My Tele Project

well i started this a few weeks ago....
i decided a telecaster is a must in my life and lack of money means i shall build one

so i went through the timber storage thing in my backyard.... couldnt find any decent wood.....
so i then looked through the timber storage racks in my garage
i found a few bits and pieces.....
i decided to use some old oregan fire place tops.....
i found that at a demolition a while ago....
brian may style? :)
unfortionately i didnt take pictures of them before i planed/sanded/sanded/sanded/glued/glued lol

here are some pics with the tops glued on.....
i put them through my circular saw table to get the edges flat and ready for gluing...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00975.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00976.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00977.jpg

continued.......

i then set up my clamps..... and glued them together....
ofcourse i had a hell of alot more clamps on it... but i did not get a picture of that....

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00983.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00985.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00986.jpg

i let it all dry and sit for a few days....
then got stuck into sanding it all up

my trusty belt sander
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00987.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00988.jpg

resting....
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00991.jpg

checking the top is level....
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00989.jpg

some more checking....

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00992.jpg

happy with it for now....
quickly sketched up a tele in pencil on the top to have a look :)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00994.jpg

centre joint

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00996.jpg

i got lazy with the back after i snapped a sanding belt...
will deal with it when i cut the body out...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00998.jpg

i then went searching through all my parts.....

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01008.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01007.jpg

and theres where i am up to now.....
searching for a neck
and some other bits and pieces.....
but as i said. lack of money lol
so trying to pickup what i can for the cheapest i can get it....

not too shure about the hardtail bridge.... would like a tele bridge so i can make it a string through....

need to get some measurements and stuff too

any help would be appreciated :)
tips, tricks, techniques, methods, oppinions are all very welcome :)

well thanks for all the input LOL! :)

im about to make an order with guitarfetish.com
i changed my mind and have decided to go with building an esquire :)

Here's a tip. When routing the body shape always go 'downhill' and make several shallow passes. The diagram below works for both table mounted and handheld routers. I highly recommend using a router table.

......http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/jwells393/New%20Album/BodyRouting.jpg

thanks for that....
i have both handheld and table routers....
not sure which i will use though...
neck pocket is what im most worried about... only ever routed one before and it wasnt perfect lol

thanks for that....
i have both handheld and table routers....
not sure which i will use though...
neck pocket is what im most worried about... only ever routed one before and it wasnt perfect lol


I just do the final pocket depth cut with only about 1/8" cut. The grain run out at the edge of the pocket can 'get ya' if you get greedy. And Sharp bits needless to say.

I always do the pocket and the PUP route free hand routing, not upside down on the table. ;) Gotta see what is going down. ;)

You can also shim the bearing or template so the pocket is a little small and do hand work to finish, but that can go wither well as well.

Do you know what woods you got there ? Watch your weight! :shock:

Good Luck

Here's how to make a neck pocket template. You can also use the technique to actually rout a neck pocket. This will provide a perfect pocket for the neck you use to make the template.

......http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/showgallery.php/cat/576

The body shape routing is best done on a router table. All cavity routing should be done hand-held. The term 'free hand' is a bit scary...... sounds like you're not using a template.

yea i did my first handheld.... no templates....
but back then i was in carpentry courses and had skills :P hahaha

the wood.... brian may style... old fireplace tops... 100+ year old oregan as far as i know....
as it is now... it is a decent weight..... you know.. i might weigh it tomorrow if i remember....

not worried about weight... can always take more off if needed..
since it is going to be an esquire i dont really want to rout a neck pickup cavity...
and also i dont think i will go for full depth routs...
can take more off... cant add it back...

and i HATE neck dive guitars... so weight in the body is a good thing




thanks for the template.....
i will try work it out....


need another 70bux then i can order my parts and neck...
GFS necks any good?

I just got a mighty mite neck from MJW customs at a good price. I think he is blowing out some of his extra tele necks. Look him up if you aren't adverse to a MM neck.

Nice wood! Pine and mohogany?

naaa you wont see me touching pine lol....

oregan

i have 100 to spend on a neck including shipping to australia...

also need a set of thos conversion bushings for klusons...

well... i got bored....
so i cut the body.....
my routers are dead (RIP) lol...
so i did it with a jigsaw and finished it up by hand....

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01167.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01165.jpg

here it is with some hardware sitting on it... i still need to find a control plate..
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01168.jpg

i love this pic
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01169.jpg

and after a bit of sandiing to square up the edges and make it smooth...
and trust me... it is bloody smooth lol

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01171.jpg

Hi Andrew,

Nice work on the body so far, I like the wood sandwich, and the pics with the scratchplate hint of the finished product :grin:

Keep at it!

Hello Andrew

As this is my first post i say hi to everybody and the reason why i registered was this sandwich construction that fell into my liking.

That guitar body is going to fall into the eyes of many players, i am sure.
I am myself building quite similar bodies all by hand with drilling and planing being the only parts done by machine.
Enough with that, interesting to see another of these vanilla chocolate-concoctions on the internet.

I will add a small pic on one of my projects in the rough, it's a strat shape with solid iroko back and 3 piece spruce top.

Zmat

thanks for the kind words guys :)

it does have a great look to it....
i like the reference to chocolate LOL

are you cutting out those bodys by hand?
thats gotta be a pain in the ass..

gonna put a hardtail on that strat?
i have decided i hate tremolos :)

next i shall build a hardtail strat.... or..... i dont know lol

i wish i could get this build finished!!!!
but i cant do anything else untill i find a neck..... :(

naaa you wont see me touching pine lol....

oregan

i have 100 to spend on a neck including shipping to australia...

also need a set of thos conversion bushings for klusons...

Oregan is what exactly, this appears to be laminated with 2 different species of wood. Nice hand work, I usually get nervous when a belt sander come into play. ;)

Oregan is what exactly, this appears to be laminated with 2 different species of wood. Nice hand work, I usually get nervous when a belt sander come into play. ;)

I think he means Oregon Pine aka plantation Douglas Fur.

Nice work, Andrew. Good to see an unconventional build. :grin:

thanks for the kind words guys :)

it does have a great look to it....
i like the reference to chocolate LOL

are you cutting out those bodys by hand?
thats gotta be a pain in the ass..

gonna put a hardtail on that strat?
i have decided i hate tremolos :)

next i shall build a hardtail strat.... or..... i dont know lol

i wish i could get this build finished!!!!
but i cant do anything else untill i find a neck..... :(

The looks bear always something with them, you can couple lighter wood with dense wood to make it thicker and sponge the tone and i think your tone might become quite smoky if you know what i mean!
You never know the tone until you try it.

Actually hand sawing ain't that bad when you have done it quite some time, and even the mosquitos agree, hah!
(sawing that iroko takes time though)

The ideal weight is almost there so it's going to be a hardtail.
Too bad you don't have a neck yet, it's a part of the preparations, but good luck on the builds!

Zmat

yea oregan is a tree lol....
the bottom half of this body is oregan i believe...
the top is................... i dont know :) it had a laminate on it which i spent days chiseling off....
the oregan i have is around 100years old...
was part of a fireplace in an old house that was getting demolished...
grabbed it before the bulldozers wrecked it...

it weighs around 2.8kilograms right now (no routing)... im not sure what that is in pounds or anything...

2.8kg = 6.17lbs!

Nice work so far dude! I've seen this progress on AGGH as well and I'll eagerly be keeping an eye out for the finished product!

hehehe
i almost forgot about AGGH ... gotta jump on there now :P
well ... i have a neck waiting for me....

it was my birthday yesterday :)
so i have some cash to spend!

should see some updates on this soon.....

but for now ... i just picked up a sunburst squire tele....
going to buy some caps and pots and do some experimenting :)

hmm well... now i am needing to get into the drilling/routing

so i guess i am needing some measurements/drawings/tips/templates/anything? :)

and also.... how is a jack cup Installed?
i have a fair idea... but i want to know how it is done Properly

any help would be much appreciated

looking forward to see the finished result mate, good build!

**

umm....
i will ask nicely...
please dont jack my thread :)

thanks

looking forward to see the finished result mate, good build!

thanks man
i will be getting the rest of the parts in the next week or 3....then i can post some progress :smile:

Sorry Man! As I said I'm new to this, on 2nd look I see this is all you. Very nice so far, look forward to more. I'll delete my stuff and find the right place for my post.

interesting to see another of these vanilla chocolate-concoctions on the internet.

My first DIY Tele in 02 also was 2/3 Oreo so to speak. White ash on top of Black Walnut...

So for the 2/3 Oreo fans:


http://home.comcast.net/%7E7511/Tele-walnut.JPG (http://home.comcast.net/%7E7511/Tele-walnut.JPG)



Finished:

6 years later and some nice patina on the ash. ;)

http://home.comcast.net/~7511/My-Nash-Tele-08.JPG

lol oreo

:grin:

looks good

So far looks good. I personally found it funny that you decided to build a tele cause of lack of money and am surprised no one else told you that its not necessarily a cheap endeavor. Now when its finished don't forget the sound clips.

So far looks good. I personally found it funny that you decided to build a tele cause of lack of money and am surprised no one else told you that its not necessarily a cheap endeavor. Now when its finished don't forget the sound clips.

lol
im just showing that it can be done.....
and it IS being done... and you are watching it... :grin:

i build something everyday...
whether it is a piece of furniture... a tool.... customising something.... tinkering with things... pulling things apart....doing electronics projects.... finishing renovations on my house or restoring things for people around here....

i dont ask to get payed and ussually just take trades or whatever i am offered

if someone was to tell me not to build a tele because i my lack of money .. i would slap them over the back of the head and say "WATCH ME" :wink:

for anyone that knows me... they will know i am extremely laid back....

i have built guitars before.. its nothing new...
but times have changed and so have techniques, so i have come to the internet to broaden my knowledge, learn some new techniques and meet some great builders along the way... :smile:

once this tele is done.... i will be onto a carved top....

and again.... i have found another fireplace top for the body :grin:

lol

Andrew

You're a man after my own heart Andrew...you have a great attitude on creating! I mean the little things, like making do with what you have.Or if you don't have/can't afford materials, to scrounge up bits and pieces...:cool:

I'm building an amp head/speaker cab out of someone else's cast offs. I keep an eye out for "goodies" sticking out of dumpster bins and such.So far for my amp thing, I've scrounged up 2 solid maple dressers,1 solid maple dining tabletop,and some old maple kitchen cabinet doors.

