Kirk’s ST-1 Ash Build

[Retroman33]

Hey everyone,

I purchased the ST-1 Ash Strat model off Pitbull. Been looking at various kits, and decided to try a build on one of their entry level kits. I’m going to use this Build Diary forum to document my process, and my mistakes as a reference for future builds I have in mind. Feel free to follow along and provide any pointers or questions you may have.

First up, I’ve always been an acoustic guitar guy (currently own 9 of them) and they all run in different tunings. The only electric guitar I own is an Epiphone Dot 335. So this Strat is my jump in to understanding all the finer details that make up an electric guitar.

Originally, the plan was to create Excalibur from Waynes World, the “oh yes, she will be mine” Strat in Olympic White. Since then, I’ve set my sights on creating more of what I would want in a Strat.

So the tentative plan is finish the guitar in Sage Green Metallic with a gloss clear coat finish.

We’ll see how close i get to this.

[jugglindan]

That's a nice colour to aim for. There are lots of other choices, but Duplicolor with lots of clear over the top should get you close to that finish. With the right preparation of course. I am learning the hard way that the finish is all about preparation and technique

[jugglindan]

Oh, and welcome

[Retroman33]

Day #1 of Build

After reading through the instructions online, watching YouTube videos, reading forum posts and typically overkilling the information process, I’ve started actually working on the guitar.

The first thing I have done is create some jigs to help.

I created on Illustrator two files, one is a jig for the guitar headstock. The other jig is a notched straight edge that I figured I may need for straightening the neck.



The third jig i thought would be beneficial is a notched clamp. That way throughout any work on the neck, I could easily clamp without worrying about damaging the frets. I created this first by aligning a piece of wood with my guitar neck, using a tri-square to line the timber, and then used a coping saw to cut out the notches. After messing up a few of the measurements, I gave up and cut and fixed that line work on a radial arm saw.



I decided on going with the 50s Classic Strat headstock, for the most part...I wanted the classic look, but didn’t worry if it wasn’t exact. Good will be good enough for this. I clamped to the table, using the jig and some of the cardboard provided in the box, and used a coping saw to cut the neck to shape using the headstock jig i created earlier. I then used a bobbing sander to ensure i had a straight cut and to sand it down. I’ve yet to round off corners or hit it with anything other than the sander, so various grits of sandpaper await me tomorrow.




Good fun so far. Tomorrow’s project will be to fit the neck (doesn’t currently fit, so will be sanding the sides of the cavity with a sanding block until the neck fits.) and I’ll be doing a dry fit finishing off with sanding the body down with 180 and 240 grit sandpaper.

Slowly amassing ideas...while i do this, i am retrieving various grits of dry and wet sandpaper’s, researching paints, developing a notebook for the guitar build process, and designing headstock options, laser logo ideas etc.

Stay tuned...

[Retroman33]

That's a nice colour to aim for. There are lots of other choices, but Duplicolor with lots of clear over the top should get you close to that finish. With the right preparation of course. I am learning the hard way that the finish is all about preparation and technique

I plan on taking extra time, just based on what I’ve read on here. Definitely going to hit all the different grit sandpaper’s as well as a solid grain fill. I’m a sucker for the metallic look in the paint, any other colours you would recommend?

[jugglindan]

I plan on taking extra time, just based on what I’ve read on here. Definitely going to hit all the different grit sandpaper’s as well as a solid grain fill. I’m a sucker for the metallic look in the paint, any other colours you would recommend?

I don't know what colour that is, but I would investigate nearby stores that offer the Dupli-Color Perfect Match paints. They can match pretty much any late model car colour, so the next step is to find a late model car with the colour you want. There are lots of people here that have gotten fantastic finishes with Dupli-Color.

I am not sure where you are, but in Australia both Repco and SCA offer the Perfect Match stuff.

The one thing I don't suggest is what I did. I bought a discontinued Dupli-color metallic blue (seen here) on clearance at $6 a can. This was fantastic value until I needed another can a month or two later. I got lucky and bought possibly the last can in town, but only after a frantic race from one end of the city to another. Not something to repeat.

Of course, in hindsight I could possibly have used the Perfect Match to match it, but I didn't know about that option at the time.

[Bakersdozen]

Welcome Kirk. Thanks for starting a build diary, we are all now following along on your journey. What did you do with those designs in illustrator to get them into those physical black jigs? Some sort of laser cut trickery? What material is that?

If your not going to go for Olympic white, then I rekon your metallic sage green is a good one to aim for. Just don't tell Wayne or Garth. Make sure you test all your finishing steps on some scrap first. There are a few current builds going on using metallic under gloss, so lots of trials and tribulations to learn from right now.

Keep up the good work, mate.

[jugglindan]

Just make sure you test all your finishing steps on some scrap first. There are a few current builds going on using metallic under gloss, so lots of trials and tribulations to learn from right now.

Mine is one of those

[Bakersdozen]

Mine is one of those

Correct! And it's going to be awesome when finished, right? And your sharing your learnings for others to learn from too. Good on you mate.

[jugglindan]

Correct! And it's going to be awesome when finished, right?

Hell Yeah!