chromium

Thanks! Didn't realize that. Seems to play nice with this new wax I'm trying...

Moar pics...

In passing and while discussing guitar neck finishing, @RobBmade me aware of Monty's tinted wax. Through a turn of events that involved finding an old Jackson/Charvel strathead neck for my recent "vintage shredder" project, I ended up with an unused Musikraft neck. I had originally sealed the raw wood with a light danish oil finish (Watco "golden oak") and listed it for sale. No bites, and so I decided to turn it into a proof of concept and try out the wax finish. Applying wax over the Watco finish hardly had any effect. Figured as much, since danish oil soaks in and seals any pores in the wood. Being that I've bonded with that old neck mentioned above, I was already starting to rethink my choice in neck profile. Rather than just sand the finish off, I took to reshaping the MK neck to resemble what people tend to associate w/Charvel necks. First time I've ever tried that! ("hold my beer"....) I reshaped what was a C .87-.97" profile into a flat D .75-85" and contoured the head and heel areas in prep for the refin. Fingerboard edges on this neck already have a heavy roll. This was the original carve w/light oil finish for comparison: Once reshaped and finish sanded, I lightly hit the raw wood w/black Keda dye/alcohol mixture to give it a "well played" look in the lower and upper resisters. I then applied several coats of Monty's. Wax on, let it sit, wipe off... This is the result. I like the color it gives, and the new contour and wax finish feels a lot closer to that old worn neck that I've grown to love. Pretty cool stuff! Just wanted to share for anyone else who might have been curious about wax finishes (as I was). Super easy to apply, and this thing feels smoooooth. Once this sits a bit, I plan to apply light danish oil coat over the headstock area and heel, but will probably leave just the wax finish on the neck surface itself. Guess this means I need to order another body...

@Dave ScepterAmazon, believe it or not! Looks like the correct thickness (0.125") is no longer available, however. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013HO3MK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Message me if you would benefit from having extra material. When I get this sliced up, I'd be happy to send you some. I've got wayyyy more than any mere mortal should ever need to possess The early necks used a number of materials - FR4 fiberglass epoxy laminate, paper phenolic resin, etc. This stuff looks almost identical to the pic linked below: http://www.usacharvels.com/id/images/nuts004.jpg

"I was exploited" says the douche with a giant "Nevermind" tat on his chest...

@Dave Scepter check out my "nut blank" at the ready lol Found a sheet of 1/8" brown paper phenolic resin like they used on some of the early ones. Should give me a little extra to practice with , and/or do up a MK neck if it comes to that.

Dave - thanks! I saw that this morning. Looks like he already pulled the auction, though. I'd have been tempted to go in on another 22 fret w/Floyd shelf to offset an MK neck on my mutts (assuming I like it better) Still got the eagle eye out for a 21 fret maple board, non-Floyded for the next project...

Yup - you nailed it. Those are identical to the set that I bought for my work-in-progress flametop project. Charvel used those in 80-81 timeframe. Figures too that if the tuners are sold as "Peavey" parts they're half as much I think my '86 Dynabass is my only bass (orig owner) that is still worth less today than what I paid back then haha. Kinda ironic, since they made some great stuff.

Great point. Sometimes you can find these cheap being sold as Peavey, Washburn, etc. brand tuners. Usually if listed for Charvel applications, there's a $180-300 price attached lol. One of my sets was branded like that, and I just inverted the caps when I reassembled the tuners after service - since the backside of the caps was just plain silver. Not the greatest photo angle here, but with regard to the "drop tabs" you can see the different screw tab positions here. The top set is 90-deg, middle is 180-deg (straight down; these are the ones they call drop tabs for whatever reason), and the bottom set has tabs at a 45-deg angle between the two tops sets. The octagon set I have doesn't use screw tabs, but rather pins hidden on the back of the tuner to keep them fixed in place once installed.

🤘🤘🤘 #revelations

Lord knows I'd cut you a deal too, for your help and generosity in my parts quest. While the SoCal fit would pose an issue, if you want to trade for the neck on your GJ Legacy just let me know 🤣🤣

'83 was the year that the pointy head hit as standard fare, but I've still observed strat heads appearing on a few original Charvels up to '85. If I recall, the MIJ Charvel line began in '86, and so that timeline for the Jackson woodburn necks seems plausible. I admittedly haven't followed the Jackson stuff as closely, but I seldom see any strat head guitars from that era in the wild. As an aside, it was great to see Maiden back in the "before times" (2019). My son became a huge fan and had re-kindled my love for them. We also saw the Maidens come thru here in 2018. They absolutely killed it - put on one hell of a show, and Nikki and Courtney are tremendous players. "Fleeeeee from the wrath" lol (happy kid)

That is drop dead gorgeous. Sunbursts with single-hum should've been a thing. The black finish one you did years back is drool-worthy too.

I know pandemic social isolation and time spent on Internet was detrimental when I catch myself thinking in memes. That said,

No, optimally you will want a wider 2 1/4" heel. The early <=1982 Charvels used the narrower heel (some were even 2 1/8") I have a SoCal. Great quartersawn factory neck, but none of that flamey bling Musikraft does offer that heel size on their Charvel necks, thankfully. Have a couple of the wider ones on my green machines: