stratoskier

I used to use Tru Oil over decals, but switched to Krylon Crystal Clear satin spray and have had much better results. The satin seems to flow better than the gloss version and is closer to what I see on original finishes. Start with a few very light coats, let dry and move to heavier coats. I've found that 3 heavy coats per day for 2-3 days is sufficient, with light sanding between 2nd and 3rd days.

Personally, I would actually feel more comfortable removing wood from the neck heel than routing the pocket deeper. Getting a perfectly flat (and level) plane in the pocket can be tricky, especially when you're dealing with a contoured top on the guitar. Also, don't forget that you may also be able to raise that Edge bridge slightly. With a little compensation in all 3 areas (neck heel, slightly deeper body route, and raising the bridge), I would think you could correct for the additional 3/16" height.

This doesn't directly answer your question about the minimum allowable thickness, but for reference I checked a couple of my Ibanez AANJ style (no plate) heels. Those are all about 1" thick below the neck pocket. The only exception was the very slim S-style bodies, which have a thickness of about 13/16"

I suspect that no one responded because I recently started a thread in the Solid body forum related to the same topic (that is, how to add a couple of frets to an electric guitar neck). I got some very good input there and I would think that the same principles would apply to an acoustic guitar. The bottom line was that most folks recommended replacing all or a significant portion of the fretboard .... or not doing it at all. There were some other creative solutions as well.

Ah -- so true. A couple of good suggestions there. I particularly like SwedishLuthier's recommendation although I know that I would have to pay someone else to complete the refret and fret finishing work, as I have neither the skills nor the tools. I'll have to ponder this. I was surprised to learn how difficult it is to obtain a 24-fret maple board neck -- that combo just isn't available in a "pre-fab" neck. Actually, I think Eden probably sells them, but their repuation precedes them and I'll pass on the gawdy vine or dragon inlays, thank you. This was intended to be a cheap, side project but we know how that goes. Once I'm into something, I'd like to see it turn out well. Thanks again to everyone for their input -- all suggestions are appreciated! Bert

Oh, I know -- I was just making a lame joke. Wezv, I hadn't thought of doing it the way you suggested, but I see that what you're describing would be the proper way to do it. I was thinking more along of the lines of attaching a ~1-1/2" piece (probably stolen from another dead neck) directly onto the end. Doing it that way, it'd be just my luck to be soloing at some high profile venue, reaching for the glory note, and the end of the fretboard makes a sickening crack and flies into the crowd. Hendrix could probably have made that look cool, but I'm not sure I'd get away with it...

OK -- I believe we have one vote for "ridiculous idea"...

Hi, OK -- this is a really weird, likely bad, idea, but perhaps someone here has tried this. I recently picked up an old Ibanez RT body as discussed in another thread. The body has a standard strat heel, with allowance for a long fretboard extension (shallow route to accomodate frets 22-24). In the previous thread, I was considering mounting a 22-fret neck on it and maybe moving the neck pup up to the usual location. Now I've reconsidered and decided to stick with a 24 fret neck, as the body was originally equipped with. But... The original necks on the RTs were rosewood board "Vipers" -- very strat-like. I'd like something similar with a maple board. I've found that maple board 24-fret necks are not easy to come by, or at least not anything with a vintage profile. There are plenty of Ibanez Wizard and Wizard IIs around, but those are flat, wide and skinny. I checked around and the usual sources (Allparts, Mighty Mite...) don't sell maple board 24-fret necks. USACG won't make one. Warmoth will custom build for around $220, as will several small luthiers. I have a number of great 22-fret necks around and am wondering if it's possible to pin/screw/glue a fretboard extension onto one of those necks. I recall (from a very long time ago) that Brad Gillis did this to add another fret to his 21-fret strat. It seems like this should be possible given the various high tech glues available. Anyone ever tried this, or is it just a ridiculous idea? Cheers, Bert

