Barncaster's 2012 Challenge Build Thread -- COMPLETED

And like this...... She is starting to be a looker!

Barncaster

And like this...... She is starting to be a looker!

Barncaster

She sure is!

Thanks Jupiter!

Looking good. Keep at it! Think I'm gonna like the tort binding.

The ebony top is ridiculous! The back looks much better without the tile (that must have been hard to remove!). I can't wait to see this finished.

Thank guys! Gonna hit the shop now for a little more routing. Just got a new bit....must play......

Barncaster

Looking good Rob , stripes and ebony , what more could ya want :smile:

Evening All,

Tonight was bound to happen, yes on went the binding. :roll: I routed the body with my old Craftsman router and a Freud bit. Worked well but the bloodwood as always wanted to frag every chance it got so there will be quite a few micro repairs. It was the same way on the banjo I built and veneered with the stuff. Under a few coats of clear lacquer, bloodwood is beautiful however. Well worth the trouble. :cool:

The tortoise shell binding used was from Allparts. It's the best I've seen and recommended except for one small problem. On the bottom I bound around the entire circumference and the length supplied was 2" too short. The second length was fine for the top as the binding is interrupted by the neck pocket. As a matter of fact, it was 2" over on the top so I snipped it off and glued it into the gap on the bottom. I have heard you can melt this stuff in acetone(?) to make a matching fill. Does anyone know about this? I could use the help. Anyway, onward and upward. Everyone is doing great, keep going!

Barncaster

Looking good Rob , stripes and ebony , what mare could ya want :smile:

Hey Herb,

Thanks for the kind words. What more could I want? Definitely some sleep!

Good Night,
Barncaster

Hi barncaster.

Been hard to keep up with all the builds.

Great save on body. Like the stripes and binding.

On the home straight now.

Cheers

Looking good Rob , you are on the home stretch now. You can melt abs binding in acetone , just put some scrap pieces in a jar with a bit of acetone and let it turn to goop , I've seen it done with solid color binding , don't know about tortoise getting a match up , as always , test first is best . :smile:

Looking good Rob , you are on the home stretch now. You can melt abs binding in acetone , just put some scrap pieces in a jar with a bit of acetone and let it turn to goop , I've seen it done with solid color binding , don't know about tortoise getting a match up , as always , test first is best . :smile:

That will work!+1 on the "Looking good Rob"

Hi barncaster.

Been hard to keep up with all the builds.

Great save on body. Like the stripes and binding.

On the home straight now.

Cheers

Hey GN

Thanks for the kind words. Getting close!

Barncaster

Looking good Rob , you are on the home stretch now. You can melt abs binding in acetone , just put some scrap pieces in a jar with a bit of acetone and let it turn to goop , I've seen it done with solid color binding , don't know about tortoise getting a match up , as always , test first is best . :smile:

Good Morning Herb,

Thanks for the kind words. I feel a momentum has built up which is cool. Most of the thinking is done and the doing is just flowing. That last line kind of sounded like a laxative commercial...... Anyway, I'll do the goop experiment this morning. Thanks for the info.

Rob

That will work!+1 on the "Looking good Rob"

Hey Oigun,

Thanks man! Today is route the control cavity, wood dust fill fixes and sanding, sanding, sanding!

Rob

Afternoon All,

Today so far has been a scraping and sanding day. Originally I wanted to scrape the whole thing but didn't have the arms. Whipped out the Dewalt palm sander and 5 minutes later both sides were beautiful. The ebony flaws have been filled with CA and ebony dust but I forgot the Scatter tip of putting masking tape on your finger tips and now it looks like I voted in an Iraqi election......:roll: Anyway, next is to make some bloodwood dust and fill the 40 or so GLARING flaws. Unfortunately that has to wait as I have been tasked with a COSTCO run so maybe a little more later. :cool:

Barncaster

You should be ready for finish real soon , and its looking great :smile:

Thanks Herb,

I still need to route the control cavity from the back but from there, it's all finishing. I have some Reranch clear nitro for all of the veneers. I think that should do the trick.The ebony will be sanded to the finest paper I have, (its at 600 now), dyed and oiled. I think I'm going to dye it as the top piece I used is sufficiently different in grain then the other 4 pieces. I couldn't really see this when the wood was rough. Oh well. I hope it doesn't make it too sterile looking. The neck is finished with tinted tung oil that I used on my Snakehead build. I really like that stuff. I'm getting nervous man! Thanks again Herb for all of your help and encouragement!

Rob

That's really cool, Rob! Ebony and bloodwood is an awesome look.

This is going to be awesome I really like the back. I hope the 2 different finishes go well for you. I can't exactly picture how that will go. Can't wait to see it all go down.

Rob-- What a great looking build. I'm just catching up with builds, including my own. I had originally planned to work some bloodwood into my build, and have heard it can be splintery, as you're contending with. But what a great look. This will be a stunner when she's done!

That's really cool, Rob! Ebony and bloodwood is an awesome look.

Thanks Roger! I hadn't planned on doing a Bela Lugosi themed Tele but it kind of went sideways in that direction. The hardware is going to drive it a little more into the unusual as well. The secrets will unfold as they will :-). I think I may have just named my guitar.......

Barncaster

This is going to be awesome I really like the back. I hope the 2 different finishes go well for you. I can't exactly picture how that will go. Can't wait to see it all go down.

Hey Muzikp,

The tie to the two finishes is that the fretboard is ebony as well and the maple neck is toasted and tinted pretty dark. The hardware will be beyond minimal and somewhat unusual. Weighed it today and without the control cavity or jack hole drilled, it is down to 5 pounds even! If I have a really good morning it may get it's first 3 coats of clear nitro tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Barncaster

Rob-- What a great looking build. I'm just catching up with builds, including my own. I had originally planned to work some bloodwood into my build, and have heard it can be splintery, as you're contending with. But what a great look. This will be a stunner when she's done!

Hey R,

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, the bloodwood is a handful. If I would have used a curling iron to bend it it would have cut the repairs I'm doing easily by 75 percent. Live and learn. I'll be mixing a lot of CA and bloodwood dust tomorrow for fixing. I can't wait to see the bloodwood with the clear nitro on it. I did a banjo in the stuff and it came out beautiful but requiring a ton of little fixes as well. Give it a whirl!

Barncaster

Hey R,

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, the bloodwood is a handful. If I would have used a curling iron to bend it it would have cut the repairs I'm doing easily by 75 percent. Live and learn. I'll be mixing a lot of CA and bloodwood dust tomorrow for fixing. I can't wait to see the bloodwood with the clear nitro on it. I did a banjo in the stuff and it came out beautiful but requiring a ton of little fixes as well. Give it a whirl!

Barncaster

I've read and or heard that bloodwood is hard and oily enough to take a great shine on its own without a finish, if you sand/scrape/polish it enough, and it will remain durable. Is that your experience with it?

Hey Rick,

Yeah, the bloodwood scrapes to a nice shiny finish but it usually starts off with a pretty gnarly surface so you have to make sure the veneer is thick enough to withstand a lot of scraping. The banjo I did was cleared with nitro. That worked really well. I will be clearing the bloodwood on this guitar. The ebony will just be dyed and oiled. Schlick!

