Building A Neck Thru Body Guitar

oreca · Post by **oreca** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 6:03 am

I haven't said anything in this thread although I've been following it closely (as Paul's thread).
I just want to say Dale it sure looks like you know how to do your guitars!
It's very interesting and amazing to see how these are made.

I'm just wondering, when was your last year at Rickenbacker? I'm guessing my '79 is too young to have been made by you?

Thank you for this thread!

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 7:13 am

Ah My Thank You for your praise and interest. 1st let me answer Patricks questions. My last year at Electro String(Rickenbacker Factory) was 1975. And like most things in life that we grow up with, you either get bored and move on or stay with it and hone you talents. I chose the later out of necessity (family to support) Being a working musician, I was always fascinated by guitar construction, so when I was offered a position at E.S. I took it. It was hard at 1st, having to play nights, then be to work by 6:30am
But I soon adjusted, I'd go home and take a nap for a few hours before going to the club. And for Bill's tech. questions: Nut width 1 5/8ths, end of F.B. 2 1/8th. Tuners will be Vintage Kluson style made by Gotah, the bridge and tail piece I will machine these in my shop, pictures will post on that segment later. Pick guards and T.R. cover will be .125 acrylic with Gold lacquer backing. The pick ups will be similar to High gains in looks but with a 7K ohm output, single coil also. Only 2 P.Ups with 2 vol. 1 master tone and a 3 way switch. I'm pretty sure the color will be: Amber to Oxblood to Tabacco Brown then top coated with C.V. Some call this a 3 color Sunburst, similar to a 58 Strat with a Rosewood F.B. It will also have Ivoroid neck and body binding. I'd like to do a B/W check binding to offset the body,
but laminating that stuff takes hours by hand, we'll see though.

ratso · Post by **ratso** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 9:33 am

Dale, It's Cool to see your talent in action. The detail you go to and your perfectionist approach makes for great playing pieces! Thanks for taking the time to photograph while you work and then posting explanations as you go. This is a great thread.

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 4:13 pm

Here are a few pictures of a Magnatone Guitar built in 1956. This may well be Paul Barth, Ex GM of Rickenbacker or possibly Forrest White who also worked for Electro String Corp. that designed
and built this for the Magnatone Corp. of Los Angeles Calif. It is built to the same standards as the 1st 325's, having an Alder body and neck with a plywood Birch back, except this one also has a Birch top. The pickup is a Rickenbacker type/design pre-toaster top and the truss rod is a single/dual rod type same as early Rick electrics. The top nut and bridge saddle are both made of Bak-o-lite material same as Ricks. The single pick up has a 3.27 OHM reading with a 2 way switch and inline resistor that allows a 2.75 reading very close to the early 800 series guitars. Everthing about this little guitar says Rickenbacker all over it except the Decal, it says Magnatone. I have yet to find any solid info as to how it came about, so I can only speculate. I have had this instrument since the late 70's and it does play and sound very nice. Here are some pictures that will show the resemblence to the Guitar that I am building. I have also attached a photo of my son(Jayme)and myself, so you could put a face on the builder. That's our shop in the backround,1000 sq.ft. with a 14ft. ceiling. The 7 string Rick slide is my son's project. It's a late 30's, all Mahogany with Ebony
marker board. It's had about 5 coats of creamy white enamel brushed on. He's going to make it nice for me by restoring it to it's natural beauty. A Happy Fathers Day to all you guys out there with children.
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0190.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0193.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0197.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0202.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0207.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0204.jpg

bill_yantz · Post by **bill_yantz** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 4:55 am

Dale, nice to finally put a face to all your posts and your son in a spitting image of you, IMO. What a joy to have your "pride-and-joy" love the things that you do - Happy Father's Day!.

Very cool Magnatone. So that's where the body style is coming from. However, I think you are making the whole thing better but nice to see that the classic beauty of a timeless instrument like the little Magnatone lives on. How could the original designer of that guitar possibly imagine that 50 years later you would be building a guitar inspired by his design and publicizing every stage of its creation. It is very enjoyable seeing this one being born, especially now knowing its heritage.

jonpaul · Post by **jonpaul** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 6:08 am

Happy Father's Day to all those that are. Great stuff Dale, you are a true talent and your knowledge and insights are greatly appreciated on this forum. Seeing your incredible work is a treat for all, I can't wait to see the final product. Cheers my friend.

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 6:09 am

Yah we do have that English nose. Most of our relatives were emigrants from Scotland that came over to settle in the coal mining areas of Kentucky and Indiana. His name is Jayme, named him after my Aunt Jayne Mason. So Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads.

lowendbob · Post by **lowendbob** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:42 am

Dale, did you say you are 58?
Could have fooled me.

Great work, and thread!
It was great talking to you the other night.

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:51 pm

Hey Bob, I'll be 58! I was born in 1948. Venice Beach, California. I'm looking forward to working on your Bass. Love those Ricks.

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 9:07 pm

So I'm doing the Dbl. Binding, Checkered with White Ivoroid. This is very critical that you have a clean binding slot, otherwise there will be gaps and flaws in your finished product. The body with binding, the pin router with a 1/2 inch
carbide cutter and a 7/16ths inch pin gives you the 1st cutting depth. for the white binding. Then the same 1/2 inch cutter with a 3/8ths pin gives the depth. for the checkered binding. here are the 2 binding slots, they are cleaned up with 220 grit sand paper to remove the small pieces left over from the routing process. The things you'll need to install your binding are:
masking tape, acetone, brush and bowl, and a heat gun. The acetone melts the acetate binding together into the grain of the wood. The tape holds it in place till it's dry. Use the heat gun to soften and bend the binding to fit the body curves. CAUTION: you can catch the binding on fire if you get it to hot. Install both pieces at the same time. Finished body halves, side view and top view. Leave over night till dry, then scrape and sand smooth. See you tomorrow

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 9:45 pm

Well I'm going to have to find out how and why someone has blocked me from posting pictures on this site, until then I won't be adding to this thread. I'm sorry to say this, it was a fun and informative thing to do.

admin · Post by **admin** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 12:29 am

Dale: In response to your comment I have just checked out the link and image posting functiongs this morning and I find both to be working.

I cannot explain why you couldn't post information, but it has nothing to do with the board settings. I have provided examples below.

I am using the same functions that you would be. Perhaps you experienced a server overload at the time your were trying to post.

http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0204.jpg

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 3:25 am

Thanks Peter My son says it's on our end of things. Somehow we have a virus that has messed up our MSN link. He worked on it last night and now it works thru internet explorer.

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 4:12 am

joepee · Post by **joepee** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 5:17 am

Very cool, Dale.

I have a question. Does the combination of acetone and heat bind the binding to the wood?