I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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geoman
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by geoman » Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:05 pm

Was the Wipe on used straight out of the Can?? Or did you thin it some? If so what did you thin it with?

Very nice looking body and finish. Keep the pictures coming!!

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d-rock
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by d-rock » Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:22 pm

geoman wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:05 pm
Was the Wipe on used straight out of the Can?? Or did you thin it some? If so what did you thin it with?

Very nice looking body and finish. Keep the pictures coming!!
Thanks! I just used it straight out of the can with an old rag. The key is to apply very thin coats. Each application was so thin that it would almost dry to the touch before I finished the entire top. You can do 2-3 coats in one day.

I've used polyurethane before to seal furniture. If you buy the regular stuff and brush it on, it will get very thick and streaky very quickly. The Wipe On product is really nice.

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tequila_in_teacups
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by tequila_in_teacups » Fri Feb 19, 2021 2:03 pm

Looks tidy.

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d-rock
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by d-rock » Sat Feb 20, 2021 3:51 pm

I raided the parts drawer and found all this...I'm surprised I had some much laying around
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Got a little more work in. I started squaring off the back of the tremolo route
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Bridge thimble holes were tight, I tried sanding them out but I needed to break out the rounded file. I did just a little at a time so that I didn't over enlarge them. I wanted the thimbles to be snug but didn't want to force them too much
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I also installed the ground wires. One to a bridge thimble, one to the trem cavity. Thankful that the Saylor body had both of those spots drilled to fish the wires through with ease. I found a little bit of copper tape in the parts drawer to keep it in place
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Thimbles and trem installed
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geoman
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by geoman » Sun Feb 21, 2021 9:36 am

Thanks for the info on using the Wipe-ons!! The finish looks great!! What pickups do you have for this one? And will you wire it with 1K pots?
Last edited by geoman on Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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d-rock
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by d-rock » Sun Feb 21, 2021 3:05 pm

geoman wrote:
Sun Feb 21, 2021 9:36 am
Thanks for the info on using the Wipons!! The finish looks great!! What pickups do you have for this one? And will you wire it with 1K pots?
Thanks! I originally was thinking going WRHB but with my budget, I can't spend $400 or so for a boutique set.

Looking in the mid priced range I found great reviews on Golden Age Parsons Street humbuckers. They run $120 for a set of Alnico V's. My 335 has Alnico II Classic 57 pickups which are my favorite pickups. They say the V's will be a bit crisper and tighter. This will give the project more of a Fano JM6 vibe, which is cool for me. I've always loved those. I'll be using 500k pots.

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d-rock
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by d-rock » Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:47 am

powerdroid wrote:
Wed Feb 17, 2021 1:14 am
Nice project! I know you're already started on the finish work, but may I suggest bigger roundover on the body, plus deeper belly cut and arm countour to help reduce some of the weight? Instead of the swimming pool route you've mentioned, and also to get more of the jazzmaster look and feel?
Since I have time waiting on parts and the neck, I kept looking at the forearm contour thinking you're absolutely right. It needs even more of a roundover to look more jazzmastery. So I got back out the sandpaper :derp:
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MirageIndigo
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by MirageIndigo » Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:50 am

The Stewmac golden age HBs sound really really good for the price. Also check out Gepetto Guitar's camelot pickups. I just put a set in my 335/LP hybrid equivalent and they sound great (although I needed to trim screw side screws down to length). Also very good for the price.

That's a great trick on the grounding wire, I'm going to have to steal that technique on the Our Lady or Perpetual Jazz build.

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d-rock
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by d-rock » Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:37 pm

Finished up the forearm cut. I think it looks pretty curvy now.
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Snapped a few pics trying to get the angle of the contours
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I also got in a used Decoboom pickguard that fits the neck pocket perfectly. I had to take a mockup shot. This thing is starting to look like a hybrid of a JM, Non-Reverse Firebird, and Fano JM6 to me.
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rosecoloredboy
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by rosecoloredboy » Wed Mar 03, 2021 3:08 pm

looks awesome!! i’m totally a fan of JMs with regular humbuckers...definitely want a Wide Range one for myself soon though.
i may only have one jazzmaster...

but i want more

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d-rock
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by d-rock » Sat Mar 06, 2021 6:13 am

Now that I got the pickguard in I can figure out how I need to mount the pickups. I needed to clear some space to fit the humbucker mounting feet and screws. I don't have a router, so I had to break out my chisels again. Fair warning, this is not for the faint of heart. ;D

First I marked where I needed to take out some wood
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Then I *very carefully* took to carving. I went slow and tried to be as neat as possible. Not as bad as some chisel jobs I've seen.
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You can see how the bottom of the pickup sits now
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Last edited by d-rock on Wed Mar 24, 2021 9:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

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snarf
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by snarf » Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:13 am

The contours look nicely done and very clean! Did you use rasp or other tool for rounding off the edges and contouring?

I have a very raw body and need to do exactly the same thing, but can tell it takes a lot time and energy that I do not have :'(

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d-rock
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by d-rock » Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:29 am

snarf wrote:
Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:13 am
The contours look nicely done and very clean! Did you use rasp or other tool for rounding off the edges and contouring?

I have a very raw body and need to do exactly the same thing, but can tell it takes a lot time and energy that I do not have :'(
Thanks! I didn't use a rasp, just sandpaper. I started with 120 and worked to 400 grit.

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ohm-men
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by ohm-men » Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:28 pm

Looks very nice! Looking forward to see the finished product! :-*
Quiet a nice woodgrain on the body too, looks really great with the natural finish. :?
Quiet envious on you chissel skills as well...Mine never turn out that tidy ;D

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d-rock
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Re: I'm back baby! Natural Jazzmaster Partscaster Build

Post by d-rock » Wed Mar 24, 2021 9:22 am

I just got confirmation that Warmoth has finished and shipped the neck! This is the last piece I'm waiting on.

In the meantime, I have been looking at this thing and felt that the upper horn looked a little bare. I had ordered a inexpensive pickguard off Ebay from China for like $15 including shipping. It was for an MIJ body and this Saylor body is to US specs. I figured I'd try an experiment to see if I liked a different arrangement. I cut a hole in the upper horn for the 3-way toggle, found some white hole plugs on Amazon for the lower horn, and took the Dremel to the pickguard around the bridge posts. The pickguard and controls look more balanced and intentional to my eye, at least.

I also decided to splurge and jumped on a lightly used Descendant vibrato. I went with that over the Mastery because I liked the idea of changing the arm tension without having to unscrew the whole unit. Another plus is that it's lighter in weight.

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