Next!!! StRATocaster - Finished w/ PICS

Preacher · Last edited by Preacher on Thu Jul 03, 2008 5:55 am; edited 9 times in total

Well what to do, what to do. I received a new MF and GC mailer the other day, oohing and aahhing about this guitar and that, when I mentioned to my wife, here is a guitar you could buy me for Christmas... when she says, "uhmmm, you make your own, if you want one, then make it..."
So here we go...

I am thinking of taking some of my left over Poplar and making a Strat. The only question is this... I have a template but I need info on a tremelo and the cut outs for it and the bridge.
Anyone got any ideas?

Jake D · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:41 am Post subject:

Man. I imagine it would be pretty hard to build a strat body by hand. I'll be muy impressed if you can figure that out. But I don't really have anything constructive to add.
What kind of strat do you want to build?

Preacher · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:53 am Post subject:

Well I scoured the net and have a drawing of the front for a template with the route holes and all. I can use my jig for the neck cutout on the tele for the strat as the pockets are the same.

My main concern is I know the swimming hole route versus the individual pup routes on the face, I think I would like to do the standard routes, leaves a little more meat to resonate.
But I do not know the pup route depths, the jack plate depth, the tremolo depth which I think routes plum through to the square hole on the back.
As far as the belly cut and the arm cut, thats why you have big belt sanders!!

I really think it will be pretty easy other than the detail on the bridge, I also thought about doing a hardtail bridge and not using the tremolo.
Some of you stratocaster specialist chime in here.

Preacher · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:08 am Post subject:

This is what I am thinking...

It is a replica of the Hendrix woodstock strat... "Olympic White" body with white PG, reversed headstock (optional for me...picture shows the traditional, if I find a lefty neck I might go Jimmi on a righty) with the large headstock, 21 vintage frets (although if I find a 22 I might go with it).
I think the white on white looks just killer on an old strat and it would give me an option to the tele, and the '51 which has shelved my Les Paul.
Chrome finishes on everything...

gpower · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 12:17 pm Post subject:

Can you find someone close who is going to change their strings. If they'll agree, pull the pick guard and measure away. If you put out some feelers, someone probably has a body you can measure from.
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Preacher · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 2:21 pm Post subject:

Well, I might have an even better option, my first guitar, a Sears and Roebuck Van Frankenstrat model, it has a tremolo bridge, and I think it might be close to 25.5 scale.
Cool

I guess I can check it and see how close it might be... ideas springing into my head!
Actually I would not be surprised if that bridge might be useable... that guitar would stay in tune no matter how many dives or pull ups I did, for $100 it was a good guitar in its time...
The black headstock I painted and never scraped off...

SAguitar · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 2:28 pm Post subject:

One small detail, the neck pockets are not identical. The back end of them is shaped different. One of them (can't remember which right now) is more rounded and the other is squared off more.

And a hardtail is probably the way to go! Most people who play Strats never use those whammers anyway. You'll get a little more sustain and tone with a fixed bridge, IMHO, and they are a lot easier to route for! Cool

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Jake D · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 2:33 pm Post subject:

I'd buy a unfinished body from Warmoth or Reliable Fender, take it home and say, "Honey. . . look at what I made! Impressive, huh? You got a man for a husband!"

But that's just how I roll. Cool

If I were you, I'd put the tremolo on it and keep the headstock facing down.

mjaggisan · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 3:15 pm Post subject:

Preacher · Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:20 am Post subject:

Jake, you are a GENIUS!!! Laughing

And Stan you are right the neck pocket for the strat is more square at the corners where the tele is rounded, but the 22 fret necks actually come over the top of that area, so I might be able to hide any gaps, but I will probably just make a new neck pocket for the strat like I did with the tele, two templates, one for the body and one with all the cutouts.

And I am seriously looking at doing a hardtail, but I like the whammy bar Rolling Eyes

and I think I have the whole router thing figured out for the hole for the tremolo, so do I go with a TWO point or a SIX point.
I saw one on Guitar Fetish for under $50 that had a solid metal piece where the sting go through and the springs attach. I was looking at the Van Halen clone (6 point) and it has a piece of bent metal for the string through so I probably won't use that tremolo... Wink

So two point / six point

Rigormortis · Lion Joined: 18 Nov 2006 Posts: 901

I'm surprised your wife kinda wants you to make a guitar.

Here, hold on a second, I'll ask my wife what she thinks about me building another guitar. . .

"You'd better just buy one. . " That's what she just said. Now she probably thinks I've gone nuts.

But she is really proud of my guitar, she says now, after telling me several times how much money I would have to make gigging to pay of it or that I'd better sell it.

Anyway, you can make the body if you take the time. We do things just as precise with an overhead router and jigs. But I'm not saying it's easy.

I bought mine roughed out from Warmoth. The wood was very well seasoned, which was one thing I needed; and the precise routing was done, well, precisely.

If you really need the depths, I can get those for you.
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--Rig

J_48_Johnson · Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 5:31 am Post subject:

Go ahead and make a Strat. body Preacher man. It isn't that hard to do! Here's my first attempt at a guitar, a Strat. clone all finished up:

Oops! Wrong picture. Let me find it here....

Ahh, here it is:

With a little help:

You can make any shape you like!
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Preacher · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:59 am Post subject:

Rig,
sounds like you have the same setup at the shop that we have. I usually don't use the overhead, just one of the high powered hand routers for the cutouts and recesses.
I have my plan all ready to make my jig, the only thing I am missing is the cutout for the tremolo, I might have to go ahead and order one and then mock it up and see what happens.

Preacher · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:21 am Post subject:

Well, the wood is ready to be glued... Since this is a painted body I am working around the little splits in the wood. It has set for about six months so all the cracking it is going to do has been done...

Here is my soon to be template, as soon as I find of piece of 1/2" scrap MDF...

The plot was a little light, but if you look hard enough, there is a body there. Laughing

SAguitar · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:11 am Post subject:

I can see it! It looks like an Olympic White Strat to me! Laughing

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...all the gray areas are becoming black holes...