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Permalink Reply by Maddog on March 7, 2016 at 8:18am

Yeppers, like what I see so far Ron.

Seeing as we live in the same lovely lil' town of Blair, Nebraska I'm always available if you want/need  some help......or better yet when I need some help  :-)

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ruhs on March 7, 2016 at 4:35pm

I definitely need tips on getting that cut better when I thin the neck for the headstock or try to do a scarf joint for the first time. Always wanted a cheap 9" band saw...

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Permalink Reply by Kigar on March 7, 2016 at 4:18pm

Great plate for your project!  I second the idea of a clean top, plus you leave the plate unharmed for it's next life in another 75 years. 

You may already have this planned, but since it wasn't listed as number four - you didn't mention how you planned to trim the neck to fit under the plate.  When you trim it, the part you cut off should dip down a bit so it doesn't contact the plate.  And as that section of the neck is now thin, you can just glue the piece you cut off onto the bottom of the neck inside the box.

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ruhs on March 7, 2016 at 4:44pm

Kigar -
Pretty new to this style, so do you mean trim the part of the neck inside the box a bit to just clear the plate so it vibrates better like you would on a cigar box or are you talking a fair amount of trimming? A mean as far as depth from the bottom of the plate to the top of the neck through. And leaving a small "pad" to support the bridge?

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Permalink Reply by Kigar on March 7, 2016 at 5:08pm

I meant like what is typically done with a cigar box guitar so the plate can move freely.  I have made mine with no support under the bridge but this was using a fairly stiff plate with the bridge about 4" from the bottom.  I have a few thinner plates I would not use without support, I think they would bend in.  Older plates are usually thicker, I would guess yours is pretty stout.  If you screw it down using the plate holes it is easy to open up if you need to tweak something.

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Permalink Reply by Lane Martin on March 8, 2016 at 7:50am

Nice build you've got going.

I agree with keeping the clean top. Something I'm going to try on mine (when I get the pickup finished) was suggested by (I believe) the Phrygian Kid on here. That is notch out the neck inside the box where you want the pickup (and then brace the neck appropriately) and install your favorite mag pup under the plate. The mag will pick up the plates vibrations just fine and you won't have to cut the plate.

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ruhs on March 8, 2016 at 10:08am

That's a good idea to try too. Kind of forgot about that, but that is exactly what a number of people who build Fender Esquire clones do when they want the pickup options of a Tele but the single pickup look of the Esquire - they put the neck pickup under the pickguard.

Some of you may have to turn your heads later because the metal nibblers will come out on some of the license plates, but this one just seemed pretty cool as is.

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