pine esquire with applewood neck (lots of pictures!)

so i just finished my first true build and i didnt want to stop there. so i got some wood from my dads shop and i got to work. the tele i just built is a blonde and i loved the color so much that i just had to make myself a blonde esquire.
the pine im using came from my grandfather's house, he had been saving huge pieces in his livingroom so he could make benches. but that never happened so they just sat there drying(40+ years) anyway, my dad moved those pieces into our home woodshop and left them for a project. he gave me one of the pieces to use, there are still 2 more. i managed to get four 2 piece bookmatched body centers, a single piece body, and a single piece top out of that one slab of pine. i kept that one single piece body to use for my tele, the others will have all sorts of fancy tops and what not and they will be for sale.
as for my neck, my dad cut down an apple tree in our yard around 20 years ago and he sealed off a ton of beautiful wood from it. he gave me a very nice flat sawn piece to use for the neck and then a big chunk that i will use to make fingerboards.

this is gonna be a long post because ive already started the build and i just never posted any of it, so try to bear with me :)

my future neck
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7517386192_f939396cd0_c.jpg

ok, so ive never made a neck before so i made the stupid mistake of not putting this through the joiner before i did a rough cut
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7517385498_ae056c5244_c.jpg

but after a while i got a good joint and i glued the extra piece for the headstock on
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7517384790_38f8f27d28_c.jpg

the pine monster, soon to be cut to pieces
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7517387048_9902cf2f22_c.jpg

took it out to the parking lot to chop it down to size
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7517383760_4f399c34ce_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8160/7517381586_9a33b79f8f_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7517380144_6a349d1252_c.jpg

got rid of most of the nasty bits on the table saw
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/7517379126_9ebb56ecc2_c.jpg

these are the 4 that im not going to be keeping, you can see the big chunk under the template, thats the one im keeping
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/7517377880_f65411f695_c.jpg

heres a rough cut of the neck, im already in love with the wood!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/7517374724_4d3af8e82e_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8157/7517373574_8e009f0219_c.jpg

so this is the point where i should have routed the truss rod channel, but instead i made the choice to begin carving the neck :roll:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7517372604_063901dc4c_c.jpg
also i made the plywood jig that the neck is taped to using a particleboard neck shape

i used the routing table to remover as much material as i could
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7517371482_d35f64a284_c.jpg

but all the rest will be done by had with rasps, files and sandpaper
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7277/7517370388_1aac9be5d7_c.jpg

here are those other bodies i was making, they are all glued up
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7517366846_ebcab79fd2_c.jpg

the evolution of a neck
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7517365004_f582a78991_c.jpg

this thing is starting to look like a neck
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/7517362692_eaf18bbcba_c.jpg

and a shot of the back
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7120/7517361324_134a0684f0_c.jpg

and now for the hard part, the fingerboard, im getting the slots off of a rosewood board we had at the shop
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8292/7517360234_1c60c22b60_c.jpg

now to route for the truss rod
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7129/7517356898_dde3419677_c.jpg

truss rod ready to go in
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7279/7517354702_b2b6180949_c.jpg

im gonna take the top off of this
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7118/7517338878_bdd36b0e72_c.jpg

i started on the table saw and then i had to do the rest by hand
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7517337118_17345e17bc_c.jpg

it looks good to me
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8012/7517334208_000cf1ac14_c.jpg

now im gonna shape the body
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7139/7517332438_fa9cc46498_c.jpg

after the shaper
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7517330574_33490c1f40_c.jpg


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7517328382_c9a5411204_c.jpg

got it routed out
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7517327164_6e836f7d13_c.jpg

Very nice!!!

And keep any chunks of applewood for smokin' on the grill! (Unless the tree's been sprayed with pesticides...that would NOT be good!)

this part took me a very long time. i spent a few days on tdpri trying to see how other people have made fretting jigs. i finially made one that worked well

heres the jig
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7517311428_549b36936f_c.jpg

theres my board
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7255/7517310114_898275fdaa_c.jpg

doesnt look to bad to me
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7517309000_19fb05498a_c.jpg

neck and fretboard
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8004/7517307866_71f0f80123_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8141/7517306798_3a5a9ecc98_c.jpg

i put some m.o.p. on the board, i think its looking pretty good
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/7517305924_3e4a73cdf3_c.jpg

got some fret-wire, i cut out all 21 frets
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7279/7517304850_ebcf6747e7_c.jpg

i glued in a long strip of apple above the trussrod and sanded it flush to the neck
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8164/7517303934_cda9dc2079_c.jpg

and then i glued the board to the neck
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7264/7517302978_ba9d6e798b_c.jpg

and thats all for now! be back in a week

One piece body? Nice slab of wood!

