RC-1 build diary

[Moony]

I thought I'd throw this up to get a build diary started. It'll be a slow build but having a diary up might help me get it done.

The first thing I'd like to say is that this is a beautiful kit. The body is great and should sand up very nicely. It has the area behind the bridge filled, which I knew about and received a great discount for. In fact the discount was the clincher so I'm actually quite grateful for the routing error!

The neck on this thing feels beautiful and fits in the body perfectly. I can actually pick the guitar up by the neck just from having pushed it in.

As with everyone, the first steps will be sanding so there won't be much to show but as I said in my intro thread I'm aiming for a decoupaged comics top on this guitar so I'll be conducting some experiments on scrap wood and will throw pics up as I go.

I'm very much looking forward to having this one in my hands as a finished guitar and have a feeling that it'll be a much better guitar than I am a player.

[stan]

Great start and welcome Mooney.
Some great RCs have been built here, so plenty of help and inspiration, enjoy

[Moony]

ok, so first question (that didn't take long). I started to do a mock build to check everything is all good and have some questions about the bridge. Not having had a guitar with a tune-o-matic before I'm a little unsure of them.
My understanding is that the intonation screws should be at the back, but if i orient the bridge that way the saddles with the bigger slots for wound strings are at the bottom.



Like I said I have no experience with these bridges so I could just have it wrong.

Also, is the bridge just supposed to sit loosely on the posts and the string tension holds it down?

[pablopepper]

2nd question first, cause its easy. Yes.

First question: tune o matic bridges vary from maker to maker. I prefer to have the adjustment screws at the back, some prefer them at the front. The ones that come with these kits face forwards. You can modify them to get the set up you prefer by carefully wiggling the wire that holds the adjustment screws out and rearranging them. I did it on my last build and its not that difficult, just a bit fiddly.

[Moony]

Thanks!
I may just leave it then

[Moony]

The mock build went smoothly and everything seems to line up very nicely. It looks like I'll have to cut the neck pick up surround to accomodate the neck but it's no biggy.

The next step was to do a test run for the comic decoupage. I grabbed a piece of scrap pine and a few bits of a comic and had a crack at it with some cheap craft glue. I routed out a bit of a depression as I really wanted to test how it went with the step down on the face of the guitar.

Initial tests seem positive and showed up a lot to work on next time. It looks like I'll need to seal the pieces of paper first to stop the image rubbing off. I have a few wrinkles and air bubbles and after a little research it seems I may not have used enough glue. I should probably go with something a little better than 2 dollar store craft glue as well. It folded around the step really nicely so that shouldn't be an issue.

My phone takes crappy pics so hopefully it shows well enough. There's a lot of saw dust stuck in it as well so obviously I'll take more care cleaning up on the actual guitar. A few more test runs and I'll hopefully have the technique down.

A sparkle finish was my plan b if the comics thing didn't work but I'm now contemplating doing that on the back and sides. More research is in order!

[Moony]

Well I did say at the start of this build that it'd take a while, and I've at least proven I'm honest!

This obviously went on the backburner for a few years and to be honest I kind of forgot I even had it. I was trying to clean up my attic the other day and uncovered it, and figured that building it would at least get it out of the attic. I had a busy few years there and woodworking and hobbies took a bit of a back seat, but having gotten some of the big projects on my list done I've now got a bit more time to do the fun ones.

As you can see from the pics, I abandoned both the comic book and sparkle finish ideas in favour of a rattle can paint job. It was just a whole lot less time and hassle to do it that way. The comic book guitar is still something I'd like to do, but might leave it for a different build.

So the painting is done and I now need to clear coat, but I've got a question about assembly I was hoping somebody could help me with. Firstly, I loose fot the neck and bridge so that I could check the scale length, and with the neck pushed right into the slot I get about 313mm either way, which is perfect.








However, with the neck pickup in position, the pickup surround does not allow the neck to be push all the way in, which throws the scale out.






Am I missing something or do I just need to cut the pickup surround so that it fits around the neck? It seems to me that apart from the scale issue, it would also make for a stronger joint to have it fully seated all the way in. Has anyone else who has built the RC-1 run into this?

[wazkelly]

24.75" scale = 628.65 mm measured from inner side of nut to mid point of TOM saddle on the high E.

I know most folks just measure nut to 12th, the 12th to bridge but it is the overall length that matters. Had a similar problem on my EX-1 where neck PUP rout must have been just a fraction too far forward as it ended up with no room for a mounting ring and chose to top load them without mounting rings which looks good but a right proper fiddly job to get right. It took me 2 or 3 attempts before I was happy with PUP height as this method doesn't leave you with much scope for height adjustment.

There have been a few other builds where forum members cut the neck mounting ring to slide around end of fret board or custom built their own like this one http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...034#post167034

Cheers, Waz

[Moony]

Well, just sprayed a coat of clear, and it looks like it has made the paint underneath lift and crack. I'll be better able to assess the situation when it's dry but looks like I have a whole lot of sanding in my future.

[Sonic Mountain]

Whoops. What kind of paint are you using? Is the clear from the same manufacturer?