I recently use TruOil on a Tele neck... Wow ! what a great finish... Same as you , light wire wool every third coat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mosrite Slab
I chose to leave the last coat untouched. Smooth and shiny !
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I recently use TruOil on a Tele neck... Wow ! what a great finish... Same as you , light wire wool every third coat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mosrite Slab
I chose to leave the last coat untouched. Smooth and shiny !
I’ve rubbed the last coat down with wire wool, it looks and feels lovely.Quote:
Originally Posted by wcieslik
I’ve had a bit of a disaster though, despite pre-drilling holes and waxing the screws, a split has appeared in the headstock from the end to centre bottom tuner. Thankfully it’s only about a third to half of the way through so I’ll monitor it for now and screw or dowel it if it gets worse. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...66b0553dcc.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...255535dcda.jpg
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Same here that’s how I finished mine.Quote:
Originally Posted by wcieslik
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That crack would have me paranoid.... It might just be an opening up of a natural line in the slab sawn neck blank or it could be the harbinger of worse movement to come.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mosrite Slab
String tension will soon tell you.
Yes quite right, I could fix it now but I’d rather wait and see what happens. It’ll still bother me it’s there though so it will get done sooner or later.Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankenWashie
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I really like how you moved the stop back so it looks more like a mosrite.
I noticed that in my build and should have thought to do the same!!
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String length observation/question......Quote:
Originally Posted by OliSam
So if a 25.5 (fender) scale length has a tighter string tension and a 24.75 (Gibson) scale length has a looser string tension .......... if the stop tail is put back on the mossie then will the string tension be higher????
Just curious cos when I switch between my guitars I notice how flexy the strings feel on the shorter scale guitars.
Ps: i use 10’s on all my guitars
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Hi,
The string tension is not changed by where you place the stop bar.
The distance between nut and bridge does decide the string tension and that is the same regardless of where you put the stop bar.
BUT, the tension "into the groves of the bridge" (from "above") will be lower the more you move the stop bar away from the bridge.
A side note, The original Mosrite has a slightly tilted neck (less than a Gibson but more than a Fender) and that will increase the string tension "into the groves of the bridge".
As I think the neck is flat on these kits, I do not know if the tension into the bridge groves will be high enough if you do a full "Johnny Ramone" placement of the stop bar.
P.S. Johnny had his stop bar placed where it was as his guitar originally had a tremolo which he removed. He used the old mounting spots from the tremolo and assembled the stop bar using the old holes.
P.S2. I've also ordered the MKA-2 kit but have also ordered a "real" copy of the body (from a Luthier). I am very curious and exited how this will end up. Pitbull PLEASE ship ASAP, I'm like a kid before X-mas...!
From the kit I'll use the neck (ordered a big, paddle head that I'll convert to the right dimensions), the bridge and stop bar and electronics.
I will the add a body with real dimensions, a pick guard with real dimensions and a Dimarzio FS-1 for the bridge. If I have to modify the neck pocket etc I’ll instead modify/shim the neck and keep the body and pickguard to the original specs.
I might later buy a real/copy with real dimensions of the neck on ebay and a real Mosrite/copy bridge. I AM a Ramones nut…
Great info there thanks. I wonder how much difference he may have had between his original blue Mossie where he kept the tremolo and the converted white one? Also I think he kept the stock pickups on the blue one.Quote:
Originally Posted by ONSatan
Good luck with the build when it arrives.
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Wet sanded today, 1500,2000 & 2500 grit. Good news is the sink back did go away, wonderful. Unfortunately I went too hard in a few places, I should have noticed when the water started going blue I suppose. As a result I’ve masked up the bulk and redone the bare areas. It means I have a hard edge to rub out here and there but for someone suffering with a frozen shoulder the thought of having to cut back the whole body again is enough to make me want to give up.
I’ll go light this time, start with the 2000 grit and let the cutting compound do the rest.
How do others get by with building up enough paint on the sides and edges to stop this happening as it’s the second time it’s happened. Is it just a result of using finger pressure to get in and around the curves rather than a flat block used on the front and back? I really thought I’d built the lacquer up enough to stop this happening, at least ten coats.
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I had to respray the blue and lacquer around the complete perimeter, leave, cut back and polish. It’s not without a few flaws, somebody moved it while curing which left a few imperfections and while carrying out the last minute of polishing I caught the disc centre on it causing it to bounce right along the bottom edge. Needless to say a few naughty words filled the street. I managed to sand the worst out before re-polishing.
The bridge ground wire is in place, another awkward task and the cavity shielded.
I’m going with a pair of Warman “Dogs o’ War P90 pickups mounted under the scratch plate. I’ll cut the ears off the covers to give a couple of mm more height but I’ll also have to drill out a small section of the upper cavity for the pickup’s screw tabs.