Its almost as good as finding money laying on the street and you save something from going to waste.Besides its the "mother of invention" thing...it
gives a satisfaction that throwing money at something will never give you!
Good on Ya!

Jan :grin:

thanks Jan! :D

i also made a head out of scrounged parts lol....
i may try and get a picture of it

everything is useful.....
i take lots of things off the side of the road and from bins too

better to use it than have it thrown into landfill..... WASTED

there are the people who will tell you your a dirty bastard for picking up wood off the side of the road... but we all know they couldnt build something to save their lives :)

keep me updated on your build Jan
i want to see the end results.....

cheers....

here we go....

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01197.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01199.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01198.jpg

ignore the fender badge... its just screwed on there so i dont lose it :)

and for anyone interested.....
i completed my first pedal build.... fetzer valve
from scratch... and yes the battery is a tight fit

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01146.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01154.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01155.jpg

and to top off this great day i just got some emails telling me the rest of the tele parts should be here by tuesday :)

excelent

Hey Andrew...My dad asked me,"what is it, that we are all born with...rich and poor alike?I couldn't think of anything.He simply said " time".Wow!

I've never had anyone say anything outright about my dumpster diving...sure have gotten some strange looks.Some puzzled and some downright nasty.I'll feel uneasy for about 30 seconds...then smile, knowing where it'll take me!

Actually..I like the Fender tag on your head,Just adds a little more character.
Besides..it looks cool!

One of these days I'd like to try a pedal,but I have a few projects going.I go as far as I can, til I hit a wall.(Some stuff you just can't find laying around,eh)
But there's other stuff to squeeze in...

My wife jokingly tells me we live in a lumber yard,but she's spot on.Ah well...
Keep up the good work and your eye on the ball. LOL

Jan

lol!

i like your style
though you can never have too many projects going!!! hahaha

and i know what you mean when you say theres some stuff you cant find laying around...
thats why i try to pickup old furniture and things... easily restored and sold for small amounts to help fund projects....


hard if not imposible to find those heavy metal fender logos now days....
it was off a fender twin reverb early 90's model i guess....
amp was sold and i forgot to put the badge back on... so its now screwed to that head :)

theres a few websites that sell pedal kits.... but they are pretty overly priced.... IMO...
much cheaper to get a diagram and schematic off the internet and buy the parts at your local electronics shop.....
its a satisfying feeling playing through a pedal you have built.... :)
also doesnt take as long as i was expecting.....


a lumber yard hey :P
you must have some good stuff piled up there....
should i be jelous? LOL

Hey dude ,how are ya. I visited your MySpace site, and read through your posts here . Just wondering where you find the time to be bored."and i am striving to be a tattoo artist! " have you done any tats yet? I tattooed for over 10 years, built my own machines and made my own needles. Don't ever lose that do it your self attitude.

hmm well... now i am needing to get into the drilling/routing

so i guess i am needing some measurements/drawings/tips/templates/anything? :)

and also.... how is a jack cup Installed?
i have a fair idea... but i want to know how it is done Properly

any help would be much appreciated

There's a drawing by Terry Downs that gives full measurements for a tele and that can used for making templates.

There's a link to it in the first post of my thread here.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/114323-making-telecaster-template.html

I've also used the Stewmac plexiglass pickup templates, they're great.

The Jack socket hole is drilled with a 7/8" bit. I've never fitted a traditional tele jack cup but the electrosocket one from Stewmac (and elsewhere) is a doddle. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Components:_Jacks/Electrosocket_Jack_Mount.html

Great build so far, looks like you have some really good woodwork skills.

So did you tidy up the outside edge of the body with the router in the end or did you hand sand it? If you sanded it, it must have been a killer!

Cheers
Dave

LOL...No..you shouldn't have to get jealous.:lol:
My lumber yard is mostly fir,pine and cedar.I do have a few exotic slabs for guitar bodies..1 of each...African and Honduras mahogany,and lacewood.
All 2" thick.Of course I have to scrounge up all the hardware for these bodies.
So...

I just love all these build threads..its inspiring and keeps my juices going while
waiting for the rest of the goods. (moneywise, LOL).I got to do the template thing(s) too,so I won't be sitting on my hands very much.

And thank you Scubadoo...you just helped to fill in a few gaps in my build info gathering.

Welcome to the guitar builders party, Tech! Have a great day guys!

Jan

here we go....

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01197.jpg


Hey, ironically enough i recently finished an amp build myself, nice and tidy stuff to work with.
Looking forward to your finished tele so you can start on the next one, heh!

Hey dude ,how are ya. I visited your MySpace site, and read through your posts here . Just wondering where you find the time to be bored."and i am striving to be a tattoo artist! " have you done any tats yet? I tattooed for over 10 years, built my own machines and made my own needles. Don't ever lose that do it your self attitude.

hehehe
im alright,
i have done a few tatts... not alot, mainly on myself....
well im not working at the moment so i have a fair bit of time on my hands till a job pops up....

hmm i need to update that myspace....
i tried pretty hard to look for an tattoo apprenticeship over here...
well im still trying :)
but its hard.... theres a fair few tattoo shops around... but not alot of tattoo artists that want to take on an apprentice....
iv always been heavily into art... (music/building stuff/etc)
i have wrapped my own coils (oldskool style) lol.... built a few machines....
i built a coil winder for a bloke on a tattoo forum i was a part of....

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00286.jpg

That is like the Esquire of PUP winders. ;) I like it. ;)

i built a coil winder for a bloke on a tattoo forum i was a part of....

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00286.jpg (http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC00286.jpg)

There's a drawing by Terry Downs that gives full measurements for a tele and that can used for making templates.

There's a link to it in the first post of my thread here.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/114323-making-telecaster-template.html

I've also used the Stewmac plexiglass pickup templates, they're great.

The Jack socket hole is drilled with a 7/8" bit. I've never fitted a traditional tele jack cup but the electrosocket one from Stewmac (and elsewhere) is a doddle. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Components:_Jacks/Electrosocket_Jack_Mount.html

Great build so far, looks like you have some really good woodwork skills.

So did you tidy up the outside edge of the body with the router in the end or did you hand sand it? If you sanded it, it must have been a killer!

Cheers
Dave


i got the terry downs drawing
cheers

well i would grab an electrosocket... but i already have the jack cup
gotta make do with what iv got

thanks for the kind words....
as for the line "looks like you have some really good woodwork skills."
thanks lol.... well i guess its in the family.... my grandfather did a hell of alot of leather work, making saddles, whips, hats, i heard he built a violin at one stage.... i lost him at a young age so never really got to watch him work or collaborate with him....
wish i could have.. but what can you do :)
and my other grandfather was a welder/machinest... he is still alive and we do many things together,
we are restoring an old arched glass display cabinet :)
i also did a 1year carpentry/construction course shortly after i left school...
i have all the qualifictions to be working in a trade.... but i have scolliosis and a few slipped discs in my back....
wrecks everything unfortunately.

nope i havnt touched a router as of yet on this project....
i just clamped my belt sander to my router table....
put 2 bits of 2x4 on the table infront of the belt sander and placed a large piece of chipboard ontop so i had a flat surface....
the chipboard was an offcut from when i did the kitchen... so it has a flat white laminate on it which is smooth....
the 2x4's are under it to give it the height needed so when i have the body on the chipboard... its in the middle of the sanding belt (if that makes sence)
then i put a straight edge against the sanding belt and the top of the chipboard and adjusted the clamps till they were lined up....
then just sanded the body down to the lines i had drawn earlier....
i did the horn by hand....
wrapped some sandpaper around a round crowbar....
i used a crowbar so i had some weight.... therefore less force is needed from me.... which is good cause my back is stuffed :(

after that i went over the whole body one more time
sanded out the scratches and the edges a little bit...

LOL...No..you shouldn't have to get jealous.:lol:
My lumber yard is mostly fir,pine and cedar.I do have a few exotic slabs for guitar bodies..1 of each...African and Honduras mahogany,and lacewood.
All 2" thick.Of course I have to scrounge up all the hardware for these bodies.
So...

I just love all these build threads..its inspiring and keeps my juices going while
waiting for the rest of the goods. (moneywise, LOL).I got to do the template thing(s) too,so I won't be sitting on my hands very much.

And thank you Scubadoo...you just helped to fill in a few gaps in my build info gathering.

Welcome to the guitar builders party, Tech! Have a great day guys!

