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Thread: Tele build countdown...

  1. #61
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trevor Davies View Post
    If the answer is One step at a time, we do!
    Close! I was afraid that the joke might be too US-centric. Carnegie Hall is the most famous concert hall in the US... The joke is that a couple of tourists in New York have tickets to a concert and are trying to find Carnegie Hall. They see a guy in a tux carrying a violin case and figure he's heading there, so they ask "Do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall." He responds "Practice, practice, practice!"

  2. #62
    Or… yes, but I wouldn’t start from here …is probably more like our version.
    Scott.

  3. Liked by: Trevor Davies

  4. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by WeirdBits View Post
    Or… yes, but I wouldn’t start from here …is probably more like our version.
    I love this one. I have always thought my Grandfather was Irish, but this sounds so much like him, I am wondering if he might have been Australian.

    Reminds me of what they say in in New England when you ask for directions. "Well, you can't get there from here."

  5. #64
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    The pickguard I have is not drilled for screws, so I can mount the neck pickup to either the body or the pickguard. I was initially thinking I'd mount to the pickguard, but increasingly I am liking the idea of the traditional mount-to-the-body approach. That is, if I can figure out how to mark where the screw holes in go so that they line up properly with the pickguard. Anyone have a good idea for how to do that?

  6. #65
    Moderator Trevor Davies's Avatar
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    If you mount the neck pup to the body, will it be easy to adjust the height without taking off the guard?

    Otherwise, I would use a big blob of Blutac to hold the pup in place!
    PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1,TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1, MBM custom, GHR-1 (Resonator), FH-5V (Acoustic).

    Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.

    The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"

  7. #66
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trevor Davies View Post
    If you mount the neck pup to the body, will it be easy to adjust the height without taking off the guard?

    Otherwise, I would use a big blob of Blutac to hold the pup in place!
    I had never heard of Blutac, but that looks like it will do the trick. Thanks!

    I'll have to take off the pick guard to adjust the pup height. So that's the disadvantage. The advantage (if I understand correctly) is that the guitar will be playable with the pickguard off.

    On my other guitar with Tele pups that are in a Strat body the neck pickup is mounted to the pickguard. The problem I had with it when I was doing the initial setup is I stripped one of the holes in the fiber bobbin. I "fixed" that by getting the next larger size adjustment screw. It hasn't been a problem since, but I figured I could avoid the problem altogether by mounting to the body.

    Sent from my CPH2655 using Tapatalk

  8. #67
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    One step forward, two steps back. I leveled the frets, and began doing the final sanding of the neck...but ended up sanding through on a couple of the edges of the headstock. While fixing that, I realized that I had not yet prepared a neckplate. I don't like to use a plain one. So on one build I have a "poop emoji" that my daughters find funny. On the others I have a DIY etched design. Not perfect, but cheap and unique, so I am thinking it will do for now...

    Click image for larger version. 

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    ...I botched one of them, but two are more or less acceptable. I don't have access to something as fancy as a cricket printer, but I am sure this would work better with one of those. Instead I use 3M quarter inch vinyl tape and electrician's tape. I suspect that a cricket sticker would prevent seepage better. The tape did OK on two of the three, but there's two much seepage on the third to use. That's OK, I only need one for the Tele and one for the Jazz bass build. But this method is unsure enough (at least in my hands) to have a backup or two ;-)

    For anyone who wants try, neck plates are made out of copper that has been chromed. The approach I use removes the chrome from the copper. I put tape over all the places that are still chromed. I use a cotton swab dipped in a solution of salt and white vinegar as a stylus. I attach an alligator clip to the wet cotton swab, and attach the other end of the wire to the cathode of a power tool battery. I attach a wire to the back of the neck plate and the other end to the anode of the battery. Swabbing the exposed with the chrome transfers the chrome to the cotton swab. As you can see, it also makes a mess of the alligator clip. You have to change the swabs frequently as it fills with chrome. I also do it under the hood of the stove with the fan on full blast because the fumes also have chrome in them.

    I added my "logo" at the bottom of the pic... The "A" on the neck plate is supposed to resemble that font more or less ;-) Hand made, though so none are identical
    Last edited by fender3x; Yesterday at 03:21 AM.

  9. #68
    Moderator Trevor Davies's Avatar
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    They all look good in the photo! I like the idea of a personalized neck plate. I should give one a go.

    What battery voltage are you using?
    Last edited by Trevor Davies; Yesterday at 01:35 PM.
    PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1,TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1, MBM custom, GHR-1 (Resonator), FH-5V (Acoustic).

    Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.

    The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"

  10. #69
    Quote Originally Posted by fender3x View Post
    I experimented with the Highline Guitars method of doing the transfers. In theory I really like that approach since it since it eliminates the transparent decal paper so that only ink and a very fine layer of water based glue gets transferred to the guitar. In practice I couldn't get it to work. Some part of the logo always seemed to stay stuck to the label paper. I think that DikkyBee's approach would eliminate my ink issue, but I don't think I have the fine motor skills to paint the color on. I've never been good at coloring inside the lines. So I took the conventional ink-jet decal that came out best and put that on. I put 4 coats of very thin 1# cut blonde shellac on the neck, applied with a rag. I am using General Finishes High Performance Satin clear to finish the neck. The top of the headstock got 2 coats below the decal. I then finished the whole neck with 8 coats of clear, and added another 5 coats to the top of the headstock to make sure I'd be able to sand absolutely flat over the decal. I started with a synthetic bristle brush, but ended up using a foam brush to get thinner coats.

    I won't finish sand until it has completely cured. The mfg says this takes 3 weeks, but I tend to give it one or two more because I use more coats than they recommend.

    Attachment 45287

    In other news, I think I am about to complete the parts list for this build with the arrival of long awaited pickups. They shipped yesterday. The US Postal Service tells me that overnight they have gone from Marina California to San Jose...about 100 km. That means they have just around 4800 km left to get to Miami.

    Attachment 45288

    This is the first time I have ordered pickups like these. I have had good luck with a small custom pickup winder called "Epic Custom Shop." My favorite bass has one of their "black gold" p-bass pickups and it's the best I have heard. I also have a set of their D2 Strat pickups for a build I did for my daughter. On the website (https://epiccustomshop.com/) they have a limited range--just P-bass, J-bass and Strat pickups. But since I have had good luck with them, I asked if they had Tele pickups as well. The proprietor asked me to send him some ideas of what I was looking for, I sent some sound clips, and he wound a set to get those sounds. They have been a long time coming, but I am really looking forward to hearing them.

    Also got a "Three String Tree" from Music City Bridge...

    https://musiccitybridge.com/products...tring-retainer

    ...and installed a bone nut.

    May not be much progress on this one for a while until the body and neck are fully cured...but at least there's been some slow progress.

    Now that is a great batwing.....

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