i built a guitar and cant get it to set up properly

by robert
(tampa fl)

i built a stratocaster f hole style body and put a neck on it from a favorite cheap guitar i had, the trouble is i cant get the intonation set ,, i moved the bridge back,, twice,, adjusted the heck out of it, when i finally got the intonation on the twelth fret to meter even,using a good tuner it still sounds way off when playing chords ,also if you put a tuner on it and pluck the b string it is ok but the next note up shows sharp, i think the scale ended up being 25 3/4 ,, ??? could the frets be off i have looked at several books and originally set the scale at 25 1/2,should i have not moved it back that distance and done something else?? , i love the guitar,, i mated two pieces of mahogany together and routed out a chamber on either side leaving the center open under the pickups and solid under the bridge, it has great sustain and a beautiful sound for an electric guitar,,i always wanted a hollow body strat that was a little fat,, having never built a guitar, i am sure i have really screwed something up. The neck is maple with an ebony fretboard, i like it because i have very wide fingers at the tip and it is wider than an average neck but shallow on the back side so it fit my hand well and plays easily. The frets are large and seem too high and wide if i play a note, i can sharp the string by varying how hard i press, which i don't like especially on the g string,i played a squire telecaster the other day and its frets were very thin and low, which i liked i didn't get the sharping effect,,HELP!!! before i ruin this guitar,, thanks so much for your time

ANSWER

Hi, Robert--

I am not a luthier and without seeing the guitar, it is difficult to understand exactly what is wrong. I am going to publish this so that maybe some of our readers with guitar building experience will have ideas for you.

Lynne