Walnut Goldcaster

Hello forum. I recently found some wood working tools in my parents' basement, and decided to try a tele build. I already ordered a piece of walnut 40x50x4,5 cm which was my choice of body wood (nice dark colour), and cut myself a template on mdf material, using the Dwgs i found here.

While the wood is underway i decided to go for a gold hardware / gloss design , with modifications on the electronics. I will post pictures of my design later today ( fake composite i made in photoshop ) but thats not what im here for.

Since routing will happen first i have to make a decision. Im thinking of putting a Seymour Duncan P90 pickup in the neck position, and a regular tele bridge pup in the bridge slot. I have seen projects with both p90's and even that one 52 reissue with the mini humbucker, but will my idea work ? Will these pickups be compatible?

If i go with this idea, will there be a problem with adding miscellaneous pickups functions? (blending , boosting that kind of stuff )

Edit:
Ive calculated the cost of the raw materials and i seem to be in for a long ride...

Ive converted the prices from euro to dollar, but you get a picture.

Neck pick up p90 Gold -> 117$
Bridge Pick up Twang king -> 64$
Pickguard Material -> 24$
Vintage Tuners -> 50$
Pots (vol+tone) -> 18$
Switch 3 way -> 16$
Jack -> 4$
Screws(all) -> ~20$
Strap buttons -> 4$
Bridge (gold plated wilkinson) -> ~50$
Neckplate -> 15$
Jackplate -> 15$
Control plate gold plated -> 13$
Knobs dome gold -> 8$
Wires -> 1$
Low price replacement neck -> 60$
Finish chemicals -> 10$ (aerosol)
Strings -> 9$

Total cost = ~ 498 $

Prices are from online research averages in european stores, actual shelf prices are way higher here in Greece.. Any ideas on how to cut on my budget? Ive found some "complete" kits online for 295$ (neck excluded and pickups ******* tier ) but i dont know if i want to lose 80% quality for 200$..

This is the aformentioned CG design
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/875/telesmall.jpg

I've built several P-90 equipped Teles and I love 'em. The trick to it is not to use too hot of a P90 in the neck position, the Tele bridge pickups usually don't run as hot as most neck P-90's. Or you could also use a hotter Tele bridge pickup.

And if you're using one of the humbucker shaped P-90's you can always trade it out for a bucker if you don't like it.

I see. I guess that i wont have a hum canceling position if i do what i intend to, but who cares about hum these days..Thanks for the reply.

Yesterday i bought the walnut blank and rough cut it to the desired shape. It seems that knowing what you need and never saying what you will use it for costs significantly less.
The one piece (yes not joined planks) 40x50x4,5 cm blank cost only 10$, naturally aged wood with no imperfections and most of it is flamed. By god im lucky...

And if you go with the P90, you can swap out for a mini-humbucker. I put a mini in my recent build, the Harlequaster, with the intention of swapping out for a P90 if needed/wanted.
If it all works out, $500 is a great price to pay for a Tele.
Enjoy the ride.

Yesterday i bought the walnut blank and rough cut it to the desired shape. It seems that knowing what you need and never saying what you will use it for costs significantly less.
The one piece (yes not joined planks) 40x50x4,5 cm blank cost only 10$, naturally aged wood with no imperfections and most of it is flamed. By god im lucky...

Man would I like to find a deal like that!!!

That will be a pretty guitar when you're done. I would explore www.stewmac.com or several of the other pick-up companies for wiring options. Here's one more, link (http://www.**********************/c=WTNi1u9GkK1OLFcB5b69gIzih/category/wiring_resources_guitar_wiring_diagrams/). Good score on the wood!
BTW, hum does matter. Look at some of the other builds here for ideas on minimizing it, and welcome to the Forum!

k its time for an update on things.. I did the final trimming on the body shape (i actually did not follow the exact pattern on the side curves) . After that i sanded with 80-100-150-180-240-500 grit sandpaper. The result is smooth to say the least,but some issues did come up; After sanding i saw that the wood even though walnut, isnt very porous, and thats good, but there are small dings on both sides and sand paper seems to do nothing on them..i left the sawdust on so that theyre visible on the pics¨
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/9055/23042012279.jpg
and
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/183/23042012283.jpg

Also what has grown in my mind is that i wont follow my initial plans regarding appearance. The wood is very creamy in color and gold would look stupid on it. Ill go for a chrome set with a tortoise shell pickguard and rosewood fretboard. That will look great. I also decided to finish with tru oil (when i find some),. Not only is the finish great but also im a complete beginner in all of this, so.. any clarifications about the pore filling process are welcome.

That's a really nice looking piece of walnut.

Good luck with your build.

Finally Finished!~

After a three month course of learning, working and getting lazy i finally finished my first ever guitar build. The only thing i had done for a guitar prior to this was to restring it...

Lo and behold, 3 months of work, 300 euros in the making, about a ton of sawdust and chippings and pain , The Walnut Telecaster!

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc4/xaxm/DSCI2809.jpg
It sure slings back and forth nicely, getting a rest after being tortured with hot iron!
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc4/xaxm/DSCI2830.jpg
Of course i let it lie on my bed occasionally~
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc4/xaxm/DSCI2812.jpg
Well i cant say the finish is all that great but to hell with it. I'm actually relieved i didn't finish it perfectly because while soldering small amounts of solder were sprayed on it and it has some "zits" (can only be felt without sunlight)
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc4/xaxm/DSCI2821.jpg
At least the neck took tru-oil perfectly. No issues there. The neck / body joint might be a little ugly with the epoxy and seem off , but its really great and the guitar has nice and low action and good intonation.
One thing i have to do is spill graphite on the nut as i cut it with a steak knife and it takes some time to tune without worrying about stuck strings. (The guitar stays in tune whatsoever). The wiring i did was H/H 3 way tele switch , with on/on/on DPDT . The neck pikcup has series/split/parallel wiring, and its awesome. The bridge pickup only regular wiring and the distortion is freagin' awesome.

Im thinking of a plexiglass orange pickguard (translucent) or not at all.
Video testing will come soon (next few days).

P.S. It Weighs a damn ton . Without precision weighing i compared it to my deluxe player's strat and its somewhat double in weight... A primeval beast in its glory ...

Hector, that is a true beauty! I don't think it needs a pickguard.

Absolutely beautiful! You should be proud!! I love the walnut.

A true beauty even with the few blemishes!!!

I see. I guess that i wont have a hum canceling position if i do what i intend to, but who cares about hum these days..Thanks for the reply.

You could put a four way switch in with a p90 and a single .It sounds good , like ap90 on steroids and hum cancels from memory as it works like a humbucker .

Yes - No pickguard!
Nice job