ShortScale.org

Love this project so much. Vicarious thrills.

I moved a lot of stuff out over the past few weeks. That clears the decks for a few final projects. I have not been able to spray the Wangstang or Jaguar yet, but the XII is still curing. I am starting to get a little itchy with it. I can probably start the wiring and then wet sand in the next week or two. Keep watching this spot.

The XII days of xmas has a nice ring to it.

Here is a pic of the back plate I made out of a tailpiece that came on the guitar. You see it in the recess, then daylight through some of the string holes (through the body), the sides and the back of the plate. The only part that matters is the top, and I don't care that it looks a little beat up already. The sides show where the old holes are. This helped with some of the drilling because I had less material to get through. I expected the holes to line up with the side holes but they only did in a few spots. Hey, it's precision.


We got tuners right here in tuner city. There were also some vintage lefties for sale BIN this week, but of course I had already bought the kind that require larger holes. Nice how that XII headstock hugs the Venus. I think we know which guitar neck I would have to hide behind.

Mike wrote:Love this project so much. Vicarious thrills.

+1 I can't wait until I learn to paint and restore guitars. very inspiring.

Sweet project! I'm so pumped to see where it goes from here!

Progress report

Wet sanded and polished. Can see patch areas. Think of it as the resurrected christ with stigmatas and shit.

Tuners installed: can now see seam and 3 of the tuner hole patches. Too much pressure installing the fucking ferrules. I should have dry fit before paint. May be unavoidable.

Freaky 3-way switch not installed. One I bought just didn't cut it. Using regular 3-way without super cool black beak switch. FUck it. Fuck all of it. Going with early Duo Sonic setup. Don't liek coil splitting anyhow. Can always fix later.

Curtis Novak pups started. Had to drill larger screw holes IN pickup bases.
DRILLED INTO MY FINGER. With a DRILL. Chewed the shit out of my finger at the knuckle. Looks like Arby's ham.

Plastic nut broke in half during wet sand.
Making bone nut. Plastic is for toothbrushes.

I still may have it done by xmas. Forgot to buy strangs. The white is beautiful. Would keep working except for teh bloody. It's still pretty sweet. Am dry fitting Jaguar.

that felt like reading the diary of a drowning sea captain. all this shit going wrong, yet still maintaining composure.

this is looking fantastic!
i like how you went with everything. and very crafty with the bridge!
i did indeed make one. i just kept the same neck shape and made the guard hug it, and the first version had the pups marauder style.

Here’s to the Halcyon, forever may she rest
At the bottom of the ocean, for the good Lord knows best
You made her from lumber and you gave her to the sea
Now good Lord what do you propose to do with me?

Okay, here goes. Not quite the money shot, but lots of action. I forgot to mention that the brass shield didn't quite fit into the holes, so I had to smash it down in. It looks about right except in the switch hole. I think I can separate the solder at that spot, push it into place, and then solder it back.

I get a little itchy going in. You want this shit to suddenly appear instead of enjoying the ride.




I decided not to chop the shit out of an ABR-1 tunamatic, and go with the Wilkinson that fits almost perfectly. It will need a little sanding on the very ends to flatten them out to fit in the plate. Uh, and 2 of the 12 of those drum saddles are going to have to sit this one out. Here's the math question. There are three sizes of those drum cylinders. Which ones stay or go, and what shape do I want? My gamble is that 12 adjustable saddles are overkill, and a few of the strings can double up. The main thing is that it intonates and looks cool. Meanwhile I keep looking for that elusive part. Like most guitars, I think the idea will be to create an arc in the middle and do the rest by ear. But if you Google pics, YOU STILL WON'T KNOW.

That bridge is a work of art.

Great, great project. The electric 12 is my favorite guitar OF ALL TIME. OF ALL TIME.

Okay, I may have just found it. I have seen three bridges now with the same settings. Looking down from left to right:

(Cap O is higher than low o in a line). This still suggests that some can be pulled.

OoOoOoOOOOoo

Never been this excited for someone else's project before. Looks fantastic. Can't wait for the demo on this one. the job on the headstock was first class.

Amazing work. Just a great looking guitar, you have some great skills.

fantastic. love the bridge and white witch hats.

BRACE YOauRSELF

It's not quite an xmas miracle because I couldn't get it to make any sondz. I had one of the pickups reversed, and I don't know what else. The good news is that I got the Venus to work, so I am not a total wash. But please note: this is why the Chinese are making our VOvlos!

Deets: I machined (sanded) the bridge piece to fit snugly without mods on the OG part. The saddles worked like I thought they would, and the whole business rests on thumbwheels atop screws. There is no need to adjust anything, and the plate that the saddles rest on is perfectly flush with the body. In that one spot I was relieved and had the luck of drunks, because the tolerances were either going to work or be maddeningly close. The plate in back could/should be slightly lower in the cavity, and the strang hoals should be widened to allow the string balls to flop down in. But in this rat rod conversion, the main thing is for it to work. That tiny hole you see on the back is where I stuck the brad back into the body to hold down the brass shield. It was the right nail, but the wrong part of the guitar.

Lessons learnt: slow the fuck down sometimes. I wired this switch the same as the Venus, so I am not sure where I have it wrong. The 3 way switch is slightly too tall for the hole, so shit might be all touching each other. When I get the chance I will test it outside the body. Wiring is my weakest suit.

GIST FOR FUNz

I couldn't resist the snow shots, even with only one fucking string on it. Did I mention this thing is sorta heavy? I may have to cut the top off and cut big holes in it.