New guitar incoming for finishing and assembly

ThePrettyDamned

Tuners in for test fitting today. This is the second time I've drilled a 3-a-side headstock, and it went... About as well as last time - I'd say "in tolerance" rather than perfect. The bottom left (bass-side) tuner is slightly the wrong angle - luckily not visible when the buttons are anywhere other than perfectly aligned! Oops. 

I'm terrified of drilling the control cavity. It'll be two 10mm hole for the volume pots and 1 12mm (!) hole for the toggle. I still need to decide on layout - maybe I'll have the switch at the top, then neck volume, then bridge, but we'll see. That's tomorrow afternoon's job. If anyone has advice on that...!

 

Strangefan

This is a brilliant thread.

ThePrettyDamned

First pickup ring in as well. Decided I had enough light. Definitely not anymore! Bridge pickup, strap pin holes and control cavity holes can wait till tomorrow afternoon.

 
Picture makes it look wonky but it's just optical distortion from a wide lens being so close. These are the easy ones. 

ThePrettyDamned

Strangefan said:

This is a brilliant thread.

It's mostly garbage, but I'm documenting it for me more than anything - so next time I can do better. 

ThePrettyDamned

Hmm, weird thing happened. The headstock has a hairline crack around the b string tuner.

 
I don't recall this being there yesterday, so I imagine it's the screw - perhaps the hole was slightly the wrong size, or I was out of tolerance after all. 

Does anyone have any ideas on repair? I'm thinking I can use some superglue and clamp it, which should be okay I think, or I can fill the drilled screwed holes and try redrilling. Is that worthwhile? Perhaps @WezV you have some experience in this sort of repair..? Appreciate any help! 

ThePrettyDamned

Hmm, I think I need to fill and redrill. Since removing the tuner, it has closed and I can't see it - I wonder if the tuner was slightly misaligned and pushing on the bushing...? Bit weird. I'll refit the tuner and see if it causes the gap to happen again, but I think it needs superglue and clamping. 

@icbm would your toothpick-and-woodglue method be suitable? I can't see why not... 

paulnb57

Looks to me like
a) the pilot hole was a bit small and the screw caused the wood to split, or
b) the bushing was really tight causing the split



if “a” Id drill it out a little larger, plug the screw hole and redrill a slightly bigger hole than before.
if “b” sand the bushing hole a little to make the bushing a slightly looser fit

If you can open the crack up a little, Id be inclined to push a bit of glue into the split….

ThePrettyDamned

paulnb57 said:

Looks to me like
a) the pilot hole was a bit small and the screw caused the wood to split, or
b) the bushing was really tight causing the split



if “a” Id drill it out a little larger, plug the screw hole and redrill a slightly bigger hole than before.
if “b” sand the bushing hole a little to make the bushing a slightly looser fit

If you can open the crack up a little, Id be inclined to push a bit of glue into the split….

Thanks, I'll definitely try to glue the crack. I think I will fill and redrill - if I can get a toothpick and wood glue in, it should be fine, rather than using wood filler.

I used a 1.5mm hole but I'll redrill with a 2mm bit. The screws went in fine I thought - but I'm more used to screwing into maple which is near-invincible... 

paulnb57

Sounds like a plan, really those screws just hold the tuner, in place so I have found that quite a large pilot hole works well, be aware that cranking tuner screws into maple or too small a hole can cause the screw to break off, especially on cheaper tuners, when that happens it is a whole world of pain, I know from experience…..I’d much rather be in your situation!…

ThePrettyDamned

paulnb57 said:

Sounds like a plan, really those screws just hold the tuner, in place so I have found that quite a large pilot hole works well, be aware that cranking tuner screws into maple or too small a hole can cause the screw to break off, especially on cheaper tuners, when that happens it is a whole world of pain, I know from experience…..I’d much rather be in your situation!…

Here is where I'm at now - lesson is learned! All drilled out to 2mm, no need to fill all the holes - I'll just fill these two, as it might reinforce the crack that now exists. I hope it isn't going to cause structural issues - it was impossible to get superglue in, I couldn't open it, so I just drenched the area then clamped - hopefully it'll work well enough!

