Jazz-O-Caster 2 build

[EL34]

Here's the first recording from the finished Jazz-O-caster
http://el34world.com/Misc/Music/files/SurferGirl_JC2.mp3
I like my junker Jazz-O-Caster so much but the neck and body are junk
The neck is warped and the frets are gone
The body is glued together junk wood with all kinds of filler pockets in it

So I decided to make myself a new guitar for X-mas

Here's the parts list

Stuff I got from Mojo
Mojo 59 clone Jazzmaster - Bridge - Black
Mojo 59 clone Jazzmaster - Neck - Black
MOJOTONE GRAPHITE 6 STRING GUITAR NUT (1-5/8''X 1/4'')
FENDER AMERICAN STANDARD STRING GUIDES
FENDER AMERICAN STANDARD GUITAR MACHINE HEADS CHROME
FENDER VINTAGE STYLE PLAIN NECK PLATE WITH SCREWS CHROME
FENDER AMERICAN DELUXE POP IN CHROME STRAT TREMOLO ARM
FENDER DELUXE STRAT TREMOLO BRIDGE
Stuff I got from All parts
Black Anchors and Studs
Volume Knob
Humbucker Replacement Body for Stratocaster
Unfinished Neck for Stratocaster

The body will be routed for two jazzmaster pickups

The body has one humbucker routing and this is smaller than a jazzmaster pickup, so that will work out fine

No pick guard except maybe something clear to protect the wood

Have not decided what to do about a body finish yet

The control cavity is on the rear like a Les paul, which I like way better because you can access the controls and do mods way easier.

It has the neck pocket, trem hole and the rear spring cavity routed already

The neck is unfinished. I'll have to do a fret level and some drilling here and there before I seal it with a clear finish

The bridge is the deluxe Fender Strat bridge with nice saddles and a pop in arm that has a tension adjustment 

I'll install a Les paul type pickup selector switch which I like better than a 3 way Tele type switch


Machining operations done so far
CNC'd both pickup holes
CNC'd bridge stud holes
Drilled neck mounting holes
Drilled Strap holes
Drilled front pickup wire hole over to the control cavity
Drilled Pot, Switch and input jack holes
Drilled trem claw holes
Drilled rear control cavity cover screws
Created a small half round access area to the truss rod
Machined the back edge of the bridge hole a bit larger
Leveled and dressed the fret

Not done yet
Add a finish to the body and neck

[tubenit]

Doug, 

That will be a VERY VERY nice guitar, IMO!  I like it!  Body appears to be Ash? Ash is a fantastic tone wood.

That would take a very nice analine dye on it IF you wanted to go that route?   I have NO idea what you're interested in but here is a tutorial I did on how to use the analine dye in reply #5 on this thread:

http://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=19243.0

And you can see how the guitar actually turned out on that thread also further down (photos).

Only trick with ash is filling in the grain.  IF you have a woodcraft type store around you, there are some nice wood fillers that are reasonably easy to work with.  I have actually used analine dye on a body before, added filler ............. sanded it and then re-dyed it a second time and had it turn out lovely.  There are numerous ways to do it that can all turn out quite good.  I certainly don't think my way is necessarily the "best". It simply has worked for me & has proven to be a pretty easy way of doing it.

Last 3 guitars I've done have been with Minwax gloss lacquer spray cans from Home Depot.  Took 3 cans for Tele's and 335 style guitars.

I will very much look forward to see what you do with this guitar.  You certainly have some great components to work with.

Best regards,  Jeff 

[tubenit]

I don't particularly like the air brushed sunburst edges. I prefer how I do it with t-shirt rags to have a more subtle change from the center color sunburst to the outside sunburst darker color.

having said that,  ............ here are some nice examples of how pretty ash can be with analine dye

As an FYI, I have done solid color opaque bodies before.  I find then ALOT more work then an analine dye body and clear coating with lacquer.

I've done solid color dyes on ash of blue, burgandy and red which turned out very nice & then clear lacquer over them and liked how they turned out. Red is a little tricky to do in that some lacquers will "lift" the red back into the lacquer and turn the clear lacquer orange.  When using red with clear, I like to test it first on scrap wood and using a hair dryer to speed things up. 

Jeff

[EL34]

Yes, it is swamp ash

I like the dye idea

I'll skip over traditional looking finishes like sunburst, etc
I want something unique and cool looking

That Blue is really cool!!!!!!

