thirdstone Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 Hang on to your hats . This is a rather brutal strat rebuild , I have a rather heavy strat that I bought second hand in the late 80’s. It is a kit build from an unknown source and came fitted with the lace sensor pup’s ,two gold ,1 blue, and an original floyd rose trem. It has served well over the years as a backup guitar but now with time on my hands and an idea in my head its up for a makeover. The first thing that needs to be done is a refret. The frets are fairly well worn but the bigger problem is that the neck has already had a rather average refret before, not by me. The wood at the fret ends where the tang is exposed is a bit chewed out and the fretboard is well worn from playing. I did considered routing a thin channel on the side to put binding on but after cleaning up the neck and refretting it I decided that I could get away with cutting the tangs a bit short. Same as you would with binding ,then add some filler made from superglue and wood dust. The Body wood, I always thought was mahogany but after stripping it looks more like walnut, I am still not sure what wood it is. To cure the weight problem I wanted to chamber it. To do this I planed off 10mm then routed out some chambers ,free hand -no planing but lots of fun. Next was to glue on a maple cap, no flame or quilt here as its going to be painted black. Floyd Rose trems are great but I have got tired of looking for my allan key so I want to revert to a normal nut. I basically don’t use trems any more but I will keep the unit fitted but I will block it for down bends only. This should reduce tuning hassles down the track. Guitar and Neck Top Routed Gluing Cap glued cap on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 looks good! nice to see some 'agressive' modding! for the nut are you just going to fit a les paul style nut? should fit and would be a LOT less hastle than trying to fit a strat style nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdstone Posted November 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 I haven’t got around to thinking about the nut yet, My next step is to paint it black. But as you mentioned it I will have to make a custom nut or modify the locking nut. A couple of problems are , 1- the locking nut is not at right angle to the fret board so the fret board is actually cut short. Any new nut will have to be the same. 2- The locking nut is fixed with two screws which are accessed from the rear of the neck. This leaves two holes which I am thinking of filling with maple dowl, or use the locking nut base modified with a bone nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 I haven’t got around to thinking about the nut yet, My next step is to paint it black. But as you mentioned it I will have to make a custom nut or modify the locking nut. A couple of problems are , 1- the locking nut is not at right angle to the fret board so the fret board is actually cut short. Any new nut will have to be the same. 2- The locking nut is fixed with two screws which are accessed from the rear of the neck. This leaves two holes which I am thinking of filling with maple dowl, or use the locking nut base modified with a bone nut. Here's how I got around that problem: It's made out of Corian. You can shape it with files, sandpaper, dremel, or whatever. Takes a nice polish, too. I tapped threads so it mounts the same way the floyd rose nut did, and they're holding up fine. Anyway, just trying to give you some ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doeringer Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 Nut slots look a little deep(?) Are you sure that is the way you want it to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 Yeah, Walnut I think too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 (edited) Nut slots look a little deep(?) Are you sure that is the way you want it to be? They look deep because the nut is a bit tall. The slots are the right depth as far as playability is concerned. I'm just trying to give some ideas, anyway... not suggesting my way is the best, but it certainly works fine for me. If I did it over again, I'd make the nut a little shorter, but since it works as is, I'm not going to bother with it. Edited November 21, 2006 by fookgub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 Looks good so far. Got any pics of what it used to look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdstone Posted November 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 Fookgub thanks for the input ,thats one of the ideas I had but now I can see it I think that makes the most sense. Here is a pic of the guitar a few years ago, red one on the right. Close up I liked the trans colour,the clear nitro had done the cracked/crazed thing which gave it a nice vintage vibe but time for a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdstone Posted November 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 The paint is now done , black is the worst to polish. The photo is of a test fit out.Whoops forgot the wiring route. easy to fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdstone Posted December 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 I have made an aluminium nut replacement for the floyd nut. I have made ali nuts for other guitars and they have been good but this is the first ali nut for a trem fitted guitar. ali nut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 that nut looks really nice! how'd you do the rough shaping? on a milling machine? its looking good all round I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 I have made an aluminium nut replacement for the floyd nut. I have made ali nuts for other guitars and they have been good but this is the first ali nut for a trem fitted guitar. I don't know, Idon't think it is a good idea. Aluminum wear pretty fast and with all the rubbing the strings are going to be doins you will either going to have a lot of binding or exesive wear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 I have made an aluminium nut replacement for the floyd nut. I have made ali nuts for other guitars and they have been good but this is the first ali nut for a trem fitted guitar. I don't know, Idon't think it is a good idea. Aluminum wear pretty fast and with all the rubbing the strings are going to be doins you will either going to have a lot of binding or exesive wear! I doubt a string would wear down aluminum more quickly than plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 I have made an aluminium nut replacement for the floyd nut. I have made ali nuts for other guitars and they have been good but this is the first ali nut for a trem fitted guitar. I don't know, Idon't think it is a good idea. Aluminum wear pretty fast and with all the rubbing the strings are going to be doins you will either going to have a lot of binding or exesive wear! I doubt a string would wear down aluminum more quickly than plastic. Believe it or not, if it is regular alum, not the hard one, 6061 or 7075 it will wear quicker than a graphteck nut. And it can create grooves in the low strings making nice pinging noises. I made one with a 6061 piece and the 60 string in the guitar made nice grooves on it, and this was with a hardtail, imagine a floyd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 Believe it or not, if it is regular alum, not the hard one, 6061 or 7075 it will wear quicker than a graphteck nut. And it can create grooves in the low strings making nice pinging noises. I made one with a 6061 piece and the 60 string in the guitar made nice grooves on it, and this was with a hardtail, imagine a floyd! I didn't even think about the floyd rose part of the guitar, without a lock-nut, I would imagine a fair amount of wear regardless of the material. Good thing I'm making basses and not guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdstone Posted December 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 that nut looks really nice! how'd you do the rough shaping? on a milling machine? its looking good all round I think Milling Machine ? I wish; Nah just a file and some wet and dry polishing. About the wear problem; If I were Stev Vai I would agree that it wold be a bad choice but the whole idea of removing the locking nut was that the user don't use the wammy bar and as such it won't be a big deal. This is a budget rework so I kept the floyd bridge but as the user likes to swap between standard tuning and drop D a bit the locking nut was a pain. I am using aliminium as I prefer it as a material for bridges over steel or cast material. Its a bit of an experiment but if it does wear too quick I can change it later fairly easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdstone Posted February 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Okay for anyone looking at old threads I have to admit that the Aluminium nut didn't work. It would have on a non trem guitar but for this it just gave tuning problems along ith the odd ping noise. I cut a slot in the ali nut and added a grapthtec nut alog with some grapthtec string retainers and that fix everything. The tone was also improved along with , surprisingly , the look. I'll get a pic when my camera get new batterys.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGGR Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Swiss cheese, anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdstone Posted February 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Yeah Swiss Cheese didn`t do much. I took the cap off and did a better job routing it out, gota love free form routing. cap glued on and routed.This was a strat but now its only got two pups and no pickguard. Floyd rose with modified pivots. A 3 pos switch for bridge, both and neck. 1 Meg Vol pot for humbucker and 250K pot for neck pup. Last switch is a kill sw for those RATM moments. What do people recommend for a good high output bridge humbucker? I was thinking SD Jeff beck but I am curious about the dimarzio pups.Fred ,Tone zone ,Evo ect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 What do people recommend for a good high output bridge humbucker? I was thinking SD Jeff beck but I am curious about the dimarzio pups.Fred ,Tone zone ,Evo ect. If you go with DiMarzio, my suggestion would be either a super distortion or an X2N. If you play more rock, go for the SD, If you're a metal player, go for the X2N. Personally, I need versatility, do I'd go for the SD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 About the wear problem; If I were Stev Vai I would agree that it wold be a bad choice but the whole idea of removing the locking nut was that the user don't use the wammy bar and as such it won't be a big deal. This is a budget rework so I kept the floyd bridge but as the user likes to swap between standard tuning and drop D a bit the locking nut was a pain. I am using aliminium as I prefer it as a material for bridges over steel or cast material. Its a bit of an experiment but if it does wear too quick I can change it later fairly easily. That alu nut looks real slick but I would go to the floyd nut without hesitation. Tuning stability is unsurpassed with a quality floyd and you'll be keeping the floyd bridge anyways. I just don't understand why you wouldn't keep the locking nut. If the reason for removing the locking nut is to do drop-d tuning, there's a simple solution to that - a D-Tuna (EVH). I had one on a floyd equipped guitar and it worked great. Worse case scenario is you keep the locking nut on there, just don't lock the pads onto the strings. Again, I don't understand the hassle of making a nut like that. Is there something I'm missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 This thread reminds me of an old saying. It went something like "thoroughly plan before cutting so you only cut once." Seems like a lot of work for a top mod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 This thread reminds me of an old saying. It went something like "thoroughly plan before cutting so you only cut once." Seems like a lot of work for a top mod. Actually, I don't see this as a lot of work. Run the body through a thickness planer, hollow out parts of the body, glue top on, cut contour and route cavities. Not much more work than a top on any guitar, is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 This thread reminds me of an old saying. It went something like "thoroughly plan before cutting so you only cut once." Seems like a lot of work for a top mod. Actually, I don't see this as a lot of work. Run the body through a thickness planer, hollow out parts of the body, glue top on, cut contour and route cavities. Not much more work than a top on any guitar, is it? Well, they thickness sanded the top off, hap hazardly drilled some weight relief holes, glued a new top on and found it didn't reduce the weight. It was likely even heavier than the original guitar as the maple would weigh more than the walnut did. Then, they cut the top back off (more time and a waste of paint and wood) and then cut more wood out to make it lighter and now they have to take even more time and supplies to glue another top on and paint, sand, hardcoat it again. Sorry, but to me that's poor planning. I'm not questioning the quality of the completed work, just the amount of man hours it took to accomplish it. In a working shop there would be no way to make money doing the job the way it was done here. However, for a first time project, chalk it up to a learning experience. I'd rather take a few hours to measure, plan, remeasure and adjust plans than finish a job only to do it all over again due to poor planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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