Here's the bit with with fret ends.
The gap
cram some dust in there
a drop of CA
not shown: the horror show that was created because I had the fretboard taped off and used the thin CA to set the dust. It ran down the undercut of the frets, glued the tape to the board and sunk into the grain, requiring a ton of work to clean up. This mistake has been filed away as not-worth-the-trouble.
Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
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Sean Chaney
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
I ordered some Buck Cannon pickups back in November that were supposed to be delivered in Jan. I wasn't in a big rush since I was still missing parts and was going to put a finish on the body.
One thing I didn't have were string ferrules. Sure I could order some that would be perfectly adequate, but I could also make some, out of a semi-exotic material that would be several times the value but not do the job of keeping the string balls of digging into the wood any better than the off-the-shelf ones. I probably don't have to justify titanium ferrules to anyone on an amp building site.
Here they were faced and chamfered.
Then parted and marked with how many thou oversized they are from 0.375".
Then they were faced, through drilled (#32), drilled to 0.3" deep (15/64"), chamfered on the I.D, reamed (1/8" thru) with a very light deburring on the OD with a very fine file.
here they're finished.
One thing I didn't have were string ferrules. Sure I could order some that would be perfectly adequate, but I could also make some, out of a semi-exotic material that would be several times the value but not do the job of keeping the string balls of digging into the wood any better than the off-the-shelf ones. I probably don't have to justify titanium ferrules to anyone on an amp building site.
Here they were faced and chamfered.
Then parted and marked with how many thou oversized they are from 0.375".
Then they were faced, through drilled (#32), drilled to 0.3" deep (15/64"), chamfered on the I.D, reamed (1/8" thru) with a very light deburring on the OD with a very fine file.
here they're finished.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Sean Chaney
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
Before I started building titanium bikes in 2005 for fun and profit, I was a financial analyst for a subcontractor to the Navy. Spreadsheets are my jam. I wanted even spacing between strings, so a spreadsheet was made to give me the centerline spacing with equal spacing on the outside edges.
I profiled the nut, filed it to the exact width and then used double stick tape on a 1-2-3 block to stick the nut vertical. Using my height gauge, I used my spreadsheet output and marked the string centers with the carbide tip on the gauge. Then rubbed the nut on my jeans to make the marks show up.
I profiled the nut, filed it to the exact width and then used double stick tape on a 1-2-3 block to stick the nut vertical. Using my height gauge, I used my spreadsheet output and marked the string centers with the carbide tip on the gauge. Then rubbed the nut on my jeans to make the marks show up.
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Sean Chaney
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
Ha. Compared to the investment in tools and time you've made for guitars, making chassis is a walk in the park. I use a cheap Harbor Freight metal break and table saw (with an old but adequate blade).Vertigo wrote: ↑Fri Feb 22, 2019 11:07 pmI wish I could make a chassis. I'd need a brake and shear first. Plus the time to understand how bending the sheet would displace the holes. I'm willing to do a lot of work to make something, but that's a bridge too far for me. I just pre-ordered a chassis from Amplified Nation.
Enjoying your build thread!
I build and repair tube amps. http://amps.monkeymatic.com
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pompeiisneaks
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Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
wow outstanding! I seem to see a few pics broken?
Edit: nvm they reloaded. Must have been something from my end.
~Phil
Edit: nvm they reloaded. Must have been something from my end.
~Phil
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Vertigo
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1 others liked this
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
And this is where I am today. Finishing has turned out to be the most difficult part of this build.
I was initially going to buy the most minimal setup possible to do a 2K urethane paint. After being shocked at how much a pint of HOK paint costs, I resolved to send it out for a pro to do it. I researched, read horror stories of people not getting bodies back for over a year, if at all and finally found a reputable but expensive painter and fired off an email. Two weeks go by and I was getting impatient which led to a decision to just do it on my own. So I got some sealer from the hardware store and put on a coat.
Four days later, it's still sticky, and three weeks after email, I get a response. Six sessions of trying to remove the sealer with acetone and it's still sticky. I tried naptha, denatured alcohol...still sticky. Acetone again and it's mostly OK. With all the trouble and no guarantee that the sealer wouldn't bork up a $350 paint job, I stayed the course and am still resolved to finish it on my own. My wife is upset that I'm covering up the "beautiful grain" but honestly, it never appealed to me.
So here we are with six coats of primer (because I'd sand through somewhere every time I was trying to correct a drip) and a monster drip line caused by a gust of wind spinning the body around while I was coating it.
two coats of ReRanch Inca Silver today and it's looking pretty good with just a little orange peel. I'll try to get a couple of coats on it tomorrow and will go from there. I have some standard clear here, and am waiting on some of the artificially aged stuff too which is what I think I'm going to use.
At this point, I'm mentally done with it and just want to get it together to play. No sense in rushing as the pickups still aren't here and he says three more weeks. As a small business owner, I know how it goes when you're the only person involved and you get sick, or broken or a family member gets sick so I'm trying not to get too impatient about it.
It's winter and I'm in Portland so the conditions aren't favorable for a great outcome. Honestly, I wouldn't be able to get a great outcome until July when it'll be consistently warm and there isn't as much giant pollen flying around.
If the paint ends up looking terrible, I'm going to arm my kids with paint pens and let them have at it. My 10 year old daughter makes some absolutely wonderful graphic novels and I would be honored to have her dress up my first ever attempt at making a guitar.
I was initially going to buy the most minimal setup possible to do a 2K urethane paint. After being shocked at how much a pint of HOK paint costs, I resolved to send it out for a pro to do it. I researched, read horror stories of people not getting bodies back for over a year, if at all and finally found a reputable but expensive painter and fired off an email. Two weeks go by and I was getting impatient which led to a decision to just do it on my own. So I got some sealer from the hardware store and put on a coat.
Four days later, it's still sticky, and three weeks after email, I get a response. Six sessions of trying to remove the sealer with acetone and it's still sticky. I tried naptha, denatured alcohol...still sticky. Acetone again and it's mostly OK. With all the trouble and no guarantee that the sealer wouldn't bork up a $350 paint job, I stayed the course and am still resolved to finish it on my own. My wife is upset that I'm covering up the "beautiful grain" but honestly, it never appealed to me.
So here we are with six coats of primer (because I'd sand through somewhere every time I was trying to correct a drip) and a monster drip line caused by a gust of wind spinning the body around while I was coating it.
two coats of ReRanch Inca Silver today and it's looking pretty good with just a little orange peel. I'll try to get a couple of coats on it tomorrow and will go from there. I have some standard clear here, and am waiting on some of the artificially aged stuff too which is what I think I'm going to use.
At this point, I'm mentally done with it and just want to get it together to play. No sense in rushing as the pickups still aren't here and he says three more weeks. As a small business owner, I know how it goes when you're the only person involved and you get sick, or broken or a family member gets sick so I'm trying not to get too impatient about it.
It's winter and I'm in Portland so the conditions aren't favorable for a great outcome. Honestly, I wouldn't be able to get a great outcome until July when it'll be consistently warm and there isn't as much giant pollen flying around.
If the paint ends up looking terrible, I'm going to arm my kids with paint pens and let them have at it. My 10 year old daughter makes some absolutely wonderful graphic novels and I would be honored to have her dress up my first ever attempt at making a guitar.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Sean Chaney
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
You're putting ideas in my head.xtian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 22, 2019 11:42 pmHa. Compared to the investment in tools and time you've made for guitars, making chassis is a walk in the park. I use a cheap Harbor Freight metal break and table saw (with an old but adequate blade).Vertigo wrote: ↑Fri Feb 22, 2019 11:07 pmI wish I could make a chassis. I'd need a brake and shear first. Plus the time to understand how bending the sheet would displace the holes. I'm willing to do a lot of work to make something, but that's a bridge too far for me. I just pre-ordered a chassis from Amplified Nation.
Enjoying your build thread!
Thank you!
Sean Chaney
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
Just for fun...here's my day job
cut up some tubing
try to make it an "air tight" fitup. cut tube length tolerance is about 0.003" and cope angle tolerance is about half a second
The two pics above are fusion welded; no filler. It's fairly typical with thin wall titanium tubes (on bicycles at least) to do at least two passes with the first being a fusion pass. The idea being that you can use a very low amperage to just melt the mating tubes together. This does a few things. First, it ensures great weld penetration. Second it forms a heat bridge between the two tubes. It's only possible with very tight miters or else it'll just key open the tube and make a huge hole, which lets the argon backpurge escape more easily and creates little problems that you have to chase around. Tight miters also help keep the frame well aligned during the weld process. The filler rod shrinks quite drastically when cooling which pulls the frame all over the place. It's possible to get good penetration in a single pass but it's also possible to "bridge" the tubes, especially in the more acute joint angles. The "bridge" leaves a void under the weld and a broken frame is a matter of when, not if.
cut up some tubing
try to make it an "air tight" fitup. cut tube length tolerance is about 0.003" and cope angle tolerance is about half a second
The two pics above are fusion welded; no filler. It's fairly typical with thin wall titanium tubes (on bicycles at least) to do at least two passes with the first being a fusion pass. The idea being that you can use a very low amperage to just melt the mating tubes together. This does a few things. First, it ensures great weld penetration. Second it forms a heat bridge between the two tubes. It's only possible with very tight miters or else it'll just key open the tube and make a huge hole, which lets the argon backpurge escape more easily and creates little problems that you have to chase around. Tight miters also help keep the frame well aligned during the weld process. The filler rod shrinks quite drastically when cooling which pulls the frame all over the place. It's possible to get good penetration in a single pass but it's also possible to "bridge" the tubes, especially in the more acute joint angles. The "bridge" leaves a void under the weld and a broken frame is a matter of when, not if.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Sean Chaney
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
All that's left is to add filler
sometimes dress it up a little with some anodization that makes you want to go fast
hang with your buddies (not sure why this rotated)
and have fun in the dirt.
sometimes dress it up a little with some anodization that makes you want to go fast
hang with your buddies (not sure why this rotated)
and have fun in the dirt.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Sean Chaney
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
Great gravy, man, those welds are art.
I build and repair tube amps. http://amps.monkeymatic.com
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
Thank you. They're plenty strong enough but the consistency of size and spacing isn't quite what I'd like it to be. At 45, it's doubtful that my vision and hand steadiness is going to get better. You can definitely tell that it's not welded by a robot.
Sean Chaney
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
Just to put a period on this part of the thread. It looks like a guitar, plays very nice, sounds amazing. It's not perfect but it's pretty good for a first try.
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Sean Chaney
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
Nice job! I like that!
With respect, 10thtx
With respect, 10thtx
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
Dang!
Twang......
Twang......
Re: Tele style and (eventually) tenor ukulele scratch builds
wow nice work.love that tele . I'm jealous of your welding skills