130310

Sunday 13th March 2010

Igor begins work bandsawing out the aluminium blank..

I need some custom stainless steel string ferrules for the Dissident.. So to the lathe I go..

Igor concentrating very hard on his engineering efforts..

The day ends.. The headless tuning block is part way there and the string ferrules polished to a nice shine..

Good morning, we decided to try and catch up from Igors illness by coming in on a sunday.. Doh!

Interesting old wiring in this ancient hofner…. And the sad thing is it’s not much different from new guitars these days! Though i’m sure we can come up with something much much better!

Igor still works on Steiner’s tuning block..

Now, I have some other hardware to design for Steiners headless extended range bass..

The headstock end piece and string lock is marked out..

The piece is roughed out on the bandsaw..

Igor’s being rather succesful at the tuning block, the bearing recesses have been.. Well, recessed..

The neccesaries are drilled in the headpiece..

The headpiece is nearing completion, milling’s all done for now..

Igor predrills the tuning block blank on the pillar drill..

Threads are cut into the headpiece..

The end of the day and we’re well on the way to completing these little bits of custom hardware..

After a slow start and some lacquering we’re back with the headless erb.. A threaded insert is inserted..

Struggling to focus on it but the headpiece is done.. Fully adjustable as well as you can see..

And igor after much hard work has completed his part on the tuning block.. And it is perfect! Good boy!

I start on the brass nut.. Of sorts..

The nut is milled out.. Very carefully.. Though I must say I love working with brass!

Igor looking very purposeful while roughing out some new saddles..

Anyone figure out how this locking nut works yet?

Unpolished and a bit rough but I love how the locking nut is looking.. some of my best machining to date I think!

We may need to split the nut into four but for now we’ll leave her.. Here’s how she works..

As usual a start is made in the spray booth, it helps to not be dusty when lacquering…

I need to get dusty, there’s a lot of hardware to build but I do still need my wood fix..

The wenge top is planed flat by hand.. A knackering job when compared to fine metalwork..

The plane marks are sanded out with the large random orbital, being careful to keep it flat of course!

Igor’s still making hardware, while a phone call has precipitated a small road trip for myself.. To Yandles we go..

While we’re here we just have to drool over some timber… Mmmm

Routine, again.. Back in the spray booth shooting the lacquer, surpisingly chilled out way to start the day..

Igor is still working on some new headless tuning block saddles.. Nearly there now.. He’s really starting to look the part though!

Goodies.. These are some spare saddles for steiner and new ones for the headless moonshine..

Now, I really have to get some woodwork done, there’s too much going on here and it’s bloody distracting!

The neck pocket area is cleaned up a bit with the angle grinder..

The neck pocket is marked out on the wenge top..

Here are a few pics of the mental wiring on the godin we’re trying to repair.. what do you think Prof?

So, the neck pocket is bandsawed out..

Using the japanese saw file and a sharp chisel the neck pocket is fitted..

Before the top becomes one with the padouk body the wiring channel needs routing out..

The wiring channel is shielded.. Unneccessary really but it all helps..

Finally the wenge top is glued in place and left to cure..

Igor is running away from metalwork for a while, the headless moonshine needs some attention..

Now, the green 45rpm, she’s one of the several hundred small jobs that need doing..

The control positions are drilled out..

The control cavities are shielded to minimise hum..

A set of matched cts pots and a few switches are installed..

The locking sperzel tuners are installed.. Tempted to try make some custom knobs for these one day..

The pickup cavities.. And, well everywhere a wire will go is shielded..

The fretboard is masked off…

Each fret is polished to a high gloss for comfort and playability..

Lemon oil.. Lovely stuff, and very neccessary to keep the fretboard from drying out..

Pickups put in place.. And she’s ready for strings and wiring in the morning.. Good night all…

So, no spraying today due to next doors bonfire! But admin done.. ish, and we’re back to the green beastie!

The fretboard is still a little dry so yet more lemon oil is soaked in.. This should be done once every half year..

I love the recessed pickup surrounds on this guitar.. Very cool look!

We’re using the non-spraying day to clear the spray booth of any lacquer dust.. Poor long-suffering Igor!!

Next up I make a new nut for her, ebony to help add more sustain and warmth..

All scalloped and lovely.. I do like ebony nuts..

ow, the custom ball-bearing tremolo has to be installed..

And she is strung.. I do love this beauty!

All my best,
Ben
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