High School Thinline! Rimu/Kahikatea/Tawa

Kia Ora! As the title says, I am a Year 12 high school student from New Zealand, and I am building my first ever guitar :mrgreen: It's still a work in progress, so I will be catching up to where I am now before you get any real time posts. I'm building it almost totally from scratch. (No Warmoth or Allparts necks here! :lol:)

I thought first I would explain why I decided to even THINK about doing something this crazy!

In 2010 I came across many of the luthier forums on the internet. Ever since then, it has been a dream of mine to build a guitar. I took the Design Technology (NZ's version of workshop) subject last year, with the intent of getting my skills up to a level that I could actually pull this off. Last year I built a replica of my existing dining chairs, including all the legs and back which I turned on the lathe. This year, I asked my teacher if I could try build a guitar. Quite obviously he said yes :razz:

I already had Photoshop/Kisakae mock ups that I'd been working on for a while, and in about mid-late March (once all my planning was up to scratch) I started building!

Here's the mock up as it currently is now. It isn't actually correct as I am using a light fretboard wood and I'm using a standard Tele headstock shape (much to my dismay, but I'm sure a lot of you will be relieved :wink: ):

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7262/7648002476_08e0862e98_b.jpg


Here are the full specs so far:

Neck:

- 2 piece Tawa neck. Tawa is kind of NZ's equivalent of rock maple, but it has a coarser grain that is similar to mahogany.
- Tele headstock
- Stewmac Martin style truss rod. That's why it's a 2 piece :)
- 25.5" scale
- 9.5" radius
- NZ Paua dots
- 22 Medium jumbo frets
- No idea what the shape is. I tried to combine aspects of a couple of my guitars, an Epi Les Paul and Squier Strat.
- Roller string trees
- Tusq Nut
- Gotoh 6 in line tuners. Black
- Tru Oil finish

Body:

- Thinline Tele. I've only routed a cavity for the F hole, since kahikatea is quite light.
- Kahikatea body. It's English name is white pine, so technically this could be a pinecaster!
- Rimu cap. It's sap wood with a nice streak of heart through one section
- Single bridge humbucker in zebra. It's being custom wound by a NZ luthier.
- Schaller hard tail top loading roller bridge. Black.
- 1 volume no tone
- Possibly amber stain, with a Tru Oil finish


The first part of my build was practising making routing templates out of MDF, and using the table router. I won't bore you with that :)

Here's my first order from SM. The delivery times are crazy fast, only 3 days to New Zealand! Faster than sending something within the country :lol::

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7090/7230972898_a9a1766115_c.jpg

Here's the tawa for the neck/FB. That flame really came out once the neck was carved and oiled! I used a preslotted/inlayed board since I didn't feel comfortable without using a mitre box. I ran into some problems that I think were due to not deepening them well. Next time I'll invest in a SM mitrebox. You may remember my Newbie Fretting Problems thread...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7235/7230982618_46f51ae4e3_c.jpg

I copied my neck plate over to the neck blank, and after some bandsawing/routing I had this!

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5322/7230964920_cfc7c9ab0b_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7220/7230971170_a340d64dd5_c.jpg

Next up was the truss rod slot. The Martin style truss rod needed a 7/16"/11.1mm wide slot. Those aren't easy to come by in countries that know metric measurements make so much more sense :wink: I was sure that there would be some jig that could handle it, but the workshop technician (who is the resident mastermind of everything) went off and ordered an 11.1mm bit. No complaints here!

Here's me and the technician (Mr Stevens) setting up the routing jig:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7237/7230984630_b461de0ce5_c.jpg

I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the process, but this was the result! There are a few small gaps in the slot, but it was still a perfect fit.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/7230985410_70d8ae60b1_c.jpg

I then glued the rod in with an epoxy based glue, and it was cramped up overnight.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7220/7230986332_6826f255a8_c.jpg

That's all for now. I try get this up to date within a week, but right now it's my night to cook dinner and I need to get onto it! I'll try post some more in a few hours, but till then goodbye :D

I am also a senior in high school and just finished my first guitar build. Good luck!

Sorry for the bad quality picture.

Just cooked dinner! Sometimes I make the best tasting food. Tonight was one of those nights. No pictures though :roll:

So I left off after gluing the truss rod. After that I sanded a bit of the excess epoxy, then it was time to glue the fret board!

I clamped it it place first, and hammered a couple of super tiny brads in the fret slots to create a register. When I unclamped it the fretboard came away easy but it would theoretically realign perfectly. I masked the truss rod area off, then spread the Titebond. I peeled off the tape. The idea is that the clamping will press glue further into the joint, but not enough to get into the truss rod cavity.

I clamped on the fretboard using the pins as a register, and then (foolishly) removed them. When I came back the next day the fret board had slipped a few millimetres. By complete luck, it had slipped perfectly down the centre line. This just means my nut is 3-4mm closer to the headstock than normal. I doubt anyone will ever notice but me :razz:

The glue joint isn't great near the overhang, but it's good enough that it should last. I think I needed a larger bit of MDF on the fretboard face, but the brads were in the way.

Here's the clamp setup:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7230987348_be12421f38_c.jpg

I went to a salvage yard and scored some sap Rimu for $10 for 1.5m of 8x2". This was for the cap. I was told it was heart wood, but it definitely isn't. Either way, it fits great for the theme of my project.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5072/7230988016_fc750a53e6_c.jpg

For the high school assessment this has to fit under theme of "Kiwiana-ish". This guitar is fitting under the theme by using all native timber, supporting local business (getting the custom wound pu), and because of this recycled rimu cap. For those of you who don't know, I live in Christchurch where we have had 2 massive earthquakes, and thousands of aftershocks. This timber was salvaged from a building that was demolished due to EQ damage. It's like a piece of Kiwi history is now part of my guitar!

Back to building!

I trimmed most of the excess fretboard on the bandsaw and then flush trimmed it on the table router. Loving those paua dots! I was planning on plain black dots but Adrian from Ash Custom Works who did the slotting/inlaying said he uses paua shell on light coloured fretboards. Who's gonna argue with that :mrgreen:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7230988838_43f8093d13_c.jpg

Next I shaped the fretboard overhang since this is a 22 fret. I don't know (and don't care) what the official radius is, so I used my compass, and just went with what looked nice.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5279/7230989770_b6ae5a9eda_c.jpg

After the disc sander and light sanding of the corners:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7087/7230990586_236d376660_c.jpg

Up next I needed to thin down the headstock! My method wasn't the best but it worked! It's times like these I wish they sold the ROSS in NZ :rolleyes:

Mr Stevens cut most of the thickness off on the bandsaw free hand. I didn't feel I was quite skilled enough to do it well :oops:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7077/7230992534_5dc390bb5b_c.jpg

After 2 shots

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7075/7230993538_38c91ceace_c.jpg

First of all I flattened everything out a bit with a sanding block, and started working the transition. Again, I don't know/care bout the proper radius. I found a washer than had a shape that looked good, so I traced it on a scrap and made a sanding block

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7243/7230995614_dca0c1e519_c.jpg

Here it is when it was about finished

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5333/7230998634_47827c4e18_c.jpg

I used the end of a beltsander to clean on the glue line and made everything a bit straighter. I really like the truss rod access. I wasn't sure how it would come out, but it only sticks out 15mm or so. The allen key just fits it there nicely. Little spouts of good luck like this are great!

Next I drilled the tuner holes. I transferred their position from one of my clear printed templates. Having a dad that works in the sign writing industry is great! It means my logo will be professionally screen printed to :)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7099/7230999442_2e66a261ec_c.jpg

By the way, I don't recommend that clear stuff for template making. The spray adhesive doesn't bond it to MDF well enough to be able to work easily.

Anyway, I awled the positions and drilled with a brand new 10mm brad point bit on a brand new drill press. It was like a hot knife in butter :smile:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7082/7231000270_9b9a3f6443_c.jpg

Gonna carry on in a new post! Computers always like to crash when you have a heap of unsaved work and I won't wanna risk it :lol:

Nice work limoooooooo. I ran a Year 11 guitar building DT course in Australia for a few years. Every guitar made worked (to a degree!), and the kids built up a huge range of skills. It's a great project, and hopefully will be the first of many for you - the bug bites! I've subscribed to this thread and will follow progress with interest. Your work looks top notch!

Tru Oil is a good choice for a finish, but it has a natural amber tint and tends to yellow with age - my OOO has yellowed a fair bit even living in a case, so you may not need to stain it amber.

So here's where everything was at so far!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7072/7230997506_159716dd91_c.jpg

Next up was radiusing. I had a radius block from Stewmac. I built a simple jig to keep me sanding some what evenly. I still had to pay attention to what I was doing...

The fret slots were getting quite shallow so I had to cut them deeper. The school didn't have anything suitable, but luckily Mr Stevens had a nice dozuki which did the job. The slots look shallower than they were because of sanding dust.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5311/7231003864_e39d4a910a_c.jpg

Here it is after the final radiusing! The wee blemish in the wood hear the higher frets sanded out too.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5350/7231008074_56c55fb4b4_c.jpg

Now I was ready to shape the neck. It also happened to fall right on my schools open night, so I had 2.5 hours to carve! It also fairly impressed passers by. I'm sure I convinced a fair few people to come to my school :cool:

I used a (quite blunt) surform rasp to rough out each end. That took probably 3-4 hours. The one thing you can't trust your school workshop to have is sharp rasps and files :roll: I copied the 1st fret profile off my Epi Les Paul, and the 12th fret shape from my Squier Strat. I used a profile gauge to do this. It still isn't an exact copy but it helped a lot. Afterwards I shaped the rest firstly with a spokeshave (great fun! Probably the most pleasant hand tool to use unless sharp woodturning chisels count :mrgreen: ). After the spokeshave I cleaned it up with rasps/files/sanding blocks.

Picture time!

Shaping the heel end!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7104/7231015560_bea9d9b566_c.jpg

Partway through spokeshaving!

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5113/7231018244_cff7d8dd40_c.jpg

Here's the finished carve! The lighting makes it look funky, and hard to see the transitions.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7227/7155255989_c07c2eae8d_c.jpg

And now I have to go because there is a show on TV I want to watch! Much more to come!

Nice work limoooooooo. I ran a Year 11 guitar building DT course in Australia for a few years. Every guitar made worked (to a degree!), and the kids built up a huge range of skills. It's a great project, and hopefully will be the first of many for you - the bug bites! I've subscribed to this thread and will follow progress with interest. Your work looks top notch!

Tru Oil is a good choice for a finish, but it has a natural amber tint and tends to yellow with age - my OOO has yellowed a fair bit even living in a case, so you may not need to stain it amber.

Subscribed?! Thank you! Yes the bug bites... I've planned out my year 13 build!

As for top notch, well, there were some major problems soon to come :oops:

As for the TO, it made a huge difference on the tawa when it was oiled. The kahikatea for the body is rather light and I need to get around to testing the oil on it! Also, I tested the oil on rimu and it really didn't do much to it. Good to know that it ages though, so that will definitely be a consideration now!

Is the truss rod supposed to be glued in?

Is the truss rod supposed to be glued in?

The Martin style ones are glued, don't worry :wink:

Cool.. I'm a fan..... the last guitar I put together I went creme on the headstock too....:cool:

well.:wink:. it had some half sanded B&W zebra stripes on it... I had to style it up somehow...:roll:

great work.... compared to the juvenile things we made at school....:roll:

nice woods too... :smile:

Good to see! It's looking great.

Just so you know, despite the anglicised version of the name, kahikatea isn't actually a pine. We don't have native pines here. On a side note, it is also completely inert, so it can be used as a chopping board. NZ used to export butter in kahikatea boxes as it wouldn't taint the product in any way - you've probably already noticed it doesn't smell.

I love it. Built my first tele out of it too. About the most inoffensive wood you can find. No noticeable grain to speak of, and no smell to it either, and highly unlikely to cause any sort of allergic reaction.

Good to see! It's looking great.

Just so you know, despite the anglicised version of the name, kahikatea isn't actually a pine. We don't have native pines here. On a side note, it is also completely inert, so it can be used as a chopping board. NZ used to export butter in kahikatea boxes as it wouldn't taint the product in any way - you've probably already noticed it doesn't smell.

I love it. Built my first tele out of it too. About the most inoffensive wood you can find. No noticeable grain to speak of, and no smell to it either, and highly unlikely to cause any sort of allergic reaction.

Ah damn! Yeah I read about the butter boxes. It's part of my material research on why I chose kahikatea :lol: . It works great to, my teacher routed the body shape with a hand held router, with a monster bit like these (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Routing/Ball_Bearing_Router_Bits.html) but with a much larger cutting length. Completely done against bit rotation (no dangerous downhill routing) and there wasn't a hint of tear out :mrgreen:

After carving the neck, I installed the side dots. I have no clue why I did it in this order but it worked! I used the 3/32" SM dots. I didn't have an identical drill bit but got very very close.

