What's new on the workbench today?

Fender Telecaster Setup

We have a very special guest in the workshop this weekend, a lovely blonde Fender Baja Telecaster! A friend asked me to take a look as he was getting some issues bending strings on the higher frets so I said I would do a setup for him.

Of course I have to thoroughly test her to see exactly what the problems are! Hope my blue Tele doesn't get jealous!

He asked me to replace the strings so that is first order of the day, there are a lot of retro features on the Baja including classic slotted machine heads so I carefully followed the instructions in my Haynes Telecaster manual to ensure I pre-cut the strings to the correct length.  However before I cut the strings I gave the frets and lacquered finger board a good clean.  There isn't much wear generally, in fact the guitar is quite lovely however a couple of the jumbo frets have little nicks in them and will need redressing at some point.

At this point though that is not a necessity and my friend does not want that done anyway.  I ran a fret rocker over all the frets but the frets all sit happily level with each other with the only exception been the tiniest bit of movement around the 11th fret on the low E side of the neck which should not be problematic as there is no discernible fret buzz.  

After fitting a new set of strings I took a look at the bow in the neck, it is slightly more bowed than fender recommend but I will let the neck settle overnight with the new strings and take another look tomorrow and adjust the truss rod if I feel it is required.  I removed the pickguard to inspect the truss rod adjusting screw which is at the neck pickup end of the neck in true classic style.  I will need to loosen the strings and slacken the neck retaining screws to give me access if I need to adjust the truss rod, this will allow me to tilt the neck back a little for better access.

Router Table

I managed to get some time on my new router table recently and made a couple of Telecaster neck blanks as well as a copy of my template.

Making the template copy out of MDF was far easier than attempting to route the hard wood I had chosen for my neck blanks.  I had to purchase a decent 1/2" bit with a top bearing and a collar to fit the router as it comes with a 1/4" one but I could not find a bit I was happy to use.  On one attempt the bit came lose and ruined the blank I was working on, a lesson learned there!

The router and the table performed great and I look forward to creating a copy of body template and then a couple of Telecaster bodies.  The reason I want to create a template from the template is so if I damage my copy I can easily create another from the original.

I now have 2 blanks ready to turn into necks, I am low on funds though at the moment so the project is on hold for a little while!  I will update here one I get some bits together, maybe after my next pay day!

Ibanez Blazer Bass Re-Fret

A colleague mentioned that he had an old bass which has no frets... not because it's a fretless bass because the previous owner had pulled them all out!  He asked me if I would be able to fit new frets and I agreed. This is a Ibanez Blazer serious bass, a serious contender of the Fender P bass I'm told.  It's a well worn but solid guitar.

The guitar itself has been modified in the past, there is a non standard pickup installed and the pickguard has been cut down to bare minimum.  There is also a plate on the back of the guitar which is completely nonstandard.  

The first thing I noticed is how long the scale length is compared to an Encore bass I own.  I started by cleaning out the existing slots with a fine saw then blowing them out with compressed air.  I measured the width of the marks left by the previous frets and sourced so fret wire to match.

I profiled the fret wire and cut 21 pieces to size and then began installing them with the assistance of some super glue.  I don't want the new frets coming lose in the old slots.

It took a few hours to install all 21 frets but I wanted to make sure each one was seated as well as possible.

I then trimmed the overhang as close as I could and started filing the frets as close to flush to the neck as possible.  I have to consider the fact that this is a maple neck and it has been lacquered so I have to be careful not too remove any of the finish.  Another option would be to rub the old finish back and respray but that changes the scope of the job completely.

Once the edges were made flush I made the neck as flat as possible by adjusting the truss rod to remove the natural bow in the neck. I then marked the face of each fret with blue indelible marker and started leveling the frets relative to each other using a straight edge with sandpaper double sided to the flat edge.

Once I have removed a little of the blue pen across the face of each fret I know that there are no high or low spots across the entire neck.next I have to re-crown each fret so I marked each fret again with blue pen and then, after masking the face of the neck, I took a modified triangular file and started re-profiling each fret.

