cutting a strat headstock to a tele style

[ronnes]

anyone tried this?

reason is that i have got one dirt cheap, and i really want to have the tele style on this tele build.

[eryque]

Is the heel the right shape for a tele pocket?

[ronnes]

Originally Posted by eryque

Is the heel the right shape for a tele pocket?

crap didnt think of that one... havent tested it yet, waiting for the arrival of body. i havent bought the neck yet. so it wont fit if its original parts?

[Steinar G]

Putting a Strat neck on a Tele body is no problem at all, finished this one this weekend:

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by Steinar G

Nice execution. Yeah, cut your own pickguard with an 'S' neck pocket, or have an overhung 22 fret neck like this, and keep right on coming!

I certainly prefer a perfect fit of a T neck to a T pocket, etc. but this could work for a couple months, a couple years and then be sold or put into a Strat build

Bubbanov


If you keep me on, I'm willing to try much much harder guessing! Promise!

[Worn]

I'm in the same situation, I've got a 22 fret Strat neck going on a butterscotch body with reliced hardware and I thought I would just cut the headstock into the Tele shape. Nope, not enough wood. It could be done by adding wood, then cutting to shape but you would probably have to paint it.

[Wardpike]

Strat headstocks look cool on Teles and vice versa, anyhow! I think the heel is the biggest issue though, and putting a strat beck on a project tele at my buddy's repair shop recently meant reshaping the heel dramatically.

Best of luck, though!

[jwells393]

I think there's a enough wood on a Strat headstock to cut it into a reasonable facsimile of a Telecaster headstock. You might have to fudge it just a little but I'll bet no one would ever be able to tell.

......

[ronnes]

Originally Posted by jwells393

I think there's a enough wood on a Strat headstock to cut it into a reasonable facsimile of a Telecaster headstock. You might have to fudge it just a little but I'll bet no one would ever be able to tell.

......

thanks jwells!

nice overlaying comparison...if i like it with strat head i will leave it like that if not i will cut it. but does a 21 fret neck fit without shaping the pocket? im going pickguard-less by the way.

[mgdesigns]

If you just left the headstock alone, and did the pocket stuff or re-shape the the heel, you'd have the look of the Telecaster Deluxe, right?

[Worn]

I fitted a Strat necks to 2 other Tele bodies and never saw the need to reshape the heel, just used a 22 fret neck.

[robt57]

I saved this a while back considering doing a Tele ala Andy Summer or an Eric Clapton Blind faith era Tele.

[newtwanger]

Originally Posted by mgdesigns

If you just left the headstock alone, and did the pocket stuff or re-shape the the heel, you'd have the look of the Telecaster Deluxe, right?

Nope, cuz the Deluxe uses the big CBS era headstock. With the normal Strat head you get the uber-cool Blind Faith tele.

[ronnes]

Originally Posted by robt57

I saved this a while back considering doing a Tele ala Andy Summer or an Eric Clapton Blind faith era Tele.

this has a 21 fret neck, and i see the prob is the gap in the pickguard curve in the pocket. i imagine it would look worse without a PG?

[robt57]

Originally Posted by ronnes

this has a 21 fret neck, and i see the prob is the gap in the pickguard curve in the pocket. i imagine it would look worse without a PG?

Exactly why I posted it. I wouldn't care as much about that as my playing personally. ;)

[Wardpike]

That sunburst tele with the strat neck is gorgeous!!

[Worn]

Originally Posted by jwells393

I think there's a enough wood on a Strat headstock to cut it into a reasonable facsimile of a Telecaster headstock. You might have to fudge it just a little but I'll bet no one would ever be able to tell.

......

I take it back, I just laid a Tele neck over the Strat and there is enough material to cut it into a Tele shape. I was wrong, I had eyeballed them and it looked like there just wasn't enough. Sorry if I mislead anyone.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by Wardpike

That sunburst tele with the strat neck is gorgeous!!

Yea, that one and a Page Dragon Tele are on my short list of builds.

[Steinar G]

Originally Posted by Wardpike

I think the heel is the biggest issue though, and putting a strat beck on a project tele at my buddy's repair shop recently meant reshaping the heel dramatically.

I don't get this - a Strat neck is the exact same length as a Tele, the difference being that a Strat has rounded end while the Tele is square. So the only difference is that with a Strat neck you'll get a small open space in each corner of the neck pocket. When I put the Strat neck on my Tele I only had to do some very minor readjustement of the intonation, it fit perfect.

Now, a Tele neck on a Strat body, that's a different story....

[castpolymer]

I have found that Strat necks sell for less ( on average ) than Tele necks on Ebay ( a lot more Strats out there I guess ). So I made a jig of a Fender Tele headstock and a jig for the neck pocket rout on the pickguard. If it is a 22 fret, I do not have to mess with the neck pocket on the body. If it is 21 fret, I just modify the neck at the heel ( mostly done with a RO sander and finished up by hand with 80 grit then 220 ). It works pretty good and usually only takes about 30 minutes. I made the jigs out of 1/2" MDF.

[TELE_BLUES]

I've done at least 6 i can remeber.The vintage strat headstock is very tight but very doable,nobody ever noticed mine.The way to go is get the strat necks with big 70's style peghead, like some of the cheap squier ones.pleanty of wood there to work with.I can remember buying 3 from warmoth years ago all with awesome birdeye and they were very cheap too. As far as the gaps in the neck pocket,get the neck in straight,tighten it down and find something else to worry about.I've also put tele necks on strats when that's all i had,about 10 mins. with a file is all you need.