Siena's Stratocaster: Birthday Surprise!

Siena finally took ownership of her Stratocaster yesterday for her 10th birthday, and I think she was pleased with her surprise gift. I certainly thought the custom 'aqua' looked great being unwrapped and I couldnt help saying goodbye with a few chords.

There's no doubt that this colour (surf foam green etc) is one of the best colours for Stratocasters. I really love the way this one looks, and have already started dreaming of one for myself. Even with all the stock hardware and electronics, the guitar plays really nicely and Siena took to it like a fish to water.

Looks like another rock godess is on the way...!

Siena's Stratocaster - It's Finished!

I finally got the stratocaster polished and assembled today. Gotta say it looks awesome. I was able to achieve a mirror finish using my Colortone polishing compounds, and since i did a mock build right at the beginning of the project, everything went together very easily without any mishaps or scratches.

After adding some copper foil to overlap the edges of the pickup cavity (so it could contact the shielding on the back of the pickguard), the only thing left to do in terms of electrics was to ground the cavity shielding to the back of the volume pot, solder the ground wire to the back of the tremolo hook, and solder the output jack. I had a few tense moments during which the output jack kept grounding out, but a bit of heat-shrink insulation sorted it out.

Despite being the one of the cheapest kits on the market, this strat plays really nicely and sounds oh-so sweet. The full range of strat tones are there, and it was made to cry the blues. This build was for my niece Siena, and I gotta say I will be sad to see it go. It looks so nice hanging on my wall right now! Obviously the thing to do is build one for myself. Yes. I must. The colour in real life is a lot more aqua than it appears in the photos. It is weird how much the camera's flash brings out the green, but if i don't use the flash the colour looks blue!

If you've been thinking of building a kit, then the Stratocaster kit from your online supplier of choice is a great place to start. These kits are cheap, there's minimal wiring to be done, and the finished product looks good, sounds good, and is a pleasure to play. Come on, you know you want to!

Rock on. \m/ \m/

Siena's Stratocaster - Cavity Shielding

After leaving the guitar a few days to cure, I got the cavity shielding done today on Siena's stratocaster. It was quite a big job - that swimming pool under the strat scratch plate is a doozy. After testing Stewmac's shielding paint and finding it wanting, I fell back to using good old copper foil with conductive adhesive - the exact same stuff that I used for the back of the scratch plate.

Once both the swimming pool and the output jack cavity had been lined top to bottom in foil, i ran a wire between the two sections and soldered it in place to make sure there was a conductive bridge between them. The wire is held in place against the wall of the cavity with another piece of conductive foil. This should hopefully keep it out of harms way.

I'm still not quite finished with the copper foil. I still have to add tape around the top edge of both cavities so that they can contact the scratch plate/output jack cover to create a gap-free faraday cage. I'm going to wait until the final polishing has been done on the body first though, since the foil will just collect the polishing compound and generally get in the way.

Siena's Stratocaster - Clearcoats & Polishing

Finally finished the Wudtone clear coats a week ago and have been waiting (im)patiently for the finish to cure. Ok, so I waited a week. A month would have been better, but hey, who can wait that long?? Anyway after 6 coats of clear the body was looking pretty good. There were a few subtle streaks in the clear finish (I probably put it on too thick) but in general it set strong, hard and flat. The finish wasn't a 'mirror' finish by any stretch but it was, um, shiny. From what I've read this is not uncommon with Wudtone gloss finishes - you get some shine but more work is required to buff it out. Not a problem! With my trusty Stewmac ColorTone Polishing Compounds to hand, I set to work.

I successively applied the Medium, Fine and Swirl Remover to the body using good old elbow-grease and a piece of old t-shirt. My shoulders were aching (god) by the end, but the result was worth it. The finish is quite a deal better than the one I started with. Ok, I admit - it's mirror-bloody-awesome!

The next step is to add a coating of poly to the body. To be honest, I'm pretty happy with the finish as it is, but a few coats of poly will protect the finish a lot better during it's life to come. As I found with Eben's flaming monster, you can't have enough protection on a kid's guitar. It's hard to get a guitar through the doorway when it's on the strap and you've got a peanut butter sandwich in one hand and a laptop in the other. It's basic physics.

Siena's Stratocaster - 6th Coat of Wudtone

More Wudtone colour on the stratocaster body today. That makes it 6 coats of the Surfer Girl/T-Bird custom 'Aqua' colour. It's looking pretty damn good IMO. I think Siena will be pleased with it.

I'm not sure how many more coats to put on - I want a nice uniform colour, but I'd also like to see a little wood underneath. I think I'll put one more coat on and see how it looks.

Siena's Stratocaster - Shielding the Pickguard

Today I shielded the back of the new perloid pickguard I bought for Siena's stratocaster. For this I used adhesive copper foil purchased from eBay. I gotta say, I love this stuff! It's awesome to shield both flat surfaces like this, and pickup/control cavities. If you are buying this stuff from eBay or whereever, it is very important that you make sure it uses conductive adhesive. If you don't, the overlapping strips of foil won't form an electrical connection and your shielding will be useless. The whole surface you create must be one large ground conductor!

The secret to effective shielding is to create a complete Faraday cage around your hot (signal) wiring. The faraday cage is grounded so that any estraneous EM radiation in the playing environent is collected by the cage and directed to ground rather than being accepted and transmitted as noise by your guitar wiring.

To create an effective faraday cage, a good conductive surface must be created above, below and encasing the whole cavity, with as few gaps as possible. This means that the shielding from the walls of cavity must overlap the edge to make sure the top shielding (ie on the back of the pickguard) is electrically joined to it. Also, the shielding must be electircally connected to your circuit's ground (along with the grounded bridge, output jack, and control casings). What I love most about this copper foil though, is that it makes this job much easier by allowing ground wires to be soldered directly to it!

The next job I need to do is to work on shielding the walls and floor of the cavity itself. In the next few days I'm going to trial some Stewmac Conductive Shielding Paint to see whether this can do as good a job as the foil. With a cavity as big as the one on this strat, it's pretty expensive to foil the entire thing. The question I have though, is just how many coats of conductive paint do I need to create a good shielding surface? If it's more than 3 coats, then I'm not sure the paint will be an effective solution.

I will attempt to answer this question before deciding whether to use the paint or not, so stay tuned for trial results!

Siena's Stratocaster - Custom Headstock Decal

I received my custom vinyl decal from best-decals.com today. I got the font size pretty close to what I wanted, although in truth I could have been a little larger. It went on without a hitch and looks pretty damn good. I put a coat of Wudtone clear over the whole lot - it seemed to go over the decal without a problem. The clear coat should keep the decal in place till the end of days. A couple more clear coats and the neck will be finished.

Siena's Stratocaster - Second Wudtone Coat

Got the second coat of Wudtone on the body today. The colour is filling out nicely. Another couple more coats (I have plenty of Wudtone left) and I think this body will look awesome. Funnily enough, the photo's this time around look very blue rather than green as they did for the first coat. It's amazing how the different light brings out the two different hues used in the custom mix.

Looking great eh?

Siena's Stratocaster - Wudtone Custom 'Aqua'

Well, today I mixed my very own custom Wudtone colour. It's the product of combining the base colour 'Surfer Girl' with the base colour 'T-Bird' to create a really nice 'Aqua' shade. I think i got the colour pretty close to where I was aiming. I didnt add any white base coat, as I really wanted the full, deep hue.

Unfortunately the photo of the final colour looks much more green than in real life. The flash from the camera is picking up the green for some reason. Without the flash, the same bottle looks light blue! I got basically 1 full bottle (the bottle that you see here) from combining the two original bottles of base colour. I should get at least 3, hopefully 4 coats out of it.

After liberal agitation (the bottle, not me), I applied a first coat to the body of the guitar. The body had prevously been sanded with 240, 360 and 400 grit wet and dry paper, with the grain raised using methylated spirits in between 400 grit applications.

As you may or may not be able to see, the end-grain has taken a lot more colour than the front and back of the body. And while the colour is quite streaky at the moment, I'm expecting it to even up with the second and third coats. I'm not a big fan of the 'whitewash' look for guitar finishes, where the dark brown grain can be seen underneath the finish, so i'm really hoping the colour will deepen.

Anyway, I'm quite pleased with my first foray into Wudtone body coats. The guitar can only look better and better from here!

Siena's Stratocaster - Two Coats of Vintage Amber Wudtone

Got the second coat of Vintage Amber Wudtone on the neck today. Before I started, I rubbed the neck down with 0000 steel wool. With a little persperation I was able to take off quite a bit of finish from the places where the colour was uneven. As a result, the starting finish was a lot more uniform when it came time to apply the second coat.

The Wudtone went on even easier this second time around without the thirsty wood to grab hold of it. Using long brush strokes with the grain, I was able to create quite an even finish across the entire length of the neck and the front of the headstock. The amber is already now quite dark, so I dont think I'll be applying a third coat. To be honest, one coat would have been perfect if I could just have managed something resembling even.

Anyway, I'm qute satisfied with the result and can't wait to see how she looks with the top coat on!

Siena's Stratocaster - Wudtone Neck Kit: Vintage Amber

I got my first coat of Vintage Amber Wudtone on the stratocaster neck today. It's an oil based finish so it goes on nice and smooth. Unlike oil paint though, it doesnt streak and soaks into the wood very nicely. For necks, the base colour is brushed on with a fine hair brush. The guidelines say that you should apply several very thin coats.

I think I may have overdone it a little on this first coat - the colour on the front of the headstock is a little uneven. Oh well, I am hoping that the colour will even out with subsequent coats..

Siena's Stratocaster - Levelling & Redressing Frets

I performed a fret level on the stratocaster today ready for it to receive colour coats. On all kit builds I always level the frets before the finishing process begins. This is just in case the painters tape rips out some of the wood from the neck (yes, it's happened).

Anyway, in case anyone is wondering how to level their frets, here is the method that I use. The process is quite straightforward and takes little over 30 minutes on average to complete. All the tools you need to finish the job can be found quite cheaply on eBay.

Step 1: Straighten the neck

Using a notched straight edge determine if the neck is dead straight and adjust the truss rod until it is. Some people just site along the length by eye, but I'm much happier using the straight edge. If the neck is low in the middle (you can see light under the straight edge), turn the key clockwise. If the neck is high in the middle (the straight edge rocks) then turn the key anti-clockwise.

Step 2: Tape off the fretboard & Mark the top of each fret

Tape all the frets off, right up to the edge of the fret wire. I use tape with the lowest possible tack, as you can easily pull large pieces of wood from the neck when it is unfinished. On the smaller frets you will need to cut the tape in half so it can fit correctly!

Take a marking pen (sharpie) and mark along the very top of each and every fret. This marking pen line will be scratched off during fret levelling and will let us know when all the frets are level.

 

Step 3: Sand the frets level

Using my straight beam with 360 grit paper stuck to the bottom, I sand the frets - moving the beam along the fretboard and back - making sure that the beam follows the radius of the fretboard. You can also use a radius sanding block for this step to make sure the radius is maintained.

Check your marking pen regularly to see which frets still need to be levelled. These will still have marking pen on the very top and will require more sanding. Try not to sand where all frets look good - typically the high or low side of the fretboard will take more sanding than the other.  Stop sanding when there is a clean line along the top of all frets from edge to edge. Dont try to remove all the marking pen from each fret! A thin line of cleanly sanded metal is enough for each.

If you are in doubt about whether a fret is actually level (maybe you've sanded and sanded and it still looks low, you can use a fret rocker to test its height relative to the frets on the left and right.

Step 4: Redress the Frets

When all the frets are level, you must make them more rounded again by removing the rather flat-top you have now put on then. Dont worry if some frets have quite a flat top - that's normal! Using a fret dressing file, you must file the edges of each fret so that this flat space along the top is reduced to around 1-2mm. I use a LittleBone fret file for this purpose, but any purpose built fretting file (from Stewmac or similar) will do the job.

 

Step 5: Sand and Round Edges

With the frets dressed it is time to remove the harsh edges and the deeper scratches left by the sanding and filing. To do this I use sand paper wrapped around my middle finger. I start at 360 grade and move up to 400, 600 and then 800 grit. Rub the paper over the frets. The dipping action of your finger between the frets will naturally help to round them out. Check the frets as you go to make sure you have removed the deeper scratches (these will typically be towards the top of the fret). When you are finished with all sandpaper, grades then 0000 steel wool can be used as a final step.

  

Step 6: Polish the Frets

As a last step I like to polish the newly filed and sanded frets with some chrome polish to get them sparkling. The chrome polish turns the oxide on the frets black as it works, so dont panic. Just wipe the polish on with a soft cotton cloth (I use t-shirt material) and then buff it off again with a clean rag. Your frets will gleam!

And there you have it. It's a relatively simple process that, while a little daunting for first timers, should be a part of all kit builds. I'm certainly no luthier or woodworker and if I can do it with reasonable results, no-one else need fear. If you want your guitar neck to play like a dream, get levelling!

Siena's Stratocaster - Grain Raising Misadventure

I got the neck sanded today in preparation for my Vintage Amber Wudtone Neck Finish. The talk around the campfire is that you should only sand to 400 grit maximum before applying this stuff so that the oil based colour can actually soak into the wood. With this in mind, i sanded the maple neck with 240, 360 and 400 grits. I raised the grain at both 360 and 400. Hmm, I hope I didnt go overboard.

Here's a tip. When you are raising the grain on a neck with a rosewood fretboard and you plan on using methylated spirits (de-natured alchohol) to do it, be very careful. If the fretboard has any black dye on it (and most of the kit rosewood fretboards do), that alchohol will take the dye straight off. If you're unlucky, the dye laden alchohol will find its way straight onto and into your cleanly sanded maple neck.

And believe me, it's a fricken bitch to clean off again.

Siena's Stratocaster - Shaping the Headstock

Time to shape the headstock on Siena's stratocaster. Thankfully, this task is made easy by our old friend the inter-web! Many of the Fender headstock shapes can be found here: http://pdfcast.org/pdf/fender-headstocks. This pdf file contains headstock templates at a 1:1 scale.

Alternately, if you are having trouble accessing pdfcast, templates can be found in a number of other places. Here are a couple of other pdf documents for Fender headstocks, both hosted by Google:

Google GuitarPlansCollection link 1
Google GuitarPlansCollection link 2
All you need to do is print out the page you need (make sure you use 1:1 scale) and off you go. I have decided to use the 50s stratocaster design as the basis for my headstock on this build.

The pdf template printed out without issue on my trusty laser printer, and I was away.

I traced the headstock template with pencil and then cut close to the line with my jigsaw. A bench sander then allowed me to remove the rest of the material and get as close to the line as I needed to. In the absence of a bobbin sander, for the very tight curve I resorted to 120 grit paper applied by hand. I'm pretty happy wth how it turned out. I may return to the tight curve with a bit more 180 grit paper to round it out some more if/when I get some spare time.

Incidentally, If you are building your own kit and need a headstock for a gibson style guitar, headstock designs are not as easy to come by. If you are willing to put in a little effort, however, there are resources at hand! If it's a Les Paul headstock design you are after, then the following pdf template may suffice: http://www.australianlespaulforums.com/download/Headstock.pdf.

If not, there are a large number of vector graphics guitar templates for all kinds of guitars available on ultimateGuitar.com: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-1190193.html. These can be used to generate your own 1:1 pdf templates. To do this you need to use a vector graphics package (such as Inkscape). The instructions are given on the same page. Have fun!

Siena's Stratocaster - Test Fit Build

It's always a good idea, hence this is the first time I have actually done it, to do a test fit build of your guitar kit before you start the finishing process. Today I fitted and screwed the neck, checked the scale length (using the oh-so-useful  Stewmac Fret Scale Calculator) and got the bridge set and attached on Siena's strat.

It's always nerve-wracking getting a bridge placed. I worry constantly that the bloody thing isn't going to intonate, or that the strings aren't going to be straight on the neck. The Stewmac calculator really provides the confidence to just get on with it. Once I located where the pivot point of the bridge should be (based on the scale length), I strung the two E strings up to make sure the bridge was centred on the fret board. Once I was happy, the bridge pivot screws went straight in - job done.

I also drilled and fitted all the mounting screws, including the scratchplate, output jack and tuners. One thing you should be wary of if you are doing this yourself is that, if you are using water-based dyes, then you should avoid drilling all the small screw holes (eg for the pickups, tuners etc) because water can get into the holes and swell the wood. For these you will have to wait until the clear goes on.

For an oil based finish (like the Wudtone I'm going to be putting on here), it's safe to drill and fit all the small screw holes early-on and minimise the possibility of screwing (yuk yuk) the finish later.

Siena's Stratocaster - Unboxing & Perloiding

I started a new build today in honour of my neice Siena's 10th birthday. She has requested an 'Aqua' electric guitar, and what better way to deliver it than with a custom Stratocaster. Based on a Pitbull guitars ST-1 kit, I will attempt to use Wudtone for the first time with this build, mixing a custom colour from two off the shelf colours 'Surfer Girl' and 'T-Bird' to create the desired 'Aqua' shade. Let's hope it doesnt all end in tears!

I have already swapped out the stock pickguard for a nicer perloid one and things are already looking good. There were a few tense moments there when I thought the knob on the selector switch wouldn't budge, but in the end my fiendishly strong IT muscles won against the factory knob installation and I managed to swap all the electronics over to the new guard. With all the electrics pre-soldered on this beast, this build really shouldn't take too long? We'll see..

Perloid pickgurd installed. Plenty of Strato-doodads still to decypher..

The next step is to do a mock build to make sure all the parts go together correctly, and to positon the bridge and neck to reflect the correct scale length. The strat anatomy is still a mystery to me - there's springs and other unusual doodads to get my head around, but that's all part of the fun.

Given that this is my first strat, I'm going to try and document the build with as much detail as possible. Stay tuned for more Strato-goodness to come.