Barncaster

I haven't been around in a while, but the veneer looks great. I especially like the back design. Well done!

Thanks Dr. Tom!

The body is sitting on the bench now covered with CA/ wood dust warts. Kind of feels like two steps forward and one back after getting it sanded the way I wanted it but there were a lot of booboos that had to be fixed. Used a variation of the Scatter fret end fill method. We'll see what it looks like with the sanding off tonight. Yes, this guitar will be banjo themed and the five stripes on the back are a homage to the venerable five string. More to come.

Barncaster

Rob,

This is going to be a very cool guitar. I have been "out of pocket" for a while and just catching up on the threads. I really like what you have done on the back.

BR

Rob,

This is going to be a very cool guitar. I have been "out of pocket" for a while and just catching up on the threads. I really like what you have done on the back.

BR

Thanks BR,

It's coming but the "little fixes" are killing me. Big learning curve here. :oops:

Barncaster

It's looking great, man. And those learning curves are part of the fun, least that's what I've been trying to tell myself!

Morning All,

Let me tell you, the little fixes are brutal. I started with attempting to use the Scatter method of CA and dust but the results were horrible. I mean really bad. And then I sanded through the veneer at the horn edge, the worst possible spot...:mad: :oops:. At that point I reverted to good old Elmers and dust for a more traditional slurry build and fill. It's drying now but after a detail sand tonight I'm done and have to move on to clear nitro on the back as we are running out of time. It's faaaaar from perfect but it is what it is. Next time I veneer I will use a bending iron on conditioned veneer to stop the splintering. These repairs are tough! Anyway, onward and upward! Everyone's build looks great. Keep going!

Barncaster

It's looking great, man. And those learning curves are part of the fun, least that's what I've been trying to tell myself!

Hey Phil,

Oh, for someone like myself with limited skills and severe perfectionist OCD tendencies, this can be like doing neurosurgery with an engineer's hammer... Anyway fun, yes, fun it is.

Barncaster

Rob , I think once you final sand and get some finish on the repairs will look fine , and when you get to strum this axe the smile on your face isn't going to worry about nothing :)

Rob , I think once you final sand and get some finish on the repairs will look fine , and when you get to strum this axe the smile on your face isn't going to worry about nothing :)

Thanks Herb,

I'm going to trust you on this one. I think once the clear is on it, it will even out the color differences between the repairs and the regular bloodwood. The ebony is a dream to work with. Then again, it's also flat and 3/16 thick! I have learned so much here on what not to do as well as what to do. And yes, I can't wait to hear it's first note! Have fun on your vaca.

Rob

Evening All,

Got a little done tonight and still will get to bed early. My firm is being audited for 2 days starting tomorrow so sleep is a must! Anyway, tonight was a routing night and did the control cavity from the back. It came out well from the perspective that I didn't route through the top! Yea! Also routed in a rabbet using my binding bit. I'll glue in some half dowels at the ends for the screws. Saw someone here do that once and thought it was slick. Also drilled the jack hole. Had to do it by hand and it walked a bit so the jack is not centered on the edge. Honestly, I think the ebony deflected it but with the cup in it looks fine. It is what it is. On my flaky scale, the final weight is 5 lbs. Not bad for mahogany capped with 3/16 ebony and full edge and back veneer. I think it would be considered a light weight in Les Paul land and curvy here in Teleland. :wink:

And the Elmers/ dust slurry did a much better job filling than the CA. I think something decent may come out of this yet!

Barncaster

Oh,

And some interesting parts came in the mail today....... :cool:

Barncaster

Evening All,

Did a little finish sanding to the top tonight down to 600. It looks really nice. In the picture I am torn as whether to keep it with the light figuring it has or to dye it pitch black. On the fence on that one and opinions are always welcome.

Did the finish sanding on the back and sides to 600 as well, taped off the top to protect it from overspreay and shot it with 3 light coats of Reranch clear nitro. The first picture shows unfinished then the second, 1 coat and the third, 3 coats. I'll level it tomorrow and shoot another 3 coats if the rain stops.

The neck also got leveled and another coat of tinted tung oil applied. A few more applications to the face of the headstock to give it some depth and then it's neck assembly time. It feels good to be nearing completion. :grin:

Everyones builds are coming along great! Keep going! :smile:

Barncaster

1 vote for don't dye it.

I agree, just Tru Oil, or clear coat that puppy up, and go. It looks good now, and will really pop then.

Edit: Okay, I reread, and yeah, that last shot looks great!

1 vote for don't dye it.

Have to agree with Jupiter--That ebony's pattern is not blotchy or objectionable in any way, to my eye. In fact, it's unusually even and well-distributed across the face. I think it will make for some visual interest and a real (and rare) wood appearance if you leave it natural, and just finish it. Shiny all-black guitars are a dime a dozen, ebony is unique, rare as a face wood, and deserves to be highlighted 'au naturel. My 2 cents worth.

And I think the jack hole turned out fine. Nobody would notice its placement if you don't point it out. It's intentional anyway, right, gets the cord out away a little from the body, just like you planned.

And I'll bite, at risk of looking like a noob--what IS that shiny thing you're holding? Must have to do with guitars, because it has 6 lumpy things on it.

Thanks Jupiter, rcole and R,

I'm thinking maybe I'll just throw a little Howards citrus waxy stuff on it. It is soooo slick right now. Feels sweet.

The shiny silver thing in the picture is a banjo 6 string "No Knot" tailpiece. It mounts at the rear edge near the strap button. Am going to use a homebew ebony Banjo style bridge with it too. Should be sweeeet and very unusual. The cat is out of the bag!

Barncaster

Banjocaster - the ultimate in twang! :grin:

I vote "no dye", too! I like the grain in the ebony and the color is pretty consistent as is!

Banjocaster - the ultimate in twang! :grin:

Hey Roger,

Banjocaster........I'm not so sure. I know that's the theme but I'm leaning more towards "Ebsquire". This subject is definitely open to discussion. I still think Polly is perfect for Dave's guit. What an image....... The ladle of love :wink:

Barncaster

Thanks Jupiter, rcole and R,

I'm thinking maybe I'll just throw a little Howards citrus waxy stuff on it. It is soooo slick right now. Feels sweet.

The shiny silver thing in the picture is a banjo 6 string "No Knot" tailpiece. It mounts at the rear edge near the strap button. Am going to use a homebew ebony Banjo style bridge with it too. Should be sweeeet and very unusual. The cat is out of the bag!

Barncaster

Thats a cool idea. Looking forward to seeing it implemented. Are you gonna string it with banjo strings, too?

I vote "no dye", too! I like the grain in the ebony and the color is pretty consistent as is!

Hey Jim,

Yes, no dye it is! Just a little bees wax and citrus oil. Thanks for the input!

Barncaster

Thats a cool idea. Looking forward to seeing it implemented. Are you gonna string it with banjo strings, too?

Hey R,

I want to use normal strings and just need to figure out how to get the ferrules out of the loops and I'm golden. I'm a big fan of round core all nickel DR Pure Blues. Stay tuned. :cool:

Barncaster

I am a little late, but I vote "No Dye." It is looking really good and I am a fan of the grain! I love the stripey back and really want to see how Banjo tailpiece and bridge works out. Very cool idea.

