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Inside
by ckiphen - 09/17/24 09:45 AM
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Leafs
by Gary E. Andrews - 09/12/24 09:36 AM
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I helped out on the set, so I know they are skilled. I taught the actors how to be dynamic.
Last edited by Tom Tracy; 05/01/10 04:59 PM.
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hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha lol this is jusst tooooo funny...................I spit tea all over my monitor....love it glyn
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It was time to venture into unchartered waters. Today I did something that I've never done before. I like the look of the barnwood on the back, but if you look at the sides, you'll see many spots where the wood is missing, rotted away or just not there. Here's a small example of what I'm talking about. If you look closely at some of the earlier photos, you'll see other areas. I just didn't like it and wanted to do something other than use wood filler. In the box where I keep my clamps, I found a strip of maple wood that's been sitting around for well over 30 years. No idea when or why I go it. It's stil very flexible and easy to cut. I'm going to use it on the sides! I held the body in the vise, and began painting a thick coat of hide glue along the edge. Then, I taped the wood to the body: And kept going: Until the wood was completely all the way around. My fingers got too sticky in this process to grab the camera for "inbetween" consecutive shots. I had to clean up and wash my hands to take the final pictures here. Here's another view: Now I wait for the glue to dry, and I'll add some binding to the edges on each side.
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Sunday's final act involved wet sanding, rubbing compound, and finally, waxing the main playing neck: I like the Bowling Alley wax best because it's clear and I think a bit finer than regular butcher's block wax. After waxing I hand buffed with rags to work up a nice shine (and a sweat): Once that was completed, I set it aside, and started the first coat of tru oil on the sympathetic neck: Overall, this was a very productive weekend.
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Lunchtime fun! I removed the tape from the maple side trim. Just two areas left for maple. So I used the flush cutter saw to get a clean edge: Next I cut a piece of maple to fit in this area: Lined up the grain, and spread a layer of glue under the piece: And taped it in place - repeating the steps for the other cap as well:
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Can you send me a poster of you and Napoleon Dynamite? This project is turning out really gorgeous, Tom!
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Well thank you kindly Miss Polly!
I know part of the criterion for this project is to keep all costs under $210.00. I know I haven't spent much of anything on this, since I had most of the parts. BUT, to be fair, we are required to put an estimate on all parts - my total is $205.84. I hope there's no other big expenses.
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The sympathetic neck looks beautiful.
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Amazing carpentry skills, Tom!
"Grits is one of those country-boy words that is both singular and plural-like deer, elk and sheep. I think the singular is appropriate when there's a modifier that makes it clear one is talking about something specific. Like, 'Grits are good for you, but these here grits is tasty.'"~~Joe Wrabek
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Thanks Jean and Tricia - I had to take a little break from this to build something else. One of our Bernese Mountain Dogs got hit by a car (in my own driveway) by a stupid @ss neighbor. So even after x-rays showed nothing broken, she can't use her back feet. She moves around like a walrus and can't get up steps. So I was building a ramp to replace the steps on the deck. Once I finish, she can get up and down as she pleases without having to lift her (over 100 lbs.) all the time.
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Oh, NO! Tom, I'm so sorry to hear that. Hope she will heal quickly. Sounds like nerve damage. Hopefully it will get better when the swelling goes down. Hang in there.
P.S. Cut my thumb badly once and did alot of nerve damage. It was numb from the cut down. They said those nerves might never regenerate. Took a year but they did. Just in case that's what it is.
Last edited by Tricia Baker; 04/01/10 02:36 AM.
"Grits is one of those country-boy words that is both singular and plural-like deer, elk and sheep. I think the singular is appropriate when there's a modifier that makes it clear one is talking about something specific. Like, 'Grits are good for you, but these here grits is tasty.'"~~Joe Wrabek
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It is looking Great Tom. I love seeing the process of how you are making it. Such attention to detail.
"There are no such things as coincidence or chance, everything happens for a reason, though we may not know why at the time it happens." Be sure to check out my new online store. http://www.zazzle.com/tbw_designs
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Oh, NO! Tom, I'm so sorry to hear that. Hope she will heal quickly. Sounds like nerve damage. Hopefully it will get better when the swelling goes down. Hang in there. Could very well be that. It's been about 2 months and not any real signs of improvement. We did get a harness for her so we have a few handles that we can lift her like a suitcase, and it helps.
