Doing Things Wrong

Squier '62 Stratocaster (2/2)

I saved some of the pictures from the eBay listing. They only hint at the rough shape it was in.

Serial Number E791550 (1984-1987)
The tremolo stabilizer I built
I think the wire between the tone pots was missing.
Not worth dying for.
Here is the Strat with its stablemate - a "Crafted in Japan" Precision that was given to me by a vintage dealer who was very pleased with some work I did. I wanted them to match.

From the early '80s, this guitar is verging on 'vintage' status, so I wanted to keep the modifications to a minimum, mostly hidden and reversible. The tremolo stabilizer required 3 small screw holes inside the body. I kept the old pickguard, just in case. I could always put the scratches back in the body too.

This is not the only factory wiring fault I have seen, although I am surprised that it came out of Japan. I have an old tube amp that had a non-functioning tremolo circuit for 50 years until I fixed it!

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I finished the shaping with a big metal file and 80-grit. Then finish-sanded 100-150 and cleaned out the fret slots. 150 is good enough for now. For final finishing, I'll take it up to 320, which is smooth but leaves plenty of 'tooth' for the finish to grab onto. I wouldn't go any higher - the surface becomes too smooth.