# The Pink Nightmare- Build Thread



## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

I should have done a build-thread from the start, but I thought I was just assembling a Partscaster, and it didn't seem logical. In hindsight...

This guitar: 










Was supposed to be "on the cheap", which it still is, but it wasn't a throw-together. As far as my time goes, it's been very expensive. 
I honestly thought I would gather the parts, and have it done in a weekend or two. I had the neck, bridge, tuners, & jack-plate. I wanted Vineham's, but Craig is away (or was when I tried to order) so I ordered some Tone Emporium "59-PAF's". I ordered a harness off a forum member, and got the guard, vintage knobs, & body off Amazon. 

The body: (was only $150 when I ordered it)








It is an absolute PIG!!! two piece solid African Mahogany, so not a light build. I have not weighed it, but I'm guessing it will be in Les Paul territory. It took forever to be fulfilled. I knew going in, that I'd have to route the neck pocket for a Humbucker. All good, as I have a nice router, decent bits, and jig/template. Once I routed that, I assembled the pups & electronics to the guard and did a dry fit (no neck). The screw posts for the pups were either too long, or the pup pocket wasn't deep enough. A quick measure of a screw out of the parts drawer said it was the pocket. No problem, I hadn't packed away the router yet. Reset the jig, and routed the bottom of the pockets to the new depth. Dry fit (still with no neck) all good. 
Neck went on OK, but the heel is angled so I had to find the shortest neck screws I had so they didn't poke out the fretboard. (That would be bad!!). Neck on, Bridge set in place using high & low E (in the locking tuner strung backwards). I realized that once the neck was on, it pushed the guard back just a hair, which forced the bridge pup to be pushed against the back of the pocket, and tilt upwards. Take everything off again, and pull out the router (it had been packed away) and template. I took the slightest of passes. Like, "_a gnat's whisker_" worth of material. Another dry fit, and all good. Screwed the guard back down, soldered the jack-plug, screwed it down, and piloted the 6 screws for the bridge. (trem claw etc). 
Strung it up, and immediately realized the strings were sitting (100%) on the neck. This wasn't going to be fixed by raising the saddles. It came to me quickly that the route for the neck pocket was not deep enough!! ARRGGGHHHH!!!!!! 
This will not be an easy fix. I do not have a Strat neck pocket template. I think, the best solution is to dismantle everything (again) and use a small flush cut router bit in my router table. Turn the body face down, and use the existing sidewall of the neck pocket as a guide to take material off the bottom. I think the amount I need to remove will be very minimal. If you think how much a thin shim raises the neck, a miniscule pass should remove what I need. Think of a business card. As thin as it is, it makes a world of difference to push the neck up. My worry goes back to the previously mentioned angled heel. I need to make sure I take enough off to drop the neck height, while still leaving enough material that the screws do not bust through the fretboard. I won't have time this week, so it will be pushed off till the weekend. 

So, I suppose this is kind of a PSA. This is a very well made all wood body. But it is NOT Fender spec. To be fair, it doesn't say so in the ad. Couple that with an off-shore pick-guard, and the mistakes are bound to happen.
It has caused me delays and roadblocks, but it is still within my capabilities to see it through, and (hopefully) have a fully functioning Double H Strat at the end of it. My caution is if you are new to this type of assembly builds, do not go this route. If you do not have a router, if you do not have good quality tools, if you do not have some back history of "easier" builds, or even basic carpentry this will probably stump you. And it may cause you to abandon it, or have to pay someone to drag it over the finish line. Both are costly in the end. 

I am relying on past builds, extensive (previous) carpentry know-how, and my well stocked tool cabinet to get me through this. Of course, learning while I go. I still love it, and won't pack it in. But, it's been a right proper pain in the ass.

If you want to get into this stuff, buy a complete kit, or assemble based on tried, true (& trusted) brand name parts. It will cost you more, but get your feet wet properly. Starting here will make you believe it can't be done. 

Sorry, this was waaaaaaay longer than intended.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

A project that builds character.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Oh, I almost forgot...


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## Paul M (Mar 27, 2015)

Would it be easier to take the gnats hair thickness off the neck?


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Paul M said:


> Would it be easier to take the gnats hair thickness off the neck?


I didn't consider the neck. Any suggestions on how to remove the thickness evenly?


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

@SWLABR I have a special bit for doing a neck pocket that is too shallow. 3/8 diameter by 1/2 deep with bearing on the bottom. Just flip the body pocket down and set the bit height. I have to d it to one of my télés but I've been putting it off.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Don't remove neck material, I've asked a few luthiers and that all say deeper pocket is better.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

IIRC I have this one or the single top bearing.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

knight_yyz said:


> IIRC I have this one or the single top bearing.
> 
> View attachment 405571


I have a very similar bit. It was actually in a kit for routing hinge pockets when hanging doors. But it will work.


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## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

Have you tried a simple reverse shim on the neck pocket?

