What's on your workbench right now?

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

Post by sirspens » Sat Feb 03, 2018 2:53 pm

ThePearDream wrote:
Sat Feb 03, 2018 8:26 am
I was really impressed with the range of options BGP can do. They don't have any fancy cosmetic options like block & binding. But If someone was so inclined, they could make you a short scale 12 string neck. FYI, the thing needs typical fretwork, beveling, end shaping, leveling, etc. Not a problem for me, just be aware.
I hate to say this, but I got a 12 string neck from BestGuitarParts about a year or two ago, and it was a piece of shit. The fretwork alone made it more trouble than it cost. I literally cut my finger open on the side of the neck, the fret ends are so sharp. And it wasn't any cheaper than Warmoth! (I just like trying different things, and they had a few different options.)

I was so put off by it that I put the project aside and didn't think about it for another year. I've been trying to figure out if I want to let them know what a trash neck they sent me. Not sure it will do any good, especially after having been so long.

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by ThePearDream » Sat Feb 03, 2018 4:33 pm

sirspens wrote:
Sat Feb 03, 2018 2:53 pm
ThePearDream wrote:
Sat Feb 03, 2018 8:26 am
I was really impressed with the range of options BGP can do. They don't have any fancy cosmetic options like block & binding. But If someone was so inclined, they could make you a short scale 12 string neck. FYI, the thing needs typical fretwork, beveling, end shaping, leveling, etc. Not a problem for me, just be aware.
I hate to say this, but I got a 12 string neck from BestGuitarParts about a year or two ago, and it was a piece of shit. The fretwork alone made it more trouble than it cost. I literally cut my finger open on the side of the neck, the fret ends are so sharp. And it wasn't any cheaper than Warmoth! (I just like trying different things, and they had a few different options.)

I was so put off by it that I put the project aside and didn't think about it for another year. I've been trying to figure out if I want to let them know what a trash neck they sent me. Not sure it will do any good, especially after having been so long.
Was it just the fretwork issue that makes you say it was a piece of shit? The last Allparts neck I bought had razor sharp fret ends too. Those were at least beveled though. Like I said, I don't have an issue doing some fretwork, it'll take me less than two hours to get it in order. An equivalent neck from Warmoth, which still would've needed fret leveling, would've cost me $307. For the $100+ difference, I don't mind a few extra minutes of work. Still, I'm going to reserve judgement until I've had a chance to play the thing.
Doug
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Sid Nitzerglobin
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Sid Nitzerglobin » Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:35 pm

Been working on my recently acquired Cyclone the past few days. It came to me w/ a pearloid guard, SD JB and Jazz pickups, a bone nut, some annoying vintage style locking tuners, and a trem block that had been badly cross threaded.
ImageImage

I wound up deciding it needed a Novak WR style HB at the bridge and used a Fralin Firebird I had grabbed a while back and hadn't got around to trying out yet at the neck. I wired it up fairly straightforward w/ 500k volume & tone, .022uf tone cap hooked up 50's style, a treble bleed, and a push pull blower switch on the tone pot:
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The Novak over powers the Fralin a bit, but so far I think they complement each very well in character and I'm super pleased w/ the results.

I had to improvise a pickguard to mount them up to when I discovered I had used all but a ~ 14" x 4" strip of my bakelite:
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The DiY vibe works for me until I get some more material in and the time to make the shape I had planned on using:
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It'll probably wind up being back painted acrylic w/ comp stripes of some form or another.

I had a spare set of Kluson double line tuners to replace the top locking ones that I found to be pretty infuriating to change the 1st & 2nd strings on. For the bridge I wound up going for the whole Vintage Narrow bridge assembly from Callaham to match the spacing on the Novak. 2 1/16" spacing kinda feels more natural to me than 2 3/16" too.
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Everything works smooth, feels good, and sounds great!

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by ThePearDream » Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:21 pm

ThePearDream wrote:
Sat Feb 03, 2018 8:26 am
I received a new custom neck from Best Guitar Parts and am trying out a tru oil finish on it...
Received my decal today.

Image

Unfortunately, It looks like it won't be warm enough to spray for a few more weeks.

The name is in reference to our beagle Randal, whose nickname is Berserker.
Image

The text is in reference to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPZJYkmC5Qg
Doug
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by kamillebidan » Sat Feb 24, 2018 8:19 pm

Sid Nitzerglobin wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:35 pm

I had to improvise a pickguard to mount them up to when I discovered I had used all but a ~ 14" x 4" strip of my bakelite:
Image
Image
I LOVE the look of this makeshift pickguard! And, unusual pickup combos also gets bonus points from me. :-*

How's it sound when both are used at the same time?

