guitar101

I checked at Harmony central and B Hefner had lots of negative feedback about their guitar necks. I also checked Warmoth and the majority of comments were positive but surprisingly some very negative comments. I guess if you sell a lot of parts there are bound to be some negative feedback. I bought a body from them last year and it was fine but it was on sale. Their prices seemed to have taken a jump lately. I'll just keep looking..

Has anyone dealt with B Hefner or Guitar Mill. Both are E-bay companies. Guitar Mill supplies necks and bodies to The Stratosphere. I'm interested in assembling a Strat for my son. The prices seem pretty good but I was wondering about the quality and customer support. Any feedback is welcome... Looking for an Ash body which I will probably paint. Tony...

Can't answer your question but I hope the switch is better than the parts I ordeed from Stewmac. The regular 5 way switch I orderd from them lasted about a week and the push pull pot about a month before they failed.

I put a set of Bill Lawrence single coil noiseless pickups in a Strat that I assembled and I couldn't be happier. Totally noiseless and great tone. They are a set of L280's. http://www.billlawrence.com/ Enter the old site and click on "Pickup Window".

Hey good info I am looking into using these also and you gave some good background.

Not sure if this is directed at me, but I've used the EZ-LOK brass inserts in 10-24, same as pictured in your link. I tried 3/8", 13/32", and 7/16" drill bits. It's been a while, but if memory serves, the insert was basically impossible to drive into the 13/32" hole, but felt a little too loose in the 7/16" hole. I used the drill press for driving the inserts, same as others have mentioned. Also, I can attest to the fact that the bolt can be very difficult to remove from the insert when you're done driving it if you don't use a spacer nut. That's just me, though... other people seem to have better luck with the inserts. Thanks for the info. Maybe there is a metric size drill that will be closer.

Out of curiosity, what size inserts and drill bits are you using? I couldn't get the size right with 1/16" bits for the 10-24 inserts. One size was so small that the insert was impossible to drive, whereas the next size up was obviously too loose. I've ended up epoxying all the inserts I've installed, which is why I said they can't be dowelled and re-drilled. I suppose one could still remove the insert with heat, but it would take some dedication. Anyway, everyone has their own methods, and I'm not trying to challenge that. Myself, I haven't noticed any difference with the inserts, and I don't take necks off often enough to make them worthwhile... I'm going back to wood screws. I am curious about the size also and what brand you are using.

No they will work and I may use them, but I want to try something different. I like the fact that you can remove the neck and not worry about the screws loosening up eventually.

I know that they are used in guitars. So I don't think they will kill the tone I think the opposite is true. If you can tighten the neck down more there should be better transfer of energy from the neck to the body. The only concern I have is if guitar makers use a longer insert. The new Yngwie Malmsteen Strat uses a machine screw mounting system. This guy wants 90 dollars !!!!!! for the inserts and neck plate. http://www.vintique.com/www.vintique.com/neckkits.html

I like the fact that I can take the neck off and not worry about the threads loosening up. I a little concerned about the length of the inserts wondering if they will pull out.

Has anyone used these or something similar for joining a bolt on nect to a body? I want to use them in a Strat I am putting together for my son. http://www.ezlok.com/InsertsWood/hardWood.html

I tried Bill Lawrence single coil pickups in a Strat I assembled. I am very pleased, very clear and clean . If you go to billlawrence.com click on Wildegate and there are discussions on various pickups he makes. He makes humbuckers also. He has a good reputation and designed pickups for Fender and he worked for Gibson in design. His prices are good and like I said he is a well respected designer of pickups.

I finally finished assembling the guitar. I got much better results when I warmed up the body and Poly and followed your instructions. I couldn't get it as smooth as your tele so I used wipe on poly to finish and sanded with 2000 grit and rubbing compound. I used No Touch Glass Stripper and Mcguires swirl and polish remover to finish. there are some small scratches between the clear coats but I had to stop before I went crazy. Thanks I posted some pictures under "Finally Finished" in the In Progerss forum. Thanks again Tony...

