Asembling a Sparkly Stike-o-caster

[BadgerDave]

I bought a very cool emerald sparkle Strat body from Stike a few weeks ago. This is one of the best finishes I've ever seen!!!!

I thought I'd post some photos of the assembly process as it progresses.

First, I had to remove some wood from the cavity so the bridge humbucker would fit. I don't own a router, so I did the best I could with my Dremel tool:

Not too bad, and definitely an improvement from when I did this type of mod with a chisel.

More to come . . .

[cmatthes]

Very cool, Dave!

I looked long and hard at that one when Stike had it up earlier. I would have jumped at it then, but already have a couple things that are going to get his special attention in the near future.

Looking forward to see how that one progresses.

[BadgerDave]

Test fitting the pickguard and pickups:

Yup, it fits!

BTW, this body is tough to photograph. It looks much better in person. Stike is THE MAN!

The neck:

[cmatthes]

Verrrry nassss.

[backinit]

sparkly AND pearloid?

WOW.

[jerseydrew]

Nice! I love that color

[sw686blue]

Another winner from Stike!

[serial]

I've got something in the works that'll have Stike ROWYCO Kustoms written all over it-flake and pearloid. Mmmm good!

Dave-this looks completely badassed and you are so correct-Stike rocks a finish!

[Brooks]

i stopped by stikes shop earlier this week, he has some killer lookin stuff in the works. thanx bro for the free GFS pups.

[gorch]

I love the neck. Things like this are rarely seen.

What kind of wood is it made from?

[BadgerDave]

I love the neck. Things like this are rarely seen.

What kind of wood is it made from?

Birdseye maple with a vintage tint finish.

[BadgerDave]

Prepping the neck to remove lacquer from the frets:

Scoring and removing the lacquer:

Clean frets!

This is what I use to dress and polish frets:

After a couple of hours of fret polishing, I'm ready to adjust the nut slots. This neck came with a pre-slotted graphite nut, but you still have to make the slots the right depth and width.

More later . . .

[David B]

i stopped by stikes shop earlier this week, he has some killer lookin stuff in the works. thanx bro for the free GFS pups.

Next time you go, take me!

[BadgerDave]

I'm waiting for the bridge assembly to arrive, so I thought I'd try out these cool neck inserts from Roy Bullis:

These are a less complicated version of the Tele kits that Jay Monterose (sp?) used to sell at Vintique. They include a double threaded insert that goes into the neck. Once that's done you can mount the neck using machine screws, rather than wood screws. Les risk of stripping out the holes and also allows you to crank down the screws for a tighter fit.

[JohnnyB]

Speaking of metalflake finish against a birdseye neck, check out this G&L J-Bass I saw for sale at Talkbass:

It now has Barden blade pickups, blue side LEDs and blue strings besides.

[RobB]

They include a double threaded insert that goes into the neck. Once that's done you can mount the neck using machine screws, rather than wood screws. Less risk of stripping out the holes and also allows you to crank down the screws for a tighter fit.

That's cool, Dave. I've had these installed in my YJM strat and Charvel SoCal (and a MexiTele known as "The Money Pit", since sold). They're especially nice for the SoCal, as it has a vintage trussrod adjustment, requiring neck removal. These allow for a very sturdy bond between neck/body, as stated previously.

[BadgerDave]

Adding some headstock decals:

And on the back:

Next, several coats of clear polyurethane over the decals and more sanding . . .

[MCChris]

I still have no idea what the V stands for.

You need a few of these:

[sirDaniel]

i knew MCC would find this thread eventually....

[HSB0531]

All these pics got me thinkin'....hmm?

[BadgerDave]

A few more photos. Not a lot to do until the bridge arrives.

[BadgerDave]

Pretty much finished except for the tremolo bridge.

Ordered from John Mann - MannMade last month and received an e-mail from John promising a follow-up e-mail and tracking number by the end of October. No bridge yet and no response to my inquiries. Deja Vu?

Another Snake Oil? I'm hopeful that this isn't going to be a problem, but the track record isn't encouraging.

[cmatthes]

Try reaching out to Brian/Thundernotes.

He knows John and I got a reply within a day not too long ago.

[MCChris]

Ordered from John Mann - MannMade last month and received an e-mail from John promising a follow-up e-mail and tracking number by the end of October. No bridge yet and no response to my inquiries. Deja Vu?

You and your hifalutin, corksniffer associates.

You need to spend more time with scumbags like me!

[BadgerDave]

Ordered from John Mann - MannMade last month and received an e-mail from John promising a follow-up e-mail and tracking number by the end of October. No bridge yet and no response to my inquiries. Deja Vu?

You and your hifalutin, corksniffer associates.

You need to spend more time with scumbags like me!

True. You doing a Christmas party? I'll bring better tequila this time.

John answered an e-mail today. He's been sick and promised to get my bridge out by Friday.

[BadgerDave]

Well, that promise proved to be worthless.

I filed a dispute with PayPal today. It worked with the Snake Oil guy.