OrenG Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 (edited) Hello, It's been a while since I last wrote in, and this time I should be able to pull off this project with very little money. the base of the project is this: http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/cata...&navCount=4 5 Gold Schaller M6 Tuners 1 Gold Hipshot Xtender with gold M6 Schaller 2 Fender String Guide Am Stan Gold 1 Floyd Rose Locking Nut, L5, Gold (Tail piece/bridge undecided) Volume/Tone knobs (Gibson Gold Top Hat Knobs) Two Gibson Firebird Vintage Gold pickups Small 3 ply white pickguard (custom made in AutoCAD) 1 Gibson Three way switch, gold 1 Gibson toggle switch ring, cream and gold lettering 1 Gold Allen Key Holder (mounted on the back of headstock) Custom Decal How does that sound for a travel guitar? -OrenG Edited February 7, 2009 by OrenG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 sounds pretty mad man can't wait to see this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 I would try and find one or at least a simliar one in size before you buy one. Looking at it and the specs it defintely has a small scale legth. I would try one out just to make sure you can get your fingers into the fret spaces. Really, with some ebay savyness and some cheap poplar or pine you can build a guitar closer to a size you like for the same price or less money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinefd Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 Those who know me, know that I'm into small scale guitars. That being said, the one thing I've found with looking at...and buying any small scale guitar, is that intonation can be a major problem with many of them. So, my recommendation would be, if you decide to buy this, is to try your best to intonate it properly and measure to see that everything is laid out correctly. That way, if you find the bridge position is off a bit, you could potentially move it a bit before trying any kind of refin on the guitar (assuming you want to go to that extreme). Overall, it looks like a fun, and potentially worthwhile project. (BTW, since when does Restoration Hardware carry guitars?!?) Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted December 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 (edited) I really hate it when I do this, but I've decided to go a different route with the guitar. If you've been on eBay looking for strats, no doubt you'll come across Mandi's FireCaster. I'm going to attempt a mini FireCaster clone with the parts as follows. Gold Schaller Tuners Gold rolling string trees Graphtech Graphite Nut Gotoh Tune-O-Matic/Tailpiece Volume/Tone knobs (Gibson Gold Top Knobs) Two Gibson Firebird Vintage Gold pickups Small 3 ply white pickguard Gibson Three way switch, gold. (Possible if found, Hard rock Singapore and Las Vegas key chains/pins cut off and used as headstock back/front "logos") (If I really wanted to go overkill on this thing more then it already is, I would throw in a Gold Schaller Original Floyd Rose With Ghost Acostic Saddles.) and of course the Restoration Hardware mini strat which has now dropped in price from 150$ to 74$ :D Here are some rehosted pictures from the ebay auction since they go down and out about every week, and hotlinking isn't nice Credit goes to Mandiscustomshop ebay user. Edited February 7, 2009 by OrenG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted December 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 Here are the rest of the pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted December 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 Those who know me, know that I'm into small scale guitars. That being said, the one thing I've found with looking at...and buying any small scale guitar, is that intonation can be a major problem with many of them. So, my recommendation would be, if you decide to buy this, is to try your best to intonate it properly and measure to see that everything is laid out correctly. That way, if you find the bridge position is off a bit, you could potentially move it a bit before trying any kind of refin on the guitar (assuming you want to go to that extreme). Overall, it looks like a fun, and potentially worthwhile project. (BTW, since when does Restoration Hardware carry guitars?!?) Frank Frank, Thanks for the input, I'm a big fan of your work; I had no idea that you posted here as well as on MyLesPaul. I really can't say why Restoration Hardware carries the things they do, as with the vintage toys, to the pocket hand warmers and shredding scissors, Restoration Hardware would be the last place someone would look to find a guitar. However the sad part is that it is only sold online or through their catalog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted December 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 (edited) The guitar has been purchased, I will begin work on it as soon as I get my materials. It plays ok, frets are slightly on the small side, but over all it will serve it's purpose as a travel guitar. I'm thinking about making the headstock less pointy and more strat like by using some sort of belt or power sander. -OrenG Edited December 9, 2008 by OrenG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted January 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 (edited) I can't believe I forgot this, but I finally