And so it begins ....

Vintage, Modern, V & C series, Fretless, Signature & Special Editions

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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

jps wrote:Looking good, so far.

Interesting trio of holes on the E string side for the TRC. :shock:
Oh for sure, they're only a few of the "random" holiness in multiple areas .....
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

Got Wings ... Part-1

In order to construct the Ebony wings I had sourced a piece of Ebony from a local hardwood supplier and shipped that to Larry.
Larry dressed that out to produce a finished blank in order to build the wings.
Ebony Blanks for the Fretboard and Wings
Ebony Blanks for the Fretboard and Wings
Despite being sourced from different places the Ebony for the neck (which has a lovely grain structure) and the Ebony for the wings turned out to be a great match
Nicely figured Grain
Nicely figured Grain
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

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Got Wings .... Part-2

Warning, some of the following images may cause Rickenbacker owners distress

Time to make big changes to the Headstock

Removing the old wings, you can see where the previous holes for the Tuners was filled in prior to cutting
First cut is always the hardest !
First cut is always the hardest !
Here both new wings have been securely glued and clamped
On with the new ....
On with the new ....
IMG_2403.JPG
After allowing a suitable time to fully dry the new Headstock profile is laid out across the new Ebony Wings
New Headstock Profile
New Headstock Profile
IMG_2405.JPG
Here is a nice view of the whole body with her new Wings ready to begin shaping
Attachments
Full length view
Full length view
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
teeder
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by teeder »

Nice!
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by admin »

Jim: Thanks very much for these continued updates. Larry's work is amazing. It will be great to see the finished instrument. Don't try this at home! :lol:
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm

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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

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admin wrote:Jim: Thanks very much for these continued updates. Larry's work is amazing. It will be great to see the finished instrument. Don't try this at home! :lol:
Your advise is well taken, I cringe seeing the shots of the headstock being cut, even though Larry had advised me in advance it was happening, it still felt like nails on a chalkboard looking at the pictures of the wings being cut off
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jdogric12
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by jdogric12 »

Cool to see the process happening!
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

Last update saw the Eboony wings being attached to the rimmed down Headstock.

Now the Headstock has been shaped, using a period correct template:
Fitting template
Fitting template
IMG_2409.JPG
Excess Ebony to allow for final finishing
Excess Ebony to allow for final finishing
With the Headstock cut to its initial dimensions, next comes the addition of the location holes for what will be C-64 style Machine Heads
Holes for Machine Heads marked and centre punched
Holes for Machine Heads marked and centre punched
Now it's starting to look like an actual Headstock
New holes drilled
New holes drilled
Next up is slotting the Fingerboard, all done by hand.
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espidog
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by espidog »

Loving those ebony wings... 8)
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

espidog wrote:Loving those ebony wings... 8)
I'm hoping they're going to sound as good as they'll look
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

Now we have the Wings on and their basic shape and Machine head holes drilled we move on the the Ebony neck blank
These were the two Ebony blanks selected for the Wings and Fretboard
Ebony Blanks
Ebony Blanks
Having trimmed the fretboard blank to a working size the next step is to cut (by hand) the slots for the frets
Simple but effective jig
Simple but effective jig
Slot cutting made "easy"
Slot cutting made "easy"
Slot cutting made "easy", this is a new meaning of the word easy I was not previously aware of
Fret slots laid in, wait, there's too many
Fret slots laid in, wait, there's too many
When I first saw this picture my immediate reaction was OMG, Larry's cut too many slots WTF !!!!
That thought was, I'm very happy to say in grave error on my part as will be revealed
It's all starting to make sense
It's all starting to make sense
Lights going on for everyone, it took me a fractious few minutes to realise what was being done
What are those triangles for !
What are those triangles for !
Having recovered from my near heart attack, "I can see clearly now the slots are cut"
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
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cheyenne
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by cheyenne »

loving the pics.

Thank you very much for letting us experience this with you. :D
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

Fretboard ...... Continued

As I had said, the lights began to click on and I could see what Larry was doing :
He was prepping the slots for the Mother of Pearl Inlays
Routing for Inlays
Routing for Inlays
3rd & 5th Fret Inlay Slots
3rd & 5th Fret Inlay Slots
7th - 9th and 12th Fret Inlay Slots
7th - 9th and 12th Fret Inlay Slots
15th 17th and 19th Fret inlay Slots
15th 17th and 19th Fret inlay Slots
The whole fretboard slotted for inlays
The whole fretboard slotted for inlays
This is very precise work, you don't get a do-over if you remove too much wood.
Next up will be laying out and cutting the Mother of Pearl for the inlays
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

Mother of pearl for the Fretboard inlays
Marking out the Shark's teeth
Marking out the Shark's teeth
Roughed out, already looking really good
Roughed out, already looking really good
Take your places please
Take your places please
Initial fitting, still need to be trimmed for an exact fit
Initial fitting, still need to be trimmed for an exact fit
Cut and fitted to size
Cut and fitted to size
Mother of Pearl against the Ebony looks really good
Mother of Pearl against the Ebony looks really good
Now we have the inlays in place the Fretboard can go back on the neck .....
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
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jps
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by jps »

That's looking real fine, Jim! 8)
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