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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:33 am
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Until I can dive into fixing the body I thought I would make use of my time and start wiring up the pickguard. Tyronne asked how I will do the route on the neck socket. I spent a lot of time thinking about that. I will use a sharp wood chisel in this case…but that will come a bit later.

BUT back to the pickguard, ummmm….this one has a lot of pick scratches and even a few deeper scratches on it. I would like to show you a cool trick for refurbishing pickguards. I have saved $100's of dollars doing this, as many would have been simply tossed aside for a new one.

Pickguards are made from a lot of different materials—from aluminum to wood! But the three most common materials are Celluloid, Vinyl and PVC. Celluloid has been used for years and can be pretty flammable. It is a solvent based plastic and it tends to shrink over the years. Many vintage guitars are plagued with this phenomenon.

I have a bench/counter that I use for buffing. There is a template on it for both Tele and Strat pickguard, with mounting holes for screwing them down, so I can wet sand and buff them with out having them fly across the room!

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Here is the candidate. This was an original Fender pickguard that has seen a lot of use. Upon close inspection you can see how dirty and scratched up it is. The first thing I did was wash it real well to remove all dirt and finger prints, so I can see what really needs to be sanded.

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Next step is to mount it to the bench and prepare to start wet sanding. I try to only sand the offending areas to save on buffing time. I started out on this one with some #1000 grit to remove the deeper scratches.

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When wet sanding anything, it is best to sand one direction and then the other direction like an X pattern. Sanding goes a lot faster this way and is something I learned in running my own street rod classic paint shop.

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I keep wiping it down with a dry paper towel, checking the reflections to see if the offending scratches are gone. Next step is to used some good quality rubbing compound. I buy this in gallon jugs, so for for ease of use I put some in a shampoo bottle for dispersing. I press pretty hard at first with the buffer wheel, working the compound into the surface like I am sanding it. Then lighten up and allow the buffer to go faster and keep it on the move. If you stay in one place too long you will burn the plastic. Then I take a tool and clean the buffer pad off. Trick to buffing is, 1) rubbing the compound in, 2) speeding up to buff and 3) then removing the compound with the wheel by constant cleaning.

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After the rubbing compound step is done, I move up to using a good swirl mark remover. This is a very lightly based abrasive that removes all those really fine scratch marks. Some of these compounds use materials like Ebony wood dust or other very fine particulate as the abrasive.

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Here is the end result! This guard looks like new except two gouges where someone was trying to remove the knobs. They will be hidden under the new knob, so no worries. I will take it into the house and give it a good washing to remove the buffing compounds and dry it well so the wiring process can begin.

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More to come…..

Oh I mentioned we were going to see BB King. Well made it, and I guess, with all due respect, I can say I saw him, but being 85 years old he mostly just talked (rambled a lot) played only a few licks, and sang a couple songs. I was really disappointed. But hey, I hope I am doing as well as he is at 85! Here is s shot I took of him playing, one of the few times he actually did play. He had a great band.

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:08 am
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Wow! :!: :!: :!: :!:
I have to remember that trick Xhefri.

Fantastic tip!

Feel like scratching up my pg just to try it!

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:12 am
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Forgot to mention BB..
When I last saw him, 2 years ago, it was very similar to what happened to you.

He really only played a couple of songs and needed help on and off the stage.
As you say, I can say I saw him play. If I can hold a pick in my 80's I'll be happy! :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 1:46 pm
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Ok. Now that the pickguard is look'in great, I think I will start wiring it. My plan is to copy the wiring from the Telecaster Plus Version II which has 3 pickups like a Tele.

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These have the standard Strat type 5-way switch but use a little mini switch to turn on the bridge pickup. So when you are on the neck pickup you can add the bridge just like on a Tele. Then when your in position #4 (neck + middle) the mini-switch gives you neck + middle = bridge. All the while you still have all those standard Strat positions with neck, middle and bridge. Fender sure was over kill in wiring these as they use a 6 lug on/off mini-switch.

