Number 7 - My Sister's Strat

My sister informed me she wanted a guitar built for her; a purple guitar. I decided it will be a rear routed Strat with the Retrotron/Tele neck combo I used on my last build. Figured maple Drop top on mahogany, chambered, to keep the weight down, with no forearm cut. A maple neck with a transparent purple head stock. I have had three copies of my Strat drawings copied at the local blueprint shop (I'll use a couple of them to make some MDF templates). I just bought the mahogany and fiddleback (tiger stripe) maple blanks and had the mahogany (a gorgeous piece of ribbon grain) planed to 1.5 inches and the maple jointed and planed smooth. $60.77 total.

Here is what I'm shooting for with this build.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/Wendy's%20Strat.JPG

:shock:I know, I know, but its what she wants. And ever since Wendy was a little girl, what Wendy wants, Wendy gets. Stay tuned.:lol:

The picture didn't show up......:sad:

Try it now. I believe I've fixed it.

[/QUOTE]
Here is what I'm shooting for with this build.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/Wendy's%20Strat.JPG

:shock:I know, I know, but its what she wants. And ever since Wendy was a little girl, what Wendy wants, Wendy gets. Stay tuned.:lol:[/QUOTE]

So now is your chance to make a stand!! You should make her a guitar that she needs, and who better to tell her what she needs than her brother! :wink:

It took 56 views before anyone mentioned the link was broken? Jeez, guys.

So now is your chance to make a stand!! You should make her a guitar that she needs, and who better to tell her what she needs than her brother! :wink:

Make a stand against Wendy? That didn't work when I was 18 and she was 6. It didn't work when she was 15 and I was 27. It's never worked. Men who know Wendy, fear Wendy. So it has been. So shall it be. All hail the Wendy.


http://lyonshome.org/pics/Wendy/wendy1.JPG

I like it! And I think I would like Wendy also! Keep us posted ... Should be an interesting build.

One semi-rook question - what is a "drop-top"??

Drop top means a facing made of a different wood than the main part of the body.

I took a shot of the blanks in the sun. It lets the grain in the ribbon mahogany and the fiddleback maple show really well. Most of the discolored streak in the maple should be lost when it is split for bookmatching.

Took a couple of hours today and made template #1.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat002.jpg

Next, I'll use this one to make template #2 with the routing patterns for the neck pocket, pickups, and front bridge opening. I had the maple piece re-sawn for bookmatching yesterday. It looks great.

Looks like a great "girl guitar". I suspect one reason Wendy gets what Wendy wants is a doting big brother!

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Jim

I got back to work on this thing for a while today, and finished the templates. Then I said "What the hell.", and went ahead and cut out the mahogany blank. There were a few minor tear outs around the outer edge. No problem they should be cut out by the round overs or covered by the solid paint around the edges.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat003.jpg

Fear not the purple guitar!

There is purple, and then there is purple. I'm not sure about this purple, maybe add a little red. Definitely try some samples first.

Just a quick addition. I've had the top piece split, and I just glued and clamped it together. It will have to be sized to my planer and run through lightly to size it to 1/4 inch thick. I also weighed the mahogany blank. It is currently 4 lbs 13 3/4 ounces. Experience with the last one tells me the routing should remove better than a pound.

They FilterTrons you're planing on sticking in there? Should sound great. I actualy dont mind the look of it...

Sounds great alright.

Can you split those 'trons? If so, positions 2 and 4 could be interesting...

This morning I did the backside routing and bored the pilot holes for the neck.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat007.jpg

These Routs have removed a hair over 10 ounces of wood.:smile:

After I got home from dinner, I routed the lightening chambers in the front side of the blank. It now weighs 59 ounces.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat008.jpg

Pulled out the Rigid planer and smoothed and sized the figured maple top.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat009.jpg

It's a nasty rainy day here. For this part of the country, thats a good thing!

After sanding with 60 and 100 grits using an orbital sander, and wiping down with a wet paper towel, it looks like this.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat010.jpg

Every angle makes different parts of the figuring pop into view. It should be very nice.

After cutting out the top, the locations of the switch and pots are rear routed to thickness and the backs soaked with CA glue.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat011.jpg

Then the Tightbond glue is spread around,

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat013.jpg

and the top clamped down.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat015.jpg

That should do it for today.

I got up a little early this morning, and went to work on it.

I used the router table to trim the top to the body and put a 3/8" roundover on both sides, then I attached the top template and routed. All that's left before starting the finish is the belly cut and a lot of sanding.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat017.jpg


http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat018.jpg

Patton told me he likes it.

From here on I'll provide more pictures; either because the steps involved are something I haven't done before, or the steps and results are worth showing for instructional purposes.

