Telecaster III - 8 - Jig To Cut the truss Rod Channel

Last night I started to create a pair of 'sleds' for my router to run along giving me a curve to cut a concave slot for the truss rod channel on the Telecaster neck.  I had a couple of pieces of pine with a curve already cut in them (from an old bed headboard) but the curve was not the same on each piece and the curve would have cut too deep into the neck anyway so I screwed the two pieces together and started to plane them level.

On doing some research I read the depth of the slot should be about 1/4" deeper at the centre than at the head and heel ends so I made some marks and started removing material from the centre outwards to get the curve I require.

These rails will be used to route the channel from the back of the neck so I will have to glue in a'skunk stripe'.  This is my preferred way at this stage as i will need to make a pretty accurate fillet to fin in the cavity so I may make another set of rails with a concave curve in them to allow me to route from the fretboard side of the neck.  Watch this space!

Telecaster III - Making The Truss Rod

Well I had ordered a 2 way truss rod from China and was waiting for it to arrive so I can continue with this project but it never arrived so I decided to have a go at making my own.  I decided to make a single action truss rod.

I have some threaded rod and found some furniture hardware to turn into the anchor and adjustment nut.  My metal working skills are a little rusty to say the least, I haven't really done any metal work since I was at school so the first challenge was to make an anchor.  I cut a piece from the end of the metal rod above and then tapped the hole, threaded the rod into the hole and then hammered the end into the groove to keep the rod from turning while it is been adjusted.

That was the easy bit.  Next I cut another section from the furniture rod to make the adjustment nut.  I needed to drill a hole right in the middle of the rod and then tap it to accept the threaded rod.  My first couple of attempts at holding the blank steady whilst trying to drill a hole in the dead centre failed until I filed two grooves in the vice to hold the blank in position.

Much better result, I started with a pilot hole and drilled 30mm deep before moving to a larger bit.  I then used a countersink bit to widen the hole at the top to make it easier to locate the rod.  The hole was then threaded.

It's a good job I had a few spare blanks to practice on.  Next I cut the slot in the adjusting nut.  This will give  a substantial screwdriver enough depth to maintain a good grip whilst making adjustments.  I started the cut with a hacksaw and then widened it with my Dremel before filing the slot and then polished everything using a little buffing wheel on the Dremel.

Well it look the part, Ideally this should be made of brass as brass will wear out quicker than the threads on the steel rod and is easier to replace.  Next job it to route the channel for the truss rod but that is a job for another day.

Another Ukulele Project - Levelling The Frets and Done

The ukulele project is almost finished, so time to get this off the bench.  I refitted all the hardware after the final coats of Tru-Oil had dried and  then fitted the strings.  I then fitted the nut I had made and notched it for the strings.  

The frets need levelling so I loosened the strings enough to tape them out of the way.  I then marked the tops of the frets with a blue indelible marker.  I then used my radius block to flatten all the frets whilst maintaining the neck radius.  

Gradually the blue ink wears away from each fret as they become level.  There was one in particular which was lower than the rest but gradually the sand paper found its mark and started to wear away the ink on each fret.

Once I was down to the a level I used 600 grit, 1200 grit and finally 1500 grit paper on each fret to remove the marks from the levelling process.

Next I took a triangular file to crown the frets.  Once again I marked the top of each fret with the blue marker pen and then filed each fret until I was left with a thin blue line along the middle of each fret.

The file has one corned ground away so as not to damage the finger board but I still masked the fingerboard up to prevent any damage.

Once each fret was crowned with the file I used 600 and 1200 grit sand paper to take out the file marks and then used my Dremel and a polishing compound to shine the frets up.

With the frets shining I re-tensioned the strings and fine tuned the string height at the nut end aiming for a 0.012" gap at the first fret.  With that set I adjusted the string height and then fine tune the intonation and finally the project was finished and ready to play!

It's great fun to play, but the volume and tone knobs are a little restrictive and do hinder play a little.

I presented the instrument to my son and he seemed happy with it and did actually acknowledge it after looking up from his X-Box for a moment! Plenty of time for him to have some fun with it!