1 vote for don't dye it.

+1......

Thanks BR and esetter,

The top will be oiled and waxed but not dyed. Trying to work out the grounding arrangement now. Having a non-metallic bridge means the strings have to be grounded at the tailpiece. Getting a ground wire to the tailpiece means some long drilling. I have an idea to try once the finishing is done. Going to use a feeler bit from the butt into the control cavity at an angle. It will be about a 5" long hole but I think it's doable. Located high enough, it will be hidden by the bridge.

Body and neck are drying afyer some finishing tonight. Hope to have them together by Sunday. Carving and intonating the ebony bridge will be interesting......

Barncaster

:shock: Carving an ebony bridge :shock:. Can't wait to see that. Guitar looks fantastic.

Hey R,

I want to use normal strings and just need to figure out how to get the ferrules out of the loops and I'm golden. I'm a big fan of round core all nickel DR Pure Blues. Stay tuned. :cool:

Barncaster

I believe you may need loop-end strings here, you can get pin style tailpieces that the ball-end can slip over-fyi


Dave

I believe you may need loop-end strings here, you can get pin style tailpieces that the ball-end can slip over-fyi

Dave

Hey Dave,

I've seen the cast 6 string pin tail pieces available but liked the "no knot" better. Got it from Rickard Banjos in Canada. Made there and not in China. If you like banjos, Rickard has some amazing stuff.

Most electric guitar strings are loop end except for Fender Bullets. They just have the ferrule inserted. I'm sure I can figure out a little persuasion for getting the ferrule out without doing too much trauma to the strings. Either way, I'm not sure if there is such a thing as loop end electric. I'll check however.

By the way, how is Polly? Is she free Friday night?

Barncaster

Great work!!

Great work!!

Thanks Guitarzan!

Just found a video on YouTube of a guy using just a pair of pliers to carefully squeeze and deform the ferrule inserted in the string end to remove it. I guess with this method usage of any string is possible! I'm glad as the only loop end guitar strings out there seem to be acoustic Gypsy Jazz sets. Phew.....

Barncaster

:shock: Carving an ebony bridge :shock:. Can't wait to see that. Guitar looks fantastic.

Thanks Muzikp!

Evening All,

Anyone ever had one of those nights when the little voice tells you "Don't go in the shop tonight". Yes I ignored it and had one of those two steps forward, one back nights. For this build I had to drill 2 wire channels. One for the tailpiece ground wire and a normal one from the pickup route to the cotrol cavity. I thought the ground wire would be a problem but turned out OK. Went too far with the other and ended up boobooing the veneer. :oops: Mixed a little Elmers/ dust slurry but am really tired of doing the little fixes The more I look the more I see. This build it what an old Corvette collector friend of mine used to call a "10 foot special". It looks great from 10 feet away but don't get too close. His silver 56 was like that but his '62 fuelie and '67 427 were serious but I digress......

Barncaster

But wait, there's more,

And then there was the tailpiece. I got this slick little "no knot" six string banjo tailpiece but the mount was wrong for the Tele. I have included a picture of my plectrum banjo I built to show a common tailpiece mount for what they call a "stick" banjo. This type of banjo usually has a wooden dowel from the neck to the back of the pot. At he back of the pot is a through screw into the dowel with a spherical through-drilled ball end piece. The bridge mounting screw goes through this ball end piece and is held in place with a nut. See picture. I was going to lag in a ball but it was too tall so I decided to bend the mounting tab flat on the tailpiece and screw it into the body with the strap button screw. That was easy enough but the nickel plate fragged which I suspected would happen. UG! :oops: I'm thinking of maybe covering it with a little ebony piece.

Barncaster

Onto the bridge,

Cut a piece of ebony 1"x1" stock to start to work on the bridge. Hopefully this will be less dramatic than the other events of the evening. On the other hand, it is midnight so sleep seems appropriate. See yall in the morning.

Barncaster

Well, despite all the touch ups, you're still making some great progress and the guitar is awesome. And since none of us will ever get within 10' of it anyway... :wink:

Great build. Frustrating to you when things don't go as planned, I know, but it is really a great instruction thread for the rest of us on how to fix things. I learn a lot from this. :smile:

Well, despite all the touch ups, you're still making some great progress and the guitar is awesome. And since none of us will ever get within 10' of it anyway... :wink:

Thanks Roger!

But you never know. If anyone here is ever out to NORCAL, drop me a line.

Barncaster

Great build. Frustrating to you when things don't go as planned, I know, but it is really a great instruction thread for the rest of us on how to fix things. I learn a lot from this. :smile:

Thanks Shardik,

Tomorrow the fixes will get leveled as will the first 5 coats of clear. When I pulled the blue tape off the ebony last night it revealed a few more flaws which got fixed as well so the ebony will get releveled to 600 grit or more. Checked the frets last night and have 3 to level and crown per the rocker but that will have to wait till tuesday as the tool budget for April is toast. Then more clear and a final leveling, assembly, electronics, setup, etc, etc.

And to think an automated factory can spit one of these out in probably a day with a UV cured finish........ But it's still fun!

Barncaster

Evening All,

Started the day by leveling the clear lacquer on the back of the body. I was wet sanding with some 800 and mineral spirits. Phone rang, saw the caller ID, decided not to pick it up, opened the can, dumped a little mineral spirits on the paper towel to wipe off the leveling goo and lo and behold, the clear on the back of the body started to melt..... Yes that's right, I grabbed the can of acetone and not mineral spirits.....:mad::oops: Sanded it ALL off and shot two more coats. The veneer looks like it was done in a back alley in some 3rd world country BUT, I have learned so much from the good people here that I'm sure the next will be lightyears cleaner. Its got character so to speak. :rolleyes:

Barncaster

Hey All,

I tried a new approach to finishing the neck. Am using Minwax Tung Oil varnish with a lot of brown and amber tint in it. Normally you wipe it on, wait a few minutes and wipe it off. It's a slow build process that can take upwards of 10 coats. What I noticed about this stuff is that it does a really good job of self leveling if you can leave it alone after the initial wipe on. So instead of wiping it off after a few minutes, I let the heavy initial wipe cure for 2 days and got this. :cool: Not bad!

Then it was on to the side markers. Yes, the "BLING" won out and I actually like it. These are 3mm c.z. just hide glued into 1/8' brad point holes. I think it worked well! :cool:

Barncaster

Hey All,

Then I said what the hell and installed the tuners. They are located with a little nub so I premounted them, aligned everything and gave them a squeeze so the nub would leave a witness mark in the wood. A small bit was then used to make receiving holes and they were reinstalled and gently tightened down. What do you think?? :cool: They are a touch tall so it seems double string trees will probably be required. Will cross that bridge when I get to it. :wink:

Barncaster

Hey All,

Finished up the day with roughing out the bridge. Threw a 40 grit belt on the ROSS and free handed away and this is what came out. Might work, might not. The top will definitely have to be flattened a bit to facilitate a little intonation filing. Getting closer....... :smile:

And yes, thinking of doing a deco pickguard with that wild tortiose shell material. It's .020" self stick acoustic guitar stuff from LMI. Love the look. :cool:

Barncaster

You've got some great stuff going here. I definitely would've never thought to couple banjo parts/design elements with a tele, but you're making it look really good.

