Completed: Basswood & Black Walnut Tele Inlay Pickguard

Its finally done! I started to wonder if i would ever get it to this point but here it is! It weighs just 7 pounds which was my target. The body finish is waiting till spring when the weather is more finish friendly.

Its not perfect and mistakes, i made a few :) I did learn from them thankfully.

I strung up with Ernie Ball regular Slinky's and was able to set the action nice and low with no buzzing, Whew! I wired it with with a 4 way switch for more tonal possibility's. It intonated perfectly and the sustain!! OMG this thing sustains for days. :shock:

When I can get someone over here to play it I will post a video.


Thanks again to all the advise & tips you guys gave me. This wouldn't have happened without you. I'm so excited to finally have a guitar made in the good ol USA and one by my own hand. Now to learn to play it!

Its hard to imagine less than a year ago i brought my guitar to the music shop to get strings put on because I lacked the confidence to do it myself.

Here is a link to the original build thread.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/302910-my-first-build-look-mom-no-templates.html


http://brightsellers.com/tele/73.jpg
http://brightsellers.com/tele/70.jpg
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Beautiful guitar. I love the color contrast.

GREAT JOB

A job well done!

Great looking neck !

Excellent! Now learn to play! You don't want that thing getting lonely now, do you?

Be proud, sir! I think this build got a lot of folks around here thinking...

Beauty! Love the pickguard, cooler than tortoise shell.

Be proud, sir! I think this build got a lot of folks around here thinking...

I agree. Very, very innovative technique. Opens up many possibilities.

I agree. Very, very innovative technique. Opens up many possibilities.

+1..............fine job :wink:

what a totally cool first build.. with great vision to think of doing an inlay pickguard... a master stroke...the neck has a wonderful grain too... a unique guitar by any standards...

I hope you are rewarded with a fast passage into Tele playing with this baby leading you to new heights....
I'm sure you won't be able to put it down...

thanks for doing the build thread and showing us you don't need much of a workshop and expensive gear to make a great guitar.....Twang on!....

I have been watching your build thread, simply stunning result.

I love it! Great idea on the pick guard

Happy New Year Everyone! I'm humbled by all the positive comments thank you so much it really means a lot!

I got a chance to sit down with it and practice some chords yesterday Its really kinda weird im not sure how to explain the feeling i had other than switching my mindset from building it to playing it was almost surreal , it was almost as if i just bought a new guitar at a music shop and was playing it for the first time, it was like my brain wasn't making the connection that i actually built it and now im playing it, if that makes any sense.

I need to do some tweaking to the setup . when i first set it up i had no buzz anywhere now when i fret the A string between the 16th-17th fret i'm getting some buzz. and at one point i was getting the same thing playing a open G string i adjusted the saddle a bit and it went away. Im wondering if maybe the neck is slowly moving due to the string tension. Is this normal with a new build?

I need to do some tweaking to the setup . when i first set it up i had no buzz anywhere now when i fret the A string between the 16th-17th fret i'm getting some buzz. and at one point i was getting the same thing playing a open G string i adjusted the saddle a bit and it went away. Im wondering if maybe the neck is slowly moving due to the string tension. Is this normal with a new build?

I'm with you on the strange feeling of playing your own build...

As for setup... for the first few months or so of any of my builds, they feel like a work in progress. I'll play a little, tweak a little, play a little... the beauty of being responsible for everything on the instrument is that you shouldn't feel any qualms about the tweaks. Buzzing due to a fret that's a wee bit too high? No problem; grab a needle file and go to it. Tuning instability? Hit the nut slots just a tad. I'm not trained as a guitar tech, so setting up my builds is a great way to learn.

Building guitars demystifies them, for me. I've learned that it's very hard to do irreversible damage, as long as you go slowly and carefully with everything.

Yep, Picton speaks the truth.

You've put together a bunch of wood that hasn't been together before, and you've put a good deal of tension and strain on it which it hasn't had to deal with before. It will settle over time, but as he says, you'll have to spend time getting it right.

One favour you can do yourself early in the piece is to very slightly loosen the neck screws whilst you have the strings at tension. You should hear a sharp click. This is the neck settling into its optimum position. Retighten the screws when you've done this. This will eliminate one of the potential "movers" and should improve the tone and sustain of the guitar to boot.

Yep, Picton speaks the truth.

You've put together a bunch of wood that hasn't been together before, and you've put a good deal of tension and strain on it which it hasn't had to deal with before. It will settle over time, but as he says, you'll have to spend time getting it right.

One favour you can do yourself early in the piece is to very slightly loosen the neck screws whilst you have the strings at tension. You should hear a sharp click. This is the neck settling into its optimum position. Retighten the screws when you've done this. This will eliminate one of the potential "movers" and should improve the tone and sustain of the guitar to boot.

Thanks for the tip i have never heard of that before. I tried it as you suggested and did hear a couple sharp clicks. I think it did help too. I still have one fret that i have to file down a bit more and a few that need the crowned a little bit better.

I took it out and had a few musicians take it for a spin today so i could get some feedback on playability and tone, the impressions were very positive which was pretty encouraging . I was really something to hear some skilled hands on it making it sing it really sounded wonderful.

