86barettaguy

ok, seems I'm closing in on the date for the modification to take place... how does this sound then: I'll use a drill press and make the hole using a standard 10 mm drill bit (maybe I should be getting a brand new bit just for this operation). I could also use a 10 mm router bit. I'll then use a hammer and a small piece of wood to press the bushings down into the body. will this work? is there any chance of the wood splitting, turning my oh so fine guitar into just another piece of wood? sorry to be going on and on and on about this project, but I'd rather be a pain in your asses than screwing this one up.

I'm working on my project kramer/allparts mutt and just yesterday I got the unfinished maple neck I ordered from allparts (through "my" luthier who modded it for a locking nut). Now I need to find a way of keeping it from warping. I'm not looking to have any high-gloss finish or anything flashy, I just want it to stay straight. Plus it's kinda tight in the neck pocket so I don't think I want to put on a ridiculous amount of finish there... so, here's what I would like to know: I've heard about people using oil for their necks? what kinds of oil would work? any that would probably be easier to get than others? what kind of finish could I use? any that I could easily find in a store? would I need to do anything to the neck before I oil/finish her?

ok, someone told me to use a reamer for making the holes larger (I'm still cursing allparts for not having drilled 10 mm straight holes). problem is, I don't know what a reamer looks like (or even what it's called in swedish). could anyone help me with this?

25/64? that's what I've been recommended for the threaded inserts for my floyd posts! anyone know what metric size that would be?

got the neck for my project today. mmmm.... maple... anyway, it's an allparts neck and last time I looked in a catalog it said that the holes for the tuners were 10mm. But something's fishy. the hole is one diameter at one side and another at the other side (it's smaller at the rear). My old Gotoh tuners won't fit! I guess I'll have to use the drill (what drills should I be using?) if I want to use my Gotoh tuners... But maybe there are tuners that will fit without any modifications? anyone know? I'm starting to think this will be my #1 for a long time...

maybe I should be using the wood-screw posts for a while just to get it going (don't know when I will be able to re-size the holes). The recessed part of the holes for each screw is oversized (the post is only supported by the threaded part of the hole from what I can see). what effect will this have on stability? will the holes deform as a result? hate it when mistakes like these seem to be made at the factory of a high-end guitar-manufacturer...

did you check GMF (www.gmf.se)? they have the threaded bushing posts. you don't have to order these things from the US you know.

except welding 2 different pieces of metal is a very bad move unless you actually want one of them to corrode (it's always fun to see how people wonder why their creation made from a combination of brass, aluminum and stainless steel is falling apart ). when it comes to wood, I can't see any real problems as long as the wood is dry. glue is more useful than people may think.

I know I would like a tutorial on how to repair a body with a great big nasty hole chopped out of it in a less than strategic position (everyone who has seen the pics of my strat body know what I mean). so obviously I voted for woodworking. finishing is interesting. definitely something we'd all like to know more about. I'm considering using an unfinished neck but don't know how to keep it from twisting etc. over the years, so maybe something on how to get the best of both worlds here? and then we have electrics. changing pickups is something we do all the time to all of our guitars, right? so maybe some pointers for those of us who aren't very experienced and always manage to mess it all up? ADMIN EDIT- Lets keep it clean.

amazing. whenever I see a strat built from scratch I think "hey, I want to do that, only slightly different". then I realize I don't have the money etc. and go "oh ****, well, guess I'll settle for that parts guitar I'm working on, even if it's not gonna be a YJM strat..." I don't suppose you got some pics from the building process?

meanwhile, everyone else (Jackson, ESP, EB/MM, Peavey, Kramer etc.) seem to have done nicely without locking studs. I'm guessing that's why Ibanez got rid of them. they were over-engineered. it's not a stupid move, it's a smart move. we won't notice any difference in performance. at least I won't. then again, maybe you notice a difference in tuning stability between a Jackson SL1 and an Ibanez JEM7VWH?

nope, a Floyd Rose style trem is a floating trem unless you block it. The recessed route is only a way of lowering the trem into the body and giving a wider range for pulling up on the trem. It really annoys me that so many people don't know the difference between "floating" and "recessed". I've come across people who know just about everything about their floyd but still think that "non-recessed" means "non-floating"...

I have access to a drill press. doing it freehand would probably result in a messup similar to what I did to my strat... when you say "wood cutting bit", are you talking about those really flat bits?

but you get a lot of sex!

I'm considering installing new trem posts in one of my floyd guitars. As it is, it's routed for the wood-screw type and I'm thinking I should install threaded bushings instead. Does anyone have any tips on how to do this? what kind of drill bits to use etc.? we wouldn't happen to have any tutorials on this would we?

I think it'll be a lot more work radically changing the shape of a strat than just making a new body. and there's a great risk that you'll **** up and end up with a thrashed guitar (like I did).

a question on the topic: is it important to pick the right piece of wood? I mean, I've heard of people going out knocking on those pieces of wood to find the ones that give the best tone. sounds like voodoo to me, but I don't really know? because if that's something you have to think about it's suddenly a whole lot harder to get the correct wood from the sawmill (unless you can actually see/hear the difference between two pieces of alder or whatever)...

I'm thinking a simple version of that machine would come in handy some day. it definitely would simplify the process of copying a body... I think I'll have to start designing a simple rig for doing just that...

I prefer volutes. they just add to the feeling that the guitar won't break if you're a tad careless. and they're attractive. 80´s kramer necks with the pointy headstocks are just among the most beautiful necks I've seen with the combination of a volute and bolt-through-neck FR nut

I've done one of those improvised jobs... very painful experience... but having done that, I'm more concerned about whether or not the holes for the posts will come too close to the bridge pickup rout with an SSS-routed body (I managed to get way too close because I didn't measure that 4th time). mainly a "will it hold up to 10+ years of use?" kind of thing

why would he have to angle the headstock?

just wondering if anyone here has done a successful floyd conversion to a strat and if there are pics or anything of it

I'm buying the neck. don't have the guts to try and make one. haven't decided which way to go concerning the body though. of course it would be fun to make it myself, but a pro could do a better job, especially with the neck pocket and the trem cavity. of course, I could construct a jig to get all the routings in the correct positions. but I could still screw up with the bandsaw and end up with a slightly narrow heel (which may look alright, but I'd now it was there). btw, I have made a body template and it came out weird. like, if I attach it to the body I copied, it's almost exact (a bit oversized in every area except for the heel which was traced with a bit more accuracy). but when I attach the neck to the template (there are 2 holes in the template corresponding to the neck screw holes in the body) it seems the heel is a bit narrow (while the body heel is just a little tad wider than the neck) or maybe the neck is angled compared to the centerline, I'm not sure which is correct. could anyone tell me what's happening there?

nah, it's the "where do I start in order to keep me busy for a while". I think I just answered my question...