Jaco only needed…Kindred spirits.Before I set up my home music space, this happened to me at least once a year. And I'd be punished by having to play our old guitarist's ancient 4 string Ibanez. I don't mind the Ibby, but only 4 strings? Yeesh.
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What's On Your Workbench?
- Thread starter HaMMerHeD
- Start date
How do you forget your guitar on your way to rehearsal?!?!?
Also, @Rôckhewer that's the coolest bench ever.
My friend was auditioning a guitarist for his band, and the guy forgot his guitar, his music pad, and his amp. Needless to say, he did not get the position.
Only lead singers are allowed to show up without any gear!
Finished this chassis today.
Not really bass related but has tons of bass and I tried it with my 6 string fretless and it is clean at lower volume down to the low B, and gnarly at max volume. I could use it for a small gig.
Tweed Deluxe 5E3. 2 interactive channels, one tone, Loud AF into my 4x10 cab. I'm building a 2x10 combo cab to house it.
Not really bass related but has tons of bass and I tried it with my 6 string fretless and it is clean at lower volume down to the low B, and gnarly at max volume. I could use it for a small gig.
Tweed Deluxe 5E3. 2 interactive channels, one tone, Loud AF into my 4x10 cab. I'm building a 2x10 combo cab to house it.
Nice clean build! Tube amps are fragile, but put out outstanding volume for their rated wattage. They also sound fantastic clean, and the harmonics when they saturate are musical!
My workbench is still covered in auto parts. 
It's been a rough 3 weeks of dealing with this clutch replacement. Doesn't help that it's been raining like crazy here over the last few weeks and finally cleared up this week, plus my boss feels that I need to be working every day.
It started life as a clutch release bearing replacement, and has spiraled into a new release bearing, new clutch, new flywheel and new pilot bushing. I'm finally starting to put things back on the truck, but the transmission is fighting me and apparently isn't terribly interested in going back in. For anyone who hasn't installed a transmission before, it has to line up almost perfectly with the engine to go in, and everything is so tight under this truck that there's just not enough space to get it lined up, so I'm struggling. For those who have installed a transmission, this is a 6-speed manual designed by Mercedes-Benz and weighs in at roughly 250lbs dry, this one still has fluid in it so add however much a gallon of fluid weighs and years of road dirt as well. She's hefty.
I just wanna get it done so I can get back to fun things. Oh, and be able to drive since this is my daily driver.
It's been a rough 3 weeks of dealing with this clutch replacement. Doesn't help that it's been raining like crazy here over the last few weeks and finally cleared up this week, plus my boss feels that I need to be working every day.
It started life as a clutch release bearing replacement, and has spiraled into a new release bearing, new clutch, new flywheel and new pilot bushing. I'm finally starting to put things back on the truck, but the transmission is fighting me and apparently isn't terribly interested in going back in. For anyone who hasn't installed a transmission before, it has to line up almost perfectly with the engine to go in, and everything is so tight under this truck that there's just not enough space to get it lined up, so I'm struggling. For those who have installed a transmission, this is a 6-speed manual designed by Mercedes-Benz and weighs in at roughly 250lbs dry, this one still has fluid in it so add however much a gallon of fluid weighs and years of road dirt as well. She's hefty.
I just wanna get it done so I can get back to fun things. Oh, and be able to drive since this is my daily driver.
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,002
- 1
- 31,693
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
My workbench is still covered in auto parts.
It's been a rough 3 weeks of dealing with this clutch replacement. Doesn't help that it's been raining like crazy here over the last few weeks and finally cleared up this week, plus my boss feels that I need to be working every day.
It started life as a clutch release bearing replacement, and has spiraled into a new release bearing, new clutch, new flywheel and new pilot bushing. I'm finally starting to put things back on the truck, but the transmission is fighting me and apparently isn't terribly interested in going back in. For anyone who hasn't installed a transmission before, it has to line up almost perfectly with the engine to go in, and everything is so tight under this truck that there's just not enough space to get it lined up, so I'm struggling. For those who have installed a transmission, this is a 6-speed manual designed by Mercedes-Benz and weighs in at roughly 250lbs dry, this one still has fluid in it so add however much a gallon of fluid weighs and years of road dirt as well. She's hefty.