How about Purple?
Blue is my fav color or green , so those would be ok

I am up for doing a dye but I never have done it
So some sort of wood filler that will accept the dye color I am assuming?

Then some sort of clear coat spray
I have a compressor and a  spray gun
I have sprayed polyurethane on furniture before and it comes out awesome

[tubenit]

http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Finishing_Supplies/Fillers_and_Putties/ColorTone_Waterbase_Grain_Filler.html

OR  http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/oilbasgrainf.html

This is the exact brand of water soluble analine dye that I've used for over 20 yrs on over 20+ guitars

http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/anilinedye.html

And yes I've used water based analine dye and let it dry & then the oil based wood grain filler.  After it dried I sanded it and redid the analine dye .   Watch a YouTube on the oil based wood filler.  A cheese cloth or fine burlap cloth helps with getting it applied.  You have to get it into the open pore wood and NOT let it lay up on the surface of the wood.  You may have to do it twice? 

This has always worked for me and I've been happy with my guitars and typically get nice comments on the finishes. 

I have used both alcohol and water based analine dye and strongly prefer the water based for any color but red where there is sometimes an advantage of the alcohol based analine dye.

Regarding urethane on the guitar bodies.  I've tried it twice unsuccessfully.  Never could get a super clear glass finish, but I was using spray cans. I could simply not get the urethane to sand smooth with 1000 grit and then polish out.  No matter how long I polished, it never got a super clear glassy finish.  I removed the urethane off the guitars both times I tried it.  However, I never had a good compressor spray rig for one so maybe that would make a difference? 

I can get a high gloss super clear finish with DeftClear Wood gloss finish or the Minwax clear gloss lacquer.  The DeftClear wood finish is clearer. The Minwax gloss lacquer is easier to use and finish out.

I have used instrument grade lacquer from StewMac and was quite disappointed with it.  After a year, the lacquer finish checked & I had to completely redo it.  I have NEVER had the DeftClear wood finish check even after 15+ yrs later.

I have gotten finishes pretty similar to this (attached picture) using water based blue analine dye with Deft Clear Wood finish lacquer.

Jeff 

[EL34]

Thanks Jeff
Definitely not interested in lacquer

I have had the best luck rubbing on poly U with a cloth in very thin coats
Then use 00 steel wool to remove dust spots after it dries
Then another coat
rinse and repeat several times in very thin wipe on coats

Spraying is a bit too much finish at one time, IMO

[EL34]

That blue in your pic above looks awesome!

[tubenit]

Ah, OK ........ didn't know you didn't want to use lacquer.

I would experiment then on some scrap wood that is an open pore wood like ash or maybe white oak.  Try the analine dye and then your urethane method.

What about a water based lacquer?  StewMac has given some very positive reviews of this product. 

http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Finishing_Supplies/Finishes_and_Solvents/General_Finishes_Waterbase_Topcoat.html

It's not nitrocellulose though like traditional Gibson and Fender guitars.

[EL34]

Why lacquer?

Is there some sort of bad juju regarding poly U?

[tubenit]

I love polyurethane!  It's my finish of choice for furniture and all my woodworking EXCEPT guitars. All my amp cabs are poly. The necks on my guitars are poly.  The only wood I use lacquer on is guitar bodies exclusively.

I simply have not been successful getting a super clear gloss finish with polyurethane. It doesn't sand to a fine powder like lacquer and I can't get it to polish to be a clear super gloss.  As I've said, I've tried it on guitars and never gotten it to work out for me. Remember polyurethane is essentially a plastic.

Once I get out the polish & start polishing polyurethane ............. it looks exactly the same to me after 2 hours of polishing as it did in 15 minutes of polishing.

Not so with a lacquer!  The polishing removes more and more super super fine etches in the finish until it looks like glass & has an incredible transparency to it that I've never achieved with polyurethane.

So, no .......... it's not about trying to create a "traditional" finish that has mojo.  Just the pragmatics of getting the high clear gloss look that I like.  Urethane is way more durable then lacquer & I'd use it in a heart beat if I could get it anywhere close the lacquer clear gloss look.

