe I'd better get cracking on the neck!
Oh, and that's the pickguard with the protective coat over it - doesn't take any finger prints now but still looks nice and raw.
looking super cool Chuck. I agree on the finish, the grain waves suit it
Also one of those great moments when you realise the finish you want will take less effort!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dedman
I like it a lot.
On my Ash J Bass I reckon the grain contours in the finish makes it look better than if everything was dead flat as that helps to highlight the unique grain of that timber species.
Nice finish Chuck. My JBA4 is exactly the same one of my fav finishes and very organic feeling
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Excitement growing for this guitar.
Looking very nice indeed
I really do hate shielding - just when you think you've nailed it you start finding multiple places you've missed. What's more, I've just realised I put the bridge posts in without the ground wire (see that sad little empty ground hole). I'll now have to drill a new hole into the trem cavity and ground from there *sigh*
Attachment 21470
Hey Chuck, there are methods to remove the bridge bush to get your earth wire in. I used a drill press if you have access to one. There are worse parts of a build than shielding - wiring and sanding for me haha
You may be able to grip the bush screwed into the body insert vertically with a pair of pliers and pull hard
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with a bolt of the right size and a few bits of scrap steel you could make up a puller, but by then you could have just drilled a hole in to the trem cavity :P
Thinking about it I made one of these a while back
http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=3800
Nice one! I'll check up at the local shops for a cherry pipper, but if no luck I'll take the Dedman approach and just drill another hole!Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewdosborne
I am having this frustration with wiring. The woody bits I can do, the wiring snots me up a wall!Quote:
Originally Posted by wokkaboy
Chuck, assuming the bush is hollow all the way through, drop a piece of rod in there that's shorter than the pocket and wind the post back in. You'll effectively use it as a jacking screw to lift the bush out. You might need to chuck a second piece in as it lifts higher, but less risk than drilling new holes.
New logos day! It's taken me forever to get around to going down to Officeworks to get these printed - the drawbacks of currently working from home instead of having an office with a laser printer on call!
Attachment 21520
Got a couple of extras just in case I decide to build some more guitars!!!
I think I’m thinking in circles with the wiring now on this one! Maybe I should go back to simple builds!!
So this is the diagram for the “Bill Lawrence 5-way” switch. I’m using Tonerider Rebel P90s, and they have the single wire coming out of them. I know Weirdy and Simon have talked about this as an issue with the PBG P90s, but I’m hopeful I don’t have to go to a two-coil wire on the Toneriders. I’m hoping that for the neck pickup I can simply split the inner core and the outer ground wrap at the end and put heatshrink along the length of the wire to isolate it a bit. And the points at which they connect to the 5-way are nice and close!
Attachment 21638
For the bridge pickup I’ve finally decided to go with a “blower switch”, and here’s where I get confused. Following the diagram below I’m clear with how to wire in “wire x” to “point A” on the 5-way. I’m then assuming that “point B” on this diagram is the middle lug of the volume pot? If so, that’s cool, but I’m still unsure of what to do with the ground shield on the wire from the bridge pickup. I’m thinking I’ll again have to heatshrink the entire wire again to isolate it. What I’m hoping is that I could attach the ground to the top left lug on the 5-way (which is part of the ground loop - and also nice and close to where the hot wire connects). Would this work or am I way off track?
Attachment 21639
Yep, point A connects to the 5-way where the bridge pup does in the 1st image, and point B is the middle (out) lug on the volume pot.
insulating the braid (ground) on the P90 will stop it from shorting on anything but the poles will still be part of the 'hot' signal path in certain positions, so you may get some noise if your finger tips ever brush them. Also, in those same positions the braid is carrying the 'hot' so while it's now insulated it is not 'screened' from noise as it would be with a ground around it. Good cavity shielding should help to minimise most of this though.i
And, nothing special is needed fthe bridge pup ground, just cnnect it to whatever the closest or most convenient ground point is near your blower switch.
No probs, Colin, I picked it up on eBay - here's a link to the stuff - but there are heaps of sellers. It's water-slide transfer paper, and you can get it for laser or inkjet printers. The advantage of the laser stuff is you don't need to seal the print with anything before putting gloss or tru-oil over it.Quote:
Originally Posted by colin2121
Thanks Scott, that gives me the confidence to start having a crack at it tomorrow!Quote:
Originally Posted by WeirdBits
Well it's taken a while, but as usual it all comes together in a rush. I finished the wiring but made a couple of mistakes so had to redo it. The rest all worked out pretty well. The name, "EC Deluxe" is a nod to the Elvis Costello Jazzmaster that this was roughly based on.
The pickups are Tonerider Rebel P90s and the wiring is the "Bill Lawrence 5-way telecaster circuit" as described on the first page, which gives me:
· Position 1: neck pickup alone
· Position 2: neck + bridge in parallel
· Position 3: bridge pickup alone
· Position 4: neck + bridge in parallel “half out of phase”
· Position 5: neck pickup alone with 10 percent less low end than position 1
The top toggle is a blower switch which gives me the bridge pickup direct to the output jack, bypassing everything else.
The only other thing out of the ordinary is the pickguard. made from 1.8mm aluminium sheet that's been brushed and sealed.
Here she is!
Attachment 22144
Attachment 22145
Attachment 22146
Attachment 22147
Attachment 22148
Awesome! Great to see a completed offset. Nice mods too *must resist urge*