GR-1SF Rocker-Billy

[Scott J.]

Also I find they're a bit like BBW's - hard to get yer arms around & yer fingers where ya want 'em.

Bwahaha ... but so worth it when you do! ... (great analogy Max - very appropriate to the GR!)

pontoons!

... LFMAO!

Thanks for the appreciation, Max ... and the humour!

[Rob L]

Taping or using rosin for the bridge:
Those I know who used tape swear there's no difference in sound or tone quality.
Those I know who used tape also played more along the lines of Chet Atkins. They picked and were light on the whammy.

Then there's the people like me who pluck rather hard, "bang" out chords and use the crap out of the whammy. I'm a HUGE fan of rockabilly and Psychobilly and anyone who knows Psychobilly knows they tend to not be a gentlemen player.

I always pinned my bridges for these reasons. I really think it's depends on ones playing style.

And on a side note: I have like 50 pics from when I saw the Rev. I'd love to share them but not sure how!!! (None of me talking to him. I wasn't about to ask him if I could take a selfie...hehehe)

[Scott J.]

Then there's the people like me who pluck rather hard, "bang" out chords and use the crap out of the whammy.

... ah, the ol' "iron fist" technique! ... I can relate to that!

Would love to see your pics of the Rev (and I think Gav T. would too!) ... start a thread on him under the INSPIRATION forum and you can upload them to there

[kells80aus]

Tks Scott, hadn't thought about that aspect. too many grand kids on my mind. as well as spending too much time looking at JTM45/100 Kits.....

so pinning it is, ( another thing to research... lol)

PK

[Rob L]

I had mine pinned by a guitar tech cause I didn't want to mess it up. Most people just run screws through the bridge which I think looks sloppy.
The guy that did mine used set screws in the body and drilled holes under the bridge so the bridge sits on the pins but you can't see them.

I had tried double sided tape and after about a month the bridge had moved. Reset it and a month later it had moved again so I just had it pinned.

It moved because I'm iron fisted..HAHAHA!!!

[Rob L]

This isn't mine but it's how mine was pinned.

http://www.gretsch-talk.com/forum/at...idge-pin-i.jpg

http://www.gretsch-talk.com/forum/at...dge-pin-ii.jpg

[Rob L]

Scoot, that's a great idea!!! I'm gonna start a thread for The Rev!

[Scott J.]

Well, with the “binding-channel-cutter-tool-thingamajig” and binding having arrived and sitting around waiting for me, I just couldn’t help myself … so it was off to start Phase-1 of the binding of the headstock … and either loose a couple of fingers and make a complete botch of it … or … surprise myself with having done a passable job … but first back to the beginning …

After first getting the GR-1SF, it took me about 30 seconds to realise that with the bound body and plain headstock, it just looked a little naked “up top”, so the decision made itself – bind and be damned. So began a crash-source in binding – without power tools! I guessed if luthiers have been successfully doing it for centuries by hand then I could certainly have a crack at it.

A bit of research and scouring of suppliers and lot of planning and I was all set (yeah, right! ).

The helpful folks at Australian Luthier Supplies were the only stockists of the “binding-channel-cutter-tool-thingamajig” and the ever-reliable Realtone had just the right bindings … so both were duly ordered.



The tool itself is quite simple and to be honest, if I’d had access to a reasonable workshop I could have made one a lot cheaper than it cost (about $60) but it is well made and I guess it’ll provide a good excuse for more kits (and them too! ). The two grub-screws (one on each side) allow for lateral positioning of the blade and the depth is controlled by how far it’s inserted when the grub-screws are tightened.



With the blades set to the appropriate measurements … and a couple of contemplation of what I was about to undertake and the potential ramifications of not getting it right (how much is a replacement neck for a GR-1SF? ) … I started cutting … and cutting … and cutting … and … (it takes many passes, each time working a little deeper)

[Scott J.]

It’s not a quick process, but quite satisfying (think of the zen of raking pebbles! ) the side cut to the full depth took about an hour all up …



… and the face cut about 2 hours … all the time being careful not make an stupid mistake (or lose a finger – these blades are necessarily razor-sharp).

Quite pleased with the end-result … the channel produced by the tool was really quite clean and very neat and requires almost no clean-up (which I’ll do with a sharp cabinet-scraper) … and I still have all my fingers (although I did manage to pierce the end of one finger quite deeply … ouch! … and blood everywhere but fortunately not on the timber!)







The sharp-eyed will have noticed that I didn’t take the channel all the way up to the nut.

Due to the side-shape of the head (and it’s not being originally designed for binding) I found that if I did continue the binding through, to achieve a nice line (without an obvious and ugly “step”) between head binding and fret-board binding, I would have had to taper the binding down to about 2mm which, when I did a test mock up, looked really silly … in the end a test mock-up seemed to show that finishing the head’s binding at the “shoulders” didn’t look to bad at all – not a traditional fully bound look (which was the original plan) but certainly quite attractive in its own right … but we’ll just have to wait and see how the end-product shapes up.

Next Phase – installing the binding

[Scott J.]

Some of tips for anyone else who might also be crazy enough to consider cutting their binding channel by hand:

- tape up the working face of the timber that the cutting face of the tool runs along – it’ll save any small scratches or timber bruising
- be sure to work AWAY from the grain, not into it – makes for an easier job of it and prevents any accidental over-cuts or tear-outs
- make sure you've got sharp blades (which they should be when new and be careful of them) ... otherwise you may as well use a butter-knife
- take your time with it and enjoy the “zen” of repetitious motion – it’s not a quick task and trying to rush it will only result in a shitty job