Here i've set the inlay into the recess using epoxy with a drop of black dye (Transtint).
I ran a straightedge along the fretboard binding down to where the tailpiece will be and marked a few lines (seen in red) for placing the tailpiece. I used a brad point bit from a 29 piece kit from harbor freight (i recommend getting these) to drill the holes for the bushings. The problem with drilling these is getting the the bit to drill perpendicular to the body, which is difficult due to the funky shape of the back of the guitar. I managed to drill the first hole in the drill press (using a level and some shims to level the guitar), but since there was a tiny tiny kink in the placement of the fretboard, the tailpiece centerline was off center by ~1/16". This small change in distance prohibited my drill press from reaching the second hole (it was so so so close) because the press only has a ~5" reach. So the second hole had to be drilled by hand, which was nerve racking and tedious. The hand drilled hole is less accurate and the bushing slips in and out with ease (not a good thing). This will be fixed with a few drops of glue once I finish the guitar.
I got a set of grover tuners off of ebay for $40. I used the headstock routing template to drill precise holes using a 3/8" brad point bit. The tuners won't fit in the wood completely, which is good.
I adhered the template to the headstock and, a mano, transferred the holes onto the headstock. A 1/8"-1/2" reamer from, again, harbor freight widened the back of the holes to fit the tuners in tight and level. Any imperfections in the drilling angle was fixed with the reamer.
All the tuners were fit and had their nuts tightened.. A temporary rosewood nut was manufactured from a rubbing i took from my Alvarez acoustic. I've tried, throughout this build, to match some essential measurements on this guitar, with my acoustic that i've been playing for 7 or so years. This includes the string spacing (shown) and the neck profile.
The nut was terribly made; the A, G, and B strings buzzed a lot, but it served its purpose. I don't have another electric guitar to compare the sound to, but i would assume it sounded great.
The middle strings were removed, leaving high E and low E. The bridge was perched upon a couple washers to simulate its final height. The strings held it down. At this point, i adjusted the high and low E intonation saddles to the middle and tilted the bridge until both E strings were intonated correctly (12th harmonic = 12th fret). This process was done by ear and with a tuner. Once i found the right placement for the bridge, i used a spare drill bit to transfer the placement to the body. I checked with calipers to make sure the distance between the marks were in accordance with the actual bridge.
Fortunately for the bridge posts, they were drilled nicely with the drill press. Both fit very snug. The strings were aligned down the entire fretboard, and the action was exactly were i'm used to with the bridge set all the way down.
Lookin sharp.
After touching up some bubbles in the inlay epoxy, i dyed the headstock black (Transtint). The flash brightened the grain a little i nthe picture, but it's completely black.
For the remainder of the weekend, i will give the guitar it's final shaping/sanding. The tops will be sanded perfectly round. I will make sure i wear gloves for this process, as i don't want any grease left on the wood for finishing. A makeshift spray booth complete with fan, dehumidifier, air filter will be built for spraying.
The electronics holes and whatnot will be drilled after the epoxy grain filler is applied.
-Drew
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