Jan


dont you just love the smell of cedar :grin:
well i do lol....

i wish i could get some mahogany and lacewood over here.... i would never leave my shed LOL

i never get around to doing templates.... im too lazy i guess
but it all works out just fine :wink:

you know whats bad..
i have already started planning my next build

lol... pitty it wont be a tele.... i will have to find somewhere else to post it i guess :sad:

That is like the Esquire of PUP winders. ;) I like it. ;)

hehe thanks man :smile:

OHHHH OHHHHHHH
and!
i had some more parts arrive yesterday....
a bridge pickup, kluson conversion bushings, 3way switch and some other things that i cant remember at the moment (SLEEP TIME... lol its 5:20am)

one more package and i will have all my parts.... and i can get some more work done on this!!

package should be here on monday or tuesday....
it contains my neck, control plate, and something else im forgetting lol
(and its bloody raining here..... fingers crossed the neck doesnt get wet in transit :( ...)

anyways... i will updates you guys soon
cheers
have a good weekend

just thought iake some pics of all my bits and pieces so far...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01204.jpg

heres the back.. i dont think i have taken any pics of it before... lol

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01205.jpg

AND!
i picked up 4 or 5 of these bakalite? masonite? im not sure which ones which anymore.... they were originally turret boards? i dont know the name ! lol
anyway.... the holes are the exact spacing for the string through holes :wink:
so i got myself about 8 or 12 free string through drilling guides :)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01206.jpg

thats all untill my neck arrives... tomorrow i hope

well today... the neck arrived..
well it turned up in the afternoon so i couldnt do alot as the sun was fading..

i took lots of pics :)

ran into some trouble with the holes in the headstock though....
they are pretty big...
i didnt know what to expect with the neck...
i bought the kluson conversion bushings... but they were too small still...
so i swapped tuners with my strat....
the conversion bushings were loose on my strats headstock too....
i just wrapped a bit of tape around the bushings....
i will fix that up later....
any ideas?

well i dont think i have anything else to say... so here are the pics

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01209.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01210.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01219.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01215.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01222.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01216.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01224.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01223.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01225.jpg

there we go

tomorrow i might do a bit of drilling/routing... :)

well its late and im tiredbut i shall give you guys an update,
got some more done today....
routing and drilling..

ran into some problems....
never used this particular drill press for much in the past... so i assumed it would be all good....
later found that its a big bulky bastard yet the chuck is close to the bar supporting it....
(great for drilling metal and stuff but it just doesnt have the ..... i cant think of the word... i just need something larger...)
therefore i cant use it to drill anything in the middle of a guitar...
which isnt good at all, so i am going to have to get rid of it.. trade it in or something....

as we all know.... i have no templates...
i clamped the neck to the body and taped the hardware on..
got everything lined up....
then traced them to give me lines to go by.....
i used a pickgaurd off a squire tele, which was stupid!
i dont know why i did that... i should have used the one i will be using... and i realise that this will bite me in the ass when i check that everything is 100%...
i got rid of most of the wood with an assortment of spade bits....
was forced to use a hand drill to do the middles of the pickup routs (because of the drill press thing stated above)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01229.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01230.jpg

then i got out my plunge router....
(i have two routers... a plunge router and a little makita plunge router (broken/plunge is fused) it just turned up one day.... lol)
now... i always promote SAFETY FIRST
and routers are one of the most dangerous power tools...
i did a carpentry course a few years ago... and the images shown to me by the ambos of power tool accidents was not a good sight.
i took a hell of alot from that course... esspecially the OH&S training

so after checking the router, to make sure it was in working condition (check for loose/broken/severed cords, siezed motor, screwed up bearings, burnt out motor, etc)
i tightened the bit into it and sat and had a think about how to do this the easiest and safest way.....

have you already guessed i dont particullarly like using routers? lol

i have a whole lotta off cuts from the decking i just did out the back... so i decided i could use a few of the straight ones as guides.
got some clamps ready....
clamped the tele body into my "triton super jaws" lol
and spent 20 or 30 minutes thinking about and lining up guides and clamping...

decided i would do it how iv always done my work and eye ball it.

oh and i went over my pencil lines with an xacto knife so i wouldnt get chips along the top edge.

so after doing a hell of alot of thinking, i put my earplugs in and set up the router to do a first shallow pass.
then another pass a lil lower....
and another and another...

i still need to rout the control cavity a lil deeper, and im guessing i will have to fix something up because of my stupidity using that other pickgaurd as a guide...

but its all good....

i reckon i did pretty well for no templates...

neck is a nice tight fit :)

anyways im gonna shut up now, way way way past my bed time

heres some pics....
any questions or statements or tips or anything.... much appreciated
cheers

close up of neck rout and neck pickup cavity

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01234.jpg

routs and input hole

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01237.jpg

after some sanding

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01239.jpg

and with the neck on (no screws)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01245.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01246.jpg

i will do some more tomorrow
need to fix up the bottom of the routs
neck pocket needs to be a lil deeper.... well i would like it to be... :)

drillled the input hole with a spade bit....btw

needs a fair bit of cleaning up... i will get into that tomorrow

ALSO need to think about a finish....
the wood has some nail holes in it that i am noticing as i sand it down more and more...
so will need to fill them and a few chips need to be filled.
i few coats of clear is all i really want....
but im simple and dont really think much about asthetics.
what do you guys think?

Hey Andrew...Your baby is shaping up very nicely... and lookin' like a guitar now!!
That wood you used for the top plate, is it a fine grained, dense and really hard wood?
I have something similar I scrounged off of a pallet that that was shipped to my old job.
It has the same look to it, but is really heavy and as hard as a rock.It came in from the far east somewhere.It has a few nail holes lurking around inside too,but would be good for a body I think.(And... Yes, I do love the smell of cedar...!)

What kind of pickup are you throwing in there..by the way.
I have a Seymour Duncan "Hot Stack" for the bridge, which I was thinking of doing an Esquire thing with on my Telebaby.
I also have a H-S-S pickup set from an old "Renegade" model by Jackson guitars.
( Korean entry level guitar with American made Jackson pups, plywood body,maple and rosewood neck.)
Basically I'm using the pups and the neck for my first build to get a feel for a build, on the cheap.
I was thinking of using the 2 single coils (or 1 in the neck)with the hot stack.
I got the guitar in pieces from a friend who gave up on it,so I don't about the pups.
Also ,I'd have to refret the neck to make it work.Another little challenge for me,eh?

Have a good one...

Jan

thanks,
it is looking better each day....
once i round those edges nicely it should look pretty damn good.

yep..
its pretty hard and fine grained....
i was amazed when i was using the spade bits , it cut into the wood so so smooth
its a really nice wood.... i dont understand why they would have laminated it back in the day....
i might go ask my mate across the road if he knows what type of wood it is

mmmmmmmm cedar
lol

the pickup is.... "Bridge pickup. c.8.3k. Rope finish." theres a quote straight from the suppliers page....
its a nice looking pickup... brass plate on the bottom, soldering is a bit iffy though
lol i dont know alot about single coils.... never really used any
i can tell you all about different humbuckers....
but single coils are fairly new to me :)

i like jacksons, simple guitars

i re fret sounds like great fun *rolls eyes* lol

when you starting your build thread :P

mines comming to an end lol....

oh and i hav a big block of wood.....
i need help to figure out what it is....
this thing is pretty damn big....
about from the floor to my chest... and 60cm or so wide... about 20 cm thick...
(measurements are random gueses lol)
i think it may be oregan again....
but it has a split down the middle....
if i can figure out how to cut it up... i will probly be able to get a few 2 or 3 piece bodys out of it...

i will try and get some pics tomorrow if i remember

Yeah...that's the problem with big chunks of wood...the inevitable radial split
as it dries and shrinks.
You know anybody with a chainsaw to rough it out for ya..or maybe a nice
bandsaw?

Oh yeah...I was gonna mention last time...that Lacewood is a wood we import into Canada from Australia.
(You should keep your eyes open for a chunk in your travels around home there.)
Other names for it are; Australian silky oak, Bulloak, Selena and Louro Faia.
Its similar to mahogany in workability,texture and weight.
I bought my lacewood at a specialty plywood store here for $95 a couple of years ago.
Its 2"x 9 1/2"x 36".I was giong to make a lapsteel slide guitar out of it, plus the hot stack pup.
I ended up buying a '59 Fender Champ lapsteel, and cancelled my build.

I think you will have been playing your tele for a while, before I finish mine.
LOL :lol:
But..I'll document the key stuff in pics and post it.
Have a good one

Jan

i dont wanna seem like a dumbass, but ive looked at youre guitar and i think its realy brilliant, ive registered to this forum just to ask how did you start, im 16 now and ive fixed and changed quite alot of things on my guitar and im always trying to make somthing out of bits and piesces and i would love to make a custom body for a guitar. i was wondering what youre 1st build was like? how'd it work out? and have you any tips for someone who is new to building guitars? and again i think youre guitar is brilliant, hope youre machine heads work out!!

Yeah...that's the problem with big chunks of wood...the inevitable radial split
as it dries and shrinks.
You know anybody with a chainsaw to rough it out for ya..or maybe a nice
bandsaw?

Oh yeah...I was gonna mention last time...that Lacewood is a wood we import into Canada from Australia.
(You should keep your eyes open for a chunk in your travels around home there.)
Other names for it are; Australian silky oak, Bulloak, Selena and Louro Faia.
Its similar to mahogany in workability,texture and weight.
I bought my lacewood at a specialty plywood store here for $95 a couple of years ago.
Its 2"x 9 1/2"x 36".I was giong to make a lapsteel slide guitar out of it, plus the hot stack pup.
I ended up buying a '59 Fender Champ lapsteel, and cancelled my build.

