How I apply a lacquer finish on an aftermarket neck.

[Leon Grizzard]

Colt, you're treating me way too good here. That is so cool. I know you wouldn't have done all that if you hadn't torn your foot off carrying my neck. I'm feeling guilty about profiting from your misfortune. But I really am excited about the neck.

[Colt W. Knight]

Now I just have to figure out when to get this neck back to Leon. By the way, what does Musikraft call this neck profile Leon?

[Leon Grizzard]

Originally Posted by Colt W. Knight

Now I just have to figure out when to get this neck back to Leon. By the way, what does Musikraft call this neck profile Leon?

Yeah; that's a long drive. You better get started.

Chunky U; .90" thick. And those are their medium frets. I had a refret on an old Tele and put medium frets on it. I liked having just a little more fret; vintage is fine, and so are modern jumbos for that matter, but I thought I'd go with the bit bigger fret on this one. Pedal steel bends aren't a big part of my style, but I do find it a little easier to bend on taller frets; easier to get my finger under the next string.

[SixShooter]

Colt, Thanks for the great instructions. How much glue do you put in your decal water?

[Colt W. Knight]

Originally Posted by SixShooter

Colt, Thanks for the great instructions. How much glue do you put in your decal water?

In a cereal bowl, about 5-6 drops.

[Colt W. Knight]

Originally Posted by Leon Grizzard

Yeah; that's a long drive. You better get started.

Chunky U; .90" thick. And those are their medium frets. I had a refret on an old Tele and put medium frets on it. I liked having just a little more fret; vintage is fine, and so are modern jumbos for that matter, but I thought I'd go with the bit bigger fret on this one. Pedal steel bends aren't a big part of my style, but I do find it a little easier to bend on taller frets; easier to get my finger under the next string.

Should sound great. A lot of mass in that neck. Eventhough .90" isn't incredibly fat, there is a lot of meat on the shoulders.

Big necks are the best!

[Colt W. Knight]

Got to meet Leon yesterday, he is a very cool and generous man. We got to sit down, eat some good brisket, and talk guitars for about an hour.

[Rufus]

Nice job Colt!

And your messy accident may have started a new relicing craze ...

for those wanting to experience the guitars of the Mafia hitmen of the 1950's and 60's, now there's the blood-spattered "Wiseguy-caster".

Be the first one on your block to own a Telecaster neck just like the one rumored to have been used to beat Jimmy Hoffa to death (now THAT'S one tought Tele)...blood stains and all!

In the days before DNA gathering, a Tele left no distinguishing marks that could be traced back to the murder weapon. And the hitman could carry one unconcealed and have an alibi at the same time ("But Officer, I was on my way to Mulberry Street in Brooklyn to play in my country band, 'Guido and the Buckaroos', so it couldn't have been me that whacked that guy! You like Merle Haggard? Fuggedaboutit!")

However, REAL Wiseguys would label you a wannabe and say that you should get the bloodstains on your guitar neck the old fashioned way... by being a "made" guy.

Speaking like Joe Pesci might get you some credibility, though.

I heard a rumor that for the Godfather movie, Coppola originally wanted Pauly the informant to get taken care of by Clemenza in the back of the car using a Tele instead of a gun, but legal pressure from Fender caused him to change the scene.

Just think, the immortal line spoken could have been "...leave the Telecaster, take the cannoli."



Well...its better than "Luca Brazzi sleeps with the Esquires."

[Colt W. Knight]

Leon, do we get to see some finished guitar pictures?

[Leon Grizzard]

I posted in the main Tele forum on May 12 (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...ks-colt.html); didn’t think to do it here. Duh.

Here’s what I wrote:

“I was dithering around, starting to acquire some parts, asked a few dumb questions about neck finishing, and then Colt Knight offered to spray my neck. Well, couldn't pass that offer up, so I ordered a neck, looked around for body, got one, sent it back as being unworthy of my nice neck, etc., etc.

