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Building my first guitar Ric-style


thick_mike

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I like it both ways, but I think I prefer the whole pickguard.


Also, you need the 5th knob for the blend pot.

 

 

Don't confuse me!!

 

I've got a friend who's an electrical engineer, he's going to point me in the right direction for pots and such. I was going to go for a simple (to my mind) 2 vol 2 tone 3 way switch. Blend pots are strange fruit to me.

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I am going with the minority (as usual) half guard with the knobs and switch in the wood looks awsome!


Great build and even more so with the tools you have used! Tung oil would look great on that.

 

 

Cheers Newbuilder.

 

I've spent ages reading through your build threads and been really inspired to try this one, so thanks.

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Rickenbacker has all their wiring diagrams online.


For the classic 2 pickup guitars, they have 330K pots, .047 resistant caps on the tones and a .0047 cap on the treble volume for a treble bleed, as well as a 500K blend pot.


http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19511.pdf



That's a great link...I'll show it to someone that understands it!:thu:

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Had to joint the body blank, so it's important to get the edges perfectly(ish) square. I set up a flat 90 degree fence (from a glass coffee table bought with the original mahogany (veneer) table!) and stuck some sandpaper to it. Lots of pushing later, I had a good joint:
QUOTE]

Interesting and unique solution to the challenge of getting square edges. Another old trick I learned from either a Tage Frid or Thomas Moser book is to rip both pieces to the same side of a blade and then flip one of them over to glue them. That way, if your blade wasn't perfectly square but, rather, 89.5 degrees, it will leave you with a complimentary angle on the other piece.

ascii graphics rendition:

====== and ======

become
====== and ======

Make sense? Keep going with the build- I'm loving it. I have got to get on with the throughneck flying V I'm making for my son.
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I've been looking forward to getting the frets into the fingerboard for ages. I bought my fretwire about two years ago (for a cigarbox guitar that I didn't finish).


I've done some research on ways to bend (over-radius) the fretwire so that the ends don't spring out of the board. I've gone for the low-tech option (again).


Step 1: Cut a slot just wider than the fret tang into a piece of wood you were going to throw away:


P1010301.jpg

Step 2: You're done!


You just pull the wire against the slot (I've put it in my bench vise) until you have the radius you need:


P1010302.jpg

P1010303.jpg



BRILLIANT!

I'm taking back all the pulleys and handles and gears. Just yank on the stuff. Sheesh. Too easy.

Your ability to crete solutions and recover from mistakes and forge ahead despite the risks... is enviable.

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Interesting and unique solution to the challenge of getting square edges. Another old trick I learned from either a Tage Frid or Thomas Moser book is to rip both pieces to the same side of a blade and then flip one of them over to glue them. That way, if your blade wasn't perfectly square but, rather, 89.5 degrees, it will leave you with a complimentary angle on the other piece.


ascii graphics rendition:


====== and ======


become

====== and ======


Make sense? Keep going with the build- I'm loving it. I have got to get on with the throughneck flying V I'm making for my son.

 

 

I actually flipped the second piece when I did this for exactly the reason you outlined above, just in case the fence wasn't quite 90 degrees.

 

I've found getting flat faces and right angles the most challenging part of this build.

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I'm taking back all the pulleys and handles and gears. Just yank on the stuff. Sheesh. Too easy.


Your ability to crete solutions and recover from mistakes and forge ahead despite the risks... is enviable.

 

 

Got to say, most of what I've done here has been learned from other people's build threads and places like frets.com.

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Looking real good, I've enjoyed following this and appreciate you posting.

As for the blend knob, even real Rics don't need them, no need to confuse things by adding one. I never use the blend on my 330 and cannot even articulate what it does :)

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It did have an effect, and made the choice a helluva lot harder. I actually think I have to change my vote to half guard, but it either way it's going to look great.

 

Fabulous effort on this build, really inspiring.

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Looking real good, I've enjoyed following this and appreciate you posting.


As for the blend knob, even real Rics don't need them, no need to confuse things by adding one. I never use the blend on my 330 and cannot even articulate what it does
:)



To be honest, the knobs are just there to fill up the space at the bottom of the guitar. I never know how to use them properly...:facepalm:

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It did have an effect, and made the choice a helluva lot harder. I actually think I have to change my vote to half guard, but it either way it's going to look great.


Fabulous effort on this build, really inspiring.



As long as you all realise that this is not a democracy and your votes count for jack!

I might just try it both ways and see which is most :cool:

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How did you spend your Saturday evening?

I spent mine watching youtube videos about how to apply tung oil finishes to wood and contemplating the relative merits of no-load abrasive paper...:facepalm:

So I had to buy some tights (pantyhose) today...:confused::lol: Apparently you can put a piece of old T-shirt inside and it makes a lint-free cloth to apply an oil finish with.

P1010362.jpg

After 20-ish years working in the coatings industry, I'm without facilities, so here's my spraybooth:

P1010364.jpg

Slapped on a coat of tung-oil thinned with 20% of white spirits. First time I've used it and I was pleased with how easy it was to apply...and the results:

P1010365.jpg

P1010367.jpg

P1010370-1.jpg

Just another 7 coats to go...

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