LP jr - JohnH's #5

[JohnH]

A fun problem arose this afternoon while I was cleaning up the holes for the pots. When I bought the alpha pots I checked they fit, and it was fine, but I realised today I must have only checked the top hole - the bottom one is drilled slightly off centre, so the pot won't fit.

No real issue, it just means I needed to order some mini pots. I'm waiting on copper tape in any case, so it hasn't really slowed me up too much

[dave.king1]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Copper snail & slug repellent tape will do the same job at a fraction of the price

[robsmith]

Is it that the slot is out of line with the holes?
If that's the case, it may be possible to carefully increase the width of the slot to gain clearance around the pots. Care is needed not to remove too much wood and expose the cavity to sight.

[JohnH]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Copper snail & slug repellent tape will do the same job at a fraction of the price

Definitely! I got a huge roll last time, but sadly it ran out. I've ordered another, so hopefully it'll keep me going for a while.

Is it that the slot is out of line with the holes?
If that's the case, it may be possible to carefully increase the width of the slot to gain clearance around the pots. Care is needed not to remove too much wood and expose the cavity to sight.

Yeah, its just a mm or two off centre which puts the cavity wall right where the edge of the pot wants to be. I thought about carefully widening the hole to shift it back to the centre but to be honest the mini pots will make the wiring so much easier it is probably worth the $$

[Simon Barden]

You only need 1 mini pot. Might as well keep the other full size!

Though I would have a go at trying to get a full sized pot in by undercutting the side of the cavity with a Dremel drum sander. A Jr is one of those guitars where you really need to use both the volume and tone pots, where the extra pot track length and associated positional accuracy is of real benefit.

[JohnH]

Good point Simon, I'll see what I can do about gently widening the cavity. The mini pots will always come in handy at some point, even if I manage to squeeze the alphas into this build

[JohnH]

So I fixed the issue, unsurprisingly. It just goes to show that you shouldn't try to problem solve at night or when you're exhausted.

When I looked at the cavity the next day it was immediately obvious that reaming the hole 1mm closer to the centre would fix it, and even if it didn't, there's so much cavity wall remaining you could sand 2-3mm off and still be fine!

[Trevor Davies]

Good fix.

The body looks great. I think I want to try a junior or a special!

[JohnH]

Good fix.

The body looks great. I think I want to try a junior or a special!

It's a really nice kit! I'm really looking forward to being able to actually play it. If I wasn't so hopeless at finishing it could have been done a long time ago lol

[JohnH]

Got a lot done this evening - tuners are in, plus the wiring is done and the bridge, pickguard and neck are on. I'll have to take pics tomorrow - terrible light in the evening...

I realised I don't have a nut for the neck (I seem to have misplaced the one that came with it), so I'll order a new one tonight.

Otherwise, it's looking very shiny!



And all done under the watchful eye of this little girl