Hey Roger,

Thanks tons! It finally feels like forward movement.

Barncaster

Evening All,

Tonight was shooting more clear on the sides and back. It's starting to look OK for a first attempt. It will never be a Herbster however. Those skills take a while to master.

Got the old Gibson 3 pickup/ 3 way switch today in the mail. I want to run the cocked wah circuit in this guitar but use a Gibson style switch. This one should work and I will keep you posted as I've never seen anyone do it with a Gibson-style switch. The secret lies in this particular switch allows for 3 distinct circuits.

Tomorrow will be the second to the last leveling and the last clear nitro. The Reranch clear being used gets hard pretty fast. That means gentle assembly by the weekend! Yeeha! I hope "Fixie" the gremlin stays away for the final stretch for everyone. :roll:

Barncaster

This is really turning out very cool! Entire headstock looks very nice and I really like the banjo tuners! Great job.

This is really turning out very cool! Entire headstock looks very nice and I really like the banjo tuners! Great job.

+1 on the banjo tuners. thats a really nice touch!! Looking great !

Thanks BR and Steve,

I love the Waverly tuners. Stewmac does a great job with them. They're a touch heavy but then again my build body is no light weight at 5lbs so it should balance out.

Barncaster

Evening All,

Sorry no pictures tonight. Just leveled and put two more coats of clear nitro on the body. Also worked on the little ebony piece to cover the trashed nickel plate on the tail piece. And also continued to shape the ebony bridge and cut an ebony nut blank. Black is beautiful baby! :wink:

Barncaster

Thanks Roger!

But you never know. If anyone here is ever out to NORCAL, drop me a line.

Barncaster

I'm on my way, be there in about an hour. I don't have a striped guitar you know :mrgreen:.

Have you carved that ebony bridge yet? I wanna see that go down.

Hey James,

You are welcomed to my place any time, striped guitar or not. As far as the bridge goes, I started to rough it out a few posts up. Did some work last night but didn't get a chance to post it yet. If all goes well, there may be a music video by this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed!

Rob

Evening All,

Yesterday was a bit of body finishing. Started with a little hand buffing and waxing on the veneer and some Howard's on the ebony. The ebony just sucked this stuff up like crazy. Check it out. :cool:

Barncaster

Hey All,

Started at the back end. Put on the tailpiece ebony cap and ground. This tailpiece has problems. One major is that the posts will only allow loop end strings and no one makes loop end electric strings. I've gotten around it for the time being by feeding the string through the little brass eyelet, and feeding that loop around each post. Doesn't really work well. If I want a no knot that works, I may contact Marc Rutters for a custom piece. The second is I trashed the nickel plating so I made a little end cap all fixed together by the strap button screw and it came out like this. The third is that a ground wire had to be run to it. Oh the price of being different!

Barncaster

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/317650-polishing-challenge-skills-you-guys-killing-me.html

Next I had to see the pickup in it. I had wound this pickup a while back and is documented in the thread above. I think it looks pretty slick! :cool: It's essentially a short (2.36") Alnico 2 bar magnet with 10,000 turns of 43 AWG on custom fabbed Garolite flatwork. It metered to 10.93 so the equivalent in a 42 AWG wound pickup would probably be in the 8 range somewhere. Kind of beefy in an attempt to tame the ebony. Talk about a tight fit! there's a lot of copper in there. :cool:

Barncaster

Tonight was laying out the controls. I'm using a Gibson 3 way/ 3 pickup switch in an attempt to make it work to use the cocked wah circuitry. I think I have it figured out. Found some cool old bakelite knobs too! :cool:

Barncaster

Got the neck on and strung up too. The bridge is an R&D piece, not intonateable and too short but it is strung up and plays remarkable well. A new bridge will be made tomorrow. The ebony nut just needs its slots deepened a bit and some finish work before being glued in. It's coming together! :grin:

Barncaster

That looks great, Rob! I really dig those bakelite knobs.

Cool! :cool:

It isn't cheap, but it's what you need :wink:, Tail Piece (http://www.goldtone.com/products/details/w/instrument/206/B1117-6-String)


If it makes you feel any better, Deering has the same basic thing but for 99$ :roll:

That looks great, Rob! I really dig those bakelite knobs.

Thanks Roger,

Found this style ratty and used on eBay but were expensive and lost the bid. Next day found the same ones but NOS and 6 for 10 bucks! Woooo hooo!

Barncaster

Cool! :cool:

It isn't cheap, but it's what you need :wink:, Tail Piece (http://www.goldtone.com/products/details/w/instrument/206/B1117-6-String)

If it makes you feel any better, Deering has the same basic thing but for 99$ :roll:

Thanks Dave,

I know using one of these is the easiest thing to do but I don't like the style. I think Mr. Rutters will get a call at some point. And yes, but Deering's version is polished with albino Arctic Fox musk specifically harvested on animals only born on leap years with IQ approaching that of a European Swallow.......... It's all documented on their website. ;-)

Barncaster

Evening All,

Today was a frustrating day. Ever get the feeling you were working too fast and nothing was going well? It felt kind of like that today. I should back up a bit because yesterday went unreported. When the ebony nut was carved I botched the spacing. The high "E" was too close to the fret bevel and the string would slip off too easily. As the nut wasn't glued in yet or shaped, I simply pulled it out and flipped it over for a fresh blank! Cheesy yes but effective. This time I went slow with the Stewmac string spacing ruler and it came out beautifully. A really nice tool.

A new bridge was roughed out as well as the original was too low. Now the guitar plays beautifully and has only one buzz on the g string at the 21st fret. That fix can wait. A little more intonation filing needs to be done on the e and a strings but overall things are working really well. Acoustically, the guitar is very loud and detailed. String balance is very even. Maybe even the best out of every tele I have. :cool:

The pickup was also too low so I installed a spacer blank and now the pickup height is acceptable. Step by step!

Barncaster

Evening All Again...

Today was electronics. I don't have an electronics background so getting the Gibson 3 way, 3 pickup switch to work was a chore. I think I had the guts out 4 times before I figured it out. And even then I didn't have the correct cap on hand for the cocked wah which is usually a .0047mF. Ended up using a vintage .02mF CD main cap and a .0015mF Jerrlee PIO for the cocked wah circuit. At some point those will be changed out to .047mF and .0047mF respectively to tame the ebony a bit. How does it sound? GREAT! Still have to play with pckup height as well. It's very different from my other Teles so it will have to be played for a while to figure it out. The neck is huge. Having no truss rod, the whole thing vibreates heavily in the lap. :cool:

For now I just need the front strap button installed and a good cleaning and the pickguard and it's done! What a great feeling. The last steps will hopefully be tomorrow. Yee Haa! C'mon everone, finish strong. We're almost there! :grin:

Barncaster

That's a beauty. Gotta love the simplicity of the design. One thing, though: Wouldn't a black toggle button blend in better with the knobs and the dark wood?

Very cool.