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Took a bit of a computer break, finished the dog ramp, and did a few more things on this project. There was still too many surface cracks in the back of the body, so I used a spatula to press wood filler into the cracks. I set the body aside, and started work on the sympathetic neck. After a few coats of TruOil, I wet sanded it, then buffed and waxed it. I used the same drill bit (turned by hand) to clean out the gunk in each of the holes. Then began tapping the brass bridges into each of the holes. I cleaned up each bridge with steel wool first. Here's a view of all 12 brass bridges installed. Next, I used a file to level the tops of all of the bridges. Note that this is a "posed" shot. The handle of the file would surely get in the way moving across all the bridges this way. I removed the handle to do the job correctly. Lots of brass dust after leveling them all. The brass bridges are not finished - they still need a string-groove notch in each one, but that's a job for later. Next it was time to install the zither tuning pins. I used the zither tuning tool to "screw" each pin into the holes And all the tuning pins are installed. I set the sympathetic neck aside, and went back to the body. The black binding just arrived, and now it's time to add it. I gather the supplies I need. Here's a posed closeup using the dremel router cutting the channel for the binding. I held the body in the vice so I would have free hands to do this. [img] http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/rockndrtom/route4binding.jpg[/img] You can see in this photo that the tool just doesn't work in tight curved areas. [img] http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/rockndrtom/tightcurves.jpg[/img] For these areas, I clean out the channel with an exacto knife. [img] http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/rockndrtom/xactobladetrim.jpg[/img]
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Great shots, Tom. I love how you show the rough cuts and then the steps that you use to smooth and refine. I love dremel tools. They are so cool.
Also about your poor dog. Is it possible that she has some adhesions from the injury? If it's nerve damage and if the injury is no longer tender, perhaps some heat and massage could restore circulation to the injured muscles. Using the ramp you made may help her exercise more and increase circulation. She may just need more time. When I had nerve damage from a broken bone in my foot, they soaked it in warm water, massaged it and put electronic stimulaters on it. (I forget what they are called but they send little electric shocks (not painful) to the area. It took several months of therapy to restore normalcy.
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Sounds like your describing a Tens Unit Jean.
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks jpfolkspro@gmail.com Skype: Brian Austin Whitney Facebook: www.facebook.com/justplainfolks"Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney "It's easier to be the bigger man when you actually are..." -Brian Austin Whitney "Sometimes all you have to do to inspire humans to greatness is to give them a reason and opportunity to do something great." -Brian Austin Whitney
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Yes, it's like that only it's a stimulator rather than a pain block. It stimulates the blood flow to the injured area to help the nerves heal.
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It is looking Great Tom. I love seeing the process of how you are making it. Such attention to detail. Somehow you snuck in a comment without me seeing it. Thanks for checking it out!
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not sure what to do about the dog just yet. For now, we just lift her like a heavy suitcase and build up our muscles.
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Back to the build. I used up the last of my tube of Duco Cement on the front binding. It just made it around. I squeeze the glue into the groove, then bend and shape the black PVC binding into the groove, and tape it in place. Here's the beginning: Once I started, I got glue all over my fingers and didn't really want to delay the application, so I continued till I finished, cleaned my hands, and snapped another picture. The top is completely bound. After that set for a day, I removed the tape: A bit of cleanup needed, and expected. Next I "rushed a bit" and routed the channel for the binding on the back: A bit of a waste of time, because I should have sanded the back first. Once it's sanded, it shortens the area for the binding a bit and I had to reroute it once again. Here's the back after sanding it again and leveling the wood filler: That looks better. Next, since the back is a very soft wood I gave the back a wash coat of amber stain: Then sealed it with a coat of shellac, which completely soaked into the wood. Once it was dry, I rerouted the edge for the binding. And like the top, there are tight curve areas that still have to be trimmed by hand. Since I didn't have any more Duco Cement, I started to level the top binding. Here's I'm suing a file to move quickly through it. Then I'll sand it, and probably scrape a smooth edge on it. The search for Duco Cement, which I thought was a common household glue, took over 3 hours and 7 stores until I found it. NO other glue works as well. But I got it, and I'm ready to continue with gluing the back binding next.