In this case, I've never done a belly contour, so here is how I'm doing it.

First I made a pattern from the plans, located it on the body, and traced around it.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat020.jpg

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat022.jpg

Kitty is sleepy.

Using a rasp, a belt sander, a random orbit disk sander and a hand sanding block in that order, I've carved out the belly contour.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat024.jpg

Just a lot of hand sanding to do, now.

It's currently 4.25 lbs. in weight. I don't know if thats light or heavy for a Strat.

Looking great! For some reason a strat trem route intimidates me! Yours looks nice and clean, and the control cavity/control-switch holes look very nicely done.

Looking great! For some reason a strat trem route intimidates me! Yours looks nice and clean, and the control cavity/control-switch holes look very nicely done.

Thanks. The routing kind of intimidated me as well, but by being very meticulous in making my templates (it took longer than doing the body), it proved to be not that difficult.

I just ordered a neck, trem, and some assorted parts. The project accelerates.

All I've done so far this week is some hand sanding; there's more to do.

The neck arrived today. It looks pretty good.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat025.jpg

all you said was she wanted a purple guitar, and you decided the rest. are you sure this is the guitar she wants? i'm not being a prick ironwolf, i'm just asking. you're doing alotta work there.

Oh yeah. Her daughter likes pink and black. She got a pink and black Thinline. Wendy told me she wanted me to make her a purple guitar. Beyond that, it's just me having some fun.

major props to you bro, cause it's lookin real good.

damn i wish my brother knew how to build guitars, you do some fine work dude

I finished the initial prep sanding this evening, then I mixed up a slurry of red mahogany wood filler and massaged it into the mahogany.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat026.jpg

I got what I think is some great news today about this build. Wendy came over and I had her look at the body really closely and look at my last build which used basically the same materials. The upshot is there will be a change to the color scheme; the mahogany part of the body will be stained mahogany red. The maple top will still be purple, and I'll burst it with a transparent mahogany red lacquer.

Looks great, My wife would love it, she really loves purple

Did the red stain on the mahogany. Looks good.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat028.jpg

The first stage of dyeing the top.

A mixture of blue and black dyes were mixed in denatured alcohol and wiped in to the top.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat029.jpg

Then sand it back.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat030.jpg

Repeat.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat032.jpg

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat033.jpg

Then I tape up to minimise the initial overlap.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat034.jpg

And finally do the purple Solar Lux (a mix of Mahogany Red and Sea Blue).

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat036.jpg

Notice how the fiddleback pattern changes with the viewing angle.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat037.jpg

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat038.jpg

Looking good Ironwolf. Some lacquer should really bring that purple color out.

Got 3 coats of sanding sealer on it. Let it cook off till tomorrow evening and then I'll wet sand it. The back side will need more.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat039.jpg

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat041.jpg

A whole lot of lacquer and sanding sealer on it now. As soon as there is enough for me to sand it dead level with no sand throughs, I'll put one more coat of lacquer on it then start the burst process.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat044.jpg

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat047.jpg

Okay. The burst process begins. I start by masking off the front and back, and applying about six coats of deft mixed with Behlen's Mahogany Red Solar Lux dye to the sides. I want to darken it up prior to doing the front and back.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat048.jpg

Next, an undersized shadow mask is placed on the guitar's front supported by push pins. The red lacquer mixture is then sprayed at an angle that allows it to reach under the mask. Another pass is made at a steeper angle, so that less reaches under the mask.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat050.jpg

After allowing the lacquer to stiffen for a few minutes, the process is repeated with the full size shadow mask.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat052.jpg

After a couple of minutes, a thin coat of clear deft is sprayed, to help flow and blend the red lacquer.

And this is the result.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat053.jpg

Unfortunatly, in a dark garage on a cloudy day, This is the best picture I can get; but, trust me, it looks really nice. If the weather allows, I'll try to provide better pictures tomorrow.

After allowing the deft to set up for an hour or so, the body is flipped over and the process repeated on the back side.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat054.jpg

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat056.jpg

The object here is simply to blend the darker red of the sides, into the lighter red of the back. It's hard to tell in this photo, but its working quite well.

I tried for better photos, but I think I waited too late in the evening, I need brighter light.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat057.jpg

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat060.jpg

The picture of the back is pretty good, but the front doesn't show the burst colors very well.

The picture of the back looks great ... the whole thing certainly looks cool!

Has your sister seen it yet, or will it be a great unveiling?

She saw it before any dye or finish was applied. No surprise, other than it's final appearance.

Did some lawn work this evening, and a little work on the guitar.

Mounted and trued the neck.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat063.jpg

Lined up and mounted the bridge.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat072.jpg

Drilled the jack hole.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat073.jpg

Time to route the back for the control cavity cover.

