Blackbird Telecaster: Neck work in progress...

[BigSteve22]

Wow!  I'm very sorry to hear about what you're going through at work.

Take it easy - or at least try!

Sorry Trevor, hope I didn't bum you out. I didn't mean for it to become a vent, it's just the nature of the beast, so to speak. Working on a build and conversing with the good people here really helps. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[zebra]

That Zero-Glide nut is an interesting idea - looking forward to what you think of it after setting it up and playing with it.

 

[rgand]

I've been there myself, Steve. I know your frustration. I managed a shop where everyone above wanted it to fail. Good that all your people went home in one piece. Good that you can pour yourself into building.

 

[stratamania]

I can relate to that about work, I was in a similar place until about 300 contractors got dumped with less than a weeks notice. I was asked to go back and sort something out but no commitment other than two weeks. I turned it down and drew a line under it.

I am now at a point of deciding what I want to do rather than taking on the same crap somewhere else. One of the things on my list is hand building guitars. (might have to do it alongside something else for a while).

 

[BigSteve22]

That Zero-Glide nut is an interesting idea - looking forward to what you think of it after setting it up and playing with it.

Yeah, me too! The Gretsch I played years ago had a zero fret and I loved it. When I picked up the Zero-Glide I also bought a Tusq nut just in case my youthful memories don't live up to my current expectations.  :icon_scratch:

 

[BigSteve22]

Good that all your people went home in one piece......

Thanks Rgand, that's my number one, primary concern.

I am now at a point of deciding what I want to do rather than taking on the same crap somewhere else.....

That's great to hear! Next year at this time I should be planning my retirement party.
:icon_thumright:

 

[BigSteve22]

Been planning the bridge accessory for my neck jig. My latest vision is to make a separate jig which will mount to the main, and allow the neck to be set up as if it was an actual instrument. This way I can check the progress of my work by removing the "sub-jig" and actually "playing" the neck. The bridge in question matches the dimensions on the "Vintage Style Strat Flat Mount Bridge" diagram on Warmoth's site:

www.warmoth.com/hardware/bridges/pdf/Vintage_Narrow_Diagram.pdf

Stew-Mac's fret calculator indicates that, for a "Non-Tremolo Strat style bridge", the distance from the fretboard edge of the nut to center line of the mounting screws should be 25.25" on a 25.5" scale guitar. (Warmoth bodies are set up as 25.5" replacements.) This just seem wrong to me. Since the mounting holes are further from the nut than the furthest point of travel of the saddles, and the singing length of the string needs to be longer than the scale in order to properly intonate, wouldn't the bridge need to be further away?

I seems to me that an easy reference point for the placement of the bridge would be the the neck mounting screw hole locations. The neck, whether normal Fender 25.5" scale or 24.75" conversion scale, mounts in the same holes and will intonate with a bridge mounted in the same position. This means that the distance from the neck mounting holes to the bridge mounting holes, both being on the same piece of wood, would provide a stable measurement for the placement of the bridge.

I would just measure it myself, but I don't have a guitar routed for this type of bridge. So my question is this: Using the neck mounting holes as a reference, what would be the proper distance from the neck mounting holes furthest from the nut, to the bridge mounting holes?  :icon_scratch:

(Kevin, this sound like a question for you........ :help

 

[Fat Pete]

I noticed that measurement and concluded that they're talking about this sort of bridge with additional mounting holes at the front:

So not an error as such as they sell bridges like this. It's not the classic Fender hardtail mount though.

 

[Cagey]

Or, if you'd prefer something more detailed...

Drill the holes where you'd like for the neck mount. I'd suggest placing them in such a way as to give yourself easy side clearance to reach even the 24th fret from the sides and low - that is, no wood on either side of the neck heel. Pretend you're designing a body for a 28 fret all-access neck, or one that's only 2 3/16" wide all the way to the bridge. That'll let you run your file(s) and your hand(s) unobstructed while dressing/polishing. Once those holes are drilled, mount whatever neck you have handy.

Assuming you're using a 25.5" scale neck, measure back from the fretboard side of the nut to the 25.5" point on your jig, and mark it. Maybe do that twice so you can draw a line perpendicular to the neck that's wider than your bridge.