Here's a fun wee game! It's called spot the mistake... :oops: You can also see the bad glue line.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7234/7340453724_67c6d15e12_c.jpg

I wasn't sure how to approach this. I didn't want to fill the hole because it could possible still be visible. My teacher suggested I use a white dot, which I thought was a actually a pretty cool idea! Maybe it could be a design feature all my guitars have :lol: I didn't have any white dot material so that one would wait till I made another order from SM

For some reason CA wasn't bonding to the plastic so I used epoxy glue. Here they are the next day when I sanded then flush

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7085/7340454532_036d6d86e5_c.jpg

Now I went on to gluing up my body blank! It's a 4 piece made out of kahikatea. I was planning on a 2 piece but the school already had some 100x50 lengths. I figure a 4 piece is worth it when it costs $0.00 :smile:

For anyone wondering, the teacher cleaned them up on the jointer (or buzzer as everyone calls them here)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7340455490_05f20965f9_c.jpg

Next up I decided to plane a side of that recycled rimu 8x2 to finally get a look at the grain. Nothing special really. The nail holes were meant to be a feature to add to the mojo.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7340452916_6d6ce01f71_c.jpg

The next day I cleaned up the kahikatea blank. Nothing special again

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/7340456366_b2ab6c9fbe_c.jpg



Now to the not so fun part... fretting...

I don't want to drag this out to long, so for people who want to hear the full story check it out here (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/329591-newbie-fretting-problems.html)

When I hammered the frets it didn't go to plan. They were seating nastily and the ends kept popping out. I glued the ends but it still wasn't good enough. I had to pull the frets with a soldering iron and some little nippers, which went fairly smoothly without very minimal chip out.

I refretted again, by pressing with clamps and a radius block. I also glued the ended. The end result still wasn't great, but a huge improvement and I definitely learned a lot from that experience.

Here's a pic of the final fret seating. The picture does exaggerate it, so the job is better irl.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7559565208_5bd649255a_c.jpg

Next my 2nd order from SM arrived (including white side dot material :oops: )

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7219/7155257723_eb995022fe_c.jpg

Here's the bridge. It cost the same as buying a standard Gotoh hard tail here in NZ. I'm stoked on it, nice and hefty, and great options for adjustment!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7340462160_9b33ede415_c.jpg

So... where was I... Ah. Yes. Finishing :razz:

I sanded the neck up nicely, cleaned her off, then on came the first coat of Tru Oil. I applied it in the spray booth with the dust extractor going, and wearing nitrile gloves. I thought you can never really be too safe!

And wow did that grain pop, so much more figure than I thought when that blank first arrived! The oil also had a great tinting effect as Bri-Sonic mentioned.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7559564090_ab6abebfb8_c.jpg

I went with 4 coats total. Here it is after the last coat was applied

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7261/7559558844_2d494f8514_c.jpg

Now, I think that truly is all for me today! There is still more to come. Thanks to anyone who is actually reading this, whether it be today, tomorrow, or in 3 years time. It's pretty cool thinking everything I post here is immortalised on the internet, for people to enjoy and maybe even learn something from!

5 stars? Thank you whoever that was :D

That tawa looks fantastic! Nice job!

a mate of mine built a kahikatea tele, one of the best I have played, great project

So the happenings from my last post occurred about 2 weeks ago. Not too long till you'll be getting real time updates!

After the last coat of finish had hardened it was about time for some fret work. I needed a good long straight block to level the frets. I found a beam of steel that was dead straight but about twice as long as necessary. Here was the solution to that:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7654868616_5c71919856_c.jpg

Boy were my arms sore after that :wink:

I glued some P220 onto the beam with spray adhesive, masked up the fretboard, got the marker pen and I was ready to roll!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8027/7654865890_9b0c1c4c7b_c.jpg

It was a relatively quick and painless job, the weight of the steel did most of the work for me. Then I crowned the frets with a SM crowning file. It is definitely easier than using a triangular file for a beginner, but I can see why more experienced people would prefer them.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7654862594_d15305af04_c.jpg

After that I did more shaping of the fret ends with some mini files. I'm still not totally happy and may do more work on that later. My main problem is the fretboard itself is a bit sharp. I bevelled the fret ends before finishing, but I should of taken it deeper. I guess it's too late now. This is a learning experience so I can't expect to get everything right the first time :lol:

Then I put on my tuners as a mock up. They aren't actually properly fitted yet, I'm going to wait till assembly to do all that.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7654860770_9cc72eeedc_c.jpg

That was it for the neck till I had the body ready. So surprise surprise, it was now time to direct all my attention to the body!

To route the body shape I had to use a top bearing bit. The teacher didn't feel comfortable using it on the router table so I got out the hand held router. Then he didn't feel comfortable with me using in a hand held router, so he did the work for me. Not that I mind, I rather like having all 10 of my fingers :mrgreen:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7247/7654859156_cba0e4db9d_c.jpg

He routed it all against bit rotation. But the combination of a sharp solid bit, the kahikatea's great workability, and decades of experience in cabinet making meant there wasn't a hint of tearout :wink:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/7654858270_a07365034e_c.jpg

There was some rough grain and a wee bit of burn, but nothing I can't sand out.

Next up I marked on the cavity since this in a Thinline build. I decided to not route all the usual cavities, since kahikatea is very light and I don't want this to be neck heavy if possible.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7115/7654856090_5ea7d157d6_c.jpg

I hogged it out with a forstner bit

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/7654855290_e78593c76a_c.jpg

Then I cleaned it up a bit with a chisel, before going on to routing. It was done relatively freehand, I just had a guide so I didn't route too much out

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8004/7654854382_26cf628765_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7276/7654851176_362ff2b154_c.jpg

There is still a bit more cleaning up to do there. I used a 6mm bit, simply because it was what we had on hand, plus it gave me extra control. I didn't take the route as deep as you normally would either. Simply to save every little bit of weight I could :lol:

The rimu cap had already been ripped (using a combo of the table saw and bandsaw) and glued. I dressed it down to its final thickness. I checked the over thickness with the kahikatea.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7654850512_a1d8a8ed07_c.jpg

Bloody perfect! Just enough room left for sanding

Now here's a fun wee game. I call it 'spot the glue line'. I don't even think I can win :mrgreen:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8018/7654848866_f712609af2_c.jpg

Now if only my fretboard joint was that good :oops:

Since I was almost ready to cut the f hole, I decided it would be a good idea to practice. I traced it onto the end of the rimu cap, drilled some holes, learned how to use a jigsaw, and this is what happened:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7654847984_de967a5367_c.jpg

I couldn't be much happier! Obviously there would be hand shaping necessary to finish it off, but I'm confident enough now to do the real deal. I will also need to route out behind the real f hole first, so it looks nice and thin.

And that is all my progress as of Thursday this week, so from this coming Monday onwards everything will be posted in real time :cool:

In another 2-3 months this thing will theoretically be finished, so hopefully you guys stick around till then!

Liam

Hey great stuff kiddo I'm from welly theres plenty of kiwis on here to, I remember building a flippin coffee table in woodwork would of loved the opportunity to build a gat maybe I be looking you up to build me one one day. And that Tawa is really nice neck material love it.

Hey great stuff kiddo I'm from welly theres plenty of kiwis on here to, I remember building a flippin coffee table in woodwork would of loved the opportunity to build a gat maybe I be looking you up to build me one one day. And that Tawa is really nice neck material love it.

Thanks :razz: ! Yeah I always find it amazing how many Kiwi's there are here considering our minuscule population!:

One day maybe! I'm sure I'm a quite a way away from building for other people :lol: . It's really not that much harder than building a nice coffee table. I hadn't even used half of the tools I've used in this project before!

Yeah, I love the tawa! We have some great native timber, it's a shame there isn't much of it left...

That tawa looks fantastic! Nice job!

Thanks! I love it!

a mate of mine built a kahikatea tele, one of the best I have played, great project

Cheers, yeah Adrian at Ash Custom Works spoke very highly of it so I figured I'd be an idiot not to use it!

That neck looks great, now. Just be careful with the finish as it'll be in and out of the joint a few times while you're fitting it. I tend to finish neck and body when all the work is done for that reason.

I can appreciate your teacher's apprehension - that's a beast of a router!

Looking good - enjoying this thread!

Looking great!

Ask your teacher to wear some ear and eye protection next time you photograph him for the web. Tell him Nick gives him an F for role model and an A+ for routing and hopes the OH&S folks aren't watching! :wink:

This is coming along nicely and your choice of timbers is fantastic, I'm looking forward to seeing this one finished.

Edit: this is what my hunk of rimu looked like after about 4 coats of true oil, it does darken a bit:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7014/6827583271_aaa494721d_z.jpg

Looking great!

Ask your teacher to wear some ear and eye protection next time you photograph him for the web. Tell him Nick gives him an F for role model and an A+ for routing and hopes the OH&S folks aren't watching! :wink:

Half his hearing has already gone so it's getting a bit too late :lol:

That neck looks great, now. Just be careful with the finish as it'll be in and out of the joint a few times while you're fitting it. I tend to finish neck and body when all the work is done for that reason.

I can appreciate your teacher's apprehension - that's a beast of a router!

Looking good - enjoying this thread!

Thanks! Yeah I will have to be careful. As long as any wear and tear is only around the heel I should be sweet!

This is coming along nicely and your choice of timbers is fantastic, I'm looking forward to seeing this one finished.

Edit: this is what my hunk of rimu looked like after about 4 coats of true oil, it does darken a bit:


I'm looking forward to seeing it finished too :wink: . Next year when I build a guitar for year 13 I won't have to use native timbers. But considering my results so far I think I might just use them anyway! Plus it's so much cheaper...

My back hurts just looking at that hunk of rimu! It's a nice piece of timber though! I've read your build thread a fair few times. It may even have been the one that drew me to TDPRI, and to using rimu as a tonewood! So thanks for that :mrgreen:

I'm looking forward to seeing it finished too :wink: . Next year when I build a guitar for year 13 I won't have to use native timbers. But considering my results so far I think I might just use them anyway! Plus it's so much cheaper...

My back hurts just looking at that hunk of rimu! It's a nice piece of timber though! I've read your build thread a fair few times. It may even have been the one that drew me to TDPRI, and to using rimu as a tonewood! So thanks for that :mrgreen:

Yep it's heavier than my les paul! Glad I could be an encouragement :)

I've seen kahikatea that's like paulownia - super light. Something about trees that grow in swamps being light.

http://www.shopnewzealand.co.nz/images/Kahikatea-Swamp-Forest.jpg

I don't understand why people always tru-oil their guitars. It's a fine method, but lacquer looks so much nicer!

I don't understand why people always tru-oil their guitars. It's a fine method, but lacquer looks so much nicer!

And one hell of a learning curve for a first guitar.

Tru oil is great because it's a slow process that can be monitored the entire way. It's difficult to do badly and easy to do well. With sufficient time and coats Tru oil can produce similar results to lacquer.

Besides, finishes are subjective. Personally I prefer a typical Tru oil finish over a lacquered one in most cases.

I don't understand why people always tru-oil their guitars. It's a fine method, but lacquer looks so much nicer!

And one hell of a learning curve for a first guitar.

Tru oil is great because it's a slow process that can be monitored the entire way. It's difficult to do badly and easy to do well. With sufficient time and coats Tru oil can produce similar results to lacquer.

Besides, finishes are subjective. Personally I prefer a typical Tru oil finish over a lacquered one in most cases.

Yeah, I chose Tru Oil because it's pretty much fool proof. It also dries quickly, which is handy since it's the middle of a freezing winter and I have deadlines to meet :lol:

You mentioned that the fretboard is sharp at the edge:
You can roll the edge with a screwdriver that has a round shaft.... basically you are compressing the wood and rounding it over
OR
Use a Beveling file and hit the fret ends and take it a bit further so it catches the wood itself... don't go too far, just take your time

you can even make your own beveling file of you look at the photo and lay it out

You mentioned that the fretboard is sharp at the edge:
You can roll the edge with a screwdriver that has a round shaft.... basically you are compressing the wood and rounding it over
OR
Use a Beveling file and hit the fret ends and take it a bit further so it catches the wood itself... don't go too far, just take your time

you can even make your own beveling file of you look at the photo and lay it out

I made one of those files but I didn't take the bevel into the wood far enough. Wouldn't the screwdriver thing damage my finish?

Wasn't thinking about the finish, but yes it would...
Or use a utility blade and scrape it between the frets.... go with a light touch and just round it over...
you may need to tru oil after with either method, but you will have it where you want it

And one hell of a learning curve for a first guitar.

Tru oil is great because it's a slow process that can be monitored the entire way. It's difficult to do badly and easy to do well. With sufficient time and coats Tru oil can produce similar results to lacquer.

Besides, finishes are subjective. Personally I prefer a typical Tru oil finish over a lacquered one in most cases.

I understand it's a good thing for first guitars, I was just saying, a nice lacquer can make your guitar look super professional, and hey, you have to try it at some point!

I understand it's a good thing for first guitars, I was just saying, a nice lacquer can make your guitar look super professional, and hey, you have to try it at some point!

I plan on it! Maybe next year when I still have access to the schools spray booth :mrgreen:

Looks cool so far Limoooooooo, love the black hardware and the tawa is looking beautiful. I always thought that a guitar would be a great school project and congrats for suggesting to build one.

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to build a set of salad servers in my year 10 (5th form) woodwork class at school way back in the day.... waaawaaa. I hated every second of building those silly little salad things ha ha! Building a guitar at school... awesome! Looking great!

