Whats on your work bench?

[nomadh]

@jtcnj You build as many guitars as I modify What do you do with them. Most of what I mod are SX guitars and I've not done well selling them on Reverb so I usually give them away I know that's a little stupid but they don't get played much otherwise.

I haven't done a lot of them.

I'm not a flipper, most of what I post is fixing up guitars I plan to keep, until something changes. Some are beater rescues I got cheap, and often have the parts on hand for the repair or somewhat of an upgrade. I have used good budget parts left over from when I went overboard with the "upgrade everything" mindset I had early on.

I had sold off several, with no real intention of buying anything else, but then, well things happen......

I sell locally on CL or FB Marketplace. I did sell one or two on Reverb, but mainly the shipping cost increases have kept me away. And The Man is watching now so....

I don't go crazy on upgrades, and sell them for what I can get. I just hope to minimize the loss dollar wise. But, that loss is the cost of owning and playing them for months or years, and then they move on.

The 3 AXL LP types I did were mostly because the bare husks and some of the parts were dirt cheap. The P90 Jr husk I got from @honyock , along with a wrap around bridge - hoping it would end my search for the right P90 guitar. It did, thanks Nate!

The journey is what led me to make the "what is your end game in buying guitars" thread. I have learned what I like or don't, which has a lot of value in itself.

Right now I'm liking strats more than I ever did before, with the specs I prefer. The 2 Squier SE strat rescues I'm working on now I hope to be keepers, one SSS, the other HSS.

The Axl lp from ibuy or ubuyguitar or something like that? I have 1 I bought as a project for when retired. So far it hast happened it seems im better at reading about projects that doing them. Good thing he went out of biz. I do not need more cool weird guitar stuff.

[andrewsrea]

Finally got a date with my wife, who is handy with the Cricut machine and she did the vinyl letters for the knob ID. The other graphics are my first attempt at laser-jet stickers. I really have to learn how to silk-screen pedals, so I can do more colorful graphics on dark backgrounds.

The AMI Dualism Overdrive. The right 'green' side is a modified ODR-1, which allows the low-end 'fat' in the distortion character to be dialed-in to taste. The left 'blue' side is a King of Tone, but also can be quickly internally adjusted to a Marshall Blues Breaker. I changed of some of the clipping components to make the tone react more like a tube amp when it is getting onery. Both sides can operate at once with the 'green' feeding the 'blue,' which is nice if both pedals are on low gain settings.

AMI Dualism 2023-2.jpg

AMI Dualism 2023-1.jpg

[Partscaster]

Just had a strat pickup with stripped bobbin's mounting screw thread. Pickup kept slipping down off screw as I tightened.

Went to aubuchon and got a 6-32 square nut, and some Loctite brand SuperGlue which is a thicker glue and wont run off a flat or tilted surface. Small tube for less than 3$. Worked great and quick with a few dabs onto bobbins and placed nut and started screw threads to be sure position lined up as needed. I did have to remove a small piece of wood to accommodate the square nut corner that overhung the bobbins edge by just a little. Couldnt find 6-32 regular hex nut, which likely would have had a more streamlined profile.

None the less, pickup is working great again.

[Partscaster]

That pickup set I switched in had been in storage for quite a while as it didnt mesh well with a couple alder body strats I'd built.
It hadnt found a matching home. I thought it was a little bright and just not great.
Well, my old basswood 85' MIJ Squier that has the groovy sanded back paint layers..is a perfect match. Shazam!!!
Thats good to find out. My first strat from 85', is back to Top Shelf form.

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[jtcnj]

SG Tribute got the D and G bone nuts slots filled and re-cut at angle about halfway towards tuners.
Still not great / need to finesse the slots a bit more.

[Rollin Hand]

I ffinally found the back cover of my Watson Wolfgang copy and installed it. Weirdly enough, most of the lost high end came back. Interesting.

[andrewsrea]

Building an AMI 'Dumbliscious' pedal for a local country player. He plays guitar and a mean fiddle in a popular 90's country band in my area, who had to have one after trying his friend's.

AMI Dumbliscious - EP build 7-18-2023.jpg

[mozz]

Just had a strat pickup with stripped bobbin's mounting screw thread. Pickup kept slipping down off screw as I tightened.