Very nice!!!

And keep any chunks of applewood for smokin' on the grill! (Unless the tree's been sprayed with pesticides...that would NOT be good!)

haha yeah, well ive never seen anyone make a neck or a whole body out of applewood before so i figured if it didnt work out in the end i would at least have some nice wood for smokin meat :)

One piece body? Nice slab of wood!

hey glen, yeah its a one piece body, the other 4 are 2 piece bodies, but the one im making my tele out of is just one piece. the last tele i did was also a one piece pine body. check it out:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/325484-thinline-style-tele-trem.html

Lookin good so far!

Lookin good so far!

thanks revv23!

looking good. Have you decided what Esquire wiring you are going to use? Traditional or the Eldred wiring like my Daphne Blue won has.

Is that an Ibanez Artist AR 105 AV hanging on the wall?

looking good. Have you decided what Esquire wiring you are going to use? Traditional or the Eldred wiring like my Daphne Blue won has.

im thinking eldred, i really liked the way yours sounded

Is that an Ibanez Artist AR 105 AV hanging on the wall?

yes, i believe that it is a vintage one too

Nice work

Nice work

thanks!

i got back from the beach and i got to work.

the first thing i did was i took the clamps off of the neck and its looking pretty good
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7604199768_b5b459239d_c.jpg


next i glued in the markers on the fretboard
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7260/7604190454_d1aff46277_c.jpg


then i did a little work shaping the headstock
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7279/7604178626_dfe4ec6ea6_c.jpg


next i put a 12 inch radius on the fretboard
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7604171212_0dec81678f_c.jpg


time for side dots
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7604164838_1eb9c1ccdd_c.jpg


then i put the frets in
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7604155494_391a1c2e5e_c.jpg


i clipped the fret ends
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7255/7604147422_a3e6bd5b7e_c.jpg


i kinda messed these guys up but with a little sanding and paint it wont be a big issue
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7260/7604138016_3514083331_c.jpg


i did a round over on the body and i put a hole in the side for the input jack
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7604128420_88ed9690a9_c.jpg


and a quick mock up :)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7604120128_3f70ca679d_c.jpg

Fantastic work, keep them photos coming mate.

A very sweet build! :wink:

This is fantastic so far, what finishes are we looking at?

Fantastic work, keep them photos coming mate.

thanks man, and dont you worry, there will be many more pics :)

A very sweet build! :wink:

thanks man!

This is fantastic so far, what finishes are we looking at?

thanks! my plan for this one is to be a blonde, ive always wanted one so i figured id just do it now. although ive got 4 more of them on the way, those will be much more fancy...

Really nice build, well done so far.

Really nice build, well done so far.

thanks JC!

thanks! my plan for this one is to be a blonde, ive always wanted one so i figured id just do it now. although ive got 4 more of them on the way, those will be much more fancy...

Hope that's a blonde tint you can see the grain through? What a beauty!:lol:

Very cool. Can't wait to see the finished guitar.

Hope that's a blonde tint you can see the grain through? What a beauty!:lol:

yes sir, its gonna be a tint you can see through, im using RR fender blonde. and thanks!

Very cool. Can't wait to see the finished guitar.

thanks! i cant wait either!

First I have to say that neck is awesome, it feels like your holding a beautiful woman. The contrast in the fingerboard and the neck proper is quite stuning.

Second... did you get any paint on her? I'm really loking foward to seeing it near completion and I am one of the luckyones who gets to play it. Well, if I'm allowed. This is really coming along nice.

First I have to say that neck is awesome, it feels like your holding a beautiful woman. The contrast in the fingerboard and the neck proper is quite stuning.