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I love the character the wood you chose gives to the front of the gitsitar. And the contrasting color of the woods on the sympathetic neck also impresses me.
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I had a break, so I continued. I used the new tube of Duco cement and what a difference! Much better than my 10 year old tube. I started the binding on the back channel, and it practically stuck without needing the tape. I was able to use a single piece of PVC binding all around the back of the body. Here I cut off the excess. And the back is now bound. And I have glue all over my fingers. I still have to add binding between the two necks, and the flat section of the heel, but I'll do that when this is dry.
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It's breathtaking already.
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Thanks Polly. So are you.
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I removed the tape from the back binding: But I was not finished with binding just yet. I added the curve between the two necks: Trimmed it, and added the two flat ones that go behind each neck: I trimmed up the curve piece on the front: Then discovered that the curved piece on the front was a bit troublesome (since I used the old glue on it), so I removed it, cleaned up the channel, and reglued it - this time with a little extra help holding it in place. All the glue on the top will be sanded off later, so I'm not worrying about the messiness. Once the binding is dry, I can start scraping the edges. Here's a "posed" shot of using the scraper. Typically, I hold it with two hands. And a close up of an area that has been scraped flush with the side wood (still rough though).
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Most of the weekend was spent cutting grass. It's amazing that when I started this project, it was a blizzard. Now, lawn care is cutting (no pun intended) into my time. So for the few moments I had free, I continued. Testing the tuners on the neck, I found that the holes were too small, so they had to be drilled out larger. I mounted the tuners, lined them up, marked them, then spun them out of the way to drill the mounting screws on the back of the neck: Mounting screws installed and tighten up on front. I used an old neck plate (from Dimarzio!) as a template for hole placement. Marked the holes for drilling in both neck pockets. I took it to the drill press for drilling. Here's the holes drilled. Then I clamped the neck to the body and lined it up And drilled the neck using the drill holes in the body as a guide. Notice a piece of tape on the drill bit as a marker so I don't drill too deep. And here's the neck attached to the body - the camera angle makes it look really crooked, but it's not.
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Almost done! And it looks like you're going to get it finished by the deadline, right? Flawless work, Tom!
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Been trying to keep up with the progress. What's the black binding-like stuff at the edges or did you paint it that color? Will check back tomorrow.
"Grits is one of those country-boy words that is both singular and plural-like deer, elk and sheep. I think the singular is appropriate when there's a modifier that makes it clear one is talking about something specific. Like, 'Grits are good for you, but these here grits is tasty.'"~~Joe Wrabek
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I back tracked till I found it-black pvc binding. Ok. Somehow I missed that step.
"Grits is one of those country-boy words that is both singular and plural-like deer, elk and sheep. I think the singular is appropriate when there's a modifier that makes it clear one is talking about something specific. Like, 'Grits are good for you, but these here grits is tasty.'"~~Joe Wrabek
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thanks for watching Tricia - glad I could help.
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Time is ticking away getting close to the deadline, and I'm going to be away again next week. Got to keep on going! So here's the next batch of photos. Getting more ideas and confused in my thoughts, I returned to the source. I wanted to see how the tail piece and bridge were created. This really surprised me. The tailpiece is just three dowels in the end of the instrument, to which ALL strings are tied. This is a bit simpler than I want, but I can see it works. I also examined the bridge. I discovered that each bridge was notched for string alignment. That was one of my concerns, and glad I see an easy solution. I also measured the bridge to make sure I have a large enough vibrating area. Gathered some scrap pieces of Delrin, which should be perfect in density. I took it to the bandsaw and table saw to cut to size, and also cut a small slot lengthwise. The marks on the masking tape will be cut by hand for each string slot. Then while that was going on, I stained the sides of the body with the amber tint. ...and stained the back. Once that was dry, I hand rubbed the first coat of Truoil to the back and sides.
