Strat body - with a close eye on weight

WezV

There are easier ways to position a top, but i need to be able to accurately position this to do a few tasks before it gets glued on.

First task, 4mm thick bloodwood does not bend easily, and i have a forearm contour on this.  I am going to route 2mm channels  on the back to help it bend - but obviously I don't want them visible when its done, so i need to get as close to the edge as possible and need an accurate outline to get there

second task - i want to route the f-hole in the top before its glued on.   once that's done i can still tweak the cavities and reinforce any weak areas on the top  before its glued on if i need to.  

stickyfiddle

This looks fantastic. Wows and Wis-es duly awarded.

 That top almost gives it a hint of a Red Special vibe. I like it!

TimberG

@WezV good information in this thread, interested in how the forearm contour turns out and a cleaver way of solving a problem. 

WezV

here are the relief cuts on the contour - not perfect, but they will do the job


now with many tops, that would be enough to make it quite bendy, but bloodwood is comparable to ebony in hardness so its still very inflexible.   As a belt and braces measure I sprayed both sides with some veneer softener, covered it with tin foil and got the household iron on it for a few minutes - it worked really well

its now it clamps whilst it dries out - high quality spool clamps these.  looks like there is a gap on the curve - but that is my pencil line from when i drew on the top

WezV

The close eye on weight ignored the weight of the blood wood.  It's a very dense wood, comparable to ebony.

anyway, it's on and it's added more than a pound in weight.

i have routed neck pocket, trem cavities and pickups.... and we are sitting just over 4 1/2lb. With a oversized control cavity still to do.   Dont nut think I  going to get it under 4lb now, but it is looking awesome and the drop top worked perfectly.

i had a debate whether to do the f-hole before or after gluing the top on.  In the end I took a tracing of the cavities and glued it first.  So I still have that to route at some point too

pics in the next few days.  @PhilKing dropped off the bridge and a lovely Birdseye maple strat neck the other day.  It's going to look great next to these woods 

WezV

pics of the body/forearm bend




and a mockup with the B/E maple  neck and BKP bridge

Rabs

Wow..  that looks great man..  Really is a nice combination of woods going on there ...  (can we get a back shot with the neck on?)

Makes me look forward to my own walnut build even more now which will be coming soon  ( I should finish that Korina one this week)..  

paulnb57

Loiks a lordy that looks good!

PVO_Dave

Looks great Wez!

WezV

I will get some pics of the back at some point.

i know walnut and maple go well together, and I reckon blood wood and maple will complement each other nicely too.  

I wasn't sure whether the bloodwood and walnut would work as well, but I am liking it so far.  Obviously there is a fair chance the bloodwood won't be red at all in 10 years,  but it should still have a nice warm richness to it

ThePrettyDamned

That looks absolutely stunning. 

PhilKing

It's looking great Wez.  The neck really looks good with the bloodwood.

PhilKing

Just wondering how this is going?  Did you get the F-hole in yet?

WezV

Not yet, I had a little op a few weeks back which stopped progress.  

I have the template sorted ready for the f-hole.   

WezV

Oh, and I rescued the seized truss rod.  Managed to get the nut removed and all cleaned up.

PhilKing

Hope everything's OK from the operation.  Great news on the truss rod, after Sandy I wasn't sure what it would have done to it.  There's no rush on anything, I'll not be back over until late September.  I might bring the pickups and electrics with me, so you can hear the Mojotone Quiet Coils, and how close to a real Fender tone they are, but with no hum at all.  I'll also bring some strings, as I have some unusual gauges that I use - I'm thinking I might go with 9, 12, 16, 26, 36, 46, though I could also put a 10 on it instead of the 9, depends how the neck feels.

WezV

right, after a bit of a break and a holiday I am back on it

A couple of the trickier non-standard aspects are now done - the f-hole and the double blade switches


just got to do the holes for the neck and trem and its onto finishing

paulnb57

Bloody hel thats nice!
What the Idea with the 2 switches?

WezV

Because 2 is clearly better than 1.


Okay.  I forgot what @PhilKing said he wanted to do with two switches

prowla

WezV said:

right, after a bit of a break and a holiday I am back on it

A couple of the trickier non-standard aspects are now done - the f-hole and the double blade switches


just got to do the holes for the neck and trem and its onto finishing

Every thought of making a marble guitar?
You'd definitely have a close eye on weight with one of those!