Went to aubuchon and got a 6-32 square nut, and some Loctite brand SuperGlue which is a thicker glue and wont run off a flat or tilted surface. Small tube for less than 3$. Worked great and quick with a few dabs onto bobbins and placed nut and started screw threads to be sure position lined up as needed. I did have to remove a small piece of wood to accommodate the square nut corner that overhung the bobbins edge by just a little. Couldnt find 6-32 regular hex nut, which likely would have had a more streamlined profile.

None the less, pickup is working great again.

Would have used one of these things.

IMG_20230719_195553082~3.jpg

[Partscaster]

That looks good...what are they called?
Would it be able to slide in enough to line up with screw?
Cant be any more overhang/extra outside of bobbins footprint than the square nut that forced me to cut away some of the rout wall. Thanks.



Found them....U Nuts! Thanks

[glasshand]

That looks good...what are they called?
Would it be able to slide in enough to line up with screw?
Cant be any more overhang/extra outside of bobbins footprint than the square nut that forced me to cut away some of the rout wall. Thanks.



Found them....U Nuts! Thanks

I could have used one of those recently! Good to know what they're called. My only question would be finding one small enough small enough to work on a pickup.

[andrewsrea]

That looks good...what are they called?
Would it be able to slide in enough to line up with screw?
Cant be any more overhang/extra outside of bobbins footprint than the square nut that forced me to cut away some of the rout wall. Thanks.



Found them....U Nuts! Thanks

I could have used one of those recently! Good to know what they're called. My only question would be finding one small enough small enough to work on a pickup.

I've seen them that small, but don't know a supplier off the top of my head. I typically find a nut which fits, butcher's wax the threads with a toothpick and super glue (more gummy / heavy than viscous type) it to the pickup base leg. Then again and unless it is a vintage PAF or Ttop, I just replace the pickup base.

EDIT: I also use a super glue fixer spray, to immediately harden the glue to keep it from running where you don't want it. Then let it cure 24 hours, before installing.

[mozz]

On a Strat pickup i think it would overhang but maybe not if slid over the wider part. You could then file or grind away any overhang. Other choice might be to epoxy the stripped hole, then drill and tap. It would hold the 6/32 screw ok as long as the spring pressure wasn't too much.

Edit: another idea would be to place another piece of flatwork on the bottom, that is if it's a fiber wound bobbin pickup instead of plastic.

[mozz]

Usually don't do this to old radios, but since the speaker cutout was 8" and the power transformer had the right current and voltage, it became a Champ. Ripped out the field coil speaker, all unnecessary parts, reglued all the seams so it wouldn't rattle apart. Last picture is of some transistors. Piece of test gear from Philips, Holland, 1969 date coded. BC107 and BC109's transistors as possibly used in early fuzz faces when switched over to silicon and also great in wahs.

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[andrewsrea]

Usually don't do this to old radios, but since the speaker cutout was 8" and the power transformer had the right current and voltage, it became a Champ. Ripped out the field coil speaker, all unnecessary parts, reglued all the seams so it wouldn't rattle apart. Last picture is of some transistors. Piece of test gear from Philips, Holland, 1969 date coded. BC107 and BC109's transistors as possibly used in early fuzz faces when switched over to silicon and also great in wahs.

IMG_20230718_193633277_HDR.jpg

IMG_20230718_193646000.jpg

IMG_20230718_193817308_HDR.jpg

Very cool. I thought of restoring an old radio, but remember the FCC was doing away with analog carrier signals. In that light, this is a fantastic repurpose!

[andrewsrea]

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1966 Kalamazoo Bass refinish. About half-way complete on its old-school nitro candy apple red finish. Onto leveling, the touch up with red toner and then on to clear coats!

Looking for some low-humidity days!

[deeaa]

Practicing putting on SS frets on a junk neck...going to refret all my guitars with SS ones.

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[Rollin Hand]

Practicing putting on SS frets on a junk neck...going to refret all my guitars with SS ones.

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I want to try that, but with regular frets to start. Just to see if I can.

Hey, I can't be as bad at this as I am at wiring!

[deeaa]

Practicing putting on SS frets on a junk neck...going to refret all my guitars with SS ones.

Sent from my M2103K19G using Tapatalk

I want to try that, but with regular frets to start. Just to see if I can.

