From Stephen Casper:
Just to add a bit of detail to this project from a builders point of view.
This body arrived in we'll say poor shape. Finish cracked, chipped, dyed.
There were several pick guard screws burred and broken off flush with the surface of the body and a very wicked humbucker "route" in the bridge position.
I quickly evaluated the body for usefulness and reported back to Brian the body would work for what he was attempting to do. The rest will be up to me.
To strip the old finish, I used a combination of Low VOC Stripper, steel-wool and 60 grit sand paper.
There is really no easy way to remove the old finish. The wood needs to remain intact so a grinder is not an option :lol:
I dug out the screws and over drilled the holes with a drill press and pressed / glued in dowel replacement pieces to give the new body a bit of new wood for the pick-guard screws to bite into. Besides, the screw buried on the upper horn will have to be removed and repaired or the new pick-guard will not have a spot for a screw. In addition, the holes need to be repaired since the new pick-guard may not have the exact same hole pattern and could possibly have mounting / alignment issues when we get to the assembly phase of the project.
Next to establish a center line and begin the tremolo route layout later today.