Orange Vintage Hot Rod Telecaster Build

So, I decided I was going to attempt to build my own guitar for the first time ever. I've always been a huge tele fan, so I decided the "Hot Rod" model was the way to go (I already have a 2006 American Tele). I figured this would give me a more rockin' and different sound than my current one.

Found this body on ebay for real cheap (I hesitated at first).

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It's a swamp ash body with humbucker neck cutout.

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Turns out it was a "Red Dirt" body. (I read after the fact that this was probably a brave choice to pick this body). Luckily, it turned out fine for me. I only had one minor setback, but I'll explain that later...

Next, I began the task of collecting all the parts and hardware I'd need. Decided to go all "Fender" genuine parts here (where I could). Thanks to all the various posts and threads I referenced on TDPRI for information.

Vintage Tuners...

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Vintage String Tree...

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Neck Plate...

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String Ferrules...

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Strap Buttons and Felt Pads...

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Control Plate...

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Vintage Dome Knobs...

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Grigsby Oak 3-way switch...

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Switch Tips...

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Switchcraft Jack...

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Vintage Cup assembly...

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Pushback Wiring to put it all together...

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375 Pots and Capacitor...

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Vintage 3 saddle brass bridge...

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Copper Shielding...

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SD Mini-hum SM-1 (This is what's in the orig. Hot Rod tele). I decided to go with a Jerry Donnahue model lead pickup. I was not disappointed!

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Warmoth custom pickguard. This little guy gave me all kinds of headaches when fitting. It was probably the body that was off, but we'll get to that later...

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For the neck, I ordered a Warmoth Vintage Modern. This neck is incredible! The best neck I've laid my hands on. I was going to cheap out and get some other brands that were a fraction of the cost; I am glad I didn't. Well worth the extra money for such an important piece of hardware on a guitar. I was going to try to do the work on a cheaper neck, but I don't think I could have done better finish work than these guys. No rework was needed before install.

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Some more of the neck...

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Time for some priming work on the body. I had help with this and the paint job from a family friend who does car painting and repair.

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Now that all the parts are in, time to do some dry fitting...

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Now she's starting to look like a real guitar!...

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Decided on going with a PPG orange color. I wanted something between the Fender "Candy Tangerine" and "Capri Orange." VERY pleased with the results!...

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(These pictures don't do the color justice)

Yes, I realize this isn't a 'from scratch' build. It's my first build so parting it out was probably a good idea.

Now the fun part: Time to but the pieces together...

I'll start with the neck...

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I used a reamer to persuade the tuner bushings into place...

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Being very careful not to over-do it...

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I used a clamp and some coasters to gently get them into place. As you can see below, I may have gotten a tiny indent in the wood from one of the installs :cry:. I decided to not try to fix it because I hear, sometimes, it can cause more harm than good with the wood finish.

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The dend isn't really that bad. It took several tries to even get the tiny dent to show up on the camera, and is only visable at certain angles. Nobody would notice it unless I point it out to them (But now I guess that you guys know).
I decided to NOT try to use the soldering iron to steam it out. It adds character :cool:.

I used a ruler to line up the tuners, then pre-drilled holes and screwed them in place...

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OK, it is a partscaster and not a true build but the important things are that you are doing something you enjoy, you are learning a few things during the process and you will probably enjoy playing this guitar more than any other because you had to work on it.
The color isn't "conventional" but I like it just the same.

Next was shielding. This stuff is a pain to install, but looks cool once done. I feel I would have destroyed the guitar if I used shielding paint.

Bridge...

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Neck...

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Control Cavity...

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And the back of the pickguard...

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The shilding needs to be tacked together in the cavities...

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I need to solder a wire from the neck cavity to the control cavity for continuity...

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Next, I put together everything I could on the control plate...

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Now attempting to line up the neck and bridge, then I can install the pickups and finish wiring.

Using string and weights to line up the neck...

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Once lined up, I clamped down the neck...

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Most suggest using soap to help the neck bolts go in easier...

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Neck installed...

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One of the problems with the Red Dirt body was that one of the pre-drilled mounting screw holes for the bridge was off-line with the others. Decided to use an old trick: some toothpicks...

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Then I used soap to get the mounting screws ready...

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I ended up losing one of the rubber stoppers from the pickups, so I decided that pen springs would suffice...

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Bridge installed...

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The string ferrules were quite snug at first...

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I used a drill bit and turned it by hand (as to not damage the finish) in order to start the ferrules. I gently used a hammer and some cardboard (as a cushion) and tapped them into place...

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String ferrules installed...

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Love this thread. That paint job/colour is so slick!

looking great. I love the orange.

I used Terry D's tool to install the jack clip (which he modified from Fuzzy)...

