Roadhouse Build thread

[rgand]

I got a little more done today.

Made a common ground point for the Trem King and bridge pickup. My soldering iron was not heating up properly so my soldering wasn't to my liking but it's sound. It's probably time for a new one.

Then I started wiring the PG. Things went fast until I wasted a lot of time looking for my shielded wire (couldn't find my keys either but that's a whole other story). Since these are Bill Lawrence pickups, I may not even need the shielded wire. We'll see. Tomorrow I'll get some more done.

 

[rgand]

I finished up the wiring this morning. Then I put the pickguard on and added the knobs and a strap button to see what it looks like. Oh, yeah, I pulled all the protective stuff off the PG for the photo. :icon_biggrin:

What remains is to put the upper strap button on and the neck. Then it's just a matter of cutting the nut slots, stringing it up and adjusting everything. And a headstock logo. It's close. So close.  :icon_thumright:

 

[Logrinn]

Beautiful. Just absolutely amazingly beautiful!

 

[rgand]

Thanks, Magnus. It'll be great to get it finished.

 

[rgand]

Well, it's basically finished, now. The nut is cut and the strings need to settle in for a couple days before I can get it adjusted. Trem King has a leather pad on the return spring that needs to settle in a day or two under string pressure before intonating or setting saddle heights.

I'm pleased with this one.

 

[BigSteve22]

....I'm pleased with this one.

As well you should be! Beautiful axe, Brother!  :headbang:

 

[rgand]

Thank you, my friend.

Here are a couple more photos.

 

[T89Rex]

Every time I see one of your custom shapes I wish you worked for Warmoth so I could buy one. This and the butterscotch one in your picture are basically perfect.

 

[rgand]

Thanks for that. This one is actually a half inch shorter and an inch narrower than the buterscotch one.

I forgot to put the wiggle stick in it for the other photo.

And I can't forget the back with Doug's fine work on that neck plate, either.

 

[stratamania]

Well done you must be pleased.

 

[Logrinn]

Wow!
What a beautiful guitar.
Kudos to Bagman for supplying that excellent piece of mahogany for the body.

 

[Rick]

Looks beautiful.  How do you like the silver knobs?

 

[rgand]

Thank you all.

Well done you must be pleased.

I am. The size is slightly more to my liking than the Telerauder. The Trem King has a good feel although I've not been able to properly test it out yet. The arm has a rubber tip so if it contacts the pickguard, it's cushioned.

Wow!
What a beautiful guitar.
Kudos to Bagman for supplying that excellent piece of mahogany for the body.

Absolutely. Hey, Ian! You got another one of those lying around? :icon_biggrin:

Looks beautiful.  How do you like the silver knobs?

The knobs are comfortable to use. The O-rings make them easy to adjust with just a touch. For appearance, I would have liked chrome ones like the Tele Custom sports but these are good. They're just a bit smaller in the skirt but more comfortable in the barrel. If I had a push/pull pot, one of these would be very easy to use for that. I'll use them again on something. I bought a set of three so I have one left over. That means I need to buy another three and build two more or just build a guitar with one control. :laughing7:

 

[Seamas]

Gorgeous guitar. Love it.

 

[rgand]

Thanks, Seamus.

 

[bagman67]

Robert, I could not be more happy to see how this project has made manifest your artistic vision.  I'm glad I was sitting on that mahogany blank for so long, because its ultimate destiny is of the highest and most gratifying sort.  Congratulations on a project well done.  You're an inspiration.

 

[rgand]

Thank you, Ian. Literally, I couldn't have done it without you. Just any old piece of wood wouldn't have been as interesting. I I vacillate between liking the grain on back best and liking it on the front best. It's almost as though it has a life of its own.

 

[Seamas]

Can you tell us more about that tailpiece?
I went to their website but didn't see a schematic of how it operates.

 

[rgand]

OK, I took several photos to help with the explanation. The tone block pivots at the top. The string holes are drilled though the block and exit midway up it on the heel side. The strings go up through the holes and and wrap around the top of the block to go toward the saddles.

At rest:

When you depress the bar, the spring(s) on the side pull on the tone block to pull it back to center. Also, the center spring is attached to a cross bar that pulls against the tone block just like the tone block spring(s) but only until it reaches two stops, one on each side, then it stops acting and all that pulls on the tone block is the outer spring(s). It's almost like having a detent for neutral and it returns more positively to neutral.

Depressed (all springs pulling):

When you pull up on the bar, the strings do the pulling to get it back to the neutral. Nothing out of the ordinary, there. Notice that the tone bar (center spring) is against the stops. This photo shows the tension bar against the stops. When you let the lever go, the tone block moves back against the tension bar and no farther.

When you see it at work, it makes perfect sense.

 

[Fat Pete]

This whole thing is a real shame for us guitar 'assemblers', Robert; our quest has been ended by your selfishness. You built the perfect guitar. What are we supposed to do now?