What's on your workbench right now?

[Nudger]

Those are SO CUTE.
On my bench: goodbye to the muddy rattle can gold, I never really liked it.

Intrigued!
What model is it?

[antisymmetric]

On my bench: goodbye to the muddy rattle can gold, I never really liked it.

The Mory! What's the plan for it? I wish my sunburst wasn't in such good shape, I'd refin in a heartbeat (to white) if it wasn't so well preserved.

[MattK]

we’re on the same wavelength … !!

[MattK]

Intrigued!
What model is it?

It’s a 1967 Mory Japanese copy. Had many refinishes and currently rocks an 80s Tokai neck, hands down the best Jazzmaster I have ever touched but I made a mistake thinking I could paint a metallic with my amateur skills.

[epizootics]

Those are SO CUTE.
On my bench: goodbye to the muddy rattle can gold, I never really liked it.

I remember seeing one of these and wondering what the f**k was going on - they got pretty close to the original, much more so than a lot of copies from the mid-60s. And their pearl-tort pickguards look mental, in a good way.
The pickups look a smidge narrower than their JM counterpart, is that actually the case?

I'm almost done with this one:





More vinegar-and-salt-and-12V-power-supply engraving:



I have also been asked to age the hardware. First time using ferric oxide for this purpose - it works, erm, pretty well.







I had to buy a whole liter of the thing - 20 euros at the electronics shop - but considering the upcharge for aged parts and the fact that not all parts are offered in that finish (plus the sheer fun of making brand new hardware age forty years in seconds) make it a worthy investment

It works on stainless steel too, but it gives the surface a dull grey, cheap zinc-plated look. I'll go with the trusty torch / coffee grounds method for the neck, control and steel SS plates.

[MattK]

That looks good, pretty convincing work there. I always love your designs, radical and retro at the same time. What's your vinegar and salt etching process?
I think you're right, the Mory pickups are slightly narrower. Bigger magnets too, and there is a wiring oddity I will try to explain one day. They sound wonderful.
The pickguard really is a jewel, I will be painting this white as a starting point I think. The gold looks quite good here but was dull and lifeless looking, I hated it every time I saw it, in the end.

[Nudger]

That looks good, pretty convincing work there. I always love your designs, radical and retro at the same time. What's your vinegar and salt etching process?
I think you're right, the Mory pickups are slightly narrower. Bigger magnets too, and there is a wiring oddity I will try to explain one day. They sound wonderful.
The pickguard really is a jewel, I will be painting this white as a starting point I think. The gold looks quite good here but was dull and lifeless looking, I hated it every time I saw it, in the end.

That pickguard is mental, I luv it!
Kinda like the Gold cos it goes really well with the guard..
Your low E close edge of FB or is it just angle of pic?
If so, a threaded saddle bridge would give you more flexibility regading string spacing.

[antisymmetric]

As always, seeing your work gets me all inspired to get busy and build something. I really like this kinda cubist(?) Esquire thing.

To confirm MattK's words about the Mory pickups, yes they are narrower. Mine came with one missing, and I decided to fit a pair of Lollar JM units. From memory the difference would be only 2-3 mm, something like that. It took some careful marking out and filing to get them to fit.

[Afrika61]

Getting there:
custom Meteora

[Alex!]

Currently working on a Ferrington Mustang mod probably won’t be done til summer

[kifla]

Swinger with two P90


Tsuneta style but full scale.

[MattK]

A little more progress. Or desecration?

Some points which had previously been scratched thru the finish (not by me) raised the grain when I wetsanded the back - will leave them to dry thoroughly before sealing and hitting it with a primer.

[epizootics]

As always, seeing your work gets me all inspired to get busy and build something. I really like this kinda cubist(?) Esquire thing.

To confirm MattK's words about the Mory pickups, yes they are narrower. Mine came with one missing, and I decided to fit a pair of Lollar JM units. From memory the difference would be only 2-3 mm, something like that. It took some careful marking out and filing to get them to fit.

That looks good, pretty convincing work there. I always love your designs, radical and retro at the same time. What's your vinegar and salt etching process?
I think you're right, the Mory pickups are slightly narrower. Bigger magnets too, and there is a wiring oddity I will try to explain one day. They sound wonderful.
The pickguard really is a jewel, I will be painting this white as a starting point I think. The gold looks quite good here but was dull and lifeless looking, I hated it every time I saw it, in the end.

Cheers guys! I've been setting up / giving a bit of TLC to a lot of guitars for my local punk / noise scene and I've ended up with quite a few odd, vintage Japanese instruments on my bench. I try to keep a file going with pickup specs and the likes.

Regarding the etching process, here's a copy & paste of one of my old posts -

This video explains it well enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbUilq_gWpQ
You're basically apply a resist of sorts to your piece - I usually go for nail varnish, but some people use wax or vinyl tape - that you scrape or cut wherever you want to etch. You then proceed to dab the exposed area with a Q-tip dipped in a simple solution of table salt and white vinegar connected to the (-) side of your power supply (a 12-V wall wart here), with the (+) attached to your workpiece. This time, I swapped the polarities by mistake and realized that etching with the (+) connected to the Q-tip created a layer of black oxide on the etched area. More stuff to play with

I have actually ditched the Q-tips in favor of bigger pads made with rolled up bits of tissues, which allow you to cover more surface at once. The one thing you have to watch out for is the temperature of your pad. After a while they get hot enough to dissolve the resist, and you end up etching outside the lines. The easy solution is to just keep using new pads every thirty seconds or so.

[Nudger]

Fat XII bridge pup..

Ready for potting

[GilmourD]

Fat XII bridge pup..

Ready for potting

I so want a pickup winder...