Having produced the basic body shape it was now time to fit those parts required to turn the creation into an instrument. The holes in the headstock were eased out to fit the machine heads. Ping tuners were used, being a good compromise between price and quality. Unfortunately the fixing screws were very soft and difficult to fit without rounding off. The guitar was then again despatched to Julian in Sevenoaks who cut a beautiful nut and fitted the Gotoh twelve string bridge (a masterpiece of design).
To keep the retro theme I had set my heart on using black pearlescent plastic, as seen on 1960s Italian guitars. The price, however, was ridiculous. After much searching Julian found a fairly cheap supplier (Touchstone Tonewoods), and a sheet was ordered. To describe it as magnificent would be selling it short.
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A template was created based on a photocopy of the full sized drawing. The Strat-style jack plate was mounted onto the body and the shape of the template fine-tuned to provide a perfect fit. This was then spray-glued onto the plastic sheet. The slot for the five-way switch was cut before the main shape so that the router had plenty of flat surface to sit on. A simple template was made from ply and a 2mm cutter used to route the slot. |
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The shape was cut on the bandsaw,
then the edges filed. The chamfered edges were simple produced using a sharp
craft knife scraped along the edge at an angle: primitive but effective. The
edges were cleaned up with 400 grade wet-and-dry paper, then simply polished with Brasso. The neck joint and jack socket areas were cut and filed last, and the
whole plate then test fitted.
The pick-up slots were cut last. These were cut with a coping saw, and then opened out with a file. Each pick-up had to be fitted individually as the metal two-piece cases were all slightly different sizes. Finally the screw holes were drilled and countersunk using a hand drill, and the finished plate was mounted onto the body. |
Holes for the Schaller Straplock buttons were drilled with a hand drill, and the six holes through the body for the bass strings in each pair were marked by drawing through the disassembled bridge, and then drilled with the pillar drill. The holes for the Telecaster-style ferrules were drilled into the back having set the depth stop on the pillar drill. Unfortunately the holes on the bridge have been deliberately staggered, which makes the staggered ferrules appear little untidy. I simply blame Gotoh if this is pointed out!
The electrics were prepared by Julian, while I applied the finish.
