Bargeloob's ST-1M

I'd been thinking about this particular build for some time now but had originally planned to use an Ash body/rosewood fingerboard, but as Ads posted a deal too good to pass up the other night, we're now waiting on a ST-1M (basswood body/maple neck).
I've ordered some nice flame maple veneer for the top which will be bound in white pearl then stained "Nullarbor Ochre" Dingotone with a natural back and neck finished in DT clear.
Headstock will be identical to the "Bladecatcher" bar the chrome tuners and finished in Nitro clear.
Purists turn away now, I'll be making some pretty major changes to the classic Strat outline with an angled cut on the back of the body and a horn re-shape.
I spent a bit of time in Photoshop knocking together a rough concept, but I guess we'll see what happens as the build progresses.

wow love the concept pic there Barge, must be good to be close to building again ! I love the body shape. Not sure I've seen binding on this body shape with the rounded edges and elbow cut. You think you can get binding on the round edges ? I'm sure there's a way, will probably need some reshaping. The flame maple veneer should look the ducks nuts and I like the colour selection.
I ordered 2 of these kits Sunday and they are being delivered today - top PBG service as usual !

Cool concept. Reminds me of the Albert Lee sig Musicman.
http://cdn.guitar.co.uk/media/catalo.../95093RW03.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

wow love the concept pic there Barge, must be good to be close to building again ! I love the body shape. Not sure I've seen binding on this body shape with the rounded edges and elbow cut. You think you can get binding on the round edges ? I'm sure there's a way, will probably need some reshaping. The flame maple veneer should look the ducks nuts and I like the colour selection.
I ordered 2 of these kits Sunday and they are being delivered today - top PBG service as usual !

---

Tell you what Wokks, the withdrawals had well and truly set in! At least now that all the moving house/renovation crap's out the way I can get back to business, best part of all is I've actually got somewhere to do it now (I just need a band saw)
Now that you mention it, it kind of appears that way in the pic but it's gonna be a flat top, no curves or elbow cut so the binding job will be pretty straight forward (touch wood). It means I'll have to cut maybe 4mm all the way round to get rid of that rolled edge but I always knew this would be the case.
You got the same deal too Wokks with the free DT body/neck kits?

@Pabs, yeah you're right man they do look similar although I must admit I'd never seen that model before.

workshop looks spacious Barge good work, sure the move was worth it for that much space - awesome. Now you can fill it with some sick machinery !
Yeah I got the same Sunday special deal on the ST-1M's. One is for Wayne and the other one might sell to his brother in law is waiting for a custom tele so be good practice to do a build before

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

workshop looks spacious Barge good work, sure the move was worth it for that much space - awesome. Now you can fill it with some sick machinery !
Yeah I got the same Sunday special deal on the ST-1M's. One is for Wayne and the other one might sell to his brother in law is waiting for a custom tele so be good practice to do a build before

---

What a deal eh Wokks!
Hey since you've had probably the most experience out of anyone here using it, any special tips and tricks for applying Dingotone that may not be in the vids? Can you buff the clear up to a reasonable shine once it's all cured?

yeah mega deal Barge. DT is pretty well the same as wudtone, did you use wudtone ? The main difference is curing time is a bit longer with no drying agents. I haven't actually polished the clear, haven't got to that stage yet but sure it will polish up nicely but you will need to be patient making sure its fully cured

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

yeah mega deal Barge. DT is pretty well the same as wudtone, did you use wudtone ? The main difference is curing time is a bit longer with no drying agents. I haven't actually polished the clear, haven't got to that stage yet but sure it will polish up nicely but you will need to be patient making sure its fully cured

---

Okay man, roger that. I never used Wudtone either so it's gonna be a bit of a learning curve.

Its not a common model, I just really like the off kilter strat look. Nice workspace

Double postage...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pablopepper

Its not a common model, I just really like the off kilter strat look. Nice workspace

---

I really like that "off kilter" sort of thing, I guess it's a bit like me:-)
It is a good space, better than what I had before anyway (nothing), it's just a shame the other half is taken up with gym gear, it kind of limits my TAS (tool acquisition syndrome)
Hey dude, btw did ya get that PM on FB regarding those couple of plastic things, let us know what ya reckon and I'll hook you up, thanks mate.

