Winter Buildoff 2022: Still A Diva

[Gilmourisgod]

Where did you get the Delano pup template? Is that off the shelf or a custom deal?

Ive run into that problem of "bottoming out" on a template. Could you get one of the really short template bits meant for flattening the bottom of a routed cavity and ride the bearing on the pup walls themselves? Im probably going to have to do that on my current build.
Looks incredible! I like the big knob, but a partial tactical retreat to please the Mrs. might be the wiser course.
https://www.amazon.com/Whiteside-Ro...efix=short+brsring+router+bit,aps,891&sr=8-13

 

[Reedt2000]

Doesn't look like your bridge and string retainers are too far off from where Marleaux puts them:

They've got a skinnier bridge

I'm with Mrs. Tim68, not a fan of the giant knob. A little bigger than a normal knob is cool but as it sits on your mockup it looks out of place (IMHO).

 

[Reedt2000]

Can you use your pickup template to make a thicker MDF template that would let you plunge a little deeper?

 

[Slidlow]

Opening The Eye -
Okay, with pickup and template in hand, let's cut a pupil, shall we? This one was a bit sketchy, but it seems like everything I do is sketchy, so whatevz man. Let's just do the dang thing. This one is a bit tricky, because the stupid fretboard runs right through your pickup neighborhood. Like, literally right down main street, through the avenue and around the block. So we need to do some tricks here. Pay attention @RichterScale, you'll be here soon enough! First thing we needed to do was get our template raised up off the surface of the body so that it is above the fretboard. Get out the supplies, employ "The Trick" to some spacers and the the same to the template and we have this rig -
View attachment 4556879


Yeah, that doesn't freak me out AT ALL dude! Okay, deep breathes. Do the usual, hog out the bulk over at the drill press with the Forstner bits -
View attachment 4556878

Come at it with the plunge router and the cool little workhorse Amana pattern bit and we have a pickup cavity that is super duper snug. Like, snug but not bound up. This thing was sa-weet! -
View attachment 4556877

Yeah dude, that's boobies. It literally couldn't be any tighter without being too tight.
Only one problem though, it really isn't deep enough, and I don't own a bit that can get down in there any deeper. See, the problem is, I could step down a teeny tiny touch farther, but then the bearing of the bit slips "under" the template in that little gap between the bottom of the template and the top of the body. This build is just FULL of unique challenges. We're calling them challenges over here, because the other words will get me banned from the forum. Anyways, it's gonna take some chisel work to finish this cavity up like it needs to be, but that's fine because it'll be way down in there where nobody will see. I'm not super worried about it, as long as the top looks like that, we're all good in the hood over here.

Okay, let's do a quick mockup, because why not? -
View attachment 4556880

O.....M......G!!!! Sexy!!!!
Like, for reals y'all, what a beauty! But, who can spot my problem? Did you see it? Yeah man, that's where my bridge needs to live, all the way back there. I kind of got the body wings a bit too far "forward" and didn't leave enough space back at the tail end. I mean, not that I can't overcome it, it'll work, I'm just not totally happy with the retainers being right up against the bridge like that. So yeah, we got some thinking to do there. Or we just live with it, I dunno. I don't know that it's a major deal, I may be over reacting here.

Oh yeah, the wife says the giant knob is dumb and she says she is veto'ing it. I may have a fight on my hands.

Edit To Add: FYI: my wiring channel ended up directly under the Delano script on the pickup. Not bad rookie, not bad.

Kind of agree with the wife on the knob! You might consider string through now and use deep retainers in the back and shallow ones up front for the strings to pass through.

 

[StereoPlayer]

Opening The Eye -
Okay, with pickup and template in hand, let's cut a pupil, shall we? This one was a bit sketchy, but it seems like everything I do is sketchy, so whatevz man. Let's just do the dang thing. This one is a bit tricky, because the stupid fretboard runs right through your pickup neighborhood. Like, literally right down main street, through the avenue and around the block. So we need to do some tricks here. Pay attention @RichterScale, you'll be here soon enough! First thing we needed to do was get our template raised up off the surface of the body so that it is above the fretboard. Get out the supplies, employ "The Trick" to some spacers and the the same to the template and we have this rig -
View attachment 4556879


Yeah, that doesn't freak me out AT ALL dude! Okay, deep breathes. Do the usual, hog out the bulk over at the drill press with the Forstner bits -
View attachment 4556878

