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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Apr 12, 2020 13:54:04 GMT -5
I just put a straight edge across the sole of that plane, and it has a REALLY long way to go. I also found some 50 grit for metal grinding disks in a pile in the corner. If I can figure out how to get those to lie flat, I'll probably start with those and then move to the diamond, since they'll probably leave some pretty gnarly grooves.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 12, 2020 14:42:40 GMT -5
I found an old Stanley jack plane in a junque shop years ago that had a worn sole, and a pal of mine who worked at a speed shop (they did machine work on engines) put it on their surface grinder and got it perfectly flat. That's an option if you have a speed shop or machine shop in town.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Apr 14, 2020 10:10:19 GMT -5
Good thought - I don't know many old school machinists (they're a dying breed, sadly), but I do (or did) work with a drummer who had a metal working business in his home and he might have something like that. But, with quarantine I may not get to that. We'll see how patient I am.
Also, congrats on finding an old jack plane! Those and the 60 1/2 are the one that seem to get snatched up the most. I've gotten a few non-Stanley palm planes, a #3, a #4 (probably the best of the bunch, the aforementioned #5, and an old wooden block plane from the 1880s or so with a 22" sole. I was going to restore that one, but it would feel like a bit of a crime... I love the old grinding wheel marks on the iron of that one. I also love how the cutting portion of the iron is a harder steel laminated to a softer alloy, because making the whole thing of harder steel at the time would have been spectacularly wasteful! But, I think I should stop hijacking your thread now.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 12, 2020 12:10:31 GMT -5
Well, I can finally move forward with this project [eye roll]. The next step has been to join the neck to the body, and that was on hold because I needed the neck off the guitar so I could plane the face of the headstock to accept the ebony overlay and glue it on. But that was on hold because I had no idea where I had put the overlay, and I didn't remember how thick it was. But it resurfaced today, and guess what? It was *exactly* in the place I put it. Which I promptly forgot. Like George Carlin said: "'It was in the last place I looked'. Of course it's in the last place you look. When you find something, why would you keep looking for it?" I have way too many projects going at the same time...
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Post by Tinkerer on May 12, 2020 14:52:30 GMT -5
That looks fantastic!!!!!
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Post by LTB on May 12, 2020 20:23:38 GMT -5
But it resurfaced today, and guess what? It was *exactly* in the place I put it. Which I promptly forgot. All of you are making me feel better every day as I hear more and more younger guys having the same problems I do. That ebony with your name in it will be really nice when You are through. Looking forward to seeing the finished product
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jun 4, 2020 1:43:53 GMT -5
Okay, finally getting some forward motion here. I was waffling on how to make this a custom beast...something out of the ordinary, but I really love the way the LP Jr DC hangs on a strap and didn't want to do anything too wacky with the body. So I'm going to make this a headless guitar, but with the headstock on it. The tuners will go right behind the bridge like I did with the Oddvark guitar from a few months back (pic below). Traditional freaks will pee themselves a little, but I don't care as long as they're not sitting on my couch when they do I'm waiting for some guitar maker to pick up this idea and run with it...I've never seen Steinberger tuners used behind a tune-o-matic like this. It works really well.
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Post by Tinkerer on Jun 5, 2020 0:52:27 GMT -5
That is just so cool!!!
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jul 13, 2020 8:08:23 GMT -5
For several reasons this is *dragging* along. I prepped the neck for the headstock plate, roughly cut out the shape in the ebony plate on the scrollsaw, and glued it on place. I'll use a router with a pattern cutter to follow the shape of the headstock and trim the edges of the plate flush. This is taking forever; I've had the body and neck completed for months. If I can keep distractions to a minimum, perhaps I can complete this project before all the parts become NOS. Maybe I'll get really moving and have the neck glued into the body before Christmas. I had decided in mid-stream to install tuners on the body but that has changed again, back to traditional tuners on the headstock. The reason is I'd have to cut a fairly large recess (about 6" x 8" x 1.75" deep) into the back of the body and I don't want to do that. I'm usually fearless about this kind of stuff, but the LP Junior is a tried-and-true rock machine and I don't want to get too far off the reservation.
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Post by LTB on Jul 15, 2020 5:50:38 GMT -5
You are doing a great job! Can’t wait to see the finished product 😉
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jul 15, 2020 13:33:58 GMT -5
Thanks man! I got the head plate trimmed flush and sanded smooth. When I drilled for the tuner holes, I took my time because ebony is brittle and 100% unforgiving. I even made a sacrifice to the Guitar Godz as extra insurance, but they were unimpressed with my meager tribute and made a little chunk of Ebony flake off from the low E tuner hole and go flying. You can see it in the pic below. They usually do something like this a few times during a build just to remind me I'm really not the one in charge of how these things turn out. And I'm all out of pecan pie. The good news is the flange on the tuner bushing will cover that goof. Next comes fitting the neck to the body, setting the angle, and gluing it in place.
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Post by Leftee on Jul 15, 2020 13:38:47 GMT -5
Looking good!
I have bits and bobs of hardware covering such things.
Padouk is also very brittle/crumbly.
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Post by LTB on Jul 17, 2020 1:44:11 GMT -5
The good news is the flange on the tuner bushing will cover that goof. Next comes fitting the neck to the body, setting the angle, and gluing it in place. That is what I was thinking so not a big deal. Frankly, if Ebony is that unforgiving I don't think I could do it
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Jul 20, 2020 18:25:23 GMT -5
You would make Stradivarius jealous, Peego, if he wasn't dead.
