The care, attention to detail and love you put into your craft is spellbinding. It is an utter pleasure to watch you work creating such beautiful instruments. May you have many more years doing so, and I wish you every success in your business.

stellar talent and attention to detail. I can't imagine a $3000 Fender has this much heart and soul into it.

Hi Adam , Because I am using tinted (dyed) grainfiller, I like to spray a sealer coat of nitro FIRST to stop the colour leaching into the wood. If you were doing a solid colour, you could go either way (personally, I'd still spray a sealer coat regardless before grainfilling)

You are a humble teacher. I am learning as I watch. Thank you for sharing, as I have been commissioned to create a guitar, and I need to study the art well before I embark!

Wonderful work, Mr. Fletcher. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

I applaud this mans choice of music at 14:20 Lenny truly is one of the best instrumental songs

@connorclose3084

4 жыл бұрын

I was looking for this comment!! I've been learning it for the past month ish on and off and it's just so emotionally engaging, what a song! RIP SRV

This episode is particularly interesting to me because I've got a Strat body from Aliexpress. Made from some soft shitty wood that's been a pain to work. Soft and hard growth rings which make shaping and sanding difficult without leaving ridges which will be evident at completion. Would have been more useful as firewood, but one has to soldier on.... Refreshing to see how a Strat body SHOULD be made. Mine will work out ok but it would be nice to have the equipment and the skills so well demonstrated here... Excellent work dude....

Thanks David, I'm about to build my first solid body guitar. I'm really happy to find your comprehensive tutorial on each aspect of the build. It's most appreciated. Thanks again

it would have been really helpful to show a video of how you sprayed the lacquer and burst paint on !

Outstanding video. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

Wow - attention to detail is amazing.

Part 8 of my 10 part Stratocaster Build

@samskurecki1931

10 жыл бұрын

You mention possibly painting the guitar Olympic white. How would you have prepped the body differently for that?

@FletcherHandcraftedGuitars

10 жыл бұрын

Not at all, I would have probably used a clear grain fill but that's about it. Sprayed a white primer, leveled it out then shot the Olympic White

@rainofficial1924

5 жыл бұрын

Will make one for myself this summer😀

Looks amazing! I love the look of the tortoise pick guard!

Very nice! Had a day off and just spent it watching all parts of the build. Cheers.

Thank you David for your videos! They inspire me to build my own guitar!

Fascinating stuff!! Thanks so much for posting!

I plan to wet sand and buff the body this weekend but I am waiting on a few parts to arrive as well so hopefully they arrive next week some time.

i love that neck jig. Thanks for the post.

Gorgeous Finish! So Nice!

This level of hand-made precision is something I can only dream to achieve as an amateur luthier

I would appreciate any advice about it. Even if it is about Mirocat PC 3220 New videos it will be great! I will wait with impatience!

holy cow is that a sweet neck. amazing video series.

Thanks a lot for these videos which I found very useful for building a strat for my son. Your skills are excellent, though I have to say, if you have the correct tools your halfway there!! Still beautiful work by you.

Suggestions: I put two shims on the back when routing the tremolo so I can put a slight sloped portion for the springs to ride down in, and I undercut the back of that route so the sustain bock has more travel. If you can find one, look at an early 1980s BC Rich ST3. They took the Strat body to a new level. I think the belly cut and arm cut are deeper too. Start winding your own pickups and you won't be using candle wax anymore.LOL Do not buy the winder from Stewmac. Mine is on dead motor #3!

Wow! Thank you for sharing. What a craftsmenship. I am very impressed.

Thx for videos!!! David please tell if u can)) How to properly painting and varnishing? What kind of paint and varnish to use and how to prepare them? How many to add the thinner, what viscosity needs to be achieved for comfortable work and how many the guitar has to dry? Thx again.

After watching these series of video and the hard work behind, I Inferred that guitars are available to us very cheap.

I tried making DIY vids. Right now I am trying to rebuild the shop. In 2007 the shop was burglarized. We think the videos may have had a role in the burglary. My uncle owned Klesi Music in Colorado. He was friends with Johnny Smith. He repaired band instruments. We did guitars, and amps. I decided to just do amps after Oct 07. Now everyone is doing'em too, and my guitar customers are coming back. I am redoing my CNC router. Space is at a premium in my shop/home. With guys like you doing vids hey

I keep coming back to this build series for information and inspiration. It's superb. I would love it if you could show the lacquer spraying sessions as well. Or make video dedicated to the process. One out of several requests I can image! :) Regards - Fredrik

I love that you were playing "Lenny" in the background!

esta quedando preciosa muy buenos videos eres un gran profesional.