Jeff

[EL34]

I am not sure I will be going for super glossy
Most the times when I finish stuff I prefer a matte finish
Hard to say just yet which way the body finish will be going

After I get the body here, I'll get a better idea

I was watching guitar dye videos on youtube
I like this purple in this video
Purple Guitar Video

The guy in the video above has tons of guitar vids on youtube
Some pics of some of the dyes he uses

[tubenit]

Wow!  That's a really beautiful purple Tele.  I like it. Very rich color.  I always like the edges a little darker like you see on that Tele (even using just one color)

Yeah, IF you prefer a matte finish .......... then I think your urethane idea may work out just fine & is a very reasonable consideration. 

Using about 5-7 coats of Linseed oil and then wax is a beautiful way of making a very nice matte/satin finish on furniture. That might be worth considering also along with Tung-Oil  (which I used on antique furniture that I refinished for others)

I think there are quite a few good choices if you don't really want a high gloss.

I am thinking you will have a really nice looking and great tone guitar when finished.

As an FYI,  IF you get water based analine dye ....... it will dye your skin and anything else.  The only products that I have found that will get it off your hands are Windex and some hair shampoos. 

BTW, I have never seen a video of someone using that rag method for a "burst" before.  But that is exactly the way I've been doing it for over 20+ years.  Even down to the dye ........... sanding .......... and re-dying.  It "pops" the figured wood and it also removes wood fibers that swell from the water based dying. 

Keep us posted please!  Best regards, Jeff

[EL34]

I saw some guys doing a black base first / sand it back down to a pale color and then do the main color
It made the grain pop out having that black down inside the grain

You can get the Angelus dyes pretty reasonable on Amazon
The purple is $12.73

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FEQAVFY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1AXFMRF8EVQC4&coliid=I6MOHPAOZ6X6V&psc=1

[tubenit]

Typically, they don't use black to pop the grain.  They usually use silver which looks pretty black (or dark grey) in dye form.  And it does indeed help pop the grain with figured wood.

Having said that, I've seen people use sort of a spackling paste that they have dyed black as a grain filler.  Thought it sort of an odd technique and have no idea how well it would or wouldn't hold up?

[EL34]

The Body and neck showed up today

They both look great
CNC'ing the body will be coming up as soon as I do a test cut on a dummy pice of wood first

[tubenit]

That swamp ash is lovely on the front of that guitar!  That should end up being a very beautiful build.  I like it!

Thanks for sharing the photos!   Jeff

[EL34]

I am leaning towards that Purple dye like in the video up above


Still have not made up my mind which way to go yet

[tubenit]

Purple will look great on that guitar body!  You could probably do blue if you wanted, but the ash has just enough red in the wood color to make purple a very good choice for it, IMO.  I think you have lots of choices available.

Jeff

[EL34]

Got a couple things done on the guitar today

The neck had no holes for the 4 mounting screws
Got those drilled and the neck screwed on

The Tuner holes in the headstock needed to be larger diameter on the bottom side
Those holes were enlarged

There are two alignment pins on each tuner and those holes needed to be drilled

The tuners are now mounted temporarily until they have to be removed to add finish to the neck

[EL34]

I decided to go ahead and CNC the body
The trem stud holes needed to be cut and the two Jazzmaster pickup holes needed to be cut

But first, I did a couple test runs on some particle board to make sure everything was ok

Then I mounted the real body into the CNC and prayed that the power did not blink 

I dropped the JM pickup covers down into the holes I cut to see how they fit

I mounted the bridge to see if that was sitting correctly

Everything looks good to go

[Willabe]

Your good! 

[EL34]

Here's a video of the CNC cutting the pickup holes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7_y2vsdra8&feature=em-upload_owner

[EL34]

Machining operations done so far
CNC'd both pickup holes
CNC'd bridge stud holes
Drilled neck mounting holes
Drilled Strap holes
Drilled front pickup wire hole over to the control cavity
Drilled Pot, Switch and input jack holes
Drilled trem claw holes
Drilled rear control cavity cover screws
Created a small half round access area to the truss rod
Machined the back edge of the bridge hole a bit larger
Still on the to-do list
Level and dress the fret

Add a finish to the body and neck

[tubenit]

Doug,

Thanks for sharing the CNC video!  Pretty cool stuff.  I think your guitar is going to turn out FANTASTIC!  Those CNC machines are amazing!

Swamp ash body,  maple neck,  Jazzmaster pickups ....................... all sounds like a winner to me!

That is quite a pretty wood, IMO.  I like it a lot. Will look forward to see what you eventually select in a color.

Please keep us posted.  I will watch this with some interest.