I did this along the top of each fret and then put an angle on the edges of each of the frets and moved onto progressively finer grades of sand paper to remove the tool marks left by the course crowning file.

Once I had sanded each fret down to 1500 grit sand paper I moved onto abrasive polishing compounds using my dremel tool giving each fret a beautiful shine.  Before I started to refit the neck and set everything up I thought I would have a look under the two covers.

To my surprise I found a 9v battery under the rear cover implying that the pickup must be a passive one, looking under the front cover I found that the jack socket it a stereo one rather than mono.

It would be fascinating to know a little bit more about the set up of the electrics but that is something for another day.  I replaced the battery as a courtesy and reassembled the guitar.

I had chosen a string gauge as per the factory specifications from the Ibanez website and adjusted the string height as per the factory specs.  I check intonation and finally gave everything a quick polish and test.

The frets look like they have always been there.  By selecting a gauge of wire that matched the original width there is not much to give away the fact that this is a re-fret.  It was difficult to file the frets flush to the sides of the neck without damaging the existing finish but overall I am very pleased with this and hope the owner is as he has a fine instrument here.

What's on the workbench today?

I have been working on several different projects simultaneously over the past week or so and so here is a brief summary:

DLP Mandolin Prototype

I have all but finished this project now, although there is still some minor adjustments to the bridge required as the string action is a little high.  Also the two pots I used for the volume and tone need replacing (I recycled a couple of very old pots and they are just not up to the job!)  I have a couple of small knobs to fit as well.  All in all the sound is great and even though it is primarily an electric instrument it still sounds good when played acoustically.

Encore Bass Refinish 

This project is all but finished, I still have to string it up and set the string height and intonation.  I am waiting for two knobs (black with a silver hat) to finish the front and a colleague has expressed a strong interest in purchasing this from me.

Ibanez Blazer Bass Re-fret

Another colleague asked me if I could install frets on an old Ibanez Blazer bass guitar he owns.  The bass was given to him some years ago without any frets as the previous owner had pulled them all out as he wanted a fretless bass.

I ordered some wide fret wire (matching the marks left by the original frets), bent it to profile and cut the 21 pieces and started installing them last night.  First I cleaned the existing slots out and I used super glue to ensure a secure hold. Next I will trim the sides and file them flush before levelling, crowning and polishing the frets to a nice shine.

Other Ongoing Projects

Elsewhere I had sprayed the two Telecaster bodies with a dark red nitrocellulose paint, I'm not happy with the finish on one of the bodies so I will attend to that before respraying and lacquering.  One of the DLP Lap Steels is finished and the other body is awaiting finishing and carving.  I have decided to finish them with Tru-Oil but I'm having too much fun playing the one I have finished to take it apart and apply the finish!

DLP Lap Steel Guitar - 6 - Finishing the Fret Board

During the week I have been working on the fret board for the DLP Lap Steel Guitar.  I had decided to use cream binding to mark the positions of the notes but the thickness of the binding meant I would have to slot the board first and then file each groove to the correct width of about 1.5mm.

This turned out to be a rather laborious process to say the least!  I uses a fine saw to initially, then a slightly less fine saw and finally 2 different size files to get the slots to the perfect size.  I then cut strips of binding slightly oversize and glued them all in position.

With all 24 slots filed to size and the strips glued in place using super glue, I left them to set overnight before trimming them flush.

I'm sure there is an easy way of trimming the fret marker flush but I once again chose the difficult labour intensive route and filed each one close to the fretboard been careful not to damage the fretboard itself.

Once I got close I used a spirit level with sand paper attached to one side with double sided tape to level and then flush the markers.  Once again this was a laborious task but I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.

With the top flush I trimmed the side as near to flush as I could and then sanded then edge smooth.

There was a little filling to be done so I melted some spare binding in thinners and pasted into the gaps and then filed everything smooth once it had set.  Next I marked out positions of the fret markers.

I'm using green abalone for the first time.   I drilled the holes as carefully as possible and used super glue to secure them and then sanded everything flush using progressively finer grades of sand paper.

