javacody

Whatever you do, you need to make sure that the veneered top and back match the sides of the body, otherwise its going to look very wrong. I can clearly make out the veneer from your new photos.

This would work much better with a Nitro finished guitar.

I'm not sure what type of strat body that is, but based on the paint job (the black in the burst extends into the contour on the back of the guitar body, sure sign of a veneer, at least for Fender) and the photos you've shown, it is veneered. You might have some problems there if you go through the veneer, it won't look right.

Darren, obviously, you are single. LOL

I need to invest in hearing protection and a better dust collection system before I get much further into this.

How long is it? I've heard that bocote is good for a neck and it doesn't need a finish. I love the feel of raw wood necks.

This looks like a good starting point:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/schem...l_tone_spl.html

Throw in a couple of push/pull or push/push pots for added fun.

Here are a couple of other links for you (from the main pg site):

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/menu.php

http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/categor...pickupdiagrams/

You can buy bosch collets separately? I'll have to look around for them.

Lookin good so far. Did you do the neck?

exhaust_49, I don't think its the intonation. If you are talking a real vintage wrap-around, they are made out of aluminum, have a unique break angle from the bridge, and have a different body attachment mechanism than the TOM. I think this accounts for what you are hearing. I agree though, there is something magical about one of those bridges and p90's in a vintage LP Jr or Special (or Goldtop too!).

That is a great looking piece of walnut. I'm in the US. Most of our walnut seems considerably darker than that.

I read somewhere about a guy who uses guitar strings a size larger than his intended gauge to cut his nut. He would use the string as a blade in a mini-hacksaw.

Mothers-in-law are fun, eh? There's no winning there. Just surrender and you'll save yourself years of trouble. If you can get your mother-in-law on your side, it can make things quite a bit easier. I've learned to bite my tongue since I've gotten married. Of course, not at first. What a mistake.

humbuckr, I've used split buckers before, and they get a passable single coil sound, but you'll be missing most of the sparkle of a strat (IMHO). A single in the middle would give you this, plus the in between sounds would be more "quacky". You could set it up so you can combine the middle single with either the neck or bridge humbucker, or a single coil in one of those positions.

Cool body shape! Have you considered a single coil in the center to get closer to the single coil strat sound?

Would you mind if I borrowed this shape to do a LP Jr type guitar?

Rob, that looks great for a first or any guitar build! Good work. I look forward to the finished guitar.

I got my grubby little hands on this tool. Thanks for the tip johnsilver! While I was there, I also picked up enough wood for 2 birdseye maple strat necks and a rosewood tele neck. We'll see how these microplane tools work on these two somewhat difficult woods. I'm wondering if the rosewood will blunt the microplane tool and wondering if I'll see any tearout on the birdseye maple?

sumphead, how is it noise wise? Are their claims of lower noise correct?

Yeah, Steve is a machinist and he builds those parts as replacements on vintage guitars. They are are exacting duplications made in the USA, hence the expense. You can buy close enough pieces made in china for a fraction, but if you've got a 59 Les Paul or a 56 Gold Top, then you probably want the best pieces money can buy. $125.00 is nothing compared to the value of the guitar. Also, it turns out that most historic owners are willing to pay just about anything for vintage correct parts. That's not why Steve does it however, this price probably barely covers his labor. How many of you manufacture bridges? Would you give your labor for free? How would you feed your family? Please think before posting.

Also, Steve again is a machinist, not a luthier or guitar repairman. He can make exact duplicates of any metal or plastic part, but his expertise does not extend to custom guitar building, nor does he claim to.

Can you guess, Steve is a friend of mine?

It could be a problem, but it's much better for it to be too small rather than too big. I've heard others recommend removing all finish from the pocket and I've also heard of others recommending removing finish from the neck heel where it comes in contact with the pocket. If you do some searching on this and other forums, I'm sure you can find a wealth of info.

I just bought a new Hitachi router to replace my $25 ebay special. What a piece of crap that was. Got my feet wet with it, though. This new hitachi seemed comparable to the bosch and looked and felt hella lot better than the SKIL. Here's a link to the router I got:

Hitachi router at lowes

Anyone else use one of these guys?

Edit:

Here's a link to Hitachi's site:

Hitachi US site,

One thing I noticed is that this router is supposed to be fairly quite (as far as routers go). My ebay POS special was deafeningly loud.

Oh, I meant on swamp ash (no maple). Swamp ash in transluscent green looks really, really nice.

Or one could have downloaded one of the free cad files out there and measured off of that.

Limba, Tiger-eye (but amber is a very, very close second), and p90's. Then, mahagany, another color, and vintage chrome buckers. Then swamp ash and 3 single coils, maybe in green?

Guitarfrenzy, your comment pushed me over the edge. I was at the Woodsmith shop today and saw a Delta 9" saw for $99 bucks and went home with it. I've got it put together and my job this weekend is to follow the manual very carefully and set it up.

Thanks to everyone for your advice and sharing your experiences. I appreciate it!

While I was there, I also picked up a flush cut saw, a two handed Microplane shaper for making necks, two pieces of birdseye maple (only $13!!) and a piece of indian rosewood (only $11!), all neck sized blanks. I love that store. I wish I could live there.

Ron, that is so cool of you to drop in like this. Your work has inspired lots of guys. I'm realling jonesing for an inlaid top and a white rosewood fretboard. And your purfling is really, really cool. I feel like Wayne and Garth...

We're not worthy, we're not worthy!

thegarehanman, wow! Those pictures really do the guitar much more justice. I love your wood choices. That white rosewood fretboard is so cool, I can't even find words to do it justice. Where the heck can I get some of that?

Those sperzels rock too. I can't wait to use some on my next guitar build.