The Shop > Wood & Stuff
Scalloping the guitar fretboard - possibly also renovation of the instrument
sorveltaja:
Now the tremolo has aluminum end parts:
They have 6x12x4mm ball bearings in them, so the action is smoother. The weak points are the linkages, that just don't have enough grip on the string retainer end. I would rather make the linkages as long as possible, to lessen the retainer downward dragging, when the bar is pressed down.
But as usually on Strat-style bodies, this also has a curved bevel at the point, where the picking hand rests. Although the end parts are quite close to the bridge, the lowermost one(in the pic above) has already an increasing gap under it.
I have a feeling, that it's time for some woodwork for a change. The body of the guitar is made of very lighweight wood, being easily butchered shaped, and then piece of wood added. Don't know yet, how to do that, as the resulting 'top' surface should be flat.
As always, there is only one way to find out.
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Tremolo bar itself could use a friction part, where it connects to the tremolo. Meaning, that it shouldn't wobble loosely, or be too tight to move(personal preference). That movement isn't associated with the string tension altering, but rather moving the bar out of the way, when one so desires.
One idea for that, could be to use a 'semi-locking' component, like on 'nyloc' nuts, that have a nylon component in them, preventing them from loosening.
The plan is to enlarge the bar's hole, and attach with small screws a piece of machined nylon bar, that has (partial)M8 thread to it:
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Again, another idea, considering the roller nut body, or housing, made of metal. The 1.5mm drill bits, that I have, are bit too short for drilling the 43mm deep hole in one go, so why not try to make some sort of fixture, that could possibly guide the drilling on both ends to make an acceptably straight hole for the axle.
vtsteam:
Amazing the things you do, sorveltaja! :bow:
I just ordered some silver braze today, myself. Some of the nickel-silver variety.
sorveltaja:
Steve, thanks. Don't know about amazing, but sometimes, when working on a project, at one point it starts to have its own "drive", and just by doing, things happen. Hard to explain, but it's like a continuous flow of some sort.
But yeah, silver soldering, or brazing is my favorite, as it doesn't require equipments, that use oxy/acetylene.
Aluminum brazing could have second place, although for some reason, it isn't as straightforward, as it doesn't seem to have the 'capillary' filling effect. On the other hand, I have used a propane torch, which provides enough heat to make solid, but not airtight bond between the parts.
It's been a while, since I used alu braze, and perhaps, if the tremolo bar needs to be extended(once it has been moved further away from the string retainer and bridge), it'll be used.
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Most of the curved part of the bevel removed:
I used saws like this:
Lowermost one is gyokucho, and other is, if memory serves, dozuki. I used the latter to start a straight groove, as it has a 'back bone'. Former one was then used to saw a slice off of the bevels surface.
Actually I had to make two cuts, to remove all of the curved surface. But anyways, those japanese saws, at least for me, are more comfortable to use, as the pulling, instead of pushing, naturally tends to keep the blade straight.
Then some sanding, to make the markings disappear:
Filling the holes:
Then filling the bevel with a chunk of pine:
Excess of the pine plank is sawed off, and it's time to make a milling fixture for further shaping:
6mm milling bit, and also a piece of 6mm metal rod, so it's a breeze to follow the contour of the body. After that, top surface is to be milled flat. But it'll have to wait overnight, to make sure, that the glue is dried, and the screws can be removed out of the way.
sorveltaja:
Preliminary woodwork is done:
It's bit bumpy on the edge contour part, and will be taken care of at the stage, when the body is to be prepared for painting. At least there is now more room to move the tremolo away from the string retainer, as long as the fork of it doesn't interfere with the spring.
When thinking about the guitar bodies(and some furnitures), that I've painted in the past, they are far from good. Not that the looks is that important, but what can one expect, when painting with a brush, using thick paint.
For once, it would be nice to have a smooth, evenly painted surface.
Ordinary spray paint cans, available from hardware stores, have quite limited colour scale. The colour, or say, kind of colour, that I'm after, is subtly translucent, like when looking at tomato. It is neither plain red, nor plain orange. Closest acrylic colours are cinnabar or vermilion, but nah, they are still flat colours.
Anyways, small airbrush, although I have never used one, may be a considerable option. Good ones are pricey for occasional use, so why not make one. There are plenty of Youtube videos, where they use components/parts, that I already have. As long as it's simple, and doesn't spit, I'm in.
I have a small compressor, that doesn't have a tank, but few big, interconnected soda bottles can be used to beef up its 'breathing capacity'.
So, exploring the ways, of how to combine colours, and test the techniques, is a subject for a (possibly)forthcoming side-project of its own.
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I managed to make almost straight hole, without breaking the 1.5mm drill bit:
First I drilled as deep as possible, and at the end, there was only 2 or 3mm of the drill bit length in the chuck. Very slow and tedious thing to do, as this kind of aluminum tends to stick to the flutes of the drill bit, and cause notorious 'snap'. Without having any proper cutting fluid, I applied some beeswax to the flutes often. Don't know how or why it works, but the thing that matters, is the end result.
The straight part of the hole itself is a bit loose for 1.5mm rod. When drilling from the other end, it went off by a small amount, as I expected. That eccentricity between the holes, after all, seems to be a good thing, as now that rod have to be tapped, or pressed to get it through, keeping it firmly in place.
Hard to say at this point, if that's the case, after the slots for rollers are machined. If the hole is still too loose after that, then other tricks like tinning the rod, will be used.
sorveltaja:
Aluminum roller nut so far:
The slots are bit off, as I forgot to lock the lathe's carriage, when milling first three ones. It isn't necessarily the final nut, but for now, good enough. It needs to be shortened from both ends, and 1mm milled off of the bottom surface. Then some general rounding.
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