# My latest guitar build **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005 "2009-01-05T22:27:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/41 "2009-01-08T00:21:57Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Got a question for you. Are necks reinforced with a steel rod? That would make it a tricky project, I think. Agreeing with all **WordMan** said and adding that many necks consist of two pieces of wood, the main “body” (for lack of a better word) and a seperate thin piece of the same or contrasting wood called the fret board which is what your fingertips contact while fretting notes. The truss rod would be installed in a routed channel in the main part of the neck and then the fretboard would be glued over it. Well within the capabilities of an advanced hobbyist. The hard part is spacing the slots for the frets so the intonation is right, although I think you can buy jigs for that. I would think it would be hard to get the slots cut deep enough for the fret tangs but not too deep. BTW, WordMan, I just revisited your thread. Any news? I had forgotten the part about the 3lb. Korina body! Was it from one of the bigger aftermarket companies? I love light guitars! ---
**Author:** ![greatshakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@greatshakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greatshakes)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/42 "2009-01-08T03:06:46Z")
Hey, WordMan, that’s kickin’! I wish I could afford one of your projects, but I could barely get my used Yamaha for 100 bucks! Keep up the good work. No, the fantastic work! Just one suggestion, tho, which I wouldn’t presume, except I saw that another poster did, and you went with it. I Had a brain thing: Why not make the toggle switch turquoise? It just struck me. I still don’t know if it would look super cool or dorky, but… Keep it up! greatshakes ps, don’t hate me for the suggestion please. It’s one of those things I just can’t hold back. It won’t happen again. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/43 "2009-01-08T13:56:23Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > BTW, WordMan, I just revisited your thread. Any news? I had forgotten the part about the 3lb. Korina body! Was it from one of the bigger aftermarket companies? I love light guitars! The body was made by Musikraft - out of NJ, I believe. They make bodies as a private-label supplier to guitar makers and parts sellers, and only recently started selling directly on eBay themselves. And yeah, this body is a thing to behold - when it is handed to you, you expect it to be so much heavier than it is that you over-compensate and practically whack yourself in the face with it - seriously. And it is taking the Gibson Cherry color beautifully - like a great old SG with that deep, raw-steak red with grain that you can just fall into. The lacquer spraying is super slow-going in this cold weather - and I have been slowing things down due to the holidays and busy-ness at work. I hope to bear down and get it done by March - which is my birthday anyway!! 😉 And \*\*greatshakes \*\*- I think you mean that \*\*BigShooter’s \*\*guitar is kickin’ - he’s the one with the mad metal-working and body-shaping skillz! ---
**Author:** ![BigShooter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigShooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigShooter)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/44 "2009-01-08T17:31:15Z")
> [@greatshakes](#): > > Hey, WordMan, that’s kickin’! > I wish I could afford one of your projects, but I could barely get my used Yamaha for 100 bucks! > Keep up the good work. No, the fantastic work! > Just one suggestion, tho, which I wouldn’t presume, except I saw that another poster did, and you went with it. I Had a brain thing: Why not make the toggle switch turquoise? > It just struck me. I still don’t know if it would look super cool or dorky, but… > Keep it up! > greatshakes > ps, don’t hate me for the suggestion please. It’s one of those things I just can’t hold back. It won’t happen again. Indeed, it was my work… But toggle switch in turquoise was a thought I had too. Actually, I was thinking of doing a turqoise patina over the whole pickguard. Maybe I’ll try that in the future… ---
**Author:** ![BigShooter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigShooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigShooter)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/45 "2009-01-08T17:33:36Z")
> [@Omegaman](#): > > How does it sound? Very beautiful piece of work there. Beautiful. After some working in, it way replace my mid 90’s Lone Star Strat as my #1… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/46 "2009-01-08T17:39:56Z")
> [@BigShooter](#): > > Actually, I was thinking of doing a turqoise patina over the whole pickguard. \*\*BigShooter \*\*- you got some ‘splainin’ to do! 😃 What do you mean by a turquoise patina? Can you share a pic of what it looks like? How is it done? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![BigShooter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigShooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigShooter)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/47 "2009-01-08T17:48:36Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > \*\*BigShooter \*\*- you got some ‘splainin’ to do! 😃 > > What do you mean by a turquoise patina? Can you share a pic of what it looks like? How is it done? > > Thanks! Sure. Here’s a pic of some copper jewelry with a turquoise patina on it: [http://dyannsdown2earth.com/images/IMG\_2852.JPG](http://dyannsdown2earth.com/images/IMG_2852.JPG) It’s just a chemical mixture that you coat the copper with and let it react. Then you wash it in water to stop the reaction, dry it off, and coat with a wax or oil based poly to keep it safe from the elements… ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/48 "2009-01-08T21:00:27Z")