Second... did you get any paint on her? I'm really loking foward to seeing it near completion and I am one of the luckyones who gets to play it. Well, if I'm allowed. This is really coming along nice.

haha thanks Roger, yeah, im pretty happy with the way the neck came out to say the least
and im glad you asked, i did happen to get some paint on her and the good news is shes a blonde :)
and of course youre gonna get to play it!

hey everyone, so its been a little while but ive been busy
once again ive left home for a week, im at the cape this time. its hard to believe im going off to school in 2 weeks, but im excited for it
anyway, im even more excited to be getting into the home stretch on this build.
last week i got my basement all set up for painting and i got to work

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7252/7711118470_6dba71472f_c.jpg

i threw up a few tarps, got some stands to hang the body and neck on and got everything else ready to go

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7711117194_ba1726bd80_c.jpg

the body and the neck, i just wiped them down with naptha, just waiting for them to dry and then we will get some nitro going

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7256/7711116570_286323c514_c.jpg

so after laying down a full can of sand and sealer i got to work on a decal for the headstock. so i got on print shop, made a logo and printed it out onto some testors decal paper. im pretty happy with the way it came out

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8292/7711115806_01939ab31f_c.jpg

and once again RR pulled through and gave me a beautiful blonde color

im gonna hit everything with some clear gloss nitro now, more pictures next week when i return

great build !
i look forward to more pix as you go along...thought the grain orienttion on both the neck and body interesting.

That's looking mighty fine.

great build !
i look forward to more pix as you go along...thought the grain orienttion on both the neck and body interesting.

thanks bellytelly!
and dont worry, there will be lots more pics to come!

That's looking mighty fine.

thanks Toriginal! i cant wait to get home and finish it

How deep did you route for the truss rod? I usually see people put the adjustment at the other end. You must have gone a little deeper to use the filler strip on top.

How deep did you route for the truss rod? I usually see people put the adjustment at the other end. You must have gone a little deeper to use the filler strip on top.

i cant remember exactly how deep it was, but at the base of the neck there was actually no filler strip. and i used a double action rod, the luthier that i work with suggested that i put it in that way, just so that it would be easier to get to. he also suggested the filler strip

Your work looks great, and good luck when you "go off to school"....


Jeff

Nice builds!

Your work looks great, and good luck when you "go off to school"....


Jeff

haha thanks Jeff! and im sure ill have fun in college

Nice builds!

thanks!

so i got home yesterday and as soon as i unpacked the car i went straight to work on the tele
the first thing i had to do was wetsand the body and the neck
i went 1000, 1500, 2000 and then i buff it my hand with some green gunk
i cant complain :)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7766777778_afb3d2dfbb_c.jpg

then the body, not as glossy as the neck as you can see but im happy with it

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7766776904_8afac739f8_c.jpg


now here is a twist. while i was researching esquire wiring i stumbled upon the "slealth esquire" and i fell in love. so here is a strat pickup that will go below the pickguard

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7766775860_5fe900818c_c.jpg

i put these bad boys in

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7766774982_1ff5a7e308_c.jpg

and here is my bridge and bridge pickup. i believe that the bridge is vintage, like and the pickup is also vintage. i actually had to take it apart to fix it, the top of the bobin was badly damaged so i sorted it out and got it back on

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7766774132_a542443e51_c.jpg

looks pretty good

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7766773358_779fc1f5f7_c.jpg

more pics to come today...

How good will that strat pup output be? Won't it be a little low?

Beautiful work!

How good will that strat pup output be? Won't it be a little low?

yeah, im not really sure hows its gonna work, the ones that fender made used texas specials and they were pretty loud, im not really sure what this pickup is. but we will know soon enough, im about to go get it wired up

Even if this one isn't the best, you'll have the guitar for a long time (hopefully) so you can always get different ones in time.

Beautiful work!

thank you!

Even if this one isn't the best, you'll have the guitar for a long time (hopefully) so you can always get different ones in time.

yeah, well i just got it wired up and right now its not looking too good for that strat pup, you cant really hear it too well. but i still need to adjust pickup height and string height so im not gonna count it as a loss just yet

This is looking fantastic!

and now for the pickguard

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7766761932_930b9db580_c.jpg

got this little guy in

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7766755686_fec268d2f6_c.jpg

it took forever to get these grommits in, they must not have been the vintage size because i had to take a lot of wood out to get them in

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/7766754800_050c677067_c.jpg

getting the tuners all lined up

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7766751108_653c238326_c.jpg

im happy with that

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7766749928_136c00bcc6_c.jpg

strap button 1

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7766772586_114a540328_c.jpg

and 2

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7766771490_3dc286795f_c.jpg

and last but not least the control plate

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7766770806_786757a74f_c.jpg

it looks like a guitar to me :)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7766769488_b69cf2bebd_c.jpg

This is looking fantastic!

thanks!!!

