The Billy1802t

tomin8r · Post by **tomin8r** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:23 pm

Knobs look a bit cramped to me from the pic, but everything else is fantastic. Great build!

cur · Post by **cur** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 3:18 pm

tomin8r wrote:Knobs look a bit cramped to me from the pic, but everything else is fantastic. Great build!

I think you are correct. I looked back at the white on white one and it is more spread out.

My next step is to figure out how to make a square hole for the on-on slider switch. This will be used for an in-series and parallel switch for the two pickup combo. The original used it for a mid boost, but I have not looked up how this is done. I figure I will just drill a hole of the correct diameter and then take a small square file to it. A chisel may work as well to square the hole, but I don't know if I have one that small.

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:13 pm

I *think* it's a bass cut switch, like a jaguar. I have an epiphone ET270, i'm pretty sure i took photo's of the insides, i'll post them here when i find them.
I say *think* because they were billed as 'bass boost' which wouldn't really work with a passive circuit.
Flick the switch one way, then turn the tone right down, it goes very quiet. I assume the Jag is the same?

cur · Post by **cur** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:37 pm

Thanks.

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 11:17 pm

Hope you can decipher something from this.

I don't know what to cap value is, I would try the same as a Jaguar though.

cur · Post by **cur** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 12:36 am

wow that is cool, love the shielded wire.

cur · Post by **cur** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:48 pm

Made some progress. Wired up the pickguard. I cut the square hole for the switch. I did a test on a piece of scrap material. I traced the size of rectangle I needed and then found a drill bit that would be the same diameter. I then drilled two holes and that removed about 80% of the hole. I took a sharp wood chisel and squared and shaped it. Just put it on a block of wood and used hand pressure the make the cuts. Worked very nice since I was only shaving off little bits. I wired the mini DPDT so that in the up position both pickups in series. This will totally override the 3 way toggle switch. Then when you put the switch in the down position, both pickups are in parallel and the 3 way toggle switch will function normally as a pickup selector. Both pots are 250k and I used 0.047 uf orange drop cap. I just looked at what GFS used with their Brighton Rock kit to get the specs on the guts.

I came across a tremolo arm that looked like it was the correct one for this guitar.

LINK

It said the thread pattern was 10/32. So I dropped a dime and picked up a tester bolt. But it did not thread because there was a broken trem arm piece already up in it. I drilled it out, but did not have a small enough extractor on hand. I found a torx driver that slightly too big for the drilled hole and tapped it in with a hammer. Then I was able to unscrew it with a pliers. I took my 10/32 tap and cleaned up the threads. The tester bolt worked perfect and I ordered the part.

mathiasx · Post by **mathiasx** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:53 pm

cur wrote:

I love the wood grain on this thing.

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:43 pm

I'm getting excited to see how this all turns out, really interesting project that I've enjoyed following so far.

Keep up the good work!

weed_killer · Post by **weed_killer** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:08 pm

This is going to look great in the white you chose.

cur · Post by **cur** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:53 am

So here is where I am at now. Except I installed the chrome strap buttons; not in pictures.

► Show Spoiler

Been working on the setup. Had to lower the bridge all the way and also shim the neck. Action is pretty low. I adjusted the truss rod and intonation was pretty much spot on. Slight buzz on 13th fret, but it might go away with a little more tweaking. So small adjustments from hear on. It also needs a new nut. It seems like it has a left handed nut on it. It is a stock plastic nut, but the high e string side of the nut is noticeably higher than the low E. The low E is about right. The high side is awkwardly high from the G to e. So I will bring it into Gurus and have a bone nut made (treat myself).

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 5:06 am

what a looker. project of the year.

i would've done jag pickups, but the ones you picked are growing on me.

cur · Post by **cur** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 5:13 am

I still can. Actually I have enough pickguard material left to cut another one. Was thinking of doing this and cut it for humbuckers or something else. Then all I would have to do is slack the strings and use a quick connect to swap ground.

Oh, I also used that adhesive copper shielding. The thing was humming pretty good with out it.

cur · Post by **cur** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 6:10 pm

Install reverb bar: Check!

► Show Spoiler

Now on the way to get an nut cut by a pro (sounds dirty).

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 6:18 pm

This build is total genuis!
Gonna love seeeing it painted.

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 7:13 pm

dude thank you so much for keeping us all updated on this, i'm digging every picture you post.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:05 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:project of the year.

+1 all kinds of awesome.

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:08 pm

Thom wrote:
hotrodperlmutter wrote:project of the year.
+1 all kinds of awesome.

agreed with this. it just keeps getting better and better!

cur · Post by **cur** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 11:55 pm

Well dropped it off at Guru Guitars. At minimum I am getting a fret level and a new nut cut. Frets are kind of wonky after 40 years. I told them to figure out what need to be done and let me know. The neck is cool. It starts out as a round c-neck at the nut and flattens out to a flat D shape at the butt of the guitar.

It looks like it is going to warm up around here soon enough. So I might get to painting in the near future.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:15 am

cur wrote:Now on the way to get an nut cut by a pro (sounds dirty).

not as dirty as the fact that an amateur busted your old nut.