 They came out perfect and wont need any additional filling as the holes I drilled were all perfect!   Finally I clamped the fret board to the body and used titebond carpenters glue to secure everything in place.

Next I will round over the back for comfort and more onto installing the electronics so i can test everything before applying a finish... Danish Oil?

DLP Mandolin - 12 - Attaching the Neck

With the holes for the machine heads drilled and access to the truss rod adjustment nut created it was time to glue the neck to the body.  Now the joint is not one that can be taken apart at a later date, the top will be glued over the the joint so essentially the neck becomes one with the body.

After 24 hours I removed the clamps and the neck is set solid into the body.  I spent some time then cutting out the slot for the neck in the top and refining the fit.  It's almost time to glue the top to the body but first I drilled two holes for the volume and tone pots.  I spent a lot of time changing the position of the two controls but settled with them parallel to the centre line.  There is not going to be much space so I couldn't be too choosy.

I have the pickup I intend to use.  It is a humbucker hotrail pickup.  There is an option to coil tap the pick up but I wont use that, just to keep things simple with a single volume and tone control.  Hopefully there will be enough room to get my fingers inside to connect all the electronics once I have glued the top to the body and finished the instrument.

Finally last night I made a template ready to route the pickup cavity.  I am waiting for a pickup surround to arrive so I cant cut the cavity quite yet until I know the size of the surround.  I can then lay out for the pickup cavity and cut the slot.

DLP Mandolin - 11 - Drilling Holes for the Machine Heads

Last night't task was to drill the 8 holes for the machine heads.  after some careful laying out I marked up the 4 holes each side taking into account the length of the all in one plate on the back of the head.

Now this is where my new drill press really comes into it's own.  I put a sacrificial piece of scrap underneath the head so the bit didn't rip through the back of the head.  I used a 'lip and spur' drill bit to minimise tearing on the face of the head although there is a ferrule to tap in which would hide minimal tearing.

I still have to drill a step into the top of each hole to accommodate the ferrules but that can wait until tomorrow.

DLP Mandolin - 10 - Shaping the Back of the Neck

This evening I carved the back of the Mandolin neck.  I started by filing the nut end to the depth I required. I'm conscious that this tiny neck has to support eight strings without warping and yet not be too thick as to be uncomfortable to play.

Once I had the required thickness at the nut end I started to shave the edges of the neck.  I used a small block plane and a spoke shave and tried to take even amounts from each side of the neck.

I originally had glued a block to the neck and has intended to carve this flush with the back of the body but decided to remove it tonight.  It was getting in the way of the carve and when I offer the neck to the body it looks better without.

Gradually the carve starts to take shape, I used a cabinet scraper blade and 60 grid sand paper to continue to refine the profile.

The neck fits perfectly and removing the small block I had glued on gives easier access to the higher frets much like a bolt on neck does on an electric guitar like a Stratocaster.

I can now think about laying out and drilling the machine head holes and also creating a slot to allow access to the truss rod.

DLP Mandolin - 9 - Installing The Frets

I glued a piece of laminate to the head of the neck, it matches the body and should pull the look together nicely.  There is still a little more fine sanding to do and the slot for the nut needs a little more refinement but before that I want to install the frets. 

I cut 21 pieces of fret wires and tapped each one in one by one.  I used a little glue in each slot wiping away the excess with a slightly damp cloth as I went along.  I found it very fiddly as the fret wire I used is much finer than the wire I use on the guitars I build.

I also found that the wire tended to want to bend away from the slot once one end was in.  I normally tap the middle of the fret in first and then the two ends but that  method didn't work very well so I found that if I secured one end and then the other before the middle they seemed to fit nice and secure.

Once all the frets were installed I trimmed the end of the frets and then filed them flush been careful not to file into the edge of the fingerboard.

With both sides leveled I took my flat file which is mounted in a wooden block which runs flush against the side of the neck and holds the file at an angle which bevels the edges of the frets.

The next job will be to carve the profile on the back of the neck, drill the holes for the machine heads and glue the neck in place.