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As I watch these fascinating step by step photos being added, I begin to understand why instruments cost so much money, especially handmade. The instrument is coming right along. What does the bead thingie do?
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Many ethnic instruments use beads like this to help "fine tune" the strings. They do not have machine tuners like what we have on more modern instruments. A lot of times, it's just a friction peg (like on a violin). Even some violins have little tuners on the bridge for these subtle adjustments. That's the purpose of the beads. A slight move of the bead stretches the string a bit raising/lowering the pitch.
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I cut the string slots in the sympathetic bridge. I'm using the edge of the vise to give me an even angle for cutting all the slots. And (what I thought) was the finished bridge. Here I've added graphite to the grooves so that they would show up better in the picture. I've also scraped and filed all of the edges to make them rounder. Testing out the "buzz" effect on the existing tele. I know the intonation will be way off with it here right over the bridge pickup, I just want to hear if it buzzes nicely acoustically. Unfortunately, it didn't. Perhaps the delrin is too soft. So as another experiment, I have a pile of solid brass foot pedals I pulled out of the dumpster when I worked at ENSONIQ. Someone thought brass would look the best (which it does), but solid brass is too soft, and people were actually bending the pedals when they stepped on them. So they threw all remaining stock of solid brass pedals out. They build that particular model with brass plated pedals after that. I figured that one day, I would find a use for these. Wedging it against the strings, it give me the EXACT buzz I'm looking for. Brass is my material of choice.
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Necessity is the mother of invention. Good thinking. Very interesting about the bead. I thought that maybe it added a buzzing sound. I never would have guessed it's about the tuning.
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Internet was down for 8 hours. It gave me time to do things other than sit in front of the computer. So I did more work on this, and realized, I'll be away next week - so I have to do a GOOD amount on this to meet the deadline. I made a paper template for the pickguard.I like doing it in paper, because I can easily cut and tape more to it until it's the shape I want. I decided to go with a pickguard like this: So I took the paper template down to the barn, taped it to my black plexi from the old refrigerator front, and rough cut it. No snakes around - a good thing. I brought it back to the house where I can trim it up better on the jig saw. Once it was cut, I used a file and scraper to clean up certain areas to make sure it fit properly. I attached both necks to the body, and worked slowly on the pickguard with the files and scraper till it fit just right. You can see the paper is falling away, and the black is showing through here. Then I had to drill out the holes and cut the areas for the pickups. Unfortunately, the jigsaw blade broke (last one). No time to run out and get a new blade - this will have to wait a week until I'm back. Moving on to something else, I needed a bridge for the sympathetic strings. I decided on 6 pins - 2 strings each. I covered and measured, and marked the area, then drilled right through the tape. Peeling the tape away reveals clean drill holes. Nice! And working on the bridge for the playing neck, I started drilling holes for the adjustment screws. Each string will have its own saddle, so I can set the height and intonation far more accurately than the real instrument.
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These are great shots, Tom. Very good close ups. The finish on the instrument looks great and so smooth.
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My camera is acting up. I delete a lot of the ones that are just too blurry to post. I wish they all were crystal clear, but my skills are not in photography. Thanks for watching this one Jean
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Getting back to this thread after awhile. Awesome, Tom! Does the orbital sander leave rotational grooves in the wood? If so, do you get rid of those with a final sanding step? Scott
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Hi Scott, The orbital sander hasn't left any scratches that I've noticed, but the sandpaper grade I have only goes to 220 grit. I try to go to 300 or 600 and usually do that by hand. Thanks for the kind words.
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Back from my week away, and returing to the tele-sitar project. But the grass looks awfully long - it can wait, I can't- final week. Before I left, I hand rubbed the final coat of TruOil on the body and hung it to dry: While I was gone, I remembered to buy scroll saw blades. After I got back, I was able to use them to cut the pickup holes out of the pickguard. I had to set the saw at the slowest setting - when it moves too fast, it melts the plexiglas, and the melted plastic resticks together right behind the blade. In a few places, I had to recut several times. Plexiglass is also quite brittle, so I had to be very careful not to crack it. With the scroll saw and an assortment of files, I was able to get the pickup holes cut out to just the right size. Here's a test fit: Then I drilled and countersunk the mounting holes, removed the masking tape, and filed the edges to a curved shape. Most pickguards have a 45 degree angled edge, I just don't have the tools to do that right, so I curve the edges. This is nearly completed, it just needs shielding on the back and a good buffing Set the pickguard aside, and then I wet sand the body. I went from 500 to 1000 grade sandpaper. I took a break just to post these pics, now I have to go back for more.