Looks cool so far Limoooooooo, love the black hardware and the tawa is looking beautiful. I always thought that a guitar would be a great school project and congrats for suggesting to build one.

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to build a set of salad servers in my year 10 (5th form) woodwork class at school way back in the day.... waaawaaa. I hated every second of building those silly little salad things ha ha! Building a guitar at school... awesome! Looking great!

Cheers! It's the first music instrument built in the school. The closest they've gotten before was someone drawing plans for one in the graphics class :lol:

5th form is year 11 isn't it? Once you hit senior school (year 11) in NZ, you can build whatever you want within reason/budget/time frame :smile:

This is the chair I built last year... It still has no finish so it's not actually being sat on. It's made out of macrocarpa (monterey cypress). One day I'll buy some stain and poly... one day...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7660730698_33f4c6e599_c.jpg

That's a fine chair, Limoooooooo!
Just right for sitting on to play your equally fine new tele!
Thanks for this great thread.

Last year (grade 9 (the equivalent of year 10 for you)) I built an Adirondack chair and a table I designed myself. As well as a bowl on the lathe. Next year I built a picture frame then whatever I want. Can you guess what that will be? :wink: Grade 11/year 12 there is a class called guitar building, where you just build a guitar. I love my school.
http://i.imgur.com/pFCH7.jpg

Last year (grade 9 (the equivalent of year 10 for you)) I built an Adirondack chair and a table I designed myself. As well as a bowl on the lathe. Next year I built a picture frame then whatever I want. Can you guess what that will be? :wink: Grade 11/year 12 there is a class called guitar building, where you just build a guitar. I love my school.


I love your school too :shock: :lol:

Cheers! It's the first music instrument built in the school. The closest they've gotten before was someone drawing plans for one in the graphics class :lol:

5th form is year 11 isn't it? Once you hit senior school (year 11) in NZ, you can build whatever you want within reason/budget/time frame :smile:

This is the chair I built last year... It still has no finish so it's not actually being sat on. It's made out of macrocarpa (monterey cypress). One day I'll buy some stain and poly... one day...

5th form (Year 11) yes thats more accurate I'm sure, it was so long ago now for me I wouldn't have any idea ha. Great project and very nice looking chair too. I can also remember making a foot rest and a pencil holder thingee out of perspex. To round it off in 6th form (year 12), in tech drawing, we had to draw a food mixer (of our choice) and then build a model of it!!!?? You can imagine how quickly my friends and I became disillusioned with it ha... I'm so glad times have changed.. yes those were the days.

You have a great school! Good stuff!

So this is the first of my real time updates! First off, I finally remembered to get a pic of the rimu cap

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8154/7673897636_f8404ca4a2_c.jpg

There's a nice looking streak of heart wood along the top. I wasn't expecting that so it was a nice surprise! Also by luck, even though the wood is full of nail holes there are only 2 that will be on the guitar, and they should be covered by the pickguard. How much luckier could I get? Well...

I drilled holes for my F hole, then tried to rough cut it with the jigsaw like I did with my practice run. On the practice I was fighting the grain side on, so I thought the real deal would've been even easier. That wasn't the case, and the grain was chipping and peeling like so:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7673896156_6809da1cc5_c.jpg

Fixable but a bit on a PITA. I think it could have been avoided by cutting in the other direction, kinda of like the concept behind downhill routing. I'll try clean it up like that tomorrow. I tried using these mini files to take it to the line but they just weren't cutting it... literally :lol:

I finished cutting the rest cutting much much slower (and I was already taking it slow). That seemed to work alright. I starting cleaning the larger gaps with a file, but then the bell rang :roll:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7673894794_d88474d160_c.jpg

I've got a double period tomorrow, so hopefully I might be able to finish the F hole, then route it out behind to give the appearance of a thin top. It's looking like I'll be able to glue the top on by the end of the week, then next week work on the neck pocket. Wow. It doesn't seem like that much work till I'll be done? I guess I better not count my chickens before they hatch :mrgreen:

Try a blade with much more teeth - even a metal blade. That'll stop the tearouts.

Tape it as well, or maybe clamp it to some thin scrap, so you can still cut easily. The scrap will support the wood and stop it from chipping. That's assuming you use a down cut blade and clamp the wood to the bottom. Or use a scroll saw if possible. Or a small coping saw.

There's a nice looking streak of heart wood along the top. I wasn't expecting that so it was a nice surprise! Also by luck, even though the wood is full of nail holes there are only 2 that will be on the guitar, and they should be covered by the pickguard. How much luckier could I get? Well...

That heartwood streak will come up nice! I used to stress about nail holes until I made a practice guitar with recycled matai with nails all through it and they actually look really nice. In the end I wish I had more. I just filled the nail holes with resin and the blackened edges IMHO look great. They can definitely be a nice feature sometimes.

That heartwood streak will come up nice! I used to stress about nail holes until I made a practice guitar with recycled matai with nails all through it and they actually look really nice. In the end I wish I had more. I just filled the nail holes with resin and the blackened edges IMHO look great. They can definitely be a nice feature sometimes.

That was my plan originally, but hey. I'm not arguing with it! :wink:

Today I got a whole lot more done that I expected :mrgreen:

I started off by taking a bit more meat out of the f hole, then out came the sand paper and files to clean it up

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7681786022_942f415283_c.jpg

The end result wasn't perfect, but I'm happy with how it looks. Like my teacher said, it's just a bit of that handmade quality :wink:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/7681784850_e77b5840cd_c.jpg

I decided not to route behind it, I'm happy with how it is. And because the wood was chipping a lot, taking a router to it may not have been a very good idea...

So I rough cut out the body shape, then spent some time working out how I would get it aligned somewhat nicely with the rest of the body

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7681783590_c78e9595a9_c.jpg

I decided to firstly clamp it in place. Then I nailed through the existing nail holes, and into the kahikatea. The nails heads were small enough for the cap to lift off. Kinda the same idea as using small brads the create a register when gluing a fretboard. Easy!

I spread the glue on, and placed to cap back in place, threading the nails through the rimu's holes.

Then because I skipped lunch I was feeling hungry and made a sandwich:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7681782392_3cc2eeb833_c.jpg

The squeeze out seemed fairly even. I would've liked another 1 or 2 clamps to be safe, but of course I decide to do this the day everyone else happens to be gluing things... :roll: The pressure from the MDF should've helped distribute the pressure. Looking back I should have used some thick plywood as it would be stiffer, and keep the pressure even better.

Tomorrow I'll be bandsawing the excess rimu and flush trimming it on the table router. If I get all that done, I'll be able starting my neck pocket template on Thursday. Yay for progress! :razz:

Smart too! Gluing the top on "upside down" so any excess glue just pools in the corner and does not run and drip down inside the guitar where they might be seen through the f-hole.

Wait.. I just realized.. You're still in school?

Smart too! Gluing the top on "upside down" so any excess glue just pools in the corner and does not run and drip down inside the guitar where they might be seen through the f-hole.

You're on to me :wink:

Wait.. I just realized.. You're still in school?

Yup! :cool:

Wait.. I just realized.. You're still in school?

Backward seasons Down Under.

I love that you still have a shop class available. Unfortunately in the US most have gone away. It is a shame because there is a lot of basic knowledge about planning out a project that carries over to anything you do.

By the way, you have clearly planned this out well and are doing a great job. I will check back on your progress often.

Backward seasons Down Under.

I love that you still have a shop class available. Unfortunately in the US most have gone away. It is a shame because there is a lot of basic knowledge about planning out a project that carries over to anything you do.

By the way, you have clearly planned this out well and are doing a great job. I will check back on your progress often.

Planning was the most important stage to this! That's definitely the benefit of doing it at school. Since I'm marked on everything, I have to do everything well :lol:

Not sure why, but hard materials (workshop) is popular here? Maybe because we get to make cooler things :lol:

Took of the clamps today! Guess what! The MDF back board wouldn't come off. Woops :lol:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7688855614_7f46f18e0c_c.jpg

Turns out it wasn't a big deal. I wedged a couple of screwdrivers in there and levered it off. Because The MDF is much weaker, it left some stuff stuck to the kahikatea. A lot better that if it were the other way around!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7252/7688854616_a74d798364_c.jpg

Then I dropped the body by accident, scratching the back a bit. More reason to block it out :roll: :oops:

Before doing that I cut the excess rimu on the bandsaw

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7688853618_318aaacb88_c.jpg

Then I sanded the glue and scratches off the back, before taking the rimu closer on the disc sander.

I couldn't route it yet because there were some glue drips I had to get rid of first

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7688851594_1de2442492_c.jpg

I didn't get it all done, so I'll be doing more work on that tomorrow.

I also noticed some glue inside the F hole. Any idea how I could fix that?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7688852788_b3fd3ef038_c.jpg

That's all for today! Here's one last pic to leave you with :cool:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7688850738_a59bf392d8_c.jpg

That's come up really nicely, you could try scraping the glue with a narrow chisel?

That glue is water soluable so i would wedge a wet sponge in there to reconstitute the glue and whipe it out.

Overall it is still lookign good. I just noticed you have the same name as my son. :-)

Guess what I learnt in physics today? Resistors can get hot. REALLY hot.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8022/7695643544_eea3b63023_c.jpg

I knew resistors generated heat... but not that much. Thanks for warning the class, Miss :roll:

And that's not the only burning that went on today :lol: I was flush trimming the rimu, and even though I was taking extremely small, shallow passes it was still very hard to avoid burn, especially on end grain.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8155/7695644534_bfd5b19fe0_c.jpg

Where the grain allowed for downhill routing it was easier, but still unusually difficult. Even routing the much harder neck wood wasn't this frustrating.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7695642404_de2031c73f_c.jpg

The bit was wearing out too...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8006/7695641408_c4c66fd516_c.jpg

When I went to remove the bit I noticed a lot of ambient heat coming off it, so I decided to get the teacher, considering I'd already burnt myself once today :oops: . The teacher took the whole collet itself out of the table router, and removed the bit by poking the other end out with a screwdriver. He had very little clue as to why it was generating that much heat, and he was the one that set it up for me. He thought it was possibly the glue squeeze out was giving it a bit of a work out. Anyone wanna pitch in?

Glue wouldn't do that. Not that much at least. Maybe your RPMS? If you were burning the wood, that means the wood is getting hot. Metal is very good at conducting energy, so it would have taken some of that energy. I'm not sure what the wood is like to work with, so I can exactly help you with that. DO NOT PUT WATER DOWN THAT F-HOLE. THAT IS A BAD IDEA. YOU WILL SWELL!!!! I'd say getting a square or L, watever you call it there... http://christiescakes.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/36093_300.png and wrapping sandpaper around on end, then putting that in the hole and moving the top.

That bit is blunt. A good sign it's blunt is when you get feathering on the end grain like that.

That bit is blunt. A good sign it's blunt is when you get feathering on the end grain like that.

I only bought it for this project, all it's done is cut my 18mm MDF templates and the neck/fretboard stuff. Otherwise it's been in its wee container... it shouldn't be blunt already should it?

I only bought it for this project, all it's done is cut my 18mm MDF templates and the neck/fretboard stuff. Otherwise it's been in its wee container... it shouldn't be blunt already should it?

Hmmmm, was it expensive?

Does the bearing spin freely on the bit? If not, it will be generating a lot of heat, which may be reducing the effectiveness of the blade.

Hmmmm, was it expensive?

It's an Evacut bit, so it's not fantastic but it shouldn't be that bad....

Does the bearing spin freely on the bit? If not, it will be generating a lot of heat, which may be reducing the effectiveness of the blade.

I'm not sure, I'll check that out on Monday. I also notices the table itself was heating up. Not dangerously hot, but enough that it seemed unusual :confused:

The router just might be getting worked hard because of a dull bit. MDF will dull blades quickly, it has a bunch of glues and stuff in it that you don't want to expose a bit to often.

this is another one of those... I wish someone would have taught me something cool in high school threads!

This is an awesome looking build. That chair looks impeccable! Well done!

More progress!

Today I flush trimmed the rest of the rimu. The teacher turned the speed of the router right done, and it wasn't heating up anymore. It was also cutting a bit better. I got one bit of chip out, but it's fairly straight forward to glue back on.

The main problem today was that the router itself was being finicky. Firstly the bit was wobbling slightly. It turned out the locking mechanism in the motor was broken. It only took the teacher about 5 minutes to fix though. So we went on and routed a bit more... then the bit slipped out of the collet. Luckily it was still held in by a few mm, and it didn't damage my work. It had been done up tight, so we just had to put it back in and soldier on.

We got there in the end which is the main thing! I'm not really keen on using that table router anymore though :roll: As Mr Stevens said, "it's a temperamental thing. Cheap and nasty. ". Or at least that's the censored version of what he said :lol:

Pictures!

Chipout
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7259/7722239334_688a0a35fb_c.jpg

Glued it back after finishing the routing

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7722237766_56d149c309_c.jpg

Then I couldn't resist doing a mockup :mrgreen:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7121/7722236170_1a15db88f4_c.jpg

Tomorrow I'll disc sand the tear out flush, then do the neck pocket template :cool:

This is going to look nice, keep up the good work.

You should see some of the router boxes that my old school had. you turned the whole router to adjust depth, then locked it in place. Then some doofus would forget to lock it and the router would rattle out of the screwyinthing and go haywire in the box. I think thats why he made the boxes clip shut...

