[BL] Custom Stratocaster

[Feronix]

Heya guys!

As promised I'm doing a little build log for the guitar that I'm building. It is a stratocaster model - perhaps the most popular and well known out of all the guitars. They are often played for pop music (if a pop song even uses actual instruments anymore), but also a lot of punk and grunge is played on stratocasters.

Why do I want one? Well, two reasons. I'm currently saving up for a proper single cut model guitar with dual humbuckers for the heavier sounds. However, I've always wanted a cheap strat to go with it for the pop-punk/grunge songs.

Secondly, I wanted to learn more about guitars. Specifically how they are built, how to paint them properly and how to change components. This is a great way of learning and also much cheaper than ruining a multiple-hundred-euros-single-cut. After it is built there are also things to do like the setup and intonation.

So some specs of the kit I ordered:
- Basswood body
- Maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard (22 frets, pearl inlays)
- 3x Wilkinson Ceramic single coil pickups
- 2x Tone knobs
- 1x Volume knob
- 1x 5-way switch
- Die-cast tuners



The kit arrived this afternoon. When I ordered it at first I was like "Really? €8 shipping? What webshop still even charges shipping cost?". When it arrived I could see why though, and was honestly surprised how they got that from Germany to my house for only €8!

Guess what's in it...


Air!

And a smaller, more decently sized box

What's in there you ask? MORE BOXES!
This is starting to look like a Russian matryoshka doll...

I unpacked the longer thinner box first and found a neck with fretboard and headstock!

A pleasant surprise here is that the pearl dot inlays (fretmarkers) are actual inlays, rather than just stickers like you usually see on cheaper guitars. Another pleasant surprise was that they included them on the side of the neck (for when you look down on the guitar). I thought for sure I would have to add those myself!

I might still go with some nice glow-in-the-dark markers in the side though, convenient for playing in poorly lit areas and it looks pretty sweet

This neck is full of surprises! The neck and body of this kit are both sanded down very well already and are finished with a wood-sealer. It feels soooo smooth! Which is awesome on the neck so your thumb can glide across easily while playing.

Body front:

Body back:

Test fitting the neck, always necessary! If it's not a snug fit you'll have to send it back and get another one...

Seems nice and snug to me

Test fit the pickguard which comes with the pickups pre-installed, so there's very little actual soldering to do... if any!
Found out that it does fit, but running these cables through the cavities is going to be the toughest bit of the assembly :lol: Also the instructions state that you should bolt on the neck before installing the pickguard but this seems impossible for me as the pickguard won't fit over the neck. Therefore I've decided to first install all the electronics and pickguard onto the body, and will bolt on the neck at last.

Looks alright, but something bothers me greatly about this stock configuration!

Let's turn it into an actual strat, shall we?

More updates soon!

 

[remember300]

Damn that looks awesome... i was tempted to make a custom guitar but the mods i wanted to do, i was worried would mess up its natural harmonic resonance and distort the music.

Think with a blade of light coming out of the guitar, keep us up too date

 

[sheroo]

Looks good!!! I had a strat many years ago and ended up swapping it for a double humbucker tele. I still have it today, its a horrible colour, but has a lovely sound...

 

[AlienALX]

Man I can't even play the guitar but you're making me want to make one

 

[barnsley]

Subbed . I once rebuilt my sh***y cheap bass guitar but I've never built one from the ground up. This is going to be so cool

 

[Feronix]

Thanks guys! It's my first time building it from the ground up as well, but so far so good and I'm excited. I guess patience is the key here!

Got some stuff coming in today and the paint tomorrow!

In the mean time I /slightly/ altered the design on the headstock. Mainly the circle has moved slightly to the left to line up better, and the line that was straight now has a slight bend in it.

After sawing and a lot... lot, LOT of sanding, I'm left with this for a headstock:

Pretty satisfied with the shape of it, even though the headstock is usually a bit bigger on the vintage Fender strats. I'm not trying to build a fake Fender though, and to me those bigger headstocks that some of them have just look slightly out of place, unless it's on a bass.

Erased the pencil lines and taped her up for ~2 clear coats on the top of the headstock. This isn't done often, but I feel that because the headstock and neck are a single piece of wood, if I'd clear coat the back, I'd also have to do the neck, which will make finger movement much more challenging than the smooth, sanded down surface that it is now.