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It worked perfectly! (Thanks Terry)...

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Like a glove...

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With the bridge pickup installed, I can solder the lead and ground to the control plate harness...

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Then proceed to the jack...

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I twist the wires (a lot of people recommend it)...

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Jack assembly installed...

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Next is the issue I was having.
From what I measured, the Red Dirt body was cut so that the control cavity was just a hair below the fender specs.
I was having trouble geting the pickguard to fit becuase of this...

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Luckily, with some helpful suggestions (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-technical/342668-custom-build-pickguard-problem.html), I was able to correct the problem.

I ended up using the back side of a blade to slowly shave away material on the pickguard to make it fit properly.
I then used some sandpaper to smooth it out...

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I then was able to finish wiring the mini-hum (This picture was taken before the pickguard was tampered with)...

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The method I used to fix the pickguard actually worked really well and only I (and now you guys) know it!

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If i wanted to, I could go back and do some more touching up to really make the pickguard fit even better. But it's pretty close as is, so I'll leave it for now.

Next is the string tree. I decided to keep it in the vintage location; way in the back of the headstock...

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She looks pretty good!...

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But, something seems to be missing....

It's gonna be hard to carry this axe on stage without strap buttons.
All lined up and ready to go!...

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Now, some fine tuning before this axe is ready.
First the truss rod...

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It took a couple days to get it correct. It was hard to follow the unwritten rule to let it sit for a day after you adjust it; so the relief has time to fully kick in. I was dying to play this thing!

Next is the action...

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Then finally, the intonation...

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The action had to be set a little high, but It doesn't look as funny in real life as it does from this photo's angle.

The last piece of the puzzle is to adjust the pickup heights.
I used the "2 nickels/1 nickel" advice, then adjusted from there...

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It seemed to work, she sounds great!

Very nice! How did you get such a smooth looking finish on the body?

Most suggest using soap to help the neck bolts go in easier...

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http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/tele-home-depot/139736-orange-vintage-hot-rod-telecaster-build-dscn0472-800x600-jpg



Nice clean work (see what I did there?:mrgreen:)

Seriously, love the color. Nice build.

Now for the photo shoot...

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It's hard to really capture the color with the camera, but she looks good!

That looks great!

And finally...

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A family shot...

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Very nice! How did you get such a smooth looking finish on the body?

It's just car paint w/ clear coat. Wet sanded...the usual. Simply the way Leo did it back in the day. The credit really needs to go to a good family friend. He was the brainchild behind it.

Nice job

Nice clean work (see what I did there?:mrgreen:)

Seriously, love the color. Nice build.

Haha +1 funny.

Thanks for the compliment.

Yeah, I wanted a bold (but not TOO bold) color. The gamble def payed off! It really needs to be seen in person. I know I said it a hundred times, but the pics really don't do it justice. The color really pops!

I'd gladly come to new york.. to see your guitar... and maybe.. the city! In the end how much did all the parts come to? (excluding the body and neck) How much was the Seymour mini? I've been thinking about what route I should take when I get around to building a tele.

Great job on the guitar, and I love the color!!!

Wow...I really dig that. I want an orange guitar!!!

You did a great job on this thread too!

Very nice.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for all the compliments on the thread and the guitar. It was really fun for a first build. I think I got the fever now!

I'd gladly come to new york.. to see your guitar... and maybe.. the city! In the end how much did all the parts come to? (excluding the body and neck) How much was the Seymour mini? I've been thinking about what route I should take when I get around to building a tele.

Excluding the body and neck, it came to around 360 (Including any shipping and taxes). That includes all the hardware, wires, electronics, and also all of the shielding (which I have enough for now for like 3 more guitars). It also includes the pickups, which combined for under 140 (I got a good deal on buying them together, the mini tends to be very expensive).

It's all genuine Fender parts, so it tended to be overpriced! But I searched intensely on ebay and other places for the cheapest prices, so it could have easily been worse than that.

Beautiful! I love that color :)

Very nice indeed

Nice job, tele-06!

Nice build! That color is awesome.

Excluding the body and neck, it came to around 360 (Including any shipping and taxes). That includes all the hardware, wires, electronics, and also all of the shielding (which I have enough for now for like 3 more guitars). It also includes the pickups, which combined for under 140 (I got a good deal on buying them together, the mini tends to be very expensive).

It's all genuine Fender parts, so it tended to be overpriced! But I searched intensely on ebay and other places for the cheapest prices, so it could have easily been worse than that.

Yeah, that's not too bad for genuine Fender, I wouldn't have a problem paying that if I knew for sure it wasn't just coming out of the same factory as the other cheaper parts. :lol: