Sgt

[impala59]

As stated previously, back from being laid up I got on with a few things.
The SGT has turned out nice, what I was looking for was the look of an old instrument, but not relic'd, distressed or hacked about. The beetroot juice staining was somewhat problematic with vegetable matter interfering with wire wool during application. In the end I got pretty near to what I wanted with Danish oil and beeswax.
The big surprise was when re-assembled, what a sweet player it is. The action is lowish, how I like it, as I pick and strum with fingers only and use many open chords and tunings. It may well become my go to guitar displacing the flying V that has always been my favourite.
The pick up balance is just about perfect with mellow, soft, warm tones from the P90 and soaring highs from the hot rail humbucker and these are just Chinese knockoffs! As it settles in I shall probably seek out some quality units but for now I am really happy with it.
I had some decals made up to finish it off, a simple 37 in a circle, my lucky number

sgt6 (1).JPG (106.9 KB)
sgt6 (2).JPG (121.1 KB)

[impala59]

A cautionary footnote!
After successfully dressing the nuts on my current telecaster projects, I revisited the SGT which was a touch high at the headstock end. Foolishly, I was watching a gripping Tele-drama-documentary whilst fettling the nut. Before I knew it, the A was laying on the first fret which is a little annoying as the previous four strings went according to plan. I did the low E and have made a temporary repair until I replace the nut.
Moral... Its very true that I can not do two things at once
sgt nut.JPG (106.3 KB)

[McCreed]

That can be fixed without replacing the whole nut. If it's bone, you can fill it with bone dust and CA. If you don't have any bone dust, or if it's plastic, use baking soda and CA. Let it harden 24 hours and re-cut the slot.
There are lots of YT videos on how to do this.

It's not always the best remedy, but it works and I've seen more experienced repairers/luthiers than I use it.
I have a couple of guitars where I did this (at least 5 years ago) and have not had any problem.

[impala59]

That’s great!
I shall try that remedy and report back, the advice on this forum really is second to none! I certainly have learned an awful lot from the discussions, comments and opinions expressed. It’s great that skilled luthiers are prepared to share their time and knowledge with us mere mortals and so encourage us in our endeavours

[impala59]

Thanks to McCreed for pointing me in the right direction. I have made the repair and the action is where I want it. I am a little out of place in relation to the E and G but this was the case previously on what was/is a cheap plastic nut. A valuable lesson learned, not quite as easy as is shown on YT and I will probably replace this nut with a brass one in due course. I have found that my nut files will cut a serious amount of material if I am not careful, as my old teachers used to say "could do better boy!"
sgtnutrep (1).JPG (60.4 KB)
sgtnutrep (2).JPG (56.0 KB)
sgtnutrep (3).JPG (44.6 KB)
First pic the deep cut A, 2nd pic baking soda and CA added, 3rd filed and strung