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Fauxeana electric, my first build!


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if this was a water based stain it might have caused the wood to swell and make your holes a little tight, but I wouldnt re-drill because when the wood eventually shrinks back to normal they might not be tight enough. Id make sure you wait till the wood is completely dry before installing the posts.

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Thanks! I just masked off the insides of the holes with painters tape to avoid additional finish penetration and build-up as I apply more coats, and I won't install the studs until the finish process is complete. I don't think this stuff cracks like lacquer does, so I don't expect any drama when I redrill and press in the studs.

The color lightened up a bit when the dye dried. It's still darker than I originally expected, but I'm really happy with it. I think it's going to look deep and luxurious! :D

 

01-deep-color.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Glued in the neck! It's getting closer and closer to being a guitar!

This step didn't go quite as I expected. The joint was very tight; removing the neck after dry-fitting it was difficult. I figured the glue would initially behave kind of like a lubricant, and getting the thing in would be easier with glue than without. WRONG. Even working very quickly, I had to clamp it down HARD (like, blood-blister-on-palm-of-hand hard) to get it fully seated. It was a stressful moment, but I think it ultimately went okay. I'll go back tonight, take the clamps off, and see how it looks.

I'm hoping that the finish doesn't bond with the paper I wrapped around the piece of MDF protecting the back of the guitar from the clamps... :D 

 

IMG_5937.JPG

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Well, I guess I did some math wrong somewhere along the way. I thought I tested the neck angle / bridge height ratio when I dry-fit the neck, but I guess maybe I didn't?

I was shooting for a 3° neck angle but it looks like it ended up closer to 3.75°. That, combined with a maybe not-quite-deep-enough neck pocket, means my bridge studs are like only half way screwed into the bushings with the bridge at the proper height. Like, I can't even engage the concentric stud height-locking set screw because it's not long enough; it just falls out of the bottom of the stud into the bushing cavity. :(

Doesn't seem like there's much I can do about it though, so I'm just going to hope the studs are nice and strong since there will be some serious leverage on 'em.

 

NeckAngleOops01.JPG

NeckAngleOops02.JPG

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1 hour ago, strawtarget said:

Well, I guess I did some math wrong somewhere along the way. I thought I tested the neck angle / bridge height ratio when I dry-fit the neck, but I guess maybe I didn't?

I was shooting for a 3° neck angle but it looks like it ended up closer to 3.75°. That, combined with a maybe not-quite-deep-enough neck pocket, means my bridge studs are like only half way screwed into the bushings with the bridge at the proper height. Like, I can't even engage the concentric stud height-locking set screw because it's not long enough; it just falls out of the bottom of the stud into the bushing cavity. :(

Doesn't seem like there's much I can do about it though, so I'm just going to hope the studs are nice and strong since there will be some serious leverage on 'em.

 

NeckAngleOops01.JPG

NeckAngleOops02.JPG

Easily done - almost all of my builds contain a 'bit of a surprise' when it comes to the final neck angle.  

To me, this doesn't look overly excessive - especially if the bushes are a good interference fit.

If it did become a problem in the future, you could always add a stop tail and swop the wrapover for a standard ToM bridge and then there wouldn't be any string tension on the bridge at all... 

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Update: I strung it up and played it! Woo! It's a guitar! I built a guitar! Woo!

Okay, so now that that's out of the way... I had to raise the bridge even more to get the action right. The bridge is just so high; it looks silly to me. And I do worry about the leverage on the studs. (I'll take another pic when I get a chance, but there's at least 1 more thread visible now.)

@Andyjr1515 Interesting idea about swapping to a ToM. Unfortunately, I can't find a bridge with the proper spacing. My wrap bridge is 82mm post spacing, and every ToM I can find is more like 74mm. I sooo don't want to dowel and re-drill.

I can think of two options...

It seems like there's enough space to make a Gretsch-like "bridge base". Basically just a piece that screws down to the body of the guitar, and the ToM posts screw into it. Maybe kinda out of place on a solid body electric, but it's an option.

Or, I could get some locking studs to secure the existing wraparound bridge in place, and then just pretend it was a ToM. I could notch the "saddles" and add a tailpiece. Seems weird, but maybe could work?

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