Daily Run Down, & Round Table-P/Us

[big_teee]

More spraying than winding going on ,I'm doing a burst on a 59 les paul replica that I have .maybe some pics

Hi Copper!
T

[Ward]

Thanks, Ward, I didn't know that about the sanding part, I thought I had done enough, but I was looking for smoothness mostly and I didn't think about how it might affect the staining. I did do the part about raising the grain by wetting it and then letting it dry and sanding again. I don't know if that was good or bad. And it was my first one. I will definitely do more of them until I am satisfied. I agree 100% about the standing back and admiring though when it is all done.

Well I've just stripped all the paint off the swampy and now it is my turn to sand sand sand, it's easy to not sand completely, one thing's for sure, if you haven't done it well enough the stain will tell you very quick. And then there are water based stains and oil based and all sorts of secret TPLs of painting. If i am going to stain I'll use the stew mac dye mixed in with some metho, water will raise the grain so if you do the raise the grain trick and then use water based stain it's just a waste of time. The metho and metal dye doesn't raise the grain, denatured alc is something they talk about but I find metho works for me n well what the hell is denatured alcAnother thing I hate about staining is that it will always be darker on the end grain, you can mix a weaker solution for the end grain but it's a crap shoot trying to get it the same as the top n bottom.
There's nothing like a nice piece of swamp ash though, it's a thing of beauty but it requires grain filling big time.
Copper, now that you've mentioned your paint job, yep, pics are a must. I'm hopeless at bursts.
Here's a flake gold top Epi I've shown before but you may not have seen it. Notice the bent fret for the open A chord. Also a Mary Kaye I did a few years ago with alder, it's just not the same as doing it with ash. Notice the scalloped board.

[Stratz]

I always liked the Mary Kaye Strats.... I think the ash grain looks sharp with the blonde finish and the gold hardware tops it off nicely.


Ward, do you own any lefty fender short scale guitars?

I think that will be my next build. I cant recall what model it is but they came with racing stripes on them like the blue one in this picture.


I like the blue but I think they came in a really wild orange color too.

Rob.

[Ward]

Rob, I once bought a 24 3/4'' conversion neck from USACG, I didn't like it so I extended the heel with a bit of maple by about 3/4'' and put a 25 1/2'' scale board on it and it's a great neck now. I just don't like the shorter scale. My next Mary Kaye will have rosewood board and chrome hardware, I've since polished all my gold hardware to a chrome look so I don't have a gold bridge anymore but I think it'll still look good with the semi trans blonde finish.

[big_teee]

Ooops, Wrong Mary Kay-e.
I was thinking Mary Kay.

Not Mary Kaye!

Sorry Ward!
T

[rjb]

I was thinking Mary Kay.
Not Mary Kaye!

Me too. I was wondering why the guitar didn't have this color scheme.

[Ward]

Nuthin wrong with a pink Caddy.

[big_teee]

Here's the Mary Kaye that played the Strat.
Mary Kaye Guitars
T

[SonnyW]

Nuthin wrong with a pink Caddy.

Nuthin wrong with a blonde strat with that transparent white finish either. It is really one of the most attractive finishes. Though it is somehow appropriate that the wood is Ash. I'm old enough that I should have been able to put it together, but I didn't realize until I looked it up too that the singer Mary Kaye was real Hawaiian royalty and that the guitar named after her was the first custom strat guitar out of the Fender Custom Shop. She could have been the next act after Ricky Ricardo at the Tropicana Club.

I did get back to working on pickups today. Started on a set of strat pickups to 1965 specs for a new customer. He has some specific ideas about how he wants them done, but at least he gave me a lot of links to MP3's and You Tubes of the tone he is after, and a free hand to get there. So I started making the flatwork for them. Had to grind a couple of magnets to length to match the specs we talked about but I made a crude jig for that and it has worked out okay so far.

[big_teee]

Nuthin wrong with a blonde strat with that transparent white finish either. It is really one of the most attractive finishes. Though it is somehow appropriate that the wood is Ash. I'm old enough that I should have been able to put it together, but I didn't realize until I looked it up too that the singer Mary Kaye was real Hawaiian royalty and that the guitar named after her was the first custom strat guitar out of the Fender Custom Shop. She could have been the next act after Ricky Ricardo at the Tropicana Club.

I did get back to working on pickups today. Started on a set of strat pickups to 1965 specs for a new customer. He has some specific ideas about how he wants them done, but at least he gave me a lot of links to MP3's and You Tubes of the tone he is after, and a free hand to get there. So I started making the flatwork for them. Had to grind a couple of magnets to length to match the specs we talked about but I made a crude jig for that and it has worked out okay so far.

I've heard of winders making all these different styles with different tones.
I make the set that sounds the best to me.
I can make them a little hotter, or a little tamer, and maybe A5 or A2 magnets, but that's about it.
I tried making black bottoms, and all anyone will buy around here is Grey bottoms.
So Grey is all I make.
I am going to try a A2 Set, and to tell them apart from the A5s, I'm going to make them with the black fiber bottoms that I have leftover.
T

[SonnyW]

On the customer telling you what he wants in a strat pickup set?
I just make one set, they either like them or they don't?
I've heard of winders making all these different styles with different tones.
I make the set that sounds the best to me.
I can make them a little hotter, or a little tamer, and maybe A5 or A2 magnets, but that's about it.
I tried making black bottoms, and all anyone will buy around here is Grey bottoms.
So Grey is all I make.
I am going to try a A2 Set, and to tell them apart from the A5s, I'm going to make them with the black fiber bottoms that I have leftover.
T

He is giving me a free hand on how to make them, not really telling me how at all. More like trying to help. And he is pretty knowledgeable and we did agree on some things beforehand. I don't mind his inputs and don't mind messing around a bit with this design either. The more I know about what he is looking for the better I can get there. This customer is new to me and has a lot of local connections that could help me and I'm not that busy right now so I want to make him happy and I don't already have something exactly like he needs. He does want the Grey bottoms and a 60's look, but it's more about the tone he's after.

[Ward]

I just shot the first coat of the semi trans white for the Mary Kaye, man ash is a pain in the ass to prepare for paint. The white is going to be laid on thin so it'll take a few coats to get the colour up but it's on the way. I've got less that an hours worth of good weather left for today so maybe 2 more coats today

[big_teee]

He is giving me a free hand on how to make them, not really telling me how at all. More like trying to help. And he is pretty knowledgeable and we did agree on some things beforehand. I don't mind his inputs and don't mind messing around a bit with this design either. The more I know about what he is looking for the better I can get there. This customer is new to me and has a lot of local connections that could help me and I'm not that busy right now so I want to make him happy and I don't already have something exactly like he needs. He does want the Grey bottoms and a 60's look, but it's more about the tone he's after.

Yes I agree and I'm receptive to trying new things.
A lot of times customers, (I mainly talking more about the novice or intermediate player) think they know what they want.
I usually have problems when you get away from types of music I know best, which is Rock and blues Tones.
The CW players are usually the ones I don't have a clue what they are usually looking for.
I have my Tele player that I still want to help find his tone, but I can't ever to get him nailed down to help me find it! lol
Now I do make several types of Bridge Humbucker Pickups.
Not near as selective on the neck pickup selection.
A true late 60s, Early 70s Grey bottom, has the grey fiber bottom, A5 magnets, Plain Enamel wire, and plastic, or a more teflon lead wire.
Most are wound CW, and South up, in that era, IME, also most are a low wind, and work good with a pedal board.
T

[Ward]

pedal board.
T

Talent box board you mean???

[big_teee]

Talent box board you mean???

That must be a down under term, I've not heard of Talent box.
Stomp box board, or pedal board, here stateside. I think?
T