There is still a bit of a bump where the chip was, as I haven't resprayed anywhere near as many coats. If the weather holds tomorrow I may put one or two more on.
Mantra: No more pedals, must finish BlueyCaster...
Disclaimer: I haven't done woodwork since high school, and wasn't really paying attention at the time ...
After the spate of recent horror stories about stock kit screws breaking I decided to replace mine with something sturdier. Real Parts was out of stock of a few sizes that I needed, so I went to the dread green shed:
As near as I can measure, and recognizing that since I haven't drilled pilot holes I have more leeway, these should do for pickguard/jack, bridge, and neck. I know they are zinc plated not nickel or chrome but they should be a lot sturdier. Plus a pack of 50 was the same price as ~8 screws from Real Parts.
Other progress since last post has mostly been in the pedal building area, but I have filled the chipped lacquer on the neck (not perfectly though, but enough to stop it worsening) and applied a bit more CA to some fretboard spots that needed it.
Mantra: No more pedals, must finish BlueyCaster...
Disclaimer: I haven't done woodwork since high school, and wasn't really paying attention at the time ...
Not ideal screws, as they aren't the normal dome head countersunk type. Also more for softwood rather than hardwood with those coarse threads.
I'm using similar for the bridge on the 'Mustang' The size is 5G 15mm.
Probably not the ideal, but geez luxury after the cheddar cheese one's they replaced.
cheers, Mark.
Hmm, I matched them to the ones that came with the kit, and the thread pitch looked quite similar. Admittedly I didn't measure the pitch as the battery in my digital calipers is flat. Or by "coarse" are you referring to the thread depth (outer to inner radius) rather than pitch?
It's a basswood body if that helps, which I think is quite a lot softer than ash or alder. Oh yeah, except for the maple neck
I agree there is no dome head, but isn't that more for appearance than structural integrity? And to prevent sharp edges if the screw isn't perfectly straight?
Turns out that I need to put in an order with Real Parts anyway, because the volume pot in the G&L died tonight after 7 years valiant service. I soldered a bridge across terminals 2 and 3 as a temporary fix (simulates max volume more or less). And it turns out that no matter how many pots I have stashed, I still never have the right values.
Mantra: No more pedals, must finish BlueyCaster...
Disclaimer: I haven't done woodwork since high school, and wasn't really paying attention at the time ...
Slowly progressing on this build. I have suspended all my pedal building efforts for now while I get this done.
I mentioned before that the bone nut was too thin compared to the plastic kit nut, and thus a very poor fit into the slot. Today I measured with calipers. Plastic kit nut is 4mm thick while the bone nut is 3mm. I have emailed Adam to see if I received the wrong nut or if my kit neck had an unusual nut thickness. Nut width and string spacing look correct.
Thanks to BakersDozen I have some thin veneer that I could use to shim the nut, but matching the colour to the rosewood might be tricky. Would I be better off buying some bone nut blanks on ebay? I do have a set of nut files.
If I do get some bone blanks, can the 12" radius sanding block be used to radius the top curve on the nut? Or is it a different profile that is higher on the bass side, and thus needing a different approach.
Mantra: No more pedals, must finish BlueyCaster...
Disclaimer: I haven't done woodwork since high school, and wasn't really paying attention at the time ...
Some small research suggests that 4mm thick is uncommon. Looking at Real Parts, all the pre-shaped/pre-slotted bone nuts are 3mm thick. All the pre-shaped/pre-slotted Tusq nuts are 3.4mm thick. Blanks in both are thicker, so that's looking like the only option other than shimming to get a snug fit.
Mantra: No more pedals, must finish BlueyCaster...
Disclaimer: I haven't done woodwork since high school, and wasn't really paying attention at the time ...
Hey JD. Have you tried Ace Guitar Parts. I've bought quite a few items from them. The service is good and parts are good quality. They have screws, bone nuts and everything else.
P.S. I had the same issue with the bone nut I ordered and I just shimmed it with paper. Once the nut was glued in I trimmed the paper and you can't even see it.
P.P.S. There's a pic of the new nut on my thread in the Build Diary forum.
Last edited by Petebullgtr; 07-07-2020 at 02:09 PM.
Thanks. I actually read your thread earlier today and commented on the photo rotation issue. I didn't pay close attention to the nut at the time. Is the closeup photo showing the shimmed bone nut? I have 1mm to make up which is quite a few sheets of paper. I guess it is strong in compression. Better not get it wet though!
And you are right, I was thinking I needed to colour match the fretboard but matching the nut colour makes more sense.
I will check out Ace Guitar parts now. Thanks again.
Mantra: No more pedals, must finish BlueyCaster...
Disclaimer: I haven't done woodwork since high school, and wasn't really paying attention at the time ...