This one was a testbed for the Radiata glue-up body construction. I had lots of Strat hardware lying around from all the bass projects, so I decided to use some of it. As usual for my guitars, this has a fixed steel truss rod. This is the last of my Audiovoxes, and probably my favorite.
Here in the Northeast ( and probably everywhere ) Home Depot sells two grades of wood: Number 1, which they label as 'Select', and Number 2. Number 1 costs about twice as much as Number 2. Lowes is similar. Both grades are pine, not hardwood.
This is a body made from 2x2 Radiata pine from Home Depot. This material is actually 1-1/2" square and gives you a choice of tight grain on two opposing sides and loose feathery grain on the other two sides. This is the tight grain.
This is my reference for guitar setups - a Japanese "E-series" Squier Stratocaster from the early '80s. This was an era when Fender-America was not doing their best work, while the Japanese models were superb.
The belt attachment is what makes it far superior to an ordinary spindle sander. Belts have a far greater working area than the small cylinders most spindle sanders have. They last longer and are cheaper to replace, and are available in a wider variety of grits. The #36 belt is ideal for removing material to make a rough shape, then clean up with a #80. The big end of the belt drive is a 2-1/2" diameter, which turns out to be by far the most useful part of the machine, and exactly matches many of the curves on a Fender neck. Of course, there are smaller spindles all the way down to 1/2" for tight spots. The flat on the belt will cut reasonably straight for small parts that fit entirely in it, but anything that overhangs the ends is going to be gouged by the rollers unless you are very careful - light touch and always moving the workpiece. It's good exercise.
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