Quilted Purple Strat Build

[stratamania]

The out of the box thread with a number of nice pics can be found here.

Purple Quilt Day

So just out of the box today this new body and neck for the forum to have a look at. I just checked and its more than a month ago since I first posted about the body and neck I had ordered. The link to the first post which had a couple of pictures from Warmoth...

unofficialwarmoth.com

The very first build type shot after taking things out of the box where I did a quick test of the fit of the Hipshot locking tuners that are going on this build. The fit works and will need no reaming, there is a slight bit of space but they are fine I think. The nut part showing covers the hole on its own and there is a washer to go underneath that. At the rear the tuner fits nicely and the step between the two bore sizes in the tuner ream is just right I think.

Tuners Test Fit by stratamania, on Flickr

As Warmoth doesn't offer a choice for Hipshot locking tuner reams as such I did a fair bit of searching with Google to select which tuner hole option to go with for the Hipshots and found that Schaller (25/64" 11/32") Tuner Ream was the one that seemed to be advised and it works for me.

Update: 5 April 2021. For some time now since I wrote this thread Schaller do not require a stepped two diameter bore. For this reason the Schaller bore offered now by Warmoth is 25/64" or 10mm in metric. This works fine for the Hipshots also.

More on the other design choices for this guitar coming in this build thread. But for now the neck is:-

Warmoth Pro, Right Handed Handed,
Birdseye Maple, Ebony Fretboard, 1-5/8"
Nut Width, Standard thin, SS6100
(Stainless), Schaller (25/64" 11/32") Tuner
Ream, 22 frets, 10-16" Compound Radius,
Mother Of Pearl Dots Inlay, White Side
Dots, Earvana GraphTech Black TUSQ
XL, No Finish, 25-1/2" Scale, Standard 4
Bolt

More to follow.

 

[Updown]

I saw the other pic's  :headbang:
Looks great.

I noticed the neck is un-finished. What are your plans for it ?

 

[stratamania]

I saw the other pic's  :headbang:
Looks great.

I noticed the neck is un-finished. What are your plans for it ?

Thanks, the plans for the neck are finish wise Birchwood Casey Tru-oil. Other work to do will be checking how level the frets are, any level work that may be required and dressing and polishing. I will also "roll" the fingerboard edges.

I am also going to use threaded inserts and machine screws so need to get that done. I have a neighbor who has a drill stand so need to get into his garage one of these days.

 

[stratamania]

One of the first jobs that needed doing was getting the tremelo studs or bushings installed. Warmoth will install them for you if you order a tremolo from them or mail the bushings in and this is probably a better option to take and worth $10 if you ask me.

Some of the photos in the post have some "white squares" this is light reflection from the windows nearby being reflected in the body.

I already had this tremelo Gotoh-510TS-FE1-(Steel-block) in-chrome that I had bought for this guitar a while back and elected to fit the studs myself to save posting them across the Atlantic.

One point worth mentioning is prior to starting the studs, I used a minute amount of Behlens Slideez at the bottom of each stud just to help it, but note the key word is minute. Also I checked the diameters and depth of the holes were suitable.

Starting the stud bushing off. Here you can see the bushings part of the way in. I used a rubber mallet for this first bit and used some towels to protect the body in case of slippage. The towels are not shown in the photographs for clarity.

1. Bushing Install by stratamania, on Flickr

The next step was to use some low tack yellow Frog Tape, a painters tape to protect the finish of the body and the studs themselves for my next steps.


2. Bushing Install by stratamania, on Flickr

After the frog tape was applied I used some wood that spanned both studs and used my body weight to help press them in a little further.

Here is a photo of the Tools and Materials used.

Rubber Mallet
Behlens Slideez (this stuff smells good but don't eat it. )
Frog Tape Low Tack tape.
Stanley 6 piece punch kit. I used the 8mm which is a couple of mm smaller than the stud bushings themselves.

I worked with the body on the packaging it came in over a rug on the floor.

3. Bushing Install by stratamania, on Flickr

Here is a shot of using the mallet and punch to gradually knock the studs to the final position. The low tack tape means I can peal it back from time to time to check progress. I am aiming to get the studs a little lower than the surface of the body by about a mm or so. Its worth taking your time here.

4. Bushing Install by stratamania, on Flickr

Job done, not too bad I think.

