by David P. Wescott
from fretsonthenet.com
from fretsonthenet.com
Bridge
So I started making the posts and bushings for the bridge today so here are some pics as always. Here's a shot of the blank piece of brass that will be used for the bushings. In the following pics, the blank will be knurled, drilled, tapped, and then parted off.
DISCLAIMER:
Please do not put your hands anywhere near a lathe when it's running if you have no idea what you're doing!
Click images to zoom
Blank bushing milled to size.
Bushing knurled.
Bushing being drilled.
Bushing tapped.
Here you can see how I left material on so that the part could be held in the collet in the lathe.
...Like this.
Parting off...
Done!
Bridge Posts
I then worked on the posts but didn't take that many pics, sorry! I first knurled the outer diameter to receive the "thumb" knurl. Then turned down the top diameter that will fit into the bridge holes.
From there, I turned the bottom side undercut at the same time creating the diameter for the 10-32 threads to mate with the bushing threads. After that, the threads were created using a split die in a handle.
Milling.
Threading.
Finished, threaded post ready to use.
Mounting the bushings into the body
First I used a piece of scrap wood to drill a hole using a 3/8ths (.375) forstner bit. Then on with the real thing!
Two holes.
Pressing the bushing in, using the drill stand for a controlled press.
They are in!
Test fitting the bridge frame with great results!
Another angle.
Routing the pickup routes
I took care of routing the pickup routes today as well. Not a lot of pics here as I wasn't covering my camera in wood dust..
On your right here, is a shot of the jig I made on the mill for the P-90's »»»»
A pic of the patterning bit. Notice the bearing is at the top of the bit so it just rides around on the template that is held in place by a good quality double faced tape.
Pickup route is finished.. funny, you can see all my filler blocks.
But there is one more route to do before this part of the job is done. Hmmmmm... I wonder what that secondary route is for?
Question
Is the bridge frame a bought one, or did you make that too?
Indeed I did, my friend.
