JR-1M - warts and all

[wokkaboy]

fair enough Weirdy, we can wait to see what colour this will be. Mahogany being a darker timber always makes the stain look a bit darker than it does on say basswood

[kells80aus]

Hey Wierdy,

take a close look around the edge of the deck. one of my supposedly mahogany LP Juniors was laminated.
When I was sanding it the glue line popped out to say Hi.

Cheers Kellza

[WeirdBits]

Thanks PK, no sign of a veneer as far as I can tell, just 'hog start to finish.

Speaking of swine, I dug out the aluminium Pigtail bridge I've been saving and… wow, what a difference. A fraction of the weight, way lower, and lots of adjustment.

Stock bridge: 117g, max height 18mm
Pigtail bridge: 44g, max height 13mm

In reality, the height difference is greater still as the Pigtail has stepped hooks to account for the post lugs whereas the stock bridge doesn't.





I decided to try the Pigtail just like the stock bridge, with no adjustments to the neck, break angle etc, so that I could compare the action between the two bridges. I also switched to the locking studs.

[WeirdBits]

Here's the resulting change in action at the last fret, stock bridge top and Pigtail bottom. Big difference:



It's actually slightly too low, but only just, and the saddles aren't even notched yet. But, I'll need to straighten the neck and flatten the neck heel before deciding if I need to tweak the angle.





Scale length would put the saddles around mid-travel without needing to touch the post intonation screws. Those screws have less travel than the stock bridge, but the saddles have a lot more adjustment.

I wasn't going to use the Pigtail on this build, but now I don't think I can resist. There's nothing wrong with the stock bridge and it would only take a few tweaks to get the action right, but the aluminium bridge is much more in line with what I'm aiming for.

[keloooe]

Interesting to see this one play out...

[adam]

Very comprehensive Weirdy, I was expecting nothing less. Thanks mate, appreciated.