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Sid Nitzerglobin » Sun Feb 25, 2018 8:21 am

kamillebidan wrote:
Sat Feb 24, 2018 8:19 pm
Sid Nitzerglobin wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:35 pm

I had to improvise a pickguard to mount them up to when I discovered I had used all but a ~ 14" x 4" strip of my bakelite:
Image
Image
I LOVE the look of this makeshift pickguard! And, unusual pickup combos also gets bonus points from me. :-*

How's it sound when both are used at the same time?
Thanks man! I was pretty happy with how it turned out given the limited material.

The WR and Firebird seem to compliment each other pretty well to my ears. The Novak is definitely the higher output of the 2 but that works for me as I usually want the bridge pickup a bit more prominent when using both at the same time.

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by ThePearDream » Wed Mar 07, 2018 7:39 am

Decal is all done. Since I was doing a satin finish, I didn't bother to let the lacquer cure very long and just rubbed it out with some synthetic stool wool instead of carefully wet sanding. I may just do it this way from now on.
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Also, I decided that I couldn't bear to bolt this onto the GFS body and ended up buying a new body from Warmoth. I'm just going to recreate the general aesthetic of the GFS this is replacing, reuse those pickups and toss the neck, body & pickguard.
Body should be here next week. I'm planning on doing a Jet Black dye job with a satin finish and a single ply black satin pickguard.
Controls will be the same as my Razzcaster build - this will basically be the evil twin of that guitar.
Since this is just a re-build, I won't bother creating a full thread on this.

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

Post by -=Todd Fox=- » Thu Mar 08, 2018 6:11 am

ThePearDream wrote:
Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:21 pm

Received my decal today.

Image

Unfortunately, It looks like it won't be warm enough to spray for a few more weeks.

The name is in reference to our beagle Randal, whose nickname is Berserker.
Image

The text is in reference to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPZJYkmC5Qg
+2 for Kids in the Hall and Clerks. I'm in high school again. which is, in itself, EVIL!
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by hpr_hpr » Tue Mar 13, 2018 5:11 pm

A rewire of my JM with SD pRails

ImageImage

An annoying scratchy pickup is resulting in a complete rewire . . . . I'm really hoping the problem was the potential wiring fault I found and it's NOT the pickup itself :) ...

The first shot is building the 4 DPDT switches that switch the coils on the pRails, the second is the phase switch and the rotary pickup selector about half way through the build process. Which is as far as I got Sunday . . . my son was insistent that my guitar wasn't as important as his desire to turn a 3/4" x 1.5" x 2' piece of poplar into a sword so dad had to oblige . . . ;D
When thinking about any advice given always ask yourself "why would (s)he know more than I do".

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by ThePearDream » Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:30 pm

Wired up a custom control plate for my tele.

It has mini toggles for Jag style switching, knobs are volume, treble and bass.
Image

I have the neck off so I can finally get a decal on it, so I thought I'd try this out.

Image
Yet more Kids in the Hall references. I'll probably have to start looking to the State, UCB or That Mitchell & Webb Look, to mix things up.
Doug
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by andy_tchp » Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:37 pm

Clerks reference: Outstanding!
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
David McComb, 1987.

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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by ThePearDream » Wed Mar 14, 2018 5:35 am

andy_tchp wrote:
Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:37 pm
Clerks reference: Outstanding!
Yes! An all time favorite of mine. Easily in my top 5 comedies.
Doug
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by ThePearDream » Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:48 am

2/3 applications of Behlen Solar-Lux Jet Black dye. This does a great job of getting everything black. I'll follow this up with black stain, to get into the open grain that the dye doesn't work on. Then, I'll top it with a tru-oil finish.
Image

I'm trying to find some black screws for the switches, but it's hard to find a source that'll let you buy less than 10,000.

I really love the grain on the lower horn.
Image
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by Deed_Poll » Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:03 am

Very nice! I have often wondered how dark it was possible to get a dyed black finish... The idea of a totally black finish with try oil really appeals to me!

Are you going for a completely black finish? I wondered whether burning the very surface almost to charcoal would work! :D
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Re: What's on your workbench right now?

Post by ThePearDream » Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:45 am

I just did the 3rd application of dye and each one makes it a bit darker.
I am going for totally black, but with the texture of the grain still highly visible.
Something like this:
Image

Image
Doug
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