dwdantzler's Former Challenge Build

I'm in and I WILL finish on time this year. :!:

What odds are you offering? :mrgreen:

:wink:

LOL Sick 'em, DW :smile:

What odds are you offering? :mrgreen:

:wink:

:lol::lol::lol:

Good to see ya' in & good luck :grin:

Dave

What odds are you offering? :mrgreen:

:wink:

Well... I'm guessing you should make the odds since I'm in control of the project. So, what'll ya give me?

I'll get the start picture up later, but I thought I'd give some inclination as to the direction I'm heading with this...
http://i40.tinypic.com/2nvw2s4.jpg
Thinline with Sapele body, flame maple top, f-hole of some sort, natural binding, garolite guard, humbucker neck, tele bridge, wamara fretboard, flame maple neck, two-way truss rod, corian nut, probably vintage tuners. We shall see...

^^^that thing looks great!

To make it official
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-03-14_17-52-58_554.jpg

That is gonna be sweet !

Been trying to wrap up a few other projects and do some daddy to be things so I haven't spent much time on this yet. I did get the sapele and maple planed down for the body, top, and neck. That's about it so far...
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-03-14_21-47-57_868.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-03-19_18-02-40_185.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-03-19_18-03-30_430.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-03-19_18-03-09_692.jpg

I'm out of town for work this week so I have not been able to do anything on my challenge build. Just wanted to post to stay up to date. More to come next week...

Crazy times for me right now, so my progress is really slow.
Most of my time away from work has been involved in preparing for this...
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-03-21_18-14-31_447.jpg
But I did manage to get the top thicknessed and glued up...
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-03_18-34-40_484.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-06_19-09-08_564.jpg

Bacon!!!

Oh, and congrats!

Yep, I've been makin bacon... Thanks.

Congrats, man!

And, in case you're wondering, I already have my eye on that shirt for a paisley tele... She may induce bodily harm if I touch it, though.

Ummmmm....has your wife been eating too much bacon?

No...wait...she's pregnant!!!! Congrats! Is this by any chance a first or ?
Perfectly legitimate excuse for ignoring a build, btw. One of the few that actually exist.

Now, if this is your 2nd child, well that just changes everything doesn't it?
JK, of course, love the wood selection and the design. Good luck all around.

First child, emoney. Means a lot of time getting things ready for his arrival at the end of June...

Yep, I've been makin bacon... Thanks.

Yeah, at first I thought she was almost blocking the shot of that delicious bacon. Then I realized the picture was really of her.

:mrgreen:

Awesome! Congrats! You guys must be so excited.

rcole: i strategically placed her where I could get the bacon in the shot

allthesound: thanks, we are incredibly excited (and scared and excited and scared and excited and so on and so forth...)

Congrats, DW. I made the mistake of starting an archtop uke while my wife was in her third trimester; I only got to apply a finish because the li'l one had to spend a few extra days in the hospital. So, heck of a time to be starting a build...

Congratulations!! Children are a blessing.

And, in case you're wondering, I already have my eye on that shirt for a paisley tele... She may induce bodily harm if I touch it, though.

that's a terrific idea. would be a very special guitar.

congrats as well btw. :)

Most of my time away from work has been involved in preparing for this...
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-03-21_18-14-31_447.jpg


Absolutely gorgeous build! :smile:. There is nothing prettier by half than an expectant mom :wink:
If there was something I was convinced of after last years challenge, it is that this forum in general, and the Challenges in particular, are about people firstly then guitars as an added bonus. I've read about hope, sorrow, loss,joy, gain, natural disasters and the strength of human kind and the power of prayer :smile:. I've been down about the upcoming loss of my job, but find constant encouragement and joy, here in this most unlikely of places. Congratulations to you both and God bless. I hope folks don't feel this is out of place, but it is to honor the two of you, and the things of greatest importance, love and caring for one another,

Dave


vBErCVNP6rM

Wow, congratulations. I just woke up, clicked on this thread and that smile brought a tear to eye. Gonna be a good day.

