Razbo

Hi. I picked up a Fender Squier for a price I couldn't refuse. I presume that massive control/pick up cavity in the Squier is a significant structural difference with a "real" Strat. My question is, do you think it would be worth doing a glue-in with a block of left over Ash to fill in a lot of that cavity? Would I gain much sustain or tonal quality, do you think?

I'm surprised you did not put a guide on the jig, but hats off to to your bravery! Cutting the slots was the one thing I did not trust myself on for the first build, so I got mine pre-slotted. I think on my next one I will still be too chicken and buy the StewMac set up so I can at elast say I cut them myself.

I can only speak for the 24 3/4 scale pre-slotted board I got from from Stew Mac, but it was not actually 24 3/4. I thought maybe it was either a compensated 24 3/4 or maybe 24 9/16, but when I queried StewMac about bridge placement, they said go with actual physical scale of the fretboard, which I did. (Guitar is not completed, so can't say how that's worked out, yet.) This suggests that whatever it worked out to vs. other guitars, go with the physical object you have created there and base bridge placement on that. Maybe your software is working out some kind of compensation which leaves it a little different from other (theoretically) same scales?

I did it sans drill at first. (Yet another template to add to the stack.) Then I did have to use the drill after the initial opening to make room for the jack plug to extend up into the body. (I just went in with 2 * 3/8 holes side by side, then cleaned it out.) The upper part of the hole needed to be routed quite deep. I will have to think of some way to make an angled template and which tool(s) in which order might make a nice, neat opening. It would work with an extra long router bit (to come in on a 45 degree angle let say), but I have not seen one that long. Might be a bit tricky, though I regularly "plunge" by rocking the router over on it's edge with no trouble. Should be much the same coming in at an angle like that.

I am just checking for any tips before I drill a hole for this jack plate. Just drill it out? Any clever tricks to use? I could make a template and rout it, I suppose. Maybe that would be better.

I might actually use a coping saw to get the ends of the bits that go toward the horns. Good idea. As far as the overall process, I am going by StewMac's info on how to do it. http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Pickguards/i-5243.html They call it a pickguard bevel, but it's just a chamfer bit. Well, I do need one anyway... Thanks for the input!

Couldn't find much specific info in a search. Does anyone have any comments on these points, or can direct me to a post on pick guards? 1) I don't have a bandsaw, so am going to use a fine-toothed jigsaw blade to rough cut the shape. This vigorous cutting method is not going to shatter the material or anything is it? 2) When I rout the edge, what sort of router speed should I be looking at? I was thinking too fast would heat it and melt it, but too slow would slow the cut, leaving the bit on the same spot longer and also causing some melt. 3) I don't have a chamfer bit, so will use my roundover bit. I think it will still make the layers stand out ok. 4) On an inside edge, it is going to be right up against the mounting ring for one of my pick ups. Do you think I should round this part over, or make it a straight cut? (It's W/B/W layers.)

Try doing a websearch on Exotic Woods + YourCity (or variation thereof). I did recently and found a store very near me I never knew was there. I still have to to go have a look around, but based on their website and a quick phone call, it is quite promising.

Speaking of SamaN stains, I am using some SamaN Wood filler to correct a minor routing mishap. Has anybody used this? (Wood filler at the very bottom) https://ssl.sogetel.net/aquashine/boutique_...touche_bois.asp I am attempting to use water based products wherever possible. I've never use this SamaN Wood Filler before, but it is much easier to work with than regular wood filler I have used. Dries harder than Ash to my (super-scientific) fingernail test, but feels a little chalky to rub my fingertip on it, so applying the shielding paint might be a concern. I will post my result. Since you ask, I was routing the trem spring cavity. I can't see through the router base, so was working blind within the template I'd made. I saw the depth ring on the router had loosened and was moving freely, but thought the bolt clamp would still be holding everything in position. Then I noticed I seemed to be still taking out wood in spots I'd already done. So I had this random 1/8th channel cut in the bottom of the cavity. Nothing major and no one would see it, but I would always know it was there, so it needed fixing. No better area to test an unknown product I guess.

I will try my next session with some coarser grit, although I am halfway there. I don;t get much time to work on it, so 10 hours means about 2 weeks of build time Excellent suggestion to use a guide. Thanks for the replies!

I am radiusing after having attached the FB to the neck. Just seemed easier to work with once attached to something more substantial. Otherwise, that is the order I am proceeding in as well, so you have given me some reassurance. (My first build obviously.) Now I don;t mean to hijack this thread, but I have a related question and this is the closest topic I could find. I am in the process of radiusing said fretboard (rosewood) and it is taking a loong time. Maybe I am impatient, because I am only used to working with softwoods, but still, it seems excessive. So, my question is: is it reasonably safe to use some coarser grit sandpaper to get things close to shape? I would have thought the obvious answer was yes, but nowhere I read do I see anyone mention grits less than about 300. I am being pretty adventurous already using 120, but it's still taking hours and hours to do this. And what I am actually working with is a 12" radius I am trying to flatten a bit to 14", so it really shouldn't be that bad. Was using coarser grits just too obvious for anybody to have mentioned, or am I missing some technique, or does it really take like 10 hours to radius a fretboard?

