What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Ayrton · Nov 11, 2017

Strat build thread!

Hey, I need another Stratocaster like Lindsay Lohan needs another drink!

But why let that stop us?

I sometimes cruise ebay looking for whatever, and sometimes you find things like this nice strat body finished in Lake Placid Blue nitro. So after looking at it on the shelf for a couple years, I figured why not do something with it. I am sure we have enough parts around here...

Dig thru the pickups and look a set of Klein Epic Series 1963s! A pickguard and some bits and pieces later...

Some light relic wear on the plastics and this will do nicely.

So now we need a neck

Ayrton · Nov 11, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

The only neck on the wall has a maple board, and I was not feeling it. Warmoth, USACG, Musikraft... nothing in the showcase cheap, too long of a wait, and "issues"... Hey, Allparts makes nice necks, and they are priced right. Allparts necks are basically Fender Japan and you can find them new well under $150. The options are scarce, but you can find something that is workable.

I pickup up what is called the "SRO-W" that gives me a 1 11/16" nut, 12" radius, and 22 narrow jumbo frets (.095" x .055")

The shape is nice, but that rosewood is just a big bag of sadness. The frets are beveled a bit much for me, good thing I opted for a wider nut.

Overhang? Oh yeah, 22 frets... that was not an option in 1964, so that is not going to work.

First, let is deal with that fretboard. In a perfect world, there would be the option of a nice dark Brazilian rosewood board. However, back on the planet Earth, we gotta make do.

First the color and for that you want this.

Comes in pen form, and easy to use

Do the whole neck, and then wipe off the excess. Be careful along the seam between the maple and rosewood, and especially on the headstock face as too much stain will bleed along the end grain. Think of it as coloring, stay in the lines and don't flood it.

By the time you go from the first fret to the last, you have let the stain sit long enough. You can always add more, so wax on, wax off.

Some Watco tinted oil (Golden Oak) on the maple (comparison to raw neck)

Now we have to deal with that overhang.

The best fret pullers ever

Remove the last fret and saw down thru the rosewood until you just touch the maple. The start at the heel and cut just above the seam avoiding the maple. Save the rosewood as we are about to use it.

Clean up the shelf and edge so we can glue the cut off rosewood back on to close up that last fret slot. I had a brain fart and rounded off the heel before adding back the rosewood. Same end result, just more difficult path.

Ayrton · Nov 11, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

CA glue and rosewood dust to the rescue.

Trim excess gently, and shape. Now we can start making the wood look 50 years old by rolling the edges and burnishing. The frets get rounded and polished.

Starting to look like something eh?

Now we have to deal with those plastic fret markers. Fender went from fiberboard dots ("clay" dots) to pearloid sometime in 1964, so we will say this is an early transition build, and go with faux clay.

To get out the old dots, a small brad point drill bit works. Slow and careful, drill just thru the plastic until you see rosewood.

Use the same bit (not the tip) or a punch to the GENTLY work the plastic back and forth until the glue pops.

Most if not all will pop right out. Just take you time, and any chips we can deal with later. Thankfully we have none this time.

Anything worth doing is worth doing right, so the side dots have to go as well. No brad point drill bit small enough for these, so we need a small drill bit and center punch.

You can pick these up at Amazon cheap, and they are quite handy.

Any sharp scratch awl thingy will work. All you want to do is poke the center of the dot to create a pilot for the bit.

The good news is Allparts uses some weak ass glue, and all but two popped out when I poked them.

Of course you may not be so lucky, so carefully drill them out.

Now we make dots

Ayrton · Nov 11, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

A common belief is that Fender used some sort of putty for the fret markers. However, what was used on both maple and rosewood fretboard was vulcanized fiberboard. The original dots on rosewood boards was, in fact, white, and over the years would turn greyish to tan in color. The way to cheat that look is with epoxy putty or magic wood.

A tube this size will last almost forever if just using it for guitars.

Slice of a small amount and knead it over and over in the palm of your hand to mix the epoxy to a uniform color. Only takes about a minute to mix, and then you have about 15 minutes to work it.

Smush into place and then go do something for an hour.

Once it sets you have the consistency of MDF. I use a sharp chisel to pare off a little at a time until I am just above the surrounding wood.

Scrap flush with a razor and then buff with your finger to add some color.

Compare to 50 year old Brazilian

The devil is in the details.

That's it until the rest of the parts come in.

ehdwuld · Nov 11, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Ebony Carvin neck
On sale with free. Stainless frets
Right now

PS412 · Nov 11, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Seems like a lot of work just to run it through a speaker and then go all Hendrix on it.:firedevil
Nice work.

Wattage · Nov 11, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

nice job so far

MetalManiac · Nov 12, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Never saw such a great job of polishig a turd.

eclecticsynergy · Nov 12, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Cool to see the process. Interesting that the ebony stain marker isn't darker. That looks really nice on your rosewood.

PFDarkside · Nov 12, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Wow, nice project!

Gtrjunior · Nov 12, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Great work! Can’t wait for the finished guitar!

Chistopher · Nov 12, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Imma have to copy and paste this into my personal hobby luthier reference word document. Good work!

Nightburst · Nov 14, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Pure skill! Please post more of how the guitar turns out.

treyhaislip · Nov 15, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Excellent work! Look forward to the finished product! I really like that Lake Placid Blue!

Ayrton · Nov 17, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Last mockup before final details.

A little aging on the back of the neck.

Some finish checks in the lacquer.

Next time you see it, all done.

Coma · Nov 17, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

How did you accomplish the checkering?

Ayrton · Nov 17, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Put the body in the freezer for an hour and it happens all by itself

Artie · Nov 17, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

Wow! Amazing workmanship. This thing will rock!

Edit: Btw, Lindsay Lohan does need another drink. So you're good to go on this one.

d1dsj · Nov 17, 2017

Re: What to do with that Stratocaster body?

What the funk..... wow. I wonder if my better half would mind if I throw the food out of the freezer and throw in a couple of Les Pauls and a Telecaster........:scratchch