Congratulations!

Congrats to you and your wife :)

Congratulations DW and Mrs. DW!

It's still fun when your 6 year old takes your favorite guitars off the wall and dings em all up trying to play them and be like you. Who needs the relic industry when a 6 year old can do the same thing to a guitar in half the time for the cost of a chocolate chip cookie!

Barncaster

Congrats!

Our number 4 is due on May 24th.
I've got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to finish in time.

Thanks, everybody. Congrats to you, too, jpbturbo.

Tiny bit of progress today....
Body blank is in clamps
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-14_13-40-19_980.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-14_13-41-23_77.jpg

Making progress! Keep going. I used to have motorcycles too, I mean, before I had kids, you know, just saying.

Yep, my Harley and Beemer are gone too. Traded for a little precocious 6 year old boy who is already smarter than me. Totally worth it. But, when he moves out in 12 years..... Great build. Anyone into Teles, family and bacon is alright by me!

Barncaster

You traded a Harley and a Beemer for a 6yo child? Wow!

Congratulations all around.... and good luck with the build

Found a few minutes to get a few things done...
Roughed out the neck blank
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-20_13-58-20_595.jpg
Routed with my newly acquired whiteside spiral bit
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-20_14-14-51_263.jpg
Trued up the body blank
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-20_16-31-19_390.jpg
And trimmed out the rough shape
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-22_22-38-35_199.jpg
Wiped out down with some mineral spirits to show the grain of the back
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-22_22-38-44_175.jpg
Hope to get the body routed out tomorrow

Got the body and top routed to shape. Gotta clear out the cavities now...
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-23_17-01-42_565.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-23_17-01-54_841.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-23_17-02-05_310.jpg

Did some hoggin of cavities, pickup routes, and f-hole on the body and top. Humbucker in the neck is going to be mounted to the pickguard so I'm making a route in the top to connect the pickup cavity and the control route. I'll come back in the next day or two and finish out the routes.
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-24_22-11-03_618.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-24_22-11-14_148.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-24_23-33-08_305.jpg

Love a Thinline, also h/b in neck. My ultimate guitar!!.Congrats to the two of you also.A great time in your lives.

Thanks tonetele.
Made some more progress. Made a template for the chambers and finished them out.
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-25_13-34-01_532.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-25_13-35-16_586.jpg
Finished out the pickup routes too
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-25_14-39-38_658.jpg
Drilled the ferrule holes
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-25_14-40-29_258.jpg
And dressed up the routes in the top
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-25_14-53-23_102.jpg

Nice work on the ferrule holes. Lots of us have problems getting those things in line. Keep it up!

Had a few minutes this evening so I grabbed my wamara and cut and planed a couple of fretboard blanks.
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-26_17-55-17_382.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-26_17-55-30_890.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-26_18-05-31_526.jpg
this is pretty wood. Incredibly dense too.
Chocolate chip tele anyone?
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-26_18-09-04_196.jpg

:lol: A chocolate chip scrap caster. I love it!

Build progress.
The most important one first...
Two months to go and all is well
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-29_14-38-59_337.jpg
Slotted the fretboard
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-27_21-50-52_82.jpg
Made a jig to cut the truss rod route.
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-29_15-16-07_739.jpg
Cut and installed truss rod
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-29_17-31-26_929.jpg
Clamped the fretboard in place
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-29_17-58-04_218.jpg
Trimmed up the sides
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-29_20-03-02_255.jpg
And top is getting glued on
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-29_22-42-43_552.jpg

Had a bit of a mishap cleaning up the headstock with the spiral bit and template. Got a little careless and suffered the tearout.
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-30_21-07-54_354.jpg
ROSS to the rescue.i had been thinking about doing this detail to the headstock anyway. I forced my own hand I guess...
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-30_21-21-37_700.jpg
1/4 inch roundover on the back and cut the neck pocket
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-30_21-35-23_726.jpg
Testing the neck fit
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-30_23-36-34_289.jpg
Pretty good
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-30_23-36-44_348.jpg
Standard depth pocket but this neck is still a litle thick. Haven't radiused the board yet but I may still have to take off a little thickness
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-30_23-37-01_654.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-30_23-37-27_409.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-30_23-38-36_272.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-30_23-40-26_872.jpg
And getting started on the garolite pickguard
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-05-01_00-23-31_382.jpg

I kinda like that headstock "design".