I stopped by a local luthier after that I met not to long ago to get some feedback. He is a really super nice guy and has always taken time to give me advise and today was no different he spent a couple of hours with me giving me some setup tips and talking building in general. He even gave me some wood knobs that match the pickguard and a original tele switch cap so i can model a wood one from it , too cool!

I made a switch knob out of maple burl today , it just didn't seem right not to have one.

Here is a link to how it was made if your interested.
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/306935-diy-telecaster-wood-switch-knob.html

http://brightsellers.com/tele/knob/l.jpg

...Its really kinda weird im not sure how to explain the feeling i had other than switching my mindset from building it to playing it was almost surreal...

I know the feeling. The further away I get in time from finishing my build, the more I realize that my build is actually a damn good playing and damn good sounding guitar. After a while it just becomes another guitar that you really like and are comfortable with.

In hind sight I feel foolish creating this post as a completed post when i still had the lacquer finish to do. Guess I jumped the gun in my excitement. Hope no one holds it against me .

Anyways I was going to wait until spring when the weather was warmer but even after only a few days of practicing chords and such the paint on the edges was starting to show wear. We had a few nice days a couple weeks ago so i hit it with a couple cans of Deft spray lacquer, amazingly it didnt bubble or wrinkle the spray enamel , let it sit for a couple weeks and wet sanded and polished last night. Its not perfect but its a improvement and is now protected.

http://brightsellers.com/tele/77.jpg
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Absolutely lovely,a master touch idea on the pickguard.

Great Job

Very Nice!

Absolutely lovely,a master touch idea on the pickguard.

Great Job

Very Nice!

Thanks guys!

I lost track for a bit on your build. Glad I found it again today. That built in wood pick guard turned out real nice - great compliment to the white body. That is a nice tele I really like the switch knob too. Thanks for sharing your build. Gives me great inspiration that is for sure.

Wow! how did I miss this. That pickguard is the bees knees, whatever that means. [edit: I just read your entire build thread, I didn't realize the pickguard was that thick, it's awesome and I'm admitting now - I will steal that inlaid pickguard idea :lol:]

Nice job getting that finish flat and shiny, what a great looking guitar. After I catch up on your build thread I'll go resaw some walnut and make me some pickguards.

Nice work.

I lost track for a bit on your build. Glad I found it again today. That built in wood pick guard turned out real nice - great compliment to the white body. That is a nice tele I really like the switch knob too. Thanks for sharing your build. Gives me great inspiration that is for sure.

Thanks Peter. The more I practice with this guitar the more I like the feel of the pick guard, It feels solid and sure , i guess the only disadvantage i have found with it is you cant slide a pick under it for storage :smile: .

When i first did the switch knob in burl i wasn't sure it contrasted right with the rest of it but it has grown on me. I made some knobs too but they were too much.

Wow! how did I miss this. That pickguard is the bees knees, whatever that means. [edit: I just read your entire build thread, I didn't realize the pickguard was that thick, it's awesome and I'm admitting now - I will steal that inlaid pickguard idea :lol:]

Nice job getting that finish flat and shiny, what a great looking guitar. After I catch up on your build thread I'll go resaw some walnut and make me some pickguards.

Nice work.

Thanks , Its funny almost everyone that has seen it in person always asks how i cut the pick guard that thin.

Lol Bees Knees I had always heard that term as a kid and wondered what it meant myself, Bees as you know make honey and when bees collect pollen they carry it back to the hive in little sacks on their knees . I guess it means were the good stuff is :)

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/06/26/article-1029786-01C2153F00000578-803_468x312_popup.jpg

I had my doubts about the finish i used a spray enamel for the color coat not fully realizing rattle can Deft lacquer would eat through it like a stripper and bubble it up. I did like 3 color coats and let it setup for a week or so and did some tests on scrap while i waited.

I found that if i sprayed the color and let it dry 45 mins to an hour then hit it right away with the lacquer, instead of bubbling it would re-soften the color and seemingly blend together and harden pretty quick then i did heavier coats every 30 mins. So thats the way i went i hit the body that had already dried a week with one more color coat and went to town.

I would never recommend to anyone doing it that way and i definatly wont again , but in a pinch it somehow worked.

Really looking forward to your 1 piece build.

My buddy Mark from Local Music in Willimantic, Ct was gracious enough to take some time out of his busy day and give my tele a spin. No effects just straight in to a Marshall vintage modern tube amp. Video was done on a Canon point and shoot camera, not the best audio quality but you get the idea. The action and neck profile is allot different than what he is used to but he gave it a whirl anyways, Thanks Mark!

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Great sounding guitar! You've come a long way on the journey to build a guitar and the results are stunning, you must feel a great sense of achievement.

By the way, where did your mate get his hat? I've been looking for one with the peak on the back for years :lol:

Great sounding guitar! You've come a long way on the journey to build a guitar and the results are stunning, you must feel a great sense of achievement.

By the way, where did your mate get his hat? I've been looking for one with the peak on the back for years :lol:

Thanks Martyn! I do feel proud of my first one. it exceeded my expectations to be sure. I cant wait to get going on the next. I will check with Mark and see were he got that hat :)