Warmoth Body & Neck Build… Black Cherry

syscokid

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I was not expecting the Warmoth finished body with a Warmoth exotic wood neck to arrive until mid to late October. But, it was delivered last week, and assembly started yesterday.

The body is Warmoth’s 7/8 S-Style, which means this body is 7/8ths the size of a regular Strat body. The neck is Warmoth’s 7/8 Warhead, which is a “24-3/4" scale, 24 fret neck designed to work with Warmoth's 7/8 S and T-Style bodies.”

The body wood is roasted swamp ash covered in a beautiful and glossy metallic “black cherry” paint. So far it has been very hard to photographically capture the real beauty of this metallic paint.
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I chose the Warmoth option of a contoured heel:
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The neck wood is wenge… Pronounced “WHEN-gay”. Fretboard is macassar ebony. 24 stainless steel 6105 frets (medium-jumbo, narrow). Mother of Pearl dot inlays. Moonglow side dots. Earvana corian nut.
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Well, we got our first hiccup! I wanted to install the tuners, and noticed that one of the bushings would easily drop into any of the six tuner holes, while the other five bushings would need to be pressed in like they should. Also, I could not get four of the tuner's shaft to fully pass through any of the uninstalled bushings! Anybody ever heard of quality issues with modern Kluson products?
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Me thinks that the questionable bushing on the right looks like its splines have been through some wear and tear... :hmmm:
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I just sent a message to the Reverb vendor and asked for an exchange. The vendor has a 30-day return policy... But I bought the tuners 70 days ago! We'll see what happens... :rolleyes2:
 
Well, we got our first hiccup! I wanted to install the tuners, and noticed that one of the bushings would easily drop into any of the six tuner holes, while the other five bushings would need to be pressed in like they should. Also, I could not get four of the tuner's shaft to fully pass through any of the uninstalled bushings! Anybody ever heard of quality issues with modern Kluson products?
View attachment 94725

Me thinks that the questionable bushing on the right looks like its splines have been through some wear and tear... :hmmm:
View attachment 94726

I just sent a message to the Reverb vendor and asked for an exchange. The vendor has a 30-day return policy... But I bought the tuners 70 days ago! We'll see what happens... :rolleyes2:
Well poop.
 
Well, we got our first hiccup! I wanted to install the tuners, and noticed that one of the bushings would easily drop into any of the six tuner holes, while the other five bushings would need to be pressed in like they should. Also, I could not get four of the tuner's shaft to fully pass through any of the uninstalled bushings! Anybody ever heard of quality issues with modern Kluson products?
View attachment 94725

Me thinks that the questionable bushing on the right looks like its splines have been through some wear and tear... :hmmm:
View attachment 94726

I just sent a message to the Reverb vendor and asked for an exchange. The vendor has a 30-day return policy... But I bought the tuners 70 days ago! We'll see what happens... :rolleyes2:
Huh, I just used a Kluson bridge on a build and was happy. I can see quite a difference between those two bushings in the photo though. Usually, I would be apt to find the differences between various "bushings" exciting, but not in this case.
 
Since I ordered those tuners 75 days ago, I cannot return and exchange for a new set from the vendor due to their 30 day return policy. Vendor advised me to contact the manufacturer and take care of this through the manufacturer's warranty. Today I contacted the manufacturer, and after explaining the problems I was having with the tuners/bushings, the sales/tech asked me to send the funky tuner package to them and then they will send me a new one. This will probably take at least one week before I receive the replacement tuners.

Meanwhile, I can focus on the body. I just realized that I'm going to have to drill the holes for the strap buttons and wood mount pickups! I've done it before, but never on a finished guitar.
 
Since I ordered those tuners 75 days ago, I cannot return and exchange for a new set from the vendor due to their 30 day return policy. Vendor advised me to contact the manufacturer and take care of this through the manufacturer's warranty. Today I contacted the manufacturer, and after explaining the problems I was having with the tuners/bushings, the sales/tech asked me to send the funky tuner package to them and then they will send me a new one. This will probably take at least one week before I receive the replacement tuners.

Meanwhile, I can focus on the body. I just realized that I'm going to have to drill the holes for the strap buttons and wood mount pickups! I've done it before, but never on a finished guitar.
you'll do great! It's a beauty!
 
...

Meanwhile, I can focus on the body. I just realized that I'm going to have to drill the holes for the strap buttons and wood mount pickups! I've done it before, but never on a finished guitar.

Have you done this yet? The trick is to use a slightly larger bit than you need for the actual hole. Put the drill in reverse and drill thru the finish backwards, it'll keep it from chipping out. Then switch to the smaller bit and drill your hole.
 
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