Members asdfjkl semi Posted February 3, 2008 Members Share Posted February 3, 2008 Some of you might remember the strat I built a few months ago that got me into the PartsPlayers Platoon (http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1668191). I've shown it off in a couple of different threads. I really loved it and thought it was a great player. It had a great Warmoth neck, a string-through hardtail body, locking tuners, and all that good stuff, but something was bothering me aesthetically... The big headstock started to get old after not so very long. Fortunately I go to a college that has a couple of halfway decent wood shops, and a friend of mine in the architecture program snuck me into one for some time on the band saw. First I made a template of the headstock I wanted. I found some templates online, but they weren't quite perfect. I had to stick it to a neck I already had to make some adjustments. I knew that the template would probably get in the way or fall off while working the band saw, so I threw a little bit of silver ink on the regions I wanted to cut off. Luckily, the 50s & 60's headstock design fits perfectly inside the 70's style headstock, so it shouldn't be too hard to get it to look right. ... to be continued in my next post ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members asdfjkl semi Posted February 3, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 3, 2008 I didn't get any pictures while working the band saw (didn't want to lose any fingers) but here is what came out of a little bit of labor: I still had a little ways to go. I had made a mistake in the sawing process and cut the lower horn thing as a (mostly) straight line instead of a bezier curve. THe ball part of the headstock was about as good as I could get on the saw I had to work with. I had already anticipated having to work that by hand. So, I got out some files and got to work on that ball and the contours on the back of the neck. I wound up deciding to sand the horn-thing straight and just leave it. Eventually I got a shape I was pretty happy with: After that I sanded the edges smooth, then sanded off the old finish on both sides of the headstock so I could make a seamless coat. I also sanded the finish on the back of the neck down so that the next layer of poly would adhere and it would all look even. The next image shows some tape over the nut and the end of the ebony fingerboard. I didn't want to ruin those with the sander. I applied a thin coat of polyurethane, then brought the thing back inside to dry in front of the fire. It was about 30 degrees outside, so leaving it out overnight was out of the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members asdfjkl semi Posted February 3, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 3, 2008 After the polyurethane had cured, I took some steel wool to the neck to leave a fast-playing, cool-looking satin finish. Then I bolted the neck back on, strung it up, checked the setup and headed out to play. Feels great and looks a lot better to my eyes now, though I probably voided the warranty in the process. The end result: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shred and roll Posted February 3, 2008 Members Share Posted February 3, 2008 Did the tone change at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bennintexas Posted February 3, 2008 Members Share Posted February 3, 2008 thats hot.and i REALLY hate strats, will never own one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted February 3, 2008 Members Share Posted February 3, 2008 Nice job! Looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rock-lobster Posted February 3, 2008 Members Share Posted February 3, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abstract Posted February 3, 2008 Members Share Posted February 3, 2008 Did the tone change at all? +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members asdfjkl semi Posted February 3, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 3, 2008 Did the tone change at all? Not that I could tell. I also only removed about a little more than this bit of walnut: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted February 4, 2008 Moderators Share Posted February 4, 2008 You need shootin with {censored} for hacking a big headstock:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BobbaFret Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 Good job:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ej Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 big headstock=UGLY you did a HUGE favor for that guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rydock Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 Wow that's incredible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mistersully Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 looks great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willhaven Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 Dude, as far as home built guitars go, that is one of my favorite. Very classy parts and color choices. Have any nice pictures of the body color? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BluesTuesday Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 Nice job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members book_of_lies777 Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 You need shootin with {censored} for hacking a big headstock:rolleyes: I agree 100% big 70's style headstocks are teh seX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_bleeding Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 bigger headstocks also seem to sustain better in my experience. opinions aside, that is one SEXY looking neck. Definately like the smaller strat headstock, but if it were up to me i'd carve it into a bigsby style headstock teehee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members finboy Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 you GOT RID of the big headstock???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cardude6987 Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 I love the 70s headstock. You took it away. You bitch. Just kiding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willhaven Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 I only like the small headstocks on Strat style guitars. On Jazzmasters Jaguars and Mustangs it looks better with the death club instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members go cat go Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 Beautiful guitar! It looks so much better with a proper headstock than a cock head. Nice job!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesrock70's Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mmkco Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 Dead Sexy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members asdfjkl semi Posted February 4, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 You need shootin with {censored} for hacking a big headstock:rolleyes: Haha it really didn't look right, especially without a logo. Looked like the penis of a hammerhead shark IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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