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My brother asked me to build a guitar for my very undeserving niece. So, here it is, she didn't like any of my designs so she is getting a strat. She wanted it red and black, hard to pull off right in my opinion, but here is my go at it.

Hotcha! Cool beans, and all that jazz.

She better show some appreciation when you've completed it!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Thanks.
I still have to make the neck (which is why the neck pocket looks like crap, im waiting to route it to final depth) and I still have to wet sand and buff it, I finally got started on the neck tonight and ordered some more supplies, hopefully it comes out perfect!

Good job. You're a better man than I. From the info you've given us, I would've told him that he could get a squier on CL for about $100 and then sent him on his way.

The guitar's looking really nice, btw. You're pulling off the red/black scheme like a champ!

Does that Make it a " Brat Strat "

Nice Looking work . ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh " Brat Strat" Sounds like a great headstock name !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Brat strat does sound like a really good name for it!
Should I dye the neck red and black or leave it natural?

Maple neck ??? I would leave it natural and make head plate match guitar . Black tuner buttons . T

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Nice work so far. IMHO, that is gorgeous! Hope she loves it as much as I do!

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Thanks Mike! I try my best with each build. Glad to have gotten through a lot of rookie mistakes, I still make them, but they're getting easier to work through.
Alas here is the neck, almost an air tight fit.

Yo, Jimmy,
First of all, that is totally, outrageously cool.
Second, tell her if she doesn't show proper appreciation, you're going to send it to me.
Third, follow up on second, if need be.
Fourth, and most importantly from my view, please tell me in detail how you achieved that top color.
See my post about Gibson "wine red" and you will understand why I want to know. You have come very very close.

It's a great looking guitar!

Patrick

Thanks for the kind words.
How I got that top color.
First I used fiebings black dye and sanded it back, then I used 1 coat of fiebings oxblood color then I went over that with 4 coats fiebings red color, sanded it back slightly, and hit it with 2 more coats of fiebing red.

Sweet Strat.
Don't see many "bound" Strats.
As a matter of fact,
I don't think I've ever seen even a picture of one.
Stellar!!!!!
Make sure she takes good care of that!!!!!!!

Nice lookin strat there Jimmy!

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

Buffed it out last night, mirror shine. No swirls or scratches at all, not bad for a newb to spraying lacquer.

Love me some lacquer! Looks good.

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Show off!
Merry Christmas all!!!!!!

Just curious, what kind of lacquer is that and how long did you allow it to cure before wetsanding and polishing (I'll begin spraying my first build the day after christmas!)

It was all rattle can.
Deft Lacquer from home depot.
ReRanch Sand and Sealer.

Sprayed it and let it set 3 weeks, soaked some 1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper and then put some dish soap with it and started sanding away, making sure I had firm blocks. Once the orange peel got knocked down with the 1000 grit, then I hit it with the 2000 grit, then buffed it out using the stew mac kit.

That finish is remarkable! I can't believe you did that with a spray can... I'm going to have to make a trip to home depot this afternoon.

I can't wait to build my niece a guitar... she's 8 months old now. Maybe by the time she's ready I'll actually be pretty good at it. Hahaha...

Are you planning on using the same stuff/method to finish the neck? I have an unfinished neck here that I had planned on taking to a shop to finish, but perhaps I'll take a stab with this stuff.

Thank you for the kind words.
As for the neck, I plan on finishing the face of the headstock with it like this, but I dont plan on doing the back of the neck with it, I hate the feel of a clear coated neck. I will finish the neck with about 8 coats of tru-oil then sanding it with 2000 grit soaked in lemon oil then cleaning it with a cloth and some more lemon oil.

Something looking like a guitar

I officially have 8 days to finish this!

Jimmy, that's looking great!

Looking good!
What are those fretmarkers made of?

Just plastic, got them off ebay. Very sandable and easy to work with.

I still havent done the intonation and last polish, this is the final product however!