C
Cowbell Fever!
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The back of the body is even better than the front IMO
Quilt top Strat build - PRS Private Stock style "Frost Bite Glow" finish
- Thread starter docteurseb
- Start date
alexreinhold
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Spud said:
Thought the same thing. But then again, we're the doghair aficionados.
Seb, how do you get your finishes to be that high gloss? It almost looks like glas. Or is it your picture taking skills?
NedRyerson
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BroccoliRob said:
Oooooh, that's a good one!
*stashing in my back pocket for future use*
docteurseb
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alexreinhold said:
Easy: I do the staining of the top but send the body to a pro finishing shop (for the dog hair, burst, and gloss).
docteurseb
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Not much motivation lately so this is progressing slowly, but the holes have all been cleared out and pickup screw brass inserts are installed.
I used those brass inserts in the past but didn't have satisfactory results when trying to screw them into the wood: they end up slanted and lift/damage the wood during the installation.
I got the tool for installing them this time around... and it broke in 10s.
I decided to instead drill the hole to the same diameter as the inserts and glue them with a tiny bit of epoxy:
Trying to keep things straight/centered/aligned while the epoxy cures:
Thin superglue worked wonders to fix the finish lifting when clearing the finish and/or enlarging holes which happened for one of the controls pots.
The electronics are mostly done. Installing normal Fender/'short' pots into a rear routed body doesn't leave much room to tighten the screw (especially with finish accumulated in the cavity) but I don't really have a choice with the 50kOhms pot required for Clapton electronics.
Now I just need install the pickups and finish the soldering of pickups+input jack.
I used those brass inserts in the past but didn't have satisfactory results when trying to screw them into the wood: they end up slanted and lift/damage the wood during the installation.
I got the tool for installing them this time around... and it broke in 10s.
I decided to instead drill the hole to the same diameter as the inserts and glue them with a tiny bit of epoxy:
Trying to keep things straight/centered/aligned while the epoxy cures:
Thin superglue worked wonders to fix the finish lifting when clearing the finish and/or enlarging holes which happened for one of the controls pots.
The electronics are mostly done. Installing normal Fender/'short' pots into a rear routed body doesn't leave much room to tighten the screw (especially with finish accumulated in the cavity) but I don't really have a choice with the 50kOhms pot required for Clapton electronics.
Now I just need install the pickups and finish the soldering of pickups+input jack.
S
Spud
Guest
Whoa whoa we wow! :icon_thumright:
docteurseb
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This FINALLY got completed... I got a new neck for it and had to do the lacquer finish on it; I stained it much darker than the original neck since the body turned much darker looking once clear coated. Overall pretty happy with the combination of feel/looks; the headstock is gloss but the back of the neck is satin:
4406Pack
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Beautiful!
S
Spud
Guest
Oh Seby wowzers!
Waraxe
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Just WOW! That is really sexy.
Are those stained tuner buttons?
I would only change one thing: the control knobs. While the standard plastic strat knobs look OK on a utilitarian strat, i feel they aren't classy enough for fancy Dancy projects such as this.
Black knurled all the way.
Maybe a custom les paul type?
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stratamania
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Very tastefully done. Great job
docteurseb
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I was planning to get ebony parts but once I put the plastic knobs it unexpectedly looked 'right' to me with the pickups being the same shiny black plastic; for now they're staying.
The buttons are indeed stained curly maple. I have 2 sets left I might sell as I'm not planning to do another Strat with dyed tops.
I've been thinking about a LP project but if I do it I wouldn't be using a Warmoth body/neck. I'd rather try a kit from Precision Guitars for this type of guitar. At the moment though I'm working on 000/OM acoustic guitar kit from StewMac and that will be taking most of my time for the foreseeable future.
docteurseb
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Thanks all. Time to think about the next project
PFDarkside
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Amazing! Where do you source your figured maple for dye experimentation?
docteurseb
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You could buy a piece from:
With a table saw you could slice up the sides of a flat sawn curly maple blank and end up with strips of highly figured 1/4 sawn curly maple, perfect for experimenting with dyes.
Or if you don't have many tools at your disposal you could get headstock veneers or laminate tops from:
Luthier Tonewood Supplier, Guitar Tops, Body Blanks, Acoustic Sets, Neck Blanks
northridgehardwoods.com
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Strat Avenger
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Looks great. What size threaded inserts did you use for the pickups?
docteurseb
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I used those:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00270ZSIU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I would not necessarily recommend those specific ones, they are so wide you have to drill them as close as you possibly can from the sides of the pickup cavities. More compact ones, if they exist, would be nice.
Strat Avenger
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Thanks. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I think I'm gonna just screw them into the wood.