The story of how Colt's horse stepped in a prairie dog hole while he chased a band of Comanches who had stolen my neck, breaking Colt's leg in three places, can be found here:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/finely-fi...rket-neck.html

Colt recovered the neck, but had to redo it to erase the signs of the torture inflicted by the Indians.

Finished it up today. Warmoth Ash body, 4 lb. 6 oz., Musikraft Chunky U neck with 7.25" radius and medium frets, bone nut, Gotoh vintage tuners, decal by JBennett, Wilde Microcoil pickups, Wilkenson compensated bridge, four way switch.

Very comfortable to play; the pickups sound great, although I haven't tried to adjust them just so yet.”

Here are the pictures:

[Leon Grizzard]

Here’s larger pictures. I don’t really know how to do this stuff:

[Leon Grizzard]

Played my first gig with the Rabbitcaster today. (Man, I'm not playing enough.) Anyway, the neck was great: smooth and fast, for me. Liked the Microcoils, but maybe I need a little more twang than what the bridge pickup delivers. The neck pickup was gorgeous, as were both the blend positions on the four way switch.

[Colt W. Knight]

Originally Posted by Leon Grizzard

Played my first gig with the Rabbitcaster today. (Man, I'm not playing enough.) Anyway, the neck was great: smooth and fast, for me. Liked the Microcoils, but maybe I need a little more twang than what the bridge pickup delivers. The neck pickup was gorgeous, as were both the blend positions on the four way switch.

Glad to hear it plays well. You can increase the twang some by lowering the bridge pickup.

[Leon Grizzard]

Originally Posted by Colt W. Knight

Glad to hear it plays well. You can increase the twang some by lowering the bridge pickup.

Lower it? Seems counterintuitive.

[Colt W. Knight]

Originally Posted by Leon Grizzard

Lower it? Seems counterintuitive.

A little, and you can only lower the pickup so much before you loose output and the pickup looses its ass end. If the pickup is severely lacking in twang, simply adjusting the pickup height will not fix it, but if you just want a lil bit more, here or there, adjusting the pickup can make a huge difference.

[everclear1567]

Colt, which compounds ( store bought) do you use for a maple neck with a nitro finish? Having trouble at the stage of my first build

[RocknDrTom]

Originally Posted by Leon Grizzard

That's what I'm talking about: having your Tele neck hung from a feed grinder in San Angelo, Texas to get nitro sprayed by a guy named Colt. Could the MoJo get any better? No.

Only if it was done by a West Virginian in Texas. ;)

[Colt W. Knight]

Originally Posted by everclear1567

Colt, which compounds ( store bought) do you use for a maple neck with a nitro finish? Having trouble at the stage of my first build

Typically, I buy 3M products in a large bottle ( Super Duty Rubbing Compound and 3M Finesse It) However, these are expensive products. Meguiars also makes a good compound, that you can buy in less expensive bottles. You can buy meguiars rubbing and polishing compounds in many automotive stores. I typically go to O'Reillys

[everclear1567]

Originally Posted by Colt W. Knight

Typically, I buy 3M products in a large bottle ( Super Duty Rubbing Compound and 3M Finesse It) However, these are expensive products. Meguiars also makes a good compound, that you can buy in less expensive bottles. You can buy meguiars rubbing and polishing compounds in many automotive stores. I typically go to O'Reillys

Thanks for the reply, I went to O'reilly's and bought the polishing pad and some 800 grit wet sand paper, going to sand out the orange peel first, after that I saw in a post you use the meguiars fine cut compound, would that work for a decent polish or should I do that one and then another finer compound?
Thanks again for all your wisdom

[Colt W. Knight]

Originally Posted by everclear1567

Thanks for the reply, I went to O'reilly's and bought the polishing pad and some 800 grit wet sand paper, going to sand out the orange peel first, after that I saw in a post you use the meguiars fine cut compound, would that work for a decent polish or should I do that one and then another finer compound?
Thanks again for all your wisdom

You will want to sand up through 2000 grit before you use that Meguiars fine cut, or you will get a shiny finish with a lots of sanding scratches.

I typically sand with 1000 to level, then hit it with 1500, then a rubbing compound, then a polishing compound.