Yes, AANJ is a big improvement but there are some builders who feel it doesn't provide enough stability. For example, although Suhr's recent neck joint design appears superficially similar to the AANJ, I think he said that internally the neck and body are "locked" together with some interlocking design. There was a thread here awhile back (or was it over on the Gear Page?) that depicted the many different types of neck joint options. It was interesting to see all the elaborations on the basic AANJ concept to improve neck access. Bert

If averngers63 isn't able to help you out, Warmoth sells routed body blanks. You use their "Body Builder" to specify wood type, pickup and trem selection, neck routing, etc. What you get is a big ol' rectangle of wood with most everything done but the body shape and jack input.

I can understand your skepticism. I've pretty much always been a 22-fret guy (though I have a couple of other 24-fret Ibanez RT guitars) and really prefer the sound of a single coil in the standard strat location. Yes, there has been much debate about whether or not having the pickup situated directly under the 24-fret node really makes a difference or not. I'm one of those who thinks it does make a difference whether playing an open or fretted note. BUT... I'm not enough of a purist that I wouldn't consider putting another 24-fret neck on there, especially a maple board one. The problem is that I have three 22-fret, square heel Ibanez necks and no 24-fretters. There are lots of 24 fret Ibanez necks for sale, but most are the thin Wizard or Wizard II's and I like a beefier neck profile than that. The RT's had Viper necks which are terrific necks, but it's rare to find a used one of those. I priced out a Warmoth neck and they're around $275, a little high for this project.

Thanks for the replies so far. The scale won't change -- it'll remain 25-1/2" with either neck as the heel route location is standard. The shallow route between the heel and the humbucker is to accomodate the long fretboard extension. And yes, I planned to glue in some wood blocks to fill in both the fretboard trough and the unused humbucker cavity.

Hi, I picked up an Ibanez RT body that originally had a 24-fret neck with a standard heel and a long overhang. It also had a neck humbucker. For several reasons (basically I have several 22-fret necks and prefer single coils in the neck position), I'm considering converting it to a 22-fret with neck single coil. There are no problems with bolting up the 22-fret neck as the route is standard. However, replacing the humbucker with a single coil is getting into tricky terrain. As seen in the pics, the body has a deep lower cutaway. I would need to extend the route toward the neck about 1/2". The sides of the new route would come about 1/4" to 3/8" from the nearest part of the lower cutaway. I'm wondering if you folks think this would be a very poor idea. I could alternatively position the single coil within the existing humbucking cavity, but that would place it about 1/2" out of the customary "sweet spot" for a neck single. Obviously, I'm going to need a custom pickguard for whichever option I go with. Hopefully the pics below will make the situation clear. Any input is appreciated! Thanks, Bert Existing routing (middle of the 3 feint pencils lines is approximate location of new routing): Location of new route to accomodate a single coil in the neck position: Existing routing with 22-fret neck in position:

Late addendum to my previous post: I had a look at the pics for a JS2000 in a new Ebay ad (item #280492350347) and see that the post location for the Edge Fixed is nowhere near the post location for a regular Edge trem. The posts are pretty much directly lateral to the saddles. In fact, the whole route pattern appears to be unlike an Edge. You might find the detailed pics in that listing to be useful. Again, I think the only way to position it correctly would be direct measurement relative to the saddle position for a 25-1/2 scale, or else find someone that owns one to take accurate measurements for you (from bridge side of fret 12 or 22 to center line of posts).

Stew-Mac does have a bridge placement "wizard" for the bridges they sell, which works for many common bridge designs. But the Edge Fixed is a very rare beast, only available on the JS2000 if I remember correctly, but possibly on some other models. I thought, perhaps incorrectly, that the stud placement on that bridge was the same as on other trems in the Edge family, but I could be wrong about that. I don't know what S model you're working with -- originally an Edge or LoPro Edge? If it's a newer S-model that had the ZR, things might be more complicated. Anyway, if I was trying to figure this out, I'd first measure the distance from the center line of the saddle movement range on the Edge Fixed to the center line of the mounting posts. Then compare that to the same distance on the original bridge to see if you need to relocate the studs. Also, Rich Harris (Ibanez Rules) is probably the only guy who could tell you for sure if the stud location matches up on the Edge Fixed and the original bridge.

