River guitar - Scratch build

**Ricky** · 15-10-2020, 08:54 AM

I have been busy working on the guitar for the last couple of weeks. The small stuff always takes the longest.
Routing the PU cavities and the electronics bay took ages and wore out a few router bits - oak is hard!

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted a bridge that 'bridged' the river. This rules out the standard TOM bridge as it is too narrow and would mean drilling the inserts into the clear resin - not a good look.
So I looked to design my own bridge with 6 slots that each hold a small piece of fretwire to act as saddles. Bridges like this do exist - I think Simon Bardon was involved in a thread about one a couple of days ago.

The problem I had was how to make it height adjustable. This brings me nicely to my pet hate!
Have you noticed how the threads on the posts and inserts of the standard TOM bridges are all sloppy. I know the pressure of the strings holds everything in position but threads that are loose is just sloppy engineering! Rant over.

So, below are some pictures showing the structure of the bridge - it is not finished yet but I made the parts on my lathe and the bridge is made of maple and walnut. The saddle plate is maple and walnut topped with ebony.
I guess you can see how it will fit together.

Turning the threads was fun. I used the tailstock of the lathe to put pressure on the die and then turned the chuck by hand - last time I did that was when I learned the method at school over 50 years ago! (Lathe was switched off and unplugged for that before someone mentions Health and Safety)

Don't know if it will work but it is fun trying these things out!

Cheers
Ricky

**Sonic Mountain** · 15-10-2020, 09:20 AM

Looks cool man. Nothing like having some good shed toys on hand.

**Simon Barden** · 15-10-2020, 03:24 PM

It is sloppy engineering, but it also allows for the small variations in hole positioning and/or angle that occur in manufacturing, especially on template drilled and routed kits, as opposed to CNC drilled ones, which should be more accurate. No point having really tight fittibg posts if the distance between them isn't quite right, or the angle's off a bit, so you can't fit the bridge on the posts, or can just about fit it but then can't adjust the height.

I often use PTFE tape to tighten up any really sloppy post fittings. The tips of the threads wear away the tape over them so they make contact with the bushing threads for grounding purposes and you get a really firm fit.

Now if you just concentrate on the other end of the guitar and realise how much your untensioned string posts move about when wiggled, you'll be making your own machine heads next.

**Ricky** · 23-10-2020, 01:47 AM

Just finished making the wiring harness.

I decided (probably didn't think it out) that I would do a 'Jimmy Page' wiring job on it - 4 push/pull pots and about 100 metres of wire!

Jimmy page wiring here

Having done it, I thought that connecting the pu's to the pots in situ would be a nightmare so I have soldered tails instead and labeled them - easier to attach and shrink wrap.

Let me know if I have completely messed it up?

Cheers
Ricky

**Ricky** · 09-11-2020, 06:11 AM

Its been a while since the last update but each job has been a little one and not worth an individual update.

Current position is as follows...

Body and neck complete and bonded together
Fretboard complete and fitted with Jescar EVO Gold frets (more on this further on).
All clearcoat done and rubbed back.

Now on to the assembly stage.

In another thread, I was discussing with Simon and McCreed about the new Jescar EVO Gold fretwire.

The wire I fitted was the 'medium' size so thinner than the more normal 'medium-jumbo'.
Also, I bought the wire pre-radiused to 10 inches.
Fret tang (bare) is 0.6mm and with the teeth it is 0.8mm.
I used a razor saw to cut the slots and then widened them with my fretsaw with a 0.5mm blade.
This is really the perfect size for the tang - tight but not so that you have to hammer the living daylights out of it.

I found that the frets are actually easier to cut than the normal nickel-silver frets. The side cutter on my normal pliers just clipped through them with ease as opposed to 'squeezing' through the nickel silver.
They are harder to file or grind but polish beautifully. I cannot comment on durability yet but they are certainly harder!
Many people use Autosol or another metal cleaner/polish. I use T-Cut. There is another brand out there called Colour-cut which does the same.

I will definitely use EVO-Gold whenever I need (or can get away with) gold frets.

Tomorrow I will carry on with the installation of the Alnicov locking tuners, Warman Tonerider pu's and the electrickery stuff. Plus cut the bone nut.

I have still not decided on how to earth the strings but I have a cunning plan in mind which also involves the EVO Gold fretwire.

Photos!
Cheers
Ricky

**McCreed** · 09-11-2020, 05:38 PM

Very cool Ricky! And thanks for the info on the Evo Gold.

May be just the lighting, but the frets don't look as "gold" as I imagined. I like the fret inlays too.
Look forward to seeing your grounding scheme. I hadn't considered the issue that poses with a see-through section where the bridge will sit... hmmmm...

**Ricky** · 10-11-2020, 01:57 AM

Thanks McCreed!

It is the lighting. I can assure you that the frets are as 'gold' as the tuners and pu surrounds. I will take some more pics in due course that will show them better I hope.

Been working on the bridge today so earthing solution should be photo'd tomorrow!

Cheers
Ricky

**Ricky** · 23-11-2020, 03:08 AM

Well, after having a few problems, I have finally finished the guitar.

I did think I had finished it last week but I was not happy with the thickness of the neck so in the end I bit the bullet and re-profiled it from a very fat 'D' to a far slimmer 'C' section. It is still a bit thicker than a true Gibson but I have used Tulipwood for the neck, not maple.

The earth for the bridge was solved by drilling a hole through the saddle position for the high 'e' and passing a wire down through the bridge into the electronics bay. The high 'e' becomes earthed and in turn earths the other strings via the trapeze. The wire can just be seen in one of the photos below.

The pickguard is a Les Paul shape but modified at the bottom edge because of the repositioned toggle switch.

So, what did I use?
Tuners are Alnicov Gold locking tuners. I am very happy with the quality (come in a nice box as well!)
EvoGold frets. Easy to work with. Also used for the small bridge saddles
Pickguard from Guitar Anatomy.
Pickups are Warman Drivetrains rated at 29.87 kohm and over 20 henries output. I have not tamed these yet and I think it will take several weeks to get the best out of them (difficult to get the treble response right).
Bone nut.
4 x 500k ohm pots with DPDT switches.
2 x 0.022uf caps
Wired to Jimmy Page specs giving 21 tone options on the switches alone.
3 way toggle switch.
Switchcraft jack.
Nameless trapeze.
Home made bridge assembly.
5 litres GlassCast epoxy. Plenty left but £90 cost!
Crimson Guitars water based stain Amber (Stunning Stains)
2k automotive lacquer (Omi Cron - evil stuff - be careful if you use it).

I have played it for a couple of hours or so and she sounds great.
The guitar is heavy but it is solid oak and epoxy is not light either. Well balanced.
Intonated perfectly. I was a little worried about this as the saddle positions are not precisely adjustable but by off-setting the bridge with the saddle in the best position the intonation came in just right.
Bridge height is adjustable as can be seen in the photos.

All in, it is about 250 hours of work!

Thanks to everyone for your support and comments.

Anyway, on to the pictures.

Cheers
Ricky