Stratocaster Guitar Build - Part 4 - Building A Stratocaster Guitar Neck
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Template sets to follow along with the build - fletcherhandcra...
This video covers bending the fret wire and fretting the neck but with a variation - we undercut the fret tang to hide it and fill in the slots with rosewood dust.
We also reshape the neck to a slimmer profile and spray some tinted lacquer on the neck.
Contact me for template sets to follow along with the build
Part 5 coming up should see the neck completed (finally !!) and we can level the frets.
this is basically a free course in everything i wanted to know
Very generous of you sir to share this with everyone. You have answered questions I have had for years like how do they get those damn frets in there etc You are a "great" teacher very clear spoken and patient and detail minded and that is a God given gift for which many of us soon to be hobby builders as well as craftsmen will benefit immensely. I thank you sincerely. God bless
Thankyou very much, I appreciate the comments !
I agree, not many people want to teach as you did Sir. Very intelligently made videos with great teaching.
***** Thank you! You have convinced me never to attempt to make my own neck. Besides all the money you have invested in quality tools and the costs of raw materials, you have shown me that I could realistically spend 10 - 20 man hours per neck. Just the man hours alone would cost me more than a genuine Warmoth neck. I do respect your craftsmanship and your willingness to share your experience with us. Thanks again.
Very true but ... it's not always the money that counts. The fun and pleasure of making your own neck and body from the raw materials was the reason to built my own and yes ... the (quality) tools did cost some money but which hobby doesn't ;)
Watched this series 5 times, it never gets old
Zack Allen Right! Saw this a couple years ago one night at 12 AM and watch the entire thing because I was mesmerized, pretty tired at work the next day though Lol.
There seems to be countless advantages to buying a hand built guitar. Thank you for this video. I'm sure as heck not going to start building guitars but it gave me yet another respect for guitars and old world craftsmanship.
Yes , the wife & I were in Thailand for a week in August, loved it !
Beautiful work and fantastic explanation of what you are doing. Wish I had a shop and all the necessary tools. I'd be making some wacky inventions though. I'm still playing my first build from 1989. The frets are probably desperately wishing to be retired but I love the squared flat tops of these frets and there's no buzzing. (It's an old Kramer neck). I'm guessing flat jumbos, I don't know what they are. I just know I love this neck, the way it plays. Although maybe it's just because I've been playing it since '89. Just picked up a real '74 Alpine White LP. Unfortunately, it's slightly devalued because of a refretting, still plays like a dream though. Good ol' Randy Rhoads LP.
rest in piece fletch's favorite pencil...
I shimmed the heel up with a piece of wood and ran it across my router table. The result being it removed more wood from the neck end than the heel end. That gave me a flat straight plane on the back that you see in the video. I thin shaped it by hand with rasps etc
Yeah the majority of my specialised tools are from stewmac. Their freight rates are pretty good , I can order and have a the parcel delivered to Australia in 4 days, can't beat that.
I love this!! I would rather do these things by hand than machine, Just more satisfying!!
I cant recall exactly now but 8-10 coats should get you there. You can finish a maple fretboard the same as I did on the neck. Spray over the frets, the lacquer will come off when you level and crown the frets.
That neck looks gorgeous after those few coats of tinted lacquer have been applied.
I feel like this dude should have his own PBS show on making guitars.
Thank You! I've always been intrested in building my own guitars,im planing to attend Roberto-Venn school of luthierie and this is very helpful.The way you build and craft guitars from scratch is captivating. Im Awaiting the next installment. :D
Simply Amazing!
Thanks! And thank you for taking the time to film the entire build and post it on youtube!
wow.. simply wow.
You could build the neck in a weekend. The only thing that would slow you down is the spraying and curing. Probably about 15 hours all up including spraying and buffing
On this style of guitar there is no neck angle. Once the neck is attached to the body, you use the truss rod to introduce enough "bow" or relief to eliminate any buzzing. Les Paul's and other set-neck guitars do have a neck angle built in however.
personal preference - I find I get a more even colour by using tint coats rather than wipe a stain on. Plus I can build the depth of colour up gradually by straying more coats.
I use stewmacs dremel wheels and also a soft wheel with super fine white automotive rouge for polishing metals
You have a nice Beer Chang T-shirt ! Lucky man, you have a nice job in your hands ... Love watching your videos. Claude from BKK
I also have a red compund thats a bit on the medium side. Both colors i use are for polishing stainless on cars
That's one of the nicest Stratocaster necks I've ever seen.
I really enjoy watching your videos, very helpful.
Keep em' coming! :)
Finally. We all have been waiting for your videos. Go on. Thank U. Very useful.
totally agree- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING- you inspire !
It shows me radiusing the fretwire in the video at 2:53 and I explain the tool I use in detail
Hi Jyme, I use it as an insurance policy only - the frets would more than likely be fine without the CA and I have built many necks without it but I now prefer to know that they are glued in as well.
I learnt something! Turns out a few of my guitars were made the long way around by cutting the tang of the fret wire off before installation then filled.