This is going to look nice, keep up the good work.

Thanks :grin:

You should see some of the router boxes that my old school had. you turned the whole router to adjust depth, then locked it in place. Then some doofus would forget to lock it and the router would rattle out of the screwyinthing and go haywire in the box. I think thats why he made the boxes clip shut...

In my experience, he tools in a school workshop are either crap, blunt, or a junior decided to mess with something :roll:

The tools we had were actually amazing. It was one of the best shops I've ever seen. I would have liked to have had the table saw that retracted the blade when someone touched it, like my last school had.

Today I did the rest of my repair. I took it to the disc sander, and also cleaned up come of the burn and rough grain. I had to sand the concave curves by hand. Times like these you wish you had a ROSS :lol:

It's not invisible but still pretty good. And not in an obvious area thankfully! (The bottom on the horn)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7730793448_be8efab1b8_c.jpg


Then I got started on my neck pocket template, using the usual method. I band sawed most of the muck out, then flush trimmed on the router. Because it was slightly loose I used some masking tape around the edges before routing.

I still left a bit in the corners since we don't have a matching bit, nor are the corners on the neck itself perfect anyway :roll:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7730792526_513cc097e3_c.jpg


Then I got the files and worked it down by hand. The masking tape some what stopped me from getting carried away...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7268/7730791506_f1ce097f9c_c.jpg


Here's where I left off. You can tell I went a bit off, but I'll leave that till it's done. It'll be a simple fix with some bondo. I'll probably have a few more spots that need touching up by the time I'm done anyway :lol:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7730790540_f9aa01788f_c.jpg

Handy hint for neck pocket templates: the radius of the corners is the same radius as a 1/2" diameter bit cuts, so you can just square those off if you feel like it - as long as you use a 1/2" bit.

Check out Jack's method (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/283103-**-making-neck-pocket-template-**.html) for it.

Handy hint for neck pocket templates: the radius of the corners is the same radius as a 1/2" diameter bit cuts, so you can just square those off if you feel like it - as long as you use a 1/2" bit.

The radius on my neck doesn't exactly make a perfect 1/2". Plus I don't believe the school has a 1/2" bit. So I'm not exactly sure what I'll use to route into the body. I'll figure that out later :lol:

I personally like the method where you clamp the neck to the body, then clamp boards around the neck

Did more work on the neck pocket template today!

Niiiice :cool:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7268/7737558570_595448dfe1_c.jpg

There's a gap at the front, but I'll just use some bondo. The school has run out so that'll be a job for another day.

Instead I worked on getting some centrelines going.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7139/7737557350_f002bef698_c.jpg

It was fairly straight forward, and I checked it with the neck in so it is accurate.

Then I marked the pocket location on the body. I used my transparent printout, and laid it over the body. Then I awled a few points along the mark for the front of the neck pocket. Then I just had to connect the dots with a ruler!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7737556164_3371bb6b66_c.jpg

Next I placed the routing template on the body in position, and traced it. This will just help me make sure I get the position correct when I route it.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7737555164_3c89f5ec8a_c.jpg

That was all I got done today. Hopefully the school has more bondo tomorrow, then I should be ready to route the neck pocket on Monday or Tuesday :mrgreen:

Today I finally installed the tuners on the neck properly. They ended up a bit wonky, so I'll have to fix that later.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7256/7745336098_e52dfd3faa_c.jpg

I then started work on fixing the neck pocket template. Simple :mrgreen: !

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7745334080_11784f2c5c_c.jpg

I've still gotta get the final shaping done obviously!

Now... I was always planning on doing a pickguard for this (and I bought a 3 ply blank), but recently I've been thinking a no guard might be the way to go. Thoughts? :confused:

To finish up I quickly mixed some saw dust + wood glue and filled some messy grain caused by uphill routing!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7261/7745333178_b2d65951fd_c.jpg

And that's all for the week! Hopefully by the end of next week I'll have the neck pocket routed, and the round over done as well! There's not really much work to do after that, compared to everything I've done already :mrgreen:

Hmm. What finish are you doing? A think a no guard would look sick if you did a nice tobacco burst or cherry burst. or any burst...

Hmm. What finish are you doing? A think a no guard would look sick if you did a nice tobacco burst or cherry burst. or any burst...

I'm just planning on going with Tru Oil and maybe an amber stain (which may not be necessary with the TO). I don't really wanna detract from that stripe in the top, so a burst probably wouldn't be right. If it were a more traditional top wood, then I'd be all over some kind of tobacco burst :razz:

I think if the guard doesn't cover the fingure you're wanting to show it might be smart to get one.

Check out woodshoprocks.com...it is an advanced woodshop class at Buljan Middle School in Roseville, CA. The program has spread to 8+ schools across the country.

I think the people here do fine on their own. Check out woodshoprocks.com...it is an advanced woodshop class

Check out woodshoprocks.com...it is an advanced woodshop class at Buljan Middle School in Roseville, CA. The program has spread to 8+ schools across the country.

That's fantastic. What an excellent idea.

That's fantastic. What an excellent idea.

+1. Great way to get people interested in workshop!

I feel quite lucky living in NZ. There are heaps of choices that cater for pretty much any direction you may go in :mrgreen:

And to think... my big woodshop project in high school was a walnut and maple chessboard!

I think the people here do fine on their own.

Bently,
Obviously you are having a tough time comprehending the purpose of a post about a great program for kids, some who do not even play instruments, yet one that gets them interested in guitar building, woodshop and maybe even different types of music. I was excited to see that other schools are letting kids build instruments, and yes the guitar he is building looks great...but that is why i decided to talk about woodshoprocks as Daune Calkins, the teacher and great friend of mine, has created such an amazing class. As a builder/musician it makes me really excited to see younger kids building their own instruments...so if you think i was trying to show off, say WSR is better or whatever the case may be you were misled. Sorry for the confusion.

Bently,
Obviously you are having a tough time comprehending the purpose of a post about a great program for kids, some who do not even play instruments, yet one that gets them interested in guitar building, woodshop and maybe even different types of music. I was excited to see that other schools are letting kids build instruments, and yes the guitar he is building looks great...but that is why i decided to talk about woodshoprocks as Daune Calkins, the teacher and great friend of mine, has created such an amazing class. As a builder/musician it makes me really excited to see younger kids building their own instruments...so if you think i was trying to show off, say WSR is better or whatever the case may be you were misled. Sorry for the confusion.

First of all, I'll act like I'm not bothered by the misspelling of my name. I was complementing the people here, saying they don't even need a class. Not knocking that or anything, I think it's awesome! My shool has a grade 11 course called Guitar Building, and another course called Go Kart/Mini Chopper building. I think it's awesome to allow teenagers to try building things :grin:

This forum is essentially an online class with individual help. I"d venture to guess most people with little experience in woodworking or knowledge about a guitar would be able to pull the quality work you see here if they didn't have this place as a teaching aid.

The only thing better would be a real class where you are attending in person :-).

Having been a classroom woodworking teacher for 30+ years, I can tell you that:

A. The instructors can only buy what they can afford through their budget and what they are willing to spend on their own. ( A lot in many cases and nothing in many cases)

B. Students with little knowledge and patience are hard on the tools and machines, and sometimes, unless he/she lives in the school, there isn't enough time to teach, do the maintainance they'd like, and all the other simple stuff that one has to do with that particular job. Go to meetings, prep materials, write reports, make calls, etc. They have families and want a life too as you can imagine :-).

C. The teachers don't know everything, but in many cases will try to find out what you need if you ask nicely, especially in this day and age.


Just because I can build a tele with my eyes closed (well half closed) doesn't mean I could build a Queen Anne's chest with the same ease... it's all about what you are familiar with. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.


Perhaps you could do more research here and politely help your instructor learn about the craft of instrument building and minimize the problems before they occur in the learning curve. Just about all the mistakes one could make are shown in the build threads here.

And yes we built a few guitars over the years too.

Never knew you were a teacher Guitarbuilder! I loved reading the popsicle stick Tele build, definitely one of the highlights of this years Challenge! I agree about TDPRI. I don't think I would've even dared to build a guitar if I hadn't found this place. I totally understand about point B! The teachers put in so much work for people like me to be able to do stuff like this. It's a shame that some people don't appreciate the work it takes, and go and see how many things they can break in one session :roll:

My teachers are quite fascinated by the build. One of them is a bit of a muso (plays guitar and trumpet), so he's quite excited since this is the first instrument that's been made at the school. My other teacher (who used to be a cabinet maker) knows nothing about guitar/music, but he said I've made him want to build a guitar now :lol:

Luckily (thanks to this forum) I've made minimal mistakes considering this is my first build. I'm hoping it stays that way, but I guess I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch...

I think this has gotten a bit too off topic now :wink:

Back to the build!

I forgot to take pictures today so there won't be any proper update till tomorrow. I finished up the neck pocket template and I'm happy with it. Tomorrow I'll make a test route into some scrap wood. Me and my teacher aren't sure if the router bit is the right size but hopefully it is, because then I should be able to route the real thing too :mrgreen:

If it's a tele heel, use a 1/2 diameter! Wood shop teachers are amazing, especially the ones that don't get mad when you break stuff! I've been following this build closely, can't wait to see the finished product!

Guess what I did today!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7820427424_87e976a93d_c.jpg

About time. The router bearing kept denting the template wood, and it took far too long to get in right. At least I got there in the end :roll:

Now I can finally move forward! Tomorrow I'll be mounting the neck properly. I know that I drill the holes in the body using the neck plate to find the hole locations. Then I mount the neck an clamp it in place, and mark the drilling locations.

But when I drill into the neck itself, do I used a hand drill while it's still clamped in place, or do I take it on, and then use a drill press? But because of the radius I would think that it would be easier drilling while it's still mounted on the guitar? :confused:

But once that's done, all that's left is the round over, bridge position, electronics/pup routing, making a pickguard, then finishing and wiring! Wow :shock: Maybe I could even be finished by the end of the term :mrgreen:

Alright, some progress, that is encouraging.

Mounting necks is dumb :mad:. Make sure you don't go too close to the edge of your heel. :mad:

have you considered carving the top it would put a nice touch to it with the two different woods it would blend them in .Im not talking major carving just light shaping

Mounting necks is dumb :mad:.

I think this is my favorite quote from this site.

I think this is my favorite quote from this site.

The funny thing is, it was probably the most satisfying part of the build so far :cool: I was nervous, and sweating like a pig the whole time though :lol:

have you considered carving the top it would put a nice touch to it with the two different woods it would blend them in .Im not talking major carving just light shaping

That would've been nice! I should try to keep things simple though... I've already made a neck and done an F hole. And it's only my first guitar! I have a Squier Bullet that I had customised, but the most I did was transport it between techs :roll:

I'll have another update post shortly!

Yus! More progress! I think I'm on track to have this finished by late September ~ mid October!

I mounted the neck yesterday. As I said before, it's a great feeling having that thing 'permanently' attached to the body. There may have been some light air guitar playing, and not just from me :lol:

Drilling the body. I used a 5mm bit, as SM recommends for their screws. The school didn't have a 5mm brad point bit, so Mr Stevens took a normal one to the grinder. The school now has a 5mm brad point bit :cool: Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7836409446_5e132a29b4_c.jpg

To mount the neck, I clamped it in the pocket (protecting the fretboard). I also had the neck plate clamped on. Then I awled through to the neck. I used a plain 3mm bit in a cordless drill the drill into the neck. By coincidence the bit was sticking out the exact depth I needed to drill, so that was very straight forward. Even though their was no brad point it was small enough to register. Then I screwed everything together :mrgreen:. We couldn't find the big bag of wax that the school had just bought, but there was this spray on dry lubricant that did the job.

I also marked some lines, to find the centre and the 25.5" point and bridge hole location. I put a 1m ruler on, and it cut right down the centre line, sliced through the inlays perfectly, and through the centre of the nut slot. I think that is good enough, no? :wink:

I forgot to photograph all of this (as I do when I'm nervous) so here's the final result!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7836406178_cf71ac99bf_c.jpg

That was all yesterday. Today I did the round over! I used a 3/8" radius, because that's the smallest the school had. I like the soft look, I think Strat's use this radius?

I don't think I have to explain how I did this? There is a bit of burn because the bit wasn't super sharp. But it's in the process of being sanded out. I've also started transitioning the round over into the neck plate/pocket area.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7836403566_68a838baa0_c.jpg

The round over just took the real-ness of this to another dimension. You could say I'm pretty stoked right now? :mrgreen:

lookin good! my build had a slight delay.. The neck mounting process.. Didn't quite go how i expected. I think my centre line might be a tad off too.. but it's kinda hard to get it all centered, when you have the "step" that firebirds have.

So after a short mid term break (5 days) I'm back at it! Today I installed my bridge.

I chose this (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar,_non-trem_bridges/Schaller_Non-Tremolo_Roller_Bridge.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=2552) bridge a while ago, because it has a lot of options for adjustment. Which would be handy if I installed it badly :lol:

Lining it up

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7278/7877695758_5ef209b48c_c.jpg

Screwed on!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7132/7877693766_427d757918_c.jpg

The rollers were adjusted to the narrowest spacing just so I know they are evenly spaced from the centre. I'm happy with the position, and I can fine tune the spacing for every string exactly how I want when the time comes :mrgreen:

I also did some more transitioning of the round over in the neck pocket area. Nothing exciting! Right now I'm figuring out what to do next. I don't have a full set of spare strings to work on the nut just yet. It's likely I'll route the humbucker cavity, and then make a routing template for the pickguard! And then this weekend I'll get a few sets of strings. Maybe next week I'll play her for the first time :cool:

Been working on the pickguard the last couple of days!

