Guitar Pickup Winder

The recent trip to Mississippi Delta Blues country has raised serious havoc with my guitar building.  My free time has been centered around creating a pickup coil winder from the almost antique portable Singer Model 99 sewing machine that Roger Berry gave me.

There is no way to describe Roger, you gotta meet him to fully understand the kind of man he is.  I don't really know Rog well, but I have developed very keen instincts over the years, and my instincts tell me he is one very kind, sincere, and generous fella.  Roger is the only person I know, outside of my wife, who actually lives the credo, "It is better to give, than to receive."  And, he is at the ready to provide people with abundance, thus the treasures he insisted I accept, without allowing me to pay him for anything.

So, with all this said, Roger, I hope you like what I have done with a few of the gifts and ideas you shared with me.

After studying the pickup coil winder that Roger uses for his creations, I had a fair idea where to begin, but I didn't want to copy what Rog had done.  So, I set out on a path that included finding an antique treadle sewing table on which my little creature could rest, and to design some of the options to complete the project.

The table was for sale from the back of a guy's pickup, and I didn't bother to inspect it carefully, I just loaded it up and hauled it home.  On looking it over, I discovered a really cool old Rousedale machine inside, but that will be used for another winder later, to be given to another builder . . . ala Roger Berry's generous example.

I tore the thing apart, and removed all the unnecessary stuff, so that all that was left was the table as you see it in this photo.

The lid serves perfectly for a rest for the Singer.  The adjoining fabricated mount for the revolution counter display and light dimmer switch, which controls the speed of the wheel, is tucked up tight for a very compact unit.  You'll notice a brass bar sticking out on the right near the display, which is there to control where the wire falls on the spinning pickup (PUP) bobbin, which will be attached to the wheel when ready to spin out a PUP.

The little red knob is actually a small magnet stuck to a large washer.  It serves to temporarily hold the hair-fine magnet wire used in the creation of a PUP.  Yes, it's that fine.  For you techno geeks out there, it is 43 ga. wire, so damn fine that I have to call on the assistance of my 10-year-old granddaughter Maggie to thread it through the eyelets on the bobbin.  I'm old and cain't see well.   q;-)

So, what's a bobbin, you ask.  Well, it's the foundation for the PUP, and in the world of home- wound pickup coils, it is a couple pieces of material  ---->
(wood, fiberboard, plastic, etc.) with holes drilled for metal posts to match the guitar string separation.

After the PUP is wound to the proper resistance, and soldering of lead wires is complete, and the PUP sealed, the posts are magnetized with a homemade doo-dad (bottom left), by passing the PUP back and forth through the space between the magnets on the re-purposed 'c' clamp.

Everyone does this stuff differently, but the basic concept remains the same.  For ease of use and to keep things compact, I chose to mount my idea on the table surface.

It's necessary to figure out a way to handle the magnet wire that will be transferred from a spool to the bobbin. If you're using small spools it's a little more simple than what I had to think about.

Because, I'm a tight ass and I don't like to give my money away, I looked around locally for a wire source, and stumbled onto a five-pound spool for slightly more than I'd have to pay Stewart MacDonald for a half-pound.  It's 39 ga., but the boys at StewMac told me it would work fine . . . just would need to use less wire to reach the desired resistance.

So, that's it!  Thanks to Roger, I am now in the business of creating my very own guitar pickups with the TotalRojo Mojo.

One last look.  It ain't store bought, but it works great, and I think it's pretty damn cool.

Marvelous Mississippi Delta Blues

There are times in one's life when opportunity knocks, and the result is amazing.  Recently, I had the opportunity to meet Roger Berry, a cigar box guitar maker and blues man from Hazlehurst, Mississippi.  Roger ask me to create a guitar case for him that would accommodate my 'LaGloria' guitar, which Roger wanted as well.

Hazlehurst is a small town in south-central Mississippi in the heart of Delta Blues music heaven, the birthplace of America's music, and the town where Robert Johnson was born, rich in history and very long on hospitality.

