Andyjr1515

This is where experience really comes into its own. Someone doing this the first time might naively think that the original finish has been removed But not so. The experienced know that there are eons of tortuous sanding sessions after which your fingers have been worn down to stumps and everyone refers to you as The Dust Man in your vain attempt to actually reach bare wood through the fiendish sealing coats that guitar and bass manufacturers put on for the express purpose of deterring maniacs such as Andyjr1515 who wish to attack their beautiful products. Or in short...quite a bit more to do but at least the green is off

This is where @scrumpymike says, "Just saw your post, Andy. No - those lines aren't where I want it cut - that was just marks on the scanner glass." and then I say, "Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Because this is how interpreted the lines: Which, with a quick visit to the band saw became: with this left over: Don't worry Mike. It'll glue back. Bit of David's Isopon I'm sure you won't be even able to see it...

Looked at the China products again - some look ropey, some look fine. But, while I have bought many things direct from China and I wouldn't have any issue with bodies, I still think necks are a bit of a gamble. I looked through my past notes of where I've bought components in the past and came across Eden in USA who I have bought from and they do, indeed, do short scale 21 fret necks! Now, I have no doubt whatsoever that a lot of their stuff is made in China, but the items I've bought from them in the past have been all reasonable quality timbers and accurate build spec. So - in that even with shipping and duties it is still cheaper than the raw timber would cost me here - I have taken a punt on one of their shortscale, paddle-headed, unfinished necks. It, too, has a headstock adjustment but my view - which I've bounced off Mike to make sure he's OK with it - is that there is no sonic or performance impact from that option. So while I'm waiting for that to arrive, I'm going to start having a look at the body shape. Mike sent me a 'this sort of thing' sketch, overlaid on the Fender Rascal drawing: So there would be nothing functionally affected and the proportions would end up much closer to the Lyte that is then pretty close to the walnut modded bass he likes so much. At the moment, all looks good

Hmmm...I did see something like this but China can be quite variable and wasn't entirely sure it was worth the gamble. I'll maybe have another peep before I pull the trigger on the wood. Thanks for flagging

You've been peeping! Damn those webcams!

Excellent!

I've interpreted it the same way, Paul @Basscabman ?

Sounds like your neck relief is OK. I aim for 'just perceptible movement' tapping the top and bottom string at the mid point between the 1st and the 16th - which sounds pretty much what you have described. Holding down at the first fret, what is your 12th fret action height currently for, say, the G? In general terms, two possibilities occur to me: First is that there are some high spots somewhere that you haven't picked up. But, as I gather you have already deduced, it is actually quite difficult to pick this up if it is the last fret because you can't use the 3-fret rocking method. You actually can't do too much harm taking the last fret down a tad so this is certainly something worth considering. If it is this, then it wouldn't take a lot - masking tape either side of the fret, then a few even strokes of a fingernail emery board along the top, then removal of the scratches with emery paper 400 through to 2000 (I think you can get a mixed pack at Halfords) would do the job. Second is that you are at such a low action that you need to consider a gentle and even dropaway of the upper fret heights. If this is needed it should be done by an experienced tech or luthier because, other than the end fret, every fret will affect every other fret - so it does have to be done right! I'm no expert, but I gather the reason some builders incorporate a dropaway (basically angling the upper frets progressively lower - but we are talking teeny amounts) is that the geometry of the neck and fretboard changes as the heel starts deepening and the neck meets the body. Before this, the neck is flexible and the relief curve is smooth. But near and over the body, the neck is rigid and straight - it can't and it doesn't bend. In most cases - because we are talking about very small measurements here - the action height is high enough that this gives no problems at all. But if you are talking VERY low action, then these sorts of things matter a lot. Hope this helps

