Claptonfreak

Thanks for the info, the step by step build is going to be really helpful, but he's keeping his templates and plans to himself unfortunately.

Maybe you should email this guy, because his '59 replica build is one of the most impressive bits of work I've ever seen!

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot...paul-build.html

I'm looking for someone willing to make/copy a set of '59 or Standard Les Paul templates. I'm aware of guitarbuildingtemplates.com, i'm looking for alternatives.

I'm lookin for a 1994 Epiphone Les Paul. If you have one you're willing to let go, or you know where I can get one please PM me.

Does anyone have CAD drawings or pdf's of a 10-56 v profile for a Strat neck?

I bought a brand new set of lace sensors and a clapton mid boost kit to wire a Clapton style strat but I'm having a bit of a problem with some of the wiring diagrams. Alot of them show the TBX tone pot to be in the middle position, when I remember reading that it is the very bottom pot and acts as a master tone, not the gain control. Does anyone have the correct wiring diagrams for a clapton strat?

It would be nice to know if the neck is a blank or already tapered.

The neck is cut out to shape but it is still flat on both sides. It's not really a big deal since this was just a test neck but I still have to figure out how to get this done. I would leave it as just the slab of wood, cut the frets and then cut out the shape based on that, except a strat neck is over 3" wide and the mitre box only accepts 3" wide material or less.

I just got a fret slotting mitre box and fender fret scale template from stewmac in order to start making my own necks. The problem I am having, I don't know how to align the template to the routed neck blank in order to get an accurate and precise cut. I can understand using this with a fingerboard blank but I can't wrap my head around the setup for a one piece neck. I know it can be done, I've seen it before. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks alot, that's exactly what I was looking for. I needed something to do shaping on figured woods without risking tearout.

I once saw a tool that was almost like a robo sander, except instead of using sandpaper it had a stainless steel, perforated drum that took shavings of wood out. I can't remember what this was called or where I found it. Any ideas?

I'm aging a finish on a strat neck for someone and he asked me a very good question. If I apply amber tinted lacquer over the neck, will it affect the logo decal and serial number, and by how much? I've applied decals before but I don't recall ever using a tinted color to do it, so I have no idea about this procedure. Any experience in this area?

I've played one before and the neck feels pretty standard, may be a shade thinner.

I'm helping one of my friends build a Jazz Bass for his father, and I was just wondering if anyone had some .dxf's or .dwg's of the body, neck, and cavities.

I'm planning on building a '56/Clapton Strat for myself. I want it to be really accurate so I decided to do alot of research and planning. In the course of all this I found some people who were dissatisfied with the accuracy or quality of the templates offered on guitarbuildingtemplates.com. While evaluating the situation myself, I am also not really enthused about the price and shipping for the templates (I live in Canada) vs. what you get or what you don't get for that matter. So, if anyone else makes a good accurate set of 50's strat templates, either laser cut or CNC it doesn't matter, send me a PM and we'll discuss it.

hey there

i plan to route a channel on my solid body guitar thats about 5mm wide and 8mm deep. on top of that, i need to route 2mm deep around the channel to fit a cover to conceal the channel.

can i use a dremmel to get this done? what are some of the precautions that i should take to ensure a relatively smooth route?

thanks

If you have a dremmel with a good base that you can keep on a straight path somehow there's really no reason you shouldn't be able to. High speeds on the dremmel and shallow passes should ensure a clean route.

The answer with standard router technology is no. I've seen CNC pictures where body blanks have been placed on the table and routed into a body, but that's different. With a table router or plunge router you're going to have to take multiple passes to avoid blow outs and burns. Why would you do that when you could take all that excess away with a single pass of a bandsaw or jigsaw?

Feeler gauges aren't originally guitar building tools. Any millwright, mechanic or welder will have a set. You should be able to find some at any place that sells those kind of supplies.

I recently gained access to a CNC machine and I was wondering if anybody had any 50's Strat CNC files that they could send me.

I order my sandpaper from Stewmac, I use the micromesh stuff. Lacquers I get from all over the place, Watco is a good Nitro Lacquer and you can find it at Rona. You can get sealers and tints at Rona as well

when i first started out i bought a few templated from gbt.com (tele, mosrite ventures, firebird and 335) and every one of those was useable but considerably different in scale/size to originals i referenced from. i wasn't trying to make perfect replicas so it didn't bother me so much. this isn't meant to be a stab at them but something to keep in mind.

the centerlines were just perfect tho. their precision gave me shivers!!

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I was actually most interested in the bridge/neck pocket placement parts of the template. I'll probably do most of my own body shaping to match a 56 strat.

U guys think there is enough wood-to-wood contact on a strat to use just glue, no screws?

No there is not, Strat necks are loose by nature and some imitators can be even worse. If you wanted to build a strat capable of housing a glue on neck, you would have to get a slightly undersize neck pocket template.

What are some good sources of 6105 size fretwire (CW .090, CH .055), It doesn't have to be dunlop, just the right size. And preferably with reasonable shipping to Canada.

PS - I've already tried Luthiers mercantile.

I stumbled across Rumpelstiltskin pickups while I was reading some articles on pickups. Has anyone here ever purchased from them?

You can try exoticwoods.com if you haven't already. But the best thing to do is get in touch with a hardwood supplier, I thought with the area I was in was restricted to online orders as well, but I found a dealer in my area that stocks over 160 species of wood in all shapes and sizes. The worst that you will have to do is contact a supplier outside your area and have the wood shipped to you.

My desire for CAD drawn templates isn't about getting exact copies of Strat's, its about being as accurate as possible for things like neck pocket alignment and bridge placement. I'm confident in my woodworking skills, but I would rather have templates made by computers and have everything as exact as possible. It's no secret that with instruments, precision determines quality, so I want to be as precise and accurate as possible, even if it involves buying another template. So, if anyone actually has templates to sell, please let me know.

Dude - if you can't make an accurate centerline on a template, how do you expect to do one on an actual body? You'll need it, you know....

It's not about me making an accurate center line, it's about the overall quality of computer guided vs. handmade. I want the best accuracy possible in my templates. That way the body is as accurate as possible. And I am aware of the necessity of center lines on the actual wood, that is why I want these computer drawn templates, for things like the neck, you can never be too precise.