Then I can order a white scratch plate. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...74d73a50b4.jpg
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Looks great in the pic. Beautiful SoCal color. Where are you getting the pickguard?
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I found a company online in here in the UK, it was about a year ago and need to check they’re still around.Quote:
Originally Posted by fender3x
Once I have I’ll post details.
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Some more progress last night and this morning.
I drilled and chiselled out the pickup voids for the P90’s which was a bit daunting on a finished body but it went really well. Stuck some more shielding in but I’ve run out so can’t finish the overlap all around.
Next up solder the ground wire to the bridge post. I struggled here as the iron wasn’t hot enough soldering to a cast chunk of metal so I’ll invest in a new 40watt one for the remaining wiring.
I put the posts in, both the bridge and stops are nice and tight which was a relief and then strung it up with heavy strings.
The nut needs work as the D & G strings wont stay in the slots. I need some saw blades for this, if it doesn’t work I’ll get another brass nut.
Initial results are nice low strings even without tuning. Hopefully it can only get better. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...982545e869.jpg
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I had a go at the nut with a coping saw and the strings now stay in, the bottom E is high though and not down on the zero fret so some more work required there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mosrite Slab
It stayed in tune most of the night but despite the high E string,https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...96cf5e76c5.jpg its the only one with buzz.
Also under tension the bridge is pulling forward including the posts. I had a feeling this would happen as I noticed it earlier in the build. I think the only solution here is to screw the adjusting post over the bridge holes and put washers underneath for height adjustment. It’s going to be trial and error getting it right and I’ll do it when I carry out the intonation.
Finally I will have to do something about the headstock split as under tension it does appear to have opened up a fraction.
Template for the scratch plate now drawn up ready to send.
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I thought I’d give the scratch plate maker an easier time by adapting the original plate so all he has to do is replicate it in white. I know everything should fit when it comes back too.
Here’s a mock up with the p90’s taped in place. They can come up a couple of mm taking off the cover ears if required.
I’m really happy with how this is looking.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...478534a1d6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...93cd848849.jpg
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The scratchplate has been ordered and while waiting for it to arrive decided to carry out some remedial.
The crack in the headstock was longer than I thought so I glued in three barbecue stick dowels. I doubt I would have got maple ones as thin as these. If they don’t do the job I’ll have no option than to put in a narrow screw or two instead.
Also did some fret checking and found the 12th high on the bass side so did a level to it as well as filing the nut slots to get the bottom E onto the zero fret. Once it’s all put back together I can adjust the bridge and the intonation. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7f69d3c4e9.jpg
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Good idea. I am partial to bamboo chopsticks as dowels. Hopefully that's what your BBQ sticks are made of. Bamboo is super dense super strong.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mosrite Slab
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Oh yes, I couldn’t believe how hard they are to cut/chisel. The only drawback being how difficult it was to get them flush with the surrounding surface. As well as the lack of grain to match, just small circles.
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Damn! That’s a smart one to keep in mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mosrite Slab
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Getting close now. The white pick guard arrived and is excellent so I did the wiring on a cardboard template. I really couldn’t understand the supplied wire so bought a length of UK household stuff and followed what I’m used to, green/yellow earth, brown live (hot) and the blue here and there! I’ll get strapped together when I’m ready to mount the plate.
I really enjoyed doing the electrics for uthe first time and what a wonderful sense of relief it is when it’s plugged in and the tap test works. It also gives the opportunity of knowing which was the selector should face on the inside.
I asked the scratch plate maker to not drill out the pickup screw holes, a good decision as it gave me some wiggle room to get them parallel. Am I allowed to advertise the company?
I’m missing some washers, plain and locking. Also there’s a bit of tear out by the factory (probably OK for the supplied tuners but not the ones I’m using) on the front of the holes so I need to source a washer to hide it under the bezels.
So once I’ve got these bits and bobs it’s final assembly time. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...baddc9aafe.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...91c81c45ef.jpg
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This is a totally tubular. Bitchin' axe, dude!
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So still diggin' that blue ! That's fabulous !
Double check the soldering of the ground wire between the volume and tone pots, especially the volume pot end. They may cause you problems later.
The one close to the edge? Will do, thanks for the heads up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fretworn
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Nearly done. Yesterday was a disaster, it sounded terrible, fret buzz everywhere and horrible muddy sound. So today I replaced the strings with regular gauge ones, temporary shimmed the nut, lowered the bridge and raised the bridge pickup poles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mosrite Slab
Today I’m happy, my amp isn’t great Peavey Blazer 158 but after whacking it up a bit I can tell the power is there.