I traced the HB cavity and ring shape onto the body

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7891981422_0dee7cd4cb_c.jpg

Then I was ready to work! Here's the highly technical method I used to design the pickguard!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8308/7891983226_5256ae7511_c.jpg

It's based off the standard Thinline pickguard, but more to my tastes. It's also covering the holes in the body :wink:

I spray adhered it to some thin MDF

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/7891982406_424d3a6737_c.jpg

Rough cut on the bandsaw

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/7891980562_d951f75014_c.jpg

Disc sanded the convex curves

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/7891979654_cf7f0d7f8a_c.jpg

Filed and hand sanded the rest

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8456/7891978628_3c09ce13bb_c.jpg

I taped it onto the guitar in position, then held it in my playing position to find a nice position for the volume knob. I drilled small holes in the position so I can awl through it onto the pickguard blank and the body itself.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/7891976582_8fedcfbcf6_c.jpg

Then I realised I could test the colour of the Tru Oil inside the neck pocket, since I chucked out my offcuts. I swear I was planning to keep them :lol:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/7891977526_9498d427ac_c.jpg

I don't think I'll need any stain! With the numerous coats the body will get, along with the ageing, I think it should look great!

I also realised that I never ordered the pickguard screws. I also realised I need a volume knob (not pot). I'm going with this (http://www.guitarparts.co.nz/knobs/q-parts-knobs/q-parts-dome-knob-abalone-on-gun-metal-black.html) one. I like the gun metal black colour. I have the same but with MOP on my Strat, it's much more silver than the picture suggests. The abalone will go nicely with my inlays too :cool:. They can also fit on any kind of pot shaft which is great! The great thing about forgetting to order more that 1 thing, is the flat rate for postage :wink:

It's kinda crazy that I'm starting to think of all these finishing touches now :shock:

That's all for the week! Next week I think I'll route the humbucker cavity. I figured it won't matter I don't have the correct diameter bit. I can just drill the corners out, since there is much more tolerance for accuracy than a neck pocket.

Liam

Well done Liam looking great.

This thread has been an absolute godsend for me! I am starting my own custom Telecaster project for my Technology GCSE (I'm in year 11 here in the UK, but I have no idea what that means to the rest of you :L) next week, and I may be using the same method for the body as you, except I'm making some major design changes, and I'll be buying in and re finishing an Asian maple neck, since I am on a limited time scale and with limited funds, and the luthiers I have talked to said that everyone messes up their first neck, but you seem to be an exception!

My thread will hopefully be up here very shortly, but in the meantime, I've subbed to yours! :)

the luthiers I have talked to said that everyone messes up their first neck, but you seem to be an exception!

I highly disagree. All the first builds on here are beautiful. My first neck hit a small road-bump but now it is one of the nicest necks I've seen in person.

It seems as though this entire forum goes against the luthiers entire opinion of scratch builders :)

Just wondering Limoooooooo, how long did it take you to build your neck the way you did it, and how long are your lessons?

Just wondering Limoooooooo, how long did it take you to build your neck the way you did it, and how long are your lessons?

4 months including making the templates. I have exactly 4 hours of lessons a week, and I've been working during study periods/lunchtimes/after school as necessary! I planned it out, so that the neck would take roughly half my time, and the body + assembly would take up the rest!

Weeeeee 100 posts! Thanks for the interest everyone :mrgreen:

This is looking real nice Liam! I love the styling of your pickguard, nice curves. Adds a real personal touch. You will no doubt be getting itchy feet wanting to light this up out of an amp. Its very difficult to take things slow when the end game is near (it is for me, but i'm getting better with the patience). I'm very keen to hear the final product, awesome job!!

And good on all the young folk for getting into building their own guitars. Never be afraid of mistakes, they are inevitable and the most powerful learning tool. They absolutely destroy me, but when I'v got over it and worked out what the heck has happened, I know I've learned something. Every mistake makes you that much better.

This is looking real nice Liam! I love the styling of your pickguard, nice curves. Adds a real personal touch. You will no doubt be getting itchy feet wanting to light this up out of an amp. Its very difficult to take things slow when the end game is near (it is for me, but i'm getting better with the patience). I'm very keen to hear the final product, awesome job!!

And good on all the young folk for getting into building their own guitars. Never be afraid of mistakes, they are inevitable and the most powerful learning tool. They absolutely destroy me, but when I'v got over it and worked out what the heck has happened, I know I've learned something. Every mistake makes you that much better.

Boy do I wanna get this through an amp :mrgreen:. I'm lucky because there's a recording studio just down the road at a youth centre, and I do audio engineering as part of NCEA there! It means you'll all be getting some ultra high quality sound samples. The times my old band recorded there we had pretty average results, but the guy that runs it is an awesome person. He's also a guitarist and a gear nut, so I'll be playing through an Orange AD30, Dr Z Maz 18, and some Trace Elliot I don't know the name of :cool:. I'll also compare it with the sound of my Epi LP or maybe his Gibson SG. Otherwise it's a bit unfair, anything could sound good through those amps :wink:

When making mistakes this forum is an excellent tool! With pretty much any mistake that could be made, someone here has probably done the same, and about 2 dozen other people will have an opinion on how to fix it :lol:

Just wondering Limoooooooo, how long did it take you to build your neck the way you did it, and how long are your lessons?

Necks actually are surprisingly easy. Most would think they are super hard, and take forever, but i got mine done pretty quick, if you plan out what you're doing and decide what steps to take its pretty quick.

Hmmm, Bentley, for your first neck, did you buy all the specialist tools or what?

Was just wondering if anyone knew of any good set up guides - as far as installing the nut, setting action, truss rod stuff. There's quite a lot of info on the web, and I'm not sure what is best... Thanks!

Good work was done today!

But first here's a pic of the corners of the pup cavity drilled out. Some of them are slightly out, but it will look fine with the ring. If I'd had a proper 3/8" cutter this would've been avoided, but I have to make do with what is available :wink:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8451/7927163662_2d77e04e5b_c.jpg

I worked on the neck pocket area of the pickguard, which I forgot to get a photo of. It looks good though, and with the fretboard overhang it's almost impossible to tell there's a gap :lol:

So I double side taped the template to plastic. I just used the normal Sellotape brand, which held very well. I wouldn't feel too comfortable using it on something heftier like a body blank though. That's what screws are for!

The template was quite thin but I figured I could get away with it since it's such an easy cut. First I cut the pickguard blank on the bandsaw, getting as close to the line as I felt comfortable.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7927161154_28c2451430_c.jpg

There was about 2-3mm left for the router. Since it's so thin, it cut like butter! Then I chucked it a 45 degree bevel bit. Easy as!

Of course, being the last major part of hardware (visually), I couldn't resist a mockup :mrgreen:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8453/7927159882_6f073b38c4_c.jpg

To top it all off, I came home to my pickguard screws and volume knob!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8306/7927157922_361abd6e94_c.jpg

I also had a collect card for my pick up, since that was signature required. Luckily it was with a different courier company, so I called and gave them permission to leave it in my letterbox tomorrow :cool:. If only all courier companies had that option...

Can't wait till this is finished! My school has a photo studio with nice Nikon DSLR's and proper lighting, and since I was an art student it shouldn't be a problem booking a time. I'm sure you all would appreciate some nice ultra high quality photos that weren't taken from a cellphone!

I like how this is all coming together. Nice knob too.

That all looks fantastic. Great work, hard to tell it's a first guitar!

That's gonna rock.

I read the entire thread today Congrats Liam you're doing an excellent job it's fascinating for me which doesn't have ability with his hands to see such a great building process !

Aren't schools great these days? When I was your age (here we go Old Fart Time!) I think I made a lop sided wooden tray and a cold chisel.

You are doing great work young man!

Hey Limoooooooo, if you wanna jump over and look at my new thread for my tele project, you're welcome too, I might need you for some advice on mine :)

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/348682-senior-school-gcse-stratotele-les-ibanez-paul-o-caster.html

Hey Limoooooooo, if you wanna jump over and look at my new thread for my tele project, you're welcome too, I might need you for some advice on mine :)

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/348682-senior-school-gcse-stratotele-les-ibanez-paul-o-caster.html

Hahaha! I wouldn't necessarily trust my advice!

Subbed to your thread too. I look forward to seeing it come together, it'll be an interesting change READING a thread about a high school build, not posting one :lol:.

That thing looks like hell to wire up, all I've gotta worry about is 1 volume knob and 1 humbucker! 8 months sounds like plenty of time to me since your buying the neck, I've only spent about 2 months of school time on mine, and all that's left is the humbucker route, electronics route, and then finishing/wiring/assembly!

There won't be any actual updates till next week.. but I couldn't help but post this :mrgreen:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8035/7934591862_f14febba29_c.jpg

Probably not impressive to you guys that make your own pickups, but I'm stoked and it feels great to support local business! FYI, the 'model' is "Rebel Liam" because it's based off the BKP Rebel Yells and my name is Liam :wink:

There won't be any actual updates till next week.. but I couldn't help but post this :mrgreen:

Probably not impressive to you guys that make your own pickups, but I'm stoked and it feels great to support local business! FYI, the 'model' is "Rebel Liam" because it's based off the BKP Rebel Yells and my name is Liam :wink:

Just one pick up?

There won't be any actual updates till next week.. but I couldn't help but post this :mrgreen:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8035/7934591862_f14febba29_c.jpg

Probably not impressive to you guys that make your own pickups, but I'm stoked and it feels great to support local business! FYI, the 'model' is "Rebel Liam" because it's based off the BKP Rebel Yells and my name is Liam :wink:

That reminds me, I gotta get some pickup mags from Ash. He said he'd cut me a deal, he can sell AWG 42 at a better price than you can get it from guitarparts as well.

Just one pick up?

Single humbucker is all I need! Although I do love playing the neck pickup on my LP with the volume rolled right back.... Favourite clean tone, don't even need a multichannel amp! (Or any amp for that matter :oops:)

Coincidentally, buying 1 pick up is half the price of buying 2 pickups :wink:

Single humbucker is all I need! Although I do love playing the neck pickup on my LP with the volume rolled right back.... Favourite clean tone, don't even need a multichannel amp! (Or any amp for that matter :oops:)

Coincidentally, buying 1 pick up is half the price of buying 2 pickups :wink:

Good call. Im contemplating the slash setup. I'm not sure I want the zebras look though.

lookin good! Now I just needa find time to get workin on mine. School just started, so I've been busy.

Yeeehaw! Here's a summary of this weeks work!

I mounted the pickguard!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8030/7983861628_755ea5fea5_c.jpg

Then I decided I should drill out the pickup cavity. I marked a tangent to the previously drilled holes, then measured 5mm out, so I could drill with a 10mm bit!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/7983855453_7aa63436d3_c.jpg

I figured there wasn't much left so I drilled the rest out with the 10mm bit as well.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8449/7983860364_e272e2184f_c.jpg

Then I drilled out the control cavity with a 35mm forstner bit

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8040/7983859764_f3cc467203_c.jpg

The next day my teacher had a big talk to the class about book work, so I didn't have any time left to route anything. I decided I may as well chuck a string or too on with my spare 10 minutes :mrgreen:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7983858858_2e9ca060d9_c.jpg

It works! Obviously the nut was far too high, etc, but I think that was a pretty big milestone!

Next week I have practice exams, but since I only have 2 exams I'll be able to make up all my lost time, and hopefully get all the woodworking COMPLETE! Then all it needed is final sanding, finishing, and set up/wiring! Who would've thought I could make my first guitar almost exactly to a deadline :lol:

Looking very good Liam.

Looking very good Liam.

Thanks :razz:

Looks really cool

Nice progress Liam, it's sure on the right tracks ! Will you leave it natural or do you plan to make a lacquer on it ?

Looks really cool

Cheers :)

Nice progress Liam, it's sure on the right tracks ! Will you leave it natural or do you plan to make a lacquer on it ?

Gonna go with Tru Oil like the neck! But probably many more coats, since the neck only had 4 or 5 which doesn't offer any protection really!

Looking very slick, dude, nice work. Can't wait to see it finished!

Kiwi TDPRI-er's! I need to drill my wiring access holes soon. I know I need a super long drill bit to do this. Does anyone know where to buy these, and what brand/type of bit, etc? I've seen quite a few long auger bits on the Linbide website and TradeMe, but idk whether these are suitable! Thanks :D

Try searching for Aircraft Drill Bits.

Cheers :)



Gonna go with Tru Oil like the neck! But probably many more coats, since the neck only had 4 or 5 which doesn't offer any protection really!

That is one beautiful looking thinline Liam! Very nice.

And for what it's worth, 4 to 5 coats of TruOil is very good protection, IMO. I only have one neck finished with it, about the same as yours, very lightly finished, and it's got tons of playing time, a lot of it performance which is usually very sweaty. No signs of wearing through after a year of such abuse. You probably want more of a finish built up on the body for looks, but the thin finish on the neck is comfortable, fast and durable.