The high E string on a guitar ends up being the closest to the actual scale length for the neck, so regardless of which bridge you're using, adjust the high E saddle maybe 1/8" short of its full travel toward the nut, and place the bridge on your jig so the breakover point of the saddle is directly over the 25.5" mark you made on your jig. That's where the bridge has to mount. Make sure it's perpendicular to your neck, mark your mounting holes, grab a drill motor and the appropriate bit for your mounting screws, and mount the bridge.

Drink a beer while smoking a cigarette and staring at what you've done and contemplating your next move.

 

[stratamania]

Good that all your people went home in one piece......

Thanks Rgand, that's my number one, primary concern.

I am now at a point of deciding what I want to do rather than taking on the same crap somewhere else.....

That's great to hear! Next year at this time I should be planning my retirement party.
:icon_thumright:

That's good to hear.

 

[BigSteve22]

I noticed that measurement and concluded that they're talking about this sort of bridge with additional mounting holes at the front.

So not an error as such as they sell bridges like this. It's not the classic Fender hardtail mount though.

Yeah, copy that. Stew-Mac's info is usually pretty accurate, I was surprised that it would be so far off. Thanks Pete.

The high E string on a guitar ends up being the closest to the actual scale length for the neck, so regardless of which bridge you're using, adjust the high E saddle maybe 1/8" short of its full travel toward the nut, and place the bridge on your jig so the breakover point of the saddle is directly over the 25.5" mark you made on your jig. That's where the bridge has to mount.....

I usually gauge things, much as you describe, in fact the basic jig was built that way. But as good as gauging is at getting you pretty damned close to where you want to be, it's seldom as accurate as actually measuring. Anyway, it's a jig, not a Les Paul, I just thought someone might have an actual number. No biggie, I have a plan....... Thanks Kevin.

....Next year at this time I should be planning my retirement party.  :icon_thumright:

That's good to hear.

Thanks Brother, all plans are of course subject to change at the whim of the gods, but it's looking pretty good....

 

[BigSteve22]

Tuners are assembled, though not installed. Keeping with the chrome/black theme, I decided on Hipshot chrome, open back, locking tuners with their D08 buttons in black, and chrome screws.

Posts are staggered: 3x18mm, 2x19mm, and 1x20mm. Big thanks to the guys at SportHiTech for getting the non-standard stagger pattern and for their extra efforts in correcting a problem caused by the manufacturer supplying the wrong button screws.

 

[dmraco]

Those are sweet.  I just used a set of HipShots on a build.  Seems to be working well so far.

 

[Logrinn]

Very nice.
Is those black buttons made of metal or plastic or perhaps even wood (ebony?)?

 

[stratamania]

Very nice.
Is those black buttons made of metal or plastic or perhaps even wood (ebony?)?

If they are the Hipshot ones I think they are a type of black carbon plastic.

Good choice of tuners Hipshots.

 

[BigSteve22]

Very nice.
Is those black buttons made of metal or plastic or perhaps even wood (ebony?)?

If they are the Hipshot ones I think they are a type of black carbon plastic.

Good choice of tuners Hipshots.

They are D08, cast metal buttons. I also have a set of the plastic Grover style if I change my mind.

I would post the link to the Hipshot button page, but something has been funny with their site for at least the past couple of days. Everything comes up "Page does not exist", which is strange because if you bypass the home page, you do get to the product pages, which are now empty and also say "Page does not exist".

 

[stratamania]

I was trying to look on their site this morning and noticed the same problem.

They look good in black whatever the material. I would like to find some wood buttons at some point.

 

[Cagey]

I have some black Ebony buttons I put on a set of Schallers that look real nice. My (probably baseless) concern with them is that the flats cut on the pinion shaft of the tuner to give the buttons a positive grip on the shaft under torsional load will tear up the wood, so that the knob ends up turning without turning the shaft. Hasn't happened yet, but I gotta think the irregular hole in that wood is right on the hairy edge of keeping its shape. What's letting them live so far is the tuners are still new so there's little load other than string tension, which is alleviated by an 18:1 gear ratio. If you were to try this on an old set of low-ratio Klusons or Waverlys I doubt they'd last the first tuning.

 

[stratamania]

I suppose the holes of the ebony could also be reinforced with CA glue as a sort of hardener if needed.

 

[Cagey]

I suppose... but I'm not sure how much harder ca would make Ebony. If the load were such that you'd contemplate that sort of thing, you'd probably be better off just going with the metal parts in the first place. Or, I've seen some wooden knobs with brass inserts. That might be the way to go.