GAS'd hard and pulled the trigger AGAIN.

[vikingred]

Couldn't help it:

And the neck (unfinished Canary w/ Black Ebony):

Here's the special picked black ebony:

Pickguard ordered as shown w/ SRV countersink holes (11 screw)

BLACK ORIGINAL FLOYD ROSE (yeah, that's right) - prolly gonna try the stone block.  heh.

Black gotoh machine heads

Ordered both black and cream knobs/pickup covers just to see which I like better

Gonna do Kloppman pickups.

 

[rgand]

Couldn't help it...

Good move. The chambered canary/mahogany should sound sweet. The ebony will crisp it up, too. Can't wait to hear how you like it.

 

[DocNrock]

That is going to be one sweet build!  Love that it is getting a Floyd.  :icon_thumright:

 

[vikingred]

Thanks, fellas.  I'm just as excited now as I am about the other custom I'm waiting on.  This could seriously become an addiction.  I have a lot of plastic and I don't mind using it.  My wife actually said 'how beautiful' and is willing to let me hang the guitars up on our bedroom wall (when not in use).  How badass is that??  :glasses10:

I did go with the R4 FR nut this build.  I've ordered a ton of supplies including under-string radius gauges, feeler gauges, fret level checker, 64ths ruler, etc.  Gonna give it my best.  I also want to do some very special vintage style electronics on this build.  Getting those awesome Kloppman pickups.  Thinking of the "ST Tillcaster" set.  Check out these soundbites:  http://www.kloppmann-electrics.de/en/pickups/strat/

 

[Pharos]

That is going to look and sound really nice.

 

[musicispeace]

That is going to be a great combination, congrats. Ya, I noticed that guitar body in the showcase. it stood out, I thought.  :laughing7:

 

[vikingred]

Went researching pickups tonight.  Kloppmann's are cool and all, but quite expensive at around $450 shipped.  I ran across these ones call "Dawgtown Pickups", hand wound by thie guy, John who's been doing it for years and apparently they sound incredibly good.  They're on ebay and I splurged and got 4 sets ($129/set free shipping:

1. Dawgtown USA Crafted Custom Strat Stratocaster Pickups A5 RW/RP Hand Wound

2. Dawgtown USA Gilmour Style Pickups For Strat Stratocaster USA Hand Wound AlNiCo

3. Dawgtown Vintage 68/69 Hendrix Pickups For Stratocaster USA Hand Wound AlNiCo 5

4. Dawgtown Aged Late '64 Pickups For Strat Stratocaster USA Hand Wound AlNiCo 5

I have another old strat here I can upgrade with one set and then use the other sets on future builds.  We'll see which set sounds the best in the CANARY STRAT.

 

[Cagey]

In for a penny, in for a pound, eh?  :icon_biggrin:

 

[vikingred]

In for a penny, in for a pound, eh?  :icon_biggrin:

Yes.  I'm grateful to have the resources to go all out.  I work hard, and my wife says I deserve it. 

I can imagine you're thinking "he's ruining another perfectly good neck with that Floyd".  heh.

Right now I'm researching strat wiring harnesses, and trying to decide whether to buy all the components separately and do it myself or get a pre-done harness off ebay (vintage style of course).  Anyone have NOS Sprague caps?

 

[MikeW]

Really nice. Looking forward to seeing this one when you're done with it.

 

[vikingred]

Really nice. Looking forward to seeing this one when you're done with it.

Thanks Mike.  Oh, the agony of waiting.  Warmoth, please ship.  I've literally gone nuts with purchasing every conceivable tool and extra hardware. 

What think-----with a black Floyd, and black tuners, and black ebony board, should I do all black pickguard covers and knobs, or cream?  Even grabbed three flat knurled black knobs just in case.

Other suggestions and comments?

I'm going to do a Fender waterslide decal (strike me down).  I've read up on this best I could and got some Rust-Oleum Zinsser 408 Bulls Eye Clear Shellac Spray for a few top coats just on the headstock face, and then once dried, some Deft Interior Clear Wood Finish Satin Lacquer to coat and sand smoothe.  Sound about right?  Would it be a good idea to put some painters tape inside those tuner holes so they don't get gunked up?  I saw where it was suggested to tape off the entire neck (obviously) and then the headstock bottom and sides and leave about 1/32 of over hang for the tape.  Will this look ok on an otherwise unfinished neck?

Wish there was a thread on how exactly to do a waterslide decal on an unfinished neck for different woods, as in this case, CANARY.  Shouldn't need any filler I don't think just shellac, several light coats.

 

[Cagey]

Wish there was a thread on how exactly to do a waterslide decal on an unfinished neck for different woods, as in this case, CANARY.  Shouldn't need any filler I don't think just shellac, several light coats.