Because of a long career in newspaper and television, I've met a lot of very interesting people, but Roger Berry is one of the most sincere, likable, and generous people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.  I only wish we had met many years ago.  But, at least we've met.   And, I know we will be friends for a good long time.  Thanks Roger for the opportunity!

I built the case, enclosed the guitar, loaded my car, and off my wife and I went to hand deliver Roger's new toys.  I could have shipped the stuff and been done with it, but something told me that I would be missing an experience of a lifetime . . . making and great new friend, and experiencing a musical adventure that cannot be explained, only enjoyed first-hand.

I cannot write about our trip, there,just isn't enough space or time, but I will add some photos and brief info, which I hope peeks your interest enough for you to explore the Blues on your own.

The case personalized with the 'RB' and the 'Maverick' logo.

You gotta be a bit of a maverick to do what we do.

The inside, complete with a collage of Delta images and 'LaGloria'.

An on-board amp to blow sound around, and a compartment for 

the little stuff completes the case.

Roger with his new gear.

Roger's shop -- Yes!, It's that clean and comfortable, and yes, it's where he creates wonderful instruments.

Juke joints where locals play outrageous blues.

Murals such as this decorate many buildings in nearly every town along highways 49 and 61,

commemorating famous area blues musicians.

Notable blues greats from 'Pinetop' Perkins to Muddy Waters played juke joints like these,

and B.B. King continues to make great music here on a regular basis.

The Poor Monkey Lounge outside Merigold, MS only has music on Thursday nights, 

and we missed it by a day.  Darn!

Ground Zero Blues Club and The Delta Blues Museum, are just two

of the many cool and interesting places in Clarkdale, MS at the 

Crossroads of highways 49 and 61.

Because blues music is so connected to the Mississippi Delta, it is easy to overlook the other venues that make the place famous -- Country, Rock 'N' Roll, Soul, Jazz, R & B, Classical, Gospel, and musical recording.

If you haven't been to the Delta, you are missing something very special.

Thanks Roger!

They Say It's Art

As I've said before, I don't consider myself an artist, but my friends Jerry and Judy Francil are slowly convincing me that I may be wrong.

I recently stopped by the art center to show Jerry my latest creation, 'Curley'.  After he explored every surface and declared it was 'beautiful', he suggested I enter it in the soon-to-be-held Fall Members Show, which is a juried exhibition with art hanging from September 30 until October 28. Each artist is allowed to enter three pieces for consideration.  Two of my three were selected by the judge for exhibition. How's that for being lucky?

My son Joe coined the phrase 'art with strings' to distinguish my creations, but until now, I wasn't quite sure he had it right.  Us old timers really can learn from our kids and friends.

'Bigfoot' and 'Curley' were the selections, and it will remain to be seen how they are received by attendees to the month-long event.

'Curley'

'Bigfoot'

Montana Time Out

The workshop has been dark for a few weeks.  No guitars on the bench.  No music playing.  No sawdust clogging up the sinuses.  Just a little time out.

Living in the mid-western rust belt (normal rain fall, humidity and cloudy days with no sun) makes one rust, not tan.  Although, this summer has been pretty dry and sunny for a change, so I needed relief from it.

We decided it was time for a change of scenery. We headed west to see the relatives, and to take in the usual tourist attractions along the way.  A fella cannot see Rushmore, the Black Hills, the Badlands, Wall Drug, or Yellowstone Park too many times.

I forget how desolate it is when leaving the rolling hills of Indiana and drift into the flat land of Iowa and points west, which stretch all the way to the Montana border.  But, the one redeeming factor is that for all those hundreds of straight line miles, you drive in a huge blue bubble.  At least that's what it looks like . . . 360 degrees around and straight up forever, it's blue sky.  Geez, it's so cool.  Nothing like it, until you hit Big Sky Country, and then the cool turns to fantastic!

