What's on your workbench right now?

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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niksureal
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by niksureal » Fri Apr 20, 2018 2:31 pm

s_mcsleazy wrote:
Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:31 am
man, this looks too good.
why, thank you!
Rgand wrote:
Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:25 pm
Looks good. What does the rocker switch do. Split the pickup?
thanks, its a strangle switch, like on a jag.

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Rgand
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Rgand » Fri Apr 20, 2018 3:49 pm

niksureal wrote:
Fri Apr 20, 2018 2:31 pm
Rgand wrote:
Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:25 pm
Looks good. What does the rocker switch do. Split the pickup?
thanks, its a strangle switch, like on a jag.
Thanks. I wondered about that. Good idea there. I wouldn't have thought to use a rocker. Looks quite functional.

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verhoevenc
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by verhoevenc » Sun Apr 22, 2018 11:52 am

So the pink-insulating-foam test from earlier was in preparation for milling out a body for a video. I'm working on a 5-part series that will cover CAD, 2.5D CAM, 3D CAM, bits & feeds/speeds, and CNC milling a guitar body. All the CAD/CAM parts walk through designing a super-strat style body with a standard strat neck pocket. However, I had no desire to end up with a super-strat body... so I decided for the actual milling part of the video I'd cut this out: Jazzmaster in blue/green double-dye stabilized maple burl over basswood. Pic with pickguard is dry, pic without it wetted with naphtha.
Image
Image
Now just to figure out what the heck to do with the thing...
Best,
Chris
Luthier are Raygun Guitars

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solfege
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by solfege » Tue Apr 24, 2018 6:21 pm

verhoevenc wrote:
Sun Apr 22, 2018 11:52 am
Now just to figure out what the heck to do with the thing...
Best,
Chris
It's freaking gorgeous. Make it a guitar?

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ludobag1
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by ludobag1 » Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:46 am

neck beguin to be good ,need to sand the body ,now

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Image

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Mike S
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Mike S » Fri Apr 27, 2018 3:41 pm

I'm currently working on a Torino Red Squier Mini. So far, the bottom strap button has been replaced with a full-sized button and a third full-sized strap button has been added to the lower horn. The nut has also been flipped upside down.
There's been a manufacturing delay, but once I get the pickups, this is going to be the layout (I'll probably post a picture):

Neck: Seymour Duncan Lipstick Tube Strat
Middle: Seymour Duncan Antiquity Duo-Sonic with vintage white cover
Bridge: Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Mustang with black cover

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by verhoevenc » Fri Apr 27, 2018 5:54 pm

solfege wrote:
Tue Apr 24, 2018 6:21 pm
It's freaking gorgeous. Make it a guitar?
Haha yeah my comment probably was confusing. Of course it’ll be made into a guitar; the only question being how far I take it personally. I generally build my own shapes, but since this was for an educational video I wanted to cut out something more relatable and recognizable; hence the milling is this JM and other parts of the video on CAD and design work around a super-strat shape.
With that in mind I doubt I’ll be the one to finalize it. I may also use it as an excuse to play with some finish ideas and then pass it off to someone else?
Chris
Luthier are Raygun Guitars

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by BlueSparkle » Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:31 pm

Just got through a complete overhaul / setup on #363/1000 Epiphone Ace Frehley "Budokan" Les Paul.

The bones were good and solid, but the original owner had never had it setup properly, never changed the strings and never really "looked after it" - and consequently it was never played. It also seems it was left at the mercy of the elements for some years.

The truss rod was ass-backwards, the frets looked like they were sitting in a salt bath, as was the nickel hardware - bridge and tailpiece. The Grovers (if you can really call them Grovers) were full of backlash and not even finger tight in the headstock.

The body however was almost new. the plastic saran wrap still on the pickguard, and the horrible excuse for wiring was all there, in tact, untouched.

It sat around for a week on the bench, while I stuffed about fixing the neck relief, then cleaning what was left of the hardware, to find it pointless. Lots of genuine Gibson parts were ordered. I then put my attention to the electronics. I discovered a true surprise.

This thing was loaded with NLA vintage spec DiMarzio PAF's and a Super Distortion.

I contacted DiMarzio tech with the serial numbers and descriptions and the response was "yep, haven't made those pickups for at least 15-plus years, there were a few left over that we sent to Gibson heritage. The pickups are similar in specification to the 36PAF, but it is not identical spec and yes the super distortion is also USA made.

I was happy. The pickups were worth more than what I paid for the whole thing.

