What I learned at camp-- I mean guitar-building

[Tweed]

A few things I've noticed that might help those who haven't purchased any W parts yet:

I could be imagining this, but it seems that the Vintage Strat tremolo is ideally meant for a 1-5/8" nut width. I have a 1-11/16" and the E strings look just a little too close to the fretboard edge close the body joint. This bridge's string spacing is 2-1/4." The Fender Am Standard is 2-1/8."

I love playing a raw wenge neck. But my palms put out a lot of heat, and I can tell that the wood holds that heat much more than my other solid finished necks.

I really like these Vinyl T strap buttons they offer! They're the cheapest option and are much more secure than the common cone shaped ones. Also, the screws are short enough that the pilot hole didn't open into the chamber in that top horn!

Always lubricate your screws before working them into any wood surface!

 

[erogenousjones17]

I had the same bridge issue when putting my Strat together, so I picked up a Callaham Mexi Std bridge. Fits like a dream.  :icon_thumright:

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

I could be imagining this, but it seems that the Vintage Strat tremolo is ideally meant for a 1-5/8" nut width. I have a 1-11/16" and the E strings look just a little too close to the fretboard edge close the body joint. This bridge's string spacing is 2-1/4." The Fender Am Standard is 2-1/8."

Ok, that's something I'm not getting: I can see how the angle of the strings (spreading from thin [1 5/8"] at neck to wide [2 7/32"] at bridge) would cause the strings to be closer to the fretboard right in the middle.  And I get how a wider nut causes a proportionately smaller spread angle (ie - since the difference from the width of the nut & bridge is less, it's therefore closer to a straight line), but what I don't seem to get is .... actually, in trying to formulate how to ask that question, I think I might have answered it.  :icon_scratch: :toothy11: 

Since the width at the heel doesn't change between the 1 5/8ths & 1 11/16ths nuts, there's correspondingly less width for the outer edges of the strings to stay over the fretboard.  Got it!  :rock-on:

Related question: does the 1 3/4" neck have any fretboard overhang at the neck heel?  I know from experience that the baritone does, and the superwide page makes it very clear that there's some there as well.

Please note: I've come to discover the joy & comfort of huge necks (1 7/8" fatback currently under construction for me), so this is all academic for me, just a curiosity.  :laughing7:

Hmm..... Perhaps I need to build lots of different guitars with slightly different options & see for myself.  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[llmtelecaster]

I've got the Callaham "vintage narrow" bridge on all my strats. It has the 2-7/32" mounting spacing, but 2-1/16" string spread. I highly recommend them and moving fast on one because they are a limited production item.