5. Bushing Install by stratamania, on Flickr

Remember the above is just documenting how I went about things and is not a definitive method. YMMV and usual caveats apply etc.

 

[stratamania]

My build has been a little held up.

I had thought about using threaded inserts and machine screws for the neck but needed to use a neighbours drill press. He doesn't speak English too well and so it wasn't the easiest experiment.

Anyway, armed with an old Squier telecaster neck that I have been practicing using levelling and crowning files on, some thread inserts, machine screws, 4mm Allen key and 6.5 mm bit and the neighbours drill press the experiment began...

This is what I found out, my neighbour is set up more for repairing bicycles and whilst the Old Squier neck that I am using for testing techniques on doesn't matter I was a bit worried about the approach to handling the neck while he drilled the holes.

The holes drilled and countersunk slightly the inserts although stainless steel had a difficult time being able to insert and tap at the same time and end up perpendicular.  A tap used first would have probably helped but I decided discretion being the better part of valour and so on to abandon the experiment until such time as I have a better equipped workshop. Just goes to show the benefit of trying things out on something that doesn't matter.

So the Warmoth will be using standard screws to be "bolted" with. I won't be using glue in case anyone is wondering...

This of course held up the build as I didn't want to finish the neck with tru oil, or do any levelling work if the inserts were going to be used. Now I can press ahead.

Fret Levelling etc, is probably better done prior to finishing unless anyone has advice to the contrary.

In the meantime I have built myself quite a useful jig that the neck can attach to for levelling etc and this in turn fits nicely into my workmate. Experiments on the Tele neck worked well for this.

I also had done some dry fitting of the tremelo, neck and scratch plate and that all fits fine so I can start to look at mounting pickups and such.

 

[Cagey]

Fret Levelling etc, is probably better done prior to finishing unless anyone has advice to the contrary.

Wait until after. You're going to need to clean finish off the frets anyway, which can scratch them up. May as well kill two birds with one stone and avoid the need for repair work on frets you've already worked on.

Just be sure the finish is cured before you mask it off, and don't leave the tape on any longer than necessary.

 

[stratamania]

Cagey, thanks although the fingerboard is ebony so no finish is planned to be going on there. I just came down from the attic where I am going to do this job and just finished masking off for levelling. Definitely though if it were maple and especially if spraying I would probably have waited. So just finished setting it up for levelling before seeing the post.

I will be rubbing the tru oil on so hopefully I won't have any double work to do.

As well as masking the board, prior to that I had adjusted the truss rod to get the neck as straight as possible. Checked with a rocker and consulted my notes as I had checked for rocks before truss rod adjustment and they were roughly the same.

As I was starting to lose good light I marked the tops of the frets with marker and called it a day. It will also let the neck sit over night and I can check to see if it has shifted after the adjustment.


It's enjoyable doing this but as it's the first time I have done this, apart from a practice on the old Tele neck, at the same time I don't want to mess it up...

So tomorrow is fret levelling and dressing day, wish me luck  :icon_smile:

 

[Cagey]

It's enjoyable doing this but as it's the first time I have done this, apart from a practice on the old Tele neck, at the same time I don't want to mess it up...

I understand.

I was worried the first few times I did it, too. But, I was fortunate in that I mainly worked on low-cost necks that were thought to be nearly unrecoverable without heroic measures. So, even if I did a less-than-stellar job, chances were very good that they were still going to be better than they were before I attacked them. Took a lot of pressure off.

Patience is the key. You can always take more material off, but you really can't put any back. So, go slow and check your work frequently.

 

[stratamania]

Thanks Cagey, will indeed take my time.

 

[stratamania]

Yesterday I did the fret levelling, re crowning etc. it went well and once I got going it turned out to be an enjoyable process for a Sunday afternoon.

Today I got the Kinman pickups and harness mounted on the pick guard along with some copper shielding.

I took a lot of pictures so I can post some links when back on my PC if you'd like to see them.

The neck and build is going to have to wait a while as I have another couple of small pieces I am waiting for and a trip coming up.

 

[Cagey]

Yesterday I did the fret levelling, re crowning etc. it went well and once I got going it turned out to be an enjoyable process for a Sunday afternoon.