Kiwi TDPRI-er's! I need to drill my wiring access holes soon. I know I need a super long drill bit to do this. Does anyone know where to buy these, and what brand/type of bit, etc? I've seen quite a few long auger bits on the Linbide website and TradeMe, but idk whether these are suitable! Thanks :D
I'm in Christchurch and I have the two long bits that StewMac sell if you want to borrow them.

Update: It looks like they don't sell them anymore (I couldn't find them on the site), but the are for drilling pickup wiring channels and spring claw screw holes.

Cheers :)



Gonna go with Tru Oil like the neck! But probably many more coats, since the neck only had 4 or 5 which doesn't offer any protection really!

4-5 is plenty of protection. Maybe not enough to get you a high gloss finish, but more than enough to protect a neck. My most recent build has 3, which is fine. I only wanted to put on enough to protect the wood and no more. Buffed to a very satisfying and teflon-slippery satin finish.

Re: the drill bits, aircraft bits are what you need to search for. A nice offer from c4rtm4n too. Welcome to the forum, man.

long drill bits can be made from a 3.2mm welding rod cleaned of outer flux...

hammer one end flat/spade/pointy to get your hole width.... or weld a broken stub of a twist drill on the end....

the shaft will flex when drilling, you can hold the middle of the rod and push it down flat to get the holes the right angle/level.... straight down the center from neck pocket to bridge rout... and the side holes into the control cavity...

good for claw pilot holes on strats too.... so your drill chuck misses the body...

I'm in Christchurch and I have the two long bits that StewMac sell if you want to borrow them.

Update: It looks like they don't sell them anymore (I couldn't find them on the site), but the are for drilling pickup wiring channels and spring claw screw holes.

Thanks for the offer! I think I might just buy one though. Been recording some local bands at my home 'studio' so I've got a bit of extra cash now :mrgreen:

4-5 is plenty of protection. Maybe not enough to get you a high gloss finish, but more than enough to protect a neck. My most recent build has 3, which is fine. I only wanted to put on enough to protect the wood and no more. Buffed to a very satisfying and teflon-slippery satin finish.

Re: the drill bits, aircraft bits are what you need to search for. A nice offer from c4rtm4n too. Welcome to the forum, man.

I've found the coats on my neck don't hold up too well to knocks and such! But definitely enough for when I'm in a home environment with padded guitar stands and soft carpeted floors :lol: . I lightly scuffed mine with some steel wool and the feeling is very satisfying, something you don't find on most off the shelf guitars!

Are the Aircraft bits available at Bunnings or Mitre 10?

long drill bits can be made from a 3.2mm welding rod cleaned of outer flux...

hammer one end flat/spade/pointy to get your hole width.... or weld a broken stub of a twist drill on the end....

the shaft will flex when drilling, you can hold the middle of the rod and push it down flat to get the holes the right angle/level.... straight down the center from neck pocket to bridge rout... and the side holes into the control cavity...

good for claw pilot holes on strats too.... so your drill chuck misses the body...

Yeah my teacher said I could weld a drill bit to a steel rod, as he's done it before to drill through walls. But I figured since I have a week off school it could be easier to go out and buy something!

Thanks for the offer! I think I might just buy one though. Been recording some local bands at my home 'studio' so I've got a bit of extra cash now :mrgreen:



I've found the coats on my neck don't hold up too well to knocks and such! But definitely enough for when I'm in a home environment with padded guitar stands and soft carpeted floors :lol: . I lightly scuffed mine with some steel wool and the feeling is very satisfying, something you don't find on most off the shelf guitars!

Are the Aircraft bits available at Bunnings or Mitre 10?

Not too many finishes that will prevent wood from denting. None that I know of, except maybe a really thick 2 part poly.

I've never seen aircraft bits at either of those places, I got a pair of 1/4 and 1/2 bits off tardme which were blunt and broken, respectively. But I sharpened them and they were fine. Is George Henry and Co still going next to Acorn Models in Manchester St? They will either have them or tell you who does.

Thanks Kwerk! I emailed George Henry and they stock 250mm/10" drill bits. Is that long enough? I'm only drilling access for a bridge humbucker and the bridge ground wire! Thanks guys!

foot long, basically, sound fine. even if you have to drill from both sides. Lookin good!!!

GUESS WHAT?! I went into school today to spend a few hours on the build! It turns out that just yesterday the department had a $900 tool spending spree :mrgreen:! That doesn't happen very often at many school workshops! Or any workshops for that matter :lol:

It happened to include this very nice inverted flush trim bit with a 1/4" shank! It's pretty much the exact size of the humbucker cavity radii. Also perfect for the small Makita router that I love using! The teacher even bought this bit of my project needing it, as before now no-one at the my school has needed one. Perhaps one day someone might just be crazy enough to build a guitar and get to enjoy it. And also next year when I build another it will be super handy! If only I'd had this bit when I was working on the neck pocket :roll:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/8005223061_708bc9418b_c.jpg

Before I actually knew about this bit I did some sanding of the sides. Previously I'd filled some tearout with wood glue and sawdust. It didn't look that nice. I think next time I do a build, I'll buy a drill press drum sander kit and avoid routing the sides. No pics of this process!

After that I filled some nail holes and such on the body. The school had no black filler, but my teacher gave me a great alternative! Tan coloured water based filler mixed with black acrylic paint! It worked a treat and darkens jet black when wet, so once there's finish it should deepen the colour. It also sanded out well and didn't contaminate the surrounding grain.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/8005223551_12cf7770c2_c.jpg

Next I routed out the cavities with that brand new router bit! To attach the template I used double sided tape to get the position, and then I used 2 screws in the pickup ring mounting hole position. I had to use a counter sink bit to get the screws below the surface. You can see I routed to a uniform depth. I figured there's no harm in it so why not?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/8005224982_9403e68899_c.jpg

I also did the control cavity but there are no photos.

This weekend I'm going to George Henry (thanks Kwerk!) and picking up a long drill bit. Then on Monday I'll drill the access tunnels. After that, all I have to do it sand and finish! Which means all the woodworking will be done :shock: . It's crazy to comprehend! Then only wiring/assembly and set up will need to be done! The wiring is fairly simple so hopefully that goes well, then the only hard part is setting her up! I'm hoping I can pull that off my self. If I stuff it I'm sure Mr Alan Farrow (who all the Chch TDPRI-ers will know) will help me for a sum of money :lol:

Oh, and if anyone knows some good guides or has advice on set up (nut/truss rod/action) that'd be great. Obviously I've researched it a bit but some extra input would ways be great!

Hopefully the school has some feeler gauges...

Nice routing!

Nice routing!

Thanks! I'm beginning to enjoy using a hand held router. Much less scary than using a table router :lol:

So before going to George Henry & Co, Dad and I stopped off at Bunnings since he needed a drawer track. Turns out they sell long drill bits. Lots of them! So that meant one less trip for the day :cool:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/8010724545_e5f63575ef_c.jpg

And here's a picture I forgot to upload the other day!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/8010724991_90edc2e515_c.jpg

I really can't wait till Monday now! Last bit of work to do till I sand for finishing! I want to be finished by the end of the coming school holidays which begin in a week. So that means in another 3 weeks... I may have a new guitar :mrgreen:

Well, whaddya know. Bunnings surprises me sometimes too. Just about to go there to look for a flush trim bit for my new router. Wish me luck!

Well, whaddya know. Bunnings surprises me sometimes too. Just about to go there to look for a flush trim bit for my new router. Wish me luck!

I went to the Tower Junction Bunnings, they have a really good collection of stuff! I even had to choose between 2 or 3 brands :lol: They also had a tonne of Linbide router bits! Hopefully you get as lucky at your store, good luck!

The timber selection, however... radiata pine anyone?

Tower Junction was my regular in Chch too.

Yeah, the radiata only wood selection.. not flash at all. :neutral:

Well, whaddya know. Bunnings surprises me sometimes too. Just about to go there to look for a flush trim bit for my new router. Wish me luck!

I find Amazon is the best place for bits. Freud bits cost ~$50 here ... I got the same one for $17 on Amazon from the US.

I find Amazon is the best place for bits. Freud bits cost ~$50 here ... I got the same one for $17 on Amazon from the US.

I'll have to look out there once I start building up my own tool collection!

In other news, turns out I'm going on a holiday in the Bay of Islands in January! Which is only half an hour away from Ancient Kauri Kingdom... who apparently sell body blank sized pieces of ancient kauri for $60! Next year an ancient kauri Jazzmaster with TV Jones pickups and a Bigsby is sounding good :cool: If I can afford it all that is :lol:

I'll have to look out there once I start building up my own tool collection!

In other news, turns out I'm going on a holiday in the Bay of Islands in January! Which is only half an hour away from Ancient Kauri Kingdom... who apparently sell body blank sized pieces of ancient kauri for $60! Next year an ancient kauri Jazzmaster with TV Jones pickups and a Bigsby is sounding good :cool: If I can afford it all that is :lol:

I got 2 tele blanks for $120. JM will be a bit more - the popularity and supply is probably changed since then, might be a bit more. They cut and planed them while I was there - asked me if the slab was what I was after. Great place.

If you ask nicely they might find something figured for you.

I got 2 tele blanks for $120. JM will be a bit more - the popularity and supply is probably changed since then, might be a bit more. They cut and planed them while I was there - asked me if the slab was what I was after. Great place.

If you ask nicely they might find something figured for you.

Yeah I'm hoping for a bit of nice figure, even if I have to pay a premium! How long ago did you get that price?

Yeah I'm hoping for a bit of nice figure, even if I have to pay a premium! How long ago did you get that price?

Hmm, 2006? Or thereabouts.

There's a guy on TM selling swamp kauri stumps 1.2 x 1.2 x 1.2m for $300. The figure would be absolutely nuts in stumpwood. Finding someone willing to mill a tree stump would probably be real costly though, but that's a lot of potential bodies for that sort of money.

Oh and my Bunnings excursion didn't have a happy ending, though I did spot a drill press I may yet buy.

Kwerk, you don't have a drill press? That really surprises me, actually... That wood sounds like it would be amazing!

I have a drill press.

Was just wondering if anyone knew of any good set up guides - as far as installing the nut, setting action, truss rod stuff. There's quite a lot of info on the web, and I'm not sure what is best... Thanks!

Check out Stewart Macdonalds free how to stuff here:
http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo.html

TDPRI has lots of posts on how to cut a nut etc.

Today I drilled those damn wiring access holes!

Humbucker ---> Control cavity. Success! Very close. I'm still gonna say that placement is perfect :lol:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8318/8018534467_7c90e89c87_c.jpg

No holes in the back as of yet!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8456/8018538872_8ab1fdfcd1_c.jpg

To finish off I drilled the ground wire access for the bridge. There's no way I could've failed that!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8173/8018538382_47dd13367f_c.jpg

And just like that, I have finished my last major woodworking step. It's rather amazing really :mrgreen: .

I've done some more sanding too. I've sanded out every mistake I possibly can in the sides, and tomorrow I'll sand out the faces before taking her up to 300-400 grit! It's a great time for the school to run out of P80-120 sandpaper though, but at least we have more than enough of the finer stuff!

By the end of the week I should have my first coat or two of Tru Oil on, proving nothing goes wrong in the sanding process. I highly doubt that's even possible :lol: . Then next week the school holidays start, so I might take the body home otherwise I won't have enough time to get a good dozen (or 2) coats. Then next term I have about 3 weeks to wire, set up, and get all my book work ready to hand in. Plus I have all my other school work and exam prep :shock:

It's gonna be fun, to say the least!

Quick update!

Sanded to about 240 at the moment. It's school holidays at the moment, but I'm able to go in on Wednesday and do some work. I'll try get it sanded through 280 then 400. Because of the amount of coats I want of Tru Oil, I'm probably gonna take it home and do that all myself. Then by next Thursday + Friday I can go in again, which will probably involve a set up and some wiring. WOW. I'm right next to the finish line now :mrgreen:

Has anyone got tips for finishing with TO at home? At school I was using the spray booth with it's big ass extractor so there were no bits of dust ruining my finish. I was thinking I can just do the coats on my dining table, and hang it off a wire hanger in my closet? I guess people get by with much more difficult storage situations :lol:

Hang it from a hanger is a good call (you can use the neck screw holes) - try and leave it in the least dusty room in the house, or one with little traffic to swirl dust up. I've had students apply thin layers with cut/folded squares of old t-shirts (very useful for all kids of finishes!), applied running with the grain, two coats a day until you fill the grain. Alternatively you can rub on thin coats with your fingers (!), which warms the oil nicely and helps it "flow", but I find you can't get it s even, and you want to avoid runs as they don't help when flatting off. Leave it as long as you can to harden off before you flat it back, which is a whole adventure in itself.

Enjoy watching the grain pop!

Have to say, Liam, I'm really impressed! I wish you were one of my students!

Awesome work you've done there!

I wish we had this class when I was in school.

