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A neck from the Bay
When doing the Partsocaster I with a maple neck in the summer of 2008 I decided to buy a rosewood too because I liked it so much.
So I did, and I also bought some parts to complete the kit:
A 2008 Rosewood American Standard Fender Stratocaster Neck
From Stewart-MacDonald I ordered:
A set of Schaller M6L locking tuners, P.N. 0661
A set of 6.35 mm Abalone dots, P.N. 0011-A
The tuner was aligned and mounted using a "Tuner Pin Drill Jig" also purchased from StewMac (P.N. 4857),
since a new hole needed to be drilled for the single mounting pin. The old holes were filled with plastic putty.
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The neck being treated
The clay dots on the neck was removed by drilling a small hole in the center of the dots where a small wooden screw was inserted
and used to yank the dots out with a small crowbar.
The abalone dots was glued in place with black super glue also purchased from Stewart-MacDonald.
The fretboard was then repetedly oiled with a mix of linseed oil and balsamic turpentine.
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The body
This is the body I used; it's a 2005 Highway One that I really never bonded with. The neck was not good and I didn't like the finish.
So in late summer of 2008 I took a chair and sat a couple of afternoons in the garden sun and scraped of the finish by hand.
The tortoise pickguard with Lace Sensor Hot Gold's and the seven-sound mod was moved to my 2008 Partsocaster I, where it fitted nicely.
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Body decorating
The decorating of the body was made by a friend of mine, John, who is very skilled doing artwork.
Here's a bunch of pictures showing work in progress on a sunny Saturday afternoon in May 2009.
The first step was to apply a layer of "Chrome effect" for that metal look.
Then the finish was "aged" using several techniques to get an illusion of rusty metal.
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Almost ready
Here's the body almost done. The last step before the clear coat was to apply some "crackle lacquer" making the paint look crackled.
The pictures does not show the last step since we was to busy to photograph doing the crackles...
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Back from the clear coating
The dried decorated body was handed over to a skilled guy at a paint shop who applied the clear coat.
Twelve thin layers of polyurethane finish were applied to get the glossy look.
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Pickguard and parts
Fender Antigua pickguard - P.N. 008-0232-000
Fender Corona neck plate, chrome - P.N. 099-1448-100
Fender Vintage Bridge w 2 1/16" string space, 2 3/32" mounting space
Fender 5-Way Super Switch - P.N. 099-2251-000
Fender 250K split shaft pots (2) - P.N. 099-0830-000
Fender 250K Push/Pull pot - P.N. 099-2257-000
Fender Aged Strat Knobs - P.N. 099-1369-000
Fender Jack Ferrule for Strat, chrome - P.N. 099-1940-100
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Pickguard and parts, cont...
Fender Hot Noiseless Pickups - P.N. 099-2105-000
Fender Pickguard Screws - P.N. 099-4923-000
Aftermarket 1-ply black back plate - P.N. PG-0576-023
Switchcraft USA 1/4" Mono Jack - P.N. EP-0055-000
Dunlop Straplok in gold - P.N. SL1034G
The pickguard were assembled using Alpha-Wire AWG22 PFTE insulated wire and metal-film resistors.
The pickups was mounted with Fender pickup screws and stainless springs.
My "seven-sounds" schematics described on a dedicated page on this site were used.
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Cavity sheilding
The cavities of the body are shielded using sheets of adhesive copper foil and 3M copper tape with conductive adhesive.
For the bottom of the cavities I cut out pieces of copper sheets and for the walls I use the tape.
When taping I use as long continuous tape pieces as possible to minimize resistance.
The pickguard is shielded using a large piece of adhesive copper foil as shown in the pictures above.
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Pictures - indoors
The color of the body and pickguard is very hard to catch. Different light conditions and the cameras inability to make a good white balance play tricks.
It's impossible (with my equipment) to catch the true color of the guitar.
To somewhat compensate I've taken photos both indoors and outdoors.
Neither one of them shows the real shine of the finish, but the tone of the colors is best represented by the indoor shots.
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Outdoor pictures
A series of pictures taken outdoors.
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The finished guitar
The completely assembled 2009 Fender Partsocaster II.
Specs:
Custom Painted; theme "Preserved Decay"
22 fret rosewood neck, 9.5" radius, Biflex truss rod, Abalone dots
Fender Antigua pickguard
Fender Hot Noiseless pickups, aged cream
Fender Vintage Bridge, 2 1/16" E to E, 2 3/32" mounting space
Seven-Sounds push/pull pot for added pickup combinations
Greasebucket Tone controls
Schaller Locking Tuners
Dunlop Straplok system straps
Made mostly out of genuine Fender parts...
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