 
Really appreciate the help. I think it was the pilot holes being a bit tight - 2mm still provides plenty for the threads to cut, so 1.5 was probably pushing it. I should have tested. 

paulnb57

Im sure it will be fine…

ThePrettyDamned

paulnb57 said:

Im sure it will be fine…

If it's not, I'll blame you personally and invoice you for the work @Corvus puts in to remedy.

 

Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine. The absolute, worst case scenario is it falls off and I need to remove that wing and make a new one. I'd see that as a learning opportunity - I ballsed it up, so I'll fix it.

For what it's worth, I literally couldn't see the hairline with the screws removed (and with them in it returned - so that is the issue). So I know the new holes will be fine, I just need to make sure that crack has been healed properly. I'll find out in a few days I suppose, give the glue as much time as needed... 

Corvus

That'll fix fine, but get rid of CA on the surface if you're going to be staining there.

Were the bushes at all fighty to get in? They'd be more likely to cause a split being so much bigger vs the screws, and their holes going all the way through. Might be the split ran to the screw holes as a path of least resistance type of thing.
If the bushes need anything more than pressing in by hand or the lightest tap from a small #1 Adjusting Tool, the holes need a bit of a fettle.

ThePrettyDamned

Corvus said:

That'll fix fine, but get rid of CA on the surface if you're going to be staining there.

Were the bushes at all fighty to get in? They'd be more likely to cause a split being so much bigger vs the screws, and their holes going all the way through. Might be the split ran to the screw holes as a path of least resistance type of thing.
If the bushes need anything more than pressing in by hand or the lightest tap from a small #1 Adjusting Tool, the holes need a bit of a fettle.

Nah, they went in a treat - just a gentle press from fingertips.

Edit: I'll be sanding off the CA, should be sanding tomorrow, and may even get around to applying grain filler. Depends how long it takes to get the CA removed! I wiped off most excess (which left me with some gorgeous looking cotton fibres) so there is a need to sand. Not intending to stain I think - quite like just natural mahogany. 

ThePrettyDamned

Wiring options. I intend on drilling today, so need to decide which I'd prefer. Some options below, the first two are my current picks. 

1. Don't like this for looks. Might not be practical either for neck pickup volume. 


2. Looks more balanced, should work. Decent spacing, too. 



3. Straight line - other top choice. Doesn't seem as practical as number 2 but looks nice and clean. 

 
4. Looks a bit cramped but would work well and look nice. 

WezV

Missed the split question but looks like your sorted.

You really need to lay out the controls on the from to see what works.  You can trace the cavity and body outline to get approximate locations on the front

ThePrettyDamned

WezV said:

Missed the split question but looks like your sorted.

You really need to lay out the controls on the from to see what works.  You can trace the cavity and body outline to get approximate locations on the front

Yes, I'll be doing just that - I have been playing this morning and think the second option will work best, but I've drawn the cavity on the front and will be having a think...

Hopefully will update with successful holes later today! 

ThePrettyDamned

This is my final choice I think.

 


This is just rough layout - I'll measure the locations before I drill so the switch and bridge volume are equidistant from the neck volume, that should make it look "correct" from the front. Lots of space, toggle is oriented well for how I play (ie more horizontal rather than diagonal) and I'll be able to use it as a killswitch. 

ThePrettyDamned

Okay, measured once and twice. Going to have a cup of tea while I research whether I should drill an 8mm hole and ream to 9.5mm for the pots or just drill a 10mm hole. Fear factor increased by 100.

Edit: calipers show the cts pots are a bit under 10mm. So I'm going to use a smaller bit and then a reamer - this should let me get a nice snug fit and minimise risk for me. 

ThePrettyDamned

First success. Lots of tear-out, but I drilled to 6mm then hand-reamed to a snug fit, which gave a clean finish. Literally shaking, if it had gone wrong I'd have been devastated.



As it is, it's in the right orientation and was located very well on both sides. Just need to do the pots after lunch and the scariest part is done and dusted. Phew...