That top is fantastic.

Thank you, sir. all a part of the "plan" :wink:

Looking fantastic! Nice work!

got a package from GFS today with pickups and hardware. I have just about everything I need to finish the build now.

Heres the pickguard (almost)
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-05-02_17-27-11_914.jpg
Needed a position marker for the 12th fret and didnt want something big so I grabbed a broken hanger and made a small white dot
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-05-03_00-34-51_17.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-05-03_00-35-55_596.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-05-03_00-37-05_507.jpg
I will trim that and then sand the radius. Thats the only marker I'm putting on the face of the fretboard. I'll have side dots but I wanted minimal intrusion on the face.

Hmm they may need to revise the book "101 things you can do with coat hangers". You just came up with 102! Love the pick guard very cool curves.

ROSS to the rescue.i had been thinking about doing this detail to the headstock anyway. I forced my own hand I guess...
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-04-30_21-21-37_700.jpg


That's pretty neat, I had that sketched out with a sharpie on my neck template, kinda looks like a Tele crossed with an RG :cool:

Great build, dw. You're a brave soul, tackling this, plus your other "build". Lots going on at this stage of life, with the upcoming event--(s). You cannot conceive of the ways it's going to change your life--mostly for the better. Love your headstock save--that was great thinking.

Oh, yeah, rcolesooner wants to know if you have another picture of some tasty, heavenly-aroma, nourishing bacon you could post?

Like this?
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-02-05_19-48-07_557.jpg
Maybe this?
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-01-25_19-47-16_356.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-01-25_20-14-18_465.jpg
Or some other tasty treat maybe?
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2010-11-20_14-36-42_588.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2010-11-19_10-36-38_479.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2010-09-14_15-28-09_299.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2010-09-17_21-34-28_804.jpg

I got dibs on the BLT--y'all can fight over the rest of it.

Look closer, thats a bacon egg and cheese made with that bacon weave. It was tasty, too.

Absolutely wonderful! Congratulations, and the guitar is coming along very nicely. Best wishes to you and your family!

Well this is junk. Screwed up the pickup hole in the pickguard. I'll be making a new one...
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb375/dwdantzler/2012-05-04_18-52-49_625.jpg

Looks to me like that headstock "emerged". You know they say you can't keep a good
piece of art down......I think.

Now you know why Luthier's don't have mistakes, just creative "changes".

I'm not going to make it, guys. Just too much going on with work and getting ready for my son. I find myself making mistakes that I shouldn't even come close to making just because I'm trying to rush things. I'd rather slow down and finish this right so it's an intrument I can be proud of on every level.
Paul, if possible I would like to continue the thread in the regular home depot section after the contest is over.

Sorry to hear that, dw. Definitely understandable though. Looking forward to watching it finish as you get to it, though.

Look closer, thats a bacon egg and cheese made with that bacon weave. It was tasty, too.

Mmmm--that will certainly do, too.

Sorry to hear you're dropping out, but I think you made the right choice under the circumstances. Can pick up the thread in a nice, leisurely manner when things get a little more settled for you.

Best wishes to you and your growing family.

Rick

Welcome back to the Depot :lol:, I was making to many mistakes also, so here we are........lol


Dave

Hey DW,

I love the way this is turning out. When you are done it will be a fantastic guitar. Hope to see you in the challenge next year with a 10 month old happy and healthy.

Rob