Don’t worry about the two little marks. Sandpaper fixed that.

This was the improvised jig.

But the neck seems to sit a little too high but have asked for advice on a luthiers’ forum what to do.

So all parts have arrived. Once I get the neck sorted, hopefully this weekend, I’ll start on prepping the body for painting. In the meantime, the frets on the neck need finishing so will start working on that.

And with no thanks to Australia Post who decided not to notify me that it was sitting in the local post office for well over a week. Lucky it was sent registered post so the seller sent me the details and it was all sorted.

The neck is slightly wider than the neck pocket on the body. So when I am ready to fit it I’ll need to remove just a touch of wood. The edges of the frets are quite sharp will need some dressing.

Otherwise looks good for 90 bucks from eBay.

SPECIFICATIONS

SCALE LENGTH: 25.5 INCHES
FRETS: 21
WIDTH AT NUT: 42MM
NOMINAL NECK POCKET DIMENSIONS TO SUIT: 3 inch x 2-3/16 inch x 5/8 inch (76.2m x 55.5mm x 15.8mm)
FRET SIZE: 2.3MM X 1.3MM (UNDRESSED)
THICKNESS AT NUT: 21.5MM
THICKNESS AT 12TH FRET: 23.2MM
PROFILE: ROUND C
FINISH: SATIN POLY
TUNER HOLE SIZES: 10.5MM
TRUSS ROD ADJUSTMENT: AT HEAD END OF FINGERBOARD

Speaking of the Frankenstrat, Fender built an exact replica of the guitar, one that Eddie built for around $130 according to legend, that initially retailed for almost $20,000. Obviously a collectors piece but I don’t see the point.

But the Frankenstart is a nice template to build your own guitar. One humbucker, a Floyd Rose and a DIY custom paint job. Pretty simple.

So I have sourced the body. Here it is.

Ash Body

It is an ash body pre routed for a humbucker and Floyd Rose tremelo. One piece except for two small pieces on the bottom horn and around the cable jack. If you are wondering why the neck joint is a little yellow looking, I’ve masked it for the painting/sanding process. Though I won’t be starting all that till I have all the parts. Some wise words I read was make sure everything fits before starting painting in case some more routing is required.

I have a neck on the way and a pickup just ordered off eBay. The tremelo is next. I’m not going to go a full Floyd Rose but have found ones for about $80 US that will do the trick.

Note that I’m funding all costs via selling stuff on eBay. Thus the project has added utility of cleaning up things around the house.

I’ll add more as parts arrive. I’m in no hurry as I’d like to do this right.