New tele body - concerns

[arw321]

Hi guys,

This is my first post here. Lots of great info on this site.

I recently picked up an unfinished ash tele body from someone online. The body originally looked pretty good to me but I'm starting to develop some concerns:

1. Neck pocket length is about 3-1/32". I assume this is OK?

2. Neck screw holes on the face of the body are spaced at approximately 2" x 1.5" however they don't appear to be drilled straight through to the back as the hole spacing on the back of the body is a little off. These holes are about 1/8" in diameter - I assume I can use a drill press and enlarge these holes, drilling from the front to the back, however how big should these holes be?

3. The distance between the bottom of the neck cavity and the start of the neck pickup cavity is just over 3/8" - say 0.4 or so. I believe that this should be around 0.45 - will this cause any problems?

4. String ferrule holes appear to be aligned well on the back however they aren't perfectly aligned on the front of the body (they are fairly close). There are some minor chips around the ferrule holes in the back however I believe I can countersink the holes for vintage ferrules in order to get rid of most/all of the chipping. A larger/deeper countersink would help hide the chipping at the expense of the ferrule sitting a little deeper in the body. Is this OK?

5. My biggest concern - neck and bridge pickup depth is just under 15/16". Is this too deep? Will this cause any problems?

Thanks guys! Any help would be very much appreciated. If necessary, I'd be happy to post up some pictures.

Adam

[hackworth1]

North/South Length of neck pocket must correspond to bridge position vis a vis measurement of scale length must be 25.5 inches from nut to bridge saddles. Or 12 3/4 inches from the 12th fret to the bridge saddles. That is assuming the Fender scale.

Put your neck in the neck pocket and measure to be sure. Get a 48 inch aluminum ruler from a builder supply if you do not have one on hand.

You will need to have on hand the bridge you are planning to use to check these coordinates.

Your body holes in the neck pocket are not super critical. You can make some adjustments within reason. The screws should not bite the neck pocket holes. The screws should bite the neck only. That will allow you some leeway.

Your pickup routs can be shimmed if necessary. Or the pickup mounting springs and/or screw length or pickguard mounting will allow for the extra depth.

Within reason, your ferrule holes are mostly aesthetic.

[arw321]

Originally Posted by hackworth1

North/South Length of neck pocket must correspond to bridge position vis a vis measurement of scale length must be 25.5 inches from nut to bridge saddles. Or 12 3/4 inches from the 12th fret to the bridge saddles. That is assuming the Fender scale.

Put your neck in the neck pocket and measure to be sure. Get a 48 inch aluminum ruler from a builder supply if you do not have one on hand.

You will need to have on hand the bridge you are planning to use to check these coordinates.

Your body holes in the neck pocket are not super critical. You can make some adjustments within reason. The screws should not bite the neck pocket holes. The screws should bite the neck only. That will allow you some leeway.

Your pickup routs can be shimmed if necessary. Or the pickup mounting springs and/or screw length or pickguard mounting will allow for the extra depth.

Within reason, your ferrule holes are mostly aesthetic.

Hackworth,

Thanks for the response!

I had a few concerns with some of the body dimensions so I printed a 1:1 template of a tele pickguard and applied it to the body - I want to make sure this body is OK before I start going crazy ordering all of my parts.

Anyway, the pickguard template does not seem to fit correctly. It almost overhangs the right side of the body and doesn't seem to line up correctly with the control cavity.

I took some quick measurements on the body and found that the distance across the upper bout at the widest point is approximately 10-13/16", across the narrowest part of the body is about 8-7/8". I believe that these dimensions are about 1/8" to 3/16" smaller than they should be.

Should I be concerned or do these dimensions seem to be "within spec"?

Thanks again,
Adam

[arw321]

I've attached a couple photos of the body. I believe it came from Ben @ Reddirt Guitars (he's an active member on the Reranch forum).

I know that is' probably tough to tell from these photos alone, but I'm hoping someone could give me their opinion on this body (i.e. if it's going to make a decent build).

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Thanks again,
Adam

[robt57]

Here, courtesy of T Downs

http://terrydownsmusic.com/Archive/t...awing_revD.pdf

[arw321]

Thanks, I've looked at similar drawings and my body appears to be a little smaller in some dimensions.

Would the dimensions on the drawings be nominal (i.e. before sanding/etc.)?

Am I making too big of a deal out of this?

[skimballc]

Originally Posted by arw321

Am I making too big of a deal out of this?

