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It's hardly a build diary. I am merely trying to show the op that making a guitar can work out cheaper than buying a budget guitar.

I have decided to build a Les Paul now. I bought a body from eBay but stupidly didn't double check the pictures and it has come without the pick up holes routed out or the inside tunnelling for the wiring. I have a router but having to buy templates and stuff kind of put me off so I have shelved that one for the time being and I bought a kit from Amazon. In my defence the same companies other bodies had the pick up holes routed. I just bought the wrong one. I have ordered a set of Wilkinson humbuckers from Amazon. The kit is purely to get a body and neck and I will replace all the hardware with better quality as I want and I will get a wiring loom from KiOgon.

I just logged in after a break and just thought I'd add my playing experiences as I've had a few Burns guitars over the last 12 years. They have been well made and I get the impression that the past oener, Barry Gibson really cared about the brand. To be honest though I never really got on with strats, other than the G&L's which have a beefier neck and pickups...not sure why. Their Double Six is an outstanding 12 string design..very playable and the Trisonic pickups really suited the jangle of a 12. I also really liked a Barracuda that I owned for a whils, which is really a six string bass. I also have a Marquee bass and have owned a Bison. They are certainly worth a look!

This: Realised by Rob Williams. Technically a Telecaster, but with the following mods: Body contours as per a Strat. Mahogany/Maple as per Les Paul; Sunburst finish kept tight to the body edge (not a fan of SB finishes that hide the grain of the wood); Neck profile as per Gibson 335 dot (set neck), but with Strat scale length; Pups as per pretty much any superstrat, HB coil-tapped, and featuring a trick switch that allows any combination of pups (11 distinct options). Minimalist controls. (Originally specified with a series/parallel switch on the HB but Rob couldn't get it to work without shorting the electrics to ground.) Pups handwound by Rob himself; Wilkinson Trem. (Should really have left this out as I've never actually used it in anger.)

Yeah as you say, the key to making an operation like that work is volume. Doing things right upfront requires an investment time and attention to detail to get things right. All those can be offset with sales volume regardless of what the asking price actually is. So sub 200 quid is definitely feasible but would probably need to be selling 100 bodies a month.

This! I went over to check my brother's house when he was on holiday, and his '62 SG Junior was lying on the floor, face down. The hanger and pile of brick dust were on top of his Marshall head, which must have partly broken its fall. Miraculously, it was intact, and even in tune. I don't know how I would have broken the news if it had been damaged.