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As I mentioned before, for the neck I will use a Seymour Duncan Little 59N pickup. I have always loved the fat sound of a humbucker in the neck on any guitar. For blues, fusion, jazz—plain old fat tone. These work pretty good at doing that. SD tried to pack all the tone of a old 59 PAF humbucker into a small Strat single coil size. I will use a tap switch on this to thin out the sound for a more single coil tone too.

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Then I pointed out that I will be using the Seymour Duncan APST-1 Twang Banger in the bridge. Here is what they say about this odd looking pickup: "The Twang Banger takes an old Seymour Duncan design and updated it. Seymour's design was first used in the late '80s by Music Man on their Albert Lee signature model guitar and, in later years he modified it for Fender's Hellecaster Strat. One of the twang secrets is the copper-coated steel plate attached to the underside of the pickup. It disperses the magnetic field in the same way as the metal plate on the underside of a Tele lead pickup."

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Then for a middle pickup I selected a DiMarzio (DP171) Blue Velvet. This is designed for a bridge position but I chose it especially for the middle position for this guitar. The reason being, to be more evenly matched with the Little 59.

Here is what DiMarzio says about this little pickup: "Most players use a plain “G” string (regardless of gauge), so we developed a magnet stagger balanced to match today's string sets. We also insulated the coil from the magnets so the pickup can't short out, and the Blue Velvet can be safely phase- reversed. Did we lose the original sound? There's no mystery about it: the Blue Velvet still sounds great. The Class of ’55TM is our pick for clean country sound, but the Blue Velvet is our first choice for blues."

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I think this will be an interesting combination, especially being able to mix and match pickups in a variety of ways. More to come soon….

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:07 pm
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Nice save on that pickguard, I'll be using that trick in the future!!

Project is looking very cool 8) to this point. As always, thanks for sharing Mr. X.

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 5:11 pm
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MOST impressive! Come to think of it, you can use your process for rejuvenate battered pickup bobbins and make them look brand new too!!

That's a nice and clean wiring job. That mini-switch is your best bet because even with a no-load blender pot, some of the signal still leaks through and does alter tonality.

All around, you not only have an extremely elegant looking Tele there but a tone monster to boot. WELL DONE!!!

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 6:07 pm
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Yes...It is Verry Intelesting...!!!

I just had a thought, about a build between all of us. Each of us would do a build (strat ) but the parameters would be fixed, such as. We all have to arrive at the same finished product, for example, a 1950's or 1960's strat, but other than the year and it's style, we could deviate a bit in tweaking here and there to optimize what we know today, but also to have our personal preference which would result in a personal interpretation.
There would be a certain timeline for completing each phase.
Neck finished and ready to mount, Body...Finished and ready to mount to neck...Pickguard...pick ups installed, wired up and ready to mount. Final phase of setup and minute details.

The catch would be that we all must start with an unfinished body and neck, we could only post pics of the build at the end of each phase. ( this way no one would know what the other is planning until curtain time :shock: We would be allowed to pick our preference of neck contour, pickup choice,etc..etc..as long as each fall into the established timeline.

How long we would have to complete, I would say " One year " would be reasonable, any one game for setting up something like this. :?: :?:
I would be very intrigued to see the end results.. Nutter...Xhefri...Kong,,,Martian...ZZDoc...Nikininja...Ceri...Andybighair...

A challenge has been announced... " Jousting Strat Festival "

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 6:17 pm
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Now that is an interesting idea, 53magnatone. I just wonder how many people would/could participate? While some of us live in the US others live in UK and elsewhere. Getting the parts costs more. And some might make parts from scratch, such as a neck or body (such as Mr. C...which is way over my head!!!!) But the idea is intriguing! I am open and with a one year window....that is plenty of time. The thread might get buried but we could always resurrect it from time to time! :P

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 6:24 pm
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53magnatone wrote:
How long we would have to complete, I would say " One year " would be reasonable, any one game for setting up something like this. :?: :?:

One Year!!

