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Finally got the neck attached to the body and fitted the bridge.
Found that it's not quite located correctly so some hole filling and re-drilling to come.
Reflecting on this, I also decided to re-dowel and re-drill the tuner holes.
If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right.
cheers, Mark.
And worth doing at least three or four times. ;)
You're doing the right thing, Mark, even though it's a PITA.
Yes Simon, I was umming and ahrring about it but when the bridge error reared,Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
I thought be dammned!
You were correct mentioning the positioning along the top. I saw the template that stated 'half an inch'
and the blinding rush ensued.
Yes it's a PITA but at the end of it I don't want any regrets with this and there's another lesson learned.
cheers, Mark.
So a step backwards
Attachment 25204
Looking like the furniture at the OK Corral
cheers, Mark
Good thing you had plenty of dowel
I'm buying shares in a dowel making company!
I'm chowing down on a few as it eats into the weekly food budget.
Attachment 25205
Meanwhile the add-ons keep arriving.
cheers, Mark.
Victory...for now....
Attachment 25218
Attachment 25219
cheers, Mark.
Nice work with the tuners.
So it's veneer time now then. That curve by the truss rod might mean you need to pre-bend some veneer to stop it snapping.
G'day Simon. the plan is to veneer the back. (however the tuners have covered the nightmare of a beginner's handiwork)
I'll consider the front when I see the actual veneer in front of me.
Plan B would be to paint the front of the headstock the same colour as the body.
cheers, Mark.
Edit: Actually I guess the next step is to get the bridge position sorted out.
Then it's on to the joys of endless sanding hehe.
Attachment 25220
Looks like the sanding section is about to start.
Attachment 25222
cheers, Mark.
Opportunity to put some strings on to check orientation.
Attachment 25231
Attachment 25232
cheers, Mark
Neck stained with Feast Watson Golden Teak surplus from the Bronco Bass mod.
For the neck I'll use trusty ol' Tru-Oil, but the fretboard is being lacquered.
Attachment 25242
Attachment 25243
Marking out the first cut.
cheers, Mark.
It's always the deepest.
Neck looks a lovely colour.
Cheers, Simon.
This next section should be captioned 'my kingdom for a laser cutter'.
Attachment 25257
Attachment 25258
Attachment 25259
Attachment 25260
Attachment 25261
cheers, Mark.
Nice and neat for a hand cut hole! There are so many tools I'd love to make life easier, but there is also a lot you can do with a bit of care and patience.
Oh yeah, sooooo many tools I want.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Thanks, S.M. However, I've had a bit of practice doing scratchplate holes. The first attempt ended up like my headstock drilling work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Cheers, Mark.
Moving along: Well the veneer arrived and I was so engrossed in the process that I failed to photograph key segments.
Attachment 25302
Applied the FW Golden Teak
Attachment 25303
Then the first coat of Tru-oil
Attachment 25304
Another case of character building (I'll do it better next time)
Attachment 25305
cheers, Mark.
String thru holes are definitely one of the hardest thing to get right and look right, or maybe try...
Attachment 25306
You could even inlay some veneer, like a piece of rosewood or maple 3mm headstock plate, if the plugs bug you too much.
Well at least the swear box is now nice and full and some charity will benefit from your mistakes.
That, with the TO looks so sweet, nice techniques with scratchplate and headstock too
Thanks for the tip Weirdbits. For such a small task I figured I'd need to get some kind of drill press. The el-cheapo one's only have a throat about 11cm. so no good.Quote:
Originally Posted by WeirdBits
Thanks Simon and Guv. If we had a swear box I wouldn't be able to afford doing this so is that irony?
Attachment 25308
Attachment 25309
Attachment 25310
Next step is to re-attach the neck and strings and test for orientation.
After that is the arduous task of sanding and painting the body.
cheers, Mark.
I adapted a drill stand to drill down through a Tele body for string-through holes. Just set the drill really low in the stand so that the drill bit went below the depth of the stand. Visibility isn't great because the stand only has a small hole in the centre of it, but still, the stand keeps the drill perpendicular to the body. Worked fine for me.
No worries Simon. I may have another go with that approach when the opportunity next arises.
From this stage, I'm thinking to carry on working the pickguard and install all the electrics.
Get the guitar in playing condition with all the hardware correctly placed...and then get stuck into the finish.
Attachment 25322
cheers, Mark.
Edit: The story so far.
Background: the Squier I've dubbed the chameleon due to several colour changes over the year.
Due for yet another and it's going to be the same turquoise/pearl combo that the sold strat copy was.
The sunburst strat copy is a recent acquisition...saw it in Cash Converters for the princely sum of $12.00.
Attachment 25323
cheers, Mark.
The saga continued...
Attachment 25328
Attachment 25329
Attachment 25330
Attachment 25331
Ready for the first full assembly.
cheers, Mark.
It's ALIVE!
Attachment 25332
Still needs quite a bit of setting up which I'll tackle now that I've reached this level.
Once I get it playing as well as it should, it's time to break it back down and dispense some elbow grease.
cheers, Mark.
Now that has got a seriously nice look about it
Cheers Dave. I'm going to paint the headstock the same as the body. Hopefully it would tie it together a tad,Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
rather than looking like a strat with a tele stuck on it.
cheers, Mark.
Most of the frets were O.K. 17 was a tad high, but it's now time to take it apart again and get to the finish.
Attachment 25338
cheers, Mark.
Been so long since I posted any update that I had to do a search for it. Anyway...
Timbermate time
Attachment 25790
Primer coats
Attachment 25791
Decided to reshape the headstock with a touch of stylising thrown in
Attachment 25792
Attachment 25793
Attachment 25794
Body colour is now in progress.
cheers, Mark.
Maple veneer arrives and I'm back on track.
Attachment 25818
Colour coat has begun
Attachment 25819
cheers, Mark.
Couldn't get the phone camera to capture the correct hue of yellow so fiddled around with the Nikon.
Attachment 25870
Finally got the headstock re-stained and tru-oiled.
Attachment 25871
Got to save up for one of those Tonerider bridge pickups.
cheers, Mark.
Interesting shade of yellow. Will it get any darker?
Hi Waz. No it's about as dark as it's going to get.Quote:
Originally Posted by wazkelly
I was aiming for a yellow/cream colour...along the lines of a 70's Telecaster.
It's got 2 cans of primer and one can of colour.
Now going to start the clear coat. Maybe 2 cans?
cheers, Mark.
Moving right along.
Attachment 25915
Pre-emptive perhaps?
cheers, Mark.
Why no! No it's not!
Phew! Something about having your name emblazoned upon it before it's finished.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
cheers, Mark.
You need to clear over the decals anyway, so you have to add them before the fat lady sings.
Looks good Mark. Hope the string trees don't land too close.