Sonic Blue Hardtail Stratocaster WIP

[JonatanOTG]

This is gonna be a good looking guitar!  :icon_thumright:

The first thing I did was install the String Ferrules on the back of the body.  I used the soldering iron method and it was super easy!

(Warning! Newbie might ask a stupid question!  :redflag

I've never heard about the soldering iron method before, is it that you heat the string ferrules up to make them slip in the holes easier?

 

[rapfohl09]

This is gonna be a good looking guitar!  :icon_thumright:

The first thing I did was install the String Ferrules on the back of the body.  I used the soldering iron method and it was super easy!

(Warning! Newbie might ask a stupid question!  :redflag

I've never heard about the soldering iron method before, is it that you heat the string ferrules up to make them slip in the holes easier?

Yeah that is exactly it. The heat melts the finish a little and lets them slip right in.

 

[JonatanOTG]

Yeah that is exactly it. The heat melts the finish a little and lets them slip right in.

Ok, thanks!

 

[GearBoxTy]

Alright, slight change of plans...I just pulled the trigger on this Showcase Neck:

Warmoth Pro Construction, Flame Maple/Flame Maple, 1-11/16" nut width, compound radius (10"-16"), Standard Thin, 6100 frets, Black Face Dots, with a Clear Gloss finish. 

I guess it will be a few weeks before it arrives, so hopefully I can get the pickups and all the wiring and other stuff done before it gets here.  I'm planning on having a local luthier install a bone nut, do the fretwork, and final setup.

I wasn't going to get a figured maple neck but saw three in the Showcase and figured I'd go with one since they're only $40 more than a plain maple/maple neck.  And, you need to act fast when you see something you like in the Showcase!!!

I also ordered the Gotoh Vintage-style tuners (chrome), 2 chrome barrel string trees, and standard chrome strap buttons.  All that is left is the pickups!

Naturally, I will post pics in my "Just Out Of The Box" thread when the parts arrive!  I just thought I'd share here that the wheels are in motion...

 

[keeper006]

Love Sonic Blue. Your
choices are classy.  :icon_thumright:

 

[GearBoxTy]

A slight progress update...

I have applied the aluminum shielding to the entire back of the pickguard and mounted the controls.

And, since I can't wait and I know most of you can't wait either, here is a picture of "things in place".  You can see nothing is screwed on but this gives an idea of how it's going to look!

The pickups have been ordered and should be waiting for me at work tomorrow (6/4/2012).  So, I'll get things wired up soon.

 

[nexrex]

Looks brilliant so far. I love sonic blue

 

[line6man]

Looking good. :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

I agree. That's gonna be a fine instrument.

 

[ezas]

Never get tired of seeing the clean lines of a strat. It's really looking good. Good call on the neck. I love flamey neck woods.

 

[JonatanOTG]

Looks great!  :icon_thumright:

 

[GearBoxTy]

I finally found some time to wire the pickups.

I used the smbstressfest YouTube videos to assist with the wiring as well as a Dimarzio wiring diagram from their website. It is wired so the first Tone control (middle knob) affects the Neck pickup and the second Tone control (bottom knob) affects the Bridge pickup, not the Middle pickup like a regular Strat.  But, I did the heat shrink tubing tricks Jason suggests to keep things clean.  And, I only had to use my de-soldering tool once!

Here is the front view of the assembled pickguard.  Again, Dimarzio Injector Bridge pickup, Dimarzio Area '61 Middle pickup, and Dimarzio Injector Neck pickup:

Next up was the grounding wire for the bridge.  I took Line6Man's advice and got some copper tape then soldered the ground wire to the tape and installed the bridge.

I rolled the bridge mounting screws on a bar of soap before installing the bridge.

And here is the shape of things to come:

I know everyone can't wait to see finished projects and loves pictures, so I hope this pacifies for a while!!!

It's probably been shared 1,000,000 times here but this is the playlist of the video series I've referenced a lot for my build:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL82F87E351853722B&feature=plcp

 

[Updown]

I rolled the bridge mounting screws on a bar of soap before installing the bridge.

Looks good.

BUT .....

NEVER USE SOAP  :icon_scratch: 

v
v
v
v

USE WAX  :icon_thumright:

 

[line6man]

I rolled the bridge mounting screws on a bar of soap before installing the bridge.

Looks good.

BUT .....

NEVER USE SOAP  :icon_scratch: 

v
v
v
v

USE WAX  :icon_thumright:

What's wrong with soap? The idea is to lubricate the threading. Anything that will do that will work fine.

 

[Cagey]

Maybe nothing, but you never know what's going to be in soap. Might be small amounts of lye, which is NFG for organics. Then there's perfumes, colorants, bactericides, etc. Plus, it's not designed to lubricate - it's a surfactant. It's designed to separate particles. So, you don't know what it'll do to the wood over time, or what it'll deteriorate into even if it doesn't affect the wood. Best to just avoid it. Wax is usually easy enough to come by. No sense tempting fate.

 

[AprioriMark]

Man, this thing is perfect.  Awesome, awesome job.  I'll be following this hoping for sound clips. 

-Mark

 

[GearBoxTy]

Alright, I wired and installed the output jack and jackplate.

Then, I wired the bridge ground and the output jack wires to the pickguard assembly and tested it.  Tones worked! Switch worked!  Volume...didn't work.  It was always on regardless of position.  I think I either fried the internals or shorted it somehow when I soldered the one lug to the casing.

After multiple "are you sure?" conversations with Line6Man, I decided to replace the 250k CTS pot I got from Warmoth with a Dimarzio 500k pot I bought a while ago when I thought I was replacing all the components of my Ibanez RG7321 when I replaced its pickups.

It looked like this before installing it:

Well, it went in just fine and soldered 3,000 times easier than the CTS pot I got from Warmoth.  The grounding solder flowed on the case quickly and easily!  Tested every pickup position, both Tone controls, and Volume up and down and everything works perfectly!!!

Now, on to strap buttons, tuning machines, then it's time to go to my local luthier (Kraig Phillips - www.phillipsguitars.com)

 

[GearBoxTy]

Today (7/9/2012) I received the Allparts Tapered Reaming Tool which I used to ream the tuner holes out to accommodate the Gotoh Vintage Tuner bushings.

Here is the neck with 5 of the bushings in:

It took some time to get the holes to a proper size for the bushings, but I did it!

And, here is the finished product...ready for tuner installation (I forgot to brush off some of the final shavings before taking the picture):

My thumbs hurt!  Initially, I was pushing the bushings in with my thumbs when I got the holes reamed for the bushings to be about a 1/16" away from home.  I put a folded up napkin on the bushing and pressed hard with both thumbs.  Eventually, I used the heel of a screwdriver over the napkin with a lot of force to get the bushings to seat.

Also, you might have noticed that I am using the foam packing the neck came in as a work surface; I've done this with the body and it's foam packing as well.  I have basically been building this guitar a little at a time on the kitchen table since I don't have a fancy neck jig and work space all decked out with Stewart-MacDonald tools for my build!  And, I think the foam shipping material is perfectly re-purposed as a protective work surface for the parts!  Your mileage may vary...

 

[ezas]

Kitchen table? Heck I use the kitchen counter and the kitchen table is for tools overflow (and holds the drill press). I think it probably goes without saying there is no Missus around to appease.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

That's my kind of kitchen.