@Frankie
Unfortunately Irwinocrates will only get one mention in my epitaph. Although I did find him very useful.
@Cliff
Thanks Cliff, my obsession doesn't seem half as bad now.
Just a quick update today.
I managed to get a mock build done to make sure I’m still heading in the right direction. The neck pickup location was a bit of a compromise as it is does not match the position of either the neck pickup on a Tele or the middle pickup on a Strat. At this stage I am not overly concerned as fundamental harmonics only apply to open strings, right?. I HOPE! Lol.
Still a bit of work to be done on the body. Final shape is OK but I need to work on access to the higher frets, the transition between the neck and body and do some comfort cuts. Unfortunately belly and forearm cuts are out of the question because of the chamber, which probably only leaves a “lap” cut. But I will have to be careful not to get too close to the control cavity when doing that one.
Still undecided on a final finish. I will stain first and then decide whether or not to paint. If I go with a stain I will probably not use a pickguard, however if I decide to paint I will fashion a Tele-esque guard out of a standard T-kit one I have handy.
Cheers guys
rob
Current:
GTH-1
Completed:
AST-1FB
First Act ME276 (resurrected curb-side find)
ES-5V
Scratchie lapsteel
Custom ST-1 12 String
JBA-4
TL-1TB
Scratch Lapsteel
Meinl DIY Cajon
Cigar Box lap steel
Wishing:
Baritone
Open D/Standard Double 6 twin neck
Another quickie.
Before I go too far down the sanding route I thought I had better get the neck pocket/heel problem sorted.
I contoured the neck pocket for better access to the 24th fret and also reshaped the heel of the neck a tad to make it a bit more aesthetically palatable.
This shows the reshaped neck pocket. I could have positioned the screws a bit better, but I had drilled them before actually deciding how I was going to reshape the pocket. Planning 101 – FAIL!!
These two shots show the reshaped neck heel and the fit into the pocket. This is still in the rough state but I feel that I can probably live with it once I clean it up a bit and add filler here and there.
As O’Reilly often said “a lick of paint, a lick of paint”. Those old enough to remember Fawlty Towers will get it. (Thanks Fretty for reminding me of those classic shows.)
That's it for now, lots of shaping and sanding to be done before the next update.
Cheers guys
rob
Finally able to get back to the guitar. I had to have a break as I stuffed up the string-through ferrule holes. Not sure what happened as I have done this several times already with hand tools and have been quite pleased with the results but for some reason this time it just went wacko!
I had 2 options, a) recess out the dodgy ferrule holes and replace with a piece of wood or b) buy one of those “string through ferrule block” thingies. At the time I had decided to stain the guitar so I opted for the ferrule block. I would have loved a solid brass one but budget (yada, yada, yada) meant a cheap chrome Chinese one instead.
It pains me to post this photo, but it is what it is. Ugly
Out with the chisels and the ferrule block is in place
I also drilled the hole for the output jack.
I have also discovered, after a mock build, that the action will be too high.
I have 2 options again (sigh) a) shim the neck pocket or b) shave a mm or 2 off the top of the guitar. I have spent a fair bit of time shaping the pocket and the neck and a shim would would mean more work so I have decided to plane a couple of mm of the top of the guitar. Haven’t used a plane before, what could possibly go wrong?
But at least I am back into it, something for which my sanity is very grateful.
Cheers guys
rob
The ferrule block doesn't look too bad at all from where I'm standing.
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Kit builds: JBA-4M | STA-1M | AIB-1Q | TL-1 (in progress)
Side projects: Artist TC59 | Sheoak Dreaming | Spalted Marri Metal | Randy Vs | Sassafrassin' | St. Vincent