Depends on how willing and able you are to make it work. Assuming that mystery bodies in this realm of partscasters are going to align to 'spec', as you say, would be a bit presumptuous. If your neck and bridge measure out correctly you can make the rest of it work. The pickguard will have to be custom fit, but you'd find that to be an issue with a lot of bodies. All told, if the neck and bridge line up it looks definitely doable and could make a great guitar.

If it were me and I had procured a body of unknown origin, I think I would refrain from publicly guessing who made it. People might make unfair assumptions about a builder.

[hackworth1]

That sure looks like a Red Dirt to me. In any case, You would need some tools and some skills to put any guitar together. IMHO, you could potentially make a fine guitar with this body.
Neck pocket width at the heel is critical. Must be 2 1/4 to 2 3/16ths wide at the heel. If it is bigger than 2 3/16ths, it would require a wider at the heel neck. If it is narrower, you will need to dremel it very carefully or hand file and hand block sand it wider. Most necks are made to fit the stock/standard 2 3/16ths neck pocket heel.

Neck pocket should be 5/8 inch deep. Depth can be cut (routed) deeper if needed or shimmed shallower.

You need to get a neck and see how it fits.

Your pickup cavities' depth is ok.

You need a neck and a bridge to know if you can go ahead.

Refer to my other post re: scale length relative to bridge position.

[arw321]

Thanks again guys. Neck pocket width at the heel is bang on 2-3/16" (just above the rounded corners). Depth is pretty much 5/8".

I did email Ben from Red Dirt who confirmed it was one of his bodies. I wouldn't have posted this as an assumption.

I will update as my parts start to come in. Thanks again and happy new year. :)

Adam

Originally Posted by hackworth1

That sure looks like a Red Dirt to me. In any case, You would need some tools and some skills to put any guitar together. IMHO, you could potentially make a fine guitar with this body.
Neck pocket width at the heel is critical. Must be 2 1/4 to 2 3/16ths wide at the heel. If it is bigger than 2 3/16ths, it would require a wider at the heel neck. If it is narrower, you will need to dremel it very carefully or hand file and hand block sand it wider. Most necks are made to fit the stock/standard 2 3/16ths neck pocket heel.

Neck pocket should be 5/8 inch deep. Depth can be cut (routed) deeper if needed or shimmed shallower.

You need to get a neck and see how it fits.

Your pickup cavities' depth is ok.

You need a neck and a bridge to know if you can go ahead.

Refer to my other post re: scale length relative to bridge position.

[birddog01]

Thanks Robt & hackworth & thanks for the link to drawing.
You answered some concerns I had as well and saved me from starting a new thread.
I recieved my neck a couple days ago, I can tell you the neck holes are not perfect and they are to small. The neck holes in the body are not "clearanced" for the neck screws. Without opening them up the screws thread into the body and you can't draw the neck tight to the body.
With the neck plate on, the plate is cocked towards the cutaway side.

My bridge seemed to line up ok with the holes & string & ferrule holes were good and straight. My pick gaurd seemed to line up ok except was a little long on the "horn" on the cutaway but figured this could be trimmed.
I'll take everything home and work on this over the weekend.
I don't want to drill my first hole for the control plate or the pickgaurd till this stuff is resolved. Oh and re-working is half the fun.

Wally

[arw321]

Birddog, who made your body?

Thanks,
Adam

[hackworth1]

You need to drill your neck pocket holes so that the screws go through with no resistance. Use your neck plate as a template for both the neck and neck pocket holes.

A drill press is critical for drilling straight perpendicular holes. I would be afraid to drill holes with a hand drill. Maybe not bad for expanding the hole size. That is: if the holes are right.

[birddog01]

Adam, RD made the body.
I'm trying to set it all up today & having some issues.
Nothing major, its workable. No problem with this body, I certainly couldn't have got it this far myself without scrapping it but I can make it right.
So far I have surmised, 3 neck holes will have to be dowlded & redrilled. I'm not going to open them up that much. I can get everything lined up with 2 screws in bridge, 2 of those will have to be plugged and redrilled also.
looks like a trip out to HD today for some 3/16 dowl rod.
I was hoping to get to the point of grain filling by the end of this weekend.

Can anybody tell me, shold the string through holes be the same size as the bridge holes for the strings ?
Most of the hole seemed to be drilled smaller which is good, I'd rather be smaller than larger.

Can't post any photos till monday.

Wally

[hackworth1]

Off the top of my head, Your bridge mounting screwholes are critical. Make sure you have the correct size bit.

