Custom Stratocaster

The unfinished hard Maple neck has a long way to go. The nut needed to be hand shaped to fit properly. The neck was a perfect blend of a ...

I don't like the hard edge on the rosewood, just before the nut, where the angle sloping from the head meets the flat deck of the finger...

You typically need to do a fair amount of fine tuning to the dimensions of the nut (I use Tusq ) to get it to fit, but also to have it look ...

I find that the frets on the lower cost (around $100) Allparts necks need some TLC. I use a sanding pad (like a firm sponge) and graduated ...

The underside of the nut needs to mate with the bottom of the groove for the nut. Please note that some neck have this groove cut flat, an...

Here is the finished vintage style Stratocaster neck, which I did in a rush (don't ask why, but it illustrates how forgiving nitrocell...

Just stained, the new and unfinished AllParts neck looks just that... new. It will take a few more steps to achieve a vintage look.

The waterslide decals are carefully cut out by hand. The curves are smooth and stay pretty close to the text.

Everyone must come to their own conclusions on how to take a fresh Maple neck and obtain a vintage looking finsh. I start with some oil st...

I was able to procure vintage (early 60's) waterslide decals. These are getting increasingly hard to find by the way (trademark issue ...

These vintage Kluson Deluxe double row (two rows of stamped name and model) tuning machines fit perfectly.

The Kluson vintage tuning machines use a bushing, which is designed for 11/22" holes. There are 3/8" bushings available if you w...

This is a Warmoth neck consisting of a high grade Birdseye Maple and a Rosewood fret board. I lightly stained the maple with an amber oil fi...

I am presenting two Strat necks. The top image is from a Fender Deluxe Strat and the second is a Warmoth Custom Strat neck. I have alw...

A vintage style string tree is installed for the E and B strings. There many different types of trees/guides used a different times, somet...

This is a little unconventional, in fact, I have never found anyone else to do it. I fill all of the screw holes with wood filler. I push ...

Using fine sandpaper (i.e., 600 or higher), I sand the original finish, trying to get alot of the old paint off, but not going through the ...

I tend to use a vintage white, warmer than olympic, as an undercoat. This provide a consitent color as a base for your new color and help ...

I use a coat hanger to suspend the guitar body so that it hangs vertically. I use this method for the numerous color coats, periodically in...

Although I do most of the painting with the body hanging vertically, I do the final clear coats with the body horizontal so that I can spra...

I tend to graduate in grades of sand paper as I work my way from the initial coats to the final wet-sanding of the last clear coats. Start...

There are many techniques and opinions regarding the best approach for achieving the final polish, and I do not claim to have 'the'...

A high quality soldering iron gets hot fast and allows you to make quick work of the soldering. This not only is a benefit to your patienc...

Everything makes a difference in the sound, even the wiring. CTS 250k pots are often used, but 500k pots are sometimes used (typical in Tel...

Once I have the electronics soldered and installed on the pickguard, I use aligator clips and do a mock assembly so I can run the pickups a...

  As I continue to assemble more and more guitar electronics I am finding that neatness really does count. You will have less chance of pro...

If you really want to reduce the chances for electrical noise, you can use SCN (Samarium Cobalt Noiseless) pickups and copper sheilding. F...

Here is another body with the shielding paint being applied in an effort to reduce any electrical noise that may build up, especially with ...

I use a Dremel tool with a sanding cylinder attachment to clean-up the neck pocket. It should be a good fit, too tight creates the risk of...

I use a sheilding paint, which is water soluble, for the body cavities that house the electronics, including the the output jack. It helps...