ST-1 Lichtenburg Fractal Burn Strat (First build)

This will be my first ever guitar build. I'm building the ST-1 strat kit from Pit Bull Guitars, this has a basswood body and maple neck with rosewood fretboard. I also opted for Grover locking tuners. Thinking I might upgrade the nut to brass or bone << any suggestions? The rest is stock.

My plan:
Fractal burn art on the body in the space behind the bridge and above the pick ups and finish the body to maintain the burn and natural wood look. Possibly using dingotone or gun stock oil?? << help. I also think a darker haze like the dingotone sunset haze around the outer edges of the body might look cool. Other than that and following general build guides I'm going to add 45° screws from the body into the neck to get a super snug fit.

I am well aware of the dangers of using a lichtenburg machine and I can assure you I will be taking immense precautions, establishing multiple controls to ensure everyone and everything is safe.

As a extensively self taught YouTube fanatic, I have A LOT to learn so any advice you guys can offer is greatly appreciated :)

I'll be taking progress photos and updating this thread as I go, feel free to follow along :)

I made a straight edge using an extra long metal ruler and a file although it seems after filing it bowed a little bit so i used this in conjunction with other levelling techniques (eyballing, wire, spirit level) to level the fretboard.
Attachment 32071

After levelling I sanded the frets using a normal aluminium spirit level that i attached some 360 grit sandpaper to the bottom using double sided tape. The frets above the 12th fret seemed to be much lower than the lower frets so after the frets closer to the headstock looked even i stopped, taped off the 12th fret and kept sanding the upper frets (ones close to the body) some more as i have seen this advice anyway. Attachment 32072 Attachment 32073 Attachment 32074 Pro tip: If your masking tape keeps ripping when you're trying to peel it, chuck it in the microwave for a bit to ease the glue up :)

I hadn't put down any protection on the table i was working on and now i've dirtied and dented my neck :( I'll put a towel down from now on.

Attachment 32075

Time to file the edge of the frets! :D I made a fret protecter thing out of an aluminium can, they work awesome and they're so thin they even get slightly underneath the frets so i can file the corners better, although they wear out, i needed to make two of these. For filing i used a small assorted file set, i used the triangle mostly and rounded the corners that touch the fretboard with a thin straight file. Soooo smooth!

Attachment 32076 Attachment 32077

Hi LeighB. Welcome (if this your first post)

Can't wait to see your fractal burn. I've thought about it, but haven't taken the leap toward making the burner.

re: nut material - I'm partial to bone, but I tend to be a bit of a traditionalist. Haven't tried brass, I can see potential for problems there.

Post pics when you finish burning!

Cheers,
Mick

Finished the burning process!! (imgur link below) I'm going to let it dry for a week << is this long enough?? before I stain it with a darkish ceder satin stain. Also I'm going to swap out the white hardware for black, should look sick when its all together, stay tuned :D

https://imgur.com/a/8fZMQgy

https://i.imgur.com/Gme7hVo.jpg

Looks cool. If you reply with quote to me you'll see the forum code I added to make the pic show up in your post.

So when do we get to see the result on the body???

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Originally Posted by McCreed

So when do we get to see the result on the body???

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It’s in the imgur link and looks pretty good!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain

Looks cool. If you reply with quote to me you'll see the forum code I added to make the pic show up in your post.

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Thanks Sonic! I see the code 👍

Quote:

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It’s in the imgur link and looks pretty good!

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Thanks DarkMark! I didn't scroll down the first time! Cheers

LeighB - That's a great series of pics and I appreciate the additional info you included.
Seems it was worth the practise on the back, the patterns on the front are much more exciting to me.

Can't wait to see where you go next with the finish. Good work and thanks!

- Mick

I've never heard of this, but gee; just epic!!