cydewaze
Strat-Talk Member
Just waiting for the body and neck blanks to show up!
So what's on your workbench now.
- Thread starter Believer7713
- Start date
That's how my Indio T-style came. It had huge heads on the height adjustment screws. It wasn't a problem with the stock pickups but it was when I put some Fender AVRI 52 & 62 Tele pickups in it. The hole for the neck pickup was too narrow by a fraction of millimeter so I used a round file and got it to fit.
Well the screw heads on the height adjustment screws was so big, they now hit the pickup cover on both sides. So they, scraped anytime I raised or lowered it. OK, so I grab the screws that came with the 62 neck pickup. Install those and all seems well...right up until I put any pressure on the pickup. The screws pulled right out of the holes in the bobbin. It seems these are body mount screws, not pickguard mount screws. So they aren't supposed to thread through the bobbin. GREAT!
I ended up having to pull up the owners manual for a 70s reissue Tele and got the pickup height adjustment screw part numbers from there. It turns out they're the exact same screws used as saddle adjustment screws. Wish I had known that. I spent 2 weeks buying different screws until I found those and even then, I had extras at home I could have used. It was pretty aggravating in the end.
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Man, If I had a lathe... Nice job!
rayi
Strat-Talk Member
I have had my '63 hardtail strat since I was 14 (that's 1968). Just got it refretted by a good luthier. It's like having a new guitar! He did a nice job using vintage frets that are 30% stainless. They look exactly like the original frets but are much more durable. I had the original ones worn almost flat. Otherwise, the guitar is 100% original except for the tuners and a few screws.
One problem I had was the pickups were angled probably as a result of the pick guard expanding over the years or the wood swelling. The pickup routs aren't very generous and the pickups were binding on the edges of the routs. I opened up the routs a little with a Dremel with a sanding tip and now the pick guard drops right in without a lot of fuss and the pickups are pretty flat/level. I also shielded the inside with Stew Mack shielding paint. The wiring is completely original, never been touched. Believe it or not, the finish on the guitar is original.
Just got it back together and here is the result.
One problem I had was the pickups were angled probably as a result of the pick guard expanding over the years or the wood swelling. The pickup routs aren't very generous and the pickups were binding on the edges of the routs. I opened up the routs a little with a Dremel with a sanding tip and now the pick guard drops right in without a lot of fuss and the pickups are pretty flat/level. I also shielded the inside with Stew Mack shielding paint. The wiring is completely original, never been touched. Believe it or not, the finish on the guitar is original.
Just got it back together and here is the result.
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That reminds me...
I replaced the strings on the new Indio Boardwalk on Sunday. While I had them off, I also cleaned up the fretboard. It had a layer of oxidation(?) or something on the wood that made it super dull. So I hit it all with some "artificial steel wool" to bring the shine back.
At the 4th fret, it appeared as though they dropped a couple of drops of super glue on the fretboard. There were a couple of areas between fret 4 and 5 that had an obviously different look and feel vs the rest of the wood. They were smooth as glass while the wood had texture to it. So I surmised that it was glue and started scraping with a razor blade. Yep. That's what it was. So it's all gone now. Thank God. I had been staring at that spot since I got the thing.
Next, I got the nut files and lubricant out to address the nut slots while the strings were off. I used one of my Music Nomad diamond files to give the center slots some slant towards their respective tuners so there's less friction and a better pull towards the tuner. I went ahead and did the other 4 slots after that. I use the Music Nomad file because it has diamond grit on the sides so it makes it easy to the the walls of the slots and add some slant to them. Then I lubed each slot with Big Bends Nut Sauce.
After that, I got out my cordless drill, the 4 inch buffing wheel and the stick of Dialux polish and polished up the frets and fretboard in about 90 seconds. Then I hit the fretboard with some Dunlop deep conditioning fretboard oil. Wiped off the excess and strung it up with 10-52's.
I have a die grinder that I bought to use with the buffing wheel but I didn't use it this time. It's easy enough to just use the drill. It's just barely fast enough so the wheel polishes good. So I bought the $15 die grinder for more RPM since I have a 50 gallon air compressor I cn use it with.
Kiwi59
Strat-Talk Member
How about a Komrade Jag-Tele-Strat?
was a Russian Base body..
Is now a hybrid 6 string as stated...
Started 2 weeks ago all final tweaks done. Finished today, it's got a ton of sustain & plenty of oomph!
Specs
Russian PBass "thing" Body
Aftermarket Strat neck
Squier Jaguar pickups 12&13k
Tele 3 way switch
Strat style Vol Tone Tone
250k 500k 500k
47 & 56 tone caps
Jaguar trem
And that's about it.
What a bastard!
Added some of the build pics from the Bass to what it became.
I started doing up the bass with a new bridge and it was awful overall.
Neck was as thick as a fencepost and warped. Refretting was a waste of effort.
The electronics were as weak as Bud Light and I was tempted to chuck it in the bin as I had done with 2 previous "Beasts from the East"
But then I looked at it and thought... could I do something else with it..?
I looked at it... and looked at my boxes of bits... and looked at it... and back again..
And so it was!
was a Russian Base body..
Is now a hybrid 6 string as stated...
Started 2 weeks ago all final tweaks done. Finished today, it's got a ton of sustain & plenty of oomph!
Specs
Russian PBass "thing" Body
Aftermarket Strat neck
Squier Jaguar pickups 12&13k
Tele 3 way switch
Strat style Vol Tone Tone
250k 500k 500k
47 & 56 tone caps
Jaguar trem
And that's about it.
What a bastard!
Added some of the build pics from the Bass to what it became.
I started doing up the bass with a new bridge and it was awful overall.
Neck was as thick as a fencepost and warped. Refretting was a waste of effort.
The electronics were as weak as Bud Light and I was tempted to chuck it in the bin as I had done with 2 previous "Beasts from the East"
But then I looked at it and thought... could I do something else with it..?
I looked at it... and looked at my boxes of bits... and looked at it... and back again..
And so it was!
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Fender fan
Strat-Talk Member
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@Fender fan dude, that's hot!
Fender fan
Strat-Talk Member
Thanks
