first time scratcher

[FrankenWashie]

Started levelling the body blank with my bodgey router sled setup this morning and so far it seems to be working out okay, Attachment 19177Attachment 19178
and after a quick sand Attachment 19179
now for the other side.

D.K> it ain't bodgy if it works!

[D.K]

thanks for that Tony, I have bought a bit of stuff through realparts in the past and didn't even give them a thought ( damn you alzheimers). I have now cut the body and routed it out and will now commence sanding the sides ready for the binding channels. YAY!

[D.K]

Franken, it's plenty bodgey but is does work. Your bloody Frankenwashie build diary kept me up till 12:30 last night, gotta say just the right amount of intrigue and suspense, a real whodunit. I am particularly interested in your neck build as I am in the same position. I have a neck to use but the urge to build my own is too strong, if it works great, if not, well I am probably too stubborn and would start again,

[D.K]

couldn't help myself, wnet back to the shed tjis afternoon and sanded back the sides and managed to get the binding on the back side of the body, I have a long day at work tomorrow but I should be home by 4:00 so I might try to get the front binding on when I get home. Can anyone tell me what depth I should rout my humbucker cavities to( it will save me pulling one of my other guitars apart).

[D.K]

binding applied, acetone sucks aaand I'm fairly sure I have no fingerprints left. I still need to scrape the top binding but that will be a job for tomorrow. Has anyone got an idea for the depth of the humbucker rout, or is the depth dependant on the body type and thickness?

[wokkaboy]

good job DK on the binding. You can measure the height of the humbucker but generally the cavity will need to be 20-25mm deep and you can drill holes if the height adjustment screws are longer than that. I assume the body is around 40mm thick ?

[D.K]

Yeah Wokka the body is 39mm, much happier with this one, the last one was only 36mm in the middle and thinner at the top and bottom. At 39mm will I be able to use a three position slide switch, or will the body be too thin?

[wokkaboy]

hey DK, yes you should be able to use a 3 way tele style switch. 39mm will be thick enough. Usually the control cavity you will have to route about 35mm deep so you can get the nut on the pot shafts or order some long shaft pots if you don't want to route it that deep.

[D.K]

Thanks Wokka, how's the cnc machine going?

[Simon Barden]

Standard current Fender Strat body depth I believe is 41mm, so you should be OK with 39mm for a Fender style 3-way switch, though you'll need to be careful. I've just measured a wafer switch (a Di-Marzio one that's the same as Fender's) and for that you'll need 36mm depth to fit it in, though other-style switches may be less deep. The depth also depends on how you solder the wires on, and they will need to come in from the side so as not to add to the depth.

Standard picking humbucking screw length (based on an Allparts screw) is 24.5mm/1". For your worst-case depth requirement, you can take off the depth of your shallowest pickup ring and add 1mm for clearance To leave as much wood in the body as possible, it's normal for the two sides of the cavity to be routed deeper than the middle, though depending on the pickups you are using and how you orientate them, you may need space under the pickup for the pickup wire to get across the rout to the hole to the control cavity.