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I wet-sanded the body, used rubbing compound and bowling alley wax and got a shiny finish on the body. But I didn't like it. I liked how it looked with the matte finish. That just seemed classier for this project, so I got the steel wool back out, and rubbed it down to an even matte finish. Usually, I like a nice gloss finish, but this project just cried out for a flat finish. Here's the top: And here's the back: Installing the 6 pins for the sympathetic neck strings: All pins installed: The old plexiglass former refrigerator front turned pickguard had a slew of scratches. Tried my best to buff and hand rub them out, but there's some that are so deep, it's probably impossible. The buffing made the edges look really nice though. I flipped it over and added shielding. This is another thing I pulled from the dumpster years ago when I worked at ENSONIQ. This was the shielding that went into the bottom of the keyboards (possibly the VFX or Mirage). At some point, the keyboard was retooled and redesigned, so all of the old shielding was just tossed. I have rolls of this that will last more than my lifetime. I was able to position this so that the existing holes (from the keyboard layout) would overlap pickup cutouts. Then I used the exacto blade to cut it to size. Pickguard shielding complete. I mounted the pickups to the pickguard, and did a test fit to the body. NICE - no additional routing needed. However, the wires for the tube pickup would be too short to reach to the electronics cavity, so I soldered extensions onto it. When I was away, I was able to get a pack of scroll saw blades. However, the store only had one type of blade and only one set left and it was not for cutting metal. The pack had 4 blades. That is why I purposely cut the holes for the pickups first. I figured I would end up wearing these out and breaking them as I cut through the brass. I lost three blades in the process, but was able to cut all six saddles needed. Now it's a matter of filing edges and shaping them. I've decided to make 6 brass "inserts" that sit upon the existing saddles. This still allows me to adjust the height of each one with the set screws and set the intonation correctly for each string. Here are the inserts with the edges smoothed, and ends bent up. Then, I set the bridges on a scrap wood block in the vice and cut string guide slots in each one. [img] http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/rockndrtom/stringslots.jpg[/img] That's all for now... more to come later today.
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FINAL WEEK TUESDAY REPORT Time for assembly and setup! I attached the sympathetic neck first to the body. Here's what it looks like so far: For the sympathetic strings, I have a spool of leftover piano wire, .014 gauge, that I used for stringing up the Chinese Guzcheng. The spool of wire cost me $10.00, and I'm using about a 1/4 of the spool at most. A single wire will be used for two strings, so I cut the wire to the correct length, attach it to one of the tuning pins on the neck, and start tying it to the endpins shown here. I go around to the back, through the center hole coming towards the neck, wrap it around one full pass, back in the hole from the front to back, and around the other side of the post coming back to the second tuning pin on the neck. Here's all of the strings loosely attached. Next, I was going to cut slots in each of the brass pins on the peghead. But I only need to raise the string slightly off the wood. I found that slipping washers under each pin was much faster and served the purpose. It would probably be best to glue the washers down so they don't get lost should a string ever break. I used the strings as my guide now for determining the location for the bridge. I marked the position with masking tape. Almost forgot to drill for the ground wire. Sorry the "posed" picture is blurry. I was holding the drill and camera at the same time, and couldn't really focus. I actually had to spread the strings apart with one hand and drill with the other for the grounding wire. I also had to drill through the delrin base and fed the ground wire up through it. I'm having the strings sit on a piece of brass so the ground wire here will be attached to the brass and help to electrically ground the sympathetic strings.
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Just a few days left, and I feel very confident. Good thing, because I've not had much time to work on this with all the grass cutting that needs to be done. So in my spare moments, I made all the electrical connections as shown here: I was almost perfect the first time - but I had to switch the neck and bridge hot leads since I wired them backwards. All is good. I fitted all of the top pieces in place (held with tape), and drilled holes for the mounting screws. Then installed the screws for the pickguard and electronics plate. Just a few things left: mount the playing neck, install the bridge/tailpiece assembly, strap buttons, strings, intonation, then record samples! That might be the hardest part, but the sympathetic strings are buzzing nicely already, so I'm quite happy so far.
