Whats on your work bench?

[peskypesky]

Have you worked with the Montana cans before? I'd be curious to hear your experience. I did a project with Montana GOLD cans a while back, and while they're very high-quality, one thing I discovered was that the pressure was very low, meaning that the spray is affected even more than usual by wind, so you need a really still place to use them.

Nope. This will be the first time.
Thanks for the tip!

I'll use it in a still area.

[Rollin Hand]

Because I can't leave well enough alone, I made a titch more progress on Watson. I got these Alpha Pro pots from Next Gen guitars here in Ottawa.

https://nextgenguitars.ca/products/alph ... rance.html

But, they are bigger than the holes allow (hate when that happens ), so I broke out the step bits and driled the holes a notch bigger. That should do the trick!

Now the problem is that the new solder tips I bought don't fit my soldering station. Rather than use a tiny pointy tip to solder wires to the back of the pots, I bought another iron that includes all the tips I would need for $15 off Amazon. It just has to last me through a few jobs..... (crosses fingers)

[tobijohn]

...
But, they are bigger than the holes allow (hate when that happens ), so I broke out the step bits and driled the holes a notch bigger. That should do the trick!

This is an issue also when replacing the stock metric pots with larger SAE CTS/Bourn pots and Switchcraft toggle switches, so I use one of these which works fast and keeps the holes centered. If you think you'll need it more than a couple times, the $10 is well worth it:

www.amazon.com/General-Tools-130-3-175m ... 560&sr=8-4

[Rollin Hand]

Yeah,I should buy one of those, but yhe step bits worked great, and.....

POWER TOOLS!

[glasshand]

Started clear-coating my SX Hawk, once I got the color coat to where I was happy with it. I will say that the Rustoleum Painter's Touch cans don't seem to have awesome coverage - you need quite a few cans to get a good layer on. But then again, it was pretty windy for spraying the other day, which didn't help. I know in the past I've said that NYC has two seasons, which are "too cold and dry for spray painting" and "too hot and humid for spray painting", but I feel like I need to add a third season: beautiful, perfect temperature and humidity...and too damn windy for spray painting. I would kill for a studio where I could do this kind of thing.

[tobijohn]

... I would kill for a studio where I could do this kind of thing.

How about a temporary paint booth next time:

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1971&p=26489&hilit ... oth#p26489

[mickey]

...
But, they are bigger than the holes allow (hate when that happens ), so I broke out the step bits and driled the holes a notch bigger. That should do the trick!

This is an issue also when replacing the stock metric pots with larger SAE CTS/Bourn pots and Switchcraft toggle switches, so I use one of these which works fast and keeps the holes centered. If you think you'll need it more than a couple times, the $10 is well worth it:

www.amazon.com/General-Tools-130-3-175m ... 560&sr=8-4

I picked mine up at the local Harbor Freight store for about $2.

[glasshand]

... I would kill for a studio where I could do this kind of thing.

How about a temporary paint booth next time:

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1971&p=26489&hilit ... oth#p26489

I've considered something like it! That IKEA fabric wardrobe you mention might do the trick...and I can just about see an IKEA from my house. (Probably have to put some cinderblocks or something in the bottom of it to prevent the whole thing from tipping over, but that's relatively easily solved.)

[rrobbone]

My projects

1: I need to build up the courage to break out the soldering iron and put my Squier Affinity Telecaster back together.
2. I got a can of spray paint for one of my cheap Squier Strats.
tennessee-montana-professional-artist-spray-paint-078505-64_1000.jpg
-


I really want something like this:
my favorite color Strat1.jpg
my favorite color Strat.jpg



and I found this color, which is pretty close:
Rustoleum Pearl Mist Metallic.jpg


But is out of stock everywhere and has been for months. Maybe no longer being made.

I have experience with Montana, so as an FYI:

Montana Gold is a low pressure paint with a semi-gloss finish. It is usually sold with a "skinny cap," used for fine lines and detail (around 2cm).

Montana Black is high pressure flat finish, and comes with a "fat cap," used for fast coverage.