She's a beauty!

luvitt

You could certainly make a living building guitars. Have you plugged it in yet?

She's a beauty!

thanks glen!

luvitt

haha thanks!

You could certainly make a living building guitars. Have you plugged it in yet?

thanks! and i would love to do that, it seems like it would be so much fun!
and i kinda plugged it in, i just put on a low e to see if everything worked. although im not too happy with the neck pup, its way too quiet

I'd like to see a video of it played, especially on that stealth pickup.

thanks! and i would love to do that, it seems like it would be so much fun!
and i kinda plugged it in, i just put on a low e to see if everything worked. although im not too happy with the neck pup, its way too quiet

Yeah, I think if you mount a neck pickup like that you need one that's fairly hot and mount it as close to the top of the body as possible. However, with a thick piece of plastic between the pickup and strings and the extra distance from the strings created by the pickguard, I doubt you'll get much out of it.

That's just my opinion and I've never tried it. Others may have had a different experience.

Please post whether you can make it work. I'm interested to hear about it.


Thanks,



Greg

I'd like to see a video of it played, especially on that stealth pickup.

no worries, i should have a video up by thursday or friday,although i dont think the stealth pickup is gonna stay, i tried it out and it just doesnt have enough output to give a loud signal

Yeah, I think if you mount a neck pickup like that you need one that's fairly hot and mount it as close to the top of the body as possible. However, with a thick piece of plastic between the pickup and strings and the extra distance from the strings created by the pickguard, I doubt you'll get much out of it.

That's just my opinion and I've never tried it. Others may have had a different experience.

Please post whether you can make it work. I'm interested to hear about it.


Thanks,



Greg

hey greg, yeah, you were right, i tried it out today and the stealth pickup cant be heard unless you crank the amp, and at that point it starts buzzing and it just sounds really bad. i think im gonna lose the neck pup for right now until i can figure out how to get it to work like the actual fenders do

Really sweet build and great quality work. The applewood neck is beautiful. If the stealth pickup doesn't work out it'll still be a brilliant esquire - I wouldn't sweat it. Cheers

the neck has a nice darker shade compared to the lighter body.
I would try maybe a hotter pickup, or just have an onboard boost just for the neck pickup?
I also really like the idea of a stealth esquire, but never seen it built, so if you made it work somehow, that would be really cool to see.

I love the finish on the body. The colour and the subtle, unfilled grain both look great. The neck looks very nice too.

Wow! very very nice indeed. Love esquires.

Really sweet build and great quality work. The applewood neck is beautiful. If the stealth pickup doesn't work out it'll still be a brilliant esquire - I wouldn't sweat it. Cheers

thanks! yeah, im really happy with the way the neck came out, i cant wait to get it set up so i can see what it sounds like!

the neck has a nice darker shade compared to the lighter body.
I would try maybe a hotter pickup, or just have an onboard boost just for the neck pickup?
I also really like the idea of a stealth esquire, but never seen it built, so if you made it work somehow, that would be really cool to see.

yeah, i might try a really hot pup, but its still so far away from the string that im not sure if it will work. but a boost for the neck pup could work

I love the finish on the body. The colour and the subtle, unfilled grain both look great. The neck looks very nice too.

thank you, i kinda like the whole "closet classic" look so thats why i did that. checking would be better but the unfilled grain gives a similar look

Wow! very very nice indeed. Love esquires.

thanks!

That is a beautiful guitar. Very cool watching it all come together like that.

hey greg, yeah, you were right, i tried it out today and the stealth pickup cant be heard unless you crank the amp, and at that point it starts buzzing and it just sounds really bad. i think im gonna lose the neck pup for right now until i can figure out how to get it to work like the actual fenders do


Maybe???


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAR_yW2XCqw


I didn't watch/listen to this. I don't have speakers hooked up and am on a data account with verison which is incredibly expensive if you exceed the whopping 5GB monthy limit.