Ah, nope I didn't get that. Odd. Can you resend it?

Not being a fan of strats, I think your new body design is great. If you could just get rid of the pointless "tummy cut" it would be a perfect guitar. (Leo Fender got it right the first time.)

If I'm brutally honest the classic Strat shape doesn't do much for me either.
I wasn't too sure what I was gonna do, back contour-wise. You reckon just flag it altogether?
What about just a nice LP-esque roll right around the outside edge or something along those lines?

Nice setup Nige and your idea looks cool. Looking forward to another Bargey build

Cheers Stan, I'm looking forward to getting building again. I was starting to get the shakes;-)

you got me thinking about modifying a ST body now Barge, will be watching this build with interest

Why not eh Wokks, might as well try and be a bit different;-)

yeah I got a big enough ST collection so something different would be a nice change. You're getting good miles out of this build diary with the kit not arrived yet haha
My 2 kits just arrived, I'll open them up when I get home. Still not sure if one will be for me

We should have a competition, Mad Max builds an axe, no one sees the build diary then we got to guess what the kit originally was !

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

My 2 kits just arrived, I'll open them up when I get home. Still not sure if one will be for me

---

C'mon mate, I heard you only had about 40 guitars or something, it'd be bloody rude NOT to keep one.

Hehe yeah the thread is humming along ain't it! Shit, imagine what it's gonna be like when the kit actually gets here ....hold on....I'll just go have another look out in the mailbox.

EDIT:

"We should have a competition, Mad Max builds an axe, no one sees the build diary then we got to guess what the kit originally was !"

Lovin' that idea bro!!

yeah I promised one kit to my 4D buddy Wayne and his bro in law might like one to build before his custom tele, he's a noobie. Not to worried if I don't get one, there will always be another sale around the corner

You're a good fulla:-)

This axe had better eventuate after all this attention.
The plan graphic is inspiring to say the least, so don't hold back Loobs.
Oh yeah, Woks - I might just try doing a mystery build - bwahahahah.

Only just saw your diary Bargey. Love the concept man. That body shape is killer. I'm a sucker for the off-kilter body shapes too. Will be keeping a close eye on your progress!

cheers,
Gav.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maxaxe

This axe had better eventuate after all this attention.
The plan graphic is inspiring to say the least, so don't hold back Loobs.
Oh yeah, Woks - I might just try doing a mystery build - bwahahahah.

---

Orr she's definitely happening Maxy, I'm anticipating a Thursday delivery. I reckon I'll be hacking bits off that body before the bubble wrap's even taken off:-)
+1 for the mystery build idea too!
@Gav, hey cheers dude, all I gotta do now is not cock it up.

A couple of quick question for anyone out there in the know, I want to dye the flame cap black to highlight the figure before the DT goes down, the problem I've got is the veneer is only about 0.6 thick. Will the black take much sanding to get it back to where it needs to be without going right through the cap, any tips to avoid this?
Also what's the best way to mark out the cavity routs on the veneer so they line up pretty close to the body once stuck down?

Cheers guys.

Great concept, looking forward to seeing this come together! For flamecap on my sg-1f I dyed the cap with black colourtone before any sanding. Cap was super thin. His revealed aglue spot that I hit with a wire brush. Then sanded back very carefully with 400 grit clog free paper to reveal fłame. I was worried about going through cap but no issues and didnt take much sanding. I did frequently clear sanding dust away with a fine paint brush to see exactly how it was progressing - else the whole thing is quickly obscured with grey sanding residue and its hard to see whats going on.

Righto awesome Andrew, I'll bear that in mind. Only the one coat of dye?

Yes, I only needed one coat of dye as (luckily?) came out even and well stained. I was also worried about wetting the cap too much and destroying the glue bond..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by andrewdosborne

I was also worried about wetting the cap too much and destroying the glue bond..

---

Yeah I was wondering about that, would there be any benefit in dying the cap before I stick it to the body?

c'mon Bargey, you need to see if you can get the most posts before build begins!

yeah Bargey, we want to see at least 10 pages of the thread when the kit arrives !

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

yeah Bargey, we want to see at least 10 pages of the thread when the kit arrives !

