New Musicmaster project...

bob the r0bot · Post by **bob the r0bot** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 6:58 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:my vote is for F's.

I second the motion

Phil O'Keefe · Post by **Phil O'Keefe** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 1:32 am

It's funny - you guys are mostly voting for the F's, and the guys over on HC are voting for the Pings...

I'm still debating that issue while I wait for my headstock decals to arrive and my new F neck plate. I already have everything else ready to go...

Post by **Mike** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 1:11 pm

avj wrote:That is just really, really fantastic work. I love the grain.

+100.

You did so great with this, I have to admit I had my reservations but it looks wonderful. You clearly have some skills, Phil.

Oh, and "F's" For Lyfe

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 1:15 pm

The guitar looks fantastic.
I've never been a fan of F tuners...

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:33 pm

I'd say it depends on your playing really. You might find F tuners work well, some of them are fine.
Although: i think i'm going to bump the vintage Fs off my jag and stick some kluson copies on instead. Dunno if it's because i batter the guitar so much but i just don't think F tuners take as much punishment (I only have vintage ones to base this on, i've never tried new copies). Fingers crossed.

Phil O'Keefe · Post by **Phil O'Keefe** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:51 pm

I think the Fender made F tuners are possibly the worst tuners ever made... well, at least if we're not counting really cheap / open gear stuff. They LOOK fantastic IMO - especially the ones with white buttons. But functionally, they suck.

The problem I have with them isn't so much slippage - once I get the guitar into tune, they tend to stay in tune reasonably well, although not quite as well as most "good" tuners... but getting the thing into tune? It's a right pain in the buttocks.

They feel "stiff" and "gritty" to me. Don't get me wrong - I want my tuners to be "firm" when I go to turn them... but not so gritty and stiff that I can't move the thing slight amounts when I need to fine tune a string. With the F tuners (the Fender made ones - not the late 70s Schaller versions or modern reissues), I always have to drop the tuning way down and then fight to bring the string back up to pitch. They do not handle fine tuning or slight adjustments at all well IMO.

I'm going to leave the 71 Mustang alone, even though I find the tuners a bit annoying. On this one, I think I'm going to go with the Pings. Either that, or since I'm going to have my buddy Dennis refret the neck (whomever did it last time beveled the sides of the fret ends inwards too far, which causes me to pull the strings off the edge of the fingerboard occasionally), maybe I'll have him drill out the back of the existing tuner holes so I can use a modern set of white button Schaller Mustang tuners. But probably not... the idea with this guitar was to make something that, as much as possible, utilized the parts I already had on hand, as opposed to buying a bunch of new parts for it...

Phil O'Keefe · Post by **Phil O'Keefe** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:16 am

Got the decals in yesterday - they look really nice IMO. I masked and shot the headstock (lacquer) and then shot the decal with a few mist coats yesterday. Today, after it had dried, I cut it out and got it ready, then applied it. No problems - it went well. Tomorrow, after it dries overnight, I'll shoot a few more mist coats over the headstock to "set" the decal, then I'll hit it with a full coat tomorrow night or the next day. Here's some pics:

The masked / lacquered headstock:

The cut out decal, pre-application - just checking positioning.

And the final position, post-decal application:

Phil O'Keefe · Post by **Phil O'Keefe** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:32 am

Well, I made my decision on the tuners and went with the Pings. I just don't like the feel and function of the F tuners. So I reliced up this new set of Kluson styled Pings and bushings, which took a couple of days... and I drilled the new holes for them and mounted them on the neck tonight. I think they turned out pretty good, and are "appropriately" aged - some "reliced" tuners I've seen just seem way too "overdone" for my tastes - much more corroded and rusted out than even the worst vintage examples I've seen. :idk:

I really like the fact that the Kluson style tuners cover all the original F Tuner holes.

OK, so you want pics, right?

From the back:

And from the front:

I'm just waiting on the new "F" neck plate to arrive - which should hopefully arrive later today (Monday). I just need to relic that and the neck bolts up a touch and she'll be ready to assemble and set up; although then she's due to go see Dennis and get a refret job... but I couldn't resist setting the neck in place and taking a couple of "mockup" pics:

Almost done...

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:34 am

Gorgeous. Really nice work Phil, have enjoyed watching the progress. I think you made the right choice with the tuners too.

Post by **Mike** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:57 am

Absolutely fantastic stuff.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:13 pm

how did you relic the tuners, phil?

cooter · Post by **cooter** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:01 pm

stewart wrote:how did you relic the tuners, phil?

