I've almost completed rebuilding the Les Paul copy. The new electronics have been installed (after some chiseling and a lot of filing as the CTS pots are larger than the ones that came in the guitar). I've chosen to wire it in the 1950s Gibson style, mostly becaue I could, really.
The only problem is the I'm missing one of the bridge posts and the nut, so I've had to order new ones as I am seriously stumped as to where the originals have ended up.
Photos of my embarrassing soldering will be posted tomorrow.
Showing posts with label Project Weekend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Project Weekend. Show all posts
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Project Weekend! - Columbus EB-3
Well, the gunky, dusty, stickery bass I got free is now a shinyclean bass I got free.
I removed the damaged old nut (which I meant to photograph but forgot) and then I thoroughly cleaned everything that looked like it needed a clean (which was most of it). I started with some synthetic wire wool which took all the dirt/rust of the frets, bridge and pickups. After that I scraped the stickers off and removed the gunk with WD-40, then I gave everything a quick wipedown with a clean cloth to remove all dust and residue. Next I gave the body, headstock and back of the neck a polish with some handy furniture polish I had in the cupboard (not completely ideal but this isn't a show instrument and I'm not going to go out in this heat just to get some 'proper' guitar polish) and rubbed some lemon oil into the fretboard to make it all nice. Then I used the cloth to give the metal bits a quick buff.
After everything was shiny I installed the new brass nut with a little PVA to hold it as it's a little narrower than the original so isn't a snug fit. Once the glue was dry I restrung it using the strings it came with and trimmed the excess wire the previous owner had left on them to make it all a bit neater. Finally I added the new strap buttons, moving the one that originally would have gone on the neck to the bass side horn.
I removed the damaged old nut (which I meant to photograph but forgot) and then I thoroughly cleaned everything that looked like it needed a clean (which was most of it). I started with some synthetic wire wool which took all the dirt/rust of the frets, bridge and pickups. After that I scraped the stickers off and removed the gunk with WD-40, then I gave everything a quick wipedown with a clean cloth to remove all dust and residue. Next I gave the body, headstock and back of the neck a polish with some handy furniture polish I had in the cupboard (not completely ideal but this isn't a show instrument and I'm not going to go out in this heat just to get some 'proper' guitar polish) and rubbed some lemon oil into the fretboard to make it all nice. Then I used the cloth to give the metal bits a quick buff.
After everything was shiny I installed the new brass nut with a little PVA to hold it as it's a little narrower than the original so isn't a snug fit. Once the glue was dry I restrung it using the strings it came with and trimmed the excess wire the previous owner had left on them to make it all a bit neater. Finally I added the new strap buttons, moving the one that originally would have gone on the neck to the bass side horn.
Friday, 30 September 2011
Project Weekend!
Due to minor injuries (not mine) I will not be having my planned weekend of running around some woods with a rubber sword pretending to be an elf... so this weekend becomes Project Weekend! Yay!
I plan to have both the Swift LP and Columbus EB-3 in working order by Sunday night. Whether this actually happens probably depends on how hot the weather is, but I full intend to at least have a go at it.
I plan to have both the Swift LP and Columbus EB-3 in working order by Sunday night. Whether this actually happens probably depends on how hot the weather is, but I full intend to at least have a go at it.
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