Three weeks of unbelievable weather . . . every day was sunny, temps in the high seventies to mid-eighties, no rain . . . just the big sky to enjoy.  The only downside was the heavy smoke conditions caused by forest fires all around us, but, even with that, it was beautiful.

It's true, "You can take the boy out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the boy!"  Damn, I miss the mountains of Montana.

Oh, well, as a real Montana native (Blackfoot heritage), I got to live it, while others just get to visit.

I thought my readers may like to see what life in the Big Sky is all about, so I'll share a photo or three to temp you, and to make me homesick once again.

Antelope checking me out

My first wife, of 49 years, Roxie near the top of Bear Tooth Pass.

Atop the Bear Tooth Pass at nearly 11,000 feet.

It's smokey, but it's still beautiful.

This ol' fella was coming over to check out our car on the Bear Tooth highway.  He was just one of a heard of about 400 that stopped traffic, while they moved across.

This is a smoke filtered sunset that welcomed us on our first night 'home' near Yellowstone.

A cow elk taking it easy on the lawn outside the resort hotel at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Life is good in the Big Sky.

Sacajawea Inn at Three Forks, Montana.

Some of the best fly fishing in the world is here, where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin rivers join. This is our home on the road.  Quaint, quiet and comfortable, and the restaurant is top shelf.

These little friends greet us for coffee in the morning in our mom's back yard.  How's this for city living?  Tell me Montana isn't cool!

We had to run the deer off to get a shot of the nieces and nephews and their children.

This is a shot of what was my folks ranch at the western foothills of the Bitterroot-Selway range.  It's a little smokey that day, but you can see why I keep Montana in my heart.

If you haven't been out west, this is a good reason to go.

Gotta Have A Cool Guitar Stand

I saw a guitar stand in Acoustic Guitar magazine a while back that I thought would be really cool for a couple reasons -- to keep the guitar off the floor, and to also serve as a perfect place to hang one for photos.  But the price of the advertised stand scared me off.  So, off I went to the wood shop to create my own version of the 'perfect' stand.  What do you think?

It's made from pieces of poplar wood with the legs stained walnut, the main shaft golden oak, and the hanger itself is walnut stained.  Pretty simple build and a helluva a lot less than the price in the magazine.

'Curley'

I've gotten away from creating guitars from cigar boxes the past couple months, but I haven't abandoned that side of my hobby, just got a little distracted.

After 'Bigfoot', I had the urge to do something a little different, but still in the carving realm.  So, here is 'Curley' the latest effort.  Let me know what you think.

It started out as a chunk of bass wood 1.75" x 14" x 22" (again supplied by Art Richey at Carousel Works).

I drew the outline of the body I intended to create, and transferred it to the wood block.  Once that was done, I was on my way.  All the openings and cavities were accomplished with Forstner bits, then roughed out with a small hand saw, rasps, and files.  Final work was done by hand with carving tools, small files, sandpaper, and a lot of elbow grease.

The scratch plate is a piece of really cool looking maple sheeting cut to accentuate the design, while covering the electronics cavity and abutting the through-body bridge and bridge pickup.  Pickup surrounds were made from pieces of scrap Spanish cedar.  Very thin walnut veneer was glued to the tops of the pickups to help them blend into the overall look, I think it looks better than a couple black objects in the middle of the design.  You'll note the shape of the surrounds are angular, while the overall body design is softer and more flowing -- which was by design.  I wanted the contrast in shapes to bring the overall design to life.

I selected a really straight and nice Harmony neck from my inventory, modified the headstock to eliminate the sharpness of the original, and laminated a small piece of walnut veneer on it to carry on the body designs on front and back, tying it all together.

To bring the wood to life, I chose a base stain of golden oak, then washed the non-recessed areas with diluted walnut, and highlighted that with red mahogany to create a little depth in the finish.  Then came six coats of poly, each sanded with 500 sandpaper.

I chose to use neck screws with bushings instead of a large chrome plate to attach the neck to the body so as to not distract from the flame-like carving on the back.  For the same reason, I chose to use small string bushings opposite the bridge.