Hi, Yes Ive used z-poxy before, Great it you want to fill grain and keep it transparent. I like to highlight the grain with a contrasting color usually so Timbermate is great for that situation

Love these videos! And Jimmie!

very nice work. Many thanks for those videos

awesome job mate!!!

o corpo da guitarra ficou muito bem feito ..parabéns

Just found your channel. Great detailed videos. Thank you.

@FletcherHandcraftedGuitars

9 жыл бұрын

Guitar Whores Your welcome :-)

Great videos and great work! Where did you get the acrylic gadget to ensure straight line from the bridge to the neck? Great idea!

This is so awesome!

Hello Mr. Fletcher. Beautiful work you do ! I learn a lot from your videos :) I would like to ask where you got that Align device please? Thanks for your kind reply !

G'day Rob, I use Mirotone Mirocat PC 3220 Clear topcoat, it's awesome stuff !! It's pre-catalysed, burns in like nitro and sands easily and buffs to a mirror finish.

Love this style of tuss the most, makes the most sense especially for Les Paul set necked type guitars. Sure it may upset some purists but the more wood near the headstock the better and much easier to adjust on the fly. Ornetts Les Pauls are done like this.

Good choice on the tobbaco burst. My jazzmaster is tobbacco burst and I love it. Btw great video cheers!

Thank you so very much for posting that link.. even if you don't build your own guitars that neck to bridge tool would come in very handy... :)

That was impressive, thank you.

hey Fletch. OUTSTANDING mate What sort of clear lacquer do you use? is it just automotive 2k?

I'll check that out thanks Satch . I do wind my own pickups usually as seen in one of my earlier video's but went with the Keystones as I had them lying around. You seem to know what you are doing, why no guitar building videos on your youtube site ?

It depends, not all woods need to be grain filled. Mahogany , ash & any other open pore woods do.

I really like the care and attention you put into this. How much do you charge for a custom made guitar?

you are a genius I hope that one day I will have the pleasure of one of your guitars much respect

I wish you would of shown the spraying process and listed the coating brand.

Hi, check the notes under the video, there is a link there

Just finished watching the whole strat build .... fantastic .... just one question .... where can I get the Neck Alignment Tool .... what a unique tool ... I checked your web-site and didn't see it ...... Thanks ...... !!!!!!

Hi, Its a mix of tobacco brown and amber (both stewmac) - 2/3 brown and 1/3 amber should get you there. Burst it gradually, probably takes 2 or 3 coats to get it to the right shade

nice to see you used a timelapse for the wiring. Just a word about the capacitor you used. It seems quite huge, how powerful is it ? is a 0.022mF capacitor enough for just cutting the treble frequencies ?

It's a bit hard to answer that question as all lacquer is different. The stuff I use here in Australia (Mirocat PC 3220 ) is not available overseas. I can only give advise on the stuff which would not apply to what you may use :-( I am about to start filming a new set of videos for youtube, I'll try to go into as much detail as I can when it comes times to spray

Lots of good body finishing ideas here.

Hi David,amazing work!!!!!I'm building up my own guitar and now is the time for finishing!I'm pretty confused about the "way to do",'cause there are a lot of different products to use...I know that all products used across the stages must be the same-based.So why you thinned down the grainfill with water and then sprayed with cellulose-based lacquer(nitro)?

Your welcome Koops, good luck with your build

That the neck mounting holes and body mounting holes may not perfectly align (assuming the neck comes pre-drilled) - You may need to fill and re-drill the neck to get it mounted straight

What's the hardware called that attaches the knob from under the pickguard? I ordered a bell knob, but i dont know if it cames with it or not.

just beautiful!....

Hi Mark, It's listed in the comments section for the video.

Nice work there mate! Do we always need to grain fill the bare wood or is it just for some woods? Cheers!

Nice job!

any way to align the neck with a flat edge or level? new neck just came in..thanks and cheers to a great build!

Hi, Yes I only did one lot of grainfilling

Hi, it is perfect, congratulations!!. But I cannot find the video after part 9... could you pass me the link... or at least where I can see this strato finished, with strings, and sound, becuase it looks awsome, but would be great to see it completely finished. Thank you

@FletcherHandcraftedGuitars

10 жыл бұрын

Hello Eduardo, heres the link - Stratocaster Guitar Build - Part 10 - Assembly

I dig the 70's Fender headstock shape ! Upload your pictures to photobucket and send me a link, I would love to see what you have done

why not use pre-colored dark Timbermate?

Love that neck allignment-thingy. I've been thinking of somthing similar that also will find the right spot for the endpin :-)

@FletcherHandcraftedGuitars

10 жыл бұрын

I'll be selling them soon when I get my website up and running :-)

@christianboddum8783

10 жыл бұрын

Exellent!