I just wanna get it done so I can get back to fun things. Oh, and be able to drive since this is my daily driver.
I feel your pain.
Well kinda.
An MGB transmission is a good deal less hefty….
Car stuff sux…My workbench is still covered in auto parts.
It's been a rough 3 weeks of dealing with this clutch replacement. Doesn't help that it's been raining like crazy here over the last few weeks and finally cleared up this week, plus my boss feels that I need to be working every day.
It started life as a clutch release bearing replacement, and has spiraled into a new release bearing, new clutch, new flywheel and new pilot bushing. I'm finally starting to put things back on the truck, but the transmission is fighting me and apparently isn't terribly interested in going back in. For anyone who hasn't installed a transmission before, it has to line up almost perfectly with the engine to go in, and everything is so tight under this truck that there's just not enough space to get it lined up, so I'm struggling. For those who have installed a transmission, this is a 6-speed manual designed by Mercedes-Benz and weighs in at roughly 250lbs dry, this one still has fluid in it so add however much a gallon of fluid weighs and years of road dirt as well. She's hefty.
I just wanna get it done so I can get back to fun things. Oh, and be able to drive since this is my daily driver.
My workbench is still covered in auto parts.
It's been a rough 3 weeks of dealing with this clutch replacement. Doesn't help that it's been raining like crazy here over the last few weeks and finally cleared up this week, plus my boss feels that I need to be working every day.
It started life as a clutch release bearing replacement, and has spiraled into a new release bearing, new clutch, new flywheel and new pilot bushing. I'm finally starting to put things back on the truck, but the transmission is fighting me and apparently isn't terribly interested in going back in. For anyone who hasn't installed a transmission before, it has to line up almost perfectly with the engine to go in, and everything is so tight under this truck that there's just not enough space to get it lined up, so I'm struggling. For those who have installed a transmission, this is a 6-speed manual designed by Mercedes-Benz and weighs in at roughly 250lbs dry, this one still has fluid in it so add however much a gallon of fluid weighs and years of road dirt as well. She's hefty.
I just wanna get it done so I can get back to fun things. Oh, and be able to drive since this is my daily driver.
Personally I think it's a good thing you're replacing all that stuff. Replacing a clutch is difficult enough that it's worth doing completely. Trust me, you'll thank yourself later.
Re lifting the trans, don't do it on your own. I know some guys like to "bench it" in. Dumb idea. Get a few buddies and potentially a few floor jacks. One under the trans. Another under the sump to finangle the engine angle. Take your time. I've replaced a few trans now, the easiest way is with plenty of help and good support. Ratchet strap the trans to the jack and keep a spare jack stand available to prop it on if you need a break.
On the plus side, got the truck completely back together yesterday.
On the minus side, won't go into gear.
It seems I overlooked a key part to my parts swap. Apparently you can't use the stock hydraulic slave cylinder with these solid flywheel conversions. This truck came with a "dual mass" flywheel, picture a flywheel with a second flywheel attached to it via a network of springs in an effort to "reduce vibration and shock". That flywheel had gone bad as well and the whole spring network was junk, so I chose to just swap it to a standard solid flywheel, because I've been around semi-trucks all my life and never seen one with a dual mass flywheel. Pretty sure this thing was invented so that yuppies could drink their latte in peace while driving around in their giant jacked up 4x4 trucks. My truck is a work horse, not a show piece, I need it to do work things like towing a 16,000lb RV or a 12,000 race car trailer.
The part I missed is that the stock slave cylinder apparently doesn't have enough "throw" to push the clutch the full distance when using a solid flywheel conversion. Soooo.....more parts on order. New slave cylinder should be here tomorrow. Luckily, it's an external part so I don't have to remove anything to get to it.
For those who aren't up on their car parts, the slave cylinder is the part that actually pushes on the clutch disk when you step on the pedal. Mine isn't pushing far enough.
