Tom P.'s eBay Project
- Thread starter TomPerverteau
- Start date
TomPerverteau
Junior Member
- Messages
- 187
It's cool. We're good. I'm just a little frustrated in case you didn't notice!
But you know---it's just a couple extra passes on the milling machine to route the body for 25" scale. Not all that big a deal after all.
And I thought of a way to mock up the bridge location! Maybe I'll get to that tonight. Today I'm trying to squeak my 30-year-old car through the smog test. I'll cheat if I have to! I've done it before...
But you know---it's just a couple extra passes on the milling machine to route the body for 25" scale. Not all that big a deal after all.
And I thought of a way to mock up the bridge location! Maybe I'll get to that tonight. Today I'm trying to squeak my 30-year-old car through the smog test. I'll cheat if I have to! I've done it before...
TomPerverteau
Junior Member
- Messages
- 187
Here is how I'm getting ready to mark the location of the bridge prior to machining:
I installed the spring claw, a couple springs, and put the bridge in...
the two outside tuners, and the outside strings. I found a set of acoustic strings that I don't even remember buying! Who knows how many sets I have bought since then, not knowing I already had some? Anyway, the .047 from those was the closest thing I had to a .054 at the time. I knew I had plenty of .009s because SIT sets used to come with extra ones.
I can move the bridge around to align the strings side-to-side this way. Look how far off to one side the routing is! The sustain block is up against the body. If I find some suitable shim material, I can get the distance from the nut just right. Looks like about a 3/16" piece of something between the block & body will put the center saddle at 25" from the nut.
I learned a bunch of stuff doing this. I now know that I'll need 2 tall mounting rings. I don't need to install the ugly string retainer bar that Floyds come with. I'll have to fill & re-mill most of the bridge cavity. I won't have to shim the neck joint to get the action right. AND I twanged the strings a bit, and even sort of "played" it. It's not representative of exactly how it will sound with the bridge mounted properly on its posts & tuned up to pitch. But I can tell you already that this thing is LOUD! It wants to sustain like crazy, too. Definitely got me pumped.
I installed the spring claw, a couple springs, and put the bridge in...
the two outside tuners, and the outside strings. I found a set of acoustic strings that I don't even remember buying! Who knows how many sets I have bought since then, not knowing I already had some? Anyway, the .047 from those was the closest thing I had to a .054 at the time. I knew I had plenty of .009s because SIT sets used to come with extra ones.
I can move the bridge around to align the strings side-to-side this way. Look how far off to one side the routing is! The sustain block is up against the body. If I find some suitable shim material, I can get the distance from the nut just right. Looks like about a 3/16" piece of something between the block & body will put the center saddle at 25" from the nut.
I learned a bunch of stuff doing this. I now know that I'll need 2 tall mounting rings. I don't need to install the ugly string retainer bar that Floyds come with. I'll have to fill & re-mill most of the bridge cavity. I won't have to shim the neck joint to get the action right. AND I twanged the strings a bit, and even sort of "played" it. It's not representative of exactly how it will sound with the bridge mounted properly on its posts & tuned up to pitch. But I can tell you already that this thing is LOUD! It wants to sustain like crazy, too. Definitely got me pumped.
TomPerverteau
Junior Member
- Messages
- 187
I am hand-filing a piece of wood into a shim to locate the bridge.
TomPerverteau
Junior Member
- Messages
- 187
Remember that little gap in the neck joint that I thought was "good enough?"
Well, it's bugging me. I am locating the bridge, and I don't feel right compensating for the 1/16" further away this gap puts the nut. I need to backtrack a bit and fix this gap!
The neck wears a sock on its head while I work on it to protect its pretty parts.
While it was attached to the body, I made some pencil marks in the areas I figured I could remove material to make it fit the pocket better.
I was surprised at how tiny an amount of filing it took to make it fit so perfectly! Good thing I was careful & didn't overdo it. Made me wonder why the hell I didn't just do this before.
I shouldn't have to plug & re-drill the screw holes in the neck AGAIN for such a miniscule relocation. I slotted the holes in the pocket a bit with a round file instead. Man, this mahogany is some hard stuff!
Now I'm all happy with the fit of the neck joint, and I can return to locating the bridge. The direction I moved the nut by doing this makes the factory bridge route a little closer to being right. And it just plain made the neck joint look super nice!
Well, it's bugging me. I am locating the bridge, and I don't feel right compensating for the 1/16" further away this gap puts the nut. I need to backtrack a bit and fix this gap!
The neck wears a sock on its head while I work on it to protect its pretty parts.
While it was attached to the body, I made some pencil marks in the areas I figured I could remove material to make it fit the pocket better.
I was surprised at how tiny an amount of filing it took to make it fit so perfectly! Good thing I was careful & didn't overdo it. Made me wonder why the hell I didn't just do this before.
I shouldn't have to plug & re-drill the screw holes in the neck AGAIN for such a miniscule relocation. I slotted the holes in the pocket a bit with a round file instead. Man, this mahogany is some hard stuff!
