IB-1 Build (First Time Builder)

[James2018]

Hey all, I think I may have picked one of if not the hardest kit to build as a first timer.. I have previously built a kit of a Les Paul which all the wiring was plug and play and had everything pre drilled and ready to just bolt bits in, So i won't count that as a first time build.

With my kit, so far I've sanded all the parts, glued the neck to the body and drilled in all 4 of the screws to support holding the neck to the body of the guitar.

I think I can work most of the kit out, except for mounting the Floyd Rose style bridge included with the kit. I have absolutely zero ides on how or where to drill the holes, how to connect it all together and make sure it's done right.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated! cheers.

https://imgur.com/a/CoelKD0

[Sonic Mountain]

Haven't built one of those yet, but I'm pretty sure the Floyd mounts up like a two post bridge. So you push post receivers into the pre drilled holes, then the bridge pivots against those and it's all retained by the trem springs. The actual setup is a bunch of going back and forth tuning up and stretching the strings and adjusting the amount of tension on the trem springs until it sits correctly. I don't think you really need to worry about it until setup - but I'm sure someone will be along to correct me if I'm wrong.

When you link from Imgur, click on the code for BB forums and paste that link and the pics wile appear in you post like this.



Whereabouts in QLD are you? I'm in Toowoomba if you ever need a hand.

[FrankenWashie]

Somic has it right about the Floyd Trem. You should have two sleeves and bridge posts that will slide into the two holes in the routed recess just south of the the bridge Pickup. DrNomis at one point had written a bit of a master class for setting these up, I'll see if i can find it and post up a link.
A few things I would highly recommend you look at before you get too much further:

- Scale length: wrap some masking tape around the bridge posts until they sit firmly in the post holes, then loosely mount the trem to get an idea on how close to correct your nut to bridge measurement works out. you may also want to check how square to center line your neck and bridge are at this point.

- Selector Switch: On a number of these, guys have had issues in fitting the selector switch under the control cover, you may want to dry run yours before you get too much further.

- Output jack: pop the jack into the jack hole to test fit. There is a rubber washer against the back of the flange that might foul on the bore of the hole. IN some instances it is possible to trim this down to fit, in others like mine, it was necessary to get an 80 grit sanding sleeve on my dremel and carefully run this around the inside of the jack hole to open it up some. Mask up well around the hole prior to attempting this though!

- Output Jack connection in control cavity: On mine there was a half inch too much wall thickness on the cavity for me to be able to get the locking nut on the end of the jack. I was forced to cut this down to get a nut on, as well as angle it to make it perpendicular to the hole so that the nut would sit flat against it. if you get some dowel and slip it through the jack hole it will give you a guide as to how much angle to allow to get the nut and washer sitting flat on the cavity wall.

Excuse the novel, I figure it's better to give you an idea of what you may face so that you don't get blindsided by it once you get further down the track. A number of guys have completed these very successfully, it may be that your kit is an updated production model and some of these things may have been ironed out, but better safe than sorry eh?

The team here in the forum are always on hand to help out if needed, so if you get stuck on anything shout out and help will arrive!

[James2018]

Awesome, thanks for the replies guys!

@ Sonic Mountain, I'm on the Gold Coast. I'll try find those two pins and see if i can test mount the bridge. Just unsure of how the springs fix to the bridge and then how the springs fit to the body.

@FrankenWashie, I have already pre-sanded and test fitted most parts before I glued and set the neck. I have also leveled the frets and ensured there is no sharp edges and that they're all at the same height. Plan is to spray paint it all in one go, rather than do the neck then body. I want a clean flat finish on the back of Black so I want to make sure they're all from one clean paint sweep to ensure it all looks the same. Only think I didn't test fir was the 5 way switch so I may do that before i go any further with the bridge setup!

[James2018]

This is where I currently sit, I think it should go together something like this? Possibly need to stop here and paint it now before I go further with this part..

https://imgur.com/a/kJpgxuU

EDIT: Can't work out how to get that BB code..

[FrankenWashie]

sounds like the makings of a ripper mate, look forward to the build shots


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[Sonic Mountain]

Yeah that's right. You need to drill some pilot holes for those screws into the body. You will need to screw them in and out to adjust the tension on those strings during setup.

Also important to note, that little tang on the claw is where you solder your bridge earth wire.

For pics, have a look through this thread

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=8108

Third pic down in the first post - on the right hand side there are the various link options for the pic - click on the BBcode and post that.

[James2018]

Alright awesome! I'll try drill two holes so it all lines up and sits as square as possible as soon as it's painted on Monday!