Great work, Rob. Can't wait til you post the vid. That's such a cool juxtoposition of styles.

That's a beauty. Gotta love the simplicity of the design. One thing, though: Wouldn't a black toggle button blend in better with the knobs and the dark wood?

Hey Shardik,

Yes, a black button would and I have one. A white one was on just to check it out.

Barncaster

Very cool.

Hey B,

Thanks!

Barncaster

Great work, Rob. Can't wait til you post the vid. That's such a cool juxtoposition of styles.

Hey Rodger,

Thank man! One issue I'm having is that with the caps installed, the sound isn't terribly different between positions. But it is what it is and forward we go! The last bit is the pickguard tonight and some detailing. The vid will probably come Wednesday night. Can't wait! Thanks again for supporting the thread. :-)

Rob

I think this is the first ebony cap I have ever seen, and man is it beautiful! Great job!

Thanks Rapfohl!

The ebony thing came about because I went to a LMI open warehouse sale two years ago and they were blowing out boxes of ebony fretboard seconds for next to nothing. The brain said hmmmmm, what can be done with this? Answer, a shiny Tele! Truth be told I have never seen an ebony topped guitar either. It feels very nice to the touch. Almost sensual. UG, the inner guitar geek voice slipped out again! Sorry....

Barncaster

That's a really cool design and it all came together fantastic. Can we see a full shot of the back? I do like them stripes you got.

That's a really cool design and it all came together fantastic. Can we see a full shot of the back? I do like them stripes you got.

Thanks James!

Actually I am a little embarrassed of the veneering. It's crude at best. Ideally I should have grain filled it and that would have evened things out quite a bit but it is what it is and I learned a TON from everyone here and from this build in front of me. The ebony I am proud of. After I do the freaky tortoise shell pickguard tonight I'll post some beauty shots including the stripes. My seven year old tells me it is perfect. :roll:

Barncaster

Thanks James!

Actually I am a little embarrassed of the veneering. It's crude at best. Ideally I should have grain filled it and that would have evened things out quite a bit but it is what it is and I learned a TON from everyone here and from this build in front of me. The ebony I am proud of. After I do the freaky tortoise shell pickguard tonight I'll post some beauty shots including the stripes. My seven year old tells me it is perfect. :roll:

Barncaster

Aw come on, don't be bashful - stripes make you look thin or tall or something. Maybe it's fat - I just don't recall.

This prompts me to share what me 4 year old said last night (he's the youngest of 3 so his vocabulary is a bit advanced). "Dad I don't want to clean up my dinner plate anymore, I've been doing it for years". My response of course was "Good, now you can clean up your brother and sisters while your cleaning up yours". Kids say the best things ever, but I suspect your 7 year old is fairly accurate regarding the stripes.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/2012-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/126326d1336114357t-barncasters-2012-challenge-build-thread-img_3624-jpg

I don't know they look really spectacular here. I can almost figure out what your shirt says. Something about Dancing with Lance maybe :lol:

Hey James,

LOL! The stuff that comes out of their mouths is priceless. My son just wants me to get my butt out of the shop so I'll play with him. He as ulterior motives. Actually it's amazing how many hours this build has taken. It's time to get out of the shop and into the sun. My mountain bike misses me. I'm glad they started it on March 14. The date works well with life in general.

Rob

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/2012-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/126326d1336114357t-barncasters-2012-challenge-build-thread-img_3624-jpg

I don't know they look really spectacular here. I can almost figure out what your shirt says. Something about Dancing with Lance maybe :lol:

Oi Vey...... :roll:

Evening All,

Started with the best intentions tonight of cutting a pickguard out of the really cool or apparently really cool tortoise shell material I got from LMI. It turned into another learning experience so to speak.

I had an idea of an art deco pickguard kind of styled after the old streamlined trains of the 30s/ 40s. Cut a template and taped it onto the material and trimmed away. Ended up with something I liked. Then peeled off the adhesive backing to mount it and being translucent, it got totally lost on the ebony. On a nice light piece of spruce or a butterscotch Tele I think it would have worked as the light color would have maintained the contrast but not here so this is officially an un-pickguarded guitar. Oh well. Here are some pictures.

Barncaster

Evening All,

Intonated the bridge tonight, put on the fron strap button, waxed/ oiled the top and waxed the back so here it is in it's more or less finished form, The Ebsquire....:cool:

Sorry the bridge is a little off in the pictures from disassembly for detailing. It has been corrected. :oops:

A few more pictures... :smile:

Just a couple more. The target video recording night is Wednesday. In the mean time I have to practise! My rust got rusty spending all of that time in the shop! :rolleyes:

Barncaster

Evening All,

Started with the best intentions tonight of cutting a pickguard out of the really cool or apparently really cool tortoise shell material I got from LMI. It turned into another learning experience so to speak.

I had an idea of an art deco pickguard kind of styled after the old streamlined trains of the 30s/ 40s. Cut a template and taped it onto the material and trimmed away. Ended up with something I liked. Then peeled off the adhesive backing to mount it and being translucent, it got totally lost on the ebony. On a nice light piece of spruce or a butterscotch Tele I think it would have worked as the light color would have maintained the contrast but not here so this is officially an un-pickguarded guitar. Oh well. Here are some pictures.

Barncaster



Lovin' this, Barncaster, you're a real artist. PLEEEEZZZE do not abandon that exceptionally cool 30's locomotive-motif pickguard. How's about if you remove the adhesive, spray paint the backside white or other light color, and just mount it with screws? Or put some thin, white material behind it. It's very, very, very cool--almost as cool as those amazing Bakelite knobs. Can't wait for your video.

Love this guitar - I know you have a few reservations about the grain filling and the veneer, but I think it is stunning. Lovely design elements - the ebony, the bridge, tailpiece, controls, banjo tuners, and it just comes together really smoothly. You've got a great eye for detail Barncaster. Cheers

Lovin' this, Barncaster, you're a real artist. PLEEEEZZZE do not abandon that exceptionally cool 30's locomotive-motif pickguard. How's about if you remove the adhesive, spray paint the backside white or other light color, and just mount it with screws? Or put some thin, white material behind it. It's very, very, very cool--almost as cool as those amazing Bakelite knobs. Can't wait for your video.
+1 that pickguard design is sweet!

Great job on the design, Rob. Looks like it came together beautifully

Rob , just got caught up on this and gotta say I like everything about this guitar , originality , finish , parts , love the tuners , the striped back , the ebony cap , that big fat neck , it screams character . I can't wait for the video , you should be very proud , fine job :smile:

Lovin' this, Barncaster, you're a real artist. PLEEEEZZZE do not abandon that exceptionally cool 30's locomotive-motif pickguard. How's about if you remove the adhesive, spray paint the backside white or other light color, and just mount it with screws? Or put some thin, white material behind it. It's very, very, very cool--almost as cool as those amazing Bakelite knobs. Can't wait for your video.

Hey R,

Thanks for the feedback! I'm working on sourcing more appropriate pickguard material now. I won't let it hold up the finish so you may see the pickguard evolution of the finished guitar after the contest completion.

