Strat Body Variations

[Nekul]

Having owned several strats (American, Jap and Mexican) and being recently inspired to attempt that 22 fret reverse headstock (large of course) strat I always wanted (thanks for the inspiration Guitarfrenzy!!) I have been looking closely at strat bodies. Whats the deal with the contours?

I know that the CBS era strats had reduced body curves due to cost cutting but if you look at some of the bodies around now, even on REAL strats, there is massive variation. For the front contour some start on the top of the body almost inline with the back edge of the bridge and others start way in front of that. THe bottom of the carve usually seems to stop at the centerline of the guitar, near the strap button, but sometimes it stops a few inches above that.

This means that there is so much variation in just the front carve alone. So what is RIGHT? I know it is a matter of personal taste when building your own but I still want it to look good.

Any thoughts or measurements to help me out?

[tirapop]

I've got "The Fender Stratocaster" book by A.J. Duchossoir. He says that up until '82, the contours were marked on the body from a pattern, rough bandsawed to shape (following the line), and then smooth on a large belt sander. No CNC, no fancy tooling, in the hands of factory workers. He also says in the '70s, some workers didn't even trace the patterns.

In general, '50s Strats had deeper contours. '60s Strats tend to have shorter back countours. The early CBS Strats had much shorter back contours. After the mid-'70s the contours were "drastically reduced as to become quite faint compared to the original 1950's configuration."

There are pictures in the book, sampling contours from the '50s to the '80s. There's also a pic of the blueprint for the '62 Vintage reissue. You can also start googling Strat pics and see what you like.

[Nekul]

I have done lots of googling and looking on Ebay (one of the biggest collections of strat styule bodies I ever saw). The 50s strats look to be by for the most attractive (at least to me). So if logic serves me, by being reasonably inaccurate and then finishing with a belt sander (ala factory workers) I am actually following original procedures.

I just looked at Guitarfrenzy's website and saw how he did it with a cheapo copy. I think I'll just go the traditional method.

[Guitarfrenzy]

Nekul, before I had a copy carver I used to drawn out the contour lines and use a handheld drill with a coarse grit 2" drum sander attached, to do the back contour. I can show you pictures of what I'm talking about if you'd like. The top can be done with a hand held belt sander if you have one. It shouldn't take you over 30 minutes to do both of the contours with the right tools, you don't have to use a copy carver.

[Mickguard]

I just contoured my telecaster.

I used my MIJ strat as a reference--used a caliper to measure the width at the edge. The contour on that one was pretty wide --almost to the center line, and stretched pretty close to the horn and the bottom.

I used a small surform to do the carve --it goes nice and slowly, gives you plenty of time to look at what you're doing.

I also attached the strap buttons and the neck and tried it out for fit while I was carving.

Eventually, I took the carve deeper toward the center line and more extreme toward the bottom.

Personal preference. Does it look good? Well, yeah, I think it's going to look great. But it's on the back of the guitar, so who cares anyway?

[Guitarfrenzy]

Here's a picture of what I was talking about earlier. As you can see I'm using a drum sander attachment with a drill to carve it fast. You can take measurements from other Strats and draw out your curve outlines on the back of the body and side to guide you along as you probably can see in the picture. Then just take your time and carve to the lines, then you can sand the rest of it with a straight block with sandpaper to make it smooth.

Hope this makes it clearer.

MaTT Vinson

[Nekul]

Cool. Thanks for the pics. I have done it similarly before except not so accurate. I originally used a plane to get the front contour done and then rounded the edges by hand sanding. As for the back I have usually just sat the original body on top, marked the edges for the end of the carves and then marked similar depths with a pencil as a guide.

I gotta tell you that I got really inspired by your strat tutorial. That thing looks a million bucks. I bought the copy carver plans and am now ordering a set of strat templates, although I am ordering both the small and large headstock neck templates. I also got a laminate trimmer and all the bearings. My only problem with the copy carver is that at present my shed is just a bare slab, no walls yet. I would love to know what your recommendations would be on how to set up an awesome workshop space. My shed slab is 4.2 by 9 metres (sorry, Im metric). I have only ever done my work in a small garage before and so this shed is going to be dedicated as guitar workshop and hotrod storage. Thats it!

Edited July 29, 2005 by Nekul

[Guitarfrenzy]

Thanks Nekul. The copy carver I built is 8ft x 4ft wide (2.4384 m x 1.2192 m) so it takes up quite a bit of space. Your probably not going to build one that big, but it's something to consider if you do. Sounds like your going to have enough space though with your new shop. One of the most important thing you can do is have your tools organized for a comfortable working environment. You want things laid out so that they are easy to get to. Take some pictures, because I'd like to see your shop when you get done.

Matt Vinson

[Nekul]

No worries. Like I said, at the moment it is just a slab and with an impending wedding it may take several months. By the way, I got that Flyng V done and man it is awesome. I will borrow a digital camera and post a pic at some stage soon.

I gotta thank you for all your help. I had almost given up on this hobby but I am loving it now. I ordered those templates from Ronny and cant wait to get em. I have picked out my piece of timber from my stash of silky oak. One piece, nice grain. It will hopefully look slick. I am considering a similar finish to your tutorial strat but maybe going purple to match one of the family hotrods. I cant seem to locate any epoxy filler though. Is the water based stuff as good or no?

Luke

[rhoads56]

Here's a picture of what I was talking about earlier.  As you can see I'm using a drum sander attachment with a drill to carve it fast.  You can take measurements from other Strats and draw out your curve outlines on the back of the body and side to guide you along as you probably can see in the picture.  Then just take your time and carve to the lines, then you can sand the rest of it with a straight block with sandpaper to make it smooth. 

Hope this makes it clearer.

MaTT Vinson

←

Hit it with a spokeshave first, and save 20 minutes.

Edited July 30, 2005 by rhoads56

[westhemann]

yeah...i use a rasp with great effect