BUT! I did fire the truck up and it does run, the starter engaged fine, the transmission goes through all the gears with ease when the truck is not running and everything seems to be correct, aside from the clutch not releasing fully. So hopefully I can have it running by the end of the weekend.
I'm about $900 deep in parts thus far and a solid three weeks of my time. I remember now why I just pay someone to do this stuff now, I'm not getting any younger and my time is valuable. But, I really didn't have the $3,000 it would have cost in labor hours alone.
We all make choices.
On the minus side, won't go into gear.
It seems I overlooked a key part to my parts swap. Apparently you can't use the stock hydraulic slave cylinder with these solid flywheel conversions. This truck came with a "dual mass" flywheel, picture a flywheel with a second flywheel attached to it via a network of springs in an effort to "reduce vibration and shock". That flywheel had gone bad as well and the whole spring network was junk, so I chose to just swap it to a standard solid flywheel, because I've been around semi-trucks all my life and never seen one with a dual mass flywheel. Pretty sure this thing was invented so that yuppies could drink their latte in peace while driving around in their giant jacked up 4x4 trucks. My truck is a work horse, not a show piece, I need it to do work things like towing a 16,000lb RV or a 12,000 race car trailer.
The part I missed is that the stock slave cylinder apparently doesn't have enough "throw" to push the clutch the full distance when using a solid flywheel conversion. Soooo.....more parts on order. New slave cylinder should be here tomorrow. Luckily, it's an external part so I don't have to remove anything to get to it.
For those who aren't up on their car parts, the slave cylinder is the part that actually pushes on the clutch disk when you step on the pedal. Mine isn't pushing far enough.
BUT! I did fire the truck up and it does run, the starter engaged fine, the transmission goes through all the gears with ease when the truck is not running and everything seems to be correct, aside from the clutch not releasing fully. So hopefully I can have it running by the end of the weekend.
I'm about $900 deep in parts thus far and a solid three weeks of my time. I remember now why I just pay someone to do this stuff now, I'm not getting any younger and my time is valuable. But, I really didn't have the $3,000 it would have cost in labor hours alone.
We all make choices.
Slave cylinder failed regularly on my Nissan D-21 pickup, I got really good at keeping a spare in the glove box and learned to rapidly change it in all sorts of hastily arranged and unsafe roadside conditions!
Never done this before:
I just decided to switch to doing spoke wheel, heel adjust truss rods for some of the future builds. It was actually prompted by a custom guitar build for a bandmate. And since the pickup is so close to that area, in order to make it adjust easily, this was the way.
Thing was, I'd never done something like this before.
The truss rod I got was from Philly Luthier and it has a removable wheel, so you can basically build the neck first, then add this last. And I wanted to do this "new Fender style" not "EBMM style" so I had to sink it in the heel of the neck.
It seemed like making a jig for that was the right move...
It didn't need to be a huge template or anything, so I just used some scrap for the area where the router was gonna move. Cut a slot in it with the 3/4" bit on the table:
Then it was a matter of "how do I attach that at the heel and keep it in place?"
Well, like this I guess:
It was originally gonna be a thing I could run on the table itself. But the fact that the template was so oversized, I could just clamp it to the bench:
(Though pictured clamped to the router table, I moved it to a taller bench to actually do the work)
Got the 1/2" pattern bit in the colt, measured a few times to make sure I wouldn't hit the "stud" in the rod, then went to work.
The jig took far more time to make than it took to cut the notch. Ain't that always the way?!?!
Came out really nice though:
Don't mind the pencil lines, they were off.
And this will get shaped with files a little to make it more refined. But this was a success. And in future builds where a PG or neck-adjacent pickup are needed, this will be the neck heel design, for sure.
I just decided to switch to doing spoke wheel, heel adjust truss rods for some of the future builds. It was actually prompted by a custom guitar build for a bandmate. And since the pickup is so close to that area, in order to make it adjust easily, this was the way.
Thing was, I'd never done something like this before.
The truss rod I got was from Philly Luthier and it has a removable wheel, so you can basically build the neck first, then add this last. And I wanted to do this "new Fender style" not "EBMM style" so I had to sink it in the heel of the neck.
It seemed like making a jig for that was the right move...