Now I'm all happy with the fit of the neck joint, and I can return to locating the bridge. The direction I moved the nut by doing this makes the factory bridge route a little closer to being right. And it just plain made the neck joint look super nice!
Z
zogoibi
Guest
Nicely done- thanks for keeping us posted on this super informative post. I'm loving watching this unfold :hello2:
TomPerverteau
Junior Member
- Messages
- 187
I know! Oh well, I knew it would be a bunch of work to get away so cheap.
I remember months ago working on the neck joint, and it seemed to be about as good as I could get it. My new policy for this project is that any compromise I make, I will check back after some time has passed before calling it good!
I remember months ago working on the neck joint, and it seemed to be about as good as I could get it. My new policy for this project is that any compromise I make, I will check back after some time has passed before calling it good!
TomPerverteau
Junior Member
- Messages
- 187
Making this shim:
The variations in thickness will allow me to position it just right to get the bridge where I want it.
Spending what seemed like hours jacking the shim around. It's between the sustain block & the body. This is the method I came up with to help me locate the bridge.
25", right on the money. The saddles are on their middle hole, in the middle of their adjustment slots.
Getting the string alignment how I want it, and making the bridge perfectly parallel to the factory pickup route. Notice I got some .054s now, so I am using the actual string gauges I plan to have on the completed guitar.
Quick! Mark this up before something moves! I made the lines as long as possible to optimize the accuracy of setup on the milling machine.
I traced all around the bridge. This is all I have to indicate where to bore for the studs! I would like to mill this area flat first, but that would remove the lines I've drawn.
All the lines are drawn along with some notes. Looking at it shows me how difficult the patches will be to make. The patch blocks will just be rough. I have a piece of mahogany to cut them out of. The final milling & some Bondo will get it all pretty.
Next step: Back to my dad's milling machine.
The variations in thickness will allow me to position it just right to get the bridge where I want it.
Spending what seemed like hours jacking the shim around. It's between the sustain block & the body. This is the method I came up with to help me locate the bridge.
25", right on the money. The saddles are on their middle hole, in the middle of their adjustment slots.
Getting the string alignment how I want it, and making the bridge perfectly parallel to the factory pickup route. Notice I got some .054s now, so I am using the actual string gauges I plan to have on the completed guitar.
Quick! Mark this up before something moves! I made the lines as long as possible to optimize the accuracy of setup on the milling machine.
I traced all around the bridge. This is all I have to indicate where to bore for the studs! I would like to mill this area flat first, but that would remove the lines I've drawn.
All the lines are drawn along with some notes. Looking at it shows me how difficult the patches will be to make. The patch blocks will just be rough. I have a piece of mahogany to cut them out of. The final milling & some Bondo will get it all pretty.
Next step: Back to my dad's milling machine.
TonyFlyingSquirrel
Master Member
- Messages
- 4,519
Tom, I have to hand it to ya, your patience is a lesson for all of us here.
TomPerverteau
Junior Member
- Messages
- 187
Thanks, Tony! Things are really starting to move along now, as I think the major hurdles have been cleared.
Milling the new front edge of the bridge recess.
Boring one of the 10mm holes for the body inserts.
On this milling machine, I don't have room to complete the operation on one setup. I had to turn the body around the other way to work on the other side!
Getting the other side done. I ended up just slightly off of the first setup (still pretty damn close). I decided to fix up the cosmetic difference by hand with a file. The milling machine is a powerful tool that can wreck stuff, so I stopped at this point!
I got this piece of mahogany at Rockler's for about a buck. Here I'm cutting it into patch blocks on the bandsaw. I also did some rough shaping on the blocks with a belt sander while I was there.
Here you can see the new holes bored, and how I milled the freehand bridge relief butcher-job closer to square just to make my patching easier.
Ready install the body inserts, check the fit of the bridge, and glue the patch blocks in. This is getting pretty exciting!
Milling the new front edge of the bridge recess.
Boring one of the 10mm holes for the body inserts.
On this milling machine, I don't have room to complete the operation on one setup. I had to turn the body around the other way to work on the other side!
Getting the other side done. I ended up just slightly off of the first setup (still pretty damn close). I decided to fix up the cosmetic difference by hand with a file. The milling machine is a powerful tool that can wreck stuff, so I stopped at this point!
I got this piece of mahogany at Rockler's for about a buck. Here I'm cutting it into patch blocks on the bandsaw. I also did some rough shaping on the blocks with a belt sander while I was there.
Here you can see the new holes bored, and how I milled the freehand bridge relief butcher-job closer to square just to make my patching easier.
Ready install the body inserts, check the fit of the bridge, and glue the patch blocks in. This is getting pretty exciting!
DangerousR6
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 15,478
:icon_thumright: Coming along nicely, you should be done by say....next spring.... :icon_scratch:
DangerousR6
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 15,478
Well really I can't say much, cause I spent over a year finishing 'ol Spalty.... :dontknow:Black Dog said:
TomPerverteau
Junior Member
- Messages
- 187
DangerousR6 said:
That's a realistic deadline! Go back to the first page and see how I opened with the explanation that I don't get a whole lot of time to work on it.