I think you will have been playing your tele for a while, before I finish mine.
LOL :lol:
But..I'll document the key stuff in pics and post it.
Have a good one

Jan

i have a chainsaw! lol
i was thinking of just running a circular saw CAREFULLY along it,
then flip it over and repeat....
i might jump on it (literally) to see if i can get it to crack in half.....
would be easier to work with that way.

wow i didnt realise lacewood was australian!
i think iv seen silky oak before..... (im not too great with all these wood names)
i was told some of the "oaks" arent too good to work with... the sawdust causes rashes and other things when in contack with skin....
i do however have a nice chunk of Tasmanian Oak.
might take some snaps of that while im in the garage :wink:

woah... a lapsteel build would be awsome...
(stop before i make more plans) hahahahaha

you never know...
you might finish before me... maybe.... :roll:
lol

chhers man

i dont wanna seem like a dumbass, but ive looked at youre guitar and i think its realy brilliant, ive registered to this forum just to ask how did you start, im 16 now and ive fixed and changed quite alot of things on my guitar and im always trying to make somthing out of bits and piesces and i would love to make a custom body for a guitar. i was wondering what youre 1st build was like? how'd it work out? and have you any tips for someone who is new to building guitars? and again i think youre guitar is brilliant, hope youre machine heads work out!!


you dont seem like a dumb ass at all....
my first guitar build didnt go so well... it was more of a learning experience...
trying out tools and stuff....
at that time i didnt have internet ... so all the measurements were taken off other guitars...
now i know alot more.

there are alot of forums on the net.... i am a member of atleast 4 instrument realated forums,
i would sugest you read through all the posts....
i do it...
and theres alot to learn,

im no pro... never will be, so i cant really give you any great tips....
just that google is your friend....
with avid google searching you can find anything....
i have found over 20 blueprints of all diferent guitars, amoung other things...

be careful of tools.... know your boundries....
read as many build threads as possible....
take notes of measurements and tips & tricks, etc etc etc...

thanks for the kind words, and good luck :grin:

You're spot on about the nasty side of lacewood.
You have to wear a dust mask when cuttin' and sandin' that stuff.
As far as the skin rash thing goes,it would be better to work on in the coolest part of the day or season.
A lot of tropicals woods contain toxins to fight off insect attacks.:shock:
Cocobolo can sensitize you ,so you become allergic to working with it.
I haven't had a problem yet...touch wood...LOL.
I'd love to see what that tasmanian oak looks like.
If its like most other oaks, you'll get some cool figured grains when 1/4 sawn.
Well...I better hit the sack...been a pretty long day for me.
Have a good one.

Jan

hmm yea i should start wearing dust masks...

i will post a pic of the raw tasmanian oak, and a pic of it with clear finish...
(we used it for the benchtops in the kitchen.... would have been great guitar body wood lol)

i am re-aranging my wood shelves at the moment looking for potential body/neck woods... for the next project
i will most likely post some pics of that

and i jumped on that big bit of wood and it split
so i will get some pics of that too....
came from a railway yard if i remember corectly...

and right now im going to mix up some glue + saw dust and get it down into some of those nail holes :)

well now i am the dumbass
today i had a little "accident" :(
i put the body ontop of my triton while i was pulling an extension cord inside to plug it in, and all of a sudden i heara thump... body was laying on the floor....
made a huge dent in the top edge of the neck pocket....

so i have to try and find a way to fix that...

kicking myself for doing that...

but whats done is done

will fix it tomorrow

learnt my lesson :(

heres some pics of that tassy oak i was talking about

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01250.jpg
i need to get a pic of the bench tops

heres a pic showing that big block i was talking about... it split easily

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01255.jpg

and i found this bit on my wood racks... has some nice grain going on
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01256.jpg

that will do for now... i have to go and sook about this dent... lol

oh thanks, i wasnt expecting my first build to be perfect, or any good realy, but i'd like to give it a bash anyways, the part im realy worried about is the knec joint, but my brother is a carpenter ands so he might give me a hand. got my exam results today so i might have enough cash to make a start, if not, i shall just keep tweaking my plastic guitar (its not plastic realy, buts its a squier)

Man, that's a bummer...sorry to hear that!
You're gettin' a leg up on that relic thing.I'll say a quick prayer for ya,Andrew.
Here's another chance to get creative and smooth out the bumps as it were!

You have some nice chunks to play with there.Cool!
The tassy oak looks good.And that other thinner slab's grain literally looks like
flames.One thing about having a few chunks of wood laying around...sooner or
later you have to build someting with it.LOL

I'm finding stuff I long forgot that I had.It's almost like an easter egg hunt.LOL

Welcome to the forum Hicup..great place to cruise for ideas and expertise!

Jan

oh cheers, well i have a few quid from my exams, i might buy aother guitar before i build one, im gonna take a look, i've had my eye on an !ria copy of an ES-335(im a big fan of Clapton, and other 335 players), its realy cheap, but im not sure, any advice?

lol cheers soundhound
i used a dark wood filler...
my reasoning behind that was with the nail holes... a few got filled with glue when i first glued the planks togeter... and the glue got saw dust and dirt in it i supose thats why it turned dark brown.....
so a darker filler will continue that look :)
besides... most will be covered by pickgaurd and bridge.... (hopefully)

LOL... trust me... this guitar i will never put down once its done.... so it will have alot of bumps and bruises....



Hicup, dont write your squire off....
learn how to set it up.....
with a bit of tweaking it can turn into a decent instrument....
everything you need to read can be found via google.

335's are chunky guitars.... i dont do anything chunkier than a tele.... lol

if you want you first build to be great....
then plan it out.....
take it slow.....
nothing worse than rushing something.... you will screw it up
slow = smart

my advice would be save your cash.... play with your squire, search for guides and learn how to set it up...
the cash will come in handy when it comes to building your own.

having a brother thats a carpenter will help alot...

yea the neck joint is pretty important... you want that to be pretty good... practice on scrap :)

cheers again, i definatley not rushing this, i havent started on anything, its just a thought, i have tweaked my tele a bit, i took the studs off (behind the bolt) like Rory Gallagher (he rocks!!) and lowered the lead picup and messed about with the bridge, thats about it, lol, i was thinking of puttin in a humbucker but then i thought i might be able to fit in a P 90, that would be, erm, differnt, thanks anyways

when you say you took the studs off... what do you mean?

you know behind the bolt on the headstock theres two stainless steel studs to hold the strings down? i took it off so theres a better angle to bend open strings there. carl perkins had a lever made on his early gibsons to beng his strings behind the bolt, sort of like a vibrato arm, just at the top instead.

yea...
with teles amd strats, the headstock isnt angled, gibsons have angled headstocks (well most of them) so theres no need for string trees unless you want the extra pull over the nut.
so you need the string trees to pull those strings down,
your guitar will sound like crud without them,
and will most likely have tuning issues and issues with strings falling off the nut, etc

ive got longer machine heads, they dont fit perfect, but i put some tape in 'em so theyre pretty tight, no too many problems, erm,sometimes the strings slip, not completely off, but they'll like moke a few mm, and it goes outa turn, it only happens when i bend it realy far

put your string trees back on, and get some nice fitting tuners....
tape will cause tuning instability (i know i have done it... but i use medium/heavy strings so it not too bad)
got any pics?

back to my tele!

i went out to bunnings (hardware store) today and picked up some sanding sealer and some wipe on poly,
i wanted to use nitro, but that involves going and borrowing my grandfathers compressor and spending more money i dont have... and im lazy :mrgreen:

so i will try this stuff out on some offcuts and see how it looks :wink:

erm, i kinda lost 'em and i ordered a vintage copy of a 335, so i'm not realy worried bout them for now, anyways i have 12s on it anyways, good luck with it!

cheers

raining at the moment so not going to do anything till the weather clears up

I just can't believe how well this has gone without templates!

I'm really enjoying following your progress.

thanks man

means alot to me that people are following this thread,
well its for the benifit of others who are wanting to do simillar projects


im just sanding it now and rounding the edges a bit....
the back has some deep scratches/dings in it (not that im too worried about them.. "character marks" in my opinion)...
so i will be sanding for a few hours :P

then i might put some sanding sealer on it and hang it up for a few days...
see how we go, and how confident i feel with this sanding sealer... lol

here is a pic of the tasmanian oak with clear on it

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01257.jpg


and here is what i did today.....

lots of sanding, drilled the string through holes, i wanted the ferrules recessed so i did that....
and put some sanding sealer on it
now its hanging in the garage, and i will leae it there till next week... then sand it and see how we go.

heres some pics (ran out of daylight so some pics are taken by flood light)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01265.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01266.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC012641.jpg

and i need to clean up my workshop lol

Hey Andrew, Lookin' good so far!
I really like that Tassy oak on that dresser...looks very nice finished.I could easily see a guitar in that raw chunk you have in your shed.
Is that Tassy oak wide enough for a 1 pce.body or a 2pce. body?
In either case it would be good.:cool:

I've been cleaning up my junk so I've got some room to work in downstairs.
I'm amazed at all the odds and ends I've squirreled away.Yesterday I found a bunch of 2x4x20-26" pcs of clear spruce and cedar.
I made a bunch of canoe paddles and these were unused chunks.
I have some clear spruce for a top lamination that's 5/8" thick x 3" to edge glue and laminate to the thicker cedar.
This will be my first body...

Are you going to try some binding or any cosmetics at all?
I was thinking on my spruce/ceadar (what you guys called "Oreo"..LOL),that
I'd want to put on some binding.
That sp/ced is very easily dented, but like you say..Character marks. LOL.
Have a great day.

Jan

Hey Andrew, Lookin' good so far!
I really like that Tassy oak on that dresser...looks very nice finished.I could easily see a guitar in that raw chunk you have in your shed.
Is that Tassy oak wide enough for a 1 pce.body or a 2pce. body?
In either case it would be good.:cool:

I've been cleaning up my junk so I've got some room to work in downstairs.
I'm amazed at all the odds and ends I've squirreled away.Yesterday I found a bunch of 2x4x20-26" pcs of clear spruce and cedar.
I made a bunch of canoe paddles and these were unused chunks.
I have some clear spruce for a top lamination that's 5/8" thick x 3" to edge glue and laminate to the thicker cedar.
This will be my first body...

Are you going to try some binding or any cosmetics at all?
I was thinking on my spruce/ceadar (what you guys called "Oreo"..LOL),that
I'd want to put on some binding.
That sp/ced is very easily dented, but like you say..Character marks. LOL.
Have a great day.

Jan


thanks,
yea its looking pretty good so far :D
havnt gone to have a look at it with the sanding sealer on though....
i did it at night with minimal light so im bound to have missed somewhere lol

the tassy oak is enough for 2 bodys i reckon....
i need to check the thickness but it should be alright

mmmm cedar
lol

i havnt done any binding yet...
i will on one of my next projects.... (i want to build a guitar for drop tuneings with a set neck... and i am also wanting to build one of the tele prototype guitars... drawing up some plans now actually lol)

i remember when i first got interested in building guitars... people were cutting up plastic buckets for binding lol

"people were cutting up plastic buckets for binding...LOL"
Its funny you should mention that...I found a 40" piece of black ABS plastic
plumbing pipe with 1/4" thick walls today up my backlane today.Its about 5" diameter.I'm gonna try slicing it up on the table saw into strips and make up a jig to plane it to thickness by pulling it through manually.
I've never done any binding before..so now's the time to learn. :wink:

Are you puttin' on a high gloss or a semi gloss final sheen on your tele.
BTW...I like the recessed string ferrules.To my eye it looks more streamlined
or neater.I'm gonna try and drill a small steel block for a ferrule like one of the creative guys on this forum.(Taipan I think?Thank you anyways!)

