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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:43 pm
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Ceri wrote:
[Wednesday evening] Now then. Tired of that "where shall I shove my nine volt battery" misery? Orville was not far off the mark when he predicted active electronics in this guitar, so let's sort out some sensible quick access storage space for the battery:
Image

There's a battery holder. You can see I've used my pickup routing jig to map the positions of pickup cavities onto the back of the guitar so that I can avoid running into them, and have chosen a position for the battery box nice and close to the control cavity for ease of joining 'em up.

I guess I could make a jig for routing out the cavity - well, two in fact: one for the bulk of the box and one to rebate the top surface. But in the time it would take to do that I might as well just do the job by hand. I don't plan on doing a lot of battery cavities... Here's the cavity halfway through chiselling it out:
Image

Took me longer than you might think - I'm really not much of a carpenter! When done I used a long bit holder to drill a hole through to the control cavity for the wires, so as not to risk damaging the wood with the drill's chuck (done that before :oops: ):
Image

Even so, the clearance was too close for comfort. Oops - a near thing!:
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And here's the completed cavity:
Image

The black dots indicate where the fixing screws go, so you can see there is no room for error in shaping that space. That little worm route leading down to the wire hole is kind of aesthetically displeasing to me. But it has to be there (I discovered) because otherwise there is simply nowhere for the wires to go as you lower the box into position - the fit is that tight:
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And here it is with the box in place. Nice and flush with the surrounding surface:
Image
- C


Hey Doc, I was trying to remember the same thing and then went back and saw this on page 16 I think! Really nice work. I am wondering is he is going to do some kind of cool transparent burst on the finish???

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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:15 pm
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Thanks for the update. It brings to mind the Knopfler's Pensa-Suhr MK1 which carries EMG's, but Ceri's fit for the SA's will have a more finished look than Rudy and John's guitar.

In my case, I dropped the DG-20 into a '97 natural finish American Standard which had a rosewood neck. The combination of that pickguard with the rest the guitar was a visual feast. Unfortunately the swimming pool routing prevented cutting a Claptonesque battery rout in the trem cavity. In that, up until now, all my Strats had their trems block, I removed the center spring and put the battery against the back of the trem cavity.

Now, with a Gilmour and a AmDeluxe VG, the only Strat w/ a blocked trem and is my '89 Clapton. The VG doesn't figure into this equation.

I expect some kind of natural finish or stain, taking advantage of the wood grain of the top.Don't know whether he can shoot nitro or poly in his current situation so there's another question waiting an answer.

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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:56 pm
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zzdoc wrote:
I expect some kind of natural finish or stain, taking advantage of the wood grain of the top.Don't know whether he can shoot nitro or poly in his current situation so there's another question waiting an answer.


Well, it ain't exactly the finest top wood we've ever seen in our lives, but it would be a pity to lose that grain, gentle though it is, dontchathink? :wink: Suffice to say, I have quite a compicated finishing process in mind. On which, more - later.

Oh and thanks for digging that bit of the thread up, Xhefri. It really is getting rather long for just quickly finding the page you want, isn't it...? :lol:

Next instalment coming right up...

Cheers - C


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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 5:11 pm
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Ceri wrote:
Suffice to say, I have quite a compicated finishing process in mind. On which, more - later.


If its a transparent Union flag I'll offer you serious dough for that guitar.

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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 5:18 pm
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Ceri wrote:

Next instalment coming right up...

Cheers - C


When I read these words, I just had the strangest memory of getting into my friend's dad's playboys as a kid ... looking forward to the next installment.

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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 5:50 pm
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Very good work and illustrations, even though I'm not thrilled with active electronics and/or batteries that can choke without warning, but the workmanship is top notch, as usual. 8)

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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 5:53 pm
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All right. This is where we got to after the routing madness:
Image

A closer look:
Image

There you can see the bit where the bridge pickup cavity clips the control cavity, giving access one to another. Also, the channel I routed before fitting the top wood for the hook-up wires to pass through. On reflection I could have made that smaller. Oh well: next time.

Unfortunately, you can also see a small patch of filler in the middle of the rear pickup cavity. That's filling a small piece of damage that occurred while routing that hook-up wire channel, as a result of trying to lift the router out of the slot before it had ceased turning. Just about the first piece of advice I'd give any beginner at routing is don't lift that machine in and out of the job till the motor has stopped. Seem incapable of listening to my own wise words - and that's the consequence. D'oh! :oops: Look and learn...

Here's the connecting door to the pickup cavities from the control cavity side:
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And here's a better picture showing the archaeological layers I routed down through in the block cavity:
Image

Here's the block cavity from the front:
Image

You notice there a little issue where the tighter curve of the front trem cavity meets the wider curve of the existing block cavity. That is because my front template is derived from my US Strat, whereas this MIM body has a distinctly different shaped block cavity with "slower" curves. Of course, that little blemish will be hidden by the trem, but I still don't like it and will carefully carve and sand it away so that one curve blends into another. That's the obsessive compulsive approach for you!

(BTW: that last was the 200th photo of this project!!!)

Here is another shot of the neck pocket:
Image

Very annoyingly, you see a touch of tear out along the front edge. That is small, easy to fill and will be hidden by the final finish. However, it marrs an otherwise successful piece of work. I took all appropriate care and can only presume it means my half inch router cutter is getting blunt, so it will be retired from service immediately. Tiresome way to find out, though.

Fixable, but irritating.

BTW: various little bits of tidying up to do after a routing session like that. I find these sanding sticks extremely handy for the purpose. Stewart-MacDonald sells those as "fret dressing sticks" for $3.58 each - but I can get all four from my local tool supplier for not much more. Shop around...:
Image

Right. Here I have marked the positions of the potentiometer holes onto the front, taken from a MIA pickguard:
Image

However, when you place a Strat knob in the volume position it overhangs the pickup cavity in a way that I find displeasing:
Image

So I think we will need to move those holes downwards a little to take the knob clear of the cavity, while still keeping the spacing looking nice to the eye. More on that later...

Next, why didn't I route out the jack socket at the same time as the other cavities?

As mentioned, my routing template is derived from a MIA Strat and made as accurate as I possibly can get it to those dimensions. However, this body started life as a MIM guitar and we don't know whether things are in exactly the same place - so I dare not route the jack socket through the top with my template for fear of finding the cavity beneath in not quite the same position.

Luckily, I thought of that before the project ever started. On page four of this thread you may recall that amongst other measurements I took a little tracing of the output cavity in relation to the bridge:
Image

I've kept that tracing safe and now we find out what it was for:
Image

Having recreated the bridge cavity we can align the tracing with it and discover where the original jack hole lies beneath the top. Indeed, it doesn't appear to be in the same position as on a MIA.

We now drill into the top in a place where the two possible cavity positions overlap, so we have high hopes of hitting thin air beneath:
Image

Soon as that first pilot hole is made I reached into it with an allen key and prodded around to discover how near the drill hole is to the edges:
Image

Then I gingerly drilled out some more holes, checking repeatedly that I wasn't about to go beyond the edges of the cavity we are exposing:
Image

At this point my original plan had been to now drop a router cutter with a follow bearing on the bottom through into the space below and use it to trace around the sides of the cavity and carve the top to match them:
Image

However. Some may remember that when trimming the edges of the new top back to the body I was suddenly reluctant to use a router cutter for it, out of fear of causing tear out in that thin 4 mm cap. And Mr Shredd (a real carpenter) said he agreed a router was the wrong way to do it.

And now I'm having the same doubts here. I think the cutter risks ripping into this top wood and spoiling it - which would be a big pity having got this far successfully. So instead I am going to adopt a cautious approach and use a small drum sander instead. Much slower, but safer:
Image

And after careful work, here is the jack cavity reinstated:
Image

I've left the pencil indication of where a MIA cavity comes for you to see the comparison. Also, this MIM socket hole is oval in shape, whereas the MIA one (these days anyhow) tends to be more egg shaped, with the pointy end towards the bottom, as in the first pic on this post.

So if anyone asks what the difference between a MIA and a MIM is - well, there's a picture of one difference at any rate!! :D

All I've got time for today. Tomorrow we'll reposition and drill those pot holes and find a way to make a selector switch slot.

Cheers - C


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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:11 pm
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lookin good Ceri.
cant wait to see tomorrows posts.
this is by far my favorite topic we have ever had on this forum. :D


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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:28 pm
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Most captivating!

Ironically, I guess you can call this whole process, "Reverse Relicing".

Again, I must tip my hat to you as this is truly outstanding work!!

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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:46 pm
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Here is a shot of a battery box that I routed into the back side of a Strat I recently finished. Ceri, has routed a battery box and recessed it into the body for a nice clean finish. You can see a photo of that earlier in the thread.

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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:16 am
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Martian wrote:
Ironically, I guess you can call this whole process, "Reverse Relicing".

Ha! Reverse relicing - now that I like. There's honor in that idea... :wink: :lol: Thank you!

Chicagoblue wrote:
Here is a shot of a battery box that I routed into the back side of a Strat I recently finished. Ceri, has routed a battery box and recessed it into the body for a nice clean finish. You can see a photo of that earlier in the thread.