Hang it from a hanger is a good call (you can use the neck screw holes) - try and leave it in the least dusty room in the house, or one with little traffic to swirl dust up. I've had students apply thin layers with cut/folded squares of old t-shirts (very useful for all kids of finishes!), applied running with the grain, two coats a day until you fill the grain. Alternatively you can rub on thin coats with your fingers (!), which warms the oil nicely and helps it "flow", but I find you can't get it s even, and you want to avoid runs as they don't help when flatting off. Leave it as long as you can to harden off before you flat it back, which is a whole adventure in itself.

Enjoy watching the grain pop!

Have to say, Liam, I'm really impressed! I wish you were one of my students!

I'm thinking maybe the kitchen bench top could be suitable, since there's an extractor in there. Although I doubt it does much about dust :lol:. My bedroom closet doesn't seem dusty, considering there's stuff that's been sitting their for years with almost no dust on it! Plus the big heavy rail is handy!

The ReRanch Tru-Oil guide said something about of t-shirt material, I can imagine it being much easier to get a relatively even finish that way. Does it matter if the shirt is coloured?

And thanks! That means a lot :mrgreen: Do you teach a guitar building course?

Awesome work you've done there!

I wish we had this class when I was in school.

Cheers :razz:

What a great thread. Add me to the list of "I wish I could have done that in school". Your guitar looks great now, and will just look better when it's done.
I tru-oiled several necks on my projects, using coffee filters to apply the oil. I tried a shirt and that just seemed to make the oil "sticky" instead of easier to apply. The coffee filters (assuming they sell the circular paper kind like we have here) "held" the oil better than the cotton did, without it drying out during the application, if that makes sense. I just did it sitting on the (carpeted) floor in my living room. We have pets, and I didn't notice any hair/dust in any of the coats I did. I did vacuum beforehand, but I never really made special effort to keep it clean. I did this on my "practice" neck, and it was so easy and quick I ended up doing all 3 necks.

What a great thread. Add me to the list of "I wish I could have done that in school". Your guitar looks great now, and will just look better when it's done.
I tru-oiled several necks on my projects, using coffee filters to apply the oil. I tried a shirt and that just seemed to make the oil "sticky" instead of easier to apply. The coffee filters (assuming they sell the circular paper kind like we have here) "held" the oil better than the cotton did, without it drying out during the application, if that makes sense. I just did it sitting on the (carpeted) floor in my living room. We have pets, and I didn't notice any hair/dust in any of the coats I did. I did vacuum beforehand, but I never really made special effort to keep it clean. I did this on my "practice" neck, and it was so easy and quick I ended up doing all 3 necks.

Hmmm... do you think a paper towel would do the trick?

I didn't think so. The ones I had were too "textury" to apply the oil smoothly, and if I used an edge of the towel I got paper bits in the oil. The filters were super easy compared to the other methods I tried.
Oh yeah, assuming you haven't opened your oil bottle yet, when you do just poke a hole thru the foil instead of removing it. You only need a little at a time, and the oil won't "skin over" as easily in the bottle if you cover the pin hole with tape after each use (and screw the top down right over the tape) I lost a whole bottle to it drying out after I opened it, letting as little air in as possible will make it stay liquid longer. Store the bottle upside-down once you open it, too. That way the "skin" forms at the bottom instead of the top.

I didn't think so. The ones I had were too "textury" to apply the oil smoothly, and if I used an edge of the towel I got paper bits in the oil. The filters were super easy compared to the other methods I tried.
Oh yeah, assuming you haven't opened your oil bottle yet, when you do just poke a hole thru the foil instead of removing it. You only need a little at a time, and the oil won't "skin over" as easily in the bottle if you cover the pin hole with tape after each use (and screw the top down right over the tape) I lost a whole bottle to it drying out after I opened it, letting as little air in as possible will make it stay liquid longer. Store the bottle upside-down once you open it, too. That way the "skin" forms at the bottom instead of the top.

I have been storing my bottle upside down since finishing my neck... I checked on it a month or so ago, and the oil had soaked into the paper/foil cap thing and sealed it over :lol:. So I believe my bottle has been upside down without a seal for a month or so... hopefully it's still good! At least I can afford to buy more, for once!

Tru-Oil application instructions here: http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/truoil.htm

Paper towels will fall to bits as they get soggy. I have never had any issues with t-shirts (mine are frequently black so colour doesn't matter!), but I am intrigued by the coffee filter idea - I might have to try that!

Be careful with extractors as they can pull dust through and be more problems that they solve. Remember that any dust that lands on it will eventually be sanded off, you just want to minimise the job.

Have a look also on the kit acoustic guitar forum as there are lots of tru-oil discussions there.

So I've just been into school. I ended up only sanding to 280. We ran out of 400, but the 280 paper is stearated which seems to make the result a million times smoother. In the light, the wood had a mirror like sheen.

So I took the body home, and put on the first coat of Tru-Oil. Here's a wee trick I saw somewhere...

The drawing pins mean I can finish one side, then flip it over and not worry about things sticking.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/8049024757_8885bcb6b3_c.jpg

I don't know how even the finish is, but I'm assuming it will all soak into the wood on this coat. I used a folded piece of old tshirt, I think next coat I'll cut a larger piece so the application will be quicker and easier.

Here it is hanging next to my suit. What do you have in your wardrobe? :lol:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8449/8049024259_d1670a7620_c.jpg

It's a pretty warm day and only 2.30 so I might get another coat of oil on later tonight. I found the oil is also quite hard to wash off your hands, so I might get some gloves to make the application cleaner.

Glad to see some progress, my build is at a standstill. School is really taking it's toll on me. Waking up at like 6:30 and getting home at 4:00 is really tiring. I need some motivation, and i'll get my build going.

I realised since I'm at home, I can take pictures with a real camera! I also got photos of the other sides.

These were taken after my 2nd coat, which I just applied! About 4 hours after the first coat which was already bone dry! I think that's all I'll do for today though, I'll give it some time to really cure and do another 2-3 coats tomorrow.

The photos are actually pretty well representative of the actual colour, a very noticeable difference to my phone camera :lol:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8030/8049591378_350d9765b3_c.jpg

I'm really liking how the kahikatea is coming out. It has a nice honey colour, and the oil lays down so smoothly on it! EDIT: Attached the wrong photo :roll:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8456/8049585147_0445fd5f42_c.jpg

Here's a picture of the side. The flash was super intense because of the close range, but you get an idea.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8041/8049584439_926f8cb081_c.jpg

I think the finish is already a lot smoother after this second coat. After the 4th coat I'll lightly steel wool it to take down the fuzzies, and after than point the finish should get a nicer sheen and generally more even. Or at least that's what I found after steel wooling the neck :lol:

To apply this coat I made a bit of a wad, akin to what you would use for a french polish. I used a couple of cotton make up removal pads (not mine :wink:) and wrapped it in the tshirt material. I tied up the loose ends with a rubber band. No pictures, but I'm sure you know what I mean!

Glad to see some progress, my build is at a standstill. School is really taking it's toll on me. Waking up at like 6:30 and getting home at 4:00 is really tiring. I need some motivation, and i'll get my build going.

That's the good thing about doing this build at school! There are no excuses to not getting anything done :lol:! I know what you mean though, here in NZ I have about 1 1/2 weeks of holidays left... then 4 weeks till my end of year exams. So I have to study for those, and also work on a few assignments that are due soon. But on the other hand, in 6-7 weeks time I have a 7 weeks break :cool:

That's really turning out very nice the finish seems to be already neat and glossy, the junction of the top is also very smooth apparently

That's really turning out very nice the finish seems to be already neat and glossy, the junction of the top is also very smooth apparently

That's just the flash making it look glossy, in real life it's much more satin! But thanks :razz:

Applied coats 3 and 4 today. Maybe I'm just going slightly crazy, but as each coat goes on I swear the finish is getting EVER so slightly glossier. It's a very subtle difference that a camera can't pick up with the flash on. By the time I get 10-20 coats it will hopefully have a nice semi-gloss.

It's also definitely getting smoother. There is dust and contaminants from the material getting into the finish, but tomorrow morning I'll rub it out a bit which should clean things up. I have some 000 steel wool (0000 can be hard to find here in NZ) which I also used on the neck, but I don't have access to compressed air at my house to clean it up afterwards :wink:. I'm thinking old denim or even a clean piece of old tshirt may be the way to go. I also have 2000 grit sandpaper but that could be too aggressive and just messy as the steel wool. Anyone want to kindly pitch in? :lol:

After the 4th coat
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/8052898891_aa01946c2c_c.jpg

I think next time I do a TO finish, I'll bolt a bit of wood on to the neck joint. This would be to save me getting my hands on the sticky finish. I could just clamp it to a work bench, and it would be much more stable, allowing me to rub the oil in more vigorously.

Bunnies sells Norton synthetic steel wool in 0000 grade, I've used it myself for TO work. The pads are white in colour. You can also buff with a t-shirt, no worries at all.

Bunnies sells Norton synthetic steel wool in 0000 grade, I've used it myself for TO work. The pads are white in colour. You can also buff with a t-shirt, no worries at all.

Ahhhh crap! I used to have a pack of these, but I can't find them anywhere :sad:. I might have thrown them out by accident :oops:

Try buffing the body with old denim before the steel wool. I was unhappy with the gloss level on my necks and the denim really shined them up, without having that "sticky laquer" feeling. Just hard, smooth and "fast" feeling.
The body really looks good, this thread has been fun to watch.

￦

Applied the 6th coat of TO today. I ended up using the steel wool after the 4th coat, I found the tshirt material I have wasn't really doing anything. But that isn't actually what I came here to talk about :lol:

My dad will be making a silk screen to screen print a logo on to the headstock, and he wants to get on to it soon. I just want to get some opinions...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8037/8058604673_7b0f27cc54_h.jpg

I'm fairly set on the main logo itself, and I've already used it before on my customised Squier Bullet Strat. What I'm not sure on is the "Handcrafted in Christchurch, New Zealand" bit. I like it but I'm not sure whether it's necessary, or whether my placement is right. I prefer the right one but the neck transition and Gotoh tuners could get in the way. Thoughts?

Oh, and here's a pic of the Squier headstock. My signature really does look good on headstocks, if I say so myself :wink:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8042/8058605301_0674383ce9_c.jpg

My only complaint with the signature, is it doesn't really fill the squier headstock up enough, for my taste. Apart from that, I like it. I think the left logo on the back is nicer.

Looking great man. I just moved out of Christchurch, man do I miss it :sad:

I'd go with the left-hand logo too, much more classy / professional.

You too Boysie? What the hell are we doing? :sad:

I agree. The NZ logo on the left is cool. I really like your signature on there too. Very classy.

My only complaint with the signature, is it doesn't really fill the squier headstock up enough, for my taste. Apart from that, I like it. I think the left logo on the back is nicer.

Looking great man. I just moved out of Christchurch, man do I miss it :sad:

I'd go with the left-hand logo too, much more classy / professional.

You too Boysie? What the hell are we doing? :sad:

I agree. The NZ logo on the left is cool. I really like your signature on there too. Very classy.

Left logo for the back it is! Thanks for the input! Looking back it's definitely the better choice :lol:

So today I woke up, and grabbed the guitar out of the closet after it's 8th coat. I've decided I'm happy with where it's at, so no more Tru-Oil for this bugger! I figure if I did more coats, that would just be more opportunity to screw something up :lol:. I've already had 1 drip that I wet sanded out with 2000 grit. Although I've been applying nice thin coats, I obviously missed a spot when rubbing the oil in... At least it's fixed now!

So here she is now!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/8068991302_4e33085a90_c.jpg

There's a nice semi gloss, but the camera didn't pick it up very well. For some reason the camera doesn't like natural light :roll:. Nor does the zoom work any more haha! But me and my sister are buying Mum a new camera for Christmas, as she's leaving work next year and starting a nursing degree. Being a single mum and a student, I don't think she would be able to afford a new camera when this one goes for good. Good children 101 right there :wink:

Now, back on topic! I'm gonna leave it hanging in the closet to dry out for another few days, then on Thursday/Friday I'll be going into school and assembling and wiring! I know I should leave it for longer, but I need to get this in a working condition ASAP. I've ordered some feeler gauges and hopefully they will arrive on time, if not hopefully the school has some! I think I'll focus on the set up first, then the wiring.

I'm not too worried about getting the set up wrong. If I can at least get it in the right ballpark I'll be happy, and then I can take it to Alan Farrow if need be. My Strat has some nasty grounding problems I can't figure out, so I'll be heading to see him soon anyway :lol:

You get so focused on making this guitar, you forget that one day you'll actually be playing it!

That is very nice!

So today, I practically finished the guitar :mrgreen:

I assembled the guitar first. I signed/dated the neck pocket. Of course I screw up my signature...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8325/8078998301_ca93ea77aa_c.jpg

I didn't document any of the set up. Why? Because I was nervous, and when I'm nervous I forget these things :lol:. First I got the nut right. I put it in place, installed the 2 E strings , capo'd just past the second fret and measured the gap above the first fret. I sanded the bottom of the nut on a flat surface with 120 and 240 grit paper. The gap I set was above the low E is around 0.25mm, and the gap below the high E is just under that. I think I can probably take it a bit lower but I wanted to be careful. I strung the rest of the strings and then went onto setting neck relief. I capo'd the first fret and held down the last fret. Turns out the relief was perfect! I didn't actually measure it but I could tell by eyeing it out there was a tiny bit of relief. I set the action on the wound strings at 2mm and the unwound strings at 1.6mm.

