First Guitar Build

[Fibus]

So i decided i would take a shot at this guitar building lark and build a strat with humbucking goodness in it. I'm running into a few problems though and since i have no experience i was wondering could you guys with your mountains of knowledge help me out.

Problem 1:
The neck does not fit flush into the body. I am sure this is because i bought them from 2 different places but there is about a 1mm-2mm gap between the bottom of the neck and the body when i slot it into the pocket. How big a deal is this and is something that a bit of sanding can sort out if needs be?

Problem 2:
These are the types of tuners i bought cause i didn't know what i was doing:



They have those little bumps on them which i assume are to hold them into place but how do you install them? Do you need to drill holes into the headstock for the 2 nubs on each tuner or should you just bang them into the headstock with some sort of rubber mallet? Or will that crack the headstock?

Problem 3:
How to apply a decal. I read through the instructions on the website i bought the decal (and neck from) and it says to use a water based laqcuer to clear coat it after applying the decal but i don't seem to have any of that (and have no idea where to get it). I do however have a can of good old halfords clear laqcuer which it tells me on the side is acrylic based. Will this work or will it completely muck things up?

Thanks for you help. Pictures to follow when i get a chance (and the pickguard arrives).

[Ninja Mike 808]

1) The neck is too big? I would sand it. Too small? I would leave it, my 'Stang is a little too small.
2) I would not hammer it in, at all.
3) You can probly find that laquer at a hobby store ( I don't know the names of any in England).

This is my 2, though, I've never run into any of these problems.

[Fibus]

I think its a bit too big and i can probably sand it down.

From this angle it looks ok



But on closer inspection you can see there is a gap

[Ninja Mike 808]

Yea, that's weird. I would sand the body...

[luke]

The gap is so the pickguard can go under it.

[Mages]

yeah, which gap are you talking about? there is supposed to be one between where the fingerboard hangs over the body.

[luke]

Exactly. The idea is you can put a 22 fret neck onto a 21 fret guitar without having to change the pickguard. The extra fret just overhangs the pickguard.

As for the tuner query, you really ought to drill out those little indentations. Even if you've got a little hand drill or something, it's much safer than hammering in. Think about it, that bit of wood has to go somewhere.

As for the decal I've learnt that it's best to apply the decal over a layer of lacquer, and then lacquer over the top of that. If you apply a waterslide decal to the wood itself, when you coat it with lacquer the wood and the decal will deal with it differently, which could cause problems. If you mask off the area, spray the face of the headstock with your lacquer and let that dry before applying the decal, you'll get a much cleaner finish. When the decal's applied and dried, top this off with more layers and you'll get the best results.

[Fibus]

I'm talking about the gap between the bottom of the neck and the body, not the overhang of the fretboard. The neck just doesn't fit snugg into the pocket.

The headstock has lacquer on it already but given your advice i definitely won't be sanding it down to add the decal. Does the type of lacquer matter? Does it really need to be water based?

[luke]

I'm talking about the gap between the bottom of the neck and the body, not the overhang of the fretboard. The neck just doesn't fit snugg into the pocket.

I see. Sorry if I insulted your intelligence there explaining the overhang. If you feel you can alter the neck/pocket to get a snug fit, I'd go for it, but otherwise just bolting the thing in is going to sort it out no doubt. Ensure scale length is fine first, of course.

The headstock has lacquer on it already but given your advice i definitely won't be sanding it down to add the decal. Does the type of lacquer matter? Does it really need to be water based?

If it's not water based, that most likely mean it has a chemical solvent, which could potentially ruin the decal. Solvent based lacquers are going to have chemicals in them that are designed to vaporise instantly, and these can sometimes be nasty to the inks in stuff like decals, which could very well be solvent based too. If you're dealing with water based, it's just a simple case of the decal "drying off", and you can be sure that it's not going to affect the decal itself this way.

Do you by any chance have a spare decal? You could always test it out on a piece of smooth wood by applying a decal, spraying your lacquer on and seeing how they work with each other. Even an offcut from the decal you have would give you an idea I suppose.

[robroe]

bolt that shit on there.

does it move? if not leave it.


if it does move around, start sanding

[Mike]

You need to drill holes to accept the nubs in the headstock, if you hammer them in you'll split the stock.

[fullerplast]

Yeah.. what Mike said.

You can position the tuners in place and lightly tap them 9or run the nut down on them) to make small indentations of where the holes should be. Draw a line or run a piece of tape to make sure thay are all even... parallel with each other). Then drill the holes. Put some masking tape on the drill bit marking the depth so you dont go too deep.

Alternately, you can grind or file those nubs off. The shaft nut and washer will hold them if you use loctite and snug them down good. I did that with a set of those once and they didn't budge. Regardless, drilling is the right way... its up to you.

I'm with the others who say to leave the gap. Trying to remove material from the body to match the heel radius will result in the neck sitting further back into the body, possibly enough to affect intonation.

As for decals... yes they should go over lacquer but you DON'T have to lacquer over them. Fender didnt until the late 60s.

[Fran]

bolt that shit on there.

Do that Fibus.
Them machine heads are what come on Toronado GT's, i did'nt rate mine to be honest but if you make sure the nut is tight they may perform okay.
I used Halfords lacquer on my Strat and a Les Paul, worked fine. Just give the decal a few days to settle if you do decide to lacquer over it.

[Fibus]

Thanks for all your help guys. I shall be "blotting that shit on there".

I just got out the measuring tape though and i think the scale length may be screwed up, here are the measurements:

Bottom of the nut to middle of 12th fret: 31.6cm (12.44'')
Middle of 12th Fret to middle saddle of bridge (vintage trem): 34cm (13.39'')
Total length from the bottom of the nut to the saddle of the bridge (High E string): 65.4cm (25.75cm)

I thought it was supposed to be 65cm (25.5'') dead on?

Will this cause an issue with intonation? Do i need to sand some of the bottom of the neck off to fix it if it does? Is there anything else i can do if this is a problem?

[Fibus]

Pickguards arrived, now its time to choose between them:





Personally i think i am leaning towards the tort, possibly because it reminds me of the River's guitar.

For some reason the body is seafoam green but photographs in a kinda daphne way.

[Ninja Mike 808]

I like the bottom one. It looks kinda mint or blue, but I'm assuming it's white...

[euan]

The amount of blue in the photo is throwing the auto white balance completely off.

I would always prefer white over tort I guess.

[Mike]

White.

white.

Stop with the Tort and Blue. ENOUGH.

[Fibus]

I dunno the pickups are black so they might look better with the tort than the white.

I like both of them, thats the problem.

[Ninja Mike 808]

Mike said it before, it's all about contrast. A blue guitar with a brighter pick guard and then darker pups - in addition, the neck is dark, but the headstock is bright... And the blue, is light, but it's rather in the middle compared to black and white.

Tort is a funny animal, though, imo