So there it is, a Telecaster Ukulele featuring an all pine body with a glued in pine neck with an oak fingerboard.

13 frets with guitar style dot fret markers.  Chrome machine heads and a copper plated pick guard which should darken with age.

The pickup is a 'hot rail' humbucking pickup with volume and tone control.  The four string bridge is fully adjustable and the strings are mounted through the body, the same as a regular Telecaster.

I installed one string tree on the head and printed my own waterslide graphics .

The tone is crisp and clean with a lot of treble, as you would expect from an instrument of this size.

All in all this was a fun project and hopefully something my son will keep for a long tine and get some pleasure from playing it.

Now maybe I can get back to my guitar projects! although everything seems 'scaled up' now!

Another Ukulele Project - Fitting The Machine Heads

Tonight I drilled out the holes for the machine heads on the Telecaster ukulele and test fitted them.  I also applied some graphics I had printed earlier in the week.  They are printed using my inkjet printer, then a later of lacquer is sprayed over the print before cutting the graphics out and soaking them in warm water.

The graphics then just slide into place, and with the head already been nice and shiny from all the layers of Tru-Oil they move around easily enough allowing me to position them exactly where I want them.

Tonight I also rubbed the front of the body down again as it had picked up a few knocks while I was chiselling out the cavities for the electronics.  The front of the body will now receive several coats of Tru-Oil over the next week or so.

I also made a nut for the ukulele tonight, I cut out a piece of plastic and ground it down on the bench grinder and it is ready to fit once I have finished with the clear coats and I'm ready to re-assemble.

The final job for the night was to neaten up the wiring.  There was a lot of extra wire from the pickup so I trimmed this and rewired to pots.  Everything fits much neater now and I don't have to worry about trying to squeeze the wires into the control cavity and run the risk of shorting everything out.

I'm really looking forwards to putting some strings on this and trying it out... and then reluctantly handing it over to my son!

Another Ukulele Project - Completing The Electronics

Today I continued with the Telecaster Ukulele, I started by lining all the cavities with  copper tape, it's the first time I have used It and I must say it is very impressive. It moulds easily to the contours of the cavities and also adheres really well.

I drilled a hole for the jack socket and also drilled a hole though to the control cavity and also a hole through to one of the mounting screws for the bridge to run an earth wire.  Unfortunately I was a little to enthusiastic and came through the top, so that will have to be filled.

I mounted the pickup in the pick guard, I was not happy with the edges of the hole I had cut for the pickup so I added a piece of copper tape cut fit over the edges of the pickup cavity, It finishes the pickguard perfectly.  I then drill 2 holes and mounted the pickup to the pick guard.

I the wired up the volume and tone pots, I am still very concerned about the location of the volume and tome pots.  Perhaps I need to consider moving them, I think they will restrict playing the instrument too much.  I tested the volume and tone by tapping the pickup with a screw driver and the sound defiantly changed in both volume and tone.

Another Ukulele Project - Time To Fit The Hardware

Today I continued work on the Telecaster Ukulele, The pickup, bridge and machine heads all arrived so I started by chiselling out a cavity for the pickup and electronics.  I have decided to mount the volume and tone pots directly on the pick guard.

I drilled 8 holes to secure the pickguard and marked out the position of the pickup.  Next I marked out the position of the bridge, drilled mounting holes and then drilled through the body and installed the string ferrules.

Mounting the pots on the pick guard saves having to route the the back of the body to make a control cavity, space is limited anyway, I just hope the knobs don't get in the way and make it difficult to play the instrument.

DLP Les Paul Prototype - 35 - Electrics Re-Wire

Tonight I went about correcting the wiring in the back of the DLP Les Paul Prototype.  The pots were wired up backwards and I wasn't happy with the earth connections.  This was a quick job and one made easier by all the space to work in!

 With everything wired up correctly I tidied the cables up and refitted the back and tested the electronics.  Everything worked fine this time so I refitted the back panel and then marked up ready to fit the strap holders.

I fitted gold strap holders which go nicely with the knobs and cream plastic.