Tbo’s new idea

[Tim Rattigan]

Folks,

I think it’s past time I post a build diary.. I’ve got the building itch again, fueled by some things I’ve found lying around the warehouse.
I’m a Strat man at heart, but I find myself basically never using the tremolo… so hardtail it is!
I’ve also never built or played an ash-body guitar, but people love them, so there’s got to be something to that heavy body feeling. Maybe I’ll put some power strings on it when I’m done and get a full body workout!
I’ll post some photos shortly of how it’s all coming along.
There will be a lot of firsts for me .. I’m going to put a decal on it, which I’ve never done before, and I’m going to use Tru Oil for the ‘clear’ coat… I’m just going to try to do a subtle burst with some light staining, just to really exemplify that beautiful ash timber figuring.
Wish me luck, and any advice welcome!

[Tim Rattigan]

Keen observers will notice that I've thrown out the traditional wiper-blade selector switch in favour of a three-selector panel.. that's something I found going through the misc pile, there's a dozen or so pre-fabricated plates, and they fit the two-position DPDT selectors perfectly!
I'm using an ancient SSS ST loaded pickguard I found... and first thing is that the hardtail bridge won't fit in the tremolo slot, so I've got that to try and get square!
I've shaped the headstock to the 'Pit Bull Guitars' shape, but that's all I've really done so far.

[Trevor Davies]

Nice work. The cream pickguard will look great with the natural tint from the Tru-oil!

Take care with widening the pickguard to fit the hardtail bridge as the lower screw hole gets in the way. I had a similar issue with my STA-1HT kit.

Good luck with the build!

[fender3x]

This should be fun!

My first non-bass build was a hard-tail strat (albeit with Tele electronics and bizarre switching). I found that there are a number of different widths of hard-tail bridge on the market, and that I was able to find one that was narrow enough to fit inside the rout without interfering with the hole TD is talking about, but it took a bit of shopping to find one.

I really like your switching idea. I really like the feel of a strat, with a couple of exceptions. I have more or less made peace with the fact that the northern volume control is just too close to the strings, and even see how it could be an asset to people well enough coordinated to use their pinky to do volume-swells and wah-wahs without a pedal. I have never gotten to like the blade switch though. I still occasionally change the pickup settings if I strum aggressively. Your switching solves the problem and maintains the vintage vibe. Nice!

[Trevor Davies]

For the Tru-oil: I would normally brush on the first 2 coats (using a cheap brush), and then wipe on the successive coats (20+) using a cotton cloth with a tissue ball (as used with French polishing!). The brushed coats reduce the movement of any stain, and you get a thicker start. Every 5 coats I would lightly sand with progressively higher grit (600g, 1200g, 2000g).

For the decal: I would also recommend adding a few coats of Tru-oil to the top of the decal before adding/removing the decal in water. This will help reduce the chance of crinkling the decal when sliding it off the backing.

[Tim Rattigan]

This build is progressing slowly.. as I inevitably get more and more ambitious with what I want to do with it.

I probably didn't need to do the pick-guard first, but I was most excited about that, and working in electrical engineering design, it was probably the easiest step to do. I must say, I'm absolutely stoked about how nice the creamy aging looks on that pickguard under the crappy old plastic covering. It really did a good protection job!

I've drawn out the schematic for how I've wired it up, just as simple as it can possibly be - a classic standard strat that's just got individual switches for pickups instead of a 5-way switch.

I'm going to use ferrules for the neck bolts and string-through for the bridge, so I thought I'd shape the neck heel a little just for funsies. Ash is a solid wood to work with, and I did all that by hand with just a rasp, then file, then sanding to smooth. Not shown, I very slightly put an extended curve in the neck on that side to suit, but it's quite subtle.

Look forward to the staining and body work soon!

[FaustoB]

this build looks great!

this tip is gold, I didn't know about it "For the decal: I would also recommend adding a few coats of Tru-oil to the top of the decal before adding/removing the decal in water. This will help reduce the chance of crinkling the decal when sliding it off the backing."

[fender3x]

Looks great, Tim!

Just saw the post from FaustoB with the quote from your original post. I experimented with a water-slide decal and Tru-Oil a long time ago. I didn't end up using TO, but there were no problems using a water-slide decal sandwitched by Tru-Oil, so it should work fine.

I do it exactly the way Gavin does in this thread (he's the 3rd poster):

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ead.php?t=1731

As a mater of fact, I just today put the decal on my Frankenjazz project. I haven't tried Fausto's method, and it hadn't occrured to me that using a TO might stiffen the decal. Interesting! I have generally used an acrylic clear (e.g. Krylon Workable Fixative 1306) over ink-jet printed decals. Ink jet ink is water soluble so you have to use something over it.

A couple of things not in Gavin's post that I find useful:

--Put a couple of coats of clear down before putting the decal on.

--With the tip of our finger, wet the surface where the decal is going. Just a tiny bit of water. This will help you slide the decal into the exact place you want it.

--Gently brush from the middle to the edges of the decal to get all the water out from under it.

--When the decal is completely dry start adding clear over the top. I have read that early Fenders had the decal on top of the finish. More modern ones (and all of mine so far) put enough coats over the top for me to sand flat over the decal so that you can't see the edges.

Here are just a few of the mistakes I have made by not following this approach:

A decal over bare wood will look awful.
All the ink will come off an ink jet printed decal that has not been clear-coated as soon as water hits it.
Water trapped under a decal will be visible forever.
Scuff sand the first few coats of clear that you put over the decal only if you have extra decals. Remarkably easy to sand through.

FWIW ;-)

[dave.king1]

Nice work, although I would have used mini toggles instead of the sliders.

The guitarist in one of my mates bands had three mini toggles on his strat back in the early 70s, he got some fantastic sounds out of it.

His were placed below the neck and middle pickups where the sliders were on my Fender VI S2 (damn I miss that bass)

[WeirdBits]

Interesting configuration for the tone controls.