Hola, estos vídeos me ayudaron muchísimo a construir un par de guitarras hace unos años, asique estoy muy agradecido por ellos.
Lo que sugeriría que tal vez sería conveniente definir el espesor casi final que tendrá el Neck bajo los Trastes 1 y 12 (sin tocar la transición Neck/Head), tallar ese plano en cuña, y posteriormente trazar las líneas guía del modo que tú sugeriste en el vídeo 3.
En su momento lo hice de la forma que te menciono luego de ver el retoque detallado en el minuto 13:00 de este video, y me resultó muy bien!!!.
Espero estés muy bien y gracias por compartir!!
Sí, establezca primero el grosor del cuello antes de transferir las líneas a la parte posterior del cuello.
Josue, go for it man ! Good luck @ lutherie school
I'm always looking forward for your videos, thank you for sharing this mastery with us! Good luck with your project.
I used a very thinned out clear lacquer to seal the neck. No need for primer.
Really great work
Well, I prefer classic sunburst, but any color you decide to put on, I'm sure it will be great.
I wouldn’t recommend rounding over the fret board while the frets are off. I made the mistake of doing this on a guitar and ended up taking off just enough that there was a small gap underneath the fret ends. So now the high E gets stuck in the gap under the fret. I don’t really know a way of correcting this. So now it’s a reminder for me to round over the board after the frets are installed.
9:10 sounds like the TARDIS
That neck is beautiful
Thanks Jorge !
I'm very impressed. Very nice work, this will help me a lot thank you
Looks pukka! This is a great video series. Can't wait to build my own!
I make a paste with the rosewood dust and glue to fill the edges under the frets...
just looking at the finished neck profile and comparing (i.e. eyeballing) it against the groove you cut for the truss rod in Part 1, I'm just wondering how much flesh needs to be left on the neck for that kind of truss rod - or any kind for that matter. Unless my eyes are playing tricks, I can't see how you could have any more than just a couple of millimetres of wood covering the truss rod along the rear of the neck profile. Is there a risk of the neck cracking?
It looks like you aren't masking off the neck slot and the heel of the neck. Do you just account for the added thickness of the lacquer in your templates, or do you wind up having to sand off layers of lacquer to get them to fit nicely?
The one weird thing I find is what you say about the fret clipping. Every normal guitar you can buy has the fretboard sealed with dust of the fretboard. It's a well established industry standard. Even 30€ noname guitars that are sold in big grocery stores here have that.
Thanks , I get a kick out of making them too ! :-)
Great videos, but I'm a little confused about the fret slots. You cut them when the neck was flat and then put in frets with a radius, wouldn't this mean they would only contact the bottom of the slot on the ends ? A luthier I go to has a rotating jig that cuts the slots to the same radius as the neck for this reason
Frets almost never touch the bottom of their slots ...
Thats what i thought as well. It also happens with the rubber fine and super fine polishing wheels from stew mac, no compound used. Weird.
Watch part 5 and part 6, its all covered in those videos :-)
Thank you very much, sir! Appreciate that.
It is a pre-catalysed nitrocellulose lacquer - Mirotone PC 3220
Ah I see. Not all Nitro is the same - I am using a pre-cat nitro which cures pretty quickly - about 7 days to fully cure. Some of the spray can aerosols can take up to 2 months to cure ! Work out what you are going to use and then research that product for curing times. Good luck with your build.
thanks for uploading, I was waiting, I really like how you work!
these are great video's. my hat is off to you sir!!!!
I'm going to make everything, I'll start on the body as soon as I finish up the neck
Why is the fret board so thick and the fret slots so deep? I know that neck blanks keep getting thinner and thinner. On my high end guitars the fret slots were all cut by hand with a depth stop so the cut follows the radius. It is a nice rendition of a pre CBS Star neck though. I mad a neat jig that works with a floor stand drill press for the old maple Tele skunk stripe necks to do the hole where that plug goes. Everyone said is was a difficult,process but my jig works great.
amazing work
Great detail. I really like your videos.
Beautiful!
I'm watching these videos to decide what tools i need to buy to finish my first guitar, and I noticed you use a fret hammer and a fret press. Is there a benifit to using both? If you had to use one what would you pick?
I am finishing a neck for a guitar I am building for my sister, I had a few question. I am just spraying on clear nitro and i will be putting on a decal. How long do I need to wait after I put the base coats on and how many coats for the base? Then after I apply the decal and spray again how long do I wait before I do the wet sanding and car polishes? And lastly, do I sand in between each coat? This is my first build and your videos have helped tremendously. I love your videos and your guitars.
I know that CA will hold frets in that are not seating well as I've used it on acoustics, is that the reason you wick it into the fret ends?
What would you take for a ebony (gibson scale 24.75) fretboard?
How long between should you wait between applying tinted coats?
I have a beginner question, is there any angle on the neck/body joint? Because in my mind, when you put a dead straight neck in with no "bow" there will be some buzz. Sorry if I wasn't clear enough in my description, my English is not good. By the way, congrats for the videos, I'm really inspired by your work.
