The Buttercaster Project

[eryque]

My allparts nut blanks were too thick and had to be sanded down too. Sandpaper taped down to a piece of flat glass or something else you know to be flat does a good job.

[Buckocaster51]

Some chucklhead took an out-of-focus photo here...but it does show that chucklehead widening the nut slot with a file. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. About a hundred times.

I wonder if that piece of tape would really protect anything from a slip of the file?



We got it widened with no big adventures. Now we have to do something about the height.



A really great web site is www.frets.com. It is run and maintained by an excellent repairman out in San Francisco, Frank Ford. Frank repairs acoustic instruments, which are really my first love, and has documented MANY repair techniques. It is worth spending some time browsing.

One thing I have learned from Frank is to use his "secret weapon."



It is a lead pencil that has had a big chunk sanded out of it by holding it against a belt sander.

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by eryque

My allparts nut blanks were too thick and had to be sanded down too. Sandpaper taped down to a piece of flat glass or something else you know to be flat does a good job.

and THAT may make more sense than widening the slot - especially if it needs to be replaced somewhere down the line. I'll try that on the next one.

[Buckocaster51]

After that brief intermission...

The height the strings come off of the nut are critical in determining the playability of the guitar. Generally, the string height at the nut should be just a smidgeon higher than the height of the first fret.

By laying that "special" pencil on the first couple of frets, a nice mark can be made on the nut indicating the height of the first fret.



See how that works?

For right now I want to keep the nut well clear of that line, so I'll make another mark above it.

[Buckocaster51]

Let's take that nut blank out to the Grizzly Oscillating Drum Sander - that is starting to earn its keep around here.



Going to try to sand to the bottom of the red line.

(Please notice...the NEON has been washed after going through the abuse of living next to the router table, sander, and paint station.)

Here we have a re-sized nut that is still PLENTY big...but this is about where I want it when I start doing the final setup. (Remember, I only sort of kind of sometimes know what I am doing and the rest of the time I just make things up.)



I did track down the origin of my Box O'Parts - somewhere in Ohio - and unless the USPS manages to get OHIO and IOWA confused (and by golly, that HAS happened) that Box O'Parts should be here the day after tomorrow.

Looks like final assembly and first twang will occur this weekend!

Long live the Buttercaster!

[DrewB]

The ol' Buckocaster is definitely doing this the hard way. Eryque has the right idea; always take material off the most easily replaceable part. Filing in the nut slot is risky; you might jack up your nut-to-1st-fret distance. From the looks of things, you could get three nuts off that blank if you're careful!

I use the half-pencil trick (which I learned from Dan Erlewine), too, but I don't have a belt sander, so it's the ol' in-out in-out...er...back 'n' forth on the same piece of sandpaper I use to thin a nut or saddle blank out. I could waste a week on The Big Index page! Frank's a heckuva guy, too, if you ever have any techie questions.

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by DrewB

The ol' Buckocaster is definitely doing this the hard way...

Not anymore he isn't.

The Ol' Buckocaster might be a lot of things...but he is NOT a slow learner.



(This way I am refering to myself in the third person is REALLY strange. ALMOST as strange as boldfacing these RANDOM words.)

[Buckocaster51]

Let's try another one.

This nut was about 0.005 too thick. I think. I usually just go by where the "big hand" points...

A piece of 220 grit sandpaper, a piece of picture frame glass, and the Ol' Buckocaster's fingers will whip this thing into shape in no time...



Got to check the nut with the slot frequently. Don't want to take too much away. That bone is hard to put back on.



Now to mark the height and take it out to the Grizzly Oscillating Drum Sander.



Remember that is my special half-height, Frank Ford approved, nut marking pencil.

Thanks again for all of the help, tips, suggestions, and ideas. This is turning into a real group project.

[Buckocaster51]

I went back to Frank Ford's excellent site frets.com and (re)read some stuff. It appears I can sand much closer to the line.

So be it!



Frank also has an excellent technique for making a gizmo to help space the string slots when you cut nuts. Frank's Nutrule.

I'm going to try to make one of those tomorrow night.

Up to now I have just done it with my DiWiDi Technologies Mk-I(A) Eyeball - and have missed a few.

A Stew-Mac String Spacing Rule has always been on the Wish List, but I've never gotten around to ordering one.

[tdowns]

Cool stuff Bucko.

I use an alternate method, which I don't claim to be better or worse.

I measure the height of the 1st fret with the butt end of the dial caliper. Lets say that is 0.058". I add 0.020" to that (the max 1st fret relief I plan for) to get 0.078". I select 3 contiguious feeler gauges, in this case 0.025", 0.026" and 0.027", making a total of 0.078" thickness, and stack them up sticking out of the feeler gauge set. I press those down tightly bent across the fretboard radius, and use a sharp pencil to mark the curve. The represents the lowest point you should file the slot to.

I also cut the width of the nut first thing, then sand the nut thickness on a flat sandpaper surface to get to a "press in" fit.

My Musician's Excel Workbook has a string spacing calculator that provides uniform nut spacing between strings. Select the "String Spacing" tab. The centerlines of the string are calculated. I put the centerlines into AutoCad and print out the image. I glue it to the nut, and use it as a slotting guide. The paper is subsequently obliterated by the nut shaping process. You can use dial calipers if desired.

YMMV, just MHO. What the heck do I know.

I love the smell of cow bone in the morning.

[Clive Hugh]

Originally Posted by jwells393

I'm not the Buckocaster but it's not that hard.

If you want to post pictures in the TDPRI forum the webmaster wants them 640 pixels wide or less. An easy way is to upload them to Photobucket.com. There you will see thumbnails of your pictures. Under each thumbnail is an Img line. Copy that line and paste it into your post. That's it.

You could also upload them to the TDPRI Photo Gallery.

The following works for most Internet pictures.......... and those in the TDPRI Photo Gallery.

Right click on the picture. Select something like "Image Properties" depending on your browser. A dialog box will open.......... copy the address line. In your post, click the picture icon above the typing area. A box will open. Paste the image address in that box. That's it.

You can also post them as an attachment whereby you don't have to host them anywhere. You click the paper clip icon to the right of the smiley face icon above the typing area. The Manage Attachments window opens, you navigate to the picture on your computer. Click the upload button. When the upload is complete close the Manage Attachments window click the down arrow the the right of the paper clip ...... click the attachment name and your picture will post.

So Clive ........... no more excuses.

Thanks, I'm off work on Friday so I'll give it a go then.

[Buckocaster51]

Hey, look what followed me home from the Post Office today!

This is an OFFICIAL Box O'Parts.



We're going to have some fun the next couple of days. First twang should be sometime this weekend.

[mapcaster]

This is for all the forum members except Buckocaster51. What should I get Ol' Buckocaster for Christmas? A case of Deft in the handy rattle can? He goes through a bunch of it. A plunge router? I wouldn't know which brand or what features to look for, but would be open to suggestions. A nice big trash can? He probably wouldn't use it. Maybe a tarp for the Neon? He's given me screw drivers for the last umpteen years (it is good to have a lot of them around), so maybe he needs a nice set. I'm open to any and all of your input.

[Fatmanstratman]

Give him a decent Desktop Publishing program. Then he'll be able to document all his work into a decent PDF file which he should very proudly make available for downloading by all of us mere mortals who are in awe of his unbelievable efforts, and which many of us maybe aspire to emulate one day....

[David Barnett]

Give him a proper gas stove.

[Buckocaster51]

From this view we can see what needs to be done to the backside of the Pumpkincaster: string ferrules, neck plate, hey! those holes need to be drilled too!, and an output jack.



The parts are here.

I just need some time.

[Stuco]

get-r-dun!

[mojocasterman]

so close!!!

[milkshape]

Originally Posted by mapcaster

This is for all the forum members except Buckocaster51. What should I get Ol' Buckocaster for Christmas? A case of Deft in the handy rattle can? He goes through a bunch of it. A plunge router? I wouldn't know which brand or what features to look for, but would be open to suggestions. A nice big trash can? He probably wouldn't use it. Maybe a tarp for the Neon? He's given me screw drivers for the last umpteen years (it is good to have a lot of them around), so maybe he needs a nice set. I'm open to any and all of your input.

$39, that way he can still hold true to the $99 rule


Hey Buck,
Do you have to be careful about "polish throughs" with the polishing compounds as you do when you are sanding the clear? Or are the polishing materials way too fine to have to worry about that.

Also, how do you know when the polishing is done?

Again, I really appreciate your efforts.

[mojocasterman]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

Give him a proper gas stove.

harsh, yet pretty darn funny

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by milkshape

...Do you have to be careful about "polish throughs" with the polishing compounds as you do when you are sanding the clear?

Let's just not talk about that, okay?

There is a part of the Buttercaster that will never be shown here in a photo.

Never.

Does that answer your question?



You just polish until you can shave in it. Or as Terry Downs said someplace, until you can read the label of a lightbulb in its reflection.

You'll know when you get there.

[milkshape]

'nuff said, now I know to be extra careful. I like the light bulb idea.

[jwells393]

Buckocaster.............. I received a sale ad from Woodcraft yesterday. If you have a Woodcraft store in your area, they are having a sale on a 1 3/4 HP Porter Cable router .......... one day only ...Sat. Dec 9. Price $98.99. That's 1 cent under your maximum. Regular price ....... $159.99

[Clive Hugh]

Buckocaster,
Hopefully heres a link to my guitar body, after 2nd. colour coat. I haven't worked out how to do multiple shots in one post so I'll do another of a fret leveller.

[Clive Hugh]

Ye Gods! it worked.