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Jul 20, 2020 18:27:54 GMT -5
Didn't Gibson use ebony-stained holly for the headstock veneer of some of their guitars?
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jul 20, 2020 19:58:10 GMT -5
Yes, they used holly on many of their Les Pauls, SGs, and other guitars with black headstocks. It's cheaper than ebony and a whole lot easier on tooling.
Ebony is one of the most unforgiving woods--for the builder and the tools.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jul 27, 2020 16:14:42 GMT -5
I fit the neck for the angle I wanted (a bit less than how Gibson does it) and glued it in. It fits well and looks good. Next step was to clean up the neck joint area. I used rifflers (curved files) to make the glue lines nice and smooth, as well as round over those hard corners Gibson leaves on their Juniors. PRS also leaves hard corners here, and I wonder why they don't ease those edges. It certainly feels better in the hand. The heel on this is a bit asymmetrical to improve the feel when playing because the body/neck heel area is pretty thick there. I sanded everything smooth with 220 and called it quits because it's hot in the shop and the fan simply blows hot air and dust around.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jul 29, 2020 16:42:36 GMT -5
As I've said before: no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. I like the idea of the jack on the front of the SG and Strat, and I've built a few Tele clones and other guitars this way. While doing the final sanding on this project and prepping it for primer, I was stopped in my tracks by the thought of a front-mounted jack. Why not? What would it take to do this? Well, for one thing, I had already drilled the 7/8" diameter tunnel through the side in the lower bout for the traditional LP jack plate. One step forward and two steps back... So I stuck a fly cutter in the drill press, spun up a 7/8" diameter coin from 1/4" thick oak (I had no small pieces of mahogany like the body wood and no 7/8" hardwood dowels), and glued it in to plug the hole. When the glue sets up I'll rasp it round to match the contour. It will be invisible when the finish is on it. Next I routed the hotdog-shaped control recess into a triangle shape to make room for the jack. I think this is going to work better than my original intent. *This* is why I don't work from plans or make drawings and dimensions on paper; it's a waste of time. Every project like this is an idea that evolves into being as it becomes more and more guitar-like.
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Post by Tinkerer on Jul 29, 2020 17:25:28 GMT -5
I'm loving this!!!!
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Post by Stratluvr on Jul 30, 2020 5:39:54 GMT -5
It looks great but don't you think the cord will be too close to the controls?
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jul 30, 2020 8:59:11 GMT -5
Nah. I use 90-degree plugs.
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Post by Leftee on Jul 30, 2020 9:04:11 GMT -5
90... 91.
Whatever it takes.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jul 30, 2020 12:04:29 GMT -5
Anything over 150 degrees, I wear gloves 'cause it cooks me fingies!
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jul 31, 2020 9:37:44 GMT -5
Oh maaaaaaa I'm wanting to shoot finish, but it's raining and the humidity is up. Gah.
Feast or famine...
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Post by Sharkie on Aug 2, 2020 6:09:34 GMT -5
The doctors are saying they can't help me. This project is a DC junior. I cut the body from a three piece glue-up of lightweight mahogany. I've always wanted to build one and never got to it, so this is a great time to take a shot, what with social distancing and errything. I plan on using a standard soapbar-style P90, rather than a traditional dog ear pickup because the soapbar allows adjustment of the pickup's height. A dog ear P90 has to be shimmed; while that does work, it's a bit of a pain. Gibson originally used the dog ear because it was cheap to produce (less parts/less labor). I think it's going to be fire engine red to lend a toy-like quality to it. Yeah, I know TV yellow or maybe a sunburst would be more traditional, but I have a Gibson tobacco SB Jr as well as a limed white Gibson CS Jr. It's also sort of an homage to one of my favorite humorists Dave Barry, who, when shopping for his first electric guitar, took a knowledgeable friend with him to point out all the plusses and minuses of various brands and features of guitars. The goal was to help Barry make an informed decision; after spending an entire day browsing through several shops, the answer was clear: "I want a RED one!" Here we go. It’s gonna look great PG. Can’t wait to see the finished product. Just out of curiosity, what is your P90 of choice for this project? Gibby or maybe Lollar?
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Aug 2, 2020 9:22:53 GMT -5
Sharkie, it's getting a chrome covered Kent Armstrong Stealth 90; I've had good results with these pickups. Some players say they sound dark, but I don't get that with the amps I use. I routed the recess for the back cover plate, rasped smooth the jack hole plug, and leveled the surface imperfections with wood filler. I like to seal wood filler with a light overspray of shellac to encapsulate it; it always seems to sand smoother with the shellac on it. Primer time.
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Post by Sharkie on Aug 2, 2020 11:46:26 GMT -5
Sharkie, it's getting a chrome covered Kent Armstrong Stealth 90; I've had good results with these pickups. Some players say they sound dark, but I don't get that with the amps I use. I routed the recess for the back cover plate, rasped smooth the jack hole plug, and leveled the surface imperfections with wood filler. I like to seal wood filler with a light overspray of shellac to encapsulate it; it always seems to sand smoother with the shellac on it. Primer time. Gotcha. It should sound great ++.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Aug 2, 2020 14:50:51 GMT -5
Got the first coats of color on today. With this guitar floating in there, my shop looks like I'm building an altar resembling Boston's first album cover.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Aug 26, 2020 14:58:58 GMT -5
Loving this project guitar. Totally amazing what some of you guys can do while others of us are limited to basic setups lol.
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Post by Leftee on Aug 26, 2020 15:05:42 GMT -5
Got the first coats of color on today. With this guitar floating in there, my shop looks like I'm building an altar resembling Boston's first album cover. I have more than a feeling you're right.
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