I Have This Body... Bobber Build Thread
- Thread starter rgand
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Fender.Fan
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This is art! I love it!!
rgand
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Now that the Roadhouse is completed, I got a bit done on this one today.
First I installed the threaded inserts in the neck.
Then I put the neck on to make sure it fits correctly.
It did so I put the bridge in place centered over the goobered string through holes to see if it was close enough to intonate but it was 1/8" short of that at 24-7/8" from the nut. I was hoping to get by without having to drill and fill all the holes, maybe just the bridge screw holes but no dice. I also forgot to take a photo of it at this stage but that isn't anything greatly interesting anyway.
First I installed the threaded inserts in the neck.
Then I put the neck on to make sure it fits correctly.
It did so I put the bridge in place centered over the goobered string through holes to see if it was close enough to intonate but it was 1/8" short of that at 24-7/8" from the nut. I was hoping to get by without having to drill and fill all the holes, maybe just the bridge screw holes but no dice. I also forgot to take a photo of it at this stage but that isn't anything greatly interesting anyway.
Rick
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I was thinking about how it would balance with a strap and I’m curious about why you chose the the bottom button to be placed higher up than on the center line? I’ve seen that on carvings, or keisels. I believe the breadwinner has it on the center line. That is king to be a fine looking git.
rgand
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This is a very good point. I just put it where Fender did on the Swinger. That doesn't mean it is the only place to put it and certainly not a set thing at this time. I also question how good that will be. The only drawback I see to putting it on the centerline is that the strap must go behind or over the rear upper horn. Behind would push the top outwards and over would shove it back against your side. I will probably have to try both or maybe a bit above center to see what is best before painting then plug the unwanted hole(s). I have a bunch of holes to plug so a couple more is nothing in the scheme of things.Rick said:
rgand
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For a couple days I've been filling my spare time drilling and plugging the bogus holes. Couldn't do it all in one day since glue has to dry before you can mess with it much. I used a standard twist drill to size the holes for dowels on the front. That even wandered off on one middle hole. Sheesh, good thing this is going to get paint, not a transparent finish. Well, this area will get covered with the bridge anyway. The next step is to locate that and drill those holes.
The back went a bit better since the dowling was 5/16" like the Forstner bit was. No drilling needed there except to cut down the excess dowling to one level. Even at that, there was a bit of roughness around the holes anyway. Well, the back gets painted, too.
Front and back both need to be sanded flat anyway so some of the goober-ness will disappear. The rest will go away with filler.
The back went a bit better since the dowling was 5/16" like the Forstner bit was. No drilling needed there except to cut down the excess dowling to one level. Even at that, there was a bit of roughness around the holes anyway. Well, the back gets painted, too.
Front and back both need to be sanded flat anyway so some of the goober-ness will disappear. The rest will go away with filler.
rgand
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The spots on the neck are a cream or off-white clay (or the equivalent) so I had to mess with colors to get a non-conflicting scheme.
The new cream pickguard material arrived and it's a perfect match for the spots. So considering the monkey vomit cream pickguard, the paint will need to look good with it. This is one idea but since this project is changable, it might go another direction yet. I think this is closer to the way it will look but another color I'm playing with is the Willow Green (I think it's called) you might see on a 1949 Studebaker Champion. Aircap will know that color.
The new cream pickguard material arrived and it's a perfect match for the spots. So considering the monkey vomit cream pickguard, the paint will need to look good with it. This is one idea but since this project is changable, it might go another direction yet. I think this is closer to the way it will look but another color I'm playing with is the Willow Green (I think it's called) you might see on a 1949 Studebaker Champion. Aircap will know that color.
rgand
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Today I flat-sanded the plugged holes. Then I fiddled and messed around with counter sinking washers to mount the neck. I had wanted to cut a roundover around the whole neck mounting area but that didn't look like a good solution for this body because the screw holes were a bit close to the edge for that. In the end, I roughed in a neck contour instead. I have almost a quarter inch of taper to the plate. At the holes the taper is .215" (I think that's 5.5mm for those of us who think in those terms). With the plate in place and screws dropped into the holes, everything looks like it'll work good. I will definitely be shorteneing the screws beyond the 1-1/2" length they are now.
rgand
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I made a neck heel shaped block to facilitate easier pickguard making. The body has a Tele neck pocket and it will get a Strat heeled neck so the pickguard will cover the gaps.
Then I made a somewhat close cardboard PG shape. It gets adjusted as I make the pattern.
The 1/4" MDF pattern is roughed in, ready to be cut to the final shape. The roughing in is done with a bandsaw except for the pickup rout which is drilled with a large Forstner bit then shaped close using a Dremel with a sanding drum in it. (NOTE: when sanding or cutting on MDF, be sure to wear a filter mask. That stuff is nasty and you really don't want to breathe the dust.) I like to make the heel end curves all the way across so it looks natural on both sides when it's cut out for the bridge. The bridge will get cut out after it can be laid on the body so the cutout is not way off.
Then I made a somewhat close cardboard PG shape. It gets adjusted as I make the pattern.
The 1/4" MDF pattern is roughed in, ready to be cut to the final shape. The roughing in is done with a bandsaw except for the pickup rout which is drilled with a large Forstner bit then shaped close using a Dremel with a sanding drum in it. (NOTE: when sanding or cutting on MDF, be sure to wear a filter mask. That stuff is nasty and you really don't want to breathe the dust.) I like to make the heel end curves all the way across so it looks natural on both sides when it's cut out for the bridge. The bridge will get cut out after it can be laid on the body so the cutout is not way off.
