[WORKLOG] Jackson JS20 DINKY Project-help needed

[m3ta1head]

Alright, so I've had this JS20 sitting around for years in my closet. H-S-S layout, 22 fret maple neck with rosewood fretboard...the usual. It's a little heavy, and kind of cheapish. The frets buzz. The pickups are OK. Here are some pictures:









It's worth next to nothing, and it's just kinda sitting there...so I got this crazy idea. I'm thinking about stripping the paint and giving this baby a natural finish. I'm not sure of how to strip...someone told me a heat gun, but that would burn the wood...right? I'm also not even sure what wood this guitar is made from. Would the grain look good? edit: ok I've done some searching and apparently this body is made from Indian Cedro, which is a wood from India (duh). I'm not sure how it would look natural...

I've never even worked on a guitar before, so I'll need some help here.

I'll probably scower **** for a Jackson maple neck with maple fretboard as well, and when it's all done, pop in a tb-4 in the bridge and change the single coils to whatever.

What do you guys think? Good idea for a project?

[Jaden]

cool ! do it

you can use a heat gun for stripping the paint, alternatively you can use chemical strippers...

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/tutorial5.htm

instruction for both !

I would check a timber supplier website to see how that wood is gonna look !

[m3ta1head]

Thanks man! I was looking for necks on **** and found this:

http://cgi.e bay.com/ws/e bayISAPI.d...m=130041137204

Item number: 130041137204

Looks pretty good, and from the previous auctions they seem to be going for about $50+shipping. Very cheap! My only concern is that the neck is a 24 fret neck, where as the neck currently on the dinky is a 22 fret neck.

Will I have mounting issues?

[Demiurge]

There may be an intonation problem. The scale length of the guitar is 25.5", where the 24-fret neck (non-overhang, but where the heel is flush with the last fret) is the equivalent of 2 frets longer than a 22-fret neck. In effect, for 25.5", the 22-fret neck's neck pocket is further away from the bridge than a 24-fret neck.

Another thing to consider is that since it's a "cheap" guitar, the body wood may be kind of ugly and/or multipiece construction that's best covered by paint.

[Racerx2k]

Yeah, I wouldn't try doing a natural finish, either, for that reason. One option would be to laminate the top, though, with some flame or quilt maple. Just check this out., if you already haven't:

http://www.jemsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53911

[m3ta1head]

Are quilt tops and veneer expensive?

Thanks for the suggestions...I guess the only way to see is to strip the paint and look at what the wood looks like.

[Racerx2k]

Not really. Here's a link: http://www.universaljems.com/cart/veneer.htm

Yeah, the only way to know for sure is to strip it down. Chances are, as it is a cheaper model, it will have ugly wood, but you never know for sure.

[fettouhi]

Go for it .

Regards

André