Strat Build 2022 - Part 07 - All about Guitar Body Wood and Prep
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Here is part 7 of the 15-episode premier Strat type guitar building series. This series is modeled after the beginner’s guitar construction class that I teach at a local community college. If you are new to guitar building…this will give you all the knowledge you need to be successful. Of course, you will need some basic woodworking ability…and at least some tools as needed. I require that my class students build either a Tele or Strat type guitar for their first build. They are simple…yet amazingly efficient. Leo Fender was an absolute genius…inventing things that are still widely used over 60 years later.
We will be using the Maximum Guitar Works template system. The basic seven piece Strat set includes the body and pickup rout template, the neck pocket template, the back tremolo template, neck template, fretboard template, the standard pickguard template, and the rear tremolo cover template. The complete basic template system includes safety grips and hardened steel drill bushing for alignment and accuracy. This episode discusses body blanks...and how to prep and glue up your materials.
Learn more about the template systems through my past KZread videos.
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Пікірлер: 46
I'm glad you're back Steve. I love your videos and the information that you provide. I'll be picking up some templates soon. For the top, 103101-F2. Great color and the occlusions will be amazing!
Dam, it's been awhile. Glad your back. Great video
#103101-F2 with some interesting fill.
103101-J1 is my pick for the top.....but somebody will probably buy that one, haha. Looking forward to the next video!
Good to see you. Press on !!! :)
Glad you are posting again. 103102-G2 - would be my vote
I would say the # 103102-G2 or the # 103101-F2 would look amazing on that laminated body. First one, because it looks fantastic and the second has almost vertical lines matching the laminate.
Perfect. Been checking regularly to see when you’d be back. Back in the 70’s I was doing limited production runs of 20 guitar bodies a week, learning as I go. 5 years of doing that and you still provided plenty of new and good info to me about your process. Thank you! I also struggled with what to do with the cutoffs that were left from making body blanks as I only made bodies from 2 pieces of woods. So I created what I named my Rhama Series of bodies using alternating strips of maple and walnut for the center section of my guitars with walnut wings and back routing. It’s a beautiful use of the smaller pieces. Who said us boomers weren’t environmentally conscious?
Steve - Thanks for all you do. I would vote for the 103102-G2 GRADE 3 top.
Love the video. Thank you for doing these. Favorite top is: CALIFORNIA CLARO WALNUT TOP # 103101-J1 GRADE 4
I use a leveling jig with my router for leveling one side of the body blanks.
@KharmaBodiesGuitars
2 жыл бұрын
I now am without a joiner these days and am looking at alternative ways of doing these things. Since I’m just a hobbyist now, I doubt I’ll be replacing the joiner I used to use so alternatives are always appreciated especially with feedback.
Great to have you back!
Great video!!! Good to see you're posting. I really like top 103102-G2. All those tops look great!
Thank you for doing the rear rout! You know that's how I like em!
103101-f2 that top filled with gold or copper pearl powder and epoxy would look really cool on that walnut! Love this series Steve. Most Excellent ✌️
@DarrenCorman
2 жыл бұрын
My first thought was gold leaf I the crack to retain the texture and then clear epoxy to level the crack.
Just gets better, every episode. I just can’t wait for that d#@m Strat to be done, I can’t stand the wait!!!
best tutorial how to make guitar, i love it
Love the walnut such a beautiful wood for any project. Curious to see the rear route strat build as that's what I want to build myself. I say go with the grade 2 with the cracks some sort of metal or brass flake fill or something. Thanks for the in depth tips on the jointer methods. It all makes sense to me.
103101-F2 with a black epoxy fill. Black seems to contrast will with pretty much any color. Man I may have to snag one of those tops for myself. And then convince myself to build another guitar 😆
Missed you brother, glad you're back. Been waiting for this. Love the video, love the channel.
i vote to for the walnut burl
My vote goes for 103102F1 - really I just want to see how you deal with a top with voids Great to have you back Steve. Best guitar building instructor around
Finally back, I really missed you, just a pleasure to hear you and learn in the most orderly way, I prefer the cracked top to learn how you fill it, wish you lots of success
It's good to see you back in action, Steve. I used the TT version of your side dots jig at their last Classic Fender class. So good I ordered one for my home shop. Keep on keeping on, brother.