Now this little beast is a fret leveller I made up. I got the idea from Ron Kirn, he uses corian but I live in the back of beyond so no corian, however I do have a machine shop as part of my job so this is a 500mm long piece of 40mm squ hollow section that I put on the surface grinder, I did that because I was too lazy to take the vice off the milling machine so I just plonked it on the magnetic base and machined it. When it was perfectly straight I sprayed it with glue and put on 320grit emery paper. This covers the whole length of the fret board and levelling is a breeze.
The only drawback being I had to use a magnifying glass to see if I had got all the frets, put that down to my age.
Hats off to Ron for a great idea.
Clive

[Buckocaster51]

Clive, looking good. That honest-to-gosh GREEN STUFF you have growing looks great too.

[Clive Hugh]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

Clive, looking good. That honest-to-gosh GREEN STUFF you have growing looks great too.

Thanks, we sort of use that area to get plants big enough to stand the full sun, but the palms thrive there so they won't join the coconuts on the back lawn(or what's left of it) the frangipanis are ones my wife has started from branches I hacked off prior to last cyclone season.

[Buckocaster51]

Okay...we're done with the "framing" part of this...time to get out the "luthiery tools."



Right now I have to go to "band" practice, but I'll be back to do some serious wood butchery later.

[Buckocaster51]

Not much of a practice. Had to run through some Christmas songs for some corporate (ca-ching!) jobs we have coming up.

Now on to some real fun...

Since I totally geezered out on drilling the neck holes when I was making this body...we'll have to do it now. I'm not reall crazy about drilling into that fresh orange paint...but I don't think Velcro would work.

To mark the holes we'll use the template that I got from Ron Kirn way back when. Interestingly, the template has gotten larger...or the body has shrunk. I guess the old Grizzly Oscillating Drum Sander took off more wood than I thought.



I'm not going to try to drill all of the way through. I have one of these self-centering drill bits...the kind that cabinet makers use to install hinges...and will use that to punch a shallow hole into the guitar to mark the spot where we will drill for gold.



Sort of like this...



Then I can take the template off and get ready to drill the real deal.

I was thinking about using this drill...it is just aboug the same diameter as the shank of the screw...but decided to use one a bit larger. I can't thinkof any reason the threads of the screws have to "bite" into the body. A slip fit through the body should be fine. I think.

[Buckocaster51]

It is loads of fun drilling into a brand new body...especially while trying to take a photo...



With all four hole drilled to the right diameter, we'll clamp the neck in place, eyeball it to see if it is kind-of-sort-of straight, clamp in in place, and mark the location of the holes on the neck.



Before we chuck up the bit and start drilling holes in the neck, we need to get an idea of how deep those holes have to go into the neck. We really do not want to drill too deep and put up through the fingerboard. That would be bad.

Really bad.



We'll mark the depth on the drill with a fine piece of yellow tape. I read somewhere on the internet that yellow tape works better than other colors...like blue, red, or, Heaven forbid, green.

[Flashback]

Man, that is one sweet guitfiddle. Seriously... the orange and white binding is just AMAZING. If you ever sell that thing I would gladly pay you a PRETTY penny for it...

[Buckocaster51]

I'm guessing that this neck will be on and off a few times in the next couple of days, but just in case it isn't, I'll make my "marks" in the neck pocket now.



A few twists with a #2 Phillips screw driver and two have become one.



I'm feeling lucky. I think I will install some string ferrules tonight.

[getbent]

edit: dang you are fast and good... I just learned the next thing I need to know.... thanks a lot Buckocaster!

[Buckocaster51]

I'm weak.

I'm a wimp.

I don't like buying tools.

I don't know of a way to flush-install ferrules.



You can see that those holes have picked up a considerable amount of Krylon, Deft, and rubbing/polishing compounds. I have to clean them up a bit with the old #11 blade before I put in the ferrules.

There must be lots of ways to install ferrules. I quit looking when I read about this method on the Stew-Mac website...or was it in their catalog...back when they had those "Luthier Tips" sections. Anybody else remember those?

A warm soldering iron heats up the ferrule just enough to melt the paint enough to allow the ferrule to slide right into place.



In just a few seconds...all six are done.



now here is a little teaser of what is going to happen this weekend...



I'm still happy!

[mojocasterman]

sounds like it should be a fun week end ;)

[Clive Hugh]

Good tip for the ferrules. Man that's a classy looking guitar.

[Westerly Sunn]

Man, That Orange and white looks so sweet!

[byrdbrain]

Just have to chime in: I'm totally floored by your skill.
Me and my 6 year old daughter check this thread every day.
("Why can't you make an orange guitar, Dad?" )
Amazing and instructive.

[captain gorgeous]

i'm just loving buck's way with words. you're a very funny man mister o'caster.

oh yeah and the guitar looks cool too.

[PeteMac]

Dang! , the suspense is killin' me!!!

I just stumbled across this thread and have read every word from start to finish, and was expecting there to be a finished guitar or two by the time I got to the last page!

Oh well, I suppose I can wait a few more days.





Is it finished yet?!?!




Damn fine work Bucko, and truly an inspiration.
I'm lovin' your words and images. Seriously, you should think about putting it all together in one publication.

Can't wait to see and hear the finished products.