String thru hole size is not critical. IIRC, they are (or they can be) generally larger than the bridge screw holes.

You may have to ream the holes on the back for ferrule fitment.

[birddog01]

Mr. Hackworth sir.
Bridge mounting screw holes are done. I was able to perfectly align the bridge with 2 of the existing holes. thats how I detrmined 2 needed to be plugged & redrilled.
My 3 out of kilter neck holes have been dowlded & redrilled. Neck fits good, Square & tight, just by tighening the screws it goes where it should for perpendicular alignment to the bridge.
But there is another issue, I'll post a thread for advise with photos monday.

On the string holes, my question was more on the holes in the wood on the bridge side (ferrules fit fine and are straight)
I would think there should be no wood showing and the string should go from the bushing and wrap over the bridge "string thru" hole and not touch any wood. Seems like it would sustain better, touching wood would somewhat dampen my twang ? If this is the case I can just take my reamer to them a little, no problem.

Sorry Andy didn't mean to hijack your thread, we are in this together considering the source.

Wally

[redddog]

Crap.

I just bought a body from that source and was hoping to aviod these issues.

[birddog01]

Originally Posted by redddog

Crap.

I just bought a body from that source and was hoping to aviod these issues.

I'm thinking about my second build (before the first is done) & if you decide you don't want it let me know. Most of these things aren't a real big deal.

Wally

[redddog]

I will. Thanks bud.

[habernack]

I just received my body today (from GF - I ordered it before I became a member here and read some of the experiences people had). I haven't addressed any neck issues yet, however my string through holes/ bridgeplate, and neck pup rout don't align.

If I place my bridge in correct alignment with the pup rout, I"m almost a 1/4" out. If I align the string through holes with the bridge, my pup rout shows from underneth the bridgeplate.

What's my best course of action here?

thanks
Dave

[arw321]

Guys, this is my first build and I think any of the issues with these bodies are "workable".

My ferrule holes weren't drilled very nicely (or straight for that matter) - same for the bridge mounting plate, but i was able to redrill (and countersink) the ferrule/string through holes.

After grain filling the body and applying many coats of sanding sealer I aligned and installed my bridge plate and used it as a template to re-drill the string through holes from the front of the body. I ended up with a small hole in the grain filler that plugged up the ferrule holes and then re-drilled and countersunk the ferrule holes from the back, using a drill press of course. This took a little bit of time but was well worth it.

There is actually no sign that any of the holes were ever out of line or not drilled properly.

I'll get some pics up if you're interested.

Adam

[habernack]

upon further inspection, I laid a technical drawing over my tele body and it appears that the bridgeplate is the part in question. My next step is to find one that aligns correctly.

thanks

[birddog01]

Originally Posted by arw321

Guys, this is my first build and I think any of the issues with these bodies are "workable".

My ferrule holes weren't drilled very nicely (or straight for that matter) - same for the bridge mounting plate, but i was able to redrill (and countersink) the ferrule/string through holes.

After grain filling the body and applying many coats of sanding sealer I aligned and installed my bridge plate and used it as a template to re-drill the string through holes from the front of the body. I ended up with a small hole in the grain filler that plugged up the ferrule holes and then re-drilled and countersunk the ferrule holes from the back, using a drill press of course. This took a little bit of time but was well worth it.

There is actually no sign that any of the holes were ever out of line or not drilled properly.

I'll get some pics up if you're interested.

Adam

Sure Adam, We like pictures.
You can see a couple conerns/issues I had in this thread.
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home...t-do-next.html
I should have my router bit I ordered today so I should be able to get the rest of my stuff worked out this weekend, then I can start making progress and go on to grain filling and finishing.
I take photos and will post a thread of the complete build when finisished.
Lots of help here every step of the way.

Welcome cGcGuits
Nice guitar, interesting headstock.

Wally

[arw321]

Beautiful guitar cGcGuits. Nice to see that a famous Canadian is playing it! I believe Kevin Hearn from Grimsby? That's where I live.

I'm still waiting on my neck and some misc. items but am hoping that this body will work for me.

cGcGuits, maybe you'd be interested in making a body for me if this one doesn't work out? :)

On to pics of my re-drilled ferrule/string through/bridge plate mounting holes. How do these look? Looks like there is a bit of grain filler in the one bridge mounting hole. I've filled the grain with Goudey's filler and used a full can of Dover's SS.

Any input/comments would be appreciated!

Adam