Personally, I think matte necks look better than glossy ones anyway!

I've decided not to put any logos on the headstock. Mainly because if I get a standard sticker it's going to look very cheesy and I wouldn't know what to put on there anyway. I'm going with blank. Some people do get cheap self-build kits and then put Fender stickers all over them... don't be that person.

Put toothpicks in it as I don't want to loose my pre-drilled screw holes. I will do this on the body as well.

 

[Wraith]

Sweet, I'm subbed! I have a set of Seymore Duncan pick ups and a Floyd rose sat in the garage if you want them.

 

[Feronix]

Sweet, I'm subbed! I have a set of Seymore Duncan pick ups and a Floyd rose sat in the garage if you want them.

Really mate? I'd gladly take them off your hands if I'm honest! Thought Seymour Duncan only did humbuckers though?

Right, so this afternoon I prepped the body by sanding down all the cavities. The actualy outer layer had already been sanded and treated with wood-sealer so no work needs to be done on that. In fact, sanding it down would remove the layer of wood-sealer.

Apologies for the slightly over-exposed photo. The sun was so nice so I sat working outside

I then masked off the rear

WHAT A SHIT JOB :lol:

Masking off the connection to the neck was very important. It's a very snug fit as it is (as it should be) but that means you definitely don't want any paint in there.

This is the hole for the connector for the cable, that will actually power the guitar and give the sound signal. I felt I should mask that off as well, just to be sure.

The rest, I left as it is! a bit of paint in there won't matter much, and even if it is too much, I can easily sand it down without any consequences.

I found a clothe-hanger works very well to hang up the body, as you'll need to spray paint it from every angle

Put the toothpicks into the pre-drilled screw holes so the paint won't clog them up. Looks pretty vicious!

And got the first layer of primer on!

I'll sand that down and do the second layer tomorrow





In the mean time, I went to check on the headstock. I need to let the clear coat harden for 24 hours, but it's already dried enough for me to take the tape off and have a look.

I am pretty satisfied with the end result! It looks very smooth and pretty much like a pre-built guitar.

Because I left the tape a little above the edge of the wood, the clear coat has curled around the edge nicely. The top is nice and glossy, although very subtle in low-light. Once light reflects on it though...

 

[Highlander89]

What a great way to get to know the instrument. You can have 10 identical guitars next to each other and they will all be different in some way. Be sure to pour your soul and love into it (by the looks of it, you have) and its gonna turn out awesome. My brother have built numerous guitars, mostly acoustic ones though, and its just a lovely craft. Props to you mate! Looking forward to next update.

Btw, I can recommend Grover tuners and Elixir strings.

 

[paulstung]

Looking good mate, it's a shame about that knot on the headstock though.

 

[Feronix]

What a great way to get to know the instrument. You can have 10 identical guitars next to each other and they will all be different in some way. Be sure to pour your soul and love into it (by the looks of it, you have) and its gonna turn out awesome. My brother have built numerous guitars, mostly acoustic ones though, and its just a lovely craft. Props to you mate! Looking forward to next update.

Btw, I can recommend Grover tuners and Elixir strings.

Yeah, that's the lovely thing about guitars! Now I also get to pick my own colour and design preferences over a pre-built. Especially for the money, as a pre-built like that would cost at least twice as much.

Not all components are top quality, but because I'll have built it myself, at least I'll know how to easily swap them all out

Looking good mate, it's a shame about that knot on the headstock though.

It is! Although I don't mind it that much. It's just what you get when you work with wood and you'll have to play with the hand you're dealt. It does give the guitar some character I suppose.

Today's update

Today I decided to fit the tuners existing out of 4 parts:

1 - The tuner

2 - A washer

3 - A nut

4 - A little screw

You'll need a small screwdriver for that.

Once the screw is tightened in the position that the tuner should be, you can tighten the tuner from the front. I found that this is a little hit and miss and sometimes you have to loosen the screw at the back, hold the tuner in place while tightening the front a bit, then re-tighten the screw and then make sure the front is securely in place.

After a couple of tries I've got all of them on perfectly straight. It's more of a challenge than it looks :lol:
I found the tuners themselves were a bit wiggly, but I'm assuming they won't once they have strings on them. If they are of poor quality, at least they are easily swapped out for better ones.

I then fitted two string trees and that's it for the headstock.

Since the dog decided to steal my bed which I was using as a work/photography space...

I had to move to my desk for the last bit of work on the neck; treating it with lemon oil, which basically just improves the durability and keeps it looking fresh. Also makes it smell like lemons! Not bad

Just make movements parallel to the frets to get them all oiled up.... ohyeah. Wait.

Then wiping them down with a clean rag, can you tell at which fret I stopped?

And the end result for the neck and headstock of the guitar! This is how it's going on the body

 

[Feronix]

Last two updates for today

There's a chrome plate on the back of the guitar where you bolt in the neck. Super shiny stuff, and I thought it'd be nice to have my initials engraved into it for a personal touch. Went with a classy, but simple font.

Made exactly to size, of course!

On a second note, my paint has arrived and it looks beautiful! Can't wait to see it on the body!

RAL 6027 high gloss if anyone is wondering

 

[Feronix]

Right, so I hit the first major bump in the road. The body was already sanded and treated and from what I could see and feel it was all really smooth. Once I got two layers of primer on though, it became evident that it didn't go as smoothly as I hoped it'd go :')

I'll have to fix that! Only problem is... I don't know how. Does anyone have any tips?

The primer just will not stick or dry smoothly on these rough areas, but they seem to be going inwards into the body, so I don't think sanding would help unless I sand it down so far it starts to take small pieces off the body.

 

[remember300]

Id sand it down and get back to wood if possible and use PVA as a first coat then the paint should layer better that big part though would need taking down to level though.

 

[Wraith]

Id sand it down and get back to wood if possible and use PVA as a first coat then the paint should layer better that big part though would need taking down to level though.

+1 This, or sand it right back and use a filler primer like Rust-Oleum, to get it real smooth before shooting paint.

 

[Warchild]

First coat should almost always be rubbed down till its almost gone anyway. Sometimes you never know until you paint it as it can "raise the grain" of the wood in some areas. What you encountered is normal. Just get that elbow grease going.

Looking great so far.

Also, Dunlop 65 polish and 65 lemon oil are amazing to use on the body and fret board. And once you string it, try some GHS fast fret. Outstanding improvement to fret movement and playing.

 

[AlienALX]

Yeah you needed some sort of KO sealer. See if you can find sealer anywhere it acts as a block between any residue in the wood and further coats of paint. Resin or sap for example can be a nightmare so you're going to need to seal it once you get it smooth. I agree with the PVA part. You can water it down ever so slightly and paint it on, then sand it back.

 

[Feronix]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm taking her to a guy further down the street tonight who is a painter, and he might have the proper equipment for me to fix this and possibly even help me

I don't think sanding would work in this case as the uneven bits seem to lie lower into the body. Vault, the body had already been treated with wood sealer, so it shouldn't have been necessary I think.

 

[Feronix]

Small updaaaaate!

The painter gave me some industrial paste to fill up some of the various 'holes' and dimples found around the body!

Like this one:

Kinda looks as if I left it with Shaun for 5 minutes now :\

Then sanded it down again!

And right now it's drying from another coat of primer. Doesn't look 100% smooth yet, but there is definitely progress! I will get another can of primer from the shop tomorrow and repeat

Progress pictures tomorrow - thanks for the help everyone!

 

[Feronix]

PROGRESS!

It's not perfect just yet, but has improved drastically since last night already! Sanded it down and new layer of primer 3 times now. It is now drying from the 3rd layer. It better be good this time as I've ran out of sanding paper :lol:

In the mean time I decided to do the finishing touches on the neck!

Used some graphite pencils to fill in the string notches on the nut (that white thing on the right, at the top of the fret board). This should allow for easier sliding of the strings and help them... not get stuck in the nut, and stay in tune better.

I then put a ruler on the fret to see if they were all the same height. The first and seventh frets were a bit taller than the rest so I filed them down as accurately as I could.

Then decided to fix that dot that had been bothering me all along. Need something darker to fill in the bad spot, although not quite black. I'll go on the hunt for that soon.