I kinda feel like I know a bunch of the people here,but I can't remember their
names very well yet.Have a good one!

Jan

Sounds like a lot of effort when 5' of binding only cost $5 :wink:

Sounds like a lot of effort when 5' of binding only cost $5 :wink:

True enough Scubadoo..true enough.LOL
I have a leather lace cuttin' jig that would only need a simple mod to make workable.It's kind of like a mini planer with only one blade.That ABS cuts easily...so I figured I'd give it a go.

Also..I grew up in a poor household where if you wanted to do something you figuerd out a way, with what was at hand.:oops:
Besides...My $20/Hr full time job moved down to california and I'm only working part time for $8/Hr due to health reasons, on top of that.:sad:
Let's just say I don't take a lot for granted these days..$5 is $5.HeHe.

Jan

Absolutely SH, making do with whats a hand,or scrounging up what you need and making it work is way more gratifying[and sometimes necessary] If you got the money, great, go buy it. I like to be crafty with whats at hand. case in point, looking good andrewb, looking very good.

Absolutely SH, making do with whats a hand,or scrounging up what you need and making it work is way more gratifying[and sometimes necessary] If you got the money, great, go buy it. I like to be crafty with whats at hand. case in point, looking good andrewb, looking very good.

Yeah...that's the other side of that coin.Its not just simply making do.
The act of creating something out of what someone would consider nothing,
I find satisfying as well as challanging.

I also get the same satisfaction watching others "little dreams" come to life.
I'll never begrudge anyone having better circumstances than me, because I have something some of my wealthy friends miss out on.
So it's all good in the end. :cool:

Andrew is a good example of that idea and he's making it work quite well.
A little bow here to Andrew and the other creaters here at TDPRI.

Jan

True enough Scubadoo..true enough.LOL
I have a leather lace cuttin' jig that would only need a simple mod to make workable.It's kind of like a mini planer with only one blade.That ABS cuts easily...so I figured I'd give it a go.

Also..I grew up in a poor household where if you wanted to do something you figuerd out a way, with what was at hand.:oops:
Besides...My $20/Hr full time job moved down to california and I'm only working part time for $8/Hr due to health reasons, on top of that.:sad:
Let's just say I don't take a lot for granted these days..$5 is $5.HeHe.

Jan

I salute your dedication to the tele cause :cool: and I know exactly what you mean. I seem to be spending most of my time rummaging around in builder's skips looking for wood. It's just a pity people don't throw out bridges and tuners! I'd love to see how you get on with making that binding.

"people were cutting up plastic buckets for binding...LOL"
Its funny you should mention that...I found a 40" piece of black ABS plastic
plumbing pipe with 1/4" thick walls today up my backlane today.Its about 5" diameter.I'm gonna try slicing it up on the table saw into strips and make up a jig to plane it to thickness by pulling it through manually.
I've never done any binding before..so now's the time to learn.

Are you puttin' on a high gloss or a semi gloss final sheen on your tele.
BTW...I like the recessed string ferrules.To my eye it looks more streamlined
or neater.I'm gonna try and drill a small steel block for a ferrule like one of the creative guys on this forum.(Taipan I think?Thank you anyways!)

I kinda feel like I know a bunch of the people here,but I can't remember their
names very well yet.Have a good one!

Jan

lol
be careful with the tablesaw.... the plastic shavings will melt as you cut it and then stick it back together as it passes the blade :lol:

the shavings also get static and stick to everything, everywhere..... :lol:

theres a few great binding tutorials.... well not so much "tutorials",
but they are part of a few peoples builds on here....
the sparkle casters threads??? i dont remember the builders name... on the forum somewhere :mrgreen:

hmm i havnt really thought about high gloss or semi gloss or anything.....
im just itching to string it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hehehe

the recesed string ferrule idea came about because i know i would get caught up on them while playing (could rip holes in my pants lol)
and i would no doubt smash them into my other guitars as i put it onto my guitar rack....
i wrecked them a bit when i was (rushing) sanding... a few middle sections broke out....
but i will fix that.... (then they will probly get smashed against something and break by themselves anyway lol)

i saw the steel block thing....
was pretty cool, i dont remeber who posted it :roll:

True enough Scubadoo..true enough.LOL
I have a leather lace cuttin' jig that would only need a simple mod to make workable.It's kind of like a mini planer with only one blade.That ABS cuts easily...so I figured I'd give it a go.

Jan

i have a leather lace cutting jig too :)
i think i did a bevel on a strat pickgaurd i made with it lol....
mine is the type where you slot a scalpel into it, turn the little knob at the end to move the guide towards or away from the blade,
if you were to use a single edged blade in it, it would cut binding
maybe even heat the blade a little and it will glide through (thinking out loud)
:mrgreen:

thanks for the kind words teck

Yeah...that's the other side of that coin.Its not just simply making do.
The act of creating something out of what someone would consider nothing,
I find satisfying as well as challanging.

I also get the same satisfaction watching others "little dreams" come to life.
I'll never begrudge anyone having better circumstances than me, because I have something some of my wealthy friends miss out on.
So it's all good in the end. :cool:

Andrew is a good example of that idea and he's making it work quite well.
A little bow here to Andrew and the other creaters here at TDPRI.

Jan

"The act of creating something out of what someone would consider nothing I find satisfying as well as challanging."

YES!!! its a great feeling, i also get a feeling of "lucky i grabbed this before it went to waste, rotting in a rubbish dump" lol

thanks for the kind words there Jan
:oops:

oh AND, i have put the first coat of clear on......
i had a look at it earlier hanging in the workshop....
looking good!!

and, today i got a slab of maple and a slab of pine :)
enough to make 2 bodies if i wanted....

the pine will be another tele but a rough one, aged, tele prototype looking
well thats my plan lol

could use the maple as my set neck body?

who knows what i will do :)

but defenetly NO cutting while my tele is hanging up in the workshop lol

also got a few more clamps and some rasps and some sanding blocks (reminds me i need to practice my wet sanding) :)

i dont know when i will be putting some more pics up

and how many clear coats should i put on?



I REALLY WANT TO STRING IT UP AND PLAY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:mrgreen:

also got a few more clamps and some rasps and some sanding blocks (reminds me i need to practice my wet sanding) :)


I like to start on the back of any guitar so I can get the feel for it. This way if I make a ****-up (like using paper with a splinter of metal stuck in for example... :mad:), then it is on the back... a place where not many people look, and a repair will not look as bad as it would on the front, where you will see it everytime you play.

Thanks Scubadoo...I'd call it a strong sense of self reliance, though.
But not so much that I can't reach out for help when necessary.;-)

I usually will go up a lane instead of the front street and see what I can see.LOL
At the end of the month is a good time, because people are moving to a new place and will sometimes toss something useful.
Mostly particleboard,but occasionally maple,oak and mahogany.
I'll save my cash for things I can't find, or make myself.
Besides..the amount of "stuff" that gets wasted is appalling...obscene even.
Like you say about spending time to find the freebies,nothing is really free...you always have to give something for it,be it money or time.(usually both...LOL)
Depends which one you have more of,eh?

Jan

I like to start on the back of any guitar so I can get the feel for it. This way if I make a ****-up (like using paper with a splinter of metal stuck in for example... :mad:), then it is on the back... a place where not many people look, and a repair will not look as bad as it would on the front, where you will see it everytime you play.


hahahaha!!!
there would be ALOT of 4 letter words in the air if that happened to me lol.

i will start on the back, and check my sandpaper closely before starting :lol:

but as i said.... dings and sctratches are "character marks" as far as im concerned.....
lol
and as my guitar collection grows... space is becomming an issue...
so bumps and bruises are inevitable lol

:cool:

Hi Andrew..Things are a happening over there...good to hear.
I can relate big time to the anticipation thing.In your minds eye you're already "there",but of course you keep puttin' one foot in front of the other
'til ya get there physically!:twisted:

The fellow doing the binding would be Buckocaster (Sparkle King of TDPRI!).
He's also the fellow I'm taking my inspiration from for trying the binding of my tele.Nice guy from what I can see..and a good teacher to boot!

"Lucky I grabbed it before..."LOL. Ain't that the truth.Snooze...you lose!

I think the maple neck through guitar would be a cool project to do.
A full build it yourself,would be an excellent challenge to take on and a little higher on the satisfaction scale.
I'm lookin' at the necessary tools for fretting right now to see what I have to save moneywise.

Hey Jason..starting out on the backside is good.LOL I asked a friend once about drywall/wallboard and he told me.." Start in a closet til you get the hang of it...no one will ever see it."LOL

Talk to you gentlemen later, got an appiontment with my Doc.
Have a great day.

Jan :smile:

lol i cant wait much longer!!!
i need to play lol, i have been playing way too much acoustic and not near enough electric these days...

ahhh yes Buckocaster!!
i read through all his posts when i first found this place :)


looks like i am gonna have to get some fretting gear too!
maybe i can work out a trade with someone
hmmmm

time to start cleaning up my workshop tomorrow, and rearanging tools and getting started making some jigs and things ....
and i got me some perspex, see if i can make some templates one of these days :)

I usually will go up a lane instead of the front street and see what I can see.LOL

I thought it was only me that did that. :lol:

Over the last couple of years I've managed to find/scrounge enough firewood to keep the woodburners going for free. I feel very smug when I have my showers with 'free' hot water!

and how many clear coats should i put on?
I REALLY WANT TO STRING IT UP AND PLAY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


When i asked that question I was told 3 coats per day for three days, with one coat being a case of going over the body 3 times with overlapping passes. It took me a while to get it into my head what that meant. People say about 2-3 cans but it seems to take me at least 4, maybe 5, which is not cheap.