got pictures of the thing. I will edit this post when the pictures are uploaded to my Flickr account and a link will be provided. EDIT: here it is Photos I apologize for the quality, I took them quick with my crappy 2 megapixel camera and forgot to compare it to a standard ruler for size comparison. Edited January 26, 2009 by OrenG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Next weekend is the weekend that I start this epic process of transforming this guitar into a one of a kind masterpiece. First up on my To-Do list is buy paint and strip, prep, prime and paint, then clear coat the body, and move on to sanding and clear coating the neck. (the neck isn't smooth at all, nor does it have any sort of sealant to protect it from use.) I'm thinking of adding a few things to the paint job. For some reason I want to cross the 60's/70's/moon landing together in the theme of the guitar. Starting with the NASA logo font as a decal. Anyone else got any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 (edited) Alright I've run into a small problem with the bridge. Upon changing the crap factory strings to Boomers, I realized that the tail piece is similar to a hard tail strat, however the anchor-holes are not going through the body, but instead through holes in the bridge. If I was to replace the bridge, how would I go about drilling holes and installing these? Edited February 2, 2009 by OrenG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borge Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 from the link you gave: Drill 1/8" (3.00mm) diameter string holes through the guitar body for all ferrules. #0173 has a 25/64" (9.92mm) diameter flange and requires a 5/16" (8.00mm) diameter hole. Overall depth is 11/32" (8.73mm). #0196 is for vintage-style flush-fit installation. 3/8" (10.00mm) diameter mounting hole is required. Overall depth is 5/16" (7.94mm). Obviously the holes need to be perpendicular to the body or the ferrules wont line up, a drill press is the job for this. Although, the first time I did ferrules i didn't have access to a press so i drilled plenty of holes in a piece of wood, found the 'squarest' one and used that hole as a guide for the string through holes. It worked fine but a press is much easier, faster and foolproof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted February 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) from the link you gave: Drill 1/8" (3.00mm) diameter string holes through the guitar body for all ferrules. #0173 has a 25/64" (9.92mm) diameter flange and requires a 5/16" (8.00mm) diameter hole. Overall depth is 11/32" (8.73mm). #0196 is for vintage-style flush-fit installation. 3/8" (10.00mm) diameter mounting hole is required. Overall depth is 5/16" (7.94mm). Obviously the holes need to be perpendicular to the body or the ferrules wont line up, a drill press is the job for this. Although, the first time I did ferrules i didn't have access to a press so i drilled plenty of holes in a piece of wood, found the 'squarest' one and used that hole as a guide for the string through holes. It worked fine but a press is much easier, faster and foolproof. Hmm, since I don't have relatively easy access to a drill press, I may want to go the route of a Les Paul style tailpiece and bridge. Something like this and this. Hopefully once I strip the paint, I can fill the existing holes for the existing bridge with some wood putty. I'll have to check this once I'm at home, but I don't think there is a truss rod inside the neck since it is so low cost. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to solve this? It appears to be a once piece maple neck. Edited February 3, 2009 by OrenG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted February 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) I'm going to stop changing my mind every five seconds about what I want in a tail piece/bridge so for now I'll leave that alone. What I do know is I'm going to add a DIY black ice overdrive, as well as route a larger control cavity to accommodate more knobs and switches compared to the existing which is only one volume knob. While I'm still writing this I might as well discuss these items: I need to know how to/where to get - Fender Trans-White paint - finish the neck so it has a "mild golden vintage tint" - template for firebird pickups - Firebird pickups If anyone needs reference pictures to better understand what I want as the outcome for this project, Click Here. I have found that upon closer inspection of the neck, I was right in that it has no truss rod. -Many Thanks, OrenG Edited February 7, 2009 by OrenG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 (edited) Bump. Any information for my questions ^ would be appreciated. Edited February 7, 2009 by OrenG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
factory5150 Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Do you have access to a spray gun? That will make it way easier to achieve the 2 finishes you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrenG Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Do you have access to a spray gun? That will make it way easier to achieve the 2 finishes you want. Nope, I was planning on getting a spray nozzle along with the spray paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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