Now, a fair few epi's cross my path, and from time to time one or two really blow me away. When I'd finished doing a complete overhaul on the wiring to vintage Les Paul custom spec, and new bridge/tailpiece hardware, fretted, levelled, polished and rplaced the tuners this thing just blew me away with the way it sounded and the way it felt.

I have a few LP's, and this epiphone was easily superior to many that I have played, including my favourite 79 wine red custom... It was impressive not only from a true 74 Les Paul look and feel, but the neck profile was bang-on and the volute was there - even the cherry burst was dead accurate. Obviously someone did spend a little time researching the original Budokan and this is a very accurate reissue.
The build quaity is more than impressive. I don't know what particular Comrade in the Red Workshop was responsible, but hats off to him or her.

So it seems to me that despite the original owners neglect, and (likely) stuffing around with the truss rod, and possibly leaving it out in the salt air for however long, I scored a fantastic instrument. It plays brilliantly, and those 3 humbuckers are magic when properly wired in the vintage style.

For a week's worth of patience and TLC, and a couple hundred bucks in genuine gibson parts, the guitar is easily worth 4 times what I paid. Not that I'll be selling it!

Oh, and I put some D'addario 11-50 chromes on the Blue Sparkle, and not liking the feel compared to the Thomastik's. But I can't get Thomastiks for a few weeks now, so I had to make do with what was available. But being unhappy with the tone from the chromes, I then pulled the blue sparkle down, it's suddenly got a scratchy lead circuit and the output jack is starting to irritate me....
So last night at about 1145pm I pulled it down after a few solid hours of slicing my fingers up on those strings...

it's currently getting a polish, full-on 1962 vintage wiring and 500K pots after I finished on the Budokan. I already have the McNelly 46/58's in it, so I'll probably do a treble bleed mod for the top circuit and change the tone cap value on the neck to 0.01 and I'm also now turning my eye to the RG and thinking about some circuit changes to that guitar as well since I put the burstbucker pros in it a while back.

Our old Harman Kardon receiver also decided to drop a channel, so that's on the bench too. A lot of electrolytics that need replacing (bulging). Not surprising since it gets a workout in a poorly ventilated cabinet, so that one is my fault for not doing somethign about it before it got to this.

Lots of stuff happening on my workbench, I'm running out of space.
:derp: :unsure:
:o)
----
'95 JDMJMCS Blue Sparkle w/ McNelly 46/58's.
other non-offsets.

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Mike S
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Mike S » Sat May 05, 2018 4:28 am

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TheOndrakGuy
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by TheOndrakGuy » Sat May 05, 2018 6:58 am

Image
"It's not f**ked, the electronics are reliced!"

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epizootics
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by epizootics » Sat May 05, 2018 10:14 am

I like the British touch - "Synchronised Floating Tremolo". Very cool :)

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by solfege » Sat May 05, 2018 3:49 pm

Doing a little wiring while waiting for a new pickup for the Cyclone to come in the mail.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/JJg9cm]Image

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by norris2002 » Sun May 06, 2018 10:04 am

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willettsguitars@gmail.com

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solfege
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by solfege » Mon May 07, 2018 3:55 pm

Progress -- including a bit of hand-filing of a pickguard. Now the question is can I wait patiently for the last piece to arrive in the mail, or do I dummy something up in there to test the new pickup?

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Image

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Tue May 08, 2018 6:13 pm

The workbench is a dangerous place. I always come away with more ideas than I went in with.

That said, I've been waiting 5 months to do this one properly. My last Eurorack case didn't quite work out, as I'd mounted the power supply on the bottom (instead of the back), which meant that the modules wouldn't fit right :fp:

I was inspired by a Moog System 55:
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I.E., separate yet stackable module cases in all wood (stained brown, not there yet), with a "garage" for a controller (also not there yet). This is what I've got so far:

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Image

Solid oak, and separate. I made a little template for the screw holes where the rubber feet go. Then, I used said template on the top of the angled case, and using a 5/8" Forstner bit, drilled +/- 1/4" down, so the top case's rubber feet rest in there, and makes it less likely that it'll fall off.

I made the back plates (also oak, 1/4") and started drilling the holes for the power supply stuff. The angled case will have the only power supply module, and both the top case and the controller case (haven't started yet) will have only bus boards, fed by Neutrik Speakon jacks and 4-wire cable, each.

I will make a "garage" for the controller box as well, but haven't started either the controller box or the garage for it because I'm not sure which modules I'll be using for the controller for sure yet.

I literally spent all day both Saturday and Sunday outside woodworking, and DAMN, it feels good to be able to get outside again. Summer is on, man.
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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