The Hog's here!

Daniel finished with the body--it's beautiful--and sent it down Friday. I've been up the last two days at three o'clock, oiling it. Two coats on so far, the grain comes out more with each one. I keep sneaking in to stare at it. I knock on it, hanging there, and it kind of rings.

A couple times, when the oil was touch-dry, I laid it out on the table and plopped on the neck, pick guard, knobs and control plate, and bridge plate, so I can see what it's going to look like. I like its look: dark mahogany, with black everything, broken up only by the tortoise pickguard, the frets, and the brass saddles.

I still have to drill for the pickup wires. Daniel left out the middle channel, thinking I might want to go without a pickguard. Friday's payday, and I can order the special ringtwanger (Green Onions) pickups Don Mare suggested. While I'm waiting for those, I'll probably hook up the cheap Chinese ones I got from e-Bay, and see if I've wired the controls right.

This is my first tele, and I'm just about to bust, can you tell?

Sounds yummy! How 'bout pics when you're done?

Pictures, NOW!

:oops:I haven't learned how to post pictures.:oops:Step one, I understand, is to get them off my camera and onto the computer. My wife does that for me.:oops:Then that whole posting-them-on-the-web thing boggles me.:oops:You might wonder how I'm going to get my tele assembled.

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends. I'll see what I can do about pictures. Gotta throw another coat of tung oil on the tele first!

Open an account with www.photobucket.com - log in, click on "upload" and follow the steps from there; then copy the URL for the picture you want to sho (right click on the URL to copy); on the forum posting field click the "image" icon (yellow square with a mountain and the sun), and copy the image URL into the pop up window that opens - that's it!

Thanks, RomanS. I'll try it with a picture Daniel sent me earlier; I put it on PhotoBucket. Here goes:

http://s824.photobucket.com/albums/zz167/hankstank/?action=view&current=Simple1.jpg

Could someone send me a link for how and where to drill for the neck pickup, when there's no channel slot, i.e. if you were going to go without a pick guard?

I'll work on some more up-to-date pics soon.

http://s824.photobucket.com/albums/zz167/hankstank/?action=view&current=Simple1.jpg

http://s824.photobucket.com/albums/zz167/hankstank/?action=view&current=Simple2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz167/hankstank/Simple2.jpg" border="0" alt="Simple2"></a>

http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz167/hankstank/Simple1.jpg

...here you go!

Use the "Direct link" URL (from the four options on Photobucket) for picture insertion with the "Insert Image" icon on TDPRI!

Jeepers! That's magic.

PS: For drilling a channel for the neck PU wires, you use a very long drill bit, and hold it at a very shallow angle to drill from the neck PU route to the control cavity - but be careful to not drill through the back!

Another, easier option: drilling straight, parallel to the body, from the neck pocket through the neck PU route to the bridge PU route, and threading the neck PU wires through the bridge PU route to the control cavity.

Thanks for all your help, RomanS (whatever you did, that second try of mine is a different picture, can you do it to that, too?)

I like the sound of that second drilling option, or I might gouge out a channel, since I plan to use a pickguard, having already bought one and all.

I see you walk where Mozart did; that must be something.

Thanks for all your help, RomanS (whatever you did, that second try of mine is a different picture, can you do it to that, too?)

I like the sound of that second drilling option, or I might gouge out a channel, since I plan to use a pickguard, having already bought one and all.

I see you walk where Mozart did; that must be something.

I know I'm not Roman but did you mean this one?

http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz167/hankstank/Simple2.jpg

Hi, I'm thinking of assembling a partscaster and was wondering if there are any book/vids/dvd that you guys can recommend the will guide me through the process. I'm going to be using the best ie cheapest, parts I can afford as budget is a problem and skill level is low so any advice would be good. cheers guys and I'm really impressed with all the projects I've seen so far on this site

Thanks, Meekster.

RomanS, I drilled into the bridge cavity as you suggested. Slick solution, thanks. I went looking for 22- and 26 AWG wire, and copper foil yesterday, to get after the wiring. All I could find came in packages enough to do 100 teles.

So I went down to Orcoast Music and talked to George, who gave me the mahogany board in the first place. George said bring it in, he'd wire it and set it all up for 65 bucks. I think if I give him $100, he'll let me stand there and watch while he does it, and that will save me from some hard experience. We're going to reverse the control plate so the volume knob is closest to my picking hand: George likes 'em that way and it sounds good to me.

George is the man. He says it's no big deal to change pickups later, so we'll get it going with the cheap Chinese ones, and I'll order the Mare Green Onions this weekend.

Still need some black string ferrules, too, but I can topload the Wilkinson bridge if those aren't here by D-Day.

Before I take it to George, I'm trying to be patient enough to get the finish as nice as I can get it. I sanded down the face this morning (I'd been using steel wool between coats) before I put on the next coat of oil, and I think that did a lot to take away the line across the bottom, that I think came from planing.

I'm naming it "Simple" after Simple J. Malarkey, the character from Walt Kelly's Pogo, who represented Joseph P. McCarthy in the parodies of the 1950s HUAC hearings. I talked myself out of woodburning Simple's likeness across the body. Didn't want my new guitar to look like I'd plucked it out of the campfire. Maybe I'll work him into a pickguard decoration later, or something.

Och, tamale. The anticipation is driving me crazy, you can probably tell!

If using Photobucket, the easiest way to post pictures in this forum is to highlight and copy the IMG Code line below the thumbnail in Photobucket then just paste that into the typing area in your post. That all there is to it.

......http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/jwells393/NewAlbum2/PBucket.png

Quartersawn body eh? Nice! There's a good chance it'll have a lot of snap to it!

I see you walk where Mozart did; that must be something.

Didn't rub off on me, unfortunately...