My little project..

Jermo3178

Active member
So as some may know, I started a thread a bit back about getting a kit of some sort. It was originally supposed to be a father/son project... but with his school band, and the lure of them infernal "xstations", he quickly lost interest. Which then gave dear old dad a body to have a little fun with... so rather than adding to the "S kit" thread, and ultimately derailing my own thread... Here we go...

Here's what we started with.. Warmoth showcase body in alder.
alderbody.jpg

After some lengthy research... I've been researching this since about this time last year... I decided on Minwax Special Walnut covered in Birchwood Casey Tru Oil. I took the body and sanded it up to 400 grit for the stain. I applied the stain, left it on for about 2 minutes total, as I'm going for a slightly aged look of the wood.. not so much the look of a walnut stained piece of furniture.. After it dried for about 24 hours, I ran some 400 grit paper on it very very lightly. Then hit it with the first coat of Tru Oil. Let that dry for 24 hours.. The joys of working 12 hour shifts atm, makes the next part easy. You have no problem stepping away from a build if you're gone half a day and sleep most of the other half.. I ended up with 4 coats over the next 4 days, lightly using 1600 grit paper in between coats... here's a before and after. Not sure, but I think the 4 coats is going to be enough for what I'm wanting..
before-after.jpg

The neck arrived, and I'm pretty stoked about it. It's a maple w/ rosewood fretboard. 9.5" radius with 6150 "jumbo" frets. Still trying to figure out about adding a headstock decal.. and if I even want to.. can't wait to get this thing attached to the body.
neck.jpg

Well, I'm off to work... Have a rockin' saturday!
 
Last edited:
Re: My little project..

pretty kool looking.. body looks good but id prefer it to to be a bit darker.. if possible if it was me
 
Re: My little project..

Coolness! Well the neck be oiled as well?
I was gonna go for an unfinished neck and oil it as well, but I really liked the figuring of that rosewood board. According to Warmoth, it's satin nitro... figure it will age and turn nicely on it's own... hopefully..

Our system is down this morning, so I get the pleasure of getting paid to be on here ATM lol...
 
Re: My little project..

I tried staining on quite a bit of scrap... work let me have some busted and unusable skids to take home... I was going for just an aged wood look, kinda like the wood under the paint of SRV's or Bonnie Raitt's guitar, but didn't want to get to dark. I was using my sons Ipod to take the pics. It looks better in the flesh.
 
Re: My little project..

Quick add before I call it a night..

I found my little box of Fender goodness that I've been collecting over the past couple years... (actually found it the other day)
hardware.jpg

And I've painted the inside of the cavity with some StewMac shielding paint.
shielded.jpg
 
Re: My little project..

nice.. when I modded my guitar.. I debated against using shielding paint on my guitar as the reviews I read said that shielding tape was more effective but also more time consuming..

To be effectively shielded.. all the separated compartments and pickguard must be electronically connected
 
Re: My little project..

The only problem with the paint, and this is just my opinion, is waiting long enough for it to dry. If you've got a lot more going on with the build, it's no biggie. If that's what you're waiting on to get started with the rest, it's a PITA..
 
Re: My little project..

Dang that stain job you did looks GREAT, especially in the pic with the shielding paint... just the perfect color, not too dark looking. What color guard were you going with? Doesn't matter, pretty much anything will look good on that.

I'd vote for Tru Oiling the neck (the back of it anyway) as well. I did one with 543652346 coats and it's slick and nice, and I did another with 3 coats and it feels just slightly more ...well, finished than just bare wood. I love Tru Oil and would finish everything with it. I put a decal (a waterslide one) on both the headstocks I oiled, they adhered well enough but when I tried to overcoat the decals to bury them, the clear I used (Krylon Fusion) just peeled off, taking the decal with it. I then tried it over again on scrap wood, and found that just plain old Shellac ("Bullseye" dewaxed in spray cans from Walmart actually) didn't come off the tru oil. I probably shouldn't have oiled the face of the headstock, but I oiled them before I decided to decal them...
Hope this helps.
 
Re: My little project..

Been busy this week.. haven't really had time to do much. I did a quick mockup but I guess that pick didn't take. But I've installed the bridge and tuners.. and attached the neck for the time being, just to get an good idea of what's going on. When I get back tonight, hopefully I can work on it some more before I crash... anyway, since I know we all love pics..

The bridge is an American Special bridge.. vintage mount spacing, but with the narrower string spacing.
bridge.jpg
bridge-neckplate.jpg
I really wanted vintage style tuners on this thing cuz I really like them better, but seeing as I've had these Grovers sitting around for like 10 years just waiting on a neck, I figured.. why buy new...
grovers.jpg
 
Last edited:
Re: My little project..

Quick update... I got home tonight from work and hit this project HARD... insert that's what she said jokes here... Actually got it done except for a few final touches I'll do tomorrow.
I gotta get up in like 4 hours for work, so I'll upload some photos I took along the way tomorrow.
 
Re: My little project..

I love it so far. I wish every guitar I owned had a natural finish, I think they have much more character than any solid color guitars
 
Re: My little project..

Ok, so I came in last night from work and started working... finally finished and crashed about 4 hours before I had to be up for work. This was the initial joining of the neck and body... sorry for the craptacular pic.
IMG_20150315_111123_627.jpg

wired up the electronics and got them all neat for the cavity.
wiring.jpg

For anyone who wonders how fast tru oil builds up, this is the shine after the first 3 coats.. I sanded back lightly with 1600 grit paper in between coats.. and did after the last 1.. wanted more of a satin look.
sheen.jpg

This was my first idea.. going with the natural finish and all white controls, or parchment...
walnut strat.jpg
*DISCLAIMER* (not mine, just an idea off the net)
But seeing as I don't own any with the white/parchment plastic, I thought I'd keep it in line with all the other strats I have... Unfortunately, I don't have a good quality pic of the final assembly yet. Hoping to get that today or tomorrow... and thought, maybe I'd keep you guys interested and on the edge of your seats, if I waited just a tad longer.

Gotta get back out to the floor.. rock on & enjoy the rest of the weekend!
 
Last edited:
Re: My little project..

It's cloudy out today, so I don't have a real good lighting source going on... but regardless, my sister decided she wanted to get some pics of it before it got dark. So forum bros, with out further ado... we have success...
done4.jpg
k3.jpg
k5.jpg
 
Last edited:
Back
Top