Hmm... I hadn't thought of that, but I do have 3 of one kind to make. The other 2 are one-offs. Where the heck do all these covers disappear to, anyway? (I guess I should know, given that I have a zip-lock full of them myself, none of which belong to any guitars I currently own!) Bert

I might try this first. BTW -- is there a difference between a jeweller's saw and a coping saw? They appear very similar in the images I found, and I have a coping saw. Is the difference just in the blade type (wood vs metal cutting teeth)? Thanks to all for your advice. Bert

Really? The stuff I got is 2mm (.082") which seems really thick to cut with an x-acto. They had 3 thicknesses, but the thickest seemed closest to most of the cavity covers.

Hi, I ordered some pickguard material (2.0 mm thick) from Stew-Mac to make some replacement control cavity and trem covers for various guitars. Could someone suggest the best way to get clean cuts on this stuff? I was thinking of using the router (with templates) to do it, but I wondered whether the material would melt. If a router is the best option, perhaps someone could recommend a suitable bit for this use. Also, will this destroy the bits for future wood work? BTW -- I don't have access to any fancy shop tools. I'm pretty much a router, dremel, drill and saber saw operation. Thanks, Bert

Hi, I never posted a pic of the completed neck mod, so here it is. I repainted black and cleared over it, but the finish isn't perfect. That doesn't bother me, as this guitar may eventually be refinished, although I kind of like it as a beater. Adding this neck mod really makes all the difference -- now I can comfortably play everything in my repertoire on this guitar without slamming into the block heel. To me, this is as significant an upgrade to a strat as changing pickups, trem, etc. I like it a lot.

One thing that is kind of interesting is that StewMac has a maple fretboard blank peghead neck, but Mighty Mite only seems to sell rosewood ones (MM2916). That's all I can find on the MM site or at any online MM dealer. So maybe StewMac is special ordering the maple board ones from MM. I've read mixed reviews of the MM necks, but it sounds like the recent ones (last year or so) are a major improvement over their older necks.

Interesting -- I didn't expect that. Now I suppose I need to investigate Mighty Mite necks instead. Thanks for the info! Bert

Hi, I need a 22-fret maple board neck for a project. There are many options available in the auctions, but that can be a crap shoot. The Stewart MacDonald "blank peghead" necks ( http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bodies,_necks,...itar_Necks.html ) have all the right options and are a good price ($112). Plus, the idea of dealing with them rather than an unknown seller is appealing. I'm assuming these are import necks, but I would expect that there would be an acceptable level of quality control since Stew-Mac is selling them. The oversized blank headstock is somewhat important, because I'll be cutting this down to match an Ibanez headstock shape. Anyone have any opinions or experience with these necks? Thanks! Bert

By the way, that Warmoth design appears very similar to the heel on the Ibanez JS series or the early (pre-AANJ) RGs and Jems. I considered something like that, but it would require a more extensive refinish job. I'll probably try it the next time I completely strip one, though.

OK - the shaver and sander are ready to rock! You know, this is one part of the traditional strat/tele design that just makes no sense to me. Pretty much everyone I know that has tried one of the new heel designs has been hooked. I'm inclined to think that it didn't make much of a difference in Leo's era because players didn't spend much time at the uppermost frets. But most modern players wander up there pretty regularly and that blastest big block lies right on a collision course. Also, it's interesting that Fender's contoured heel only shows up in a few models -- I would have expected more demand for it. Anyway, now that I realize what an easy mod this actually is, I may even do it on another one. Thanks for the input! Bert