Time for it so settle and then I’ll do a fret check and get the intonation done. After that a final polish to the body and maybe a few more coats of oil to the neck as it’s a bit dull and sticky.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5cbe2f0536.jpg
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I’ve been on holiday and had a re-think. I raised the poles on the bridge pickup so high they were almost falling out so I bit the bullet and bought a pair of soapbars to give more height, Warman again, but their narrower profile meant a new scratch plate was needed. Gigink had it done and with me in a few days.
I didn’t want to pack out the cavities with wood for direct screwing so made some stretchers from the kit scratch plate which I’d already trashed. Boy, what a pain in the butt job trying to square them. Using springs from a biro pen I can adjust the height and once I’ve got some longer screws and glue in some nut surrounds to stop the bolts spinning I’ll sort out the correct gap between the front poles and strings.
Another mod was buying another brass nut which needed manual filing down, that took an hour of fifty strokes one way, then fifty the other to keep it even. I’ve ordered some Stewmac nut files for final adjustment to get the strings down on the zero fret.
It sounds miles better already, really rips through my new Fender 112 amp and https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e76c3b363d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...68a87991dc.jpgmore sustain than my Gretsch 5120.
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I somehow missed this build. Looks great; love the blue
After a good morning doing what I think and Hope was a successful fret level, I’m now pulling my hair out in frustration!
I decide to replace the volume and tone pots as the former crackled when adjusting and the latter appeared to have packed up.
What should have been a simple replacement has left me with volume coming from both pickups despite whatever the selector was on. The harness is in an earlier post but in the end I re-did it following the Pitbull spec in the photo to no avail. It’s packed up completely now and I’ve left it in the corner while I have a sulk.
Happy to buy new selector, input and pots again.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4d473cfdc4.jpg
The pots I bought are Linear, could this be the reason?
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Are you in Sydney Dude ?
‘fraid not. I’m in London.
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How is the build going! Happy with bridge? Did you have to shim the neck a lot (to get the right angle)?
I love the color!
It won't be the pot type. You really want audio/log for volume at the very least. I now use audio pots for both volume and tone. But it's very likely to be the selector switch - though that type normally fail with no contact made at all in any position. In your last photo, the longest leg of the tone capacitor looks very close to the input connection of the tone pot. If they touch when you put the scratchplate on the guitar, then turning the pot won't have any effect but you'll get a very muffled tone as all the signal will pass through the cap to ground. But if it's bright sounding and turning the pot has no effect, the pot itself is almost certainly damaged.
You've also got one signal cable (blue on the switch output) with a very long length of exposed wire which could easily move and touch ground at a later date. Likewise the ground wire on the switch has a long exposed length, which could move when installed and touch one of the switch input connections and short it out. So when replacing the switch, make sure that the insulation goes right up to the switch's solder tabs.
Just a quick update, everything is fine with the guitar, all problems sorted and I'm 99% there so will do a complete summary shortly. It's been a long learning curve but very enjoyable.
Still plugging away. I've got a bit of annoying fret buzz around the 10th-13th frets despite doing a full level and a metal rule along them is seesawing a bit so some more attention required.
How did you do your fret level? Obviously something didn't go quite right with that so your technique sounds like it may need to be finessed.
I need to invest in a longer, heavier beam as at present I only have a short 10"" aluminium one. It's also possible that the neck wasn't straight enough and I've sanded down a bit low in the centre of the neck. I'm confident of getting it right.
That should be long enough. I've done it with an even shorter file. I now find it easier and better to sue a radius block and stick sandpaper to that.
Certainly make sure the neck itself is as flat as possible using a notched edge. Do it a few hours before you level to allow the neck time to settle if you are adjusting the truss rod. Then check again just before you start and adjust again if necessary. Always check before you add any masking tape for the fretboard!
Use a dark marker pen like a Sharpie to mark the top of the frets before filing. Keep marking the tops of the frets as you file to make sure they are truly level once all the marker has disappeared on the lowest frets, then mark again and have a light run over with the file to make sure that all the frets are being caught by the file along their whole length. Then mark the frets again when profiling the frets and file until you've still got a thin line of marker on the top of each fret. That way you know the tops are still all level. If you file until the marker is all gone, you've gone a bit too far and one or more frets may now be lower.
Then start sanding up through the grits and polishing. I always give each fret the same amount of rubs with the same grit paper to try and equalise any further height reduction when removing the scratches filing has left.
I think it's probably that it wasn't quite straight enough when I did it so I'll leave it a bit longer and keep checking when I do it again. I adjusted it dead straight under tension yesterday but then when I put a metal rule along the frets I could slip a feeler gauge under some or it would rock.
The guitar is fine, it plays well but I really would prefer the strings to be a bit lower and less buzz acoustically, none of the frets are dead though.