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Let's get this (License Plate) party started

I just recently caught the GBG bug (admitted Metal/punk who loves the blues) and since I can do pretty well at throwing together partscasters and such thought I should kick this off properly.

I really like the look of the license plate style because my family is also into rods and racing, so I got started on one over the weekend. The box is 1x2 Mahogany glued & pocket screwed. Got the neck slot roughed in and ready for final trimming for the maple neck. It will be topped off with a nice old Kansas 1940 license plate my stepdad gave me. Going with a three string fretless since it's my first one but haven't decided on a scale length yet since I think I can get one of the standard 24.75/25/2.5 lengths to fit the bridge nicely on the flat just ahead of the 6. Thinking just piezo on this to keep a clean top but with my favorite electro socket style jack out the back. 7/8 hole, no worry about jack depth, looks awesome.

A few early items that many will just shake their head and nod or laugh knowingly:
1. Don't assume older license plates are 12x6 just because new ones are - breaking the measure twice rule.
2. I'm confident in drilling straight holes to fix stripped electric necks or mount bridges, but my ability to saw the headstock in a straight to thin it for tuners will require some practice with a handsaw.
3. I can already tell I'm going to need to build several!

Thanks for all the tips I've read here on the page!
Ron

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Permalink Reply by Maddog on March 7, 2016 at 8:18am

Yeppers, like what I see so far Ron.

Seeing as we live in the same lovely lil' town of Blair, Nebraska I'm always available if you want/need some help......or better yet when I need some help :-)

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ruhs on March 7, 2016 at 4:35pm

I definitely need tips on getting that cut better when I thin the neck for the headstock or try to do a scarf joint for the first time. Always wanted a cheap 9" band saw...

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Permalink Reply by Kigar on March 7, 2016 at 4:18pm

Great plate for your project! I second the idea of a clean top, plus you leave the plate unharmed for it's next life in another 75 years.

You may already have this planned, but since it wasn't listed as number four - you didn't mention how you planned to trim the neck to fit under the plate. When you trim it, the part you cut off should dip down a bit so it doesn't contact the plate. And as that section of the neck is now thin, you can just glue the piece you cut off onto the bottom of the neck inside the box.

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ruhs on March 7, 2016 at 4:44pm

Kigar -
Pretty new to this style, so do you mean trim the part of the neck inside the box a bit to just clear the plate so it vibrates better like you would on a cigar box or are you talking a fair amount of trimming? A mean as far as depth from the bottom of the plate to the top of the neck through. And leaving a small "pad" to support the bridge?

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Permalink Reply by Kigar on March 7, 2016 at 5:08pm

I meant like what is typically done with a cigar box guitar so the plate can move freely. I have made mine with no support under the bridge but this was using a fairly stiff plate with the bridge about 4" from the bottom. I have a few thinner plates I would not use without support, I think they would bend in. Older plates are usually thicker, I would guess yours is pretty stout. If you screw it down using the plate holes it is easy to open up if you need to tweak something.

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Permalink Reply by Lane Martin on March 8, 2016 at 7:50am

Nice build you've got going.

I agree with keeping the clean top. Something I'm going to try on mine (when I get the pickup finished) was suggested by (I believe) the Phrygian Kid on here. That is notch out the neck inside the box where you want the pickup (and then brace the neck appropriately) and install your favorite mag pup under the plate. The mag will pick up the plates vibrations just fine and you won't have to cut the plate.

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ruhs on March 8, 2016 at 10:08am

That's a good idea to try too. Kind of forgot about that, but that is exactly what a number of people who build Fender Esquire clones do when they want the pickup options of a Tele but the single pickup look of the Esquire - they put the neck pickup under the pickguard.

Some of you may have to turn your heads later because the metal nibblers will come out on some of the license plates, but this one just seemed pretty cool as is.