banner

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Need advice on guitar build

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Need advice on guitar build

    I got this Lite Ash Strat a few days ago. I wanted one forever, and got it really cheap knowing there where issues. The neck is in great shape thankfully. The body? Not so much! I love a fight, though

    I plan on placing a Floyd Rose, but after hardware and of course finish removal I saw this. Someone took a butter knife to that area for some reason, and I am trying to figure out how to replace that wood and be structurally sound.

    Shape a piece of ash and glue, or is there any other product that can fill that in otherwise?

    Thank you

  • #2
    Not sure I understand. Wont the pick-guard hide that?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    -=The Dali
    --== Unabashed Alex Lifeson Fan

    Visit My Guitar Building Blog at www.hammersandchords.com

    Comment


    • #3
      Are you worried a Floyd post won't have enough wood there?
      Administrator of the SDUGF

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Mincer View Post
        Are you worried a Floyd post won't have enough wood there?
        Yes, that's exactly my concern.

        Comment


        • #5
          How good are you with a router? You could route a clean line and glue a small block in there for stability.


          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
          -=The Dali
          --== Unabashed Alex Lifeson Fan

          Visit My Guitar Building Blog at www.hammersandchords.com

          Comment


          • #6
            I wouldn’t use filler. I would add new wood


            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
            -=The Dali
            --== Unabashed Alex Lifeson Fan

            Visit My Guitar Building Blog at www.hammersandchords.com

            Comment


            • #7
              Oof. Adding wood to then drill out that same wood and anchor an incredibly touchy tremolo system seems like asking for headaches. You'd have to route an amazingly clean line and get a wicked adherence with the new wood section before even thinking about anchoring anything. Like really clamp the beejeezus out of it. You'd want the wood to be hard wood, I think, and then be verrrry precise with any pilot holes so the new wood doesn't split. Even with these precautions, the new wood will never be as structurally sound as the original wood would be. I have a hard time picturing this guitar performing as pictured over the long term and if it were my project I'd strongly consider fitting something to the existing trem holes. If floating the trem is important, what if you set up a standard Fender trem to float? You only get a few steps worth of bend compared to the Floyd's 3-4 steps, but could be a good compromise. So I guess if you want a project and don't mind it potentially failing down the line, go for it! But if you want it to hold up and hold tune and play great for years to come, or possibly sell to someone else, maybe pass on the Floyd Rose. My two cents.
              Originally posted by crusty philtrum
              Anyone who *sings* at me through their teeth deserves to have a bus drive through their face
              http://www.youtube.com/alexiansounds

              Comment


              • #8
                What about the Floyd Rose Rail Tail? Or the VegaTrem? Not the same as a normal Floyd Rose, but might be easier?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by alex1fly View Post
                  Oof. Adding wood to then drill out that same wood and anchor an incredibly touchy tremolo system seems like asking for headaches. You'd have to route an amazingly clean line and get a wicked adherence with the new wood section before even thinking about anchoring anything. Like really clamp the beejeezus out of it. You'd want the wood to be hard wood, I think, and then be verrrry precise with any pilot holes so the new wood doesn't split. Even with these precautions, the new wood will never be as structurally sound as the original wood would be. I have a hard time picturing this guitar performing as pictured over the long term and if it were my project I'd strongly consider fitting something to the existing trem holes. If floating the trem is important, what if you set up a standard Fender trem to float? You only get a few steps worth of bend compared to the Floyd's 3-4 steps, but could be a good compromise. So I guess if you want a project and don't mind it potentially failing down the line, go for it! But if you want it to hold up and hold tune and play great for years to come, or possibly sell to someone else, maybe pass on the Floyd Rose. My two cents.
                  After cleaning up some more it looks like this thing has had a Floyd in it before. Notice the dowels? They line up perfectly with my Floyd Rose bridge pivot points on the bridge. I checked scale which matches up just about perfect as well.
                  Attached Files

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    And I will be gluing dowels in the old Strat bridge mount holes. I found some ash dowels that should do ok. Also, I usually deck my Floyd's to the top of the guitar for dive only.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I noticed those dowels. You could give it a shot... might be enough word there.


                      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                      -=The Dali
                      --== Unabashed Alex Lifeson Fan

                      Visit My Guitar Building Blog at www.hammersandchords.com

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by The Dali View Post
                        I noticed those dowels. You could give it a shot... might be enough word there.


                        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                        That's where the bridge will be sitting after measuring the scale length and side to side.

                        Hmm. Not very much real estate there. What do you all think?

                        Attached Files

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I've had to fix these a lot in my career, and it's very tough - even with ash. Best suggestion is rout and replace with a BIG chunk of ash, like 3 inches square and 1 inch deep at least. Then redrill and rout for fitment. Won't be fun at all, but it should work. Pay attention to your grain when you reglue with hide glue or Titebond. Run it the same direction as the rest of the body.

                          If your body was alder, it would be even tougher. That is a high stress area, and many times even a repair won't mean more trouble down the road. Good luck!
                          aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Interesting thread. I will have to face up to a similar job that I have put off until I have acces to somewhere appropriate to carry it out.

                            I have to replace a non-standard spaced trem with a two point gotoh. One of the posts doesn't line up at all, the other is off-centre, so at some stage I'll have to decide between refilling the post holes and routing out a section of wood and filling with a block...
                            ..or maybe a combination.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Ahpook View Post

                              That's where the bridge will be sitting after measuring the scale length and side to side.

                              Hmm. Not very much real estate there. What do you all think?
                              Now that i see it i don’t like it, especially with the fact that you would likely seem wood missing ... i think would look for another body option.


                              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                              -=The Dali
                              --== Unabashed Alex Lifeson Fan

                              Visit My Guitar Building Blog at www.hammersandchords.com

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X