Build 2 & 3 Ash Strat and Tele

I have finally got time to work on the next couple of builds. I have had the strat kit for a while and was planning on learning to use Fusion 360 and cutting bodies on a CNC but the Ash Tele kit came up for pre order and I though why not.

I should have investigated more as the pictures did not have binding and I was hoping to practice arm and back cuts on the body but that will have to wait for another time.

I have been working on getting the guitars set up with lots of work fixing issues with everything fitting together. The dremel has been getting a workout routing and shaping.

Strat
Have black hardware from PB. Added a brass block to the bridge from musiclilly. I have tonerider vintage pups. I am still trying to decide if I just use a black dye and sand back light and wipe on poly or if I want to grain fill first in black, sand back and then do the dye for a smooth surface. I think I will try the dye only first and see what comes out as I can easily just grain fill then.

Was going to use some Gotoh pots but they did not fit so I have used some alpha minies.

I have found that the machine heads feel cheap and are not solid. Will see how they go but suspect they will need to be replaced (also on he tele - they have rubber on the tuner knobs???). The chrome heads from PB that I used on my last build were much higher quality.

Tele
I got this kit with the black hardware as I had a black wilkinson bridge already and some tele pups I could use. As it came with binding on the front I have had to rethink the whole project - no more arm cut. I like the look of the wood grain and the pick guard provided is really rough so I have decided to leave it off. I have just ordered a pup frame and a wilkinson vintage neck humbucker. It will need a bit of modification to the neck pocket to fit the frame but it will leave the rest of the body clear.

Have done a bit of work the the bridge pup routing. Making it bigger to fit the pup and making space for the wires to exit as the hole was not low enough to go under the pup. The control channel is narrow but next job is to widen it to fit gotoh pots that would not fit the strat build.

Question 1 ?
You will see in the pictures that there is glue on the body from the binding. This is in quite a few places. Is there a way to get rid of this or reduce it before adding a dye?

Question 2 ?
Has anyone had any experience with using Acrylic ink with wood dye? I an thinking of using a blue or green dye and then mixing in some white or pearl white acrylic ink to flatten it out into a kind of tinted white wash. I am not sure if the acrylic dye will sit on the surface too much an hide the grain or how it will react with the dye. Does not seem to be much online. Any ideas?

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I haven't had a chance to engage much with the forum lately due to being busy but every time I get the chance it is great to see everybody's work and see the great support.

Don't rely on just looking for glue marks as you can easily miss them. Wet the wood with methylated spirit, turpentine or white spirit (nasty smelly stuff but cheaper than turps) and you'll see the lighter spots where the glue prevents the liquid from soaking into the wood. It's not always 100% effective, but better than just using your eyes on the dry wood.

Some of that should come off with sanding. Some of that binding is quite proud of the body so you'll probably want to level it off anyway.

Otherwise the normal recommendation is Goof-Off, an acetone based glue remover. Or you can use pure acetone (the extra ingredients in Goof-Off make it a better glue remover but acetone should work). You'll need to work it into the wood, ideally with a small soft brass-bristled brush (Amazon/eBay/auto stores). But mask off the binding first as acetone will first mark and then dissolve the binding if left on too long. But you can always fine sand and polish the binding for any small marks made during cleaning.

Acetone can be used to stick binding to the wood and you can dissolve binding in acetone to make up a mixture for filling small gaps between binding and the body.

Acrylic ink is basically a thinner form of acrylic paint. I've no idea how well it will mix with stain/dye, though I'm pretty sure it would have to be a water based stain. All I can say is try it out first on some scrap wood. You may need to get pure tinting compound/pigment rather than a stain for best results.

You then need to be careful with the type of clear coat you put over the top as it can depend on the acrylic ink formulation as to whether even acrylic clear coat will go on top properly without any issues. I've had acrylic sprays look like they've dried, but never hardened fully because they went on top of something they weren't 100% compatible with.

If you experiment, you always put yourself at risk unless you try these things out first, which can add a fair bit of time to the project.

The ash bodies with the black hardware look really nice.

Thanks for the info as always Simon. I have acetone at home so I will try a bit and see how it goes. I have a citrus based glue remover but I am a little worried that it is a bit oily and that could cause more issues.

On another note, I saw you mentioned in another thread about using wax to finish a maple fret board. I have been looking at what options I have for a maple board so I was wondering if you, or any one else, had had any experience with unsealed maple boards and how to go about it.

Cheers

That is what I am hoping.

I always go for fully finished maple boards, so I don’t have any direct experience myself.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by juz

Thanks for the info as always Simon. I have acetone at home so I will try a bit and see how it goes. I have a citrus based glue remover but I am a little worried that it is a bit oily and that could cause more issues.

On another note, I saw you mentioned in another thread about using wax to finish a maple fret board. I have been looking at what options I have for a maple board so I was wondering if you, or any one else, had had any experience with unsealed maple boards and how to go about it.

Cheers

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you really should seal it, the biggest strat and tele manufacturer on the planet is Fender they seal them and I can't say I've ever heard a bad American strat or tele I'm a bit old school I'm not into oil fretboards, Fender is going over to 2k but try a clear lacquer and sand it back with 2000 and leave it and feels really nice on maple if your going to use a water slide decal you really need to clear it in but you do you