ErikH
Well-known member
Last night I found an old guitar body and neck that I thought I tossed out about 7 years ago. The body is a Star shape (not an original Charvel) and the neck has a Jackson style headstock (again, not original Jackson/Charvel). These two pieces are a perfect platform for me to learn some guitar repair on.
The nut platform on the neck needs some work. It's cut for a Floyd nut but back about 12-15 years ago, I had drilled holes through it for the rear mounting bolts rather than just top mounting the nut. It looks bad though. At the same time, I'd like to convert it for use with a normal bone or graphite nut. Aside from filling the holes with maple dowels, would it be best to also use maple to "fill in" the Floyd nut route?
On to the body. The trem cavity is routed for a Floyd BUT whoever had it before I got it from a buddy of mine decided to make some additional routes for a Kahler. It looks bad and needs some TLC. I think with some careful planning and a little woodworking, I could fill all that up nicely and slap a hardtail on it. There's also a couple holes that would need to be drilled and filled with small dowels. The body looks to be alder from the color in the neck pocket. I don't know where around here I could get alder. Are there other woods that would work just as well?
What kind of glue would be best to use?
What's the best method for measuring where to cut the new nut slot? (don't worry, I have a router attachment for my Dremel tool so I can get the right router bit, which leads to the next question)
What router bit is best suited for cutting the nut slot? (flat bottom slot vs curved is OK, btw)
I think that's it for now. Like I said, this is a learning platform so even though you may recommend selling and getting what you want in another thread, keep in mind I have 4 other perfectly working guitars as well, 2 of them with a Floyd already. That said, help a brotha out.
The nut platform on the neck needs some work. It's cut for a Floyd nut but back about 12-15 years ago, I had drilled holes through it for the rear mounting bolts rather than just top mounting the nut. It looks bad though. At the same time, I'd like to convert it for use with a normal bone or graphite nut. Aside from filling the holes with maple dowels, would it be best to also use maple to "fill in" the Floyd nut route?
On to the body. The trem cavity is routed for a Floyd BUT whoever had it before I got it from a buddy of mine decided to make some additional routes for a Kahler. It looks bad and needs some TLC. I think with some careful planning and a little woodworking, I could fill all that up nicely and slap a hardtail on it. There's also a couple holes that would need to be drilled and filled with small dowels. The body looks to be alder from the color in the neck pocket. I don't know where around here I could get alder. Are there other woods that would work just as well?
What kind of glue would be best to use?
What's the best method for measuring where to cut the new nut slot? (don't worry, I have a router attachment for my Dremel tool so I can get the right router bit, which leads to the next question)
What router bit is best suited for cutting the nut slot? (flat bottom slot vs curved is OK, btw)
I think that's it for now. Like I said, this is a learning platform so even though you may recommend selling and getting what you want in another thread, keep in mind I have 4 other perfectly working guitars as well, 2 of them with a Floyd already. That said, help a brotha out.
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That's why I want to convert the thing. Gives me a chance to learn some stuff in the process.
no wood working needed! you can even use one of the fixed kahlers with fine tuners if you don't want a trem.
