First wiring job complete

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Big Willie Style

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Apr 17, 2005
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Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Just used my old Washburn Idol as a guinea pig to see if I could manage the wiring myself. I took out everything except the ground wire, and replaced with:

- ToneRider Rebel 90's
- vintage style cloth covered wire
- 2 x .022 Russian pio caps
- 4 x CTS audio taper 500k pots
- Switchcraft switch and jack

All in all it went very well. I left a little too much wire for the job so the cavity is not as neat as it should/could be, but better to be safe than sorry I guess.

Observations:
- this is a lot more time consuing than I though going in
- I might have been a little *too* careful (hence the time)
- I need a stronger iron. The 30w I have is great for most things except the grounds on the pots. Those things take a LONG time to heat up with my iron.
- I should bend, not cut the cap leads. One in the garbage since I cut it too short.

Any thoughts or similar experiences?

Jason
 
30w has always been fine for me.

Your wiring gets neater with experience, you get used to how much you can get away with. But preparation is everything.

Next time try the Jimmy Page mod 8)
 
As long as it works it's all good!

Just one thing, I stopped using the pots to ground the wires - I use home made grounding terminals and not only they work great but thye allow for a very tidy wiring. I genuinely hate soldering onto pots...

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IMG_0365.jpg
 
That's interesting... what material do you use for making your ground? Yeah I agree about soldering pots (in my limited experience). Everything went fast and slick, excel for this **** pots. Wow they take a long time to heat up with my iron. I read on another site that some guys use much hotter irons just for the pots to get them heated quickly but not all through. If I continue doing this, which I most likely will as I enjoy tinkering, I'll likely get a variable power solder station. My thought is, why pay someone $$$ to do something I can do myself?

Jason
 
One more thing aboutthe homemade ground, and please excuse my ignorance- does it matter which terminal you attach each wire to or will any do?

Very interesting, neat, and seemingly much easier way to do things!!!

Jason
 
I find 30W is plenty for a soldering iron. If heating up takes too long you might be doing something wrong or using the wrong materials. Are you tipping the iron with resin core wire before you touch it to the project? That's what I used to neglect and I found it took ages before I could get the tin to melt.
Watch this for tips;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_NU2ruzyc4
 
It is really easy to make a terminal:

A bit from a brass bar
Soldering lugs
Self taping screws
A drill

Done!

Regarding the lugs there is no particular order or logic as long as all the grounds go there.
 

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