So I bought this body from Guitarbuild...

victorludorum

Can you still send it back?

lovestrat74

victorludorum said:

Can you still send it back?

Well they certainly have not mentioned this in any of our correspondence. I don't really want to return it tbh. Just want them to know that they have made some errors in their build and should look to rectify them for future customers, but the penny has not dropped yet and they appear to be happy with their efforts, and happy to put the onus on the customer.

WezV

a chisel, dremel or carving knife would all work well for nibbling out the section under the wiring channel. 

I would still drill it wider first... make sure you use some long drill bits as you want to keep the chuck well away from the body.  you need to be very careful of the drill grabbing and doing it's own thing, more so when enlarging a hole  

for the pickup ring screw, you can always fit it without the wires in place, then take it off and cut the screw shorter.  This works if you are struggling to find a set that matches well and fits the countersink of the ring.  Most sold as pickup ring screws will be too long for this, most scratchplate screws will be a better length, but have too big a head to sit nicely in the ring

Sporky

As Wez says, be very careful with long drill bits - even the good ones will have their own ideas about the path they should follow. 

lovestrat74

WezV said:

a chisel, dremel or carving knife would all work well for nibbling out the section under the wiring channel. 

I would still drill it wider first... make sure you use some long drill bits as you want to keep the chuck well away from the body.  you need to be very careful of the drill grabbing and doing it's own thing, more so when enlarging a hole  

for the pickup ring screw, you can always fit it without the wires in place, then take it off and cut the screw shorter.  This works if you are struggling to find a set that matches well and fits the countersink of the ring.  Most sold as pickup ring screws will be too long for this, most scratchplate screws will be a better length, but have too big a head to sit nicely in the ring

Cheers @wezv thanks for all the sound advice. Even though some of this could have been avoided at source I am looking forward to the challenge  

lovestrat74

Sporky said:

As Wez says, be very careful with long drill bits - even the good ones will have their own ideas about the path they should follow. 

I watch that ginger fella on youtube - Pusheen? or something like that - and he advises to drill in reverse when widen holes. More control I guess  

WezV

that can work , but you will need to do it in steps if going more than a mm larger.  Its a great way to clean paint out of holes after finishing

lovestrat74

WezV said:

that can work , but you will need to do it in steps if going more than a mm larger.  Its a great way to clean paint out of holes after finishing

I've gone for an 8mm and a 10mm bit 

WezV

cool, just take your time as there is more chance of overheating when running  a drill backwards.  It will work fine on some and really struggle on others, but mahogany should be fine

SteveRobinson

lovestrat74 said:

Sporky said:

As Wez says, be very careful with long drill bits - even the good ones will have their own ideas about the path they should follow. 

I watch that ginger fella on youtube - Pusheen? or something like that - and he advises to drill in reverse when widen holes. More control I guess  

Yes, it stops the drill from pulling itself out the other side

M1ck

lovestrat74 said:

victorludorum said:

Can you still send it back?

Well they certainly have not mentioned this in any of our correspondence. I don't really want to return it tbh. Just want them to know that they have made some errors in their build and should look to rectify them for future customers, but the penny has not dropped yet and they appear to be happy with their efforts, and happy to put the onus on the customer.

@lovestrat74 ;Whilst satisfied with the body I got from GuitarBuild there were areas that could have been better with mine too.
I bought a t-style body with rear mounted controls, I had previously bought a mounted harness from @sixstringsupplies for a different project which was great but my final build didn’t need the control plate. The holes for the posts and switch in the body didn’t align with the ‘std’ positions on the control plate so I had to rearrange the fixing centers of the correctly supplied harness. 

At the time of buying the body I got a rear cover plate for the control cavity, this was a good match and a very good fit but not the same size as a std blank cover plate so if my GuitarBuild cover plate gets damaged or mislaid I can’t just use a std blank one. 

Neither of these was a dealbreaker nor will they deter me from buying another body from GuitarBuild.

I would have thought a lot of GuitarBuilds business is from people like myself ‘having a go’ at building something and with that in mind they should by supplying something that is ready to go, making assumptions that the customer knows what a ‘nibbler’ is or even how to use one is bad form IMO - I didn’t know what  one was!. There is a reasonable expectation (certainly from me) that as long as I am using std parts they should fit without further fettling or resorting to buying thinner wire!
still looking forward to seeing it completed - that body looks great. 

lovestrat74

M1ck said:

lovestrat74 said:

victorludorum said:

Can you still send it back?

Well they certainly have not mentioned this in any of our correspondence. I don't really want to return it tbh. Just want them to know that they have made some errors in their build and should look to rectify them for future customers, but the penny has not dropped yet and they appear to be happy with their efforts, and happy to put the onus on the customer.

