Doing Things Wrong

Superfreaky Part IVa

Oops, bridge assembled upside down

Some small parts for the new Ric. The logo is laser-printed on an adhesive packing label. A coat of poly locks-in the toner. The font is a free one called Dymaxion. It is a pretty good match for the Ric logo, which was actually hand-drawn.

Then I made a new saddle for the bridge from a scrap of super-hard Brazilian Cherry. I never liked the shape of the original saddle. The new one is much thicker, with a 10" radius to match the neck. The color also matches the neck. A bit of linseed oil for a finish.

Finally I ordered a set of "Alice" strings. These are not the cheapest you can find, but they are the cheapest that have at least some good reviews. The whole theme of this build is cheap and cheerful, and an expensive set of strings would go against that. We'll see how these Alice strings are.

EBay is not what it used to be. A few years ago, you could find all sorts of nice parts cheap. Now there is much less. I haven't seen a Bronco bridge in over a year. And the bargains are gone too, what you can find is much more expensive now.

Which is the real Rickenbacker?

Bending steel is not that difficult. You can make a pretty tight bend up to 90 degrees in up to 1/8″ material simply by clamping it in a vise and hammering it over. To go beyond 90 degrees, say 180 degrees for a truss rod, first bend it to 90 degrees, then heat the elbow and finish the bend. Heat the bend point until it glows orange. For smaller (guitar-sized) materials, a common hand-held propane torch should be adequate. After bending, quench the part quick in water, like a blacksmith in a western movie. You can hold a small part under the faucet. That will restore the strength of the material.