I am well aware that I am out of sequence, given that SP5 was completed some 5 years ago.
Sp4 is a Stratele hybid, but (obvs) the right way around - Strat body, Tele appointments. Most handmade too, the fretboard was CNC'd (not by me, but on the machine I eventually bought), everything else by hand.
Birdseye maple neck, not sure what the fretboard is (I'll probably remember at some point - Kingwood maybe?), and it'll have Steinberger gearless tuners. 3-piece mahogany body, 25" scale.
I originally finished the body with a red gelstain and some polyacrylic, but frankly I don't like red guitars so I've sanded it all back and it's now stained black with Chestnut spirit stain. I've also mixed some of the same stain into some Chestnut water-borne acrylic lacquer which will be brushed on. It's very, very black.
Pickups will be a Bareknuckle 'bucker in the neck (I think it's a Stormy Monday) and a stacked Axetec tele pickup in the bridge, mounted in a left-handed bridge with 3 compensated brass saddles. There'll be a teeny active tone control if I can find somewhere to mount the battery.
Pictures will follow; yesterday I cut some long-grain beechveneers on the bandsaw to line the neck pocket - a bit loose compared to the neck.They got superglued in and then trimmed, so they're pretty much invisible now and the neck is rock-solid.
Tomorrow will see more lacquer being applied, and I may start on adjusting the shop-bought scratchplate to better match the body shape. Possibly fretting will occur.
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http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/01 neck.jpg
Body after the old finish was removed, a couple of coats of acrylic mixed with Chestnut spirit stain:
http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/02 black front.jpg
Side shot - I put bodies on these painter pyramids.
http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/03 side pyramids.jpg
Obligatory mock-up:
http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/04 mockup.jpg
The acrylic doesn't self-level as well as the polyacrylic I used to use, so sanded it all back to flat.
http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/05 sanded.jpg
http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/06 back sanded.jpg
Stripped it again and I've diluted some lacquer so that it flows better - hopeully it'll self-level a bit now.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
I went back to my old approach to lacquering - lay on a thin, fairly even coat, then keep brushing until it's dry. That seems to get me a thinner, flatter finish. Then scrub with various grades of turning scourer pad things and repeat until bored or happy with the results. Only takes about 10-15 minutes per coat this way instead of two hours, plus half an hour of getting rid of drips.
I'd been thinking about trying to fettle the cheapo Telecaster scratchplate I bought onto this but it turns out I can get some nice brushed aluminium composite stuff for £6 per A3 sheet, at which point I can CNC cut it to fit exactly. It'll take some work to get the design right but I think it'll be worth it.
I've ordered some 3M Dibond-a-like - brushed aluminium either side of a plastic core, 3mm thick in total. That ought to be a lot easier to machine than acrylic or similar.
I like the contoured neck access, what's the consensus on the ferrules approach instead of the neck plate - is it strong enough ?
That's the way I'd like to do mine as well as I like a smooth and not too thick joint rather than a big metal plate but a plate is obviously more structurally sound.
But probably still more solid than a Gibson Les Paul tenon joint
You might be right on the fretboard - I bought a small job-lot ages ago, had some machined, kept some as-was. Having checked it's definitely not Kingwood, but could be Pau Ferro or at the dark end of Zebrawood maybe.
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This is the current state of the body - not a great finish, but acceptable to me at this stage. The neck now fits very snugly.
http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/120517/01 body.jpg
On to fretting. Because the fretboard was CNC cut, and the slots milled, the first job is to clean out the slots using these torture implements - the hook lifts out any chips or dust, and the little saw is in case anything needs deepening.
http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/120517/02 implements.jpg
Then check with this nifty gauge:
http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/120517/03 slot depth.jpg
This is pretty huge fretwire. Cut into appropriately sized bits with a pair of Cresent compound side-cutters - they have a double-fulcrum thing so lots of mechanical advantage.
http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/120517/04 frets cut.jpg
The tang is too long for the slot though.
http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/120517/04 slot vs tang.jpg
So next the tang is cut short with the grey nippers, then the slot is filled with Titebond using the syringe and a blunted needle. Wet cloth for wiping up any glue that squeezes out.
http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/120517/05 fretting stuff.jpg
I use a Stewmac arbor thingy for pushing the frets in - much easier than hammering and better results (for me at least).
http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/120517/07 arbor press.jpg
First one done. 21 more to go. I spotted here that the end of the neck could do with some tidying, now sorted.
http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/120517/08 first.jpg
And all in. Not bad for an evening's work. I also trimmed the ends down with the Crescent cutters, then they'll get filed flush with the fingerboard edges. More later.
http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/builds/SP4/120517/09 all fitted.jpg
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