Hey, I can't be as bad at this as I am at wiring!

It's simple work, but I'd definitely recommend getting a few good tools first, such as thongs with a flat head for pulling off old frets and a Dremel or a fret cutter and such, along with normal fret level/crown tools....and a cordless drill, polishing machine, etc etc.And remember, it also requires one to make a new nut and files for that as well. I've been collecting tools for years since I never wanted to drop like $200 in tools at once.

But if you have the tools and get pre-radiused frets, it's really just tinkering diligently. I need good magnifying eyeglasses as well for sure

Don't want to jinx it yet either but in a way it seems to me SS frets may turn out to be easier to install even, because they don't bend easily when you press or hammer them in...as long as you have sanded the fretboard real well, you can pretty much use a plastic hammer to drive them in, and they won't deform...I tested five frets on the scrap board and could easily get them all perfectly level with no need for leveling whatsoever because of that.

It's just a matter of getting the ends done that's more challenging but I'm hoping this idea of using a temporary board for that turns out a success.

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[andrewsrea]

Practicing putting on SS frets on a junk neck...going to refret all my guitars with SS ones.

Sent from my M2103K19G using Tapatalk

Very cool and very brave.

I do nickel frets and used a piece of scrap stainless steel fret to see if my cutting and filing tools were up to the task and they are not. From people I know with nickel strings and SS frets, their strings divot and wear out faster than with nickle frets. I already have a problem with early diviots, so I personally shy away from SS.

Let us know how you like them!

[mozz]

Removing the old frets without chipping the rosewood is the problem I had. Maybe heat would have helped.

[deeaa]

Removing the old frets without chipping the rosewood is the problem I had. Maybe heat would have helped.

We will see, but I usually shred strings with a pick and change quite often...

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[deeaa]

Removing the old frets without chipping the rosewood is the problem I had. Maybe heat would have helped.

I'm using an old clothes iron to heat them up real well, and that seems to work pretty nice. Worked great with the test neck.

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[Partscaster]

Took my 212 Seismic brand cab and set it up for traditional piggybacking with the Tremolux head.
Put top handle on cab so 1 arm can wrestle it, and the other arm, the head.
Put tilt back legs on it.
Put piggyback bushings into top of cab to accept head with nice hand tighten thumb screws.

The 64 piggyback head even has a trough on under side so it pockets around the 212 cab's new top mount carry handle allowing all 4 feet of the head to rest firmly on the 212's top. Head is then locked down with thumb screws thru retractable "piggyback" metal brackets that Tremolux/BandMaster/Bassman heads came with back in the day. And head becomes very sturdily unified with cab for playing. Easily becomes two pieces again for transport.

Cab has a Weber alnico 12A125-A 20 watts ( verses my often favorite 30 watt version of same. 20 watt will be brighter than 30, earlier breakup), that being matched with a similar version with Hemp cone, 12A125-H which brings a warmer tone with rounded highs. These are both of Weber's vintage/classic series and aim for early 60's Jensen tone with some scooped mids and woody tone, available with several differing cone variants. I already had them kicking around unused as the 12a125-A at 30w is my favorite speaker and in a 5e3 and Gibson Falcon. Turns out these unused two are a good match being similar at heart, but one voiced brighter and the other warmer. Both 8ohm and in parallel to get down to 4 ohms for the Tremolux head.

Piggyback. Full Tilt Boogie.

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[jtcnj]

Dean V79 had a bad vol pot when i got it a year ago. just a little dead spot coming off 10.
Hadn't played it in a few weeks, figured I would get to it.

So I replaced it, then realized it was the Bridge vol that was bad, not the Neck vol I just replaced - Yikes!!
(**stands in corner facing wall with head hung low**)

[Rollin Hand]

Dean V79 had a bad vol pot when i got it a year ago. just a little dead spot coming off 10.
Hadn't played it in a few weeks, figured I would get to it.

So I replaced it, then realized it was the Bridge vol that was bad, not the Neck vol I just replaced - Yikes!!
(**stands in corner facing wall with head hung low**)

Hey, I once ground out the wrong side of a trem route to make room for a beefy trem arm socket, so clearly this stuff happens to the best of us We aren't pros so no need for shame.