agile 50's strat project

[mayfly]

Here's the result after about 4 hours in the bath:

Could have gone darker I suppose, but I think it looks fine.  I just wanted to take off that "It's really NEW" look to the pickguards.

 

[mayfly]

Dear Strat Gentlemen,

Soon I will mount this bridge to the body.  However, there are no holes drilled for it.  My question:

Where, exactly should I put the sucker? Should I:

1 - mount it as close as possible to the neck (i.e. with the block touching the body) to ensure max down-wang?
2 - move it back a bit?  and if so, how much?

Have drill press, need location.

Yours,

Mayfly

 

[jackthehack]

Dear Strat Gentlemen,

Soon I will mount this bridge to the body.  However, there are no holes drilled for it.  My question:

Where, exactly should I put the sucker? Should I:

1 - mount it as close as possible to the neck (i.e. with the block touching the body) to ensure max down-wang?
2 - move it back a bit?  and if so, how much?

Have drill press, need location.

Yours,

Mayfly

If you can wait till I get home later this evening I can measure off the precise location(s) on a Warmoth body drilled for Strat vintage bridge and post them, I would do it that way.

 

[mayfly]

Jack,

I thank you.  I can certainly wait until then.

 

[big bob]

Gentlemen,

I'm an enviromentaist.  No nasty chemicals for me.

Speaking of nasty chemicals, I roughed up the pickguard surfaces and put them in a bath of coffee and coke.  Let's see what happens:

Trever, the best way I have found to age plastic is to spray it with a coat of lacquer, and leave it in the sun.. the lacquer yellows nice.

 

[jackthehack]

Brought the micrometer home from work; from the edge of the route to the center of the predrilled holes on a Warmoth is 12.35 millimeters.

 

[mayfly]

Brought the micrometer home from work; from the edge of the route to the center of the predrilled holes on a Warmoth is 12.35 millimeters.

excellent!  Thanks  ccasion14:

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

There's no guarantee the 2 routes are even close.  I would tape the pickguard on with the neckpocket as the guide, then mark the edge of the bridge where it fails with a slight gap between the bridge and the PG.  Then I'd align the bridge for the strings (if you have the neck).  After string alighnment, drill and mount the bridge and lastly drill and mount the PG.

 

[mayfly]

Turns out that STDC is correct - the routs are apparently not the same.

I need about 14 mm from the hole for the bridge to work with the pickguard in place.  I think I'll put it there.

 

[erogenousjones17]

Yeah, STDC is right. On the MM body I used for my Strat project, I had to place the bridge farther back because of the way the body is routed, so there's actually not that much room for down-wang. I'd also wait 'til you have a neck before mounting the bridge; centred in the rout might not mean centred with respect to the fretboard.

 

[mayfly]

I may slap one of my existing necks on there.... oh crap can't!  Telecaster!  :doh:

 

[mayfly]

Just a quick update showing some of the dings.  Things are progressing nicely.

 

[mayfly]

Got the Bridge on there.  Accidentally damaged the head on one of the screws, and I though "crap - now I need a new screw", but then I thought "heeey - no I don't!"  :icon_biggrin:

Yep, did it without a neck.  If it's in the wrong place, it will be All My Fault.  Figure I'll just do something clever with the neck pocket.

On the subject of the bridge in the wrong place, I've got a bit of interference with the sustain block.  Nothing a pocket knife or a big dull chisel won't fix  :glasses10:
BTW, I did this knowingly to make it look right with where the pickguard needs to go.  Again, if it's in the wrong place I'll find a creative method of making it right.

 

[jackthehack]

That bridge doesn't looked aged enough; I have an old one I don't even remember what I pulled it off of in the pool, which just got closed for the winter. Mega-chlorine levels + mega-algacide levels may just do the trick in a few weeks.... If that doesn't work I have some acid demand crystals for the pool I can mixed up in a heavy concentrate to soak it in to see if that works as well.

 

[bigguspickus]

It looks like you may have put the bridge a little close to the pickguard. I think there can be a gap, like in the picture below. The exact position isn't critical as long as the saddles' range allows for proper intonation and the trem can move freely.

I know the Strat you're making isn't supposed to be super accurate, but with the 3-tone sunburst and 1-ply pickguard, it's spec'd like a '58. The '57 was still a 2-tone sunburst and '59 had a 3-ply pickguard.

 

[mayfly]

Thanks for the info!  Oh well... I guess I'll have to live with it  :headbang:

Yea, need to do something with the bridge.  It will have to come off for my chisel work anyway...

Oh - and there is a gap between the bridge and the pickguard.  You can't tell from the photo, but it's the same gap all the way around.

 

[mayfly]

Yes, I am a very bad person

 

[smjenkins]

Come to the dark side Trevor, our necks are well logo'd. 

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I always thought the gap looked funny.  I retrofitted a 6-hole on my Strat and left no gap.  The difference can be made up with the saddles.  If you actually use the thing, I guess the fulcrum geometry is changed by whatever the gap distance is, but....so what.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

+1 to the illegal logoing.

Just knowing that it infuriates so many people makes it worth doing.