+1 on the tuners and how about the pickguard as well.

matt.dines · Post by **matt.dines** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:33 pm

That's fucking beautiful. This is one of the only relic jobs I approve of!

finboy · Post by **finboy** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 3:34 pm

looks great phil, but it still needs one of these...

broncobuster80 · Post by **broncobuster80** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 4:15 pm

very very nice!

jumbledupthinking · Post by **jumbledupthinking** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 8:56 am

This is looking great - fantastic work sir.
Agree that a black pickup cover will be the icing on the cake here

As others have stated, I too am not generally into relics, but this thing is seriously drool-worthy.

Phil O'Keefe · Post by **Phil O'Keefe** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 8:59 am

cooterfinger wrote:
stewart wrote:how did you relic the tuners, phil?
+1 on the tuners and how about the pickguard as well.

The pickguard was a combination of different things. I started by masking off (with tape and thin cardboard) the area where the strings pass over, and then I beat the snot out of it with several different types of hard picks (including metal - in retrospect, that was probably a mistake) - mad "random" strumming, in three different primary "directions" / body positions, to simulate the three different "players" ways of holding / playing the guitar. I then tried coating it with tinted shellac to "age" it, but didn't like the way that looked, so I took most of it off with alcohol, paper towels and 0000 steel wool, but left a bit here and there - it's most noticeable as "gunk" around the side edges. I also treated it to a bath of RIT dye... mostly Kelly green, although I had a touch of dark brown and a little Golden Yellow thrown in to the mix too. I baked that in a steel metal pan in the oven at around 175 degrees Fahrenheit for about ten or fifteen minutes, agitating it every couple of minutes and checking on the color by removing and rinsing the guard off in clean water every four or five minutes or so until I liked the amount of discoloration I had. A little more strumming and a little bit of buffing here and there with a Mr Clean Magic Eraser to dull out the shine a bit and smooth out some of the pick scratches and I wound up with where it is now. It's OK, but not my favorite part of the build - mainly because I don't like a few areas where the strumming marks from the metal pick are a little "too much". I'm pretty happy with the discoloration and "gunk" though.

The tuning pegs and bushings were done in a multi-step process too. First I put them into a large plastic coffee can with a handful of small gravel pebbles and shook it moderately for a good three or four minutes to cause random micro scratches and dings in the plating. I didn't get too vigorous with the shaking because I didn't want huge scratches, and I sure didn't want to bend any tuner shafts. Then I sprayed them with a hydrochloric (muriatic) acid solution. I used a "misting" pump sprayer and a diluted solution - about 1 teaspoon of 30% muriatic acid (available at your local hardware or pool supply shop) in 2 ounces of water and 2 ounces of white vinegar. This stuff is NASTY and HIGHLY corrosive and will burn your eyes, skin and lungs if you're not careful! The idea wasn't to use the muriatic acid as the primary discolorant / corrosive (many folks use muriatic acid fumes for all of their metal part discoloring), but for it to just dull and oxidize the nickel plating a bit. After the solution sat on the parts for about ten minutes, I rinsed it with water / baking soda solution and dried them off. Then I misted the parts with a custom blended "stain and rust" solution. It is a combination of all kinds of stuff. The base is a vinegar / salt water / steel wool rust mix, to which I added a decent squirt of Old English Scratch Cover (for dark woods), some Minwax Colonial Maple stain and a few other odds and sods. I let that sit on the parts for a day or two to really set in and start to cause some areas of the cases, bushings and screws to rust and discolor a bit. A lot of it will wipe off, but if you let it dry, then hit it with another coat, then let that dry, etc. the pitted, scratched and dinged areas from the tumbling and acid etching will start to corrode, discolor and rust. I wasn't looking for the huge amounts of discoloration and corrosion I've seen on some DIY relics where they used the acid fumes to the point where the hardware starts to turn green... I just wanted those micro scratches, the dulling and just a hint of rust and corrosion like I see on my guitars with 35 and 45 year old tuners. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

My F neck plate still hasn't arrived, so I have to wait until at least tomorrow to finish it. I'm going to need to scratch and ding that up a bit too. I'll probably assemble it and do a rough setup on it and play it a few minutes... maybe record a brief clip or two and take a few pictures... then it goes over to my buddy Dennis for a refret job. He offered to show me how to do that, and I may take him up on it and either go watch or maybe even shoot a video of him doing it if he doesn't mind... not that I really want to do my own refret jobs; at least not when I can hire him to do it for me.

Phil O'Keefe · Post by **Phil O'Keefe** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:24 am

OK, I'm still going to have my buddy Dennis refret the neck, but other than that, she's finished.

Warning - lots of pics...

► Show Spoiler

Phil O'Keefe · Post by **Phil O'Keefe** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:27 am

Warning... lots more pics...

► Show Spoiler

Phil O'Keefe · Post by **Phil O'Keefe** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:31 am

And the final batch of pics... yes, there's several more, so once again, you've been warned...

► Show Spoiler