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  • S KITS?

    Been pricing Strat kits alot lately for my son... PGk, Warmoth, BYOG... all running fairly close in price. Which one should I consider? Advantages? Anything to watch out for?
    Last edited by Jermo3178; 01-24-2015, 04:11 PM.

  • #2
    Re: S KITS?

    I would probably either go with Warmoth or Precision, due to their reputation.
    Wanted: 1982 Gibson Les Paul Standard, Serial Number 82232531.

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    • #3
      Re: S KITS?

      Warmoth has nicely finished bodies, but expensive.

      USA Custom Guitars has nicer necks, but not finished.

      Stew-Mac uses bodies and necks made by others... Same items can be purchased from other online suppliers.

      Which is why I invested in a CNC machine and CNC programs... As well as coating (Painting) equipment.

      Fender also sells bodies and guitars...
      Support Code 211 - Stop the bad boys, you know COPS!
      When we do right nobody remembers when we do wrong nobody forgets!
      Red Devils - 1% all the way!
      Screw anyone who post negative crap on my post!
      Finding out that there really is a lot of traffic on the Highway to Hell, but no waiting line on the Stairway to Heaven.

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      • #4
        Re: S KITS?

        Originally posted by Stratman View Post
        Which is why I invested in a CNC machine and CNC programs... As well as coating (Painting) equipment.
        .
        I have an idea! Why dont you make him the kit with your cnc machine?

        Originally posted by Stratman View Post

        Fender also sells bodies and guitars...
        And here i was thinking they only made amps

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        • #5
          Re: S KITS?

          He found a interesting natural Tele body on the web, and wanted to see if we could recreate that on a strat... so unfinished is the route I'm looking for. If not for that, I'd just buy a MiM already put together and fix it up.

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          • #6
            Re: S KITS?

            A raw wood kit allows you the option of paint type, and also some routing options should you choose that. I've had some great stuff from Warmoth over the years, and it ships quite quickly without the finishing.

            I did contact USACG a couple of times about bodies and necks, but both times they never responded after the initial query.

            B.Hefner is also another option. They do good work with vintage shapes and neck profiles, but they take forever. I've also had 2 piece bodies with both off centre joins and the join going diagonally across the body. This is with Ash too, something you expect to have a see-through finish on.

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            • #7
              Re: S KITS?

              Apparently, PGK have 12" necks.. and Warmoth was vintage, standard 9.5 and up, and a 10-16 combo (anybody try one of these)

              Oh and this is what he's wanting to try....

              Click image for larger version

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              Last edited by Jermo3178; 01-25-2015, 01:42 PM.

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              • #8
                Re: S KITS?

                On a side note, since the fender body and necks were mentioned, how hard is it to get the poly off a MIM and refinish it? not necessarily natural, just in general?

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                • #9
                  Re: S KITS?

                  Poly and cockroaches will survive a nuclear war.....


                  And the grainfill/sealer stuff underneath is also an issue for any non-opaque finish

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                  • #10
                    Re: S KITS?

                    ask Kevlar where he got his Telecasters from. they kind of have the same vibe as that one you have pictured above. the place also has stratocastor kits if my memory serves me correctly.

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                    • #11
                      Re: S KITS?

                      What I would do would be to order templates for the body, and get a neck from a licensed neck/body maker, like Musikraft, Warmoth, USACG, etc. (Or get a used Fender neck off of something good like a MIM Classic Series, MIJ Fender, MIA Fender, etc.) Without building the body yourself, you really aren't doing much more than putting a bunch of parts together. It's fun for a bit, but only minimally educational. Building the body from raw materials will teach him good, basic, and fun woodworking things, like wood selection, jointing, gluing/clamping, planing, routing, and sanding (not to mention finishing). Building a neck is a bit more advanced. It is not the hardest thing in the world to do, if you are set up for it. However, it might be a bit beyond the level of "building" you want to do with him, at least for now. The radiusing, fretwork, and nut work in particular are better suited for a second or third build IMO.

                      For that look, you probably want to scavenge some old, weathered wood, or take the body you've already made to a sandblasting company. Have them minimally blast the wood, just to sink the areas in between the grain a tiny bit. Then stain, then carefully sand down the high spots to lighten them. You can do this in multiple stages with various colors of stain for a more natural look.
                      Last edited by ItsaBass; 01-25-2015, 04:08 PM.
                      Originally posted by LesStrat
                      Yogi Berra was correct.
                      Originally posted by JOLLY
                      I do a few chord things, some crappy lead stuff, and then some rhythm stuff.

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                      • #12
                        Re: S KITS?

                        Problem is you really ramp up the cost. You generally start to need a lot of specialist tools plus the templates themselves. I'd guess that this would triple the cost of a body if there is only 1 made.

                        Finishing a guitar is a good project for a first time if there is no prior woodworking experience or no previous woodworking tools about.

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                        • #13
                          Re: S KITS?

                          I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that anyone talking about building a guitar not only won't stop at just one, but also already owns basic woodworking tools – a drill, a jigsaw, and a router, at the very least. Planing, plane sanding, and jointing can be done at any proper lumber yard or hardwoods store if you don't own the equipment, and then the kid at least gets to at least understand (and usually see) the process. Even if only a router is owned, you're talking about spending the same amount on a body as you would on the raw materials and milling.

                          I guess it all depends on what experience you intend for the kid. If you just want to do something light and fun together, by all means just get the stuff pre-made. But if you want to actually begin to teach the kid a vocational skill, and how to approach building projects in general – something which fewer and fewer kids learn as we move farther into the future – then build the body from scratch. It isn't hard or expensive. I'm not trying to force that approach on anyone, just naming its merits.
                          Originally posted by LesStrat
                          Yogi Berra was correct.
                          Originally posted by JOLLY
                          I do a few chord things, some crappy lead stuff, and then some rhythm stuff.

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                          • #14
                            Re: S KITS?

                            It is certainly good to encourage people into building, especially kids who will get a great deal of personal satisfaction from a hands on project with Dad. I started scratch builds a short while back having started on fender 'kits' which I finished, progressing to glue-in kits, then making from wood blanks.

                            Thing is, I'm not getting that level of involvement wanted from the OP - the first post seemed to indicate shaped bodies. All the suppliers mentioned have their main business as this - either raw wood or finished.

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                            • #15
                              Re: S KITS?

                              Oh I'd love to build a guitar... The whole guitar... But I don't have the woodworking equipment that my dad and grandpa had when I was a kid.. We built furniture, tables, chests and such... I do have drills, a cpl routers and things, but that's the limit of my shed in the subdivision I live in. So a finished shape is unfortunately my limit for the time being. Sad but true... Nonetheless I do appreciate it!
                              And to all the other replies too... Please keep em coming

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