Batfink

Hey,

According to the Floyd Rose depths diagram, the studs should be on a ledge at one thickness (0.2650") then the rest of the FR route drops down deeper (to 0.44") to allow for pulling up on the trem arm,

Depths,

http://www.floydrose.com/pdf/Floyd%20Rose%20Original_(route%20pattern,%20depths).pdf

Top view,

http://www.floydrose.com/pdf/Floyd%20Rose%20Original_(route%20pattern,%20top%20view).pdf

You can kinda see the ledge the studs are on in this pic,

Do you follow the Floyd Rose dimensions exactly?

On the Stew Mac templates there is no stud ledge, but the saddle area is at one thickness and they have a second template for routing a deeper recess just for the back end of the bridge, here you can see the two different templates that overlap to create a recessed FR,

That works but if the saddle section isn't routed deep enough the plate could hit the bottom of the route, with the stud ledge there is less chance of that happening as the route is at a shallower depth for less time before the deeper recess.

Or do you just route the whole thing at the full recessed depth and just not screw the pivot bolts into the body studs as far to create the same bridge height?

This is the simplest way but if the pivot bolts aren't screwed in as far they may wiggle a bit more than if the studs were at a shallower depth,

Is it a small enough difference not to worry about it?

OK Neil, seeing as you asked:

1)...if you have the Stew Mac routing template - chuck it in the bin. I don't know who came up with that but chances are they had modifying a standard Strat in mind, it's fiddly, confusing, not very well thought out and urges you to take more wood out than you need to.

2)...buy a Kahler if you play like a pansy. If you're used to a Floyd a Kahler gives the same feel as deleted by mod

OK, from the image you posted it would sort of work but i'd not make the ledge quite as wide as you can get the base plate hitting it before the fine tuners are at their full depth so it'll try to pull the base plate away from the studs. You can champher this transition to help ease the situation or as i said earlier, just start the deeper route a little closer to the studs but leave around 1/8" between the edge of the stud and the new depth.

As for having the whole route at the same depth - not the best idea and will depend on exactly how deep you need to be. Having the studs half way up their travel isn't ideal as you've indicated.

The main thing you need to consider depth wise is the height your neck sits from the body, obviously if you have the chance to reduce the heel depth then you have the chance to reduce the depth of your floyd route.

If you have anything specific send me a PM on the UKGB forum as i rarely log into the mail address that PG is connected to.

I'm with you, i never used them so invariably don't put one on unless the guy ask's for one.

Well, i don't know about the guitar version but every bass player i've met who has the bass version (which they've been making for years) say it's the absolute dogs nuts and most have retired any basses that don't have one.

I don't like turbo fan compressors one little bit and i've never seen anyone in the automotive trade ever touch one with a 10 foot pole. For that sort of coin i'd lean more towards a decent gun like a Devilbiis Sri or a Sata Minijet and a normal compressor, it'll be a lot more versitile and give you better results in the long run.

Oh, and as for painting your house i'd follow Maggotbrain's advice and do it the normal way, it'd be much quicker.

And one last thing, if you do decide on buying a pro spec gun do not, in any circumstances, put household paint through it. The pigments and carriers are no where near as refined as 'proper' paint and it'll do the gun no favours at all.

Yep, January 2011 VAT will be 20% in a vague attempt to claw back some of the money that Tony and Gordon pissed up the wall

India ink isn't very lightfast which means it'll fade quite quickly (and probably come off on your hands as well)

One word - Longevity.

If you gig on a regular basis you'd be amazed how quickly certain import guitars can deconstruct themselves. Hardware and electrics are well documented but the worse thing, to my mind, is strap buttons that pull out with the 'wood' (i'm being kind here) being so crap that i've ended up drilling a 13mm hole out so i can plug it with something that will actually hold a screw. For plinking around in your bedroom fine, but if you're planning on some hard work consider how your image suffers when your guitars constantly break down and how annoyed your lead guitarist (your's truely) gets fixing the shyte all the time !

