daddy ray

if you pay attention to what you'r doin you can have way more guitar for the $'s by bolting one together yourself

plus every time you encounter it you have the "feel good" of having done it yourself...talk about priceless!!

dan erlewine has a video about assembling from componants that covers everything from proper bridge placement to cutting the nut to final set-up

use this for your how to if you've never do it before

it's available from stew/mac

it's how i got started in this a few years back

i can't speak to the epi strat

however i have an epi les paul elite w/ chambered body & f-holes that was built in '96 & it's mahogany neck & body just like the gibsons

i know this to be true, since i've opened it up since i bought it to correct a couple of problems it had

in fact i didn't know epi built a strat...i thought they had always been gibson clones in recent history

i don't know whether all parts carries what your looking for

they have a rather extensive inventory

your right on about their web site...i won't use them for anything i buy for my shop for that very reason

I'm kinda caught in a limbo-land with woods lately...

I'll get some outrageous wood, then I have a hard time wondering:

1) If I should cut it up and make it go as far as possible, get as many killer tops out of it as possible...

2) Or use the same wood for the top AND back, (and, where applicable, sides too)and make each guitar just completely over-the-top dead-killer, generally using that whole piece up for one stunning guitar with top-notch wood showing on as many faces as possible.

What do you think about each approach?

Spread that killer top wood out over 2 or 3 guitars, or make each guitar a drop-dead monster of figured wood.

Your thoughts?

alas, life for the artist is fraught with difficult to impossable decisions, yes?

sometimes it just boils down to where yer head's at when it comes time to do it

i retrofitted a recessed floyd w/locking nut on a guys strat bout a year & a half ago

had no problems at all with it

good string height at the nut etc

I'm building my first guitar body with my son. I am very uncomfortable with mounting the trem. Does anyone have a good way to align the trem and drill the holes for the studs. I've used a template from a book but it seems like the slightest bit off and the strings will be out of alignment with the neck. Is there any to align the bridge after the studs are installed. Any studs with a concentric adjustment?

for floyds i use a template from stew/mac

i have done them without a template as well

be ultra precise in your layout (measure twice cut once) making sure that your layout line for the trem studs is 90 degrees to an established centerline that incorporates both neck & body

when it's time to drill use a drill press if you have

also use a forstner or brad point bit to assure that your stud hole is centered on your layout

very slight discrepancies can be corrected by slightly loosening neck screws and shifting the neck in the pocket to align the strings to the edge of the fingerboard

do this with high & low e strings in place

hope this helps

Good points Daddyray. Dot know tho. I guess we'll have to try and see.

I did discover That white oak is the stronger, and I might try it. But the red oak is IN. if & when I get some more cash to build. (And to think I do this for money!) Bah. I need a job, cuz this didnt take off as soon as I wanted it to. Drat.

if in doubt add carbon fiber stiffener rods

i did a les paul neck recently that was quite flexy before the carbon fiber

afterwards a set of .012/.052's w/wound 3rd only pulled about .015 relief into the neck when tuned to pitch before i added any truss rod

i now add them to anything i have the fingerboard off of

i'm that sold on em

it's a slow take-off doing something like this...that's why i still have a day job

kids all need new shoes

speaking of seldom used woods...i've always wondered why hickory & ash are not used for neck woods...both are incredably tough, tight & straight grained

the main beam in my neck jig is ash & it's a wonderful looking piece of wood

as for hickory...just check out any sledge hammer handle

stew mac offers the schaller roller bridge

it doesn't look like a tele bridge but it'll give you what your lookin for

Welcome to the forum daddy ray

brian:

thanks for the welcome!

the school of hard knocks present us with our most valuable lessons

we tend to remember better that which cost us something in the learning

Wuddup Big Daddy?

thanks drak!

hey everyone

this is my first post

glad i found this forum

i've been looking for one that was more tech oriented

i did a purpleheart veneer on a neck back

it wasn't wrapped, but rather i milled the back of the neck flat, bonded the purpleheart to the flat & filed/sanded it to match the original contour

looked pretty good

pay attention to the fit into the headstock transition area for nice fit