It didn't need to be a huge template or anything, so I just used some scrap for the area where the router was gonna move. Cut a slot in it with the 3/4" bit on the table:
Then it was a matter of "how do I attach that at the heel and keep it in place?"
Well, like this I guess:
It was originally gonna be a thing I could run on the table itself. But the fact that the template was so oversized, I could just clamp it to the bench:
(Though pictured clamped to the router table, I moved it to a taller bench to actually do the work)
Got the 1/2" pattern bit in the colt, measured a few times to make sure I wouldn't hit the "stud" in the rod, then went to work.
The jig took far more time to make than it took to cut the notch. Ain't that always the way?!?!
Came out really nice though:
Don't mind the pencil lines, they were off.
And this will get shaped with files a little to make it more refined. But this was a success. And in future builds where a PG or neck-adjacent pickup are needed, this will be the neck heel design, for sure.
Nice routing fixture work, rojo! That's how operations are figured out and how fixtures evolve. It was successful, in the operation and the design. Now spend a little time and make up a more refined version, and that one will last you many years and many instrument necks.
Presently on the workbench, a Guitar Kit World Warlock kit:
This is all super interesting, the heel wheel isn't a simple addition. Well done on this.
When you get super good at it, you can start doing things like my buddy Scott over at Bonehead Guitars does with his wheel placement -
When you use a hand plane to plane the sole of another hand plane is that cannibalism?
Okay, so small update on the truck.....
IT LIVES!!!!
After what I have to say has been the absolute worst three weeks of my life (and I'm putting that up against the month I spent in an overcrowded county jail where I had to sleep on a mattress on the floor in the walkway next to the door to the toilet room), I'm beyond thrilled to have my daily driver back on the road. I am not, however, thrilled to be working back in the office. We all have our battles I guess.
The final tally is - New flywheel, new pilot bushing, new clutch assembly, new clutch release bearing, new clutch hydraulic system (master and slave cylinder as well as all the plumbing between them) and at the end of the day I had to bypass the clutch safety switch so now I can start it without pushing the clutch in, which is not a great situation but I'll get over it pretty fast. She runs and drives fine. The clutch pedal travel is way different, you have to clear to the floor to disengage it and it engages almost immediately upon coming off the floor so you better be ready for it.
But, at the end of the day, I've got my truck back on the road. My body is in so much pain, my neck hurts beyond belief, my back is on the verge of spasms, I'm way too old and fat for this.
Just to punish my truck for being so bad, I immediately went and loaded up a full bed of compost for my garden planter beds, because I've been waiting on my truck and a sunny day for almost a month now. I got plants that need to go in the ground man!
So.....hopefully I can get back to posting build pictures soon. I see GGBO23 is starting.
IT LIVES!!!!
After what I have to say has been the absolute worst three weeks of my life (and I'm putting that up against the month I spent in an overcrowded county jail where I had to sleep on a mattress on the floor in the walkway next to the door to the toilet room), I'm beyond thrilled to have my daily driver back on the road. I am not, however, thrilled to be working back in the office. We all have our battles I guess.
The final tally is - New flywheel, new pilot bushing, new clutch assembly, new clutch release bearing, new clutch hydraulic system (master and slave cylinder as well as all the plumbing between them) and at the end of the day I had to bypass the clutch safety switch so now I can start it without pushing the clutch in, which is not a great situation but I'll get over it pretty fast. She runs and drives fine. The clutch pedal travel is way different, you have to clear to the floor to disengage it and it engages almost immediately upon coming off the floor so you better be ready for it.
But, at the end of the day, I've got my truck back on the road. My body is in so much pain, my neck hurts beyond belief, my back is on the verge of spasms, I'm way too old and fat for this.
Just to punish my truck for being so bad, I immediately went and loaded up a full bed of compost for my garden planter beds, because I've been waiting on my truck and a sunny day for almost a month now. I got plants that need to go in the ground man!
So.....hopefully I can get back to posting build pictures soon. I see GGBO23 is starting.
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,587
- 221,942
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
I don't know if I'd call it that, it's probably more akin to something NSFW in my warped mind though...