That is a beautiful guitar. Very cool watching it all come together like that.

thank you! im glad you liked it!

Maybe???


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAR_yW2XCqw


I didn't watch/listen to this. I don't have speakers hooked up and am on a data account with verison which is incredibly expensive if you exceed the whopping 5GB monthy limit.

yeah, thats actually the video that inspired me to put the pickup under the guard
and i actually just had a friend over and he plugged into my brothers marshall and the thing actually works pretty well, so i think im gonna keep it in

Thats a really sweet guitar mate, you did a grand job on it. I love esquires and LPJR's , there's just something special about 'em.

Very nice sir.

yeah, thats actually the video that inspired me to put the pickup under the guard
and i actually just had a friend over and he plugged into my brothers marshall and the thing actually works pretty well, so i think im gonna keep it in

Great! I'm glad it worked out for you.

Thats a really sweet guitar mate, you did a grand job on it. I love esquires and LPJR's , there's just something special about 'em.

thanks man! haha i know what you mean

Very nice sir.

thank you!

Great! I'm glad it worked out for you.

yeah, im really happy with it, im getting it all set up right now so stayed tuned for a vid!

HURRY UP!!!

HURRY UP!!!

haha ok ok, its done, when i get home ill take a video of my brother playing it

I wanna see you play it! XD

the other guys pretty much said it all...on the hidden pickup, a resonating wooden pickguard comes to
mind..?

the other guys pretty much said it all...on the hidden pickup, a resonating wooden pickguard comes to
mind..?

What's the pickguard have to do with the electromagnetic field that the pickups transmit?

the other guys pretty much said it all...on the hidden pickup, a resonating wooden pickguard comes to
mind..?

thanks! thats an interesting idea, ill have to try that some time.

so ive gotten a bit behind on posting pics but here are the rest of them

so ill start the setup by cleaning up the frets

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7787811064_257ff43463_c.jpg

then ill do a fret level

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7787810496_7512787e85_c.jpg

i had to pull a fret because it was all messed up

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7787810052_eec1c7d902_c.jpg

i put a new fret in and then i started on the nut

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7787809034_da4ac867ee_c.jpg

i got it all cleaned up

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7787808564_02cd6d1134_c.jpg

and after a set up its all done!!!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8281/7787808070_271b89a64b_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7787807638_d151882896_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7255/7787807082_28c82bd53e_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7787806676_83e85891ba_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7787806256_2d941a4136_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/7787805890_decbe90d1f_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7787805348_e1a4f5d8e6_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7787804862_58118c4933_c.jpg

Absolutely love that appewood neck, that is first class :wink:

Looks great man! So how did the stealth pickup work out?

That looks fantastic. Really nice work.

Absolutely love that appewood neck, that is first class :wink:

Thanks! i just wish it didnt have those knots in it... but im still happy with it :)

Looks great man! So how did the stealth pickup work out?

thanks greg!! it actually works great, ill try to get a video up later so you can hear it yourself

That looks fantastic. Really nice work.

thank you!

Lovely looking guitar there - and I really like the design of your logo - that's very clever.

Lovely looking guitar there - and I really like the design of your logo - that's very clever.

thanks! yeah, i like the way it came out

I cant wait for you to send me that guitar bro..lol
Seriously beautiful job .

I cant wait for you to send me that guitar bro..lol
Seriously beautiful job .

haha sure thing man, check your mailbox in the morning ;) thank you!

the other guys pretty much said it all...on the hidden pickup, a resonating wooden pickguard comes to
mind..?

zep, glad you took my suggestion for what it was, stating a spur of the moment thought sometimes leads to cool results...

recently cut off the nice top of a plywood guitar to keep, threw away the rest.
while sanding the plywood/bodywood backside with some openings due to construction, the damn thing clearly resonated and threw back the sanders noise...go figure

B.

zep, glad you took my suggestion for what it was, stating a spur of the moment thought sometimes leads to cool results...

recently cut off the nice top of a plywood guitar to keep, threw away the rest.
while sanding the plywood/bodywood backside with some openings due to construction, the damn thing clearly resonated and threw back the sanders noise...go figure

B.

haha wow, i cant wait to see what you do with that!