Wow that a beauty

David I am working on a tele that has binding. do I mask the binding off or just scrap it after painting before I clear it? BTW I love your videos, lots of good info.

found it in Luthiers suppliers Denver USA again, couldn't find it on your link, just the neck blanks and templates. i'm waiting on templatesfor a PRS22 i'm making next from the USA not arrived yet. thanks for your help and fast response.

can you tell me - if i don't want topaint it- just want to clear cot the wood - what would you recommend I use for the clear coat ?

Great job ! What is your "recipe" of the burst ? clear lacquer with stewmac tobacco brown dye ? What ratio ? How many coats ? Thanks for sharing !

David, Have you ever used the z-poxy as a filler for the strats. I have used it on an acoustic build and a lot of luthiers that build acoustic guitars use it as well.Just wanted to to get your thoughts if you have used it and if so, what results you had. Thank you, Vj from Michigan, USA Ps. I really enjoy your videos and the knowledge you are sharing with the rest of us. Also would like to see some more jig ideas/videos. Thank you again!

Very good! I am Brazilian and I am impressed with your love of work, congratulations. As cost him this job, beyond time course?

What is that clear jig called, and where did you buy it? Thank you so much for the video, it is educational!! Cheers!

hey great video.i would like to know where you purchased. that neck to bridge alignment tool.

Hi Jeff, Check out the description section for this video - I have a link there for the neck jig. Cheers

Hello. I would like you to teach. Does how of the body of Stratocaster and four attachment screws of a neck to fasten have turn? It is kind if notes are taught and got.

Hi, They are listed in the comments section above

Is it possible to hand finish a tobacco burst on a open grain wood without using a grain filler?

very nice guitar .. few hours it took to make it?

Thanks for the great video and lovely work. The one thing I would really worry about during this whole process though is the one thing you didn't show. How did you do the actual burst ? Thanks again.

@FletcherHandcraftedGuitars

10 жыл бұрын

I'll have to spray a burst and film it Steve

@steveg8001

10 жыл бұрын

Cool I'll watch out for it. Thanks again

Hi, not sure exactly what your question is. Try asking it a different way

Good night David! What kind of pasta you use in the body? The purpose of this would be as a sealing of the pores of the wood? Thank you! Hug!

Awesome, thanks!

Awesome craftmanship!! I would like to ask how you do the sunburst. You tint with the tobacco brown the clear nitro lacquer and you spray it on the edges or you do anything else? Thanks!

@FletcherHandcraftedGuitars

9 жыл бұрын

Yes, clear lacquer is tinted with tobacco brown. I spray the sides first, clean up any overspray and then I just lightly start fill in from the edges until the burst is wide enough for my tastes.

Not sure if you still look at comments. But just want to know what process yoiu use for paint. As in, can spray or airbrushing the laquer on? And also where you buy your paints from?

By the way, what makes the difference between a good strat andan ok one, assuming the neck and body material being pretty much the same...? Is it down to the pickups and the amp? In your opinion...?

Damn good choice of music! SRV

Hello Fletcher, at first congrats for your job, it's amazing! I'm from Brazil and my english is very poor, so I don't know if you said something in the video about it, my doubt is about the thickness in the body to fit the neck, could you tell me? Cheers!!!

@FletcherHandcraftedGuitars

8 жыл бұрын

+Rafael Sguisato (RafaSquizzato) The body is 1 3/4" thick, the neck pocket is 5/8" deep and the neck is 1" thick

@rafaelsguisato

8 жыл бұрын

+Fletcher Handcrafted Guitars thanks a lot Fletcher

Love the tone and hue of the mahogany you used. I'd guessed it was rosewood due to the slight stripes. But how do you tell the difference between rose wood and mahogany? Can you smell the difference? can you see the difference, can you weight the difference? I've heard that rose wood is heavier and has a scent to it. I have some wood that I wood like to identify, some of it smells like pepper and incense. Love to know what other luthiers think.

@nicolashrv

5 жыл бұрын

Rosewood is DARK (like the fretboard). Mahogany is brown-nish and clearer. Also mahogany has a lot of pores, if you put a coat of lacquer on it, you will see multiple holes in it, not on the rosewood as much. This is why if you watch closely, mahogany is full of little dashes in it. Rosewood also is harder than mahogany.

Hi, check the comments section for the video, its listed there with a link :-)

Hi, Check the notes under the video, all the info is there ;-)

cant see the plastic jig on stew Mac site

I have an old guitar I am learning on and I want to paint it I have some painting experience but I want to know if the wood filler you use is special or can any good brand be used? The tent you use is it water base wood stain? What kind of lacquer do you use for color and clear is it acrylic or some other type? With your experience will the lacquer yellow over time? I love watching your videos and any pointers you can give me would be a great help. Thanks, Don (Stratman )

What value you're used for volume and tone pot?