24 3/4 conversion strat
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fuzznut
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Bagman67 said:
They are! Unless you use MIM/Squier/import bridges for the "Gibson" string spacing. I used the holes in the template, not realizing this. Fortunately, they are just starter holes, not more than 1/8" deep. But the problem is when I re-drill, even on the drill press, the bit will follow the path of least resistance. I am going to have to make a pilot guide for the drill bit. :sad1:
bagman67
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Maybe fill the old holes, too?
Seriously, and I know you already have the part so the ship has sailed - there's no mechanical reason why six pivot points are preferable to two. As far as I can tell, Leo put six screws in because they lined up nicely with six strings. Triples the number of potential points of annoyance. Anyway - I'll stop yapping, and enjoy the progress photos, because when push comes to shove, seeing someone put together the guitar they want is way more satisfying than being "right" about some comparatively trivial point of guitar design.
Seriously, and I know you already have the part so the ship has sailed - there's no mechanical reason why six pivot points are preferable to two. As far as I can tell, Leo put six screws in because they lined up nicely with six strings. Triples the number of potential points of annoyance. Anyway - I'll stop yapping, and enjoy the progress photos, because when push comes to shove, seeing someone put together the guitar they want is way more satisfying than being "right" about some comparatively trivial point of guitar design.
fuzznut
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Leo probably realized that, between the wood removed for the tremolo springs and the wood removed for the bridge pickup, there isn't enough wood left to reliably support the bridge, as the bridge has forward stresses. 6 small screws minimizes even more wood loss and distributes the load. 2 large studs, well, I'll just post a picture :laughing7:
BigSteve22
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Bagman67 said:
LMAO! :icon_jokercolor:
fuzznut
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Now I can sleep at night :blob7:
I'm sorta at a standstill... I need to make the pickguard with the pickup holes, and then use that to accurately rout the body for the pickups. I ordered the neck and blank pickguards on Jan 2, I thought they would ship the pickguard blanks separately, but it looks like they are waiting until the neck is done. I guess I'll put 10 grit on the belt sander and gnaw out a body contour :laughing8:
I'm sorta at a standstill... I need to make the pickguard with the pickup holes, and then use that to accurately rout the body for the pickups. I ordered the neck and blank pickguards on Jan 2, I thought they would ship the pickguard blanks separately, but it looks like they are waiting until the neck is done. I guess I'll put 10 grit on the belt sander and gnaw out a body contour :laughing8:
Cagey
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If it was me, I'd lay out the body positions for the pickups and use a template to route those first. When the pickguard material comes, cut it to shape, bevel the edges, drill the mounting holes, countersink 'em and mount it. Drill holes large enough in the middle of the pickup locations for an edge follower bit, and route the pickup holes at that point. That way you know they'll line up perfectly. If you cut the pickguard's pickup holes before the body's, you've got the tail wagging the dog and that's no good. Pickguards are easy to do over. Bodies, not so much.
fuzznut
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Cagey said:
Ahh at first I didn't understand what you were saying, and then I saw the link. Rout the body first with the pickguard templates, then rout the pickguard, then finish the body routs with the body templates. Great idea! My only concern was I want the neck polepieces under the "24th" fret, and the neck pickup has to moved closer to the neck for this, and I might be having a thin strip of pickguard material between the neck and pickup, and relocating that one screw near there. But actually, since I never installed a neck pickup in the prototype but want to, I'll verify it on that and use your technique to do it :icon_smile:
Cagey
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You may still be working too hard, or I'm not being clear.
Using the pickup template(s) I linked to, route the pickup cavities in the body first, and finish the job. No more pickup cavity routing needed.
Use pickguard template you made to make the pickguard, but with no pickup holes in it.
Mount the pickguard to the body.
Drill a hole in the pickguard at each pickup location large enough in diameter to allow passage of a flush trim bit.
Replace "veneer" with "pickguard material" and "MDF" with "custom guitar body"
At that point, the body itself becomes a template for your pickguard's pickup holes, and they end up perfectly positioned.
Actually, the more I think about it, maybe this isn't such a great idea after all. The cavities for pickups aren't the same outline as the holes in the pickguard that the pickups poke out of. So, you'd need two pickup templates. One for bodies that includes relief for mounting ears in the case of humbuckers and some others, or oversized baseplates in the case of some Strat/Tele style pickups. The other template is for pickguards, and only provides clearance for the exposed part of the pickup. To do what I've been talking about, you'd have to route the body using the pickguard pickup hole templates, then use the body as a template for the pickguard, then remove the pickguard and use the body-specific pickup templates to finish the pickup cavity routing.
Using the pickup template(s) I linked to, route the pickup cavities in the body first, and finish the job. No more pickup cavity routing needed.
Use pickguard template you made to make the pickguard, but with no pickup holes in it.
Mount the pickguard to the body.
Drill a hole in the pickguard at each pickup location large enough in diameter to allow passage of a flush trim bit.
Replace "veneer" with "pickguard material" and "MDF" with "custom guitar body"
At that point, the body itself becomes a template for your pickguard's pickup holes, and they end up perfectly positioned.
Actually, the more I think about it, maybe this isn't such a great idea after all. The cavities for pickups aren't the same outline as the holes in the pickguard that the pickups poke out of. So, you'd need two pickup templates. One for bodies that includes relief for mounting ears in the case of humbuckers and some others, or oversized baseplates in the case of some Strat/Tele style pickups. The other template is for pickguards, and only provides clearance for the exposed part of the pickup. To do what I've been talking about, you'd have to route the body using the pickguard pickup hole templates, then use the body as a template for the pickguard, then remove the pickguard and use the body-specific pickup templates to finish the pickup cavity routing.
