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http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/61134/sarge/p1
The upper rear wing needed just some weight relief and then it could be glued. I did this the same way as I do pickup chambers - I hog out with a forstner bit, then straighten the edges with a sharp chisel and then use my diddy bottom bearing router bit to bring it to final depth. I've left the wings a couple of mm oversize at this stage:
Gluing, I used a couple of standard clamps to keep the neck join line tight and then used spool clamps to clamp the edges:
Looks OK - no gaps:
A got the Sims Superquads sent to me direct. That's a lot of pickup!
And a lot of options! Each pickup is made up of 4 coils and a 3-way switch for each gives the option of 'P' Bass (Offset Split); Jazz Bass (Single Coil); Humbucker with a different colour LED for each option
Fitting is actually very easy - they are passive and so the switch PCB simply has a ground, a hot out and in input for the 9v feed for the LED.
A is opting for a simple toggle on/off for each with a master volume and master tone. It will be something like this:
The battery will have locating recess built into the lower wing. The other thing the lower wing has to have is VERY wide cable access to that I can feed those large connectors to the pickups. Again, most of this was done by forstner and chisel using the router just to increase the depth:
So lower wing ready to glue. Then it's time for the pickup chambers...a job for next week
As always, thanks for looking and for the kind comments
Yes, Steinbergers are great, but quite expensive. And yes, someone sent me an 'Overlord' for one project and I had to buy another one to make one workable set from the two...with a couple of spares for inevitable future issues
Those of you who have seen some of my other builds will know that I HATE routers. But there are times when only a router will do. So what I do is try, wherever I can, to use them 'captive' where they cannot go off and do their own thing (which is usually destroying things you don't want destroying ). And for pickup chambers, there are some aspects that need a router.
The method I generally use (remember, this is me just showing what I personally do, not that this is the way it should be done!) is:
Mark the outlines of the pickups+0.5mm accurately on the top. Then drill the corners with a brad-point drill 1mm larger diameter than that of the corners of the pickups:
Then I hog out right up to the line with a forstner to about 5mm shallower than the final depth:
I use a sharp chisel to the line to a depth of about 10mm - this is what the router bit bearing will run along. Notice the slots I'd previously put into the back wing to feed the large loom connectors through:
Then I use a bearing flush cutter (this is on a table but hand router also OK) to tidy up the sides and bring it to final depth:
And then, finally, I chiselled out clearance for the connector block that sits below the bottom of the pickups so that the pickups are now capable of dropping down to the lowest practical position:
So now I no longer need the flat surface of the top for the router, I can glue the fretboard on...and then I can start carving the neck...and those are the next two jobs
Having positioned the two outer ones, I marked the front screw positions and then the two for the middle strings:
Then fixing the tuner bases by these front screws, I could string up to get the splay angle, taking advantage of the individual tuners being able to follow the taper of the string runs, and mark the position for the back screws:
Which then could be screwed in place.
It was effortless to tune the strings to pitch - in fact it was so smooth I ended up 5 or 6 semitones high on a couple of strings just in straightening them. The last headless system I used would have involved quite a bit of effort to reach the same tightness!
Bringing this up to date.
With this propped up against the cupboard, particularly with the three large pickups in place - it was missing something. I realised that the original backplate for the tuners added something visually. Clearly I couldn't use the plate because of the smaller string-string distance I was aiming for...but I could add some visuals:
Yes - that looked better:
Next was the neck carve. A was after a fairly chunky feel so we've gone for a 'D' profile at a mm or so thicker than, say, a Fender and some luminlays for good measure:
And then onto finishing. And here, it being walnut, it simply has to be the @WezV Tru-oil slurry approach. The neck is going to be slurry and buff; the body will be prepared on the same basis but then a couple of extra coats of Tru-oil wiped on to give a light gloss finish:
And then the preparation for the installation of the electrics which I'll cover in the next post
As always, thanks for looking
Absolutely stunning skills and well thought out build ! Walnut top is eye-catching too .
I'll post the finished pics next post, but just a word on a couple of the things fitted:
But for 'best bang for the buck' - the system absolutely gets my vote and I will be fitting them on all future headless builds. And that includes guitars because the guitar versions are just as good
They are a synch to fit - for each pickup you attach the loom and then solder an earth, the hot out and the 9v feed for the LED. Mind you, it does take up quite a bit of real estate...especially with three!!
Before the arty farty stuff, this is a more typical 'leaning up against the amp' pose. Yes - the tuners are clear of the ground
As always, thanks for looking, folks