Finally, after 18 months, I have managed to get back to my STA-1. Have had all sorts and minor issues, nothing to serious, hail damage to the house, a couple of trips to NT and Arnhem Land, and lot of guitar practice trying to justify another guitar. One interesting one was pulling up a small section of rotted flooring for a new carpet. I pulled a big section and got a face full of dust which must have been full of microbes, fungus spores etc. Guess what? No mask and I came down with a sort of asthma attack that evening. Took the doc about 4 monthe to sort it out. Motto -Always where a mask. I now have plenty in the garage. Anyway enough of my minor irritations, back to the important stuff.

I have competed the following tasks:

1. Fitted the neck. The fretboard would not fit into its socket. So I had to sand it very carefully to ensure it stayed straight in the slot.
I mentioned it to Adam who was pleased about the tight fit because he had been talking to the manufacture about some loose fitting ones.

2. Cut the shape in the head. Tried to come up with a custom shape but failed. So I went for the standard Stat shape.

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3. Sanding 120,180,240 grits. Sure makes it easy not having to worry about a veneer like the LP1-MQ.
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4. Grain filled with Timbermate. After the first coat was sanded off there was still a lot of TimberMate in the grain. I applied a second coat to ensure a good fill. I think I will need to take it off with 180 grit to get a lot more timber colout and then finish it off again with 240 grit. Let me know if this is not a standard practise.

The photo is taken after the first sand off. Second coat is currently drying.
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Another Question: When do you drill the screw holes for the scratch plate , fittings etc? I intended to drill the screw holes after finishing the staining. ( Dark Wine Red ColourTone and TruOil). I was looking at some photos on PitBull and it appeared that on some builds the screw holes were drilled early in the process. I can understand it for paint jobs but I thnk the holes would be a nuisance in my build where there is so much sanding.