Converting Fender Neck/body To Aanj?

[masterpuppets]

I am thinking about building a Warmoth Explorer (again LOL) but this time, sculpting the neck and body to the Ibanez style AANJ. Is this a crazy idea? It seems like it would be fairly simple to do. I figure the basic work would be:

1. Dowel the neck holes in the body.

2. Mark approximate area for sculpting on body/neck.

3. Use spokeshave and power sander CAREFULLY to shape these to the desired contour.

4. mark/drill holes for neck screws, leaving room for countersunk ferrules, and counterbore these.

5. Sand up to 300 grit to make ready for paint.

Seems like I can do it without messing the parts up. Maybe I'll conjure my own unique design for it! I just really hate Fender-style neck joints.....never got used to them. But the Ibanez AANJ is perfect for me. Please advise on my idea everyone! Thanks.

[ryanb]

You certainly can round and shape the heel area to a point -- just don't go too far and make it too weak. You won't be able to go as far as the Ibanez joint, but it will help smooth things out. Remember that the Ibanez neck also extends a lot farther down into the body, which gives it back the strength lost when the joint is cut away (probably more). Personally, if I was doing a custom guitar and wanted AANJ, I would build it into the neck and body from the start instead of adapting a Strat joint, but do whatever works for you.