Warmoth Strat

[Jair]

Its been a wile since I posted last, Ive been busy lately with no time to work on my new project. Well this last couple days Ive had some time here and there to work on a few things.
I originally had stained my mahogany body with gun stock stain if you've seen my first thread in the "Just out of the box" area, well, I didn't like the way that the body had turned out, it was to dark and I really wanted it to be more of a natural finish so I went ahead and sanded her back down to clean wood and just clear satin poly it with like seven coats of the wipe on.
It turned out exactly like I had originally wanted so I'm starting to put it together now and thought I would start a new build thread.

Here are some progress pictures of where I am so far.

 

[Jair]

Here is the body finished and ready to put together.

Also, here is the pick guard that I designed out of two different guards and then covered it in genuine leather. I also leathered the input jack to match. They turned out real nice I think.

 

[m4rk0]

Show us the leather!!
I always thought that leather could look really cool on a pickguard!

 

[Jair]

And the neck. I created a original logo for the headstock with my kid's initials. I engraved and then burned it into it so it would kind of resemble a branding iron mark. I had originally bought one of those chrome sticker Warmoth logos for the bottom edge of it but a couple of the letters the small "made in USA" wouldn't stick, so I just took it off. I was thinking of getting another to replace it.

 

[m4rk0]

I like it a lot!

 

[Jair]

Show us the leather!!
I always thought that leather could look really cool on a pickguard!

Hi Marko. I added a pic of it to the last post.

Heres what it looks like mounted to the body.

 

[JaySwear]

thats really cool! i love the custom pickguard. not just because it's leather, but because it'll work so well with the bridge. i've seen a few top routed strats with TOM bridges and they just look wrong since the pickguard still has the vintage trem cut-out on it. this whole project is really cool

 

[Jair]

Hey thanks man. I know what you mean about it looking out of place. I haven't seen any cut like I did mine. I just cut off the standard trem area and flowed out a new edge and added a new screw hole.

 

[exaN]

Haha that's something you don't see everyday, I also like the fact that you made it TOM/string through, I LOVE TOM and string through :hello2:

 

[m4rk0]

really like the string through ... and I am glad you didn't go for the sad face routing

 

[Nando Vallart]

Lovely!

really like the string through ... and I am glad you didn't go for the sad face routing

+1
The arched looks so wrong!

 

[bbl4ck]

Ya got some really cool things goin' on with that build...
I love it  :icon_thumright:
:rock-on:

 

[AutoBat]

arched looks great on a V or V2 though.

 

[bpmorton777]

I like that look!!

Brian

 

[Jair]

I finished pickup install and all of the wiring tonight.
I will probably put the neck on tomorrow, is there anything I should do to it before I bolt it on? I have never owned or used one of these pro necks before, I think I understand the written directions that came with it.  :-\

Thanks for the comments also.

 

[Cagey]

I will probably put the neck on tomorrow, is there anything I should do to it before I bolt it on?

Absolutely. You must first drink 4 beers, disrobe, then kill three chickens, draining their blood into a clay container. Sprinkle the blood on a juniper bush by the light of the full moon, and burn the remaining carcasses in a coal-fed fire. Spread the ashes under a crabapple tree, then wait 2 days. Don't forget to practice your scales! At that point, you can install the neck and all will be well. A word to the wise: beware of small dogs. They suck.

Alternatively, you can follow Warmoth's instructions, but what do they know? Their online instructions don't say anything about beer or sacrificial poultry.

 

[pabloman]

Cagey's been hittin the sauce.

 

[Jair]

I will probably put the neck on tomorrow, is there anything I should do to it before I bolt it on?

Absolutely. You must first drink 4 beers, disrobe, then kill three chickens, draining their blood into a clay container. Sprinkle the blood on a juniper bush by the light of the full moon, and burn the remaining carcasses in a coal-fed fire. Spread the ashes under a crabapple tree, then wait 2 days. Don't forget to practice your scales! At that point, you can install the neck and all will be well. A word to the wise: beware of small dogs. They suck.

Alternatively, you can follow Warmoth's instructions, but what do they know? Their online instructions don't say anything about beer or sacrificial poultry.

I did this except I substituted chickens with cats and the moon wasn't exactly full.  I hate cats but the rock gods seemed to love them as they accepted them with much gratitude thus casting much effluvium and mystical rock n roll mojo into my guitar.  :headbang1:

 

[Cagey]

Well, you can't argue with success, but I can't help but think that by killing cats you pissed off several groups of gods in the process of making one group happy. We shall see.

 

[Jair]

:laughing7: Thats funny....Seriously though.

My concern stemmed from reading a couple posts a few months ago someone had said somthing about wishing that they had done something with the heal adjuster before the attached the neck and someone els stating that they had to learn that lesson the hard way. Well I couldn't remember exactly what it was they were talking about and I couldn't find that particular thread.

Also, the directions say to tighten the slotted heal nut (though mine is Allen not slotted) until I get the fretboard flat and it does seem to have a slight forward curve or convex or if it was strung up it would have to much relief with the added tension of the strings. So the directions also say that after I tighten the heal to flat that the side adjuster nut will be recessed approximately 1/16" but, mine is already recessed about 1/16".