The template is affixed.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat074.jpg

The route is made with a 1/4" long pattern bit in the small edge trimming router. Note that the inner lip is quite narrow to allow for the spring cavity cover.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat075.jpg

And the result is,

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat076.jpg

a perfect fit.

I tried for a couple of shots of the body in bright sunlight, but I think I need to try again with a dark back ground.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat081.jpg

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat082.jpg

Looks cool! Is it more purpley in person? Seems a touch dark but I'd rock that thing even!

The first of the last two pictures comes closest to what it actually looks like, but, in person, the red burst shows up better.

Wish I had a big brother building a guitar for me! Sis is one lucky gal (and she's got a Trinity-from-Matrix vibe going on!)

Nah, the "vibe" is Underworld. Check the eyes in her photo.

Sanded the body out to a leveled dull with 400 grit paper and started what I hope to be the final 6 coats of lacquer. Also got the headstock level sanded and the decals applied last night. The headstock now has seven coats of lacquer over the decals, so I'll try level sanding it again tomorrow evening. The garage is exceeding 110 degrees during the day, so the Deft is setting up quickly.

Tried another sun shot of the body after it got its last lacquer.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat086.jpg

It's still not a great pic but the colors do seem to show somewhat better. The neck is getting its last coats this weekend. Then everything cooks in the garage for a couple of weeks.

man thats beautiful! great classy wine purple.what color hardware?

Chrome silver on this one.

That looks great, keep us updated when you make progress!

The Retrotron pups arrived today, so this weekend I'll pre-assemble and mock up everything. Get some idea of how this puppy's going to look.

I mocked up what it should look like with all the parts set in position. In person it's as impressive as all get out. With a camera flash, not so much; the color balance is just off. However, I should be able to polish it out and start the real assembly next weekend; the lacquer already seems quite hard, and we have another fairly hot week ahead of us.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat088.jpg

looking forward to seeing it all finished

Tried an outdoor shot of the body in the shade. Flash Off. The color's OK but reflection in the lacquer washes some of it out. I'm starting to get PO'ed.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat089.jpg

I'm currently taping up the fret board to clear lacquer from the frets.

Try one at an angle .some guitars are hard to shoot I don't have any pics of the trans white one that really show it the way I think it looks.Hey remember film?I've taken alot of guitar pics this year.Unlike old girlfriends pics you can never have too many guitar picshttp://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/tele-home-depot/28768d1247666264-building-beerfish-dscf1877-jpg

The neck is polished out and the tuners installed. Today I start on the body. This well probably take two or three days or more. We are having a heat wave (it made it to 106 degrees here yesterday, it made 134 in the garage) and it makes it a little hard to spend much time on the porch, wetsanding. Plus, since it's Sunday, I need to do my weekly shopping.

It didn't get as hot as they said it would so I got the body polished. Here she is with the neck.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat093.jpg

Now comes the wiring.

It's even hot over here at the coast. Cooler at just 80 today, but back up to high 80's tomorrow. I've been taking advantage of that and spray painting also. But I still suck at spray painting ... even if it is hot!

The purple strat is lookin' good, wolf!

Finally got back to this over the weekend. It's wired and the pups are mounted. I'm just waiting for some chrome pickgaurd screws for the backside covers. They should be here by Friday. In the meantime, I just need to give it a final polish.

And we finally have a finished product.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat%20103.jpg

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat%20099.jpg

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat%20104.jpg

Just take it to the shop for a set up and any fret and nut work it needs, and then she can have it.

Great job! I'm surprised you need to take it to the shop to get a setup with the skills you have. I'm sure she'll love it.

That is really cool. I'm sure she will love it. Looks great!

da bomb!!! very nice!!!

Great job! I'm surprised you need to take it to the shop to get a setup with the skills you have. I'm sure she'll love it.

Thanks for the complement. The problem is, I don't yet have the tools to work on frets or nuts. I am planning to aquire them soon however, as I'm preparing to start making necks.

Nice job there Ironwolf. That Strat turned out sweet!

heya ironwolf,

the finished product ain't as purple as the concept pic. (ah, me stating the obvious) could be the lighting, perhaps?

BUT i really, really like the result! and it's got lotsa shiny chrome in all the right places... man, that is a sweet git!

Got the guitar back from the shop yesterday and took it out to Wendy today. Here's a shot of my girls with the guitars I built for them.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat106.jpg

Got the guitar back from the shop yesterday and took it out to Wendy today. Here's a shot of my girls with the guitars I built for them.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Wendy's%20Strat/WendyStrat106.jpg

That is a fantastic shot - looks like some proud owners of your handiwork. Nice finish to this thread!