Official Luthiers Forum!

Alright, I'm a 14 year old kid looking into a future in Lutherie. My first project is going to be completely dismembering and refinishing a Squier Stratocaster (I'm not touching my good guitars quite yet). In order to do this, I'm planning to remove the frets, sand the entire body, rout one of the pickup holes (Sorry I don't know correct terminology) to fit a humbucker, refinishing the entire body and headstock, and remounting electronics with new sets of pickups.

Any advice on how to do this/suggestions for the finish?

Well, I start by gathering up some books and doing all the reading you can. If you don't want to purchase them, and your library is lacking, you might be able to do an inter-library loan. The more information you have before you go diving into something, the less chance you have of banging you head. Electric's aren't my thing, but there are several others here who do create and repair them. I'm sure one will be along shortly to chime in. In the mean time, welcome to a great place.

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Aoibeann

Thanks, very glad to be here.  Really, the only part I BELIEVE I would need to do research on would be the removal and replacement of the electronics and pickups. I have a pretty keen eye (despite my age, not meaning to brag) so the sanding would be done precisely and with fine-grade sand paper. The removal of frets can be damaging to my fretboard if not done correctly I know, but I think I've come up with a solution. Well, rambling is over. o.o

Not to burst your bubble, but I was your exact age when I started playing around with lutherie. Your first project was mine. I thought that I had a very keen eye.

And I failed horribly.

I really do regret now not reading up on the subject. After my failed attempt, I just kept reading everything that I could find. I have just now started my second project. I one hundred percent suggest that you start off reading all about the subject. You can't jump into something thinking that you know it all when you in fact know nothing.

I don't mean to sound harsh, I'm just telling you how it was for me. I was in your exact same position.

Just trying to help you out. (By the way, welcome to the forums).

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-Rob Eckert
Ann Arbor, Michigan

o.o cruel

I don't think I know everything =C

But yeah I'll read up on stuff

It's a great time and way to start. I was doing plenty of tinkering at your
age, and built my first body around a Squier neck that I refinished and
refretted when I was 15. By my senior year of high school I coaxed the
teachers in to allowing me an independent study semester in lutherie.
Under supervision of the wood shop instructor and some wonderful
guidance from my physics professor I built a neck through solid body and
a bolt on from scratch. I didn't get around to building my first flat top
until I was 19, and I've been in the trade ever since.

Books are a great place to start, and of course now there are forums like
this that weren't around when I was getting started. Dan Erlewines "Guitar
Player Repair Guide" is a great general reference. The Donald Brosnac
books and Hideo Kamimoto's "Guitar Repair" book are some other
references to build a good basic understanding from.

As to the finish work, if you have a place with adequate ventilation and a
respirator, nitrocellulose lacquer is a good place to start. If your
ambitions are to make a trade of this you'll have to become familiar with
it sooner or later, so it makes for a good place to start. It's availability in
aerosol cans from places like Reranch makes it appealing for beginners as
well. If you don't have a safe place to spray there are many safer (less
toxic and flamable) modern finishes that could be brushed on though.

Remember above all, safety first.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Regarding your refinish: use Jasco paint stripper. It makes the work go
much quicker than if you were to sand.

Why the refret?

It has nothing to do with your age. Pointing someone to a pile of books is pretty much a standard response here, unless they have indicated that they have read the bulk of them and/or they have watched someone's DVD set. I wasn't suggesting you couldn't handle this because of your age. As long as you know how to safely use a router and other shop equipment, I don't see any reason why you won't be able to do what you are planning on doing. I was suggesting that you find out about little details that usually go unnoticed until they bite us and we have to back up 15 steps to deal with a small detail that was over looked, but without doing such there is no way the guitar will be playible unless you do. Details, the devil is in the details.
With that said, I'm looking forward to your first major make over. Remember to keep a journal and to take pictures. We, the OLF at large, love to see pictures.

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Aoibeann

Instead of refretting, I was planning on applying a layer of wood filler in the place of the frets to acquire a fretless guitar.  I know, that's stupid, but since I'm in the mood for experimenting with different tones, I figured what the hell, right?

Actually, I'd go for the refret rather than the conversion - refretting is a very useful skill.

Heating your frets with a soldering iron often makes them easier to pull without chipping the fretboard. Look at Stewart-MacDonald (stew-mac.com) for a fret-pulling nipper - you can make these yourself out of a regular pair of nippers if you have access to a grinder - after you figure out how the regular ones are modified.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Aight, I'll refret it, but how much is that gonna set me back?  Money isn't a REAL issue, but Until I get fully payed for a guitar I just sold I'll be short for a bit.

Well, again, get books, and get online, and read. Everything. Since you are working on electrics, try to find a copy of Melvyn Hiscock's book "Make your own electric guitar". 18 bucks on Amazon. It's a bible.
Studying the vendors' websites will give you a feel for what the investments in tools involve, and what is out there, and how the range of tools is designed for application to the range of tasks. Often you can substitute something closer to home, but it helps to know what you are trying to get close to and what it's function is.

My first, finished, six years ago, and second, 5 years ago.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Hey Kid, you can get plenty of free info on Electronics and Wiring at StewMac.com a supplier.

And there are many other electric resources on the web. Most of us are acoustic heads.... but sprinkled with some repair guys who do it all.   

Good luck, you seem to have a lot going for a kid your age. Go Lambert kid go!

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com