Spinal surgery under way on my '85 Strat
- Thread starter ItsaBass
- Start date
ItsaBass
New member
Re: Spinal surgery under way on my '85 Strat
At this point, nothing else that happens could be much of a disaster. Almost all of the precise drilling and cutting – the "hairy" stuff – has been done. It's just a matter of slogging through the tedium from here on out. I do still have to make the channel uniform in width, though. It pretty much is, but it could be better, and it would make installing the stripe easier and cleaner looking.
P.S. I found a strip of maple among my scraps that I think will be perfect for both the stripe and the plugs. The dowel for the heel I will have to cut from another piece though. It needs to be cut along the grain (the definition of a dowel) as opposed to across the grain (the definition of a plug). The scrap piece of maple I found is not thick enough to make a dowel, just the stripe and the plugs. I will be ordering the 3/4 inch plug cutter that I need, as the largest I have on hand is 5/8 inch. I also need some tubing to wrap the rod. I'll probably go with heat-shrink tubing.
At this point, nothing else that happens could be much of a disaster. Almost all of the precise drilling and cutting – the "hairy" stuff – has been done. It's just a matter of slogging through the tedium from here on out. I do still have to make the channel uniform in width, though. It pretty much is, but it could be better, and it would make installing the stripe easier and cleaner looking.
P.S. I found a strip of maple among my scraps that I think will be perfect for both the stripe and the plugs. The dowel for the heel I will have to cut from another piece though. It needs to be cut along the grain (the definition of a dowel) as opposed to across the grain (the definition of a plug). The scrap piece of maple I found is not thick enough to make a dowel, just the stripe and the plugs. I will be ordering the 3/4 inch plug cutter that I need, as the largest I have on hand is 5/8 inch. I also need some tubing to wrap the rod. I'll probably go with heat-shrink tubing.
Last edited:
ItsaBass
New member
Re: Spinal surgery under way on my '85 Strat
The neck was already down to bare wood and ready for the finish before I screwed up the rod. It'll be stained "natural," which is just the very mildest yellow stain you can get, and then sprayed with gloss lacquer. I had this neck with a mate oil finish for 20 years, but I always wanted gloss.
The neck was already down to bare wood and ready for the finish before I screwed up the rod. It'll be stained "natural," which is just the very mildest yellow stain you can get, and then sprayed with gloss lacquer. I had this neck with a mate oil finish for 20 years, but I always wanted gloss.
Evan Skopp
SDUGF Founder
Re: Spinal surgery under way on my '85 Strat
That's pretty much the same as mine. Though, when I bought it, the previous owner had kept it 100% stock. Except for a burn mark that looks like it was made by a soldering iron, covering up the "Japan" in "Made in Japan." I bought it in the late-80s at Lentine's Music in Akron, Ohio for $175 including the OHSC. Akron is a real "Made in America" town. One the union locals had a parking lot with a sign that said, "Parking for American cars only." I figure the original owner was one of those guys. And that's probably why I got it so cheap.
Some of my mods include bridge ("lawsuit" Wilkinson VS-100 Convertible), Sperzel tuners, numerous sets of pickups (currently sports the original prototype Five-Two "Nashville Studio" set for Strat), a Starr Labs sweepable mid-boost with battery door, copper foil cavity shielding, master tone mod, MOTO pickguard, black anodized knobs (one's concentric), pots (one's a push-pull to activate the boost), 5-way switch, stereo jack, string tree, strap locks, new nut, etc. This is the guitar I had when I first started experimenting with pickups and mods, that's why it's had so many things done to it. But I have to say, I've never attempted anything as ambitious as what you're doing.
Keep the pics coming.
That's pretty much the same as mine. Though, when I bought it, the previous owner had kept it 100% stock. Except for a burn mark that looks like it was made by a soldering iron, covering up the "Japan" in "Made in Japan." I bought it in the late-80s at Lentine's Music in Akron, Ohio for $175 including the OHSC. Akron is a real "Made in America" town. One the union locals had a parking lot with a sign that said, "Parking for American cars only." I figure the original owner was one of those guys. And that's probably why I got it so cheap.
Some of my mods include bridge ("lawsuit" Wilkinson VS-100 Convertible), Sperzel tuners, numerous sets of pickups (currently sports the original prototype Five-Two "Nashville Studio" set for Strat), a Starr Labs sweepable mid-boost with battery door, copper foil cavity shielding, master tone mod, MOTO pickguard, black anodized knobs (one's concentric), pots (one's a push-pull to activate the boost), 5-way switch, stereo jack, string tree, strap locks, new nut, etc. This is the guitar I had when I first started experimenting with pickups and mods, that's why it's had so many things done to it. But I have to say, I've never attempted anything as ambitious as what you're doing.
Keep the pics coming.
Detroitblues
New member
Re: Spinal surgery under way on my '85 Strat
You make it look easy... I think you did the right thing too. Since the truss rod was shot, you had nothing to lose except fix it. I like how you even created your own truss-rod and not a premade one. Can't wait to see the finished product.
You make it look easy... I think you did the right thing too. Since the truss rod was shot, you had nothing to lose except fix it. I like how you even created your own truss-rod and not a premade one. Can't wait to see the finished product.
ItsaBass
New member
Re: Spinal surgery under way on my '85 Strat
It has been a while since I did any work on the neck. My job got crazy for a month or so, and I also had to get the right size of plug cutter. Today I quickly cut a plug and glued it in. This interior plug is just to add some meat so the truss rod anchor can be fully surrounded by wood before capping it with a second plug. I'll be routing out the bulk of this interior plug eventually.
It has been a while since I did any work on the neck. My job got crazy for a month or so, and I also had to get the right size of plug cutter. Today I quickly cut a plug and glued it in. This interior plug is just to add some meat so the truss rod anchor can be fully surrounded by wood before capping it with a second plug. I'll be routing out the bulk of this interior plug eventually.
Detroitblues
New member
Re: Spinal surgery under way on my '85 Strat
Excellent!
Excellent!