Gold has a much larger color palette, and is easier to control with less chance for splashback and runs. Black still has a very decent, if smaller color palette. Montana is primarily graffiti paint, so it's vibrant and easy to apply. It's meant for mostly porous surfaces, so it sets up and spreads well. When you use it, make very sure you're in the proper temperature and humidity conditions - it can be very temperamental. Too humid, and it will run. Too arid, and it will dry before it hits the surface - especially Gold.

I prep sand to 220, then mist a light coat and let dry. Then go a little heavier with each successive coat, 4-5 coats minimum. I find that I get the best results when I let it flash to the point that it's just slightly tacky before applying the next coat.

I like Montana for stencils and when I can't find the base color I want in other brands. Krylon and Valspar are great for base color coverage. Both will work well with Montana, but run tests before going for the real finish. I stay as far away from Rustoleum products as I can, as I've never had good results with them.

[peskypesky]

My projects

1: I need to build up the courage to break out the soldering iron and put my Squier Affinity Telecaster back together.
2. I got a can of spray paint for one of my cheap Squier Strats.
tennessee-montana-professional-artist-spray-paint-078505-64_1000.jpg
-


I really want something like this:
my favorite color Strat1.jpg
my favorite color Strat.jpg



and I found this color, which is pretty close:
Rustoleum Pearl Mist Metallic.jpg


But is out of stock everywhere and has been for months. Maybe no longer being made.

I have experience with Montana, so as an FYI:

Montana Gold is a low pressure paint with a semi-gloss finish. It is usually sold with a "skinny cap," used for fine lines and detail (around 2cm).

Montana Black is high pressure flat finish, and comes with a "fat cap," used for fast coverage.

Gold has a much larger color palette, and is easier to control with less chance for splashback and runs. Black still has a very decent, if smaller color palette. Montana is primarily graffiti paint, so it's vibrant and easy to apply. It's meant for mostly porous surfaces, so it sets up and spreads well. When you use it, make very sure you're in the proper temperature and humidity conditions - it can be very temperamental. Too humid, and it will run. Too arid, and it will dry before it hits the surface - especially Gold.

I prep sand to 220, then mist a light coat and let dry. Then go a little heavier with each successive coat, 4-5 coats minimum. I find that I get the best results when I let it flash to the point that it's just slightly tacky before applying the next coat.

I like Montana for stencils and when I can't find the base color I want in other brands. Krylon and Valspar are great for base color coverage. Both will work well with Montana, but run tests before going for the real finish. I stay as far away from Rustoleum products as I can, as I've never had good results with them.

Thanks for the info!

[rrobbone]

Forgot to mention: a well prepped sealer or primer coat is vital with Montana.

[Rollin Hand]

Whelp all wired up, in place and working...

...but the pickups seem to be muddier than before. I had to put the pots right up against the bottom of the cavity with no nuts or washers to get them far enough through the top to even put a nut on them Could the contact with the conductive paint et al make the pickups lose some of their zip?

[mozz]

Cap looks like it touching the 3rd pot lug.

[tobijohn]

This is an issue also when replacing the stock metric pots with larger SAE CTS/Bourn pots and Switchcraft toggle switches, so I use one of these which works fast and keeps the holes centered. If you think you'll need it more than a couple times, the $10 is well worth it:

www.amazon.com/General-Tools-130-3-175m ... 560&sr=8-4

I picked mine up at the local Harbor Freight store for about $2.

Yeah, but I was able to order mine and get it wearing only my underwear...

[BatUtilityBelt]

This is an issue also when replacing the stock metric pots with larger SAE CTS/Bourn pots and Switchcraft toggle switches, so I use one of these which works fast and keeps the holes centered. If you think you'll need it more than a couple times, the $10 is well worth it:

www.amazon.com/General-Tools-130-3-175m ... 560&sr=8-4

I picked mine up at the local Harbor Freight store for about $2.

Yeah, but Iwas able to order mine and get it wearing only my underwear...

I wouldn't be surprised to see a dude roaming my Harbor Freight in his underwear, yet I still go there.

[Rollin Hand]

Cap looks like it touching the 3rd pot lug.

I'll check it. Would be nice if it were that simple!

[mickey]

I picked mine up at the local Harbor Freight store for about $2.

Yeah, but Iwas able to order mine and get it wearing only my underwear...