It is a satisfying thing to do, yes? Then, when you get the whole thing working together, you get happy all over again. How anybody goes without having their neck massaged into shape is a mystery for the ages. It's either time-consuming or costly, but either way it's worth it. A well-done neck is a thing of beauty.

 

[stratamania]

Yesterday I did the fret levelling, re crowning etc. it went well and once I got going it turned out to be an enjoyable process for a Sunday afternoon.

It is a satisfying thing to do, yes? Then, when you get the whole thing working together, you get happy all over again. How anybody goes without having their neck massaged into shape is a mystery for the ages. It's either time-consuming or costly, but either way it's worth it. A well-done neck is a thing of beauty.

Hi Cagey, Yes very satisfying I think for the first time I did it with the tools I had I got a good result. Of course I started looking at different tools and methods that I may try in the future.

Will post a link to the pics tomorrow...

 

[stratamania]

A link to some great info from Cagey, on how he does threaded inserts and the tools to use.

http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=22486.msg333585;topicseen#msg333585

Definitely worth doing if you have the needed tools, at the moment I don't so will stick with the standard screws.

Important note... If you don't have the correct tools or lack confidence use an alternate method or when you have the tools practice on something that doesn't matter. 

 

[stratamania]

After fitting the tremelo bushings I needed to check via a dry fitting of the neck in place and the tremelo that the pickguard will fit and allow the movement of the tremelo.

As the tremelo is only loosely in place on its pivots I placed some packing foam under where the tremolo fits to protect the body. The foam has some tape on it but that isnt stuck to the body just the foam.

Dry Fit 1 by stratamania, on Flickr

A view of the neck, tremolo and pickguard in place.

Dry Fit 2 by stratamania, on Flickr

A closer view of the tremolo in place. I checked that the tremolo will be able to pivot freely and not catch the pickguard.

Dry Fit 3 by stratamania, on Flickr


The above I checked prior to fitting pickups into the pick guard as if an adjustment had been needed to the pickguard for the tremolo its better to find out before fitting pickups etc. In this case the fit has a good tolerance and no adjustment is needed.

 

[stratamania]

Here is the next installment in the assembly diary...

This is the first time I have had to do any fret work on a decent neck, but had tried the tools out on an old neck where it didn't matter first. I did need to purchase tools mostly files to do this and I intend to in the future to get some diamond files to help with this work.

As an aside, to buy the files it does require some investment so for a one off leveling it may be worth looking at getting someone to do this for you or even get a Plek job done. But if like me you intend to work more on your own guitars, assemble more of them I think its worth having a go and turned out to be enjoyable to do once over the initial hurdle of taking a file to new frets.

Also, bear in mind this is a diary of what I did as a first-time attempt and not meant in any way to be a definitive guide to fret work.  There are lots of references on Youtube etc that you can use or books and DVDs available.

There are a lot of photos here...

Firstly I needed something to hold the neck steady while working on the frets so I made something that I could mount the neck to and hold in a Workmate. It's made from a couple of pieces of 12mm thick wood glued and screwed together. Also some sticky backed felt that is used for stopping furniture from scratching floors was used to not mark where the neck is held in the jig.

Here is an overview.

Fretwork1 by stratamania, on Flickr

At the heel end, two pieces of 12mm were used to build up the thickness and the same means of attaching the neck to the body was used to hold the neck stably in place. Before attaching the heel of the neck to the jig I had pre threaded the screws into the heel using Slideez to help them. This was to make the screws able to follow the threads they had previously cut which should help to prevent stripping in the holes of the neck.

Fretwork2 by stratamania, on Flickr

Side view of the heel end.


Fretwork3 by stratamania, on Flickr

The head end...

Fretwork4 by stratamania, on Flickr

Another piece with a felt backing which will be used to clamp the head end firmly but gently in place.


Fretwork5 by stratamania, on Flickr

A couple of shots showing the neck head end clamped and the whole thing in the workmate...


Fretwork6 by stratamania, on Flickr




Fretwork7 by stratamania, on Flickr



Fretwork8 by stratamania, on Flickr

Fretboard masked off, I masked down the length of the sides before masking between the frets with the view that this should make removing the tape later a little easier. I used low tack masking tape.


Fretwork9 by stratamania, on Flickr

Marking the top of the frets with permanent marker.

