More Telescapades - Part II (picture heavy) 5-16-23 Final Update.

[MichaelW]

@MichaelW I'll only use CRL now for that type of switch. The Oak Grigsby are pretty terrible now and have been for a good few years, I've personally had three literally fall apart very quickly through regular use.

Feline guitars do all the fret and nut work on my guitars and Jonathan who is the main luthier there won't use them either. When I was moaning about one failing in my strat he said he'd seen quite a few with misformed or bent contacts which don't connect properly and also had some which failed really quickly.

I'm surprised to hear about @andare's dodgy Switchcraft tbh. I've never had a problem with any Switchcraft I've had.

Ugh, well that makes sense then. They used to be the best. Ah well, back to CRL or the Fender branded ones. Never had an issue with those.

 

[MichaelW]

Well, if UPS is to be believed, my pickguard should be arriving today woohoo! I might be able to get this all wrapped up today.

There's two issues that popped up. I have one high fret that I need to deal with. And I cut one of the nut slots a bit too low.

Here's my process for a quick fix to deal with a low nut slot.



I use a spare bone blank and make some bone powder. (This looks suspiciously like some illegal substance that I was rather fond of in the early 80's.....)



I fill the slot with the bone dust.


Some folks use super glue at this point but I've come to really love Solarez UV cured epoxy for these little tasks. I used this stuff a lot to tie epoxy based fishing flies. This is their "thin" formula



Put a few drops of it in the slot with the bone dust pile. Note, it's important to wipe off any excess with a damp rag at this point. Once you hit it with the UV light it's permanent.



UV flashlight....only takes a couple of seconds.


Recut the slot and voila.....5 minute fix.

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

Bone dust smells sooo bad to me. I like that solarez trick, though. I wonder what difference there is in longevity between the resin and super glue.

 

[Harry Klippton]

I said this elsewhere but bone dust makes the skin on my fingerips crack all the way down to the sub layer

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

This is now the official bone dust hate thread. Sorry, @MichaelW

 

[Harry Klippton]

Always like this. Always following the curve of my fingerprints

 

[MichaelW]

Always like this. Always following the curve of my fingerprints
View attachment 48687

Wow, that's odd. Maybe you need to use non-GMO grass fed beef bones? heh.

 

[MichaelW]

Bone dust smells sooo bad to me. I like that solarez trick, though. I wonder what difference there is in longevity between the resin and super glue.

Hard to say, I've used both that have been playing for years without issue. Even though when I did it I was expecting it to be a temp fix and have to cut a new nut eventually. I suppose also depends on whether it's a trem or hard tail. I suspect that heavy trem use will wear it down faster.

 

[Alan W]

I‘ve always used baking soda and slow set super glue for filling small gaps when I need something very hard, and have this in a few nut slots…Always think it’s going to be a temp fix, and then… but none dust does seem more romantic, unless your @Harry Klippton .

@MichaelW — as a once upon a time fellow fly tier, I can only imagine the lengths your OCD took you to!

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

... filling small gaps when I need something very hard, and have this in a few nut slots…

 

[MichaelW]

UPS finally showed up...sheesh....the final missing piece, my Fender 52' 5 hole black pickguard....

She's done!

Still not sure about the hardware aging. What sayeth the forum? I have another set of control plate and bridge plate I could mess with.

On the one hand it does seem to match the amount of relic on the body. On the other hand, it's not very even.















Perfect neck pocket fit!

 

[Erik S]

I think the hardware came out great.

 

[The Gator]

Man! I love a good tele! It took me 32 years of playing the same tele to get mine worn in. Your way is much faster!...LOL.
looks great Michael.