I wouldn't be surprised to see a dude roaming my Harbor Freight in his underwear, yet I still go there.

Nor would I but this is Floriduh!

[Rollin Hand]

Cap looks like it touching the 3rd pot lug.

It was close to touching, but no luck. Now it is DEFINITELY not touching, but the mud remains.

At the risk of causing myself more needless pain, I bought longer-shaft versions of the pots for pickup later this week. This will necessitate doing it all again, but a guy has to learn somehow.

EDIT: I think I'll follow this vid when soldering to the backs of the pots. And the instructor has a kind of Bob Ross thing happening.

[Rollin Hand]

Added a full complement of cheap titanium string lock blocks to the Scope today and....

27f41629-88f0-4fd1-b0ce-b3a9a9e892fa_text.gif (552.1 KiB) Viewed 2255 times

Everything is just more...everything after the install. More sustain, more growl, more mids, more brightness. Just more! Almost like going from dead Fender nickel wounds to a fresh set of Ernie Ball Cobalts.

And, unlike with other bridges, the guitar seems to stay in tune with these blocks, even after aggressive whammy abusage. It makes me think I should try again on another guitar. I have enough of the damn things around.

I am also thinking of getting the string lock screws in titanium now. It's that big of a difference.

[Partscaster]

20220826_141519.jpg

Added a full complement of cheap titanium string lock blocks to the Scope today and....

27f41629-88f0-4fd1-b0ce-b3a9a9e892fa_text.gif

Everything is just more...everything after the install. More sustain, more growl, more mids, more brightness. Just more! Almost like going from dead Fender nickel wounds to a fresh set of Ernie Ball Cobalts.

And, unlike with other bridges, the guitar seems to stay in tune with these blocks, even after aggressive whammy abusage. It makes me think I should try again on another guitar. I have enough of the damn things around.

I am also thinking of getting the string lock screws in titanium now. It's that big of a difference.

That looks amazing.
Alien technology ? Coulda been found in a crop circle.

[Partscaster]

Just touched up the finish on my no-finish strat.

[jtcnj]

Firefly FFLX got fret level.
Wasnt bad, but not great; could have lived with it.
Supposed to be stainless frets, but the alloy is no harder than the several / many others I have done to date.

Afterwards, I ended up having to raise the action from the lowest / no buzz height on the treble side because I couldn't grab the B and e strings with enough meat of my finger tips for bends.

Still need to finish fine tuning the nut.
Really digging this guitar, still all stock components.

[Brendan]

A3 Neck pup for my tele project. Waiting for the neck to arrive on Friday before installing pickguard and pickup.

[Brendan]

I ordered up a new neck for a double-bound tele body I received last week. I didn't feel like finishing a neck, so I went with the Allparts finished lefty tele neck. It looked beautiful out of the box, but I measured the heel and it was just slightly wider than the standard Fender width. It wasn't a big difference. I used to check every MIJ/CIJ Fender lefty I had, including my Ishibashi imports, and the heels were oversized 90% of the time on the lefties. This Allparts neck is MIJ. I really didn't want to make the neck pocket oversized on the new body. I thought about sending it back, but I decided to see how it fit my Agile partscaster tele. Perfect, snug fit. The Agile body already had the rear truss rod access route, so it's a no-brainer.


SO, the Warmoth short scale neck from the Agile will find a new home with the double-bound body. I wanted a different pickguard to go with this new combo, I have quite a few, but the only one that called to me was a single ply Esquire guard. No plans for an Esquire in the future, so I broke out the drill, files and a lot of sandpaper. I'm not going to admit how much time that neck pickup hole took me, but I"m happy with the results. It's my first build with the neck pickup screwed into the body. I just have to fine tune the intonation, The guitar sounded great before, but I plugged it in and it sounds better to my ears. I absolutely love the four way switch.

[tobijohn]

...I wanted a different pickguard to go with this new combo, I have quite a few, but the only one that called to me was a single ply Esquire guard. No plans for an Esquire in the future, so I broke out the drill, files and a lot of sandpaper. I'm not going to admit how much time that neck pickup hole took me, but I"m happy with the results....

You should have talked to me first and saved yourself the time and hassle. I have what you wanted siitting in my pickguard bin and no need for it. Oh well, next time...