String it Up.

Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of photos during the final setup phase because it was very tedious. Making adjustments at one end would through something off at the other end. But I did finally get it into tune with proper intonation (which means all the notes up and down the fret board are all in tune as well).

Here is an image of the strings installation, remember I'm using locking tuners so you don't have to wind the string around the tuning peg.  It takes some faith and getting use to, but it does work and it works well.

Here are a few images of the guitar strap buttons, more of a before and after shot.

And here it is completed.

Installation of the Tension Coil Springs

In this posting I will install the coil springs. The tension from these springs will offset the tension from the guitar strings. More fine tuning will have to be done during the setup phase to make everything work perfectly. But for now let's get the components installed.
This small metal plate holds one end of the coil springs. There are 2 wood screws that help adjust the overall tension of the coil springs. During final setup these wood screws will be tighten to increase the tension or loosen to decrease the tension. Right now I'm just getting them install.

Notice that there is a wire coming off the plate. This wire needs to be grounded or else your favorite rock star will get quite the electrical shock when he plays his guitar. I drilled a small hole that connects the back compartment with the front pickguard compartment. I feed the wire through and fasten it to the cooper tape that is grounded (shown here).

I connect the 3 coil springs to the bridge and to the metal plate. There are multiple locations you can place these springs but this is the most common location for the springs.

Before I install the back cover plate for the coil springs, I want to cover up the white that is visible in the plastic. I want this guitar to be visually all black as possible. To do this I use a black Sharpie and color it in.

Then I drill some guide holes and screw the plate on. Note during the setup phase I will have to remove this plate to adjust the wood screws to increase or decrease the spring tension.

Sixth Purchase: Pickguard Mounting Screws $4.99 (Total: $704.05)

Are you kidding me?  The David Gilmour pickgaurd arrived but it didn't include any screws for mounting.  So I had to purchase some for 5 bucks putting me just over the $700 mark.  BAH!!

I'm drilling the holes for the screws.

All Screws are in.

Time to finish this project off.

Fifth Purchase: Pre-Assembled Pickguard $249.99 (Total: $699.06)

Based on all the overwhelming feedback <end sarcasm> I decided to go with the pre-assembled pickguard.

Here is an image of the top

 And here is a image of the back.

 

This should be the finial piece.

Dilemma

I'm in a bit of a dilemma. One of the goals, although minor, of this project was to build the pickguard with individual pickups, based on David Gilmour's Black Strat. However Seymour Duncan makes a replacement pickguard containing all the correct pickups, switches, potentiometers and control knobs already assembled for $249.

I priced out the componants if I were to buy them indiviually and this is the cost I would be facing;
Fat 50 pickup                                  $80
69 pickup                                        $80
SSL 5 pickup                                   $53
black fender pick guard                     $18
White volume/tone knobs                  $6
Fender 5 way wiring kit                      $30
===============================
Total (before shipping and tax):          $267

The primary goal of this project was to keep overall cost down.  But If I purchase the per-assembled pickguard that would be the last purchased piece for this project.

Anyone care to voice an opinion?

Guitar Jack Assembly

Now that all the major drilling is complete I can install some of the other components I ordered from my previous posts.  This entry will cover the installation of the guitar jack.

Here are the genuine Fender parts for the guitar jack.

I soldered 2 wires 1 red for hot and 1 black for ground to the two contacts of the jack.  It is very important to connect the wires properly.  A simple google search will tell you which wire needs to go to which connector.

The guitar jack with wires is attached to the guitar jack plate with a nut.  Make sure the guitar cable contact connector (the bit that looks like the letter J) is on the opposite side of the jack plate.  This guarantees the smooth insertion and removal of the guitar cable.

A second view of the assembled guitar jack.

Insert the wires through the guitar jack cavity into the main body cavity.

Drill 2 small guide hole and screw in the 2 small screws and you are done.

Drill Baby Drill

My father-in-law has a drill press, which is the only tool of choice to make the proper holes for the 2 post pegs.  The gold post peg is 10 mm in diameter. I don't own a 10 mm drill bit so I had to improvise a little. 3/8 inch is about 9.5 mm, from my research this was good because you do want to have a VERY tight fit.  My research also stated that I needed to be careful when pounding in the gold pegs so that the holes don't split.  I taped off the proper depth on my drill bit so that I knew I was deep enough.  (Note: I didn't account for the rounded end so my holes originally were not deep enough.  I had to go back and make them deeper.  I guess my previous post should be titled "Measure Twice Cut Twice")

After a few practice runs on some scrap pieces of wood I was ready to drill for real. Drill bit is in place and the guitar is clamped down.

The drill press has a nice laser "X marks the spot" guide on it.  I'm lining up the first hole.

Lining up to drill the second hole. You can see the first hole has already been drilled.

Aftermath of drilling the second hole.

Here are the two holes after removing sawdust and drafting tape.

I place a towel over the top of the guitar and pounded in the gold pegs with a rubber mallet. It was definitely a tight fit and I had to use a lot of force towards the end to get the pegs flush with the body.  But again everything went smoothly, no splits or any damage to the body.  I screwed the 2 posts into the gold peg.  The Wilkinson tremolo will pivot on these 2 posts.

This last image shows the Wilkinson tremolo in place resting on the 2 posts.  It fits nicely into the hole in the body and has plenty of clearance to pivot up and down without any rubbing.