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The Telecasitar!
I'm going to miss this thread. What a cool, cool instrument!
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As far as the electronics go, I had all kinds of ideas in my head for switches, tones, etc. and decided to go simpler. The thing that is unique about this instrument is the sympathetic strings- you always want them to be able to vibrate and be heard. So for now, I wired the sympathetic pickup straight to the jack – full-on all the time. The playing neck was wired exactly like a regular Tele. I know the humbuckers will be a bit louder than the tube pickup, so I can roll the volume back to balance out the sound between the playing neck and the sympathetic string vibrations.
I found a pair of somewhat used 500k pots in my parts bin. I was able to get the Orange Drop capacitor from a friend that works at a factory with electronic components. At the bulk rate, they come to about 5 capacitors for a penny. So I bought 5. Out of kindness, I gave him a nickel for them.
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The Telecasitar!
I'm going to miss this thread. What a cool, cool instrument! Thanks Mark. I'm gonna miss it too.
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Joined: Oct 2006
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I'm going to miss this thread. What a cool, cool instrument!
I agree. As I was driving home from an open mic tonight, I found myself wondering if Tom had made any updates to this thread.
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Wow! of all the things to think about after a gig - not sure it would be this thread, so thanks Kevin
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Saturday Morning After a cup of coffee, it was time to continue and bring this project closer to completion. I was still thinking about the playing neck tailpiece. I hadn't installed anything there yet, because I still was not quite sure what I wanted to do. I could use a "Les Paul" style tailpiece, I also had an odd vibrato unit that I could have used - adding a whole new dimension of weirdness to the instrument. After looking at how each of the options looked, I just decided to use pins like on the sympathetic neck, so it would have uniformity. So this morning, I taped the area, measured and marked it, then drilled holes for the pins. Removing the tape left nice clean holes again. Installing the pins was identical to the previous pin installs, so no additional shots of that. I did want to point out that the holes in the pins are arched to follow the radius of the fingerboard. While lying in bed, I was thinking that the zither pins are not designed for thicker strings, and I had a feeling I would have to drill the holes in the pins a bit larger. This was confirmed when the windings on the end of the E and A strings would not fit in the pins. I had to drill them a little larger. And then I used a needle file to clean up any burrs to prevent premature string breakage. All the strings are added and fit properly in the pins. I have not mounted the "normal" tele bridge yet, I wanted to confirm everything lined up. This pic shows that they do, so I can now drill holes and mount this bridge/pickup assembly. Incidently, this is one of my favorite pictures - I like how the camera is reflected in the chrome and the plexiglass. If you look closely at the neck joint, you'll see the first casualty. Remember I said plexiglass is brittle? While aligning the neck, it must have put enough pressure on the corner and it snapped and went flying. I now have three options: I can try to reglue it back, refile and shape it so it curves just to the edge, or just leave it as is and chalk it up to being "naturally reliced." On the peghead end, now that the strings are on, it was easy to find the correct place to mount the string tree. This is an old brass one I found in the parts bin. Just realized it needs knobs. I didn't have any normal tele style ones, and too late to order some. I didn't like the look of white strat style knobs, but had these ones that I inherited from my brother. They are a bit smaller, but I have more, and should I decide to add another knob in the middle, it will look decent. Action was terrible on the first fret - I had to cut the nut slots to the correct depth. So I measured the height of the frets with feeler gauges... ...then use the feeler gauges as stops so that I don't file the slots too deep. [img] http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/rockndrtom/11filingnutslots.jpg[/img] Now it's time to tweak and develop the buzzing bridge. This was the first idea, and it didn't quite work the way I hoped, so this has been abandoned. [img] http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/rockndrtom/bridgeidea1.jpg[/img] I next tried a solid piece of brass covering all the saddles, and it was better, but I couldn't set string height or intonation correctly. I have a few more ideas...
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