Come at it with the plunge router and the cool little workhorse Amana pattern bit and we have a pickup cavity that is super duper snug. Like, snug but not bound up. This thing was sa-weet! -
View attachment 4556877

Yeah dude, that's boobies. It literally couldn't be any tighter without being too tight.
Only one problem though, it really isn't deep enough, and I don't own a bit that can get down in there any deeper. See, the problem is, I could step down a teeny tiny touch farther, but then the bearing of the bit slips "under" the template in that little gap between the bottom of the template and the top of the body. This build is just FULL of unique challenges. We're calling them challenges over here, because the other words will get me banned from the forum. Anyways, it's gonna take some chisel work to finish this cavity up like it needs to be, but that's fine because it'll be way down in there where nobody will see. I'm not super worried about it, as long as the top looks like that, we're all good in the hood over here.

Okay, let's do a quick mockup, because why not? -
View attachment 4556880

O.....M......G!!!! Sexy!!!!
Like, for reals y'all, what a beauty! But, who can spot my problem? Did you see it? Yeah man, that's where my bridge needs to live, all the way back there. I kind of got the body wings a bit too far "forward" and didn't leave enough space back at the tail end. I mean, not that I can't overcome it, it'll work, I'm just not totally happy with the retainers being right up against the bridge like that. So yeah, we got some thinking to do there. Or we just live with it, I dunno. I don't know that it's a major deal, I may be over reacting here.

Oh yeah, the wife says the giant knob is dumb and she says she is veto'ing it. I may have a fight on my hands.

Edit To Add: FYI: my wiring channel ended up directly under the Delano script on the pickup. Not bad rookie, not bad.

Very cool!

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Other than "it's not how they do it" you could drop the string retainers off behind the fretboard.

You could perhaps use that template to make a template thick enough that you could cut out for the fingerboard and have it contact the top, shimless and gapless. Or butt your shims right up against the fingerboard and cut them as well as the fingerboard to achieve the same end (@RichterScale take note.)

 

[Gary_M]

Opening The Eye -
Okay, with pickup and template in hand, let's cut a pupil, shall we? This one was a bit sketchy, but it seems like everything I do is sketchy, so whatevz man. Let's just do the dang thing. This one is a bit tricky, because the stupid fretboard runs right through your pickup neighborhood. Like, literally right down main street, through the avenue and around the block. So we need to do some tricks here. Pay attention @RichterScale, you'll be here soon enough! First thing we needed to do was get our template raised up off the surface of the body so that it is above the fretboard. Get out the supplies, employ "The Trick" to some spacers and the the same to the template and we have this rig -
View attachment 4556879


Yeah, that doesn't freak me out AT ALL dude! Okay, deep breathes. Do the usual, hog out the bulk over at the drill press with the Forstner bits -
View attachment 4556878

Come at it with the plunge router and the cool little workhorse Amana pattern bit and we have a pickup cavity that is super duper snug. Like, snug but not bound up. This thing was sa-weet! -
View attachment 4556877

Yeah dude, that's boobies. It literally couldn't be any tighter without being too tight.
Only one problem though, it really isn't deep enough, and I don't own a bit that can get down in there any deeper. See, the problem is, I could step down a teeny tiny touch farther, but then the bearing of the bit slips "under" the template in that little gap between the bottom of the template and the top of the body. This build is just FULL of unique challenges. We're calling them challenges over here, because the other words will get me banned from the forum. Anyways, it's gonna take some chisel work to finish this cavity up like it needs to be, but that's fine because it'll be way down in there where nobody will see. I'm not super worried about it, as long as the top looks like that, we're all good in the hood over here.

Okay, let's do a quick mockup, because why not? -
View attachment 4556880

O.....M......G!!!! Sexy!!!!
Like, for reals y'all, what a beauty! But, who can spot my problem? Did you see it? Yeah man, that's where my bridge needs to live, all the way back there. I kind of got the body wings a bit too far "forward" and didn't leave enough space back at the tail end. I mean, not that I can't overcome it, it'll work, I'm just not totally happy with the retainers being right up against the bridge like that. So yeah, we got some thinking to do there. Or we just live with it, I dunno. I don't know that it's a major deal, I may be over reacting here.

Oh yeah, the wife says the giant knob is dumb and she says she is veto'ing it. I may have a fight on my hands.

Edit To Add: FYI: my wiring channel ended up directly under the Delano script on the pickup. Not bad rookie, not bad.

