Pariahrob

@pan_karaI like that idea but the wenge won’t be seen against the fingerboard as it’s only a centre strip, albeit a large on at 20mm. 

Im keen on contrast though so maybe I need to stick with ebony. 

This is going to be a pretty V! What finish are you going for?

Next question then. I have freedom to choose timbers for this. I’m definitely going nappy/wenge/maple for the neck as I love the snap and stiffness. 

For the body I’m going to be using 37mm swamp ash but for the top I’m not sure. I could take the easy route and go fancy maple but this will have an oil and wax finish so something a bit warmer looking might look better. 

Im toying with the idea of olive wood for the fretboard although may end up with a nice black ebony. 

Choices...

Just now, FINEFUZZ said:

What is a drop top ?

Where the forearm contour is and the maple cap is bent and glued over it. 

Im sure there are other names for it. 

Thanks chaps. 

Bevel it is. That’s what my gut said but had someone in the shop who suggested a bevel with a drop top. 

Ok, I need some feedback please. I'm trying to decide what would be both more comfortable and easier on the eye: a forearm contour or a bevel, as described in my intial drawing.

What do you all think? I'm possibly going to be making this into a regular model.

I’m just going to sit quietly in the corner and let you two fight it out. 

Both gorgeous builds!

1 hour ago, KempGuitars said:

Oh definitely. Lost count of (and got fed up with) how many pickup mounting screws have lost their bite in bodies after multiple pickup height adjustments.

PS Happy to advise on sourcing the inserts and bolts if anyone would like to do the same

Yes please. Would love to find a good supplier. Mine only has them sporadically. 

Likewise. Fascinating build. 

10 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

If you like the design, then there's no reason that you can't imply that deep scoop purely in the carve itself. The pinstripe will provide a visual guide, whilst the back wood can stay neatly behind that.

That could look really good. I like that it could reflect the forearm bevel too. Thanks!

Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is all it takes. 

Now to decide if this thing will be headless or not. That decision has been left to me and I can’t decide. 

Totally agree @Prostheta which is another reason to have more traditional  horns. I’ll do a revision and see what he thinks. 

HI all. 

Now that the raycaster is done I'm on to the next build. This one is a little different (for me at least) as the guy wants something that is a cross between a headless prog machine and something a bit more traditional. I've worked up a few rough sketches and this initial drawing is based on the client's preferred option. Still needs some refining and a lot of detail but thought I'd get sharing early on. I'm trying to get himn to go for slightly more start like horns but we will see. I didn't think I'd like the thigh cut out but it's growing on me.

Will be a three layered body: A main chambered alder, a fancy top (as yet to be decided) and a dark laminate for a pinstripe. No more details for now but will share as soon as I'm told!

Love the innovation and big tron fan here, so yay!

But NO! Now I want to try carbon and I have no time. 

Great thread and loving your ideas. The slide out bout is good idea and will certainly help make seated playing more comfortable.

I'm really interested to see how you get on with the tuners. I was eyeing them up for some tests but now I can let you do it for me!

3 hours ago, KempGuitars said:

Good taste

Do you mean the black veneer sandwiched between the body and top?

I use Veneer Hub for standard 0.6mm coloured veneer. 

Exactly! Thank you!

Awesome! I love the white but that ziricote is something else. One of my favourite woods.

Question for you: Where do you get your thin body laminates? I can't find them in the uk very easily.

1 hour ago, FINEFUZZ said:

Beautiful build!  I love the color combinations of the wenge with the paint.  The selection of the cream components really top it off.

Thank you! . I can't take the credit for that. Inspired by one of my favourite guitar players, Nick Johnston. 

I'm in!

This build, the Raycaster, has taken some time as has had to fit between real work and a few other things but is now done and I'm very pleased. Maybe not as flash as my semi hollow build but I love it. 

The Raycaster

Two piece alder body finished in sea foam green nitro

Wenge neck, with ebony fretboard 25.5" scale length

Gotoh locking tuners, staggered height

Wilkinson trem with big steel block

Seymour Duncan ssl1 in middle and neck, texas special in the bridge (RWRP)

Graphtech nut and string retainer

Mint pickguard, with cream controls

Vintage style wiring, with cloth covered wire

Goldo Backstop in trem cavity

This build has turned out exactly as I had planned. The wenge neck suits perfectly, feels lovely with a simple wax finish and the whole thing just feels right. Plus I think the colours work really well (Thanks Nick Johnston for the inspiration). I wanted a strat that felt a bit more refined, with a few nods to the old but some extras and I think I nailed it. 

I hope you all like it!

It wasn't too bad this time Stu. I've certainly had worse. The ones I did get were right little f&$%^@s though.

Well, this build is now done! I don't think I posted the wiring yet but I like it reasonably neat and with old school cloth wire for this. Anyway, here's the finished beast. Has some proper spanky strat sounds. Very glassy but the bridge pickup is a little hotter. Nothing crazy but drives tubes nicely.

2 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Wow, you don't see things like that off the shelf. Love that 12th fret inlay too! haha

Thanks! I think the abalone dot pulls it all together. The center stripe could’ve looked odd without it. 

I’ll be posting the wenge necked Strat in a couple of days. Very very happy and not finished yet! Might have to enter that in gotm. 

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 8:09 PM, Prostheta said:

Wengé is a unique wood, that's for sure. The end caps for the handle on my leg vise are Wengé, and for fun I decided to see how far I could polish them with pads and compound whilst they were still on the lathe. The surface developed a really coarse texture as the earlywood abraded faster than the latewood in the flat faces, without any roughness. Really nice and tactile like old weathered black Oak. It's great in necks when paired with "slow and warm" woods such as Mahogany.

I'd like to hear what your opinions are of how it works in this combination. Single coils and Wengé sound like an excellent pairing.

I really hope so! Just wiring it up at the moment, then final polishing and setup. Also, here's a little throwback to the walnut topped strat from last year. I never posted final images and it just came in for a setup...

Great build. Also couldn’t agree more about scrapers. Great tool!

I now have the neck finished. Frets are in and sorted. I went for nibbledctangs and filled slots for this. 

Rennaisance waxed the neck and very pleased with the results after some rubbing in. 

Neck is also on! Now just need to wire it all up and do a final setup. 

The colours don’t look right in these phone pics. A bit more teal in real life. 

Little progress made. Finished shaping the neck. This thing is so smooth and the wenge isn’t even finished. Just sanded up to 600 at this point. 

Even though I’ve had great input from you guys I’m still tempted to do a simple wax seal. 

Here’s the body. Test fitted the trem and building up the pickguard. Seymour Duncan ssl set. 

Next up inlay and fretting!

Gorgeous!