The Buttercaster Project

[andy__woods]

that's a great 800th post for the thread! I was hoping to see all those pictures soon too, and they look great. You say you aren't a master craftsman, but you certainly are an inspiration for us beginner builders (like myself). Twang on!

[geardaddy]

telelicious....aaaaaghghghghghg...

[tdowns]

My Goodness Bucko!!

Just when I think it can't get any better, it does. That leaves me speechless.

That is one heck of a beautiful Tele.

[0le FUZZY]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

Ole Fuzzy...thank you very much. You and all of the others have made this worthwhile.

How's this for the 800th post?

...Un-bee-lee-bub-lee beautiful!

...An eye-catching piece of TELECASTER art!




(deranged internet-based alter ego, with my own lexicon and all.)

Please visit my page

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

Ole Fuzzy...thank you very much. You and all of the others have made this worthwhile.

How's this for the 800th post?

Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow I am truly and sincerely in awe of this masterpiece.

Buck you are my hero!

[Ronkirn]

Bravo, bravo..... par excellence.....

Ron Kirn

[Old Guy]

A true work of art !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Leon Grizzard]

Absolutely gorgeous.

[Douglas_Holt]

+1 on the hero. Beautiful.

Doug

[J_48_Johnson]

AS quoted by our hero....:

"I'll tell you though...I am the one that learned the most from this little escapade. Almost every time I thought I had something worked out, somebody in the group would nudge me in a different, and usually better, direction."

I have started to build my first guitar and I have ran into many things such as yourself. Without the help of fine people on websites along the way I would be no where near where I am on the build today.

Through your entire ordeal, you have shown me along with coutless others that there are more that one way to skin a cat. Maybe not all of them are right, but they will get you close. You put enough people together and you'll come up with the right solution. Way to forge ahead with all of the projects Buck!

Also, people say "You can only play one guitar at a time". And I fully agree! Question: Tiger Woods can only swing one club at a time... why does his caddy carry a whole bag full of em' around? Must be pretty darned heavy to carry, especialy if he only needs ONE!

Her's a picture of my first build, (not a Tele), but my first build. This is the time in the build, (I KNOW you know what I'm talking about Buck), when all of the woodworking is done, and you HAVE TO see what it looks like put together!!!


(Sorry for all of the shop dust on the lens)
B-rad in Akron

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by J_48_Johnson

What the heck is that bridge/tailpiece contraption?

[Rob DiStefano]

You da man, Steve!

[DrewB]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

What the heck is that bridge/tailpiece contraption?

Here ya go:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,...nd_Bridge.html

[J_48_Johnson]

Thanks for the link Drew B. It may not be the best O' the best bridge, but I liked it, and it's my first build, so I got it. Anyone else ever use them?

[Buckocaster51]

Got to take the old Martycaster to Beautiful Lakeside Ballroom in Guttenberg, Iowa tonight.

It's bonafide!



Doesn't match our shirts...

But it is bonafide!

[mojocasterman]

What a beauty - and the shirt ain't bad either ;)

[kyle1167]

Hey Buck let me know when you'll have a gig in my neck of the woods. I'd love to see them up close and maybe get some pics.
I'm just north of Cedar Rapids.

[Douglas_Holt]

Thanks for sharing and taking us along on this wonderful adventure.
Aw inspiring.

Doug

[Fatmanstratman]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

Hey Buckocaster - is that my stomach you're wearing under that shirt?.......

[Buckocaster51]

Ya know...sometimes you just WISH Leo had designed his guitars just a LITTLE bit bigger.

You know what I'm saying?

[gtech]

I see, I see...

Don't forget that Leo also designed the Strat.

Btw, when I show my co-workers the 2-3 Tele bodies I am building, and that I explain that one has confort countours, one called the tummy contour, the other one the arm contour, they tell me that I should make the tummy contour bigger... Nah... not friends, only co-workers.

Gilles

[crippe]

Wow, I just finished reading this amazing thread. The Martycaster is the most beautiful 'caster I have ever seen, thanks man.

[Rock on]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

One way to drill the string through holes is to drill them from the template on the front side. I'm doing this back a ways. I suppose you could just use the drill press to go all of the way through, but in wood drill bits seem to wander all over the place on me. Probably because I buy $0.99 drill bits...

Anyway, by drilling into a sacraficial piece of wood that is securely clamped to the drill press table, you can make a hole that is DIRECTLY under the bit. If you put a short piece of metal (say a cut off nail) in that hole, you have a registration pin that is directly under the bit.



By placing the body upside-down with one of stringhole you copied from the template on the registration pin, any hole you drill is going to be lined up EXACTLY with that pin. (More or less anyway...and certainly WAY better than I could do it by hand.)



By moving the body to consecutive string holes you can do all 6 of those bad boys...

once you put the stringhole on the registration nail, does the nail go all the way in? They do you drill a little so u dont hit the nail and do this for all 6. Then do u move the wood with the regitstration nail in it and go all it way down with the drill press.

Is this the right way to do it.
If not could you expand.


Thanks
Rock on

[Rock on]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

Even when you take out the 1/8" bit used for the string holes and replace it with a 5steenths bit for the ferrules...it is STILL LINED UP WITH THE REGISTRATION PIN!

Makes it a snap to pretty much get the ferrules in the right place.



the one that looks a bit out of place is just sitting high. It will be just fine with a tap of a hammer.



As I look back on the day's work, it has struck me that I still have to drill a hole. Anybody else catch what I missed?

Now it is time for some pizza.

how deep do you drill the ferrules and with what bit?

Rock on

[Rock on]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

The binding fits nicely in the channel. It should, I measured twice and cut once. All you have to do is load up the channel with glue and put the binding in place.



and hold it all in place with lots of that $1/roll masking tape. Hey, it looks like we are back to that flat spot. I bet if Tele Customs didn't have a flat spot, they wouldn't be nearly as popular. I bet that is what it is...



We work out way down both sides towards "the hard part."



This is one of the hard parts. Straight plastic isn't really meant to go around sharp corners. Could use heat I guess. Flexing it back and forth, being careful not to flex it enough to break it (wonder how I know that?) applying some glue and holding it all in place with lots of that $1/roll masking tape also works.

is that one big peice of binding or many. if many how do you join them without a line.

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by Rock on

once you put the stringhole on the registration nail, does the nail go all the way in? They do you drill a little so u dont hit the nail and do this for all 6. Then do u move the wood with the regitstration nail in it and go all it way down with the drill press.

The length of the nail is not real important...as long as it goes into the hole and hold the body more or less stationary. I think the nail I used was about 1/2" long. When I drilled the hole I just went down until I hit the nail. Probably didn't do the bit much good...but it was just a cheap one and didn't seem to suffer too much.

You could, and probably should, run a drill through the completed hole when it is connected from both sides. Just to clean it up.

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by Rock on

how deep do you drill the ferrules and with what bit?

Rock on

Good question. First thing to notice is that I did not step the holes. These ferrules are not flush mounted. The drill (and hole) are the same diameter as the shaft of the ferrule...so the depth isn't critical...as long as it is as deep or deeper than the length of the shaft.

Jack Wells has posted another, probably better way to install ferrules. He uses the ferrules from Stew-Mac that are not stepped. They are the same diameter as the holes. The hole is as deep as the ferrule is long. He then seats them with a wooden "lollypop" in a drill press. I'll see if I can track down his method. (It might actually be someplace in the 20+ pages of the this thread.)

My method works fine for NON FLUSH mounted ferrules. Flush-mounting them takes a little more head-scratching.

[Rock on]

what does stepped mean. staggered?

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by Rock on

is that one big peice of binding or many. if many how do you join them without a line.

Ah Grasshopper!

There IS a line.



on the back anyway...underneath the neck...where nobody will see it.

The top has no joint/line as the binding starts and stops in the neck pocket.

SOME people, who manage to keep SHARP corners on the body under the neck...move that joint over one of the corners and do a little mitre with the binding right over the corner.

I'm not that good.

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by Rock on

what does stepped mean. staggered?

In this fine photo cribbed from Stew-Mac...0173 are stepped and 0196 are not.

I used the 0173 type. Since I only drilled a hole the size of the long part of the ferrule, the wide "flange" sits on top of the body.

To install 0173s flush with the surface, the ferrule holes must be "stepped" in two sizes. The main hole is the diameter of the body, a very shallow (and for me, hard to drill) larger hole is drilled after (I guess) the main hole is drilled. Alternatively you could get (or make) a drill bit that would drill both diameters in one pass. (Norm Abram uses bits like this on "The New Yankee Workshop" frequently.)

The 0196 ferrules just need one hole...and can be set flush with the surface.

Clear as mud?

[Buckocaster51]

Here's Jack's photo of how he installs the 0196 type ferrules.



I am going to try this on my next project. I think it should work mighty fine.

[Rock on]

clear as a clear pickguard(slap myself, what a bad pun)

hehehe

that clears it up for me.


Thanks


p.s. Good luck on ur next project. Keep us posted.

[spankdplank]

Buckocaster--you are truly an inspiration! Of the dozen or so guitars I have built, none come close to the Martycaster. Thanks so much for the many tips I know will improve my next build.

[gtech]

These 0196 flush mount ferrules are my favorites. Only 1 hole size to drill, and there sit flush. I prefer that.

I ordered some more last week, but I forgot the trick to install them with a wood ball. Thanks for mentioning it... I will make one this evening.

Gilles

[Rock on]

after thinking about it, couldnt you just hit the top of the stepped on with a hammer and it would go in.

[Rock on]

on the ferrules on the back of the body, did u mask them before finishing. Wouldnt they get color on them if you didnt? Do you take them out. How do you pop them out after there in and then put them back in.

Rock on

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by Rock on

after thinking about it, couldnt you just hit the top of the stepped on with a hammer and it would go in.

But then they might look like you hit them on the top with a hammer.

I have always installed mine after the color and clear coats. I suppose it would also work, if you are installing them flush, to install them AFTER the color and BEFORE the clear.

But like I have said numerous times, I just make this up as I go along.

I'll try something...if it works I remember it and do it again. If it doesn't I try to forget about it ASAP and do it a better way the next time.

[Ronkirn]

This photo will give a good explanation of what's going on, and since a picture is worth a thousand words, y'all can consider this a really long post..

Oh ... Credit where credit is due, it's from the Callaham site...

Ron Kirn

[BrianF]

Originally Posted by Ronkirn

This photo will give a good explanation of what's going on, and since a picture is worth a thousand words, y'all can consider this a really long post..

Oh ... Credit where credit is due, it's from the Callaham site...

Ron Kirn

I would think that this could have an effect on sustain...

[jwells393]

I would think that this could have an effect on sustain...

Oh yeah .......... you make the wrong choice you'll have no sustain and you'll loose all your tone.............. but you could bring it all back if you paint your guitar red.