Barncaster

Love this guitar - I know you have a few reservations about the grain filling and the veneer, but I think it is stunning. Lovely design elements - the ebony, the bridge, tailpiece, controls, banjo tuners, and it just comes together really smoothly. You've got a great eye for detail Barncaster. Cheers

Thanks MG!

The project has been an enormous learning experience. Also the people and supportive environment here are second to none. :grin:

Barncaster

+1 that pickguard design is sweet!

Great job on the design, Rob. Looks like it came together beautifully

Thanks Roger!,

As mentioned a few posts up, the pickguard may happen but I won't hold up the finishing of the build for it. Love Art Deco!

Rob

Rob , just got caught up on this and gotta say I like everything about this guitar , originality , finish , parts , love the tuners , the striped back , the ebony cap , that big fat neck , it screams character . I can't wait for the video , you should be very proud , fine job :smile:

Hey Herb,

It's great to have you back! Thanks for the compliments on the Ebsquire. Spent some time playing it last night at my guitar lesson as well as home. The pickup in our recent elevated temps here is now metering 11.00! It was overloading my guitar teacher's digital preamp a bit too much so we had to dial things back. The overload is smooth though because of the 43 AWG wire and Alnico 2 magnet. Normally, guitars with this type of bridge and lots of string behind it have very short sustain. This thing rings like mad. It will take some playing weeks to completely dial it in but for now it is done and completely functional. Can't wait to do the video! :cool:

Soooooo, how is the Snakehead coming?

Rob

Rob , just got caught up on this and gotta say I like everything about this guitar , originality , finish , parts , love the tuners , the striped back , the ebony cap , that big fat neck , it screams character . I can't wait for the video , you should be very proud , fine job :smile:

+1

+1

Thanks Axedaddy!

Barncaster

Soooooo, how is the Snakehead coming?

Rob

The Snakehead is still hanging in the shop , gotta unwind a bit , with the build challenge and the hunting trip I've been on the go for too long now , time for some just do nothing time ,but I'll probably start wet sanding this weekend :lol:

Beautiful, now I am gassing for an ebony tele!

Can you at least set the tortoise pick guard on there and take a pic so we can see it and decide for ourselves :smile:

I really like this guitar in it's finished form. I had a couple of doubts after some of the early hardware pics but not anymore. It's an awesome design, Bravo Bravo much rejoicing.

This is a very nice and unique build, congratulations!

Now that's a guitar. What a beauty. Feel free to picture me leaning back and nodding my head and going "Ooooh. Oooooooh. Oh my." But not in a worrying way.

Man this really pulled together beautifully and looks amazing I love it! Cant wait to hear it.

Hey Rob, that is one fine looking guitar. The finish, bridge arrangement, banjo type tuners, blade magnet pickup and choice of chicken head knobs really compliment each other beautifully.

Hey, we're practically neighbors. I live in Santa Maria. Well, I guess it's not THAT close but certainly not cross country :grin:

Looking forward to hearing it!

Beautiful, now I am gassing for an ebony tele!

Hey Joe,

Believe it or not, it all originated with 6 ebony second quality fingerboards just jointed together. The cost is not too bad and the result, I think, is beautiful. So go ahead, I'd love to see your take on it! Just remember, I'm president of the club. ;-)

Barncaster

Can you at least set the tortoise pick guard on there and take a pic so we can see it and decide for ourselves :smile:

I really like this guitar in it's finished form. I had a couple of doubts after some of the early hardware pics but not anymore. It's an awesome design, Bravo Bravo much rejoicing.

Hey James,

Don't worry, I haven't given up on the pickguard. Thanks for the kind words, I love the beast. I say beast because man is the pickup hot!

Barncaster

This is a very nice and unique build, congratulations!

Thanks Gary!

Barncaster

Now that's a guitar. What a beauty. Feel free to picture me leaning back and nodding my head and going "Ooooh. Oooooooh. Oh my." But not in a worrying way.

Hey Hemingway,

Don't worry, my minister tells me these feeling are perfectly normal... ;-)

Barncaster

Man this really pulled together beautifully and looks amazing I love it! Cant wait to hear it.

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the kind words. The goal is to do the video tonight. The pickup is hotter than I thought and does some really cool things. Stay tuned!

Barncaster

Hey Rob, that is one fine looking guitar. The finish, bridge arrangement, banjo type tuners, blade magnet pickup and choice of chicken head knobs really compliment each other beautifully.

Hey, we're practically neighbors. I live in Santa Maria. Well, I guess it's not THAT close but certainly not cross country :grin:

Looking forward to hearing it!

Hey Craig,

Howdy neighbor! Thanks so much for the kind words. I think the Ebsquire came together well. Tonight is the video barring any unforeseen circumstances. Stay tuned.

Barncaster

Morning All,

Still had a few electronic bugs last night so out came the guts for the I don't knowth time. Got things working well now. It seems that the cocked wah circuit doesn't work as well with heavily over-wound pups. The top position does kind of a weak cocked wah, the middle is just awesome. With the volume full up it just pushed my little practice amp to grumpyland right away. Back off the volume and it's instant beautifully detailed cleans. It's almost like a built-in overdrive. None of my other guitars do this and it's kind way cool. The down position is just dirt everywhere. This assessment is all through my little VOX digital amp so tonight through the Blues Jr. things may be a little different. We will see. Stay tuned for craptastic guitar playing!

Barncaster

Lovely....just lovely!

Lovely....just lovely!

Thanks e!

Must have had some unforeseen circumstances I don't see any videos. And I doubt it will be craptastic, that guitar is way too cool for craptastic.

Hey All,

Well, here it is, video warts and all! Man I couldn't nail that song to save my life. Anyway, it is what it is. Here's a rundown on the specs of the guitar:


Sipo Mahogany body forstner drilled for weight reduction
Ebony Cap
Veneered with Australian Bloodwood and Indian Rosewood
All gluing done with Titebond horse hide glue
Clear nitrocellulous lacquer on veneer
Minwax tung oil on neck
Howards Feed-N-Wax on all ebony
Double tortoise shell binding
Flat sawn toasted hard maple neck with large "D" profile
Ebony slab fretboard with no radius
21 stainless steel jumbo frets
No truss rod
Waverly banjo tuners
Ebony nut
Custom ebony bridge/ intonated
Rickard 6 string banjo tailpiece
Self made pickup in Tele bridge form. Garolite flatwork, Alnico 2 humbucker bar magnet cut to 2.36 inches and wound with 10,000 turns of 43 AWG wire. Measures 10.95 on meter
CTS 250 pots
Switchcraft Gibson style 3 position/ 3 pickup switch with black tip
Custom variation on cocked wah circuit with tone control in all positions
.029mF Orange Drop cap
.005mF ceramic cap for cocked wah
All cloth wiring
Switchcraft jack
Electro socket
NOS Bakelite knobs
Weight - 7.2 lbs.
DR "Pure Blues" round core nickel wound strings (nines)


Thanks again everyone and see you in next year's build challenge! :grin:

Barncaster

rfm8EobLiSI

Must have had some unforeseen circumstances I don't see any videos. And I doubt it will be craptastic, that guitar is way too cool for craptastic.

Hey James,

It's still uploading and the link should go live in about 30 minutes.