Fretwork10 by stratamania, on Flickr

Unfortunately, I could not capture any of the leveling of the frets. After the frets were leveled it was moving onto re-crowning. The frets were remarked 3 to 4 at a time. A shot with some of the crowning and dressing files.


Fretwork11 by stratamania, on Flickr

A small wire brush used to keep the work area swept clean.

Fretwork12 by stratamania, on Flickr


A few shots of using the crowning files, abrasive erasers and then wet and dry paper to reprofile the frets after the levelling. I remarked the tops with marker so that I could see the progress. I worked methodically here and took my time.

Fretwork13 by stratamania, on Flickr


Fretwork14 by stratamania, on Flickr

Fretwork15 by stratamania, on Flickr


Fretwork16 by stratamania, on Flickr

I then used micro-mesh from 1500 to 12000. This is a cloth backed material and was good to work with. This is more polishing at this stage. Here are a lot of shots going through the various grits, but once you get down to the 8000 and 12000 it's very smooth to the touch. One or two of the shots are not quite in focus but you can see the grit numbers and the progress on the frets.


Fretwork17 by stratamania, on Flickr

Fretwork18 by stratamania, on Flickr


Fretwork19 by stratamania, on Flickr


Fretwork20 by stratamania, on Flickr


Fretwork21 by stratamania, on Flickr

Fretwork22 by stratamania, on Flickr

Fretwork23 by stratamania, on Flickr

Fretwork24 by stratamania, on Flickr


Fretwork25 by stratamania, on Flickr


Once I was finished with the micro-mesh I used Autosol Chrome polish working on three to four frets at a time. I applied a small amount to the center of each fret and then used a blue shop towel to rub it on, the second piece of shop towel to buff and finally the third piece to make sure all the blackness that the polish brings up is gone.


Fretwork26 by stratamania, on Flickr


Fretwork27 by stratamania, on Flickr

Autosol polishing complete.

Fretwork28 by stratamania, on Flickr

The result so far was all manual and I think I could have stopped there, but I thought I would then use a Dremel and some compound. Due to the micro mesh and hand buffing I had already done, I don't think the Dremel added a lot but if it had been used earlier it may have saved some time.


Fretwork30 by stratamania, on Flickr

Removing the masking...

Fretwork31 by stratamania, on Flickr



Fretwork32 by stratamania, on Flickr

And the final results...

Fretwork33 by stratamania, on Flickr


Fretwork34 by stratamania, on Flickr


Fretwork35 by stratamania, on Flickr


Thanks for looking. Any questions or feedback appreciated.

EDIT: The fret work was not finished at this point as I needed a beveling file and also after play testing I revisited the frets to make them smoother. See later posts in this thread where these points are covered.

 

[stratamania]

Pickup Installation and Screening

When thinking about the possibilities for this first Warmoth build I considered many different pickup choices. But in the end settled on a single coil hum free format reminiscent tonewise of late sixties Strat pickups. The set I used is Kinman Woodstock Plus set with a K9 Harness. The K9 harness means I miss out on soldering in this build but as I had decided to go with these pickups I thought I would give the harness a try.

Like many others I like the sound of single coils but I can live without the hum

Here is the back of the pickguard and copper shielding. I have removed the screening that was supplied around the controls area of the pickguard and another sticker warning me to not to take the plastic film off the pickguard prior to checking for fit as covered in an earlier part of the thread. You dont want to fit pickups and then find adjustments for tremelo or neck clearance may be needed. I removed these as I wanted the larger copper sheet I was going to fit to be fitted onto a flat surface.

Its also an area of debate in some quarters whether shielding is worth doing. My view is it isnt going to do any harm and if it does help then I havent spoiled the ship for a h'apeth of tar, except this is a guitar.

Pickups Screening1 by stratamania, on Flickr

After drawing around the pickguard and marking the backing of the self adhesive copper sheet its time to start cutting things out.

Pickups Screening2 by stratamania, on Flickr

Here is the Kinman Woodstock plus set in the rather nice box it was sent in.

Pickups Screening3 by stratamania, on Flickr

Rear view of the packaging that the pickups and harness are mounted in.

Pickups Screening5 by stratamania, on Flickr

Copper shielded pickguard ready to transfer the pickups and harness across.

Pickups Screening6 by stratamania, on Flickr

The only part from the big F that will be in this guitar.