It depends on the type of rod you'll be using. Most 'two way' rods, like Stew Macs Hotrods, use a flat channel but 'traditonal' single anchor rods need a curved channel.

Or even: http://www.john-boddy-timber.ltd.uk and that's round the corner from you

The Schaller floyd's have shorter string locks so if you plan to recess it the OFR string locks won't fit in the recess. You can obviously overcome this by moving the template but check, if you are going to recess it, that the string locks fit the recess before you paint it.

A wide surround of 'fill' could look a bit scrappy, why not use corian - it's cheap and would be much easier to get a defined outline.

Well, EBMM seem to be behind it: http://www.ernieball.com/email/roasted_maple/index.html

Gotoh copy - do yourself a favour and buy the Gotoh one, absolutely no issues.

And if nothing else the Floyd template from Stew Mac's is a pile of arse !

No problem.

Acetone evaporates very quickly.

You've got that right. I used some to show the grain for someone and by the time i put down the rag and picked up the camera it was all but gone. Tried again and i still wasn't quick enough so grabbed some lighter fluid instead as it does evaporate slower.

Not that i've seen but the importers over here are WD Music (just checked the US company site and they don't appear to carry Gotoh). Try to find the importer and fire them a mail, you never know, they might have a couple kicking around.

I've got a couple i could let you have but snail mail from London to Texas could take a while

Mind you have you tried it with only two of the existing springs ? I've made a couple of guitars for Kevon Dillard over there (the Intellishred and Arpeggio Madness auther) and he only uses 2 springs and i've used just normal strat springs and it's not like it's all floppy (!?*!?*).

Personally i use three but i'm a divebomber as oppossed to Kevin who's a flutterer......(and also 300 times a better player than me)

I'll chuck in my feelings here:

Firstly what are you planning to do with the top bearing bit ? I mainly use mine for the final finishing of cavities so this makes the shorter bit the sensible choice for me as some of the cavities are barely an inch deep if that. If you are thinking of using the bit for the final shaping bodies against a template then the deeper bit is the obvious choice. To be honest i've got a 1/2" and an 1" one and if you can afford it i'd say get both - both have their uses and merits.

As for the drawknife. I have no experience with one as stuff like that scares the **** out of me but, if you're confident in it's use then why not. You probably won't be able to be so precise with it as oppossed to a spokeshave but you could get pretty damn near to your target and then change to rasp's and abrasives which is what i do using a spokeshave anyway.

Oh, just for info i only have a flat soled spokeshave, with a round sole i may negate some of the final shaping i do with rasp and paper but chances are you'll still have to break the stuff out at some point.

Remember, there's no 'one' way to do things when it comes to stuff like this and different methods work for different people.

I use Lechler 2 part automotive clear all the time and nobody's come back with any issue's. And as Bionic Dave says, nothing is totally UV resistant but as long as you don't hang it in a window for years you shouldn't have an issue.

No, you don't have to have 3 springs, i know a few players who only use two but if you're used to playing with the tension of three you'll have to modify your playing technique.

The springs that Gotoh supply with their 1996 Floyd's are stronger than 'normal' strat springs but they are also about 1/4" shorter which may or may not be a problem for you.

Sold for £127 (around $180 Usd at todays rate) although i'd have to say if i'd brought that little lot half of it would be destined for the bin.

I use acetone - don't know how right or wrong that is but i've never had any issues.

Acetone will melt plastic and some finishes. So it would be fine for wiping off an unfinished guitar assuming there are no plastic bindings.

I only use is as a pre paint - can't say i've ever had the call to use it, or anything else, at any other time.

Fantastic! I have had a couple of great A10s that I loved, but I wished I had one without a trem :-\

Always good watching your work!

Did they make them without trems?

Most i've seen are fixed bridge.

I use acetone - don't know how right or wrong that is but i've never had any issues.

Reasonably priced - for a change.