What's on Your Workbench?

SG John said:
Decided to did this SG Special out this week. Spent a bunch of time time re-cutting the nut, adjusting the neck, and playing with the tailpiece and action overall. It's pretty good now. The fingerboard looks much nicer too. After a few coats of Fret Doctor, I couldn't believe how much junk it pulled out of the fingerboard. It's also significantly darker, but still a tad rough. For what is still essentially still a new guitar(2019, and barely played), I can't believe how much work I have had to put into it. Almost as much as all my old guitars combined. I'll fine tune it a bit more over the weekend, now that it is off of the bench(for now).

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It is worth the effort. Such a beauty!
 
I picked up a 490R neck pickup to match the 490T I recently put in my Epi G400.
The legs of the pickup are too long and bottom out in the cavity.

The only way to reach the router bit in is freehand without the base.
Scary 1st go round. I tried it on scrap first.
I called on the power of @Hackmaster , took a deep breath and went to it........

Came out fine. Somewhere along the way a chip pulled out of the pick guard, no idea where or when.
A little black Sharpie softens the blow.

Touched up the shielding paint too.

Played it briefly / check operation. So far, so good.
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Finally got around to replacing the licensed Floyd on my Jackson Dinky with a Gotoh 1996 I bought at least a year ago, maybe almost 2.
Ends up I didnt have to route the back of the cavity as I thought I would.
I kept the original posts and bushings.

Hard to see in the pics; the first is the Jackson and the last 2 the Gotoh.

Works great, stays in tune much better now.
The knife edges on the Jackson one are noticeably nicked / damaged.

I also had a problem when I did the fret level a few years ago- seems the highest few were really high and I didnt go all the way.
I think it has a slight hump or "ski jump".
So, I just ramped down the highest 5 or so - mainly 22,23, and 24 and its good.
The pic is before crowning, etc.

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10 things and nothing , hopping on a plane and then a Boat going far. Bench can wait !
I do need to install pots and input jacks on the Park G25. Maybe when we get back.
 
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Robert Herndon said:
Trust me. There's nothing worse.
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Can only imagine. Pups don’t appear to be any big deal…. But pots??? If pots needed something on my Hagstrom Viking… I may be inclined to sell the guitar rather than work on it.

Okay. Kidding. I really like the guitar, so I’d figure it out. But I can see it’d be a pain in the tushy.
 
iblive said:
Can only imagine. Pups don’t appear to be any big deal…. But pots??? If pots needed something on my Hagstrom Viking… I may be inclined to sell the guitar rather than work on it.

Okay. Kidding. I really like the guitar, so I’d figure it out. But I can see it’d be a pain in the tushy.
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I've been able to distance myself from Gretsch in general and I'm working on a different line now.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Trust me. There's nothing worse.
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The plastic tubing used to fish the pots in works well. It is a little tricky but not onerous.
You have to get a feel for which order to pull them in vs. the length of the wiring.

I use a thin metal rod with a small hook to pull the jack into the hole, then slide the washer and nut down the rod to start them.
The hook is small enough to pull the rod out through the jack.
I push the rod inside to try to hold the jack steady tighten it; its not great but doesnt twist, and has not come loose.
 
jtcnj said:
The plastic tubing used to fish the pots in works well. It is a little tricky but not onerous.
You have to get a feel for which order to pull them in vs. the length of the wiring.

I use a thin metal rod with a small hook to pull the jack into the hole, then slide the washer and nut down the rod to start them.
The hook is small enough to pull the rod out through the jack.
I push the rod inside to try to hold the jack steady tighten it; its not great but doesnt twist, and has not come loose.
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Ugh!!!!!
 
jtcnj said:
Finally got around to replacing the licensed Floyd on my Jackson Dinky with a Gotoh 1996 I bought at least a year ago, maybe almost 2.
Ends up I didnt have to route the back of the cavity as I thought I would.


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That looks like an Ibanez Edge which I like more than the original FR. The string locks don't stick way out the back it's a better design in that respect. Esp to set intonation and still be able to tune!
 
jtcnj said:
Works great, stays in tune much better now.
The knife edges on the Jackson one are noticeably nicked / damaged.
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Both Ibanez and Jackson use a very economical trem in the lower priced models. The knife edges round off just by adjusting the bridge height.

The problem is the posts are harder than the knife edges on the bridge plates.

Even if you replace the knife edges on the Ibanez Edge, the replacement parts are as soft - if not softer - than the originals.


The worst are the EVH branded Floyd Rose Specials.
 
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I need to lower the locking nut on my Jackson. I'm thinking the best method will be to grind down the back of the nut. I would rather not remove material from the neck, and I'm not sure if filing the slots themselves is advisable.
 
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