Hey, great job on the pickup route! That would make anyone pucker up tighter than a snare drum. Not a lot to do about it at this point, but next time make a copy of the template using thicker material. That will allow you to use a longer pattern bit and the extra verticality in the template will leave you room to "roam" as it were. This is just an unusual situation with the ridge in there.

Oh, I agree with the wife... bring'er down a size or two.

 

[Flying B]

You could always just tweak the scale length down a bit so you can bring the retainers forward a bit.

 

[RichterScale]

(@RichterScale take note.)

I'm good.
I'm gonna make up my own way to do it and then complain when I screw it up.

 

[Reedt2000]

You could always just tweak the scale length down a bit so you can bring the retainers forward a bit.

Would work, except for the already installed fret markers...

 

[Reedt2000]

Once the bridge and string retainers are sunk into the fingerboard extension I think it will look fine as it is. The fact that they stick up so proud at the moment exaggerates how close together they are.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Where did you get the Delano pup template? Is that off the shelf or a custom deal?

Ive run into that problem of "bottoming out" on a template. Could you get one of the really short template bits meant for flattening the bottom of a routed cavity and ride the bearing on the pup walls themselves? Im probably going to have to do that on my current build.
Looks incredible! I like the big knob, but a partial tactical retreat to please the Mrs. might be the wiser course.
https://www.amazon.com/Whiteside-Router-Bits-3000-Template/dp/B000HZX4W4/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?crid=9VS37Q8WJ660&keywords=short+bearing+router+bit&qid=1643106921&sprefix=short+brsring+router+bit,aps,891&sr=8-13

I got the template from Best Bass Gear, was $11 and honestly it’s a nice piece. At that price it made more sense to just buy it and keep moving.

 

[Flying B]

Ah yeah i didn't see them on my tiny phone screen.

Would work, except for the already installed fret markers...

 

[RichterScale]

With everyone saying the knob should be smaller, I'd say, oh yeah?
and slap this puppy on there

 

[Gilmourisgod]

That template is so worth it. Having tried my hand at routing ellipses......gimme a template.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Once the bridge and string retainers are sunk into the fingerboard extension I think it will look fine as it is. The fact that they stick up so proud at the moment exaggerates how close together they are.

Yeah, I think this is the reality of it here. At least in my mind. I'm gonna go ahead and stay the course and route for the bridge next, get it down where it needs to be and then go from there. I've got a lot of measuring to do with bridge posts and body depth. I built this thing a bit thin, it's only 1-1/2", so now I need to take a real close look at my bridge height plus the post height and really understand how deep those posts are gonna need to be before I go cutting into it. It's still highly possible this Tune-o-Matic isn't gonna work simply because of the post depth required. It's hard to find any info online, so I need to just measure the actual unit, which means I can't figure it out here at work while I have nothing to do, I gotta wait till I get home.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Has anyone ever cut off the ends of the Tune-O-Matic posts to make them shorter? Any concerns there?

I'm seeing a lot of differing info online in post heights and of course the one I purchased from the Amazonians has ZERO dimensional info shown. I see some with posts at 11.5mm tall and some with posts at 22.7mm tall. Factoring in a 12mm bridge height, that could be anywhere from 24mm to 35mm total height and this body comes out to (roughly) 38mm thick (if my Google-Foo is accurate). That only leaves me 4mm worst case scenario under those posts (that's just over 1/4" for us Mericans). Seems thin, not a fan, much concern, many stress.

 

[dwizum]

Are you talking about the studs or the inserts that get pressed into the body? Or both? At any rate I've modified both at different times for weird installs. On a TOM style bridge there isn't a ton of torque or tension on the saddle, just some down pressure from the strings. No big deal to shave a couple mm off the bottom to make the whole assembly shorter.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Are you talking about the studs or the inserts that get pressed into the body? Or both? At any rate I've modified both at different times for weird installs. On a TOM style bridge there isn't a ton of torque or tension on the saddle, just some down pressure from the strings. No big deal to shave a couple mm off the bottom to make the whole assembly shorter.

Yes.....and yes. Lol! mostly the insert that gets pressed in. The ones I got have the "grooved" section (has vertical grooves that act as teeth in the wood I guess) and then there's a narrower smooth section under that -

I'm just not seeing why they need that extra length. So yeah, thanks for the vote, I think cutting some length off is the best way to go if needed. I got a Dremel and some cutoff stuff.

 

[dwizum]

Go for it. They're usually pretty soft pot metal, should cut like butter.