It's feels nice to play as far as action and that goes, I think they main downfall is down to the fretwork and such (filing fret ends properly flush to the board, beveled deeper, fretboard edges rounded). But I think that is something that comes with experience, and now that I have that experience all I can do is look forward to next year because I won't make those mistakes again :smile:

Nice!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8053/8078997887_9981d80859_c.jpg

Next I wired the guitar, which was super fiddly! The hardest part was actually stripping the humbucker wires without breaking them :roll:. Despite the fact I haven't soldered since 2009, everything else all went relatively smoothly! I didn't have to fix a single thing! Or at least till I got home...

I tested the guitar through the schools Marshall MG50, so I couldn't judge the tone very well from that.

I came home and started playing through my audio interface into Pod Farm. I don't even own an amp :lol:. The sound of the guitar is fantastic! OR it was till it cut out...

I opened her up, turns out the hot lead from the humbucker snapped of the lug, and the green earth from the humbucker also snapped off the back of the pot. Obviously the soldering wasn't securing the lead completely. For now they are tapped precariously in place, and I've already have to tape them back in place twice :oops:. There are also some slight grounding problems, probably due to the green wire that snapped. When I get back to school on Monday I can solder these back in place, and hopefully that's the end of that!

What's left to do is install the D/G string tree, trim the nut and glue it in, and then tighten all the nuts on the tuners/pots/jacks. I also have to install Schaller strap lock buttons, although tbh I can't remember whether I actually bought any... I don't really plan on playing this standing up anyway so there's no rush!

Later tonight I'll record some sound samples and get a few more photos, so for now, I will leave you with this!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8050/8078988904_52d12ffab3_b.jpg

Wow, she is gorgeous!

Awesome, it looks fantastic Liam

Sounds! The first one is distortion, the second is the direct signal from my interface, the 3rd is the exact same part going through distortion.

The 4th one is a crunchy tone using an AC30 model on Pod Farm. All 3 or 4 things I play on that sample use the exact same guitar and amp settings, all that is different is my (very messy) playing, showing how the guitar reacts to different picking dynamics!

http://soundcloud.com/studio47/sets/thinline-telecaster-2012/

Great finish Liam, congrats that will make your days filled with good music !

Fantastic, man. You've done brilliantly and it sounds great too. I'm sure it'll fly through the school assessment.

(Bit bummed to see you signed it off as "assembled" though, it was much more significant than that).

Wow, she is gorgeous!

Awesome, it looks fantastic Liam

Great finish Liam, congrats that will make your days filled with good music !

Thanks :mrgreen:

Fantastic, man. You've done brilliantly and it sounds great too. I'm sure it'll fly through the school assessment.

(Bit bummed to see you signed it off as "assembled" though, it was much more significant than that).

Thanks Kwerk! I sure hope it does :lol:

And yeah... thinking back, that word doesn't really explain the half of it!

Supurb. A+

outstanding!!

Very cool! I wish I was able to do this when I was your age.

©

Supurb. A+

outstanding!!

Very cool! I wish I was able to do this when I was your age.

©

Thanks guys, all this support I've had means a lot!

Btw, she weighs in around just over 3kg, maybe 3.2. Bloody analogue bathroom scales :lol: and that's around 7lb

Quick grounding question! When I touch either the strings/bridge the buzzing either gets worse or better, it just completely random. If I touch the metal volume knob the buzzing goes away. Sometimes I don't even have to touch anything and the buzzing is at perfectly acceptable levels and more likely due to the distortion. The ground wire that broke was the green wire from the pup, and is only taped onto the back of the pot, so that could explain the fluctuations in buzzing. But I have a feeling this means something else might not be grounded properly, such as the bridge ground? Should I just go over all my grounding points? Could it be the fact I have no shielding? Thanks :wink:

Congrats! Great effort. I'm impressed with the tone too.. that distorted tone is killer, real bright and full!

Agree with Kwerk on the "assembled" sign off. You certainly "handcrafted" your way to a nice instrument dude.. Fantastic stuff!

Congrats! Great effort. I'm impressed with the tone too.. that distorted tone is killer, real bright and full!

Agree with Kwerk on the "assembled" sign off. You certainly "handcrafted" your way to a nice instrument dude.. Fantastic stuff!

Thanks! I'm really happy with the tone. Even acoustically it sounds great, and the F hole adds some resonance.

I would pass off (some) of that plugged-in tone to Adrian/Ash, who gave me a lot of advice when it comes to native tone woods, and nailed the pickup with my rather vague explanation of what I was after. I would also hope some of that comes from my other hobby of home recording :mrgreen:! *Why do all my hobbies have to cost money...*

When I can get my decals screen printed, it will say "Handcrafted in Christchurch, New Zealand" on the back. Hopefully that makes up for my underwhelming wording!

Quick grounding question! When I touch either the strings/bridge the buzzing either gets worse or better, it just completely random. If I touch the metal volume knob the buzzing goes away. Sometimes I don't even have to touch anything and the buzzing is at perfectly acceptable levels and more likely due to the distortion. The ground wire that broke was the green wire from the pup, and is only taped onto the back of the pot, so that could explain the fluctuations in buzzing. But I have a feeling this means something else might not be grounded properly, such as the bridge ground? Should I just go over all my grounding points? Could it be the fact I have no shielding? Thanks :wink:

Yes definitely go over your grounding. As I have noted from my own countless wiring disasters in the past, the wiring is critical in the overall performance of your guitar. More importantly, shielding. Some might say that shielding (and earthing) matters little in the greater scheme of things, but believe me, it has a massive effect. Sometimes you can indeed get away with no shielding if your wood has little conductivity but for the most part, you will need shielding of some sort. This will greatly reduce the hum and noise you are getting (as witnessed when it disappears when you touch the strings or knobs.)

It takes a little effort but it is recommended that all cavities (and wires between cavities are shielded and earthed (you can just use alluminium tape from bunnings is fine). Your humbucker may or may not have shielded wire but using shielded wire is a great idea. It is important to make sure that all the shielding is earthed too. Definitely earth the pots and the bridge. If everything is shielded and earthed, you will have a very quiet guitar when the strings are idle. Also shield the underside of your pickguard too.

LOVE IT!!! Not usually a fan of tru-oil, but it's an easy starting point, and it looks good on this one. Really love seeing this done, I've followed since the first post and I love it! What kinda music are you into, sounds like Punk to me?

LOVE IT!!! Not usually a fan of tru-oil, but it's an easy starting point, and it looks good on this one. Really love seeing this done, I've followed since the first post and I love it! What kinda music are you into, sounds like Punk to me?

Thanks! Can't wait till your build gets into action again! I'm more into pop punk. Lots of power chords, octave chords, almost no guitar solos, skinny jeans and sweep fringes. In other words, nothing that your average TDPRI-er listens to :lol:.

So guys, hypothetically speaking... Were I to bevel the frets/fb edges deeper, how difficult would it be to repair the TO finish?

Ah, that's the beauty of tru oil. Just do it, and do it. It's very forgiving.

I recently reprofiled a TO neck, and simply blended in the new finish. Works a treat.

Ah, that's the beauty of tru oil. Just do it, and do it. It's very forgiving.

I recently reprofiled a TO neck, and simply blended in the new finish. Works a treat.

Hmm, looks like it's a go ahead! I'm beginning to understand the notion that a build is never really finished :lol:

While I'm at it I might polish my frets a bit better too...

Nice looking guitar Liam. You should be proud.

would you even really need to do some more TO?

would you even really need to do some more TO?

I want to round into the fretboard edges a bit, so there will definitely be some touch ups.

Although I don't know how far I can round into the fretboard, as I used the larger 3/32" SM side dots and I positioned them too close to the edge - around 0.5mm :sad:. At least on the bottom of the fretboard which is the most trouble when playing, there are no dots to worry about!

Well done buddy, I'm real proud of you. That's a beautiful guitar, and by the sounds of it might not be your last!

Good news everyone!

The last few days have been spent fixing up the problems, and today I assembled everything together once again!

First up was the frets. I found my bevelling file I made a wee while ago. I decided the angle was taking out enough material, so I just filed freehand. The best tool to get a nice angle is your eyes and your hands :smile:. Once I had taken them back to a point I was happy with, I got some 280 grit paper and rubbed it up and down the fretboard edges and fret edges off. I masked up the board and got out the small file set, to make sure all the niggles were ironed out. I rubbed a quick coat of Tru Oil on the edges with my fingers, no worries there and you wouldn't even know there was a repair unless I told you :mrgreen:

Next I had to fix the wiring. Simple, I just soldered the two wires back in place, as well as the unshielded ground. It turns out that's all that was needed, there is only a tiny tiny bit of buzz which I'll assume can be fixed by shielding. It's not bothering me for now and hopefully I won't get any more issues :lol:

I assembled and strung everything up again today. I went to install the 2nd (D/G) string tree but I decided it wasn't necessary and it would be too cramped and not really adding much tension.

The last thing to do was install the nut properly. I marked the edges that needed to be removed and did the bulk of the work in about 3 seconds on the disc sander. I finished up with numerous test fits, and rubbing the edges on a bit of 280 grit laying on a flat surface. I got lots of control and I got it it to a nearly perfect fit in about 2 or so minutes. I then used 600 grit to get it perfectly flush. I put a thin sliver of Titebond along the front edge of the slot, put the nut in place and took the strings to pitch. Voila! Funny that the nut fit is even more accurate than that on my Strat, which I payed about $40 for... I guess it's something to be proud of :cool:

Got her plugged in now. The extra fret work has made a HUGE difference. It's not factory quality, but a million times nicer to play than before!

Dad's here this weekend, so I'll be installing the logo then. There aren't any pictures this post, so you'll definitely be getting some after then!

Alright, good news! Looking forward to more pics and maybe a sound test.

Well done buddy, I'm real proud of you. That's a beautiful guitar, and by the sounds of it might not be your last!

Thanks Bri! All this support I've had is amazing :mrgreen: Definitely not my last! I've already got half a doozen ideas for next year...

Alright, good news! Looking forward to more pics and maybe a sound test.

Thanks! I actually have a sound test already, you must've missed it. It's on my Soundcloud page over here (http://soundcloud.com/studio47/sets/thinline-telecaster-2012/) :)

Yeah, sounds great!

Thanks Bri! All this support I've had is amazing :mrgreen: Definitely not my last! I've already got half a doozen ideas for next year...



Thanks! I actually have a sound test already, you must've missed it. It's on my Soundcloud page over here (http://soundcloud.com/studio47/sets/thinline-telecaster-2012/) :)

Sounds great to me is ot you playing ? I like the character with the natural sound

Sounds great to me is ot you playing ? I like the character with the natural sound

Yup that's me playing!

This guitar looks awesome, great job on this build. Cool to see them finished.

This guitar looks awesome, great job on this build. Cool to see them finished.

Thanks! :grin:

Btw guys, I got the logo screen printed this weekend. The decal for the back didn't go so well though, the screen slipped a bit and smudged it. A bit of some solution made of idontknowwhat cleaned it off though. I think I'll just leave that one. Next guitar I may try make a jig of some sort to keep everything stable so I'm not relying on my hands to keep everything in place :roll:

You can see this one still smudged slightly on the bottom of first squiggle.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/548723_3766145668349_61526084_n.jpg

I quite like the screen printed logos, they just seem slightly more professional. Or maybe that's just cause most people can't make their own professional screens at home? At Dad's work they have inks in pretty much every colour you could imagine, along with fluoros and metallics. I might just have to get a bit creative next year...

It looks great, nice design of the decal !

Liam, I'm a Maths/Electronics lecturer and I do guitar builds with students. Just an hour ago I/we finished a Jaguar with Lace sensor pickups and a Gibson saddle/tailpiece set up . I will get the student to put pics on this site. You are obviously an intelligent well motivated young man and I LOVE your F-hole Tele. Congratulations on a GREAT build and keep on building (it's addictive). More than that enjoy that georgeous guitar.Cheers to a Kiwi!!(you know that's high praise from an Aussie!!)

That's just excellent, Liam. Well done to you on fully realising your plans.

Course, now you've cursed yourself into doing this again and again and again. :wink:

That's just excellent, Liam. Well done to you on fully realising your plans.

Course, now you've cursed yourself into doing this again and again and again. :wink:

:mrgreen:

It's not necessarily a bad curse though is it?

The logo looks really classy, Liam. The great thing is that no-one will initially know it's not a real fancy, super expensive custom guitar, and when they say "what is it" you'll have that moment of pride when you say "actually, I made it", and you can check out the look of amazement on their face!!

You'll of course need some swanky photos of the guitar now for the end of year school magazine - they're nuts if they don't feature you and your work!

:mrgreen:

It's not necessarily a bad curse though is it?

Eventually, you'll build a banjo - so, yes, it is. :mrgreen:

Very talented young man.
I like your build a lot. A+

Congrats on your build! Very nice guitar. Nice sounding modern distortion.

Liam - nice work.

I look forward to what you could bring in the 2013 build contest if you enter. You certainly posses the chops to compete.

The nice thing about having this curse of building as a young man is there is no spouse to interfere and ask the perpetual question - "why do you need another guitar."

However - I think it will be a bad curse if you to want to build a piano eventually:lol: