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| Tele Home Depot Building a T-Style guitar? From scratch or from parts. This is the forum for you. |
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#81 (permalink) | |
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Doctor of Teleocity
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Quote:
All you need to be concerned about is getting the walnut skunk strip snug at the headstock end of the channel. The other end will be in the neck pocket. Many of Fender necks I've seen have a gap in the channel at the heel end. Thanks for the compliments guys. I hope to finish this up soon but my chosen career path is interferring at this time.
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Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person. |
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#83 (permalink) |
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NEW MEMBER!
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Davie
Posts: 2
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Hi Jack, new to these forums. Just wanted to know what those lever-type clamps were that you were using to hold down the neck while you drilled out the keyhole for the trussrod at the headstock? Looked like you have built a permanent jig for that.
Thanks Darren |
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#84 (permalink) |
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Doctor of Teleocity
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Those clamps are called 'quick release toggle clamps'. The should be available from most woodworking stores. I got mine from Woodworkers Supply.
Quick Release Toggle Clamps @ Woodworkers Supply The neck drilling jig is not my idea. I saw something similar in Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melvyn Hiscock. ......
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Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person. |
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#86 (permalink) | |
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Tele-Holic
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Palmerston, Ontario
Age: 47
Posts: 631
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Truss rod end hole jigs
Jack,
Do you have closeup shots of your truss rod hole jigs? (see my poplar build post) Bill Quote:
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#87 (permalink) | |
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Tele-Holic
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Palmerston, Ontario
Age: 47
Posts: 631
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Jack,
How did you fix the holes that were slightly offcentre? Quote:
My headstock hole is dead on but my heel is slightly off. I drilled using a 3/16" bit, so maybe going to a 1/4" bit will solve the issue if there really is one. Bill |
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#88 (permalink) |
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Tele-Holic
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Palmerston, Ontario
Age: 47
Posts: 631
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3/16 or 1/4
Some silly investigating.
The strat neck drawing calls up a .203 hole through. 3/16 is 0.1875 1/4 is 0.25 13/64 is 0.203125 Don't know of a long drill bit with this dia. so it will need to be a 1/4 for ease of installation. Bill |
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#89 (permalink) |
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Tele-Meister
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Tucson
Age: 56
Posts: 184
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This thread inspired me to join Telecaster Guitar Forum.
I have been contemplating the one piece neck build. These posts are exactly what I needed to gain the confidence to get started. Thanks for all your hard work Jack! |
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#91 (permalink) |
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Tele-Holic
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Glen Head, NY
Posts: 869
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Fantastic thread, Jack. Because of you're praise of the Ridgid oscillating edge-belt, SWMBO got me one for Christmas. I noticed from a video tour of the Gibson custom shop that they have a similar ege belt sander with a belt long enough to roll the entire neck at once.
The 4x24 belt is not quite as long as the neck profile, so how did you do it? - did you slide the neck back and forth sideways as you rolled it (two motions at once), or did you roll one area and then move the whole thing along and roll again? By the way, the specs aren't available online or in the manual, but the sanding sleeves are 4-1/2" long which is a standard size in the Klingspoor sandpaper catalog, in case you don't want to buy the full assortment sets from the Depot.
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"Why don't you just make 10 louder, and make 10 be the top number, and make that a little louder?" |
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#93 (permalink) |
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Doctor of Teleocity
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These measurement are approximate.
With a 2 in. drum the top of the sandpaper sleeve moved between 3 in. and 3 3/4 in. from the table top. With the belt sander attachment tracking true the top of the sanding belt varied from 3 1/2 to 4 1/4 in. above the table top.
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Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person. |
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#95 (permalink) |
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Doctor of Teleocity
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The Ridgid Oscillating Spindle/Belt Sander is on of my favorite woodworking tools. It's great if you use the sand and try method of fitting parts together.
__________________
Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person. |
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#96 (permalink) |
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Tele-Afflicted
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bristol, UK
Age: 35
Posts: 1,464
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Hi Jack,
Any more progress on these necks? I've really enjoyed the thread so far. I'm just about to have a go at a tele neck and was wondering if you could answer a couple of questions for me. This may be a stupid question, but what do you use as a guide when you route for the truss rod channel, are you using some kind of bushing on the router base that lines up against your jig? The truss rod i have is one that fits in a U-shaped aluminium housing so would i need to route a flat channel rather than a curved one? How does the Stewmac fret mitre box take account of the fact that the neck does not have parallel sides. Do you have to line it up and clamp it, how do you make sure the fret slots are all parallel? Sorry for all the questions Best wishes Dave |
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#99 (permalink) | |
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Doctor of Teleocity
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No progress Dave. I do need to get back to neck building because I've built several bodies that need necks.
You should definitely check out Bill's thread. Very interesting neck shaping jig he's developing. I think the StewMac fret slotting miter box is actually intended to cut slots in fingerboards before they are glued to the neck. If you want to use it on a one piece Telecaster neck you need to get a long strip of 1/4 in. MDF that will fit inside the miter box. Draw a centerline down the length of the MDF. Align you neck centerline to this centerline and stick your neck to this with double sided tape. This is what you would do if you were not using the Fret Scale Template. If you're using the Fret Scale Template with the miter box, You would align your neck centerline with a line on the template parallel to the edge of the template. The following post shows how I mounted the miter box to make a jig and shows the neck stuck to the Fret Scale Template. It also show that a Telecaster neck will fit into the miter box to saw the lower frets slots and nut slot but a Strat neck wouldn't allow that. Someone in the forum cut away the back side of their miter box to allow for a Strat headstock. StewMac Miter Box and Fret Scale Template Quote:
......
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Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person. |
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#100 (permalink) |
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Tele-Holic
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: SC
Age: 22
Posts: 518
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you guys are super talented
Everytime I get on here someone is doing some really cool things. one day I really want to make my own guitar.
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I have a Tele, a Lester, some pedals and a puppy |
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#101 (permalink) |
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Tele-Afflicted
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bristol, UK
Age: 35
Posts: 1,464
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Thanks Jack! That is really helpful.
I will definitely check out Bill's thread (thanks Bill). I'm still trying to get my head round building a neck and what do you know, enough timber to build a quilted maple capped thinline and a Les Paul Not sure I'm up to it but we'll see. Best wishes Dave |
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#102 (permalink) |
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TDPRI Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Antelope
Posts: 36
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I have been following your neck building thread with interest. I have my blank cut and built my own truss rod. I am having a difficult time making the jig to cut the truss rod slot. I have drawn out a quite a few templates and seem to get it wrong each time.
Would it be possible to post some basic dimensions of your jig? Regards, |
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#103 (permalink) | |
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Tele-Afflicted
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bristol, UK
Age: 35
Posts: 1,464
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Quote:
I'm sure Jack will come in, but you can make a jig for the curved truss rod channel by using the strat neck cross-section that he has posted a few times. Have a look in Bill Scheltema's thread as well. Cheers Dave |
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#104 (permalink) |
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TDPRI Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Antelope
Posts: 36
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Hi Dave,
Thanks for the quick reply. I made up the truss rod from the info in the strat neck blueprint. I also used that to make the side templates for routing the curved recess. I'm having difficulty getting the templates orientated to the blank so that the proper curve and depth will be cut. This has been a reality check for me. I can carve a wooden propeller but can't seem to build a jig. I might have to try the straight slot style truss rods. I can always use the truss rod I built in the next one. Thanks Again, Bill |
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#106 (permalink) | |
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Tele-Meister
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: PA
Age: 34
Posts: 113
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Quote:
My current jig looks a lot like the one posted here except instead of an edge guide, I put a 'wall' on one side and keep the router base pressed against that wall as I ride the rails. I have a toggle clamp like the one shown to hold the headstock down, but I need a clamping solution for the heel. The rails and the stop for the end of the heel end of the truss channel are preventing me from fitting a clamp in there. So I need to solve that somehow. I tried just sticking the heel down with double-sided tape last time, and it wandered and ended up screwing up the slot... I have a couple Stewmac Hot Rods here and could just put in a straight channel for them, but now I'm kinda bull-headedly determined to tackle the vintage truss first. |
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#107 (permalink) |
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Doctor of Teleocity
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I'm not sure what help is needed for building the curved channel jig. I'll go into a little more detail on how I built mine. First, I'll show the Strat neck blueprint once again.
![]() As you can see the curve is made up of two radii..... 115 inches on the headstock end and 255 in. on the heel end. I used a 25 ft. tape measure to draw these curves on a piece of poster board. I put a screw in a board and put a weight on it then attaced the end of the tape measure to the screw. I then went to the 255 in. mark ......... aligned my pencil and swung the tape measure to draw a curve that intersected a straight line aligned with the centerline of the tape measure. I then did the same at the 115 in. mark positioning the poster board so the 115 in. mark on the tape aligned with the previous curve. With the complete curve drawn on the poster board. I then cut it out and trace it to a piece of wood. I cut close to the line with a bandsaw then sand to the line. I then rip the piece in two giving me the two curved rails the router base rides on. From the drawing, you can see that the centerline of the radii is 8.745 in. from the nut slot. From this centerline, the channel should go 6.745 in. toward the headstock and 9.060 toward the heel (for a headstock adjust neck....... on a heel adjust neck this dimension would be ~ 7.25 in.). Where you put the stops on your jig to determine the ends of the channel will depend on your router and the dimension of the base plate. Since routing the channel is the first step, my jig is attached to the neck blank with screws in locations that will be cut away when the neck shape is cut. I start the routing at the radii centerline point with the bit just touching the wood. Consider that the zero depth reference point. I then set the depth on my plunge router to make shallow passes until I have it set 0.495 in. below the zero reference point. Here's a better picture of my channel jig. I've marked the following reference points: Nut line, End of channel, High point (radii centerline) Vintage end of channel and Modern end of channel. ![]() I hope this helps. I'll try to answer any other questions.
