ESDictor

I live pretty close to Constantine's, which is where I planned on buying wood. They have 8/4 Poplar at $9/square foot, but no Alder at all. Evan

It seems that Alder is much harder to come by down here in Florida. I can get 8/4 Poplar locally, but would have to find Alder online and get it shipped. Evan

I've pretty much decided on the masonite template (here), and since that one has a standard tremolo, I'll just go with that. Was probably a bad idea to try to improvise on the design for my first build. Will probably go with a poplar body, maple neck and an EIR fretboard. My main reason for the masonite template is that the one from Guitar Plans Unlimited seems to be fixed bridge only. That made the decision easy for me .. even though I'm not looking forward to spending $60+shipping for the template. Regadless, my first step is making that bench I mentioned earlier. That will get me back in "woodworking-mode" after my 6ish year hiatus, and give me somewhere to work. Thanks for all the information and advice .. I'll be asking for a lot more soon enough, Evan PS: I've read every tutorial about installing a truss rod as well as reading the Hiscock chapter about 10 times .. and I still feel 100% like I have no idea what to do there. I'll be asking a bunch of questions when that comes up. I think I just need an "ahh .. now I get it!" moment.

My current (brand-name) guitars each has a function .. either a sound that's unique .. a shape that's unique .. or something else (like the tremolo) that keeps me from eBaying the guitar. My thought is that if I can make a decent-sounding Strat with a tremolo (not married to Floyd Rose I guess), I could sell my warlock, which I really only use when I want a tremolo - other than that it doesn't sound all that good and really doesn't add anything unique to my collection except shape. I have not guitars with 3xSingle-Coil, so a Strat would add that, a new shape, and replace the warlock's tremolo. Hopefully that gives some insight into my thoughts here .. and why I won't go fixed-bridge. If this guitar sounds ok, I'll have the warlock on ebay an hour later. Then I'll work on something else .. although I have no solid plans yet (but lots of ideas). I have nothing against making a Telecaster, but my first build will have some sort of tremolo for the above reasons. Right now it looks like my first project (before my first build) will be a workbench. I found this design that I'll start working on this weekend. Evan

Thanks for all the responses so far .. I'm planning on doing all the work myself - fretboard included (I'm insane .. I know) - so buying a neck or body isn't an option. As far as a router .. I have some money put aside for this, mostly to buy a few tools that I expect I'll need. My guess right now is that I'll need a router and a good jigsaw, but I'll be posting in the tools forum when I get to that point. I'll take killemall's advice and call that Ronnie guy to ask about a Strat w/Floyd Rose template and see how that works out. A quick note about my thoughts ... I have heard that the FR trem stays in tune much better than the stock strat trem does. If I am incorrect about this, I could be doing all this for nothing. I own 1 guitar with a FR and while it keeps tuned pretty well .. when it's out it's a bitch to get back. That's my only guitar with any sort of tremolo - all my others are fixed bridge. If I built this and like how it feels/sounds, I would probably sell the other guitar, as I really only keep it for the rare times I want a tremolo for a song. I'd still like to hear any other thoughts that people might have. Thanks, Evan

Ok, I've been reading everything here I can get my hands on, especially the Strat build in the tutorial section, and I think I'm ready to start .. well .. almost. I'm trying to go somewhat easy with my first build, but even though I'd like an easy build, I'd like to make something that I'd want to play. To that end I've decided on making a Strat, preferably with a Floyd Rose Tremelo. My plan is to paint it black with a black pickguard, white pickups/knobs, and chrome hardware, similar to the old David Gilmour strat (shown here). I'm going to make this from poplar with a maple fretboard (I know .. Gilmour's strat had a dark fretboard .. but not going to spend that much on my first build attempt). Nothing too tricky here .. except maybe that FR Trem. Now for my questions ... 1. Should I buy the masonite templates at www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com or the paper plans at www.guitarplansunlimited.com ? 2. Is there a compelling reason to buy a specific decade over another? The masonite templates are available in 50's, 60's or 70's versions. 3. How hard will it be to use one of the above plans, which are designed for a Fender tremolo, with a Floyd Rose? 4. Am I just being rediculous by going with the FR Trem here? With no plans that really cover it .. a different size nut and a different bridge setup .. am I just trying to do too much for a first build? Thanks in advance .. everyone has been very helpful here, Evan

Thanks everyone, that was exactly the type of information that I was looking for. I guess I really just wanted to make sure that they were still a solid choice, and that's what it sounds like. Evan

Back in the 80's, it seemed like any time you looked at replacing a pickup you would be looking at DiMarzio's. However, it seems these days like I hear very little about that brand. For example, if I look at the links to sites to buy guitar parts, none of them sell DiMarzio at all. If I go to the DiMarzio site and ask for online stores, I get huge national chains like Guitar Center, Sam Ash, and Musician's Friend. I guess the question is .. I'm in the planning stages for building my first guitar, and the first name I thought of for pickups was DiMarzio. Is that a good choice these days? Thanks, Evan

I always use a mask when woodworking because of allergies. I've made some stuff from turned cocobolo (mostly bottle stoppers and pens) so hopefully it will work out. Thanks, Evan

Is cocobolo suitable for a neck? I know PRS makes rosewood-necked guitars. With all that wood, you could figure out a way to sacrifice one piece for head pieces etc. and cut the other two up for four neck blanks. Well .. Cocobolo is a type of rosewood, and I googled and found quite a few necks made from it. No idea what the properties are, but I'm hoping it's rosewood-ish Doesn't matter really since it will be a long, long time before I try to make a neck from it. Evan

1 would be nice Thanks for the info, Evan

Heh .. when I read that I ran into the other room and took a tape measure to one of my guitars. I guess somehow I always thought that fretboards were longer than that - longer than 24" even (not sure why I thought that). The cocobolo turning stock probably has too much sapwood to use the WHOLE thing for necks, but since I was using it for turning I was ok as long as it was on a corner. How thick should a fretboard be cut from a block like that? Evan

First off, I'm new to this site and forum, so Hi Next, some quick background .. guitar player for 30ish years .. woodturner about 10 years ago until the shop I used closed about 8 years ago. When that happened I wound up with some stock that's been gathering dust now for 8 years. I was curious if any of this would be useful for making a guitar (which is something I'd really like to do). Mostly, I have 3 pieces of Cocobolo measuring 2.5"x2.5"x24" that I planned to turn chess pieces from. I also have a 1"x4"x14" piece of Cocobolo and a 1"x4"x12" piece of Zircote. I'd assume these would be good only for composites at best. There's a small piece, 1"x1"x12" of something labelled "Leadwood" that I'm not familiar with. I remember turning some as a test piece, and it's quite dark and heavy. (Obviously too small for anything .. but curious what it is). Before anyone thinks that I'd use exotic wood for my first guitar build, I would never do that. My plan is to build a guitar first from a purchased (Warmoth probably) body and neck, just to get familiar with the assembly and wiring (something I have zero experience with). After that I'll start thinking about going from scratch and using some of that wood. Thanks in advance, Evan