Best regards,  Jeff 

[EL34]

Thanks Jeff,
I shot a 1080P HD video of the build tonight

Jazz-O-Caster 2 build

[tubenit]

Well done!  It's turning out quite nice!  Bravo.   Please keep sharing the videos when you can.

Thanks, Jeff

[EL34]

Got some more stuff done on the guitar build

I stained the neck slightly darker using a color call vermont maple
Then it got several wipe on coats of clear poly urethane
I used 0000 steel wool between each coat

I dyed the body purple
It got a bunch of sanding to lighten up the color
The end grain is so dark purple it looks black

The pic below is just one wipe on poly coat
It will get several more poly coats with 0000 steel wool between each coat

[tubenit]

WOW!!  That's really beautiful!  VERY nice job there, Doug.  I like it a lot.   

It's turning out really great.  I noticed the swamp ash has some pretty bird's eye and even some other "figuring" in the wood body. Somewhat unusual for swamp ash and the purple dye really brought out the figuring. 

THANKS for sharing the photos.   Best regards,  Jeff 

[Willabe]

Looking real good. 

[EL34]

Thanks guys.
Got a couple more days of steel wool and poly coats on the body and then I can assemble it

[tubenit]

The end grain is so dark purple it looks black

As an FYI for the future ................

IF you are using water based analine dye,  what you do is wet the end grain with water prior to the dying so it doesn't soak the dye up as much. It comes out more even that way.

IF you still get it too dark, then use Windex on a Windex soaked terry cloth type towel rag and wipe the end grain.

You're going to have a beautiful sounding and looking guitar.

Jeff

[EL34]

I like the black
That's kind what I was hoping for without knowing the purple would do that 


I am using Angelus dyes for leather
They are alcohol based dyes
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FEQAVFY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00


BigD guitars on you tube uses them
https://www.youtube.com/user/thebigdguitars


I watched a bunch of his videos before I started
It was very helpful to see it being done before I attempted it

[Ritchie200]

Instead of covering up that beautiful stain job with a traditional pick guard, how about a clear pick guard ala Les Paul style?


Jim

[EL34]

There will be no pick guard at all

[Ritchie200]

Oh man!  With all that surf strumming you do, it will end up looking like Willie's guitar in a year or two!!!!

Jim

[EL34]

Hmmmm.
Looking at my Ibanez guitars, they show some body scratching
A little bit, not too bad

They make this very thin clear protective material called helicopter tape
It's 8 mils thick and insanely tough
We use it on bike frames to protect them
That would work

PRS, Les Pauls and many other guitars come without pick guards

The nice thing about the wipe on poly finish is that I can just wipe on some more to cover scuff marks

[EL34]

I have the guitar assembled
Waiting on a couple bone nuts to arrive
I threw an old junky bone nut on it just so I could get a basic setup

I did a wet sand with 1500 and then I sprayed on one final coat of poly clear gloss with my compressor and spray gun
It came out looking good
good enough for who it is for that is 

I think this guitar is a chameleon.
I took it outdoors to take some pics and it looks blue
I took some pics indoor and it looks purple again 

It looks purple to my eye in normal lighting

Look at the difference in colors in these pics

[Willabe]

Yep, chameleon.   

Looks real good either way.   

[tubenit]

VERY nice looking guitar!  I would be quite happy with that. 

It's amazing how much the lighting changes the photography/photos even though it can look pretty much the same in person.  I've had the same thing happen. I've had a brownish/orange/burgandyish look very orange in sunlight with comparison photos. Weird.

Superb job on it, Doug! And the poly is ALOT more durable then the nitro-lacquer.     Jeff

[Ritchie200]

Doug, I thought you bought a graphite nut?  I have one on my Ritchie Blackmore Strat with regular tuners and I can not make it go out of tune.  They are really sweet!


Jim

[EL34]

I thought you bought a graphite nut

I did, but I messed it up cutting it down to the proper size on my CNC machine

It was .25" inch thick and the nut slot is only .120" thick

I'll try another one if I can get one closer to the right thickness
And some graph tech saddles also.
I like the graph tech saddles on Jazz O caster #1

[tubenit]

On every Tele and Strat that I've built, I've used a graphite "Fender style graphtech nut" that was precut.  Always has worked out fine for me.  I have on a couple of occasions had to shimmy underneath it to get it a little higher (as I play slide sometimes but not often).

Like Jim, the guitars seem to stay in tune just fine for me.

