Rustic La Cab project (now, with teaser photo)

OK, I have asked some questions here, and in Finely Finished, leading up to the project, but now that I have all of my parts (save for the Power'tron pickup, which will be acquired soon), I figured it was time to start a real thread.

Some details:

Body - Marc Rutters Sugar Pine single p/u Cab
Neck - Warmoth Goncalo Alves
Bridge - American Standard Hardtail
Neck plate - custom, to honor my family name
Tuners - GFS vintage Wilkinsons

Going to finish it in actual red barn stain. Will be working a test piece alongside the body, to see if I end up putting lacquer or other clear over the stain.

We shall see

First issue is going to be placement of the vol/tone pot drills.

Question for those of you who have built your own Cabs and used TV Jones -- does one need to order the shortened polepiece option?

Question for those of you who have built your own Cabs and used TV Jones -- does one need to order the shortened polepiece option?

TVJones recommends the short pole pieces for fender type guitars , that's what I got for my cabronita clone

TVJones recommends the short pole pieces for fender type guitars , that's what I got for my cabronita clone

Thanks, that's what my measurements suggested, but as they say, measure twice, ask around, and order once!:lol:

Vol/Tone holes drilled - my vol. might be just a touch forward of a Fender's location, but not by much, and they are in-line and straight. Freud forstner bit in pine was really not a fair fight.

Tomorrow is grain raising, final sanding and staining.

That looks like a top quality body.

Opinions welcome --

1) Does anyone know the proper size for the three screws that hold an American Standard HT bridge to the body? Seems like there are a lot that will "work," but. . .

2) grounding that bridge -- I was going to grind some finish off the underside and solder a ground wire to it. . .overkill?, and should I just strip a decent amount of the wire bare and "pinch it" beneath the bridge?

That looks like a top quality body.

It is nice, and I will take detail pictures of it before (and after) it gets stain. Marc does nice work, and patiently answered my "stream of consciousness," "oh, and another thing" e-mails through the process. I would recommend him to anyone, and this is likely not going to be the last time I order a body from him.

Had some vacation time to use, and there's been some unseasonably warm temps around here, so I directed my spring fever toward the Rustic Cab.

Sanded down to 220 (not much effort here, as Marc did a nice job of sanding before sending it my way), then used Denatured Alcohol to raise the whiskers, and hit it again to knock those down.

Used some wood conditioner, which really showed what nice grain was on this piece. Let it dry and put the color on.

After a time, took it out of the garage, and into the sun for some pics.

That is a great color! Perfect for rustic!

I can't answer the screw question, but as for grounding. If you take a wire and cut some insulation off the end, then splay the wire out ( I think splay is the right word, maybe I'm making it up....make it spread out so isn't just a lump) and then tighten the bridge down on top, that should make enough of a connection. It has worked on all of my guitars. Oh and do rough up the bottom a bit, for better connection.

Love that red. I did something similar with a poplar body. Stained it walnut (which surprisingly evened out the green streaks in poplar), slapped an old Squier Strat neck on it and some relic'd hardware.

http://distilleryimage8.s3.amazonaws.com/364f331c44b311e19896123138142014_7.jpg

Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.

Love that red. I did something similar with a poplar body. Stained it walnut (which surprisingly evened out the green streaks in poplar), slapped an old Squier Strat neck on it and some relic'd hardware.

Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.

Thanks! And yours is sweet. You surely achieved the rustic vibe. My hardware is not relic'd, though. Wondering if I should be doing that. Still time to decide. Most of the stuff is nickel, but that bridge plate is sooooo chrome, I may need to dirty it up a bit.

That is a great color! Perfect for rustic!

I can't answer the screw question, but as for grounding. If you take a wire and cut some insulation off the end, then splay the wire out ( I think splay is the right word, maybe I'm making it up....make it spread out so isn't just a lump) and then tighten the bridge down on top, that should make enough of a connection. It has worked on all of my guitars. Oh and do rough up the bottom a bit, for better connection.

thanks - makes perfect sense.

If you do relic your hardware and go the muriatic acid route like I did, I would encourage 2 things: 1) patience, and 2) more patience. The knobs I over did it on because I couldn't seen the result I wanted after 20 min of them sitting in the fumes. So I let them sit another 20, after which they looked right, but once they'd sat out for a few hours they aged even more. If I were to go back and do it again, I would have let them sit a few hours before judging the result of the first 20 min of fuming. Hope that makes sense...

If you do relic your hardware and go the muriatic acid route like I did, I would encourage 2 things: 1) patience, and 2) more patience. The knobs I over did it on because I couldn't seen the result I wanted after 20 min of them sitting in the fumes. So I let them sit another 20, after which they looked right, but once they'd sat out for a few hours they aged even more. If I were to go back and do it again, I would have let them sit a few hours before judging the result of the first 20 min of fuming. Hope that makes sense...

sounds like you should of nuterlized the acid after you took it out of the bath.
i know i have too when i etch wrought iron ( i have like a 100lbs of the stuff i will ue it in a build as they do not make wrought iron anymore.. i should get instant mojo. loL joking of course nut a interested in seeing how it sounds, i wan to make a stop tail piece out of it.. look into the proper method for the product you use to make her stop the chemical reaction.
chris.

ps.
that neck is great looking. another reason i plan on learning to build my own neck.. no way could i afford to buy a neck so pretty.
chris.

Spent some time today shooting Minwax Aerosol Lacquer (satin) on my similarly stained test piece of pine. Never used it before, so I am getting a feel for the spray pattern, and flash time.

Went with satin, because I felt a high gloss would clash with the naked neck, etc. So far, I am happy with how the stuff is going on.

Stay tuned.

OK, spent some time today wet sanding and buffing. Used 3M's Buffing Compound, and probably need something finer for a final effort - is 3M's FinesseIt finer than the buffing compound? I have some Turtle Wax Polishing Compound, would that work? Anyway, I couldn't resist a mockup, so here it is - doesn't really put the color in best light, against the faux woodgrain of our table pads, but nontheless:

i use turtle wax cutting polish followed by turtle wax polishing

I usually use gloss finish poly sprays so I am curious to know do a satin finish stay satin after wetsanding? or does it go glossy?

I usually use gloss finish poly sprays so I am curious to know do a satin finish stay satin after wetsanding? or does it go glossy?

hard to say - wet sanding didn't make it glossy, but the buffing did a little. However, I put a thin finish on it, so the "level" is glossier than the low spots after the buffing. The pine had some natural checking that i left - I didn't sand the rest down to eliminate those. Overall, I like how it looks, but suspect I will b happier after a few years of play.

Wow, I really love the contrasting colors in that neck!

It's like a chocolate/vanilla swirl. I've been very happy with the necks I've bought from Warmoth, what's your take?

Wow, I really love the contrasting colors in that neck!

It's like a chocolate/vanilla swirl. I've been very happy with the necks I've bought from Warmoth, what's your take?

Thanks - the neck has very nice fit and finish. The fretwork seems very good.

I plan to shield the control cavity with copper tape. The question is whether I need to/should similarly shield the pickup cavity.

Given the humbucker with grounded cover, I wonder whether I really need to shield the pickup cavity - if so, it wouldn't need a ground wire to the shielding other cavity, in my opinion, since the TV Jones mounting method will essentially ground the shielding to the p/u cover via the screws.

Thoughts?