Rob

Congratulations - looks great & sounds great. You sure put in lots of unique pieces, and they all went together well.

Wow , that sounds great Rob , and looks great too , big sound from that pup , good choice on the song , Pipeline is one of my favorites :grin:
Nice job on the video , what do you use for your videos , they are always so nice and clear and the sound is good also , a lot better than mine that's for sure .
Congrats on a fine build , and a fine thread , and a fine guitar :smile:

Congratulations - looks great & sounds great. You sure put in lots of unique pieces, and they all went together well.

Thanks Nosmo!

Wow , that sounds great Rob , and looks great too , big sound from that pup , good choice on the song , Pipeline is one of my favorites :grin:
Nice job on the video , what do you use for your videos , they are always so nice and clear and the sound is good also , a lot better than mine that's for sure .
Congrats on a fine build , and a fine thread , and a fine guitar :smile:

Hey Herb,

Thanks for the kind words. For videos, I just use a little Cannon Powershot digital camera screwed onto a tripod. I think it's a 670. They take great photos and videos and yes, the microphone works well. This was an excellent experience. Having your support and that of the entire community was priceless as there were times when I was close to chucking it. Perseverance however paid off with new friends made and a pretty cool guitar was had to boot! :-) Thanks again and I can't wait for next years build. Got some ideas already cooking.....

Rob

Great job, Rob. Paul specified that the vid had to be embedded in your post, so you might want to edit it. When you click on the edit button, click on the youtube icon in the upper menu bar of the reply box. Then just copy and paste rfm8EobLiSI&feature between the brackets. That should fix it.

Good luck, man. You built one heck of a guitar!

Rob That is so cool! Nice job on the video it sounds great! , Great job on your build its really been fun to watch this pull together and transform into a incredibly sweet and unique guitar! You just finished and already looking forward to next years challenge , your a glutton for punishment. :razz: Congrats!

FWIW , I use a lil Canon Powershot too , they work surprisingly well for video.

Cool build and nice video. I loved the song choice. Congrats on a super build!

Well done, man, that's a thing of beauty. Sounds superb too. Congrats! :grin:

Great job...guit sounds great. My last build had a flat fretboard radius and it's so comfortable to play. How does yours feel?

Great job, Rob. Paul specified that the vid had to be embedded in your post, so you might want to edit it. When you click on the edit button, click on the youtube icon in the upper menu bar of the reply box. Then just copy and paste rfm8EobLiSI&feature between the brackets. That should fix it.

Good luck, man. You built one heck of a guitar!

Thanks Roger!,

I fixed the video per your instructions. Should be OK now. So are you in for next year??? I think we should talk to Paul about adding some sub-classes as mentioned earlier. Could make it even more fun and inclusive. I really don't think most folks are here to "win". The experience of participating is so valuable unto itself. That's what I like!

Barncaster

Rob That is so cool! Nice job on the video it sounds great! , Great job on your build its really been fun to watch this pull together and transform into a incredibly sweet and unique guitar! You just finished and already looking forward to next years challenge , your a glutton for punishment. :razz: Congrats!

FWIW , I use a lil Canon Powershot too , they work surprisingly well for video.

Hey Steve,

Thanks man! Yes, you have a point about next year. Most people, except for Igork, need to understand that this is a very serious time commitment. I didn't log hours but I suspect that there could be upwards of 100 hours of shop time in my guitar. That just blows my mind. Granted this is the first one I've ever built from scratch and the second would probably go off in half the time. Like anything else in life, the first time is the hardest. :rolleyes:

P.S. Has the postman come with gifts yet?

Rob

Great job on a really sweet and original guitar!! Excellent!

Cool build and nice video. I loved the song choice. Congrats on a super build!

Thanks RCole!

I am aspiring to have a studio like yours some day! I have to get into that video practicing. It looks like a really good learning method.

Barncaster

Well done, man, that's a thing of beauty. Sounds superb too. Congrats! :grin:

Thanks Phil!

Great job...guit sounds great. My last build had a flat fretboard radius and it's so comfortable to play. How does yours feel?

Hey Fretman,

I really like the flat board. There are no issues with chording and it is very comfortable. The recommendation to make it flat was from my guitar teacher who plays nothing but flat and scalloped as well! Additionally, it's easier to make and make accurately. I did not have to level anything. There were a few high places so I just heated the glued fret with a soldering iron and gave the neck a squeeze in an aluminum-jawed vise w/ neck caul for a full seating and all was perfect. I did miss re-squeezing one but its at the 21st where I never play anyway so someday when the neck is off... :rolleyes:

Barncaster

Great job on a really sweet and original guitar!! Excellent!

Thanks Axedaddy!

Thanks Roger!,

I fixed the video per your instructions. Should be OK now. So are you in for next year??? I think we should talk to Paul about adding some sub-classes as mentioned earlier. Could make it even more fun and inclusive. I really don't think most folks are here to "win". The experience of participating is so valuable unto itself. That's what I like!

Barncaster
I do want to do it again next year. I've had more fun over the past 2 months than I've had in quite a long time, and I've made some awesome new friends along the way. I plan on making a couple more guitars between now and then, so I should have some more experience under my belt... not that it will help if I do something completely off-the-wall again :lol:

Fantastic realization of a beautiful vision there!
Sounds great too!

I do want to do it again next year. I've had more fun over the past 2 months than I've had in quite a long time, and I've made some awesome new friends along the way. I plan on making a couple more guitars between now and then, so I should have some more experience under my belt... not that it will help if I do something completely off-the-wall again :lol:

Off-the-wall Roger? Oh that could never happen with you :rolleyes:

Fantastic realization of a beautiful vision there!
Sounds great too!

Thanks Chris!,

Except for the veneering which was a fix due to a bad router table accident, the guitar is very true to it's original vision. :grin:

Rob

Wait...That sounds nothing like a Banjo, I'm so confused :mrgreen:.

Awesome job on everything. Great thread very entertaining, totally cool design on your guitar and very well played :wink:. Can't wait to see you do it all over again next year, I enjoyed following this one.

that guitar looks and sounds great Barn!

Wait...That sounds nothing like a Banjo, I'm so confused :mrgreen:.

Awesome job on everything. Great thread very entertaining, totally cool design on your guitar and very well played :wink:. Can't wait to see you do it all over again next year, I enjoyed following this one.

Thanks James,

Yes the guitar has identity issues. It is the product of an "instrumentally mixed" marriage. ;-) Its funny, depending upon my medication Ive heard it sound like bagpipes too........ As far as well-played goes, I think a hearing test may be warranted. ;-) Yes, next year will be fun. All kinds of half baked ideas are going off inside of my pea brain. You can bet on one thing however, I will never route the wrong way with a spiral bit again!

Rob

that guitar looks and sounds great Barn!

Thanks B! It's been fun!

Hey All,

I am decommissioning the thread with Paul now. Thanks again everyone!