Are any of you familiar with [this company](http://guitarmill.com/cart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=86&zenid=6a5a9991dc7b3a4c167dc979b1537aed) or thier bodies made from [this wood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulownia). They advertise Strat and Tele bodies at 3.5 lbs. or less but I don’t know anyone who has bought from them or used that type of wood. Any experience? A quick Google search indicates that the wood is commonly used in musical instruments but I didn’t find anything detailed. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/49 "2009-01-08T21:51:50Z")
> [@BigShooter](#): > > Sure. Here’s a pic of some copper jewelry with a turquoise patina on it: > > [http://dyannsdown2earth.com/images/IMG\_2852.JPG](http://dyannsdown2earth.com/images/IMG_2852.JPG) > > It’s just a chemical mixture that you coat the copper with and let it react. Then you wash it in water to stop the reaction, dry it off, and coat with a wax or oil based poly to keep it safe from the elements… Dude. You are _SO_ making a guitar with that. I would go with a fairly simple body - meaning either a solid painted color or a non-fancy, non-multicolor grain in a color that complements both copper and that turquoise. Jeez, you could sell a ton of both types of copper pickguards AND guitars built with those p’guards installed. Seriously. Go look at a Teye Electric Gypsy’s (their website is [here](http://teye-guitars.com/)). His stuff is apparently very well made (so says the reviews I have read) in what is essentially a knock-off of a Zemaitis design. But the turquoise abounds! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/50 "2009-01-08T21:57:07Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Are any of you familiar with [this company](http://guitarmill.com/cart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=86&zenid=6a5a9991dc7b3a4c167dc979b1537aed) or thier bodies made from [this wood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulownia). > They advertise Strat and Tele bodies at 3.5 lbs. or less but I don’t know anyone who has bought from them or used that type of wood. Any experience? A quick Google search indicates that the wood is commonly used in musical instruments but I didn’t find anything detailed. “Are any of you familiar with this?” Of _course_ we are familiar with it - it’s Dope and we’re guitar geeks! 😃 My first Parts-o-Tele is made with a Guitar Mill ash body - they do _top notch_ work - happy to recommend them in a heartbeat. And their service is excellent - I bought the body off Stratosphere on the 'bay (I recall you have used them) - so I didn’t buy direct from GM, but when I called with a question while I was building, they were totally cool and treated me like a customer of theirs. However - Paulownia - go to [this thread](http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=440106&highlight=Paulownia)on The Gear Page. The claim is that P-wood is light and is resonant - but is similar to balsa wood (also a great tone wood, btw) in that the grain is somewhat weak, so you can easily strip screw threads. And expecting a Strat to be a road warrior seems unlikely - you should be able to pop the neck and put it back on dozens of times - it doesn’t seem P-wood can handle it… I ended up choosing not to use it. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/51 "2009-01-08T23:01:39Z")
Thanks for the link, **WM**! Sounds like it’d be too soft for me too. I tend to bump my guitars into things. 6.5 is about the perfect weight for me. The first guitar I built used a Warmoth hardtail Strat style that is almost exactly 3.5 lbs and the whole thing comes out at 6.4 or so. Love it (mostly) it’s the one I always end up going back to. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/52 "2009-01-18T22:03:24Z")
BigShooter, Where did you get the templates? Did you make them from scratch, purchase, or adapt from something else? Do you have any interest in 24-fret guitars? I’ve seen Warmoth’s solution where the fingerboard is longer than the neck, and I’m not crazy about it. I’d be interested to know if anyone has a source for 24-fret necks and bodies. ---
**Author:** ![BigShooter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigShooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigShooter)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005/53 "2009-02-05T18:08:00Z")
Sorry I didn’t get back to you on this. I thought this thread was dead… At any rate, I got my templates from here: [http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/CNCGuitarTemplates.htm](http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/CNCGuitarTemplates.htm) They’ve got 24 fret PRS and Ibanez templates… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-latest-guitar-build/480005.md?page=2)