'53 Tele inspired build

[mcomio]

Hi all !

After being a regular on this forum for some time ,I decided to share with you my progress on 53' Tele inspired build.

During the build I relied heavily on plans posted here by TDowns and eHawley.
Thanks guys!

Considering my "workshop camera went dead on me I use cellphone for the pics,meaning ,some pics are statisfying an most are poor quality"
I do have SLR but it goes nowhere near the shop


Off we go!

First selecting the wood;I found medium heavy ash with a nice grain,wide enough to fit whole body on it.


Positioning the template and getting ready for cutting and routing

[mcomio]

Neck routing and planing to a 1" thickness

[mcomio]

Routing neck pocket and cavities


So far so good

[mcomio]

I decided to build two necks at the same time.

One is built according to Ehawley's Broadcaster plans,and the other is to be a carbon copy of a real life Tadeo Gomes '53 neck.
I'll probably use basball bat Broadcaster neck because I do have big hands
TG neck will be in reserve if i screw up main neck along the way.
If they both come out right TG will probably go on a TeleHot Rod 52
With a mini humbucker ona the neck.



Hi-Tec radius procedure

[mcomio]

Fretting jig and a submitted subjects :)

[mcomio]

back shaping gudes


Baseball bat neck on the left and "regular" TG on the right

[mcomio]

Body with sanding sealer on..


And with semi transparent white.

[mcomio]

Necks primed with two coats of ruby schellac,waiting for the finish


As far as the pickguard is concerned I dont have the way of getting bakelite for a reasonable price here where I live so i decided to fake it.
I used black PVC which I'll fine wetsand and cover it with a coat of nitro.
It will have to do untill i obtain some bakelite.

[mcomio]

As far as the Butterscotch finish is concerened,this is the point where things took unexpected turn.
I did some testing


But the body turn out bit more on the yellow side that it's supposed to.

After some brainstorming between me ,my friends and a more than few beers I decided to leave it like that.Who knows maybe the yellow dye will fade out eventually.

[mcomio]

Wet sanding and buffing on the way


Colour may be off but the ferrrules placement is right on target('53 that is)


First hardware test fit.Everyithing sits nicely

[mcomio]

That's it for now
Today and tomorrow I'll install frets and start finishing the necks.

I'll keep you posted.

[Shepherd]

Wow, thats some nice work. Where did you find five one piece body blanks? The colour looks great too.

[mcomio]

Originally Posted by Shepherd

Wow, thats some nice work. Where did you find five one piece body blanks? The colour looks great too.

Actually they were cut out of the same board.
After searching for the Ash for some time i got this for free from a friend
who had "some old piece of wood" in the attic.

Imagine my surprise.

[ehawley]

Looking great mcomio! A 53!!! My favorite!!!! Two necks..Great idea!Keep the pics coming!
Cheers
ED

PS...I went to your Imageshack site and looked at all the pics..nice work....I really like the one of you holding the neck in the palm of your hand!...is that your girlfriend on the picture in the background??

[mcomio]

Originally Posted by ehawley

Looking great mcomio!

Thanks,it means a lot that words coming from you.

PS...I went to your Imageshack site and looked at all the pics..nice work...

I did some guitars prior to this one,and they turned out OK,but this is the first one that I love ,Teles were always special to me.So i made couple of guitars just to be shure that Tele will turn out fine.

is that your girlfriend on the picture in the background??

Not quite but she does watch ower my work

[mcomio]

...
As I said earlier I've been doing some frettin'.
This time i tried pressing method instead hammering I did so far.

I made fret press extension for a table drill.
Cost of making it was ,umm... around 3 $

cowl is made of floor laminate and for the extension i dissasembled a carpenter clamp.

[mcomio]

...
Off we go!

What can I say it's a piece of cake work.Most of all frets are evenly pressed.



One more quick-fix fixture,a radius block with a file clamped on the side.
It looks clumsy but it does the fret trimming job flawlessly.

[ehawley]

Hey mcomio!.....The best tools are the tools that you make yourself! I love it! Keep up the great work!

[mcomio]

...
This is the point where some legal issues may occur.
I had Logo screen printed directly on the headstock.
A friend works in that kind of industry so there was no problem.
Some may say that the real problem is what is written on the logo.

Let me just say that both necks will stay with me and are not intended to be sold now or ever. I just stick with one proverb that says :
"Plagiarism is the most most sincere way of admiration"
As soon you see the picture ,You'll realise what am I yaping about.



Anyway,necks are sprayed with a tinted nitro and are waiting for fret leveling.

[mcomio]

...

My version of retainer clip inserting jig,it works fine.


been doin some fret leveling also


...