I am in the middle of my first build and, all I can do is second what has already been said. As far as your second question, have you actually priced out what it is going to cost to accomplish your first goal? You are speaking of replacing every part but the body wood. I put together a list for the absolutely cheapest guitar I could build via StewMac prices and the body was still less than 1/3 of the total cost. If that old guitar is plywood or something, maybe it is actually the neck you want to save?

Hi. I am a noob on my first build, so take this for what that may be worth. On the point of shaving the neck vs. adjusting the pocket, whether to do that might depend on if you were ever going to put in a different neck. If you standardized, you could interchange necks at will. From what I have read, always adjust the pocket, not the neck. For angle, I am as paranoid as can be and don't trust my own measurements, so my plan (not done yet) is to clamp the neck to the body and string the two outside strings. (Carefully, using a radiused caul fitting between the strings.) This should permit me to get a perfect alignment, double check the scale length to nut, and get a tracing around the neck for the slot. I saw an idea to actually clamp guides to the body against the neck at that point. Then remove the neck and use them as the router guides (template) for a theoretically perfect fit. I got a new PC and lost my bookmark, though

There is a danger that it might go in the chuck crooked. Brad points are a good answer for wandering bits.

Thanks for the reply. It was a dumb question, I guess. I will just make sure it's not touching and go for it. It's my first build, so everything has been a learning experience so far anyway.

Sorry if this is not the correct forum to post this question... To make a long story short, the truss rod adjustment end protrudes from my neck end about 3/8 inch. (It's a body end adjustment access.) When I position the neck pick up (single coil) do I need to be concerned about how close it is to the TR end? Would it pick up any/more noise from being too close to that metal "antenna"? Is there a minimum distance I should observe? On a somewhat related note, every other metal part on the guitar seems to be grounded, except the truss rod. I realize it is outside the circuit created by the strings, the physically touching and the "magnetically connected" parts, but wouldn't it still have some field of influence?

Nice! How come I never get lucky like that?

That looks really nice. I hope mine turns out half as well.

I guess I will have to make a recess no matter what. If it is to float, then it needs room to do that. I will start with a 1/8 rout that will also house the pins. Then the pins can bring it back up level with the surface of the body. With 1 3/4 to work with, I don't have any play room at all.

Glad I could help somebody out! Most forums seem to have this 'search before you ask' idea on things. Not pointing a finger at this one in any way, it just gets to be habit.

Hm, do you really make the nuts with just a triangle file for slotting? Not a pocket full of specially sized files? Reason I ask is so I know if I can also get away with that or if I ought to plan on that expense (set of files) for my next build. TIA!

I did look at this and you give me (at least an implied) recomendation that it is accurate. I'm full of fear at actually drilling or cutting the body yet, so I was looking for every cross-referencing measurement I could find. I shall place my trust in the guitar gods.... And thanks for this link!! I've been building templates off FR Original specs, making mods where it seemed appropriate. Of course, 'schaller.com' is just an ad site. Neck is all done, and body shape is cut, but I've been procrastinating anything further. Now, I'm running out of delays. The cutting soon will commence! I have used the Stew Mac calculator before and it works but I always double check before I cut/drill. I usually use the actual bridge and a pair of veneer calipers to check measurements. If you don't have the actual bridge the schematic drawing should be your reference. Good luck! Yay! A cross reference. Good idea Those schematics will help greatly. Better than trying to span points across varied heights with my calipers and be accurate.

I did look at this and you give me (at least an implied) recomendation that it is accurate. I'm full of fear at actually drilling or cutting the body yet, so I was looking for every cross-referencing measurement I could find. I shall place my trust in the guitar gods.... And thanks for this link!! I've been building templates off FR Original specs, making mods where it seemed appropriate. Of course, 'schaller.com' is just an ad site. Neck is all done, and body shape is cut, but I've been procrastinating anything further. Now, I'm running out of delays. The cutting soon will commence!

That looked more disturbing than watching open heart surgery

Hi. I have searched and read countless forums and websites over the past few weeks, but still am unable to find specific answers to these: 1) On a Schaller Floyd Rose, that is the distance from the mounting pin center to where the bridge line should be? The FR site gives me every measurement but that. ...And center lines I can't get get an accurate measurement at all. 2) This is a scratch build. Should I rout a recess in the body for the trem (as if fitting on a Strat)? Or should I angle the neck? What kind of angle would I need on a 22 fret 24 3/4 scale neck? FR trems are pretty high, so I'm afraid of needing too much angle if I do not recess it. Aside from being a scratch build, it is also my first build. I don't even have similar guitars at hand to compare with, so I am kind of working in the dark. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!