I was so tempted to wetsand early on my first but I'm glad I didn't, on the second and third I think It'll be easier to be more patient.

Here's a link to a Buckocaster51 post about binding http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/57096-buttercaster-project-3.html it starts at post #97 and I really recommend making a scraper like Ron Kirn uses in this thread http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/122143-ron-kirn-tele-started.html

here's a picture of the scraper http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n102/Ronkirn/DSC_0003-29.jpg, Bucko seems to do it freehand but I found it easier to use the scraper. I did binding on my second and third which are in progress and I really enjoyed it, it's so satisfying.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n102/Ronkirn/DSC_0001-28.jpg

Looking forward to seeing the finished product. How are you with soldering? I was really nervous about that but it went well, although I have no understanding of why one thing is connected to another. I just blindly followed a diagram.

Cheers
Dave

I thought it was only me that did that. :lol:

Over the last couple of years I've managed to find/scrounge enough firewood to keep the woodburners going for free. I feel very smug when I have my showers with 'free' hot water!

That's cool!

I give all the unuseable wood leftovers to my brother-inlaw to burn in his firepit in the backyard.Sit and relax in front of the fire with a good brew and
enjoy some good conversation.Jeeze...how can you lose?!

Jan

time to start cleaning up my workshop tomorrow, and rearanging tools and getting started making some jigs and things ....
and i got me some perspex, see if i can make some templates one of these days :)

That's why I said earlier that you'd be playing your tele long before me.
I've been moving wood from one place to another for a while and gradually gettin' it organised.But...it is happening.:oops:

I also came across 2 pieces of 1/4" acrylic plastic 15 1/2"x18" for templates.
I snagged 'em at work on their way to the garbage bin, a couple of years ago.
It's funny, but at the time I had no particular use for them,but I knew I'd find
a job for them sooner or later. Well...it's now later!!

Jan

i didnt think cleaning/organising my workshop would be so difficult!!!!!

i spent all day sorting things out into diferent buckets/boxes/trays

so i could then make up some shelves and things so i can hang all my tools within reach...

i am not even close to finishing sorting out the tools!

LOL

any ideas for shelves? storage? hanging things? lol

and i put another coat on my tele today

its looking GREAT :grin:

im very happy

this wipe on poly is pretty good stuff!

:cool:

LoL...yeah,this organizing is a real time suck but it needs to be done.
One of the effects of my illness is chronic fatigue and is a bugger to deal with.It's kept me back this last couple of years,so the junk has been piling up.
All this guitar stuff is a big boost to my spirits.My body still protests,but I just push back a little.Well...enough of that stuff.:neutral:

That wipe-on poly is good stuff.I'm using tung oil with top coats of a liquid wax containing carnuba wax.You can get a nice low sheen thats easy to touch up and repair.And...no spray booth needed.:smile:

One of the cool things about finishing wood, is watching the grain pop and come alive,eh?(Also, that much closer to being finished...LOL)

Storage?That's half the problem at my place.You just gotta fit it in where you can find/make the room.Overhead is great for the long stuff and the other thing is the "dead spots"here and there.Fill 'em in with drawers or small
shelves.You'll see what fits your personal space and needs.
Have a great day man!
Jan

yea the organising needs to be done....
i have been putting it off for a year now.. and all i have left of my workshop is a small passage between my benches and the triton tables and some motorbikes and whatever else is piled up in there... lol

sorry to hear about your illness....
my body also protests... lol
i have scolliosis in my back and neck

im liking the wipe on poly (for now) lol
i will do another coat or 2 tomorrow

and yes the grain on the back is comming out nicely :D
the front is going a deep red colour, looks very nice

i went across the road today to talk to my neighbour and get him to come over and have a look at the tele body....
he didnt know what the top wood is either!
lol
but he did offer me that church (pew?) long seat.... its about 4 metres long i reckon...
could get a few bodys out of it :)

hmmmm i will put some plywood up along the battens in the roof of the workshop and store some of the crap up there....
but if i am going to connect the lights back up i dont really want to have too much stuff up there...
might make some drawers...
and some shelves....
some shelves with holes drilled in them for screwdrivers/chisels/etc....
i knew these offcuts from the deck would come in handy :mrgreen:

oh crap!

i forgot about the electrics! LOL

i may solder up the control plate tomorrow :mrgreen:

need to drill a hole for the ground wire too dammit
lol

Yeah..I forgot that you had mentioned that scolliosis earlier.Does your body protest with general aches and pains or something sharper?
I try not to dwell on it,but it's hard to ignore it when your hurtin'.Ah well...

I laughed out loud when you mentioned "a passage between my benches,"...
You'd feel at home in my basement shop.I had to leave my wife a path to the laundry room.:twisted:
Actually, its slowly gettin' better...at least my wife thinks so.

Church pews are a good source of wood.Here its usually white and red oak.
Ya got a good scoop there.
A friend of mine out in the country,bought a whole bunch of pews for very cheap from an old church being converted into condos.
So much wood, So little time...LOL

Speaking of work...I better get at it for a while.Talk with you later,Andrew.

Jan

hmm well i have had the scolliosis for as long as i remember lol,
pretty much all the males in my familly had bad backs,
you get used to it over a while, but after a days work if you dont be careful of what your doing/lifting/working on/etc,
you get some meanr pains down your back

i have a few pinched nerves/slipped disks too, that makes it worse, Shooting pains! lol
but as i said, you get used to it

i used to go to the chiropractor for "adjustments" lol
but 60bux for laying on a table being poked and cracked for 5 minutes..... hurts the pocket, didnt make any difference as far as i could tell anyway



anyways, back to the topic lol

heres some teaser pics

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01281.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01284.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01285.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01288.jpg

hehehehehe

Its looking good, man!
I'm really lookin' forward to the grand finale.:cool:

Jan

Looking good. Can't wait to see the guitar finished.

well i have the control plate wired up and ready to drop in and connect the pickup... once the clear coats are all on :)

or maybe i will just put it all together tomorrow because i cant hold on much longer hahahaha!

put some more coats on it....
wet sanded too


its looking gooooooooooooddd :mrgreen:

still trying to sort out the workshop!! LOL

its insane in there.... but its better i get it organised and have room to move

anyways.... the tele is looking good... real good... i am proud lol
its getting shiney and nice

so heres some pics

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01289.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01290.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01292.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01293.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01295.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01296.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01297.jpg

more to come....

im lazy and itching to get this strung up... so i will only put a few more coats on and leave it to dry for a bit

buff it
leave it for a bit more
then get some of that hardware on :)

oh and you will notice the black across the back in some of the pics....
thats where the wood was sitting on the top edge of the fireplace bricks for 100years or so....
lol

i think it looks pretty awsome ... has some history i guess :)

Looks beautiful...

Can't wait to see it all finished up.

thanks man
i also cant wait to see it finished hahaha :mrgreen:

and i wired up the control plate...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01327.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01328.jpg

and i test fitted the jack cup and installed the keeper with my homemade tool hehe :)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01309.jpg

and i installed the tuners...
and smoothed out the neck....
i still wanna shape the headstock better... but at the moment im too lazy...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01323.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01324.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01326.jpg

and i started to glue up the blank for my next project... hehehe

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01299.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01302.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01303.jpg

well i did the headstock today....
again showing things can be done with minimal tools....
used some masking tape, rasp, sandpaper, sanding block.....

i love the round over edge iv seen on some older fender headstocks....
so i did my own version of it (just cause i can.... lol)

and now im thinking why not just plug the tuner holes and re-drill to fit the klusons while i have the neck rough and apart.....?


http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01339.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01340.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01341.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01346.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01347.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01348.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01349.jpg

I'm loving the build Andrew, it's great to see your ingenuity and how you make do with what you have at your disposal. It's an inspiration. I tend to convince myself that I have to go out and buy new tools all the time rather than thinking around the problems. I really hope this works out well for you!

thanks :)

you know whats funny.... i saw this rasp set (3 piece) in a 2dollar shop.... and thought why not see how they stack up to the expensive rasps i have....

needless to say they are excellent!... ;)

anyone want to help me out on the subject of finishing/buffing/polishing? :)

anyone want to help me out on the subject of finishing/buffing/polishing? :)

what do you want to know?

On my first build, i wetsanded with small pieces of 600 grit paper on a small block (works better than using a full-sized sanding block) until the whole surface is matte. Careful on the egdes, there's less lacquer there. Don't use too much water as it can get under the string holes and lift the lacquer.

Then work through the grits. I went up to 2000 as it makes the polishing easier seeing as I had to do it by hand.Wipe down inbetween grits to remove abrasive particles.

I've just bought some 3m polishing liquids; Perfect-it, Finesse it and a final hand glaze to remove swirl marks but on my first I just used one, T-Cut which is a standard car paint restorer. If you use different componds make sure you use a clean rag each time. The final thing to use is a glaze or car polish type thing to fill any remaining swirl marks.

I was blown away with how good a finish you can get by hand

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/scubadoo2/guitar%20making/DSC_9450.jpg

Apologies if you already know this all this and bear in mind that I've only done one!

I can sense how eager you are to play this :grin:

wow that finish looks great....


i havnt put many coats on mine.... so im a lil worried about what im gonna do...
dont want to go through....

progly should have done more coats... but as we all know... i cant wait to get it strung up lol....
im impatient.... :mrgreen:

i guess i will go have a look for some polishing liquids

oh and..... i have decided to plug and redrill the headstock to fit the klusons....

shall be fun :roll:

i have plugged up the tuner holes... and they have been sitting for a day and a half....
they came out pretty good....
spent hours carving the plugs with a handplane and sandpaper taped to a very large socket bolted into the drillpress..... lol
glued them in... the glue held up good... i wasnt expecting them to all to work out first go....
i shaped a length of wood to the size of the tuner holes, well a bit bigger, using one of my handplanes,
i then ran it against the sandpaper in the drillpress to rough up the edges....
put glue on and tapped it into the tuner hole, cut it off with a saw and repeat that for the rest of them....
worked really well...