---

@Wokks, Stan, Unfortunately I can't post too much more until the kit get's here as I've set up a tent out by the mailbox, waiting for the postie to arrive and I haven't got any internet out there:-(

haha classic comments Barge, I know the feeling waiting for a kit that you can't wait for !
Hopefully tomoz Barge. Have you got the flame maple cap ? You should be able to cut out the shape very carefully with a sharp blade I reckon, then sand it when it gets close to the cavity edges. I glued a veneer to a uke kit and had to cut out the soundhole and managed to carefully do it and sand near the edges

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

You should be able to cut out the shape very carefully with a sharp blade I reckon, then sand it when it gets close to the cavity edges. I glued a veneer to a uke kit and had to cut out the soundhole and managed to carefully do it and sand near the edges

---

Naa veneer's not even here yet, but great idea Wokks, like you say as long as the shapes is within a bulls roar, then i can just finish it off with sandpaper. How would the Dremmel go with a sanding wheel you reckon? Just have it putting along slowly.

yeah the dremel may work Barge but you risk tearing the thin veneer, you may have success with this method. Before you glue the veneer I'd trace the body shape and with a pencil shade a piece of paper and try and mark out the rough shape of the cavity, so you have an idea where the edge of the cavity will be, and include the tremelo cavity. Then sticky tape the cavity shape paper to the other piece of paper to the body shape in rough position so you have an idea.
Once you get a good size hole in the veneer it will be much clearer where the edges are.
I'm guessing the veneer wouldn't be cheap so you don't want to stuff it up. Also make sure you get even pressure when gluing the veneer. My uke veneer got some glue lumps where there wasn't enough pressure on it.
So we're up to page 4 bro, keep er rolling ! haha

are you planning to cut the rounded edge off the body and modify the body shapes first Barge before you glue the veneer on ? makes sense to me

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

yeah the dremel may work Barge but you risk tearing the thin veneer, you may have success with this method. Before you glue the veneer I'd trace the body shape and with a pencil shade a piece of paper and try and mark out the rough shape of the cavity, so you have an idea where the edge of the cavity will be, and include the tremelo cavity. Then sticky tape the cavity shape paper to the other piece of paper to the body shape in rough position so you have an idea.
Once you get a good size hole in the veneer it will be much clearer where the edges are.
I'm guessing the veneer wouldn't be cheap so you don't want to stuff it up. Also make sure you get even pressure when gluing the veneer. My uke veneer got some glue lumps where there wasn't enough pressure on it.
So we're up to page 4 bro, keep er rolling ! haha

---

Yeah righto, roger that man I'll definitely do that!! What's the best way to get even pressure over the whole top so as to get a nice flat result?
Btw I just bought a set of 8 new clamps today but they won't be here until middle of next week anyway so I won't be sticking it down until they arrive.

Hehehe, 4 pages in and not piece of sawdust or a wood chip to be seen:-)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

are you planning to cut the rounded edge off the body and modify the body shapes first Barge before you glue the veneer on ? makes sense to me

---

Yep, that was the plan Wokks, that way when I trim the veneer it's going to be the final shape rather than mucking round trying to cut bits off after it's glued down. I know from the Bladecatcher those Maple veneers are super hard and chip really easily so less playing round with it the better.

I'm no expert at gluing larger veneers on, like body sized, but I'd find 2 flat pieces of timber at least 15mm thick, a little larger than the body shape, one for above and one for below the body, and put as many clamps around the edge as possible. In hindsight I'd even put a few pavers in the centre resting ontop for added pressure in the centre. I used this method on the uke but didn't have pressure in the middle of the wood jigs, so thats where it went wrong.
Maybe Gavmiester has a better way

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

I'm no expert at gluing larger veneers on, like body sized, but I'd find 2 flat pieces of timber at least 15mm thick, a little larger than the body shape, one for above and one for below the body, and put as many clamps around the edge as possible. In hindsight I'd even put a few pavers in the centre resting ontop for added pressure in the centre. I used this method on the uke but didn't have pressure in the middle of the wood jigs, so thats where it went wrong.
Maybe Gavmiester has a better way

---

All good man, like I say it won't be happening this week so we'll see if anyone else out there has some other ideas, cheers for the handy tips anyway Wokks:-) Can always count on you for some top notch advice!!