@lovestrat74 ;;Whilst satisfied with the body I got from GuitarBuild there were areas that could have been better with mine too.
I bought a t-style body with rear mounted controls, I had previously bought a mounted harness from @sixstringsupplies for a different project which was great but my final build didn’t need the control plate. The holes for the posts and switch in the body didn’t align with the ‘std’ positions on the control plate so I had to rearrange the fixing centers of the correctly supplied harness. 

At the time of buying the body I got a rear cover plate for the control cavity, this was a good match and a very good fit but not the same size as a std blank cover plate so if my GuitarBuild cover plate gets damaged or mislaid I can’t just use a std blank one. 

Neither of these was a dealbreaker nor will they deter me from buying another body from GuitarBuild.

I would have thought a lot of GuitarBuilds business is from people like myself ‘having a go’ at building something and with that in mind they should by supplying something that is ready to go, making assumptions that the customer knows what a ‘nibbler’ is or even how to use one is bad form IMO - I didn’t know what  one was!. There is a reasonable expectation (certainly from me) that as long as I am using std parts they should fit without further fettling or resorting to buying thinner wire!
still looking forward to seeing it completed - that body looks great. 

I haven't even given the back plates a thought. Where did you get yours @M1ck ? I made my own for the P90 Tele but that was arduous to say the least..

M1ck

lovestrat74 said:
I haven't even given the back plates a thought. Where did you get yours @M1ck ? I made my own for the P90 Tele but that was arduous to say the least..

@lovestrat74 ;
I got my control cavity back/cover plate from GuitarBuild at the point of order, I should point out that the body I got was a custom order and at some point in the order I was asked if I wanted one. 

lovestrat74

M1ck said:

lovestrat74 said:
I haven't even given the back plates a thought. Where did you get yours @M1ck ? I made my own for the P90 Tele but that was arduous to say the least..

@lovestrat74 ;
I got my control cavity back/cover plate from GuitarBuild at the point of order, I should point out that the body I got was a custom order and at some point in the order I was asked if I wanted one. 

I didn't know they did them. Wonder if they are the same specs/size as Gibson.

M1ck

@lovestrat74 ;
You’ve probably already seen this but just in case -
https://www.guitarbuild.co.uk/collections/covers

lovestrat74

M1ck said:

@lovestrat74 ;
You’ve probably already seen this but just in case -
https://www.guitarbuild.co.uk/collections/covers

None in shape I need but I'll probably pick one up like this https://www.axesrus.co.uk/Control-Plate-Cover-Spec-1-p/m30backplate.htm ;

guitarcookie1

I returned the last two bodies that I ordered from GuitarBuild (tele & jazz shapes).

Both had issues:
Neck pocket not deep enough to fit a Fender neck
Wiring holes not large enough
No channels under the pickups to accommodate any wiring
Jack socket hole not large enough
Too much wood behind the jack socket hole to fit the jack itself

Not exactly minor fettling needed..

lovestrat74

guitarcookie1 said:

I returned the last two bodies that I ordered from GuitarBuild (tele & jazz shapes).

Both had issues:
Neck pocket not deep enough to fit a Fender neck
Wiring holes not large enough
No channels under the pickups to accommodate any wiring
Jack socket hole not large enough
Too much wood behind the jack socket hole to fit the jack itself

Not exactly minor fettling needed..

Haven't even checked the jack socket yet, but have the same issues as you with regards to wiring holes and channels in pickup routes. I wouldn't mind if this came from Booboos...

impmann

guitarcookie1 said:

I returned the last two bodies that I ordered from GuitarBuild (tele & jazz shapes).

Both had issues:
Neck pocket not deep enough to fit a Fender neck
Wiring holes not large enough
No channels under the pickups to accommodate any wiring
Jack socket hole not large enough
Too much wood behind the jack socket hole to fit the jack itself

Not exactly minor fettling needed..

Thats really odd, as they use CNC machines and I've built a few Tele bodies up from them that have been spot on, just needing final sand and finish. I used a Fender neck on one and a Squier on another, both were fab.

Headphones

impmann said:

guitarcookie1 said:

I returned the last two bodies that I ordered from GuitarBuild (tele & jazz shapes).

Both had issues:
Neck pocket not deep enough to fit a Fender neck
Wiring holes not large enough
No channels under the pickups to accommodate any wiring
Jack socket hole not large enough
Too much wood behind the jack socket hole to fit the jack itself

Not exactly minor fettling needed..

Thats really odd, as they use CNC machines and I've built a few Tele bodies up from them that have been spot on, just needing final sand and finish. I used a Fender neck on one and a Squier on another, both were fab.

Judging by the "stock just arrived" emails they regularly send out, I'd suggest it's not the Guitarbuild business itself that cuts most of the bodies, CNC or otherwise.