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Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person. Last edited by jwells393; June 1st, 2009 at 01:38 PM. |
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#108 (permalink) |
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Tele-Holic
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Palmerston, Ontario
Age: 47
Posts: 631
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Woodturner
It all depends on what type of side rail you are using.
I used a 1-1/2" piece of wood which I used to rout the arc into. I made a matching mirrored rail for the other side they are 6" apart because my router sits in between the rails keeping it steady as I run along the rout path. What you could do is make the arc pieces first then add outside pieces to get the same effect. Or... Forget the outside pieces and do what Jwell does with his guide. Both will work. Bill |
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#110 (permalink) |
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Tele-Meister
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: PA
Age: 34
Posts: 113
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I took ehawley's drawing from his cnc thread of the neck profile, printed it out, stole my 4-year-old's glue stick, and glued it to 1/4" mdf. Then I cut that on the bandsaw and made a template that I used to route thicker stock to make the actual rails.
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#111 (permalink) |
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Tele-Holic
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Palmerston, Ontario
Age: 47
Posts: 631
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Side dot position
Hi JWells,
I just glued in my fret position markers and am ready to drill in the side dot markers, what distance did you go from centre of dot to edge of fingerboard, about 1/8"? Bill |
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#113 (permalink) |
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Tele-Holic
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 817
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JWells,
I'm late to this thread. I had an idea with respect to the mini-Tele and proportions. The stock Tele control plate seems to me to be out of scale to match the dimensions of the otherwise smaller guitar. I would think one of the folks here might be able to supply a shorter control plate. I don't know if someone could make a pair of smaller diameter knurled knobs; mini pots are a possibility. Maybe remove some metal around the perimeter of the stock Tele bridge. Just a small suggestion... Regards, Penny |
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#114 (permalink) |
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Doctor of Teleocity
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Bill ......... It's been so long since I drilled the side dot holes, I don't remember how far they were from the fretboard surface. I probably just measured on a Fender neck and went with that.
Edd677 .......... When I bought my Ridgid sander Home Depot didn't have the spindle sanding sleeves. However, I think I saw a package of them on a recent visit. I ordered sleeves from Grizzly. They're also available from Woodworkers Supply. Penny ........... you're right about the control plate being out of scale for a small guitar body. I have another thread started on building a Mini-Telecaster. Designing and Building a Mini-Telecaster I've cut down a regular control plate by cutting at the tone control hole and drilling a new hole. Here are pictures of the smaller control plate. I think the bridge must be left as is. ...... ![]() ......
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Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person. |
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#116 (permalink) | |
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TDPRI Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: The Hawkeye State
Posts: 19
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Quote:
Jack, thanks for the great tutorial. When you route with shallow passes as you mention, does it eliminate the tendency to grab the neck around the headstock curves and tearout? Any other tips on this? I've been having a heck of a time getting this done without some mishap. I had bascially given up on using the router on the headstock and was just going to take it down with the spindle sander. |
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#117 (permalink) |
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Doctor of Teleocity
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Shallow passes are especially important on hard maple. Another important thing is "downhill routing". Problems can occur on the end of the headstock if you go the wrong way. I've posted a picture showing downhill routing on a body. Guess I should make one up for a headstock.
Edit: Here's that downhill routing guide for the headstock. After you've done a few bodies, the downhill routing becomes second nature. In the sections marked with an "X", you're not pushing against the rotating cutter, therefore you need to hold on really tight so the router doesn't grab the workpiece........ another reason for shallow passes. ......
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Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person. Last edited by jwells393; June 9th, 2009 at 11:23 AM. |
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#118 (permalink) |
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Tele-Meister
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: PA
Age: 34
Posts: 113
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I wanted to say thanks to you Jack for the great thread. Largely because of this thread and preeb's threads, I'm nearing completion of my one-piece neck. I figured some things out the hard way, but (surprise, surprise) when I closely followed the proven methods of the builders here, it really started to come together.
Case in point - these headstock curves...Using the spindle sander like preeb details to get very close to the pencil line (I actually take half the line), leaving just a whisper of wood for the router to take, and then routing in the directions that Jack shows, taking small depth bites each time, and I got a headstock with no tearout, no chipping, and only the faintest burn spot that ended up being on the waste part of the headstock anyway. So - thanks! |
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#119 (permalink) |
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TDPRI Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Australia
Age: 50
Posts: 13
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Hi Jack,
Thanks for the great post.Your work is very inspirational! I am about to make up the neck drilling jig out of Melvin Hiscock's book,but I was wondering how you made the drill guides up to stop the drill wandering amd chewing out the holes. His description in the book is a bit vague (good book though!!!!)He mentions using an insert of some kind ?. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Regards Greg |
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