(my plan b was to take them out, get the glue off and drill a small hole through the middle, glue and reinstert them and screw a screw into the hole, which would split the plug and force it hard against the inside of the tuner holes.... but i didnt need to use plan b :mrgreen: )

now i gotta try and figure out where the new holes will go...

and i gotta give the headstock its final sand...
and i guess i have to think about a decal too...

but for now im going to sleep....

will update soon

oh and, i got to go buy a buffing wheel for my grinder and some 3m polish paste stuff lol
and some more masking tape,
and maybe some decal paper if i can find any lol

Great thread and project!

thanks for the kind words JDRNoPro

what do you want to know?

On my first build, i wetsanded with small pieces of 600 grit paper on a small block (works better than using a full-sized sanding block) until the whole surface is matte. Careful on the egdes, there's less lacquer there. Don't use too much water as it can get under the string holes and lift the lacquer.

Then work through the grits. I went up to 2000 as it makes the polishing easier seeing as I had to do it by hand.Wipe down inbetween grits to remove abrasive particles.

I've just bought some 3m polishing liquids; Perfect-it, Finesse it and a final hand glaze to remove swirl marks but on my first I just used one, T-Cut which is a standard car paint restorer. If you use different componds make sure you use a clean rag each time. The final thing to use is a glaze or car polish type thing to fill any remaining swirl marks.

I was blown away with how good a finish you can get by hand

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/scubadoo2/guitar%20making/DSC_9450.jpg

Apologies if you already know this all this and bear in mind that I've only done one!

I can sense how eager you are to play this :grin:

I agree with everything scub has said... get rid of any gloss with the 600-800grit wet and dry on a small sanding block. Then work up through to 2000, not missing any out; each grade of abrasive will get rid of the larger scratches of the previous grade. Then use some sort of cutting compound.... I use Farécla but 3m or any other compound you can get hold of will do. I just use the Farécla G3 advanced liquid compound with a damp rag, then Farécla G10 swirl remover again with a damp rag and then use original turtlewax polish with a dry rag.

thanks!!!

i will do just what you said,
but im still a bit scared about it due to my finish being fairly thin (well i assume its pretty thin)

wet sand or dry?
and between each grade of abrasive do you rub it down with mineral spirits or something to remove the residue?

i have to get some 3m and abrasives
i have original turtle wax so thats all good

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01374.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01375.jpg

i polished it a lil and buffed it... a lil...
lol im too impatient....

its really really hot here at the moment.... awful weather....

anyways, i spent all day on this guitar.... drilling... altering... putting it together....

had to do some alteration to the control cavity (again) lol.... the switch is chunkier than i expected...

wired it up...

fiddled for 15 or 20 minutes trying to get that bloody jack and jack cup on there... lol

filed out the holes for the tuners... cleaned the holes up a bit....
put the tuners on and drilled and screwed....

put the neck on....
lined up everything best i could... drilled and screwed everything to the body....

i put the ferrules in.... i found an easy way to do it....
worked great....

searched around for a decent set of old strings to whack on it and check alignments/ect.......
for some reason i refuse to throw out my old strings when i change them LOL..... they get rolled up and shoved into the new strings packet and thrown into a drawer :wink:

anyways.... i got lazy of searching through hundreds of old strings so took my last new set and decided to string it up...

i love this part....
the klusons make stringing up so much more fun....
(although i do have "my" method and technique for stringing up my other guitars....)
except high E... i dont like tuning that one... lol

i spent some time adjusting the truss rod.... and the saddles... tuning.. retuning... intonating best i can... retuning some more...
plugged it in and was amazed.... till i got to the 12th fret a, d and g strings....
strings bottom out.. on closer inspection i can see gaps where the frets should be hard against the fretboard....
i havnt really ventured much into the world of guitar necks YET......
but i am pretty sure this is no good....
and im pretty pissed off to be honest...
i will be emailing the seller and asking some questions and see what happens from there.....
but by the looks of it i am looking at another neck..
fun fun :unhappy:
not happy at all.....

hmmm what else did i do....
oh i put the string trees on too lol....
and i stole the straplocks off my other tele hahaha.....
ill have to go see if i can find a place to buy the straplock buttons seperate....

i have straplocks on all my guitars... and only use the one strap so i have a whole lot of unused straplock clip bits.....
waste of money IMO...
anyone know if they are sold seperate anywhere? they are the schaller ?ones..

hmmm anyways.... enough of me talking.... heres a whole lotta pics....

enjoy...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01389.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01390.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01392.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01393.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01403.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01408.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01409.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01410.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01411.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01416.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01417.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01418.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01419.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01422.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01423.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01424.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01425.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01426.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01437.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01434.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01433.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01442.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01446-1.jpg


i only played it through my laney for 20 or so minutes and i am already inlove with the esquire controls......

it is SO LOUD!!!!
my choice of caps and pots ect worked out great......

pots are smooth as....
knobs feels great....
switch moves nicely....
no noise AT ALL......

PERFECT.....

shame about that bloody neck....

Hi Andrew...Really gettin' on that puppy.Good for you man!
I'm half finished on my template and have the cedar/spruce glued up.
I got down to my shop floor and found a bunch of black mold growing on/in the old sawdust in all the nooks and crannies.God-awful stuff and apparently
not healthy for a body.Lots of scraping and bleaching.Ah well.

The back of your guitar looks looks like a 160 yr old pine table my buddy's parents own...cool look.You have a little more shine but the tone/colour is the same.An antique pine wax finish.I dig that mahogany look of the face too.
I'm happy for ya my friend.:grin:

What did you use for pots and caps,by the way?Any tweeking?

The other piece of Acrylic I have, I'm gonna make a template for a Les Paul Jr.I'm using some of my mahogany for the body and neck.(P90s maybe?)
I have a 9"x 36" padouk vertical grain board I'll split to make a few fretboards.

Speaking of necks ...did you sort it out with the builder yet?At least you got a good taste of your tone,eh?

I noticed you have another body coming in the wings.HeHe..:twisted:
Is that some kind of pine or white cedar?

LOL...I also save my old strings.Some are still lively and some dead.
I have a couple of books on instrument building...all kinds of string and
percussion theory. So I want try some experimental stuff with the strings.

Well I better go do some more work,so I can actually do more work on the guitar itself,LOL.Have a good one!

Jan

good to hear you got the template finished....
i have a template for a lp jr i built years ago... plywood lol
much easier bodys to shape..

i still dont know what wood the front is.....
i will probly never know lol

pots are 250k
3.3k resistor (but without opening it back up im not sure if i changed that or not)
and the caps... i got them from a guitar shop not sure what they are... i got a close to .05mdf as they had.... (apparently no one uses the .05's no more..)
the number on the ones i have is 473m i think... little orange caps

i will get the neck sorted somehow....
even if it is just a candidate for my first load of fret work :roll:

the next body will be a pine tele....
and it is one mighty crap piece of pine if i dont say so myself.. lol
my contribution to the whole "the wood makes the guitar" theory :rolleyes:

i wish i could get books here lol....
the shipping costs wreck everything...

good luck with your build.. i am expecting to see a thread soon :twisted:

oh gosh that is a nice guitar. I love the colour of the wood on the top, and the contrast with the back. Very very nice.

thanks jason :mrgreen:

Great stuff!!!

thanks man
good to see another aussie here :mrgreen:

WOW
cleaning up the shed is proving good....

i just found a BRAND NEW triton router in its box under a pile of crap lol.......

wish i found it earlier though hahaha
ohwell

hmm should i make a new thread for my next build or keep this one going....

Hey Andrew, haven't been able to check in for a while but I'm really pleased to see how well it's gone, looks great. Shame about that neck though, what's the problem with it, would levelling the frets work?. Were you planning to put on a decal?

I'd say start a new thread for the next build.

I'll be watching mate.

yea leveling out the frets will make it alot better....
after days of fiddling between string height/intonation/shims/truss rod
i have got it playing pretty damn good....
but i know it could be alot better...

it sounds so good through my amp...

i havnt played it through my fender blues delux yet... might do that tomorrow...

hmm i didnt really think much about decals...
if i could bet the stuff to do a decal locally i may do it...
but if i have to get it posted over here i wont bother...
too much hassel for something do small

hmm my next builds are a pine tele and a maple set neck..
i think i might get in trouble for posting the build prosess of the setneck in here?
hmm

well im too lazy to start a new thread.... so ill add it here....

well...
i got bored yesterday....
so i started on another project...
this one is totally from scratch and whatever i make/find laying around...

it all started when i found these pics online,
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/1948-49_fender.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/kjhk.jpg

i think jwells did the white one.... black one is a custom shop....

and i think i said this before.... but i making it out of pine just to test the "wood makes the guitar" theory :smile:

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01467.jpg
mmmm triton

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01472.jpg
mmmm mock up

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01480.jpg
body cut out

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01493.jpg
i decided to make a control plate and i beat out that old speaker jack plate to match the edge of the body...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01495.jpg
mmmm another mock up

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01497.jpg
and another

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01498.jpg
and one more

i got bored lastnight and wired up the control plate too lol

and i think if i can find a god ear p-90 cover... i may use that p-90
i dont know where it came from... i had 2 years ago now i only got one...
it says P-90 1B on the back ...
hmm i think i would have to recess the p-90 cover?
will be too high otherwise....
or i will just throw a humbucker in it... hmmmmmmm

now i gotta find the nearest place i can get this neck plan printed out to actual size and then i will make a start on that....
and i am going to make my own truss rod....
just bought a new tap and die set :biggrin:

headstock will be 3/3
havnt decided on a shape yet...
might do the snake head...
might do a snake head fused with a tele head.... hmmm

oh and i think i am going to paint this something random.... darker colour most likely...
i will lay down a few coats of primer then a thin coat of the colour so i can speed up the aging...

i really like that black custom shop one above... lol

more to come :hmmmm

Hey Andrew...So how do like the tone on the mantel wood tele build?
Looks good.