I would have to pick up my pace for sure!!

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 6:30 pm
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Xhefri wrote:
Now that is an interesting idea, 53magnatone. I just wonder how many people would/could participate? While some of us live in the US others live in UK and elsewhere. Getting the parts costs more. And some might make parts from scratch, such as a neck or body (such as Mr. C...which is way over my head!!!!) But the idea is intriguing! I am open and with a one year window....that is plenty of time. The thread might get buried but we could always resurrect it from time to time! :P


That was just a rough sketch, as far as bodies and neck, actually everything on the guitar would have to be readily available to all. NO it would not be fair if a couple of us would mill out our own necks and bodies, ( on that theme I have some ideas of laminating some really exotic wood such as Bubinga.)
I think there would have to be a certain criteria as to who can participate, yet still be fair, maybe the qualifying criteria would be to have a completed build posted on the Forum prior to the start of the event. I'm not sure about some of the details since what may seem entirely reasonable for me, may be very difficult for someone in say New Zealand.
I just threw the idea out there, I think it would be fun, perhaps we could get some input from Brad Traweek or even Mike Eldred. :idea: :?:

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 6:39 pm
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X man!

Nice job on the pickguard. That's buffed up a treat!

Very much looking forward to seeing what you've come up with for the wiring.

Twelvebar wrote:
53magnatone wrote:
How long we would have to complete, I would say " One year " would be reasonable, any one game for setting up something like this. :?: :?:

One Year!!

I would have to pick up my pace for sure!!

Yep, me too.

Competitions aren't really my bag, but If I can team up with Twelvebar, count me in.

I'll build it and Twelvebar (if he's up for it) can give it one of his stellar paint jobs. 8)

Of course we'd win for sure but that shouldn't put others off from having a go... :lol:

Andy

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 6:45 pm
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Andybighair wrote:
Competitions aren't really my bag.....
Andy

I didn't take the idea as a "competition" but more of a community "Strat Fest of Building" !!! :wink: Then to share what all we did and and didn't do.....or were we thinking something like "Fender Fans Have Talent"??? :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:13 pm
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No this is not a competition.
More of an expression as to what does a 56 sunburst strat mean to you :?: :?:

I was not at all thinking of winners or losers, just a variation, or I should say a....
......Global Variation on a Particular Theme.....

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:29 pm
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53magnatone wrote:
No this is not a competition.
More of an expression as to what does a 56 sunburst strat mean to you :?: :?:

I was not at all thinking of winners or losers, just a variation, or I should say a....
......Global Variation on a Particular Theme.....

I do like the idea of it. Not a contest per se, but more of seeing what different people can come up with and what their idea of a certain concept would be.

Hopefully it will warm up soon, and I can get on with my Strat build, darn working outdoors sucks when the weather doesn't cooperate. I got seriously stalled out last year when we had an extremely rainy summer. And then lately extreme cold and snow, so i didn't get nearly as much done as i would have hoped.

For me, time really would be an issue on a project like this. i have a hectic work schedule, my tinkering has to fall when I have both time and proper conditions to work.
Last year they didn't coincide very much.

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Post subject: Re: Stratotelecaster Build.....odd ducks...old farts...
Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 2:16 am
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Well guys, to be perfectly honest, collaborations is what I find even more intriguing than different takes on a set project. Say for instance someone makes the neck, someone the body, someone shoots the paintjob and someone does the electronics, and someone puts it all together with a final set-up and nut cut.
But anywhichway, I personally probably couldn't participate since I don't have a workspace at hand, let alone the skills to build a guitar. :lol: But I'll be there to bump the thread and make popcorn! :D

But I like the way this is going! Keep putting in ideas everyone!

(There might be an amp build thread at some point though - less mess in the flat. Fingers crossed.)

Cheers,

Nutter

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