Witto's 2nd build.. The Mossie is here !

[wcieslik]

well... after much stagnation (and some distraction by the IB-1S) and still tinkering the 'Ricky, I have finaly made some good progress with the Mossie ...

The two holdups were, How to finish the body... Solved now... plain gloss black ! no fancy designs here !
the second issue was, I decided to swap out the stock HB and SC pickups to 2 x HB... (Tonerider Rocksongs)
This in turn meant I needed to make a new scratch plate.
After destroying the first two attempts I decided to let things rest a while, and put energy elsewhere.

last weekend I had a good jolt and my 3rd scratch plate attempt came out OK...
I'm now up to cutting the rectangular holes for for the new pickups.
Also buffed and polished the body, and fitted the bridge and saddle posts, and neck along with the new Diadario locking + auto trimming tuners.

Feels like I'm nearly there !


OMG - I love my new buffer !


Yes.. those are my feet !


Oh...AND I even remembered the earth wire this time !!!

[wcieslik]

Finished the scratch plate last night and have done a test mounting/fitting...

[wcieslik]

failed on the decal (red on black... not a good color choice for DIY decals), and resorted to making a sticker instead....


Strap locks, wiring and intonation next !

[wcieslik]

Well the Mossie has come up a treat !
It's very different to play compared to the Ricky330.

I put Dimarzio locking / auto trimming tuners in the head, and they work great ! But they are heavy !!
The nylon guitar strap I used for this one will swap out for a leather one, hopefully to help stop it tilting forward when you let the neck go.

It may have been a mistake to use a 'Moslike' bridge as the arch of the strings is quite apparent. Also seem to be getting a 'buzzing' noise with the strings, which I think might be related to strings at the zero fret.
Just going to play it as is for now, and when the strings come off next, I'll have another go at deepening the nut slots.

I did have two pretty major issues with the finish !
So happy was I with the silky slick shiny smooth finish...
Then...
[1] when I hammered the bridge and stop posts in... ouch. Enough stress on the wood between the two top posts and the two bottom posts, that the beautiful slick black finish developed stress cracks after a few days. [perhaps should have re-drilled the holes a little bigger ]
[2] a couple of holes developed swelling under the finish around them - mostly hidden under the scratch plate ! [wet sanding too wet]
[3] about two weeks later random cracks appeared elsewhere in the finish. (I think this is called 'checking') and may have been due to either the massive temp. fluctuations we had as I was finishing the finish.. or even heat build up from the buffer.

I can't control the temps. as I try to finish the 'Nez off, but I am planning on NOT using the buffer when I cut and polish. Also not going to wet sand, just very lightly dry sand and try to be real careful !

Like they say 'all you can do is try' ...
and if at first you don't succeed... there's always TV and beer !

[Sonic Mountain]

Yeah, black is a really hard colour to do well, so live and learn. Otherwise, it looks like a weapon, these are a cool looking kit.

Buzzing might be on the TOM style bridge. The one in my SG/AG build rattles and buzzes a fair bit. It's scheduled for an upgrade as it annoys the crap out of me. But lowering the nut slots seems sensible if you think its coming from that end.

[Andy40]

Nice work wcieslik. Black is hard to get all the scratches out. you got a pic of the new buffer? what kind is it?

[dave.king1]

failed on the decal (red on black... not a good color choice for DIY decals), and resorted to making a sticker instead....


Strap locks, wiring and intonation next !

Very nice but that decal would knock you out of GTOM, just putting it out there

[wcieslik]

Thanks Dave,
Out of curiosity, decal too cheesy, or too badly applied ?

[wcieslik]

Thanks Sonic,

I did wonder about the bridge, (and even the saddles, as there heaps of moving parts on the roller bridge)..

In relation to the paint 'checking', I made a small experiment with the Mibanez yesterday, and tried a small short buffing (with the buffer). Nowhere near as firmly or as long as I did on the Mossie... the surface temperature result was surprising! The buffed area was considerably hotter (not just warm), than the surrounding, untouched, areas. I think this rapid heating and cooling is what led to the paint cracking ! (Lesson learned !)
Hey, some people actually pay for this 'aged' effect !

[wcieslik]

Hi andy,
Just the std One Plus 18v ryobi from Bunnings...

https://2ecffd01e1ab3e9383f0-07db7b9...b89ee59705.jpg

Worked great, although I now question the use of it due to heat build up ....
(I didn't go lighly with the use of it ! )