Try this link this is how I shielded a Strat I just finished. I soldered on to the tremolo claw. I also shielded using copper tape. http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php Tony

Thanks a lot. I left out the mistakes in the pictures but I am already thinking of doing another. This is addicting. Tony java script:add_smilie("","smid_32")

Sorry I can't I'm not a musician and don't have any experience with very many guitars. So comparing it to another Strat I don't have enough background. Tony...

I bought a Warmoth alder body over a year ago and finally finished it. It was on sale probably because of the Mango wood cap on it. I installed a Mighty Mite neck (very nice). I initially tried brush on lacquer but I had a lot of problems. I ended up finishing it using water based aniline dye, amber over yellow. I used Minwax poly to finish it. I started with brush on then swithched to rattle can. Southpa thanks for the advice. I couldn't get it as smooth as your example but a heck of a lot better than what I was getting. I sanded out the small imperfections and finished with wipe on poly. Thanks to all who gave advice. I will practice before I do another one. This is my first attempt at doing any type of fine finishing. The pickups are Bill Lawrence noiseless L280's with a push pull switch to put the bridge and middle in series. They sound awesome especially the bass strings. The tuners are staggered locking Sperzels. The Tremolo is a Wilkinson/Gotoh VS-100. I made a logo using water slide decal paper. The serial number is my clock number at work. I work in a Steel Mill ( punch clock, union, the whole nine yards).. Now I have to learn more than a dozen chords, my son is the musician. I got him to break it in by playing the opening to Little Wing. There are a couple of small sand throughs but I couldn't bear to strip it again for the the fourth time. I am already thinking of starting another Strat maybe a Swamp Ash one. I have a left over pickguard from assembling this one. Boy I sure have gained a lot of respect for the guys on this forum who build from scratch. Anyway here are some links http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/IMG_0313-1.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/IMG_0329.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/IMG_0324.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/IMG_0325.jpg http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugl...=1179006940.pbw

I know but I wanted to do this myself. I don't have the equipment to shoot auto poly. Tony..

Beautiful.. Now I know what to shoot for. lol Tony..

I haven't used the wax yet. I will practice on some scrap birch I have. Stewmac finishing compounds any good?

I am using Minwax gloss poly on my guitar body but I am getting mixed results. It either goes down with a slight orange peel or if I spray it thicker I get small bubbles. I also have some gloss Minwax poly in a can and I tried wiping it on mixed with 30% Varsol but it isn't as shiney as the spray.. I am using Varsol as a cleaner for the body before spraying and a tack cloth. Also if I sand the poly out using 800 then 1500 and ending with 2000 grit wet/dry paper will it polish to a mirror finish. I think I should be able to lay down a final coat that doesn't need polishing. If Southpa is out there maybe he could wade in with some advice. I lay the guitar flat and then shoot one side at a time that seemed to help as he suggested in another post. For polishing I have some Turtle wax buffing compound and turtle Wax polish cleaner (finer grit). I was planning to pick up some Scratch X swirl and scratch remover for the final shine. Tony...

Matt I have to agree with you. A person under the age of 25 should not smoke marijuana. A person's brain isn't fully developed untill that age. Kids in grade school are smoking it just as they are entering adolescence. If there is a history of mental illness in a family or a person is predisposed to mental disorders it could tip the balance towards mental disease. It's not just my opinion. People in the mental health field are becoming alarmed over the long term effects of smoking pot. I know people have the right to their own bodies but I feel sometimes you have to give things up to protect kids. And having the right to smoke pot isn't that important to me. Tony...

I recall seeing him in Calgry Alberta at the Saddle Dome over 30 years ago. BOC was opening for T-Rex, (Yeah I know, these guys including me are all dinosaurs), the crowd was totally into them. When T-Rex played they couldn't hold a candle to BOC and you could see they were pretty upset at being upstaged... The DVD just reminded me how great a guitarist Buck Dharma is. Tony...

I watched a DVD of Blue Oyster Cult yesterday and am amazed how unheralded Buck Dharma the lead guitarist is. He has a great melodic sense and timing with speed and delivered some great riffs. I am shocked how little acclaim he is given. He has got to be one of the true masters of his era. Tony...