Hi Chicagoblue: strokes for folks, far as rebating the face of that battery compartment goes. Not having to delve beneath the pickguard every time we want to change batteries is the main thing - that's part of what has always put me off active electronics before. Though I must admit I have a lot of sympathy with Miami Mike's feelings (above), too!

BTW, regarding rebating: if you go through that build blog of Ron Kirn's ( http://www.ronkirn.com/tutorial/index.htm ) you find on page six that he also rebates positions for his neckplate, backplate and jackplate. Wow - that's really taking it all the way!!! :D

More later...

Cheers - C


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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 8:39 am
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Ceri, thanks for the comments. I like many others are watching this thread like a new episode of our favorite TV show. Although new to the forum, I'm kicking myself for not getting here sooner because there is more to learn here in watching the actual process happen than I can possibly learn elsewhere. Thanks for sharing and doing such an awesome job documenting the process.

My takeaway from all this is that for the projects that I do is to now take more detailed photos of the work I do. I can see that it validates and assures potential buyers of exactly what you are putting into a build. Kudos for the photo skills too.


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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:42 pm
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Chicagoblue wrote:
Kudos for the photo skills too.


Ooo - thank you for that. You should see the thousands that get rejected - out of focus, thumb in front of the lens, etc etc. Just couldn't be doing a thing like this before cheap digital photography!

Anyhow. A shortish episode today.

I know it's nothing compared to what a lot of Forum users are experiencing, but yesterday we got a smattering of snow where I live - and quite a bit more after this pic was taken (those are not cigarette ends, BTW):
Image

So my work is coming indoors for a while, and I apologise in advance for the yellow electric light cast the pics are going to have. They look even worse if I use a flash, so...

In this pic you can see that I've drilled out holes for the pots. I've left my marking out in place so you can see where I've moved two of the holes south a little from their "official" Fender positions, so that the volume knob doesn't overhang the pickup cavity. A light pencil circle shows where the knob will now go:
Image

Also in that pic I have drilled holes to mount the selector switch and am now using a chisel to score the edges of the switch slot, so the grain doesn't splinter beyond that point during the work that follows.

Now I'm going to drill out some material in between those chisel lines using a very small drill bit. This is another situation that seems to call for the care and control you can have with a hand cranked drill. (I believe I have used seven different drills so far for various jobs on this thread... :lol: ):
Image

Now we want to turn that row of little holes into a slot. Both these padsaws belonged to my grandfather, which I kinda like. However, the teeth on both are too savage for this delicate job:
Image

So instead I am using a suggestion from Martin Oakham's book, Build Your Own Electric Guitar. (This is why we need lots of books on guitar building, because they all have different information and ideas in them.) He has us use the blade from a hand-held jig saw for this, and it works a treat:
Image

You see that I am slanting that blade over at an angle at each end of the slot, so as to shape it to exactly match the angle the switch makes at those points. Just a little detail...

After a tidy up with micro diamond files it looks like this:
Image

You can see I've countersunk the screw holes too. I debated that and decided to go with it. I think it looks quite nice:
Image

Very little adjustment needed after that dry run. Job done!

Next I tried the pots in their holes:
Image

The 8.5 mm / 0.335" drill bit officially is the right one for these pots. However, it leaves the fit very snug indeed - and it may turn out to be too snug after the lacquer is on. I don't want to crack the lacquer pushing the pots through their holes, so I am going to open them out a little. Since I happen to have a cello peghole reamer I'm using it for this, as it is absolutely ideal for the task. It gives such control you can widen those holes pretty much a thou' at a time - which is why I'd advise anyone who has to open out pegholes for their tuners to use this proper tool for the job. It is unbeatable:
Image

Last thing I have time for today is to attend to the fit of the pots inside the control cavity. They poke through the front wood OK but that does leave them sitting a little low. Once the knobs go on they might be scratching against the lacquer as they turn. Therefore I shall rebate their positions inside the cavity a little - a perfectly normal thing to do on a rear-access control cavity.

The pots that came with this EMG SA harness are these cutesome little ones, much smaller than regular CTS pots. So I only need to use a small forstner bit to match - by coincidence the same 15.88 mm / 5/8" forstner bit used for the neck ferrule rebates:
Image

We just sink the pots' positions by a couple of mil on the pillar drill, like this:
Image

By the way, I was expecting to have to do a rebate inside the control cavity for the selector switch as well. But countersinking the screw holes on the front has just taken care of that, so no need. That's one fiddly little bit of chiselling we don't need to do!

All I have time for today. Tomorrow we'll find the correct placement and drill for the bridge. One of the most critical bits of measuring on the whole guitar... (Gulp.)

Cheers - C


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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:46 pm
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That thing is gonna be SICK when it's done! 8)

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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 3:13 pm
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Image[/quote]

I LOVE that color. Candy Tangerine perhaps?

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