F4 from F5 kit?

[Rick Crenshaw]

Well, at long last my F5 is near completion. #I had put off the binding and the headstock work for almost a year and got on it this summer and it wasn't as hard as I imagined (though was definitely the hardest part for me). #Now I'm all excited to use an old Stew-Mac kit I picked up off of ebay last year to make an F4.

Question 1: #Where might I get ahold of some bracing and top thickness plans for an F4?

Question 2: # I should make a new, shorter neck. #But how do you think it would hold if I cut and spliced the kit neck down to size? #I know it sounds like a short cut that I'd likely regret later, but won't the glue splice actually be stronger than the wood? #(I use hide glue on all structural joints) #And the truss rod, truss rod slot spline, and fingerboard would all support the spliced neck, n'est pas?

Question 3: #Will I be able to use the fingerboard from the F5 kit on the F4? #Would I be able to just cut the top fret or two off? #Or do I need an entire new set of slot measurements?

Question 4 (and final one): #Would it make a tremendous difference in tone if I just stayed with an F5 scale length on an F4 body? #I'm thinking I need the shorter scale length for the F4 tone, but I may be mistaken. It would certainly take care of Questions 2 and 3 if I could use the longer scale.

Thanks

[Rick Crenshaw]

OK, I did some searching and visiting the MIMF. I can see now where there's a lot more going on than my simple questions asked about. If you have something to add, I'll gladly hear it. But I think I can do what I want done with the current kit and some creative splicing. I have enough F5's so what the heck.

[EdSherry]

Roger Siminoff sells F-4 plans.

[Rick Crenshaw]

Thanks, EdSherry. There are plans for an F4 on MIMF. There are no thicknesses on there, though. I'm gonna think about this awhile. Right now I could make the F5 or I could splice the neck shorter, build up the spruce above the oval hole and make an F4. I'll have to decide whether to use the old Gibson style brace or an x brace.

Or, I could sell the kit and buy Siminoff's F4 Kit. I like the ready made rim on the Stew-Mac kit, though. But I may have an inside track on a rim form so I could go that route.

Decisions.