First time strat build

[wokkaboy]

Candice I haven't tried to drill out the markers on the maple fingerboard necks but DB thinks they are plastic markers.
I'd get a centre punch and mark the centre of the circle best you can and try drilling say a 1.5mm or 2mm drill and confirm if they are plastic or drawn on. If they are drawn on you will need a brad point drill bit the same diameter of your MOP or pau shell markers. I usually have a practice on scrap wood to try get the depth correct and mark the depth with some insualtion tape. Remember they should be glued in a bit proud and sand down level

[keloooe]

@ DB the spelling police will be hot on your tail !

Excuse my splelling....

spelling*

When you instal the nut, the action may be too high.
Check this by stringing up the E srings and if it needs lowering simply sand the bottom of the nut, checking it for hight regulary until you get it to your preferred hight.

install* strings* height* regularly* height* (again)

Looks good Candice, keep it up and Wokka's little fix is pretty good to use in a pinch!

[candice]

Sounds like the way to go Wokka I'll give that a go over the weekend a get some scrap wood to have a play around with!

[wokkaboy]

no worries Candice, try and get the depth as close as you can for the fret markers as they get harder to sand flat up the high end frets.
Start at the 3rd fret marker and work to the higher frets so with practice the 21st fret marker should almost sit flat with the fingerboard.
Also important to get the right size brad point drill. Do you know the diameter of the markers ? Ones I have used have been 6mm or 6.35mm (1/4 inch)

[candice]

They're 6mm fret markets. Not 100% sure on the depth I'll need to check that out when I get home.

Any specific glue to use?

[wokkaboy]

no worries Candice, get a 6mm brad point drill bit if you haven't got one. The depth you will have to work out on scrap wood.
I use regular superglue about 1-3 drops. Can use medium or thin superglue.
Also pays to have some sawdust for filling or if the hole is too deep put a bit in with the superglue. You will need a maple colour sawdust so I'd get some pine and sand some with 40 grit paper and collect the sawdust. Preferably if you have your maple headstock offcuts you could use sawdust from them

[candice]

Update so far.
All the soldering has been done (took more effort than I expected, might need more practice).
I’ve screwed on the faceplate, bridge, jack and the springs for the tremolo. I’m thinking of getting a chrome backing plate to replace the white plastic one that came with the kit.

I’ve also taken out all the fret markers and replaced with abalone. Turned out they were plastic but they really looks like stickers/ink. That made the job a lot easier than I thought it would be.

I think I’m going to keep the rest of the hardware for now and upgrade after setup if I feel it’s necessary. Longer term I am thinking about upgrading parts to make it my main guitar but I want to get this set up right first to make sure it’s worth the money and hassle of pulling it all apart.
I also added a decal to the headstock.
Pretty happy with how it’s looking! Thanks to everyone who has given me some advice so far it's really helped.

[wokkaboy]

nice one Candice looks really cool this build. Looks like you did a good job on the abalone dot markers. Looks like you just have to fit the tuners and string it up !

[candice]

Thanks Wokka. I have ordered some nut/fret files because the bone nut I got only had the start of the string slots and I believe I need to level the frets? That seems like a difficult task and I wasn't sure if I should string it up first and check if there's any buzz and therefore any need to level them?

[wokkaboy]

Hi Candice, you will probably need to do a fret level but sometimes necks out of the factory come fairly level.
You really need some tools for levelling, a fret rocker, fret crowning tool, fret hammer, a 12 foot radius block and adhesive sandpaper. There are fret levelling kits from the Stewmac online store.
Try and string it up and see if there is any string buzz. The truss rod may need some adjustment if the neck isn't straight ie has a bow