DIY Guitar Messing About (1 Viewer)

[JohnnyRaz]

did you buy a new bit or was the supplied one happily the correct size for the truss rod?

happily the same - 6.something mm! seems to be holding up well sharpness wise from mucking about to date.

 

[magicbastarder]

quarter inch so, i guess?

 

[JohnnyRaz]

quarter inch so, i guess?

yeah give or take

 

[JohnnyRaz]

30mins of arm and nerve racking sawing later - we’re almost at the fun bit


Edit; not sure why the pic is upside down!

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Playing about with making templates..was a bit wonky, but the ring with will cover it. I might try padding out the wonky edge.

 

[magicbastarder]

don't forget you're welcome to borrow the bits with bearings from me.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

don't forget you're welcome to borrow the bits with bearings from me.

Thanks - the router actually came with a template collar for the bit - which works great. Problem is the template itself in this case wasn’t my finest work!

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Shaping the neck - using a spoke shave in combo with the rasp. A very pleasant tool to use!

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Frets. Difficult without the right snips - but getting there. 4 done, 16 to go

 

[magicbastarder]

a chap i know has a mexican strat and was saying to me the frets need to be redone - he'd been considering having a go at it himself, but was also thinking that buying the right tools to do so might be a waste given there was a strong likelihood he'd never need to use them again. is it something best left to the pros? and is it generally an expensive job?

 

[JohnnyRaz]

a chap i know has a mexican strat and was saying to me the frets need to be redone - he'd been considering having a go at it himself, but was also thinking that buying the right tools to do so might be a waste given there was a strong likelihood he'd never need to use them again. is it something best left to the pros? and is it generally an expensive job?

right now I'd say its a massive pain in the hole - but I'm on fret #17/20

I guess it depends on what might need to be done. If its 'just' a level for one or two frets I'd recommend the little 'buzzoff' kit I bought

Buzz-Off® Fret Leveling Kit - J.S. Bogdanovich Guitars

The Buzz-Off® fret leveling kit can fix fret buzz caused a high fret. The kit will level, crown and polish frets for an optimal set up. Anyone can do it.

www.jsbguitars.com

a complete refret is a different game.

I probably spent about 50-60quid on basic bits specifically for fretting from scratch. In about 2-3 weeks I'll know if that was a good investment.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Set, levelled and polished. May not play in tune, but won’t buzz or cut the paws off ya.


I was originally going to use old ball ends as position markers - not so sure now

 

[magicbastarder]

trying to make volume knobs. making the knobs is easy; bar getting them to fit on the pots. a 6mm hole is too big, 5mm way too small. so i got a 5.5mm bit, and it's still so tight it did this to the old pot JohnnyRaz gave me, when i tried to take it off.

 

[moose]

trying to make volume knobs. making the knobs is easy; bar getting them to fit on the pots. a 6mm hole is too big, 5mm way too small. so i got a 5.5mm bit, and it's still so tight it did this to the old pot JohnnyRaz gave me, when i tried to take it off.View attachment 16842

View attachment 16843

When I have to put a non fitting plastic knob on a pot I heat an old pot shaft and push it into the knob. When remove the shaft again it should slip straight on to a new pot with perfect fit. Same trick might work with a wooden knob too. Just make sure the two pots have same fit. There's 18 and 32 teeth versions. 18 is US and 32 is import usually.

 

[Weepsie]

a chap i know has a mexican strat and was saying to me the frets need to be redone - he'd been considering having a go at it himself, but was also thinking that buying the right tools to do so might be a waste given there was a strong likelihood he'd never need to use them again. is it something best left to the pros? and is it generally an expensive job?

Cheers for asking magic. Turns out my ancient login is still valid. Another forum to explore..


Anyway, I'd be thinking it might need a refret. Need to contact a few places

 

[JohnnyRaz]

trying to make volume knobs. making the knobs is easy; bar getting them to fit on the pots. a 6mm hole is too big, 5mm way too small. so i got a 5.5mm bit, and it's still so tight it did this to the old pot JohnnyRaz gave me, when i tried to take it off.View attachment 16842

View attachment 16843

Would suggest a drop of oil, or drill the hole wider and wrap pot shaft with either strip of sandpaper or insulating tape.

Moose’s solution is more elegant..and it seems you’ve found yourself in possession of a pot shaft

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Coming together - I think I’m going to risk using the router to do the sides.. have to make a template first!

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Thanks - the router actually came with a template collar for the bit - which works great. Problem is the template itself in this case wasn’t my finest work!

so I can safely say the router will do 2/3 of the things I might use it for..

edging a nearly 45mm chunk of wood which is 50% fairly hard wood, and 50% absolutely rock hard old mahogany was a little beyond its 600W capabilities. Grand up to 2-5mm of edge to trim - really struggled beyond that.

Would probably be grand on softer wood.

has left me with 90degree edges, but a lot of tidying up to be done.

some gluing, rasping and sanding in my immediate future

 

[magicbastarder]

did you use it for the neck pocket, or did you do that by hand? on my guitar i had it easy as i had a premade neck and could use the stock body as a template.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

did you use it for the neck pocket, or did you do that by hand? on my guitar i had it easy as i had a premade neck and could use the stock body as a template.

I did the neck pocket by hand - as guitar body is effectively two layers I sawed out of the top one.

I made a template for the edging - it worked well overall in terms of absolute principle , just the router struggled, and tore/went rogue in one or two spots

You’ll see in the picture I was actually trying to shave off quite a bit in places