Hi all,

Well, I ordered (or rather won an auction for) a neck yesterday from MJT finishes. The Allparts SRO-FAT model... chunky neck, med. frets 9.5 radius. I have some period correct Kluson "Double line" tuners waiting, as well as an old string tree and spacer from an old strat (not sure what year but it looks like it's going to work) I have a transition waterslide decal so all I need now is a nut and the neck will pretty much be complete.

I've also decided on a hardtail body from MJT...in Ice Blue Metallic, yellowed a bit, and with light wear. The idea was to recreate something a bit unusual... Ice Blue Metallic is listed as a custom color from '65-'69 however I just found a tele in Ice Blue claiming to be a '64... it might have been a refin? I'm leaning toward a mint guard (ala 64) and having a neck plate made with my birthday (which would fall in the mid to late 64 period) L52074. The position dots on the neck look more like clay than pearl but it was hard to tell from the photo. It seems possible that a strat with these features could have been produced.

As far as under the hood I'm less concerned with period correctness however I think I'm going to keep it really simple. A set of Klein '65's non RWRP, and a three way switch... I was thinking of trying some of those military spec pots as well but haven't decided. So... as things come together I'll update this post and share the build process with everyone. Cheers.

Anyone know if they used felt washers under the strap knobs during this period? I'm assuming (and we all know how dangerous that is...) that they'd have been white. It seems likely as well that they would be pretty deteriorated & mashed down over 50 years.

Sounds like an ambitious project that should turn out real nice, Big D.

You might want to have a white parchment pickguard on hand -- mint green tends to make some blues look "dingy". As well, mint was on the way out during the transition years.

I owned an original '66 back in '68 and it did not have the felt washers beneath the strap buttons. Neither did the '63 that I owned briefly in the mid '70s.

Ice Blue Metallic is a great color and I hope you'll post pics when the guitar is complete.

HTH

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

http://www.maverick-music.com/scripts/vintage-guitars.asp?idproduct=1483

http://www.mmone.org/content.php?nav=epages/guitarfest

Here are a few links comparing the different colored guards. I really like the look of both of them.

Thank you for the input regarding the felt washers too... the only other "odd" piece I need to get a hold of are a set of pat. pend. saddles. I've seen some nice looking reproductions poking around on the web.

Been there, done that.

These are the repros sold by "Crazy Parts" in Germany......



I've seen better though they're not bad for the money.

Don't forget: on a vintage hardtail, the string ferrules on the back of the body should be fully countersunk.

HTH

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Unless you're %100 sold on the klein '65s, I would definitely look into Bare Knuckle Pickups - Mothers Milk, check them out...I think you might like them if you're looking for that '60s strat sound

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pusA7tb7Fc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORWCBiPExUY

BKP - mothers milk

The first progress report... the neck arrived today and I was able to get the tuners installed and headstock decal applied with no troubles. One slight bummer is that the neck is not drilled for attachment to the body. It makes me a bit nervous to think about doing it myself but I have some time to try to figure it out. I'm going to install the string tree after I get the whole thing together and strung up loosely so I can measure it out better.

I've been in contact with Matt at MJT guitar finishes and hammered out the details of the body too so will be looking forward to getting that after the holidays are over.

Enjoy the pics, I think it looks pretty sweet thus far. Not sure what's up with the funky photo upload but I guess it's working. Cheers

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