iluvteles Posted March 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 Done the tuner holes. 8mm through hole with a 10mm counter bore. Takes ages to do as you have to keep changing bits to cut the holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted March 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 Done the headstock shaping today. They will do but they arnt great. If only there was a big router bit to do the radius then I would be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 Done the headstock shaping today. They will do but they arnt great. If only there was a big router bit to do the radius then I would be happy. There is! I use a 1" roundover bit I got from Grizzly. I'd think a 3/4" roundover would be fine for most people. You can't get a finished neck that way, but it gives you a huge head start. From there, I'm generally just sanding by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted March 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 I'll have to try to find a router bit that size as I'm not good at sanding rads by hand. I did not want to use these neck ferrules and screws but I had them spare and its a shame to waste them so on they go. Also I'm not spending much on these teles so could not use the Aluminium machine screws and neck inserts that I now favour. Its also interesting to note that I used the same 15mm dia flat drill but some holes are bigger than the others. I tried the same insert into each hole, some drop straight in and can wobble and others will not go in at all. The photo shows 3 out of 8 are to small the other 5 dropped straight in. It must be how tight I have the bit in the drill chuck. :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 could also be manufacturing tolerances in the ferrules. I have seen batches of them with outer diameters off by as much as 0.5mm over spec, & 0.2 under. that's a difference of 0.7mm between the biggest & smallest in a batch. with differences like this you will get some loose & some tight, especially if the drill bit was hot for some holes & cool for others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted March 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 Pauliemc...I never thought about the temp of the bit. I'll keep that in mind for the next time as well as all the other things I keep in mind a then for get. As I get old it gets worse. All the ferrules fit now. I got the old Dremmel out and just touched the sides until they fitted. All is good now. I havent worked on these for a while as I have builders block. I dont know what to do next with them and dont have any motivation at the moment so I'm taking a little building holiday. Will be back soon though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted March 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Today I have drilled the bridge screws and string through. I'm alright at this type of work and all the holes are where they should be. Its the stuff by hand I'm not good at like sanding fretboard radius, carving bodies and shaping necks. Thats why I build strats and Teles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted April 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 I now have the side dots in the neck although not sanded flush yet. I did not have ant 2mm dots left so I used 3mm as I'm not spending much money on these. The 3mm are OK but I think the 2mm are better. I have also cut the access slot for the truss rod. I do not like it one bit. It looks pap and will make access to the truss rod difficult. I did it this way as drilling the hole at the headstock ends always ends bad for me. But, as we say up north mus'nt grumble. I have also rough shaped the body contours and drilled the counterbores for the string ferrules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 That really is nice body wood. I believe these are going to turn out really nice looking....even though you seem less than pleased with them so far. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted April 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hi Scott. yes the bodies will turn out nice once the lacquer goes on. I'm undecided if I should just have plain gloss lacquer or dye the bodies red first. As for not being happy its just a case of being fustrated when things are not perfect.Once they are complete they will turn out great. I'm kind of regreating making the right hand as cheap as I could. I think I should have spent a bit more money on hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted April 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 I've done a test with lacquer brushed over red dye and natural. What should it be..red or plain????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 Why not one of each? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted April 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 ScottR when you say one of each it got me thinking. Red dye top and natural back. Thats until I change my mind again. Not much progress to report but: As the good weather will be my way soon I've been starting to prepare for finishing. The fretboard has been sanded to 240 grit and will get one coat of lacquer before freting as Maple can sometimes react with the fretwire and turn slightly green where the fretwire comes into contact. I've also sanded the bodies to 120 grit and applied the grainfiller. I'll sand the grainfiller back to 320 grit then the dye then lacquer. I'm using watrbased lacquer for the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 Really beautiful work on these, have you made a decision on the colour yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted April 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 Yes Muzz, I'm using the red Methonol based dye on the tops with the black Sycamor seperating it from the natural back. If I dont like it I'll just use the red dye on the back also. I'm going to add about 25% Methonol to the dye to dilute it a bit though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted April 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 (edited) The necks have had a first coat of lacquer. I'll denib them with 600 grit then I'll bang the frets in. Also sanded the grain fill back. It was hard work and I think most of the filler has also been sanded out. Note to myself: never ever use grain filler again. Dont even say the word. I've washed them in methonol and then applied the red methonol stain to the drop top. I've applied the first coat of lacquer. Edited April 16, 2013 by iluvteles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 Side view looks killer. Good call. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelvock Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 Lookin really nice now Lee, love the colour, makes a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted April 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Yes they are starting to look good now and not too many mishaps this time. I was in two minds about the two tone colour but the more I see them the more I like them. I'm starting to think that the really cheap pickups and the letter note stickers I have for the right hand is going to be abit of a shame. I.E. good guitar but pap hrdware but I started out to make a cheapocaster so I'll stick to the plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted April 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 Never done an update for a while but there is not much to tell. Here goes. The lacquering is now complete. I'll leave it for 1 week and then start to sand it back. I've used the water based lacquer and so far I like it. Very much. The photo shows the two bodies lacquerd and sanded to 600 grit after the first coat.The next photos are of a fret bevelling jig that I'm making. You can see where the file sits but there is a problem. The file has a handle on and I'm having trouble cutting it off as the file is so hard. Time to go to work and use a grinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted May 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 I've not done much work on these over the last month. Got the necks shaped but dropped a big clanger gluing the nut in on the left hand. Its got a big gap and the glue has set. The problem was that the glue set so fast when I was trying to align the nut in the centre. Its stuck solid so if I try and knock it out it way split the fretboard. I was going to fill the gap but I'm concerned that it will suffer in tone and sustain. What does the forum think?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maull Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 If there is not too much glue filling the slot under the nut maybe try tapping it towards the back of the neck to free it up rather than the normal side tap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 I've not done much work on these over the last month. Got the necks shaped but dropped a big clanger gluing the nut in on the left hand. Its got a big gap and the glue has set. The problem was that the glue set so fast when I was trying to align the nut in the centre. Its stuck solid so if I try and knock it out it way split the fretboard. I was going to fill the gap but I'm concerned that it will suffer in tone and sustain. What does the forum think?? What Type of glue did you use? If epoxy or woodglue, then add heat from a heat gun and soften it up. remove the nut and clean the surfaces and start over. Be careful not to burn the wood but even some discoloration from the heat can be sanded out. Or add steam into the joint and soften it that way. Just a thought! MK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted May 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 The glue was "Krazy" super glue. I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and get this nut out because if I dont it will bug me forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 Acetone dissolves super glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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