Waterslide decals will amplify surface imperfections, and if those imperfections are hollows such as a wood's grain would have, they'll bubble or at least be apparent. I haven't done a headstock yet, but I was quite the modeller when I was a kid and decals were the bane of my existence. I intend to do one this summer before I run out of time, but unless you've got a few weeks, it may be too late for you to learn from my mistakes.

In the meantime, the best illustration of burying a waterslide on a headstock properly that I've seen was done by Ron Kirn. He has a build documented that's definitely worth the entire read, but on page 4 he talks about the headstock/decal thing and shows how he does it.

Note that he's working with Maple, which has a tighter grain than Canary, so he just uses finish to fill the grain and create a smooth base for the decal. For Canary, I'm pretty sure you're gonna wanna fill it. Maybe just one pass, but still. The better the foundation, the better the finish.

 

[rgand]

Thanks for posting that link, Cagey. It is a very helpful tutorial.

 

[vikingred]

Yes, thanks Cagey.  I am wondering though, and maybe I should start a thread in a different section, I am most interested in leaving the neck as "unfinished" looking as possible, while still having the decal professional looking.  Would it look odd to only "finish" the face of the headstock for decal purposes with shellac and satin/nitro laquer?  Know what I mean, like I want all other areas completely unfinished, even the back and sides of the headstock.

Or, would the best thing be to go ahead and "finish" the entire headstock (only) and leave the neck itself unfinished.  I do care about the aesthetics and I want it to look tight, but I love the unfinished look, so I'm in a pickle as to how to get the label on as unobtrusively as possible, or consider the compromise of completely finishing the headstock.

Thoughts/comments?  Thanks in advance.

 

[Cagey]

I think a face-only headstock finish would be just fine. But, wait until the end to put on the satin lacquer. You don't want to try and put a decal over that.

 

[stratamania]

I've done a few decals of different types. The link Cagey posted is fairly close to how I do it.

For masking off just the face of the headstock you might want to try the method I describe here... http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=24977.msg362521#msg362521

The trickiest part of decal application is to put it in lukewarm water till it starts to curl. Take it out too soon and try to move it off the backing you will break it. Too late and adhesion is lost. Try it with a piece of spare decal paper for practice. 

I trim the decal fairly close to the lettering prior to the application process.

I've put them over Satin and Gloss nitro without issue.

To add to what Ron Kirn, says I let the decal dry for 24 hours prior to any nitro over it. The apply the lightest of mist coats and let dry. Repeat a couple of times and then you are ready for wet coats.

You need to build up enough thickness so that when you wet sand ( after a few days of drying time perhaps a week ) the finish ends up level. Obviously it will be thinner over the decal than either side. Which is why you need enough lacquer to avoid a sand through.  Go slow and use 600 grit to start for this.

The key is not to rush this job.

 

[vikingred]

Great advice you guys, thanks.  Yeah I don't think I'm going to do the amber or colored thing at all.  It will be some very light coats of shellac initially, I guess as an "isolator".  Then waterslide decal.  Then couple mistings of nitro/satin, let dry long time, then lil wetter, let dry long time, repeat.  Wet sand, repeat a few times till sides disappear.  We shall see how it goes. 

 

[stratamania]

That's about it, but the sides won't dissapear when applying wet coats as the lacquer all things being equal is building up over the face of the headstock and the decal.

It's only when you have enough lacquer over both and you wet sand level that the dissapearing effect occurs. That can vary also dependent on how thin the decal is or not.

And importantly get the face of the headstock level prior to application and afterwards using a level firm sanding block. For this I use a piece of pine that I made a small block from.

 

[Vallhagen]

An example: I have placed a waterslide on a canary neck headstock, came up like this:
http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=24537.msg357781#msg357781

The decal is applied to raw wood, and then covered with Wudtone topcoat. It has some imperfections, and if i re-did it today i would spray a layer of clear on the wood before i applied the decal (and also use a printer with better toner-quality, but thats a sidenote), and then more clear. It is the first decal i apply to wood, my experience from earlier is to place decals on painted metal.

As far as i know, a waterslide decal is the thinnest decal available, but the edges will always be (more or less, very vague if you do a good job) visible. I use to workaround this (not in the example above though) by drawing a printed frame around the decal art, and then cut the decal very close to that frame with a sharpie. On the other hand, you don't want a square frame around your Fender logo.

 

[stratamania]

@Vallhagen, looking at your decal it looks like by applying it to bare wood the topcoat has not changed the look of the wood underneath the decal and between the letters and design.

By putting the finish coats on first, then the decal and then more finish you have a better chance of getting decal where transparent appearing to disappear.