Pickups Screening7 by stratamania, on Flickr

Pickups transferred across into the pickguard. I added a little cable management to hold the three pickup wires neatly together.

Pickups Screening8 by stratamania, on Flickr

Pickups Screening9 by stratamania, on Flickr

Pickups Screening10 by stratamania, on Flickr


Well, that's it for now.

As always feedback and comments are welcome.

 

[croquet hoop]

Just... wow! I love reading this kind of build reports where each step is carefully detailed. I hoped to do a similar one with my own purple Strat (here) but it's been slightly delayed. I'm quite glad of it now, as yours will be a great model to follow  I may even set my maple neck aside for another project and get one with a dark fingerboard, it looks great in the picture on the first page (I'd rather try pau ferro though).

Keep up the good work, it's a very nice read.

 

[stratamania]

Just... wow! I love reading this kind of build reports where each step is carefully detailed. I hoped to do a similar one with my own purple Strat (here) but it's been slightly delayed. I'm quite glad of it now, as yours will be a great model to follow  I may even set my maple neck aside for another project and get one with a dark fingerboard, it looks great in the picture on the first page (I'd rather try pau ferro though).

Keep up the good work, it's a very nice read.

Thanks for the feedback, glad you are enjoying it. I will be picking the thread up build wise in a week or two as I am on a work related trip at the moment.

In the meantime I may put a few words together on the design choices of parts used etc.

 

[stratamania]

I got back a day or so ago from my travels for work and so on. Although it wasn't all work as I managed to go and see Deep Purple. In the meantime some other odds and ends I had ordered had arrived including some reels of copper insulating tape. So this post covers screening the body cavities.

However prior to screening the body cavities, I thought I would take the assembled pick-guard as shown in the last post above and do a dry fit. This is what I found :-

With the pickup cables in this position there is not enough clearance between the bottom of the bridge pickup cavity prior to the cables going into the control cavity meaning that the pickguard can not fit flush as it needs to do.

BodyScreening1 by stratamania, on Flickr

I adjusted my initial cable management to ensure the pickup cables travel centrally along the pickups and then move the cables so that they will run down and behind the bridge pickup to the control cavity. This allowed the pickguard to sit flush but it prevented it being adjusted far enough back towards the tremolo. This would also mean it would be too far forward at the neck pocket.

BodyScreening2 by stratamania, on Flickr

However holding the cable in the position shown in the next photo, towards the rear of the pickup but not as far down ensures the correct fit. Another point to note is the twisted blue, white, red and green wires were also moved to be between the circuit board of the harness and the push push pot. It was originally going over the circuit board. Again this is not enough clearance. So with these adjustments, the dry fitting is fine.

It may be helpful to someone, as the Kinman Pickups and K9 Harness do have enough room provided the cables are routed as described. There isn't much of a margin but they will fit.

BodyScreening3 by stratamania, on Flickr

Dry fitting of pick-guard successful.

BodyScreening4 by stratamania, on Flickr

The next thing I did prior to the body screening itself was to sand away a blob of varnish. I didnt bother going down the grits as it will be covered and its only to get a flat surface.


BodyScreening6 by stratamania, on Flickr


The next three photos show tracing with the flat of a 6B Soft pencil onto some A4 paper the cavities, prior to the pencil I ran around them with a finger which gave a little bit of a crease to trace against. This is then used as a template for cutting out the adhesive copper.

BodyScreening7 by stratamania, on Flickr

Tracing done, the neck pocket cavity didn't need to be done, I just wanted to see how it looked.

BodyScreening8 by stratamania, on Flickr


Cutting out the template.

BodyScreening9 by stratamania, on Flickr

Copper cut out ready for the floors of the cavities. I managed to get most of these apart from one piece from what was left over of the sheet I had used for the pickguard.

BodyScreening10 by stratamania, on Flickr

The floor of the cavities done.

BodyScreening11 by stratamania, on Flickr

And the walls completed.

BodyScreening12 by stratamania, on Flickr

The jack recess I will probably use a bit of conductive paint, as fitting copper in here would be reminiscent of a toadstool without the mushroom.

Next jobs coming up will be on the neck...

 

[Cagey]

Seems there should be a pile of pictures in the previous post, but nothing's showing up.

Never mind. They're there now.