Given your router skilz, why not lighten up the body by going full swimming pool route under the guard?


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Hammertone said:


> Have you tried a simple reverse shim on the neck pocket?


"Reverse shim"?

As in, put a shim only in the front of the pocket to push the neck angle forward?? It's a thought, but I believe it's beyond that.

I thought about a Swimming Pool route. I did hog out some material. Like coming straight out of the bridge pup pocket into the electronics cavity, but that was for ease of packing, not weight relief. I'm OK with the weight.


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## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

SWLABR said:


> "Reverse shim"? As in, put a shim only in the front of the pocket to push the neck angle forward?? It's a thought, but I believe it's beyond that.


Yes. I had a similar issue with a conventional strat partscaster. I used a reverse shim until I got a hold of a set of bridge saddles/screws that allowed me to raise the overall height of the bridge to clear the fretboard.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

or maybe a shim under the bridge plate? bring the whole thing up?


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## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

laristotle said:


> or maybe a shim under the bridge plate? bring the whole thing up?


Go all in!


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

laristotle said:


> or maybe a shim under the bridge plate? bring the whole thing up?


That might be hard to do without it being obvious. I want a permanent fix. Not a work around. I will eventually route it.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Some good news. The neck has been off a guitar for almost a year. 24hrs after (what I thought would be) final assembly, the string tension has bowed the neck ever so slightly. So some strings actually lifted enough for them to sound. (Open, can’t fret) When I discovered that last night, I cranked the saddles all the way up. Lots of dead spots in the middle strings, and absolutely no room to match the curve of the fretboard, but the E, A, B, E are mostly OK. 
Too buzzy to leave, but certainly hopeful. 
In the end it will mean an even lighter pass to remove material from the bottom of the pocket.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

You have to angle the neck, not keep lowering the pocket. You have to think about contact points- bridge and nut. Take your router and rout a line at the back of the pocket (closest to pickups) about 1/32 deep or so. Then make a pencil mark at the front of the pocket and, by hand with a small sanding block, make the pocket flat between the routed back end and the front- don't sand the pencil mark. That will get the nut end of the neck to the right spot much more easily than dropping the whole neck at the same angle that it currently sits at.

I'd know for sure if I had all the parts in front if me but I'm pretty sure this is a better solution.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

zztomato said:


> You have to angle the neck, not keep lowering the pocket. You have to think about contact points- bridge and nut. Take your router and rout a line at the back of the pocket (closest to pickups) about 1/32 deep or so. Then make a pencil mark at the front of the pocket and, by hand with a small sanding block, make the pocket flat between the routed back end and the front- don't sand the pencil mark. That will get the nut end of the neck to the right spot much more easily than dropping the whole neck at the same angle that it currently sits at.
> 
> I'd know for sure if I had all the parts in front if me but I'm pretty sure this is a better solution.


Better for who?? That sounds like a metric sh*t-ton of work!! HA, HA!!


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

I set up the router table. Hopefully I took enough off.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

You and your fancy garage got nothing on my kids craft table 
Looking good boss!!


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Brunz said:


> You and your fancy garage got nothing on my kids craft table
> Looking good boss!!


Holy crap that made me laugh!!!


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## Mikev7305 (Jan 6, 2020)

Sorry reviving an old thread here, but I've been thinking about this guitar a bit lately, as I'm considering doing a mahogany strat or jazzmaster with a PAF style bridge, but singles neck and middle. Do you still have the tone emporium pickups in it? What did you think of them? And did the guitar get at all into Gibson territory?


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Mikev7305 said:


> Sorry reviving an old thread here, but I've been thinking about this guitar a bit lately, as I'm considering doing a mahogany strat or jazzmaster with a PAF style bridge, but singles neck and middle. Do you still have the tone emporium pickups in it? What did you think of them? And did the guitar get at all into Gibson territory?


The TE’s are very nice. I like them a lot. Very good PAF’s in my opinion. They are airy but take dirt really well. They clean up well with the vol backed off extremely well. 
I was at a jam a few weeks ago and took this guitar. Performed like a champ. Was comfortable, and ended up not being as pig-like as my Les. If I were still gigging, I believe this would get a shot at my #1.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Building guitars without jigs and fixtures requires a fair bit of adaptation and problem solving.

It's not uncommon to have to either trim the pickup screws, or take a forstner bit and deepen the routes a bit. Same goes for neck pockets.

It comes with the territory.

As for weight....I guess that's a matter of personal preferences. I'm of the opinion that affects comfort for some, but has little or no bearing on sound or functionality.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Milkman said:


> As for weight....I guess that's a matter of personal preferences. I'm of the opinion that affects comfort for some, but has little or no bearing on sound or functionality.


I don’t take weight into too much consideration when choosing a guitar. Thankfully I don’t have shoulder issues, so having a 9lb Les strapped to me all night never bothered me.


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