After 27 hours, not continuous of course, 'Curley' came to life, and she sure does play nice.

My wife caught me last night carving on the newest six-string creation.  Since the 'Big Foot' build, an idea has been floating around my head about a full-on carving of a traditionally shaped solid body, but with unique character.  Hopefully, I'll have photos of the finished guitar posted in a week or so.  Until then, you'll just have to wait to see what a honey this thing is turning out to be.

The OP Nascar Hot Seat!

A couple years ago, my buddy Bruce talked me into joining the OP Nascar Fantasy League.  It's a collection of more than a hundred die hard Nascar fans, who pick teams and meet regularly at a Great Falls, Montana watering hole called the 'Other Place', thus the OP moniker in the name.

They have some unusual events to gather around, like a 'corn dog' race, where participants build small Pinewood Derby-like cars to race down a ramp at the bar.  The unusual part is that the car must have a 'corn dog' as it's central theme.  Yes! They use real corn dogs shaped and painted in the most gawd awful themes imaginable.  Bruce really gets excited about this event.

So, a month or so ago, Bruce called with a special request.  He wanted me to design and create a 'really cool' toilet seat to be used as a golf hole surround in a tournament they are having at the end of the Nascar league season.  "It has to be funny, but also difficult for the guys to putt through to get to the hole", he wrote.

I put on my weird thinking hat -- not difficult for me -- and came up with an idea I think he'll like.  And the best part -- I'm going to personally deliver it to him in a couple weeks.  But, in the meantime, what do you think of this?

The seat is wood, which I painted black.  To work properly, I cut an opening in the front of the seat portion, which is just a bit larger than a golf ball, so putting through the opening will be a challenge, but that's what the boss wanted.  Pinstriping and graphics are all hand done with 1-Shot sign painters enamel, and then clear coated to protect the fancy stuff.  The flames are sprayed and hand outlined and accentuated.  And, the lettering on the inside of the top is all hand done, as well.

To be functional as a real toilet seat, I left all the attachment parts and spacers in place.  But, to work adequately for the hole surround and to keep it in place in the grass surface of the green, I created threaded pins to screw into the bottom of the seat, which then will be pushed into the playing surface . . . the seat can be arranged in any position over the cup without moving around.  Bruce wanted the seat top to stand upright when on the green, so I fabricated a brass plated plant hanger for support.  It is easily removed, as are the pins, which allows the seat to be used for the 'real deal'.

I think the plan is to raffle the thing off at the event, so some lucky person will have a pretty cool conversation piece for their crapper.

If you just cannot live without a custom toilet seat to adorn your privy, give me a shout and perhaps we can come to an agreement that will give you something really cool to sit on, while you're reading the Wall Street Journal, or something more suitable to the occasion.

New Old Tools

I've been looking for several months for a 'good' wood rasp (the big box stores have tools, but for the most part they are overpriced junk made off shore), and while cruising around the monthly swap meet last weekend, I spotted this beauty lying among a host of other tools. It's old but like new except for a coloring of surface rust, and the really cool thing about this guy is that it has very small teeth on the edges, which can be used for fine work.  Also, there in the pile was a nearly new edge cutters, which I use for fret work.  And the best part about all of this is both items were made in the USA . . . for $5 each, I think I got a deal.

So, off I went feelin' good to look for more goodies.

A fella just cannot pass up a good tool, and you cannot have too many.

A couple stops later revealed a very cool scratch awl, a really nice adjustable block plane, and a like-new adjustable wrench, again all were made in the good ol' USA.



On my way home from the treasure hunt, I stopped at Menard's for a couple sanding discs, and while looking around, I damn near fainted . . . I spotted a brad point bit set (I wanted to replace the Asian items with better quality) made in Montana of all places.  I couldn't believe it, and I couldn't pass it up, since it's like buying hometown hardware.

Check out the label, it made me all teary-eyed thinking about home.

Old guys get a pass for this kinda stuff, right?