I have cut nuts before and have all the files and experience doing that but on Fender style guitars have found no advantage over the preslotted nuts.

I use a black version of this one:
http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/tusq-xl/product-detail-tusq-xl/pql-5000-00-tusq-xl-fender-style-slotted-nut

Again, your guitar looks great!  Jeff

[EL34]

I just ordered the wrong thickness graphite nut the first time
You can get them 1/4 inch thick or 1/8th inch thick

I get them at Mojo
they come in black or white
http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/Nuts-and-Saddles/Mojotone-Graphite-6-String-Fender-Nut?custcol2=7

I ordered two of the black Graphite ones today

[EL34]

Here's the playability report on the guitar

The deluxe Fender two post bridge is very precise
The vibrato feels perfect on that bridge
It stays in perfect tune, but I am not doing dive bombs, just subtle vibrato wiggles
The neck feels great and the wipe on poly finish on the neck feels great
The staggered Fender tuners feel great and there's no need for a string tree, which is always good for tuning when using the vibrato

Overall, the guitar plays really nice and feels great

The only problem I have with it is that it is extremely bright sounding
I am hoping I can tame some of that with Graph tech saddles
The Fender deluxe chrome saddles may be adding to the brightness?

On JC #1, I have the same Mojo JM pickups, same pot, same wiring, same nut, Maple neck
Hacked two post bridge sort of like the Fender deluxe bridge on JC #2
But I have Graph tech saddles on this guitar
Yet, it is very mellow and woody sounding

JC #2 is way too bright for me
It is bright to the point of being harsh sounding

The Deluxe fender bridge looks like this

[EL34]

I ended up adding a tone control in order to tame the high end on this guitar.
I have it dialed in pretty good now


I have a Graphite nut installed now also

I re-did this recording using the Purple Jazz-O-Caster for all the guitar parts
http://el34world.com/Misc/Music/files/SurferGirl_JC2.mp3

It cuts through really nice
Here's a couple more pics with the tone control

[tubenit]

Doug,  that sounds FANTASTIC!       I'd say the tone is perfect and not too bright at all.

I have to use the tone knob on one of my Tele's which is also swamp ash with a quilt maple top.  I typically dial the tone knob done to 4-6 range.
The other two electrics, I can get by leaving the tone knob on 10.

You've done a great job with the guitar.  Nice tone to it and great playing on the tune.  Thanks for sharing your success!

Best regards,  Jeff

[EL34]

Doug,  that sounds FANTASTIC!       I'd say the tone is perfect and not too bright at all.

Thanks jeff,
I installed a 250ka pot and a .01 cap for the tone circuit
I think the tone pot is set to around 7 or 8 for the recording
So I have dialed back the brightness you are hearing in the recording

The guitar sounds way brighter through the power amp and speakers than it does on the recording

I think the tone control location worked out pretty good
It's down out of the way, but very easy to get to

The pickup selector switch location is great also.
It's not in the way where you can knock it by accident
And it's really fast to reach around the back of the Tremolo arm and click it.

The volume control is in the same measured location as on all my guitars
I can reach my pinky around the trem arm and dial volume very easily


I still think I am going to add some Graph tech saddles
The deluxe Fender saddles feel really nice, but I think they may possibly be adding to the overall brightness of the guitar

All in all, the guitar came out great

[tubenit]

Doug, IF the graph bridge saddles don't get you there ................... I think you could put a very thin 1/64" wood veneer under the saddles and glued on top of the chrome bridge & that would warm up the tone.  A thin veneer would change that metal on metal contact that would be so bright.  I don't think a veneer that thin would lessen the sustain at all.

I don't know about the jazzmaster type pickups but I've gotten into replacing the magnets on my pickups.  Takes me about 30 minutes at the most now to change them out.  I like Alnico 3 in the neck pickup and Alnico 2 in the bridge.  I find the Alnico 5 and Ceramic magnets waaayy too bright and lacking warmth for my tastes.   I typically pay about $5 for the magnet for each pickup & Mojo sells some.  This idea may not be an option on the jazzmaster pickups?

Lots of YouTube stuff on this.

Best regards,  Jeff 

[EL34]

Thanks for the info Jeff


I'll maybe try they also
Have to see what the graph tech saddles do first

[EL34]

I finally got around to taking pics of the finished guitar.
I have lots more build pics and info on my Facebook page here
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.576484852500062.1073741842.264340103714540&type=3