Stratocaster Build - From Scratch

[george wilson]

I like the one on the right end the best. Its curves are the most harmonious.

[Julie Moriarty]

When taking into consideration the ergonomics of a 6-in-a-row headstock, there isn't much room left for designing. And considering people have been at this design thing for a very long time, there isn't much room left for originality. And when going for a knock-em-dead design, you'll have to be prepared to be in it for the long haul, unless you are a creative genius. And if your goal is to please all the people, well... you might as well call Nurse Ratched and have her prepare a room for you at the Cuckoo's Nest.

I understand and accept these facts. And I'd rather be in the workshop seeing progress made than spend any more time trying to find the Golden Goose. I still don't know what I'm going to do on the headstock, but I do know there is someone waiting for a bass guitar to play. While working on that, maybe a sign will come from the heavens and I'll see the light.

I've been working on sanding/buffing #2. I'm using Micro Mesh again. Yesterday I got up to 3600 grit. That's as far as I'll go on the back of the neck. The rest will go to 12000. I'm getting anxious to see how this one will sound with the Seymour Duncan Everything Axe pups. Could be interesting.

[John Coloccia]

I agree with George, but I'll go a step further and suggest trying it without the accent wood. I really loved that accent on the original one you made. It was very simple, and fresh, and the logo was cool. Happy accidents, right? I'm not so sure I like it that much with these other designs. That's just my opinion.

[Mel Fulks]

Julie, you have made your job easier by accepting that there is literally little room to be original. I do think that the factory
stuff is full of all round lines because it is simply easier to sand.

[Julie Moriarty]

At the risk of being told, "Not a good wood for..." We just got back from the hardwood store. Picked up some koa for the bass body, some curly and BE maple for necks, some cocobolo and Macassar ebony for fretboards and a 4/4 piece of cocobolo I'm going to make into a neck. That's some of the prettiest wood I've seen on a guitar. If my cocobolo neck idea works, great things await Moriarty Guitars.

[Shawn Pixley]

I can't wait to see. But that could be one heavy instrument.

[george wilson]

DO BE CAREFUL working the coco bolo. Some users have had severe reactions to the wood. I might have mentioned that one guy went blind for 2 weeks after turning it on the lathe. Be careful to not breathe small dust from sanding. Some of these tropical woods have apparently got powerful stuff in them to resist insects.

I have had no allergic reactions with wood,but I have some hundred year old + mahogany. When I use it,I get a rash on my arms. I think it is from fungi in the old wood. It does smell OLD,like the interior of old antique furniture. I am careful to only work it near a exhaust pipe outlet,where the fly stuff gets sucked up.

[Julie Moriarty]

I can't wait to see. But that could be one heavy instrument.

As we walked through the hardwood store yesterday, we checked the weight of the woods. Koa was close to maple in weight but cocobolo was pretty heavy. That's why I was looking at making a neck out of it as experimental. My affinity for beautiful and different woods seems to always take me to the pricier and often heavier woods. I guess it's an addiction. On the return trip, I began seeing this guitar thing taking me in the direction of aesthetics playing the biggest part in putting the guitar together.

When I walk into a guitar store, they all look the same to me. It's boring. Since I dove into this I've been paying attention to what professional guitarists are playing. And pretty much, most every guitar is boring. They do wondrous things with those plain Janes but I would quickly lose interest in building them if I followed mass-production formulas. Of course, that means selling them so I can continue making them gets a little harder. For #1, I bought a padded strap because of its weight. I've walked around the house with it and it doesn't take long before you feel the weight. But every time I look at it, it warms my heart.

Speaking of heavy, I saw some purpleheart and tried to envision what it might look like in a guitar. Then I picked up a piece. That just may be the heaviest wood I have ever held in my hands. All thoughts of making necks or bodies out of it vanished.

[John Coloccia]

Just as well. Over time, it will likely turn an ugly brown under traditional guitar finishes unless you take steps to stop it.

re: the cocobolo
Listen to George carefully on this one. Of all the exotics, cocobolo is the one that seems to give people the most trouble. Also, I'd personally hate the feel of it under my hands. It never stops leaking oil. I don't know how that's possible but it seems to just keep coming forever. The weight will also be an issue, however it's not just the weight. The big problem is that the bass could be very neck heavy. You may need a very long upper horn to balance it on the strap. This isn't a fatal problem, but it's something that you should be aware of as you go along.

You could conceivably do a center of mass calculation in your CAD program for the wood parts, and then continue the calculation by hand for the hardware and electronics. Alternatively, you could just leave the upper horn very long, and then once you have everything installed just shave it back maybe a 1/2" at a time until it balances perfectly, and then fair it into the rest of the body.

[Julie Moriarty]

While I was storing the new wood so it can acclimate, I picked up the 4/4 cocobolo, after handling the koa and maple, and immediately knew it was never destined to become a neck. It is just too heavy. It's about twice as heavy as maple. I'll just have to figure it for another project.

It's interesting what you said about cocobolo, John. I would compare the fretboard on the first guitar to be more like rosewood. I could never say it's oily. I've been pretty happy with it and have not had any of the problems often cited.

Yesterday I laid the pieces for #2 in place to see how they all look together. It reminded me of mixing paisley and plaid. That always hurts the eyes! The pickguard needs to be replaced, that I know now. Even after removing the protective film, there is just no way it will work. I found another website that has some possibilities and superimposed their images over the red pickguard.

Of course you never know how they will look in real life and these aren't cheap enough to buy the lot and find out. The first guitar was easy. This one, not so much.

[george wilson]

Coco bolo needs to be scrubbed a lot with benzene where it will be glued up. I guess it's o.k. for the wood to become oily again after the glue has dried. I haven't tried using it to make an acoustic yet,though.

[Julie Moriarty]

The patient is in the operating room now. Doctors will be performing fret adjustments today.

After much deliberation, we've decided on the pickguard. Hopefully, it will look something like this:

[george wilson]

From what I can see,the top curve of your peghead looks nice,Julie. Nice finish,too.

[Shawn Pixley]

Very nice Julie! I suggest you install straplocks. You'll hate it if it falls. It is the first thing I do on any guitar.

[Julie Moriarty]

I suggest you install straplocks. You'll hate it if it falls. It is the first thing I do on any guitar.

On the first guitar I installed those almond shaped buttons. I had a heck of a time getting them through the strap holes. I don't see that failing. But yesterday I installed standard buttons and immediately wondered how well they would hold the strap. I didn't feel very confident. Now that you've said that, I'll heed your warning. Thank you.

The guy making the pickguard (he makes his own material too) said it will be a week or so before it's ready to ship. And for some reason I can't find that jack socket I had for this guitar. So it will be a while before I can finish the assembly. To satisfy my curiosity, I "installed" the pups and knobs in the image. This should be pretty close to what it will look liked finished.

That "END PIN" package upper right are the buttons I installed on the first one. I'd use them on this one but they're gold.

On another note - I've been playing with a new logo, new name and "the" headstock shape for what seems like an eternity and NOTHING I do works for me. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever come up with anything that I like as much as I did with the first guitar. If I keep building guitars, I'll have to sell them or go broke. And I can't sell them with a copyrighted headstock. This whole process is taking the fun out of making guitars.