Hi Fletcher,
I had some questions for you with regards to finishing that I couldn't find answers for anywhere online. When spraying a neck with lacquer, what kind of tape do you use to mask off the fretboard? How close to the edge of the fretboard do you go? Also, when finishing a body with lacquer, how do you combat wood grain expansion when wet sanding? Do you fill the holes with wax or use naphtha instead of water? Thanks so much!
Hi, It has oil on it from the manufacturing process. I like to wipe it off before you use it.
thanks , I'm looking forward to building this one . I better work out the body colour soon.. Any suggestions ?
Fletcher: What angle of bevel do you have on the fret ends? I too think it is to much with 35 degrees. What tool did you use (brand?)?
I would not use liquid nails - Use a wood glue like titebond or a yellow wood glue.
If its a refret, I'd definitely use glue - CA glue (superglue) would be my preference
Hi, what would you do on a one piece maple neck? I.e. with a maple fretboard? I'm afraid of filling the slot with maple saw dust and gluing it might end up being too dark and contrasty. Do you have any ideas? Thanks :)
Hi, Ive used maple Timbermate Maple filler before with good results. As always, best to test on scrap first to see if you are happy with the results
Fletcher Handcrafted Guitars thank you, I will definitely test first :)
always thought there was a big difference, you are going to make the body of stratocaster? or just made the neck?
Hi David, out of pure curiosity - How long did it take to make this guitar neck frm day one til the end... or how many hours. - thanks
is there any difference between the hammer and the frets press?
Thanks, I've watched your videos multiple times. I'm just unsure on the exact timing. I was told by a luthier friend of mine you have to wait 30 days before you even handle it after spraying. I think I am getting mixed info on whhat to and what not to do.
Hello David. I have used all your vids to make necks and have been very satisfied. I had a question that I can't get answered easily. I see you buy your stuff from Stew Mac. I bought the medium/higher wire and fretted 3 necks. After crowning, I polish to a high shine. After 3 days they oxidize and turn bronze. I have re-polished them 3 times with a few different compounds etc and after 3 days they turn. Bad batch of wire? Any tips? ever ran into this with SM wire? My fault? Thanks 4 your Input.
Hi, What compounds are you using ?
I never wished I lived in Australia more
So true!
Hi David,
I was just wondering how many coats of clear did you put on to get to a stage where you can buff it out and get a satin finish.
Another question I have is If I am intending to do a high gloss maple fretboard finish do I finish it the same way you did with the neck (no tint).
Thanks
Hi David. Wondering where you purchased the tints for the laquer covering?
Do you actually work for a guitar company or is this a hobby of yours? You could start a guitar line if you wanted. Good work!
Great video series and thank you for that. How did you attach the bracket to the heel of the neck before spraying the finish? It doesn't look like you used the holes you will use to mount the neck to the body?
Hey im new to the guitar building world i just wanted to ask whats the process to finish a neck ?
Thanks !
If I don't have a fretting press, what do I do?
Can I just hammer it in?
Yes definately
wow man!
Ok I see. Thanks David!
Sure, use a small Deadblow Fretting Hammer
Do you ever use any process to enhance the flame? Like darker coat, then sanding off, then putting a lighter tint on? I tend to see a lot of Flame maple necks where they didn't enhance the flame in the end. so the flame doesn't pop really nice.
I bought a small bottle of medium brown calligraphy ink from Hobby Lobby. Applied it with ha cloth to some ash with a nice grain then sanded off the ink. It stayed in the groves of the grain and enhanced it beautifully. Cheap and effective.
Odd, I've not come across that problem before. It definitely sounds like a compound issue though
hello, excellent work so far and very good footage. I wanted to ask you why did you choose not to stain the wood itself and went with stained lacquer instead. Is that just a matter of preference (to avoid sanding over and over again) or there is another reason behind this choice? What kind of lacquer do you use and how does it perform compared to nitrocellulose?
On your Tele build you glued the the frets in with Titebond, why didn't you do the same on this Strat build? Cheers mate!
+petemclinc Not necessary to glue the frets in , I sometimes do and other times I just hammer them in.
When you did the final shaping of the neck, how did you thin the neck down?
How much does the final product cost?
awesome
thank you so much. Can you also provide me with a piece of info about the lacquer you use?
thnx again for the tutorial
Not much difference really. I like to press them in as it feels more even but if you take care with a hammer, you can achieve the same results as pressing them in,
Hello Mr.Fletcher ! Big fan of Yours , here ! I love all Your videos and watch very carefully everything in them. But there is a thing I have to ask You - do You know if I should use some glue when refretting a neck and putting the new frets ? And if so , what kind of glue ? I've seen a video in RUclips , where one guy used Epoxy and my dad said I could use moment glue. Thanks !
I'm really sorry man, I've stupidly skipped the first couple of minutes thinking that you were only sanding the fretboard. Probably too much eggnog :) Anyway, are all your tools from stewmac? I'm asking because next year I'm going to US on a student visa and I'm planning on buying a nice set of tools and that "essential fretting kit" from them looks good.
Thanks Mr Fletcher for this great video. Wy do you wipe (clean) fretwire before install it?