Days 2 & 3 - 4th and 5th January 2022

Well after the heady excitement(!?) of managing to shape my headstock, I started on the very technical scale length voyage.

I've gotta be honest - I went down some very dark tunnels before (with the ever present assistance from our terrific forum members) finally deciding to "grow a pair" and just crack on. PS Holy crumb crackers there is some stuff to learn about scale length - I thought I had a rough idea but that is a whole world of crazy all on its own. Thanks to everyone who tried to explain.

Whilst I had a heads up in the basic instruction guide (ie that aftermarket pick ups might require some further enlarging of the pick up cavity), I was torn between the extent to which I wanted to use the pre-existing bridge holes balanced against the work I would have to do with routing the pick up cavity in order to do so.

I should say this now - if you have access to a router (you own or have a friend or relative who has one) then use that. I used a drill bit rasp and...let's just say that there was a lot of swearing and some hairy moments. It didn't help that today was 25 degrees and very humid in my garage. The rasp bit is difficult to control and I inevitably had to keep coming back at it with sandpaper and a file. I bought sanding drum bits but I couldn't imagine how that would have gone - I think I would have used up all the sandpaper drums and still been needing more.

All up, I'm pretty happy with how the bridge is sitting but have two problems;

- the pick up is very snug towards the neck end of the cavity and I don't think that I'm going to have enough room for shielding material (I'll ask in the other thread I made);
- the drill holes that I wanted to so slavishly preserve are still not quite right - we're talking less than a mm I reckon but enough for me to have to consider filing with a toothpick and doing another hole. Probably not the most arduous task I'm going to undertake.

Hopefully I'll get to the alignment/neck curvature stage soon.

I'm looking forward to doing the grain filling for the body - I can't wait to see how that looks with the grain really highlighted.

Any my observations at this stage:

- I have to keep reminding myself that this is my first go at a guitar and that I am no handyman. So I'm on a big learning curve and there will be inevitable faff ups
- I am NOT looking forward to the soldering (ie none of the wiring diagrams/videos etc, have the configuration of 3 way selector and pick ups which match mine and I am very confused). But, don't worry because, as Baldrick would say, "I have a very, very cunning plan, my Lord". I am going to draw up all my bits and pieces, I am going to label them "A", "B" and "C" or "1", "2" and "3" (or some other arbitrary labeling system) and I am going to ask the good people here to tell me "insert wire A into tab(s) 1 and 2". If I get more than one conflicting answer, I shall throw myself off the nearest balcony.

Anyhoo, next steps are to affix bridge and string some strings.

Cheers, all