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Fretless Squier Bullet build


neepheid
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[quote name='overwater#1' post='44765' date='Aug 13 2007, 12:10 PM']Sorry, I haven't read throught the whole thread, but, what is the body made from? I have a beat up old Squire which I was going to rebuild, and it is made from bloody ply wood!! :) ??[/quote]

I was told it was a Japanese 1986 Squier Bullet body, made of alder. While I can't confirm that with all certainty, it isn't plywood.

I've got an Affinity Squier P-bass body at home with a rather easily sanded off silver sparkle finish on it. Might blast that off and see what's underneath.

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Filled the dings and the existing scratchplate screwholes and resanded those areas. Next on the agenda is to get the router out and dig out a hole for the battery box at the back. [i]Then[/i] I'll be priming it.

I spoke to my sister and she thinks the clear scratchplate is the way to go. Trouble is, which one should I go for? Do the different scratchplates (US vintage, US standard, Mex) differ only in screwhole numbers/locations? I know the US standard has a hole for the neck end truss rod adjustment, so I won't need that.

I spied a picture of a Squier Bullet which seems to correlate with the body I have:





Looks like a normal P scratchplate to me. I don't care about screwhole locations, I'll drill new ones anyway.

Edited by neepheid
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A sheet of perspex or similar and your local luthier is always a good idea (I planned a similar job to you but went with pimpin paisley from WD, however I still used my local luthier to cut and bevel the edges). He can trace your old guard and add any mods you need.

DaN

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[quote name='TheBrokenDoor' post='45545' date='Aug 15 2007, 12:09 AM']A sheet of perspex or similar and your local luthier is always a good idea (I planned a similar job to you but went with pimpin paisley from WD, however I still used my local luthier to cut and bevel the edges). He can trace your old guard and add any mods you need.

DaN[/quote]

Slight problem with that theory - I don't have the original guard :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Waiting for someone to give me some measurements for a Mex P-bass scratchplate. Going to go with a clear perspex one. Going to route out a battery box this weekend. Been distracted with an old Hagstrom bass needing restoration, and also actually been trying to play more recently than build/repair.

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[quote name='lwtait' post='55376' date='Sep 4 2007, 04:37 PM']i think my fretless p is mexican, i could get some measurments, what do you want?[/quote]

See post here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=4935"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=4935[/url]

Thanks :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Been a while since my last update - had to make sure that the pickguard would fit. In the end, it [i]kinda[/i] fit. Yes, it covers (just) everything it should. However, the screwholes around the control cavity were either floating in mid air, or too close to the edge of the wood for my liking. So I had to get a little creative:




Also invested in a vertical drill press. When I say invested, I picked up a forty quid job from B&Q. At that price, it's practically disposable. Sunk the holes for the neck screw bushings so that they sit only slightly proud of the surface.



Still got to get the courage together to route out the battery box.

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[quote name='steve' post='62503' date='Sep 19 2007, 09:34 AM']are you going to mask out the control cavity somehow?[/quote]

Yes, I've been thinking about that. I think I'll leave it as is for now, and if I'm not happy with it after all the painting is done, I'll paint the underside of the pickguard a suitable matching colour to the surroundings probably.

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I had my first go at fabricating an inlay. Mixed results. I had this idea to make it out of an old CD. I marked it and cut it out with the engraving tool of my miniature drill. It was no good anyway because I slipped slightly a couple of times and shaved off the silver stuff, but I persevered to see if I could make it regardless. Unfortunately, I cracked it when I was filing. So I guess I'll have to be a little more careful.

Nevertheless, I was quite pleased with it as a proof of concept. This is what I ended up with. Bear in mind it's very rough, I had only started to get the right hand side of it a bit closer to what I wanted when I broke it.




This is what I'm trying to make:



It's my initials (MJN), squished together. Some people say it looks like an elephant :)

So I guess it's just a case of taking more time and care.

Edited by neepheid
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[quote name='nedsbeds' post='65858' date='Sep 26 2007, 01:11 PM']Might a hot wire cutter work better? From my school days I seem to remember that they are fairly good at cutting plastic rulers :)[/quote]

I don't know how easy it would be to use one of those because of the small dimensions involved. Plus I don't know anyone who has one. I basically clamped the CD to a wooden board with a paper towel between them and "engraved" through. It broke when I was filing it afterwards. Fact reinforced: CDs are brittle.

I'm still experimenting, but I think when it's finished to the standard I require and inlayed it'll look pretty neat.

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