Our Project to build an Electric Guitar

Stephen Greenberg (Dad) and Jason Sohn-Greenberg (Me)

We got a Saga Guitar Kit for Christmas. It is a kit to build a Fender Stratocaster style guitar and includes all the parts. You have to cut the headstock, paint the body, finish the neck, assemble it, etc. Here is a picture of the kit:

We read all the reviews of this kit at Harmony Central.

We found a really cool site which let's you build a picture of a guitar on-line. It let you choose all the options you like and see the results. The site is http://www.nymphusa.com/kisekae/strat624/base.asp . Here is the picture we came up with and modified with Photoshop Elements:

Here is a picture of the way we cut the headstock:

We traced out the pattern we wanted and the technology teacher from school, Mr. Hecht, cut it out for us with the shop power tools. We hand sanded and smoothed it to the exact shape we liked:

We chose a color called "Ice Blue Metallic" from a site called www.reranch.com, and, painted the guitar using their product and instructions. We set up a way to hang the guitar from the ceiling. To avoid dust getting on it after we were finished with each coat, we came up with a way to cover it in a square plastic case that came with a new blanket:

When painting, we used dust masks and goggles for safety: (neither did anything, but it made us feel safer)

We used the computer to come up with a headstock decal (this is a Photoshop image):

We ordered decal paper from a hobby site called  MicroMark that can print with an inkjet printer at http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/products/82277.html

This is a picture of the real decal after being applied

These are all the parts, ready to be assembled

It turned out that the black pickguard we bought to replace the white one that came with the kit did not fit properly, we had to use a Dremel tool to reshape the openings, and, we had to drill some new holes

(pictures of me with a lot less hair and a lot more fat.....hehe)

Here is the body fully loaded and ready for the neck

This is after mounting the neck and the decal to the neck plate on the back,

Just some strings and a setup to go!

Here is the finished product !