If you want to try a little experiment,you can try a homemade decal like I did for a bunch of canoe paddles I made.I made my design on some artist's tracing paper and glued it on my finished paddles using a spritz of acrylic lacquer.Then sprayed over top, to level it off half decent.Wasn't a high grade
job, but I got my mark on good enough.I just used some drawing ink for the desgin itself.Great for a handfull of decals.

I see you're doing an Esquire style tele this time round.LOL
I changed my mind on those Jackson pups and am going to use my vintage
rails with a 4-way switch to do an Esquire also.Uncanny,I must say!!

The knots on your pine worked out good.Talk to ya later sport..bedtime...

Jan:smile:

Back again with a lead to the 4-way switch wiring I'm gonna use...

www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?=415830&highlight=esquire+4-way+switch+wiring.html
Scope it out...might be up your alley.

Jan

hey Jan, hows it going?
if you go ahead and do a esquire, you will love it...
i am still amazed at the elecronics....

i might give that decal trick a go... im not sure what i want to do yet....
i like it without a decal.... but i may change my mind...

i have to go to the local printing shop to print up some full size diagrams and things...
i will have a look around for stuff hehehehe

yea i got all of thos knots out of there.....
no good... cutting through them with a jigsaw would have worked them loose anyways...

if i sanded it.. it actually has pretty decent grain....
but i want to do a solid colour on it....

so far im thinking purple with some sparkles scattered in...

OR... i could break out some of my old tattoo artisticness... haha new word!!
and do some painting on it... that way i could paint the headstock and my name on it....

hmmmmmm
we will see ...

hey Jan,

the link doesnt work....

maybe i have to be a member to view it?

haha

lookin good andrew! in my opinion you should go for the p90 but its youre choice, and i love aged guitars! have you ever tried stencils? i have recently become obsessed with stencils! i've painted my whole desk with them lol. altough the purple with specs would be realy cool......or groovey :P lol........lookin well anyways, good luck with the next build

P.S. how does a 4 way switch work on an esquire? is it something to do with having a humbucker?

Hi Andrew...Things are fine here,but going slower than I'd like.LOL

Yeah...why not do something artistic,but personal of course...has to be your
mark.On my paddles, I used a cartoonish dragon cause that's my Chinese horoscope sign.The bit of whiteness in the tracing paper disappears and leaves only the ink showing.But if you can lay down your design without the paper directly, that would be cool too.

The link is a no go?Aah *****...
Maybe try www.thegearpage.net/board...
then do a search for: esquire+4-way+switch+wiring
The actual post was by a guy with the user name VaughnC.
I have the diagram in my photos.I'll try to upload it to photobucket and post the link for that.Maybe you have to sign up for the gear page...not sure tho.

Hey hicup and Andrew here's the rundown on the 4-way setup.
1Volume only.
2Volume + Tone.
3Volume with 1/2 cocked wah tone.(.0047-.005uF cap)
4Volume with 1/4 cocked wah tone.(.015-.002uF cap)

You can scope out Arlo West here on TDPRI for a sound clip of the cocked wah tone.Seems like one of the more useful setups for an esquire.

Jan

Here goes...s311.photobucket.com/albums/kk480/soundhound6/?action=tags&current+vaughnc%20esquire%20wirng

I'll email it to you andrew and hicup,probably easier.What a PITA man!

oh, cheers, everydays a school day eh? lol

lol here we go

http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk480/soundhound6/EVmod1.jpg

i guess if you played around enough with different caps and resistors you could get some pretty crazy sounds out of these guitars....

i have been playing mine a fair bit now....
still not where i want it, need to work on the action some more..
and iv found myself hitting the switch while playing often lol
but thats life..
heavily little bastard too... lol
was playing it for a few hours and put it down and picked up me ibanez and wow... lol
ibanez felt like a feather

hey there hicup!
hmm iv done a hell of alot of stenciling over the years hehehe
i used to spray paint EVERYTHING....
and my favorite stencils to make have always been stars lol...
you walk into my house and most things have stars spraypainted on them lol
when i was 15 i got stars tattooed around my wrist...
dont know where my fasination with stars came from... just one day i decided i liked them lol

heres my bmx frame i stenciled a long time ago....
i just cut things out of clear plastic contact ... you know.. used to cover books with it...
stuck them on and sprayed over it...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/wahdgf.jpg

Hey Andrew...heavy b@stard,eh?LOL
You could try a carve through on left side of the guitar when facing the front
of your guitar.Draw an imaginary line alongside the neck to the bottom of the body and center a design in that area. A luthier friend in the US did that on a custom LP style guitar with a mahogany body.Not only lightened the load, but looks beautiful too!
Ever since I saw his,I've wanted to try it.It was carved into a scroll pattern.

You'll sort out the fine tuning bit, and get it in your zone.I think that's almost
a given til you get more builds done.I'm sure I'll do my share of putzing..LOL

The bike frame brings back memories of customizing.Yeah,I noticed your star tats in your pic of your guitar body.Figured it meant something to you.

For my 4-way set up, I'll start with Vaughn"s suggested cap values and take it from there.I'm assuming I may have to adjust to suit the pup I'm using.
(Vaughn used a Fender cust. shop Nocaster bridge pup.)
Since I saw Arlo West's vidoe sample of the cocked wah tone, I knew it was for me.I like the blues,rock, jazz-rock fusion and all kinds of music.But, that tone would be perfect for some snarly blues, as well as rock.

Well...it's 9:00 am and time to go get our groceries.Talk with you later man.
Have a great day...Jan

hmmm
i dont think i will touch it again to be honest... just need to get my hands on a bunch of saddle height adjustment screws (i like to have them flush with the top and dont like to file down the originals...)
also the back wood is very soft..
softer than i first thought....
i had a big play with it a week or so ago.... played for atleast 5 hours straight
got a fair bit of buckle rash...
not so much rash... more like denting along the grain.. really wierd but cool...
and it will be getting a fair bit of arm wear soon by the looks of it... my arm rubs heavilly as the body angles forward slightly off my body...
will be good...
i want to give to neck a big rub down with some steel wool too...
but if i can find somewhere to print out these neck plans then i will most likey throw that neck as far as i can and make my own lol... :)

hmm my star tatts....
well.. me and my best mate went and got tatts together...
so they are kind of a sign of our friendship...
i dont see him alot these days..
sucks but thats the price of growing up... lol

is the arlo west video the one with the blue custom shop esqire?
or am i thinking of a different video...
well the one im thinking about was what really got me into esquires...
went through the different settings...

might try and go out tomorrow and find a printing shop...
got to get some other bits and pieces too...
oh and some neck wood lol :P

nice, i use clear contact too, but without adhesive, i use alot of stars too, but not alot lately, i've got all differnt bands and logos and things like ché cuvara and john lennon. my latest got me in trouble in school when i painted a big rasta-coloured joe strummer on the front of my school journal, but ahhh well.........................i ran out of spray and i've done stuff with a brush in the last few days, doesent work as well though lol, sounds like youre project is aging well, good luck with it!

hahahahahaha rasta-coloured joe strummer!!!
now thats funny :P

thanks man
going out to the markets now to find some more crap lol

Ah crap and double crap! Not getting this posting stuff.My son used to laugh at me amd call me computer illiterate.I think so too.:oops:

Sounds like your breaking your telepuppy with some real relicing.:twisted:

Jan

hahahaha!
computers arent too hard to work out...
helps to have nerds around though :P

i want to try a sparkly finish on this pine tele.....

so i will

my plan....
seal the grain.... get it as smooth as i can... might spray it with some primer...
base coat of white spray paint...
coat of this plum purple stray paint,
sprinkle a layer of sparkles over it while its wet,
spray with clear,
sprinkle another layer of sparkles on it while wet....
repeat till it is covered nicely then spray a whole lot of clear coats on till its even....

we will see what happens...
ofcourse there will be wet sanding inbetween and stuff....
but yea... hmmm
i like to experiment....
also the white base is incase i decide to age it a lil....
But... im sure i will drop it a few times before its finished so it will age itself lol.... always happens...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/ANDREW_SHOULD_DIE/DSC01499.jpg

nice, very groovey lol, how wil you get the sparkles even? sounds good though, good luck with it

Do you think that'll be enough sparkles?

I Like! The plum looks perfect for an undercoat for the sparkles you have.
The colours look to be a good match.I can hardly wait to see this puppy
with the finish on it! Very cool Andrew!

They say purple is the colour of royalty and mystics.
So...are you the royal mystic...or the mystic royal? LOL

Keep on keeping on,man.:twisted:

Jan

nice, very groovey lol, how wil you get the sparkles even? sounds good though, good luck with it

dont know yet lol....
just gonna experiment.... :lol:

Do you think that'll be enough sparkles?

nope... just to do some experimenting....

dont wanna go waste a whole lot of money and have it not work hahaha :wink:

I Like! The plum looks perfect for an undercoat for the sparkles you have.
The colours look to be a good match.I can hardly wait to see this puppy
with the finish on it! Very cool Andrew!

They say purple is the colour of royalty and mystics.
So...are you the royal mystic...or the mystic royal? LOL

Keep on keeping on,man.:twisted:

Jan

lol i think of purple as a more of a hendrix, phsycodelic thing hahaha :grin:

i did a spray test with the plum purple.... its a bit darker than i wanted but it still looks good....
i like, i like alot.....

i htink i am going to have to try and print out some neck plans of multiple A4 sheets and tape them together... lol...

im having no luck finding a printing place to do it...
and i wanted the inches changed to cm/mm :sad:
oh well...

will update soon :cool: