..the first cut is the...

LOL. My Saga tele kit arrived. Time to strike a blow in the name of wannabes everywhere.

I'd read a number of articles on the Saga kits....I looked at the neck....the fingerboard looked & felt like a black streaked inner wrap of cornflakes. The neck itself didn't look or feel too bad.

The guitar attack team stripped the lot. I decided I'd go with neck & give the fingerboard the treatment.

I outlined a tele headstock as close as I could (the Saga shaping of the tuning key side is slightly different to the tele) and Hauled out my brand new coping saw & actually DID IT!!

Well...after all these years away from the woodworking shop it was not really a surprise to find I couldn't cut straight up & down. :o) There must be a 3 degree rake in some parts of the headstock. Anyway there were lots of hack marks where i was farting about trying to follow the curved outline.....but hey.. what's wood filler for?

To my astonishment with my 1/2 cut file, sandpaper & wood filler I have ended up with a smooth surface around the shaping. Unbelievable!!!

I don't have a Laser printer at home so I will make a Logo at work on Monday stick it on and lacquer the neck then.

The fingerboard . Well the shops are shut....(I live in rural NSW...) and I didn't have any Methylated spirits to clean up after the stripper and I was on a ROLL!!!..Hmm there were lighter red streaks through the black gooey fingerboard...I wonder if Rosewood stain would take...

It did & it didn't. It didn't make the slightest impression on the waxlike surface...but it DID turn the fret marker inlays purple!! LOL. That decided the colour of the body!!! DayGlo purple!!!

Stimulated by the unexpected I thought 'What will touch this stuff?...Try Dr Ducks Axe Wax". The stuf explodes out of the bottle when you click the top to open. But it did do something to the mysterious coating. The fingerboard now looks and feels like wood and is a number of shade lighter. So while the second application of Dr Duck sinks in a bit I'm getting afternoon 1 down for the amusement of all.

I will soon decide whether to strip & stain the fingerboard or go with it. (Why create work?)

No planning..no discipline...well that's not true. I have the gumption to keep my top end Warmoth parts & Callaham hardware well out of my reach until this SAGA is over.

Thanks if you read this. I couldn't help myself. LOL

RobSm

Really cool story man, but we want pictures !!! Keep us posted !!!

Nothing like the freedom that comes with, " Hey let's see what happens if I do this" , Have fun Rob.........

Between my first cut & now I have had to move house deal with a recalcitrant builder trade through peak Xmas and new year season.

Now I can relax a bit.

I was asked for pictures ...well why not? Life is short let's have some fun.

So the point of this post is...

How do I post pictures to this forum??

You'll need to somehow get the photos on the internet. I suggest www.tinypic.com or www.photobucket.com. Both will do pictures up to 250 KB each.

Then, you'll have to insert the images using the . Or, you can click on the little yellow icon when you're composing a post (beside Bold, Underline, etc.). Then, type the URL into the dialog box.

Hopefully the above didn't confuse you better, since I'm not always good at explaining things to others.

couldn't you use the "attach files" option in the "additional options" area of the page you type a post. Like this.....

Hi team.

Thanks for the tips. I tried attaching photos but failed, and now notice that I'm not permitted to post attachments.

Would anyone care to try this link to see if I'm on the right track? It should be front & back of a new strat.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/fanlee/Fender Strat Add.png

aarrrgh..it not coming up as a link!!

...geez what have I gotta do??

How can I make the link show as a link?....oops sorry it did :confused:

Hey man, why don't you e-mail me the pics and I'll upload them to photobucket for you.

thebingoboys (at) sympatico.ca

My daughter will instruct in the use of photobucket so my 'Tale of two Teles' can unfold in brutally bare visual..er..splendour.

I have tooled around "Guitar Nuts' ( http://www.guitarnuts.com/index.php ) & got the shielding info but I have a question and couldn't find a link or Email address. Also I expect a number of contributors here might know...

The control and pickup cavities are shielded with copper foil but on the back of the scratchplate aluminium foil is glued on.

Why wouldn't copper foil be used there as well? Is it a cost consideration?
Wouldn't two different metals in contact produce some sort of potential difference? If so is it neglible?

I just can't see why the copper foil wouldn't be used everywhere.

Any suggestions?

IM not sure about the physics / metallurgy however when I did my strat I just plastered copper foil over the existing foil and never thought twice about it. I have had no problem since so Im figuring I did right !

Originally Posted by: RobSm... Why wouldn't copper foil be used there as well? Is it a cost consideration?
Wouldn't two different metals in contact produce some sort of potential difference? If so is it neglible?

I just can't see why the copper foil wouldn't be used everywhere.

Any suggestions?

[font=trebuchet ms]Placing copper and aluminum in contact with each other creates a small battery. This galvanic condition will cause corrosion at the junction. Replace the aluminum with copper foil (since it's the easier change to make).[/font]

Sounds like I need to perform open strat surgery !!!

Thanks for the replies re the shielding.

Well time to press on...I have managed to put some photos here:

http://photobucket.com/albums/y151/0-fanlee-0/

No 1 is of the Warmoth stuff. It's beautiful. The photos don't do it justice. I decided not to use boot polish on the neck. It looks slightly more tan in real life. How will I ever dare to drill it? LOL

No 2 is the Saga stuff...test to destruction!!!!

No 3 Make sure your paint shop is well ventilated. Did I mention the breeze? It was like target practice early on...but...

No 4 It could be.....Black?

No 5 Yeah It's BLACK.Actually it looks better in real life and everything went well. No spills runs or anything requiring sanding back.

No 6 While the paint dried I had to do something so I started on a non dangerous task on the Warmoth body.

I can see that a BIG problem will be keeping my hands off the Warmoth until I've dione with the Saga.

As with all good projects I've changed my mind about a few things. My plan was to build a stock standard Warmoth tele so I did not go for tummy cuts,tapered heels & snazzy tuners. I reckoned I'd build a second one with all the bells & whistles.

Now I've decided I will put on locking tuners and change the neck pickup mounting from directly into the wood to scratch plate mounted. Since it is not a cheap guitar I want a little of the modern comforts and at the speed I'm going I may not do another in this lifetime. :o)

The tuner holes will have to be reamed as they're 11/32 and it seems all the locking tuners require larger diameters. I haven't chosen the brand yet. Any recommendations?

I reamed & threaded the pickup lugs on the neck pickup, painstakingly marked the hole postions on the scratchplate so the pickup would sit perfectly and DRILLED!

OK..first hitch. The 1/8 screws have a head that is slightly too large given the hole postions and they impede the movement of the pickup. Also the bloody thing is slightly tilted...but only I will know.

So I'm considering the next step. I think I will probably try to grind the screw heads a little.

Any ideas team?

Next step will be to put a dummy logo on the Saga neck, ream the tuner holes to accept the now spare Callaham tuning keys and clear coat neck & body. I've come accross a product called 'enviro-tech' that is a high gloss self levelling polymer...no sanding or rubbing out. Sounds great in theory!! :o)

What have I learned? Use conductive paint to shield things and that I didn't think of everything. LOL .... and it's taking such a long time...and DON'T TOUCH the WARMOTH yet!!!LOL

More soon I hope.

wow, it looks clean and neat. ;)
if u'r sure overlaps enough for contact to the pickguard, its ok.
and don't forget to ground them well with solderin'... :D

I am learning to be patient...:o)

I was set to clear gloss the SAGA & when I gave it a light 600 sand as directed I rubbed through in a couple of spots. No wonder I didn't get any runs & drips ..I only laid on a few molecules depth.

I tried to touch it up with nail polish ...didn't work..so back to the drawing board or rather the clothes line with a fresh can of paint. This time I gave it many many coats & did get a couple of run which of course one has to sand level. Patience!!

Meanwhile I took my necks to the local guitar repair man to have the peg holes altered..I did not want to buy reamers rat tail files etc . I have them back with a couple of very small chips in the finish on the warmoth neck which will be covered by the tuners. But I will probably try to touch them in with clear epoxy using a pin.

Tomorrow I will clear coat the SAGA neck & body & probably mount the tuners in the warmoth neck if the eopxy stuff looks OK.

I've decide not to put look alike stickers and be true no-namers. LOL

All going to plan I hope...but after the clear coat it is recommended to wait ONE MONTH before ruibbing to gloss.

As I said I'm learning to be VERY patient.

In the meantime I can practice my soldering techniques LOL. What could be simpler?????

I will add more pictures when I have something that is worth looking at.

Onward & Upward!! But can anyone tellme...where can I post little sound samples (yes I'm an optimist) when finished..Like is there a 'Photobucket' type site for sound?