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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 12:43 am
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I LOVE the plush sound of soapbar pickups. A Strat with 3 of them is a brilliant idea.


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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat Project!
Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 4:41 am
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texasguitarslinger wrote:
I've done a little bit of research, and I'm 99% sure that I'm going to need to have someone put a clear coat over it once it's applied. Robert usually doesn't do anything like that. He said he would be willing to try, but warned me that I might have to buy another decal if he messes up. I'll talk to him about it again. It could be that if he's not comfortable doing it, I'll drop the neck off with the guy who did my Forumcaster and have him install it. Unfortunately, I'll be stuck waiting for a guitar to dry again.

Hi TGS: this is no problem at all and something you can very easily do yourself if you want.

As we know, waterslide decals usually don't like nitrocellulose - in fact, they sort of melt and wither up if you spray nitro over them, which is why Fender put the decal uncovered on top of the lacquer back in the '50s and '60s, until they started using polyurethane on necks. So you need to know whether your neck is lacquered with nitro or urethane: just put a small drop of naphtha (nail varnish remover is the same thing) on the varnish in a spot on the heel where it will be hidden inside the neck pocket later. If it dissolves the lacquer then it's nitro; if not, it's urethane.

If it's urethane you can just clean the front of the headstock and proceed from there. If it's nitro you need to spray a single thin coat of urethane on the front first and then put the decal on that.

You can buy urethane very affordably and conveniently in an aerosol. Many brands are available; Plasti Kote Polyurethane Varnish in gloss or satin is a good one and easy to find in hardware shops or on the internet - even Ebay and Amazon. This:

Image

Once you have a tin of that it's very handy to have around for little refin and touch-up jobs on urethane finished guitars (which is most of them), so it's not a waste for you or Robert to buy it.

As I said, if your neck is nitro lacquered you need a thin coat of urethane on the front of the headstock first, right over the top of the nitro. No need to sand back or anything tiresome, but make sure it's clean (wipe it thoroughly with denatured spirit). If it's already urethane, go right ahead and slip the decal on there. Once it's set you simply spray around three thin coats of the aerosol stuff over the top. Let it dry for a few hours. You will find that the edge of the decal is rather apparent through the varnish, so if that bothers you now just sand it a little very gently with some P600 paper to knock it back a bit and soften that edge. Then spray two or three more thin layers.

You can carry on repeating that process till you have a mirror-smooth headstock face, or if you don't mind the decal edge coming through a bit then leave it after just the first three coats. That's all you actually need to seal the decal in and protect it.

This task is easier and almost as quick as typing this post has been. Nuttin' to be nervous of, and well within your excellent capabilities. Have at it! :D

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:22 am
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I can't wait to see the finished product.


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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:16 pm
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Ceri, I did some more research on it and I think I feel a lot more comfortable about applying the decal now. Thanks for the tips! I'm fairly sure the neck is urethane, but I'll test it anyway. It doesn't really say in the description. http://www.allparts.com/SRF-S-Replacement-Neck-for-Stratocaster_p_3495.html

Sorry I didn't get to post an update sooner, I've had another busy weekend! Last Thursday we selected a bone nut which Robert was about to craft when my boss came by and made a comment about how the finish had a sort of nasty orange peel look to it. Orange peel is a term used to describe a finish which hasn't been polished out properly. It's kind of an in between of satin and gloss, and generally it's not desirable.

In the back of the shop, we have an industrial guitar buffing machine (the same kind they use in the Gibson factory!) and Robert said he could probably buff the body out to get more of a gloss finish. It still won't be perfect or up the par with my custom Strat, but from what he had a chance to do Thursday it made a big difference! So buffing was really the only thing we ended up doing that day and unfortunately I don't have any pics of the actual guitar since the difference is very subtle and I was having a hard time getting it to show up in pics.

But here's what a guitar with an orange peel finish looks like vs. one with a gloss finish. Neither guitar is mine.
Image

Image

We might continue work on it tomorrow depending on much of Robert's other work he has in the shop.

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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:52 pm
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No work today because Robert had an influx of new repairs over the weekend (which is actually a great thing for the shop). But something came in the mail today. Hmm, I wonder what this could be?
Image

It's the decals!
Image

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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:32 am
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Love the decals! Can't wait to see the finished product.


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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:24 am
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texasguitarslinger wrote:
No work today because Robert had an influx of new repairs over the weekend (which is actually a great thing for the shop). But something came in the mail today. Hmm, I wonder what this could be?
Image

It's the decals!
Image

AWESOMENESS INCARNATED!

Love the name...especially since it has a connotation to SRV's pre-Double Trouble group...

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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 6:48 pm
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Looking very good Texas!

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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:00 pm
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Screamin' Armadillo wrote:
Love the namespecially since it has a connotation to SRV's pre-Double Trouble group...


That was the idea. ;)

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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 12:37 am
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Finally another update! We're making slow progress since Robert's work has picked up. He got the tuning machines just about installed, but he had to stop at the final step because we didn't have the smaller dremel bit that he needed. We have it now though, so hopefully we'll make some progress this week.

Allparts necks come with holes too small to fit modern Fender tuning machines, so we had to widen them. Robert used some painter's tape as a guide.

Image

And here they are finished! They're not perfectly round, but you won't be able to tell once the tuning machines are on.

Image

After the holes were drilled, Robert carefully aligned the tuning machines and tapped on them with a fretting tool (it looks like a small hammer) so that the two little posts that sit in the wood left indentations. He used the indentations as a reference to drill these smaller holes.

Image

Again, not perfect, which is why we need that smaller bit to fine tune it. Hopefully we can pick everything back up in a couple of days.

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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 1:38 pm
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That is really looking sharp. I wish I had that many photos of the progress during the refinish on my Musicmaster bass.

Thanx!


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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (BUILD BEGINS, PICS!)
Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:06 pm
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It's finished! (All but the decal installation that is.) Now I'm just waiting for the pictures to upload...

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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (ALMOST FINISHED, PICS!)
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 2:21 am
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Thanks Texas, cool update! 8)

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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (ALMOST FINISHED, PICS!)
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 5:03 am
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Lookin' fine! 8)

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Post subject: Re: Triple P-90 Strat (ALMOST FINISHED, PICS!)
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 4:33 pm
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It only took two hours for the photos to upload last night. :shock: That's what happens when your internet connection is stuck in the 90's!

Anyway, here are the pics of the last bit of assembly! Sorry in advance for the load time of this page.

Robert went ahead and installed the tuning machines before I got there, and got the nut rough cut.
Image

Image

He needed to get the neck on, so he had to clamp it on with this jig to get the holes drilled. What you don't see here is how he had to spend about half an hour trying to scrape finish out of the neck pocket to make it work.
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Now to make sure the neck is aligned properly. We added two throw away strings to make sure everything was right.
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Next the pickups were installed with P-90 wood screws. I had no luck finding inserts, so I have to be careful adjusting them. I don't think I'll need to though, Robert got the pickup height adjusted when he did the set up on it later.
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Since I lacked the proper springs to get the P-90s to sit right, we improvised with some foam inserts. It's a temporary solution, but it gives me time to find those springs! Plus foam gives it a nice, squishy, soft tone. :lol:
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It actually looked sort of cool without a pickguard too!
Image

More to come...

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