Rob

Hey All,

Well, here it is, video warts and all! Man I couldn't nail that song to save my life. Anyway, it is what it is. Here's a rundown on the specs of the guitar:


Sipo Mahogany body forstner drilled for weight reduction
Ebony Cap
Veneered with Australian Bloodwood and Indian Rosewood
All gluing done with Titebond horse hide glue
Clear nitrocellulous lacquer on veneer
Minwax tung oil on neck
Howards Feed-N-Wax on all ebony
Double tortoise shell binding
Flat sawn toasted hard maple neck with large "D" profile
Ebony slab fretboard with no radius
21 stainless steel jumbo frets
No truss rod
Waverly banjo tuners
Ebony nut
Custom ebony bridge/ intonated
Rickard 6 string banjo tailpiece
Self made pickup in Tele bridge form. Garolite flatwork, Alnico 2 humbucker bar magnet cut to 2.36 inches and wound with 10,000 turns of 43 AWG wire. Measures 10.95 on meter
CTS 250 pots
Switchcraft Gibson style 3 position/ 3 pickup switch with black tip
Custom variation on cocked wah circuit with tone control in all positions
.029mF Orange Drop cap
.005mF ceramic cap for cocked wah
All cloth wiring
Switchcraft jack
Electro socket
NOS Bakelite knobs
Weight - 7.2 lbs.
DR "Pure Blues" round core nickel wound strings (nines)


Thanks again everyone and see you in next year's build challenge! :grin:

Barncaster

rfm8EobLiSI

I just realized how lame my competition photo is compared to other folks. Beauty shots in the sun for posterity are to follow!

Rob

I think you need to get the stripes into the shot somehow, maybe photograph it in front of a mirror or something.

Sweet guitar - I really have to steal that tuner idea as well as the vanish idea. Very cool theme and it all works great together amazingly well.

I used Antique Oil Finish on mine this year and I did the whole wipe on wait a few minutes then wipe off. Since it looked so great with it all loaded up, I always wondered why not just let it dry... I'll have to give that a whirl!

I think you need to get the stripes into the shot somehow, maybe photograph it in front of a mirror or something.

Hey James,

Definitely natural light to start with. Some nice warm long afternoon light. Maybe tomorrow. I'll do several pics and the stripes will make it in although they are a little rough. I swear this thing is sounding better and better as the days go by. Is this happening to anyone else? Maybe it's my new Scatter black gator strap....sweeeeet! :twisted::cool:

Rob

Sweet guitar - I really have to steal that tuner idea as well as the vanish idea. Very cool theme and it all works great together amazingly well.

I used Antique Oil Finish on mine this year and I did the whole wipe on wait a few minutes then wipe off. Since it looked so great with it all loaded up, I always wondered why not just let it dry... I'll have to give that a whirl!

Thanks Mojo!

I love the Waverly banjo tuners. Really old world quality. I may need to do a Firebird in the near future and wouldn't hesitate to use them. I do have a set of the correct Gibson banjo tuners but they are even heavier than the Waverly's. I think the Gibson Firebird is one of the most under-rated guitars ever.

Test out the non-wipe varnish method on scrap first. It worked for me with the Minwax Tung Oil but took a week to decently harden. I made the mistake of putting a clip on tuner on the headstock around day 3 and by the time my sixth sense said "take it off!", there were impressions but they seem to have gone away. Lesson learned, give it time to harden.

By the way, I'm not a humbucker person but the Gibson 57 units you used on your challenge guitar could easily change my ways. It sounds exceptional, some of the sweetest tones I've ever heard regardless of brand. I love the harmonic complexity.

Rob

I swear this thing is sounding better and better as the days go by. Is this happening to anyone else? Maybe it's my new Scatter black gator strap....sweeeeet! :twisted::cool:

Rob
I noticed the same thing with mine. I spent about 20 minutes with it yesterday and REALLY liked it. I was getting some great sounds out it and will be using more GFS pickups in the future... until I learn to wind my own :twisted:.

I was nailing that Lay Down Sally sound and spent quite a bit of time playing that. Then i moved through different levels of overdrive. Since my Tech 21 has a Fender channel and a Marshall channel, I was able to get a nice variety out of the guitar.

I think the Gibson Firebird is one of the most under-rated guitars ever.

Rob

I think it's because they weigh 57 pounds. You ever watch Phil X? Watch this vid for 40 seconds, the guy cracks me up. Are all banjo tuners 25 pounds each?

mom5-gos4hU

I noticed the same thing with mine. I spent about 20 minutes with it yesterday and REALLY liked it. I was getting some great sounds out it and will be using more GFS pickups in the future... until I learn to wind my own :twisted:.

I was nailing that Lay Down Sally sound and spent quite a bit of time playing that. Then i moved through different levels of overdrive. Since my Tech 21 has a Fender channel and a Marshall channel, I was able to get a nice variety out of the guitar.

Hey Roger,

Yes, I think we are all bonding with our children. The initial flaws aren't so much flaws anymore, they're character.

Rob

I think it's because they weigh 57 pounds. You ever watch Phil X? Watch this vid for 40 seconds, the guy cracks me up. Are all banjo tuners 25 pounds each?

mom5-gos4hU

Hey James,

Phil is my hero! He's like a human jukebox and a total goof. And yes, the Gibson banjo tuners are heavy. My guitar with the Waverlys is just ever so slightly neck heavy but it's almost not noticeable.

These type of banjo tuners were a pre-WWII response to the original 1:1 friction banjo tuners. Players wanted more controllable and refined quick tuning, (4:1). As banjos usually have heavy pots on them, the weight probably helped balance. Also, men were men back then and didn't complain about a few ounces. Times have changed! Those depression era folks were tough.

Rob

great build Rob that is one cool guitar.

great build Rob that is one cool guitar.

Thanks Zane! Hope to see you in the build challenge next year!

Rob

Wow, Barncaster, what an amazing build thread and end
result. Every time you ran into an obstacle you turned
the guitar into something cooler and better. Aren't
you glad you faced those bumps in the road.

That ebony top is especially gorgeous.

Nice work!!

Wow, Barncaster, what an amazing build thread and end
result. Every time you ran into an obstacle you turned
the guitar into something cooler and better. Aren't
you glad you faced those bumps in the road.

That ebony top is especially gorgeous.

Nice work!!

Thanks Flatty!,

It was a great learning experience. I think I'm a little greyer as a result but it was fun and I met a big group of great people.

Rob

man, i'm trying to catch up and go through every thread... this thing is really cool.

definately don't give up on that pickguard. i had the same idea as R. Stratenstein, acetone the tort to a piece of white, then bind it with black. or maybe just a piece of clear plexi would be enough to get it off the ebony... maybe put spacers under it like i did with my pickguard.

man, i'm trying to catch up and go through every thread... this thing is really cool.

definately don't give up on that pickguard. i had the same idea as R. Stratenstein, acetone the tort to a piece of white, then bind it with black. or maybe just a piece of clear plexi would be enough to get it off the ebony... maybe put spacers under it like i did with my pickguard.

Thanks V,

Yes, I have not given up on it. Am just a little burned out right now and will get to it soon. Second on the list is to get a more functional tail piece made. And third on the list is to optimize the electronics. The cocked wah position for some reason loses volume when engaged. Maybe we should start a "Where are they Now" thread in 6 months. By the way, love your guitar. I play plectrum banjo myself so I get the 4 stringed thing. It's way cool.

Rob