Well, the plan was a simple one. Aren't they all : - buy a 30" 21 fret neck - buy some Fender lipsticks - reshape the body - refinish - send back to @scrumpymike with suitable demand for a king's ransom The reality started hitting home when we started looking more closely. 1. See discussion in the similar thread here (remember me taking about buses?) The above is a fascinating parallel project but, if you read into the detail, you will see the general agreement that 21 fret 30" necks are as rare as hen's teeth. So, unless someone reading the thread has one they want to sell, I'll be making a neck for this project. 2. The 'Fender lipsticks' are, in fact. Seymour Duncan 6-string electric pickups. And they are expensive (we are talking at least 1/2 a kings ransom for a set) and - for those of you familiar with Stratocaster pickups - the centre pickup has to be a 'RWRP = reverse wound, reverse polarity'. This arrangement gives you humbucking in positions 2 and 4 of the 5-way switch. But finding a 3-piece full set in the UK was looking challenging, let alone the cost! In that the cost would have blown Mike's preferred budget sky high, I've taken a punt on these: It is an Artec set - including the all-important RWRP centre one. A full set at less than half the cost of ONE of the Seymour Duncan ones. And - accepting this might be the one to break the rule - to date, I have never come across a bad Artec product. So that's where we are so far. Mike has given me a bridge and some tuners that might be able to be used and also an initial sketch of the body reshape and tomorrow, I will be ordering the neck wood and starting to strip the finish off the Rascal body to see what's underneath. Mike and I have discussed the neck. We will go for a fender-ish shape headstock - maybe 3+1 if the tuners are reversible. My strong preference is an angled headstock (iconic as it is, I think the dogleg concept of the fenders are a bit compromised with ref to the string break angles) and we'll go for a zero-fret on, probably, a maple fretboard. So that's everyone up to date. Time to get out of my winter nightgown...

Hopefully before that... A bit like buses, a few more potential projects have all come at once. So, even though the winter hibernation instincts are beckoning like the sirens of legend, apparently I have to get off my fat a**e instead and get into the cellar cutting wood!

Well, @scrumpymike and I have been discussing this for months and, based on the fact that the best way to accelerate progress is to kick off a build thread, here is the thread. Do you remember this? @scrumpymike's Rascal: ...that he wanted me to re-body? Mike loved the sounds and the switch options and the neck...but couldn't get on with the sheer bulk of the body shape. So, using timber from the last tree that his life-long-lumberjacking friend Merv cut down before he retired, I rebodied it to produce this: ..which, happily, he loves. Now, although the mod was made to be fully reversible, Mike tells me that there is no way that he is ever going to do that. So what to do with the left over body... Indeed. And that's where this project comes from. There's not a lot more to add - yet

I prefer 'round the contour' if I'm likely to be adjusting things on the fly, particularly if there are more than 3 knobs - maximum space and least chance of getting the wrong knob! If you are not likely to adjust on the fly it's just down to personal preference.

Stunningly good

No difference at all between two piece or three piece or even five piece.

I've done both. In some cases I've played them and then split them up to use bits in other projects. In other cases, I've sold them complete. In other cases I've resold the sellable components and scrapped my bits So it depends, really. Worth bearing in mind that 'homebuilts' don't command good prices, however good the components that are in them. A good neck is a good thing to have. If it was me, and I was ready to move on from the build I'd already done, I build something even better with it.

You beat me to it, Paul. It doesn't look like any that I've used (which include both the modern Model P's but also 1970s/80s versions). Of course, doesn't mean they are no good.... Andy

That's looking really nice. When the final finish is on, that colour is going to look fabulous. I also think the pickup position looks fine...

That is so, so good @honza992

OK. No probs Let me know the vital stats of the VI and I'll check it against the Rascal. Having said that, the answer to your original question I'm pretty sure is yes - it is unlikely, given a bit of work and ingenuity, that you couldn't make one out of the other. In the meantime ref our own project..hmmm...Bronco bass neck...that might work...

Or...if you are replacing the Squier VI neck, we might be interested...

@Dosi Y'Anarchy - ref your original post...they look identical. Do you have a bass VI? If so, take some measurements and I'll check them against @scrumpymike 's actual Rascal body that I happen to have in the workshop You talk about Squier Bronco replacement neck...have you ever seen those around for sale? We are looking for a 21 fret 30"scale neck to fit onto the Rascal body but they are like finding hen's teeth!

Calling @scrumpymike. Want to join the discussion?

Very neat work. Looks the business.

Beautiful

Only just spotted this (I know, I know...) Yes - count me in