Silvertone 1448/1449 with Mosritey Neck Hybrid Project

[101Volts]

As of late, I've had some interest in a Danelectro-built Silvertone 1448.



But, the neck is of some concern to me. I want something with a Mosrite Neck, so I thought I'd build one.

I've purchased an accurate plan for this guitar online, and had it printed at full size at Staples. It even has a note of where a second pickup should go for the bridge, which is good, because I was after that.

Specs I'll follow:

23.5" Scale Length (Stock size for the 1448)
Bolt-On Neck
12 or 14" Radius (Stock is 14, I think.)
Mosrite-type Neck (but wider, at 1.600 inches vs. the 1.560 of my 66 Ventures II)
Different Headstock (the 1448's headstock has to be one of the worst I've ever seen.)
2 Danelectro "Lipstick Tube" Pickups (in the same locations as they would be on a 1449 model)
Poplar Neck Wood (Book-Matched, if I can do it with what I have)
Mosrite-type Truss Rod (unlike a Danelectro)
2 Vol & 2 Tone Knobs (also, the potentiometers are old stock, and they're the same values of 100k for Vol and 1 Meg for Tone.)
Custom Bridge (I'm not certain what I'm doing here, I might make something Mosritey, but with wooden saddles.)
Fretwire - 0.053 Wide, Mandolin-Sized (It gets tight among the higher frets.)
Appearance (aside from the saddles:) White / Lemony Ice Cream Yellow / Chrome

I'm basing the appearance on this 1958 Ford:



- Austin

[Greg_L]

Hahaha very cool! Seems like a good project.

[tom villaflor]

Good luck with your project.Look foward to seeing it finished.That was the first electric guitar i owned as a teen in 1966 . Then bought a 1442 Sivertone amp.(all from Sears).....Playing all the Ventures music....
then found my 66 Mosrite M1 in 1974.
tom villaflor

[101Volts]

Hahaha very cool! Seems like a good project.

Good luck with your project.Look foward to seeing it finished.That was the first electric guitar i owned as a teen in 1966 . Then bought a 1442 Sivertone amp.(all from Sears).....Playing all the Ventures music....
then found my 66 Mosrite M1 in 1974.
tom villaflor

Thanks.

Progress I've made since I posted:

These are Bought:

Pickup Items:

Pickup Magnets (Alnico VI, Bar Magnets) - 2 (these arrived, but nothing else did yet.)
Pickup Covers - 2
Pickup Holder - 1 (they only had 1, I can probably make another one out of Aluminum.)

I still need to buy the screws and springs. I already had the AWG 42 Wire.

Other Electronics:

Vintage Mallory 100k Pots - 4 (bought 2 for another guitar, since I wanted to make a 1448 Bass too - not that they were made in the 60s, but they were as a "63" reissue.)
Vintage Mallory 1 meg Pots - 2 (just for this guitar.)
Switchcraft Output Jack
3-Way Toggle Switch (Will be mounted in the upper horn area, to switch with a strum.)

Other Items:

0.063 Thick Brass Plating for Bridge (Mosrite Bridges are 0.060 thick, this size is close. I already have wood and bridge posts.)
Long, Hollow Square Metal Bar to machine open for turning into a Tailpiece (if I don't want a Vibrato.)
Wood Stain (for use on a Mosrite type tailpiece, like on the Blues Benders.)
Tuners - Kluson Deluxe with Safety-Post, like on a Mosrite.
Masonite (Hard Board) - 4 ft by 8 ft section
1/4 inch thick sections of Poplar (decided to return these.)
Fretwire - StewMac Narrow/Low (StewMac 764) - This is 0.053 Wide, it's Mandolin fretwire. I thought I could use something thinner in the higher fret registry.

Still Need to Buy:

Flush Trim Bit for Router
Locking Nut, for behind the Zero Fret? This is if I can even fit a Shade Vibrato on this guitar. There's really not much room. I think I could fit it, if I put wood under there to screw it into. (It's normally hollow where I'm thinking of placing it.) Alternatively, I could extend the body out by an inch.
Primer
Paint, 1 or 2 Kinds - White and Lemon Ice Cream Yellow (I think I'll skip metal flake; it doesn't sound very tasty. Not that I'm eating it, it just doesn't feel right.)
Danelectro-type Tape (if I decide on it.)

I may be forgetting other items I need to buy.

- Austin

[101Volts]

Small update: I tried winding the pickups with just the wire and the bar magnet. I can now see why they use bobbins; the magnet fell over twice, and I had to rewind it multiple times. I gave up because it was silly to clown around with just the bobbinless magnet sticking to my lathe.

Because of this, I ordered:

Flatwork - 6 inch by 6 inch piece
Eyelets - 50 pack

Earlier, since I was missing 1 bracket, I also ordered:

3 More Brackets
2 More Lipstick Covers

These 5 items are from the same seller. I wanted to shave shipping down, and I mean to buy parts for a Dano Bass in the future, too.

In hindsight, I could have still went bobbinless if I temporarily glued plastic to the one end, but it's not something I'm gonna fret or worry about.

- Austin

[101Volts]

OK, it took a while, but I finally got started with the body.

I cut the template out with a razor blade, attached it to plywood with spray adhesive, roughed it to shape, and finalized with a sanding block to remove bumps and dips.

I then attached that to another piece of plywood, used the flush trim router bit but with the wrong bolts, and wasn't satisfied with the end product. I then made another piece with the template and plywood attached properly, and I roughed out another two pieces. Now I have two pieces of plywood being glued together, and I'll get to cutting it closer to final shape on Sunday. After that, I'll glue the third piece, and use the flush trim bit on it. I can then plane the whole body to size.

... I'd like to recap this with all the photos I took, though I don't know where to host the photos yet.

- Austin