Great jointer tip!!!
@maximumguitarworks
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching long enough to see that!
@MatthewSpringer
2 жыл бұрын
@@maximumguitarworks The other source of error in that bookmatch-to-get-offset-errors-in-glue-edge operation is actually that the board faces aren't parallel. This is where doing it with a #7 with the boards clamped face to face can help since the reference face is still the inner faces.
Happy New Year Steve! Let's hope this one is better than 2021. I am pleased you have your priority list under control, as Stephen Covey explained "First Things First! I've been checking daily and I am looking forward to you resuming these videos and sharing your detailed insights with us. I encourage you to select 103102C2 for the top. I think there would be extra learnings for us, if you show us how to deal with imperfections and turn them into unique features. Thanks.
my vote CALIFORNIA CLARO WALNUT TOP # 103102-G2
Use the grade 2 and fill it with some of the pearl powder I sent you mixed with epoxy! I'll send the product id
vote for 103101-f2 top
#103101-F2 GRADE 2 I think would offer a good balance of figure and an opportunity to show what you do to work around the natural "imperfections".
I‘m going for #103101-E2 and would love to see some epoxy action!
Agree
Hard to believe that glue will hold
Can u use douels to join wood
Can u use dowels to hold
What should the moisture level of the body be before finishing? I live on the Oregon coast, once I purchase lumber for my bodies that have been kilned dried and they acclimate to my area the moisture level goes up. In the winter it is not very fun.
@maximumguitarworks
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the thought provoking comment Pat. I can't believe with a video as long as it was...how I forgot to talk about moisture! How high does the moisture go up for you? A kiln should bring the moisture to 6-8%. I too like to let wood acclimate to my area before using. For me that is 1-2 months. Sometimes a lot longer if I am stocking up on materials in a bigger volume. Since I live in a dry climate...average of 20% humidity...I find the wood reading 6.2 to 6.8%. I love those numbers. For my tops...I slice them from billets in-house...then treat them with a wood stabilization solution and wrap them up together. I don't want to risk the tops warping. I tend to do all my final thicknessing at the time I plan to use the wood...to give it less time to change. As long as you are around 8% or less...you should be fine. If you are worried about the wood twisting or warping...maybe consider stacking them with sticks and put some bar clamps around the whole pile to stabilize the woo while it goes through potential changes. I should bring up this topic in the next episode...it is important stuff to consider. In Colorado...I probably worry about this less than those living on the coasts.
@patruddiman4228
2 жыл бұрын
@@maximumguitarworks buying lumber west of the cascade mountain range, even if it is kiln-dried by the time it acclimated to what ever lumber store it is in it will usually be around 11% and sometimes higher. My problem isn't the body cupping it is after starting automotive paint, sanding and polishing. Just from the heat of polishing it looks like the orange peal look comes back and the glue lines rise and fall with the change of weather conditions. Especially with some supper hard and dense grain African mahogany that I have.
@maximumguitarworks
2 жыл бұрын
@@patruddiman4228 I would have to know more to understand what issues you are having. My first thought is that if the wood is properly sealed...it would not be the moisture causing your orange peel in the finish. There are many things that can go wrong. Some finishes can be picky about temperature and humidity. Most can be corrected with the right reducer for your environmental situation. Generally the biggest problems I see when buffing (besides burning through a finish) is if the guitar was not sanded dead flat...ever imperfection will be revealed during the buffing process. If you want to chat...should me an email through my website to start a direct dialog.
Will the tremolo pocket work with a Floyd Rose tremolo or just with a standard Strat tremolo?
@maximumguitarworks
2 жыл бұрын
The version I showed is compatible with classic fender...modern 2 point fender...and aftermarket versions...like the Hipshot contour series I often use. I have a design for a Floyd Rose system...but I haven't listed it on my website yet because I have not taken the time to test it out yet. Hopefully soon I will have that version ready to launch.
U can't wipe glue down in joint and smooth