Kinda liking the 'beak' on the headstock. Ya gotta put a bead/rhinestone/googly eye on there.

Yah, we'll see. That wide part of the finger board will come off tonight, I think. I'll do that by hand with a razor saw. I have to leave enough for the nut to rest on, and I haven't ordered nuts yet. I may have to take the finger board off from the bottom of the groove if it hangs over, and let the nut sit on the neck wood. It's close.

Looks like a B.C.Rich headstock. (gallery at link)

junglejim, did you see this?
Mutant Bodies & Experimental Electronics: Navigating the Unmapped Territory of Soviet Guitars

Yes.

Now I need to think about what hardware I'm going to use. Do I go cheap because this is my first attempt, or spend a couple hundred for good stuff because I'll probably be keeping this first one.

Leaning toward the latter.

I need a bridge, pickups, controls and tuners.

Get good hardware. You want your first build to sound good, so you're encouraged and feel that it was worth the effort. I think hardware is the difference between "cheap" and "decent" instruments-- mainly I think this because entry-level drums can be converted to mid-level drums by replacing the hardware (and maybe re-cutting the bearing edges).

I did mostly

920D Fender Strat Wiring Harness Hendrix 60's 3 Way w/Blender Treble Bleed https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GP0NS0M..._-WbmCbT71BWS2

Fender American Series Stratocaster Tremolo Bridge Assembly - Chrome https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002KZE8G..._FXbmCbRE5CC5H

Gotoh Magnum Lock-Trad 6-In-Line Guitar Tuners, Chrome https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077K6PD8H..._6XbmCb8E3845V

The pick ups I went kind of cheap.

Set of Wilkinson HOT Single Coil Pickups for Strat[emoji2400] Guitar White MWVS https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015Y1TOO2..._TYbmCbQ9JJA7M

I can upgrade them easily enough later if need be

I second the good stuff, you know you'll never let this one go except maybe to your son. Wouldn't you want your son to have the best? :D

I can't wait to see/hear the finished product. Super cool build project man.

thanks, It's fun and a little scary. I guess that's part of the fun.


I was re-watching a crimson guitars build to prepare for routing out the neck pocket and body cavities, and found something I did wrong on the finger board glue up. I should have used a clamping caul to disperse the pressure to the edges of the neck.



Attachment 66042
He used a 2x4 that he had carved a radius and hollowed center. If I had done that, I think I wouldn't have had the gaps at the edges where the glue sucked up inside. Hopefully the bond holds as is, but next time.... I'll remember to do that.

he also used locating pins to prevent the fingerboard sliding around. He went through the fret slots to put them in, but I was too scared to mung mine up, so I was just super slow and careful to make sure mine didn't move.
Attachment 66043


here's the gluing up that I didn't photograph:

I did a bit more neck shaping this morning. Also cut the end of the fret board off.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...80362691cd.jpg

There were similar gaps at the end to what I had on the side, so I did the same sawdust and super glue cure.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c82d3214d2.jpg

The shaping I did was mostly to make the heel of the neck level and flat. That led to taking the whole neck down about 1/8".
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...83630517f2.jpg

It fits the template very snugly

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dc80edd6ce.jpg

I'll use the template and Router to clean up the edges and bottom, but I took most of the material out with a forstner bit on the drill press. I want it 21mm deep so the the surface of the body comes up under the over hang of the fret board. To get close, I set the depth stop to 15mm from contact.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...abd858bce9.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cf46553911.jpg

Result
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...55b2e97e04.jpg

Then went back with a smaller forstner bit and took another 4 mm or so, got closer to the corners.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...23a45fb59e.jpg

There is playoff football to watch, left over dinner to eat and a nap to take. I'll try to get the routing done after the Eagles beat the Bears.

I'm getting excited.

Whoa, easy there. I'm a Bears man, and I'm delicate.:lol2:

I'm expecting the same thing, really, but, I ain't gotta like it!