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riledup · January 21st, 2013, 09:21 PM

This is the first time I've built a guitar. I'm doing this for my senior project, which I need to graduate high school. Muzikp is mentoring me and letting me use his garage and his tools. Hope it turns out well.
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I'm using a poplar board I got from Home Depot so I had to cut it and glue the pieces together. The blade slipped off the wheel while I was using the band saw, which was a little scary. I'm using corian for the template and I've never used a sanding machine before so it needs more work. I've almost got the hang of it though.

adirondak5 · January 21st, 2013, 09:32 PM

Welcome aboard , your in good hands with James as a mentor . Yep , band saw blades coming off the wheels or breaking can be un nerving to say the least . Looking forward to seeing your build come to life ;-)

dutchgoff · January 21st, 2013, 09:32 PM

Good luck. Try not to look a mistakes as failures but as opportunities to learn more. You can do it.

whodatpat · January 21st, 2013, 09:55 PM

Post lots of updates and pictures. Don't get too frustrated by mistakes, in the end they will give your new favorite guitar a lot of character.

Muzikp · January 21st, 2013, 10:49 PM

Woohoo! Looking forward to this one, nice to see the younger generation building, there's hope for future custom guitars with these youngsters.

It should be said my band saw has cut about 1,785 board feet more than it was designed to, and that was 5 years ago. It's always entertaining to cut stuff with it.

Bentley · January 21st, 2013, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muzikp

Woohoo! Looking forward to this one, nice to see the younger generation building, there's hope for future custom guitars with these youngsters.

That's youngsters for ya!

Glad to see another kid working on a guitar! I'd love to have james as a mentor, but I'm not willing to give up Canada.

My school has a guitar building class, but the one flaw with it, is you make the stuff with a cnc! The whole part of custom is that one chip you had to glue back in, and that router that almost killed you! No offense to any guitarbuilder I mean.. er' Cncer.

Davecam48 · January 21st, 2013, 11:23 PM

Good on you young man, welcome! Pay attention to James and keep the fingers away from all the sharp high speed things that can hurt you.

Best of luck with the build, looking good so far.

glen smith · January 21st, 2013, 11:27 PM

You are a lucky grasshopper!

riledup · February 5th, 2013, 09:44 PM

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, schools been keeping me super busy. Thanks to everyone for all the kind words and advice! I do feel quite fortunate to have James as my mentor. Here is what I have since accomplished:

I glued the pieces of wood together to make the block of wood I am going to cut the body out of. Luckily, that went went pretty smoothly, I'm hoping the seam will almost unnoticeable. Then I sanded, sanded, and sanded some more until i finally got the edges of the template perfectly smooth. Sanding is a lot more intense than I thought it would be.

whodatpat · February 5th, 2013, 10:41 PM

Nice job on the template. Keep at it.

deadicated · February 6th, 2013, 12:18 AM

It's looking good. Now the fun starts. Take your time and it'll go fine. Like people have already said you've got great help.

riledup · February 12th, 2013, 11:32 PM

So this weekend I made some progress on working toward finishing the body. I traced the template onto the fully glued block of wood. I wasn't finished with my template when I started this-luckily James let me use his

. The seam turned out pretty good, so I was happy with that. I drilled wholes in the curves of the guitar shape to make it easier to cut out with the band saw. Then I used the sanding machine to smooth out the edges until I got as close to the sharpie line as possible. Then I screwed the template onto the body to make it as secure as possible so it didn't move when I used the router to make the body shape perfect. It was a little scary at first, but I managed to not maim myself so I count the entire day as a success!

Unfortunately, when I was doing the final pass with the router I knocked a chunk out

. Luckily its fixable!

riledup · February 12th, 2013, 11:55 PM

Here is some more pictures. On this day I screwed the template onto the body and I used the router to make the holes for the pickups and the volume and tone controls. I cut each hole to about a 1 in depth. Its beginning to look like a guitar

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Bentley · February 13th, 2013, 12:43 AM

Why didn't you use a router base for the perimeter route? Just curious, I know everyone has different methods.

bevins · February 13th, 2013, 03:37 PM

Great job so far. I love me some poplar Tele's.

I have the same orbital rigid sander. I find I still have to finish by hand alot. I am not used to the Rigid so I make more dents then sanding....hehe

alexlaguna29 · February 13th, 2013, 03:52 PM

Free-hand router - brrrrrr - that gave me chills :)

Obsessed · February 13th, 2013, 05:22 PM

Those are great skills that you are developing and don't worry about the router slip, that is a special skill in itself and takes a lot of practice. It is the main reason for router tables. At this stage, measure three times before you cut or drill. You're doing great and you obviously have a good mentor! Looking forward to more pics.

lookslikemeband · February 13th, 2013, 11:14 PM

I'm WAY impressed.

I don't mean to be the old fuddy duddy.... be remember...

When sanding.. always wear a dust mask. Especially stuff like MDF or glue...

Roll up those sleeves! I have nightmares about getting a sleeve caught in a fan belt many years ago...

NOW for a fun tip: When gluing up... allow any squeeze out to tack up and scrape it off or wipe it off immediately with a dry towel. Don't use a wet towel. It can penetrate and contaminate the wood fibers and show up in the finish.

Carry on!!

riledup · February 18th, 2013, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bentley

Why didn't you use a router base for the perimeter route? Just curious, I know everyone has different methods.

Probably because I don't know what that is haha. I only know what James has taught me how to use and beyond that I don't have much knowledge of all the different methods and tools and what they're called. what are the advantages for using a router base?

riledup · February 18th, 2013, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lookslikemeband

I'm WAY impressed.

I don't mean to be the old fuddy duddy.... be remember...

When sanding.. always wear a dust mask. Especially stuff like MDF or glue...

Roll up those sleeves! I have nightmares about getting a sleeve caught in a fan belt many years ago...

NOW for a fun tip: When gluing up... allow any squeeze out to tack up and scrape it off or wipe it off immediately with a dry towel. Don't use a wet towel. It can penetrate and contaminate the wood fibers and show up in the finish.

Carry on!!

Thanks for the tips!

I'll keep them in mind

January 21st, 2013, 09:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
riledup TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Sacramento Age: 18 Posts: 23	Telecaster Body High School Senior Project Build This is the first time I've built a guitar. I'm doing this for my senior project, which I need to graduate high school. Muzikp is mentoring me and letting me use his garage and his tools. Hope it turns out well. I'm using a poplar board I got from Home Depot so I had to cut it and glue the pieces together. The blade slipped off the wheel while I was using the band saw, which was a little scary. I'm using corian for the template and I've never used a sanding machine before so it needs more work. I've almost got the hang of it though.

January 21st, 2013, 09:32 PM	#2 (permalink)
adirondak5 Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Long Island NY Age: 57 Posts: 5,592	Welcome aboard , your in good hands with James as a mentor . Yep , band saw blades coming off the wheels or breaking can be un nerving to say the least . Looking forward to seeing your build come to life ;-) __________________ *Herb* *I don't always play guitars , but when I do , I prefer tele's , stay twangy my friends*

January 21st, 2013, 09:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
dutchgoff Tele-Holic Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: To far from Texas Age: 58 Posts: 784	Good luck. Try not to look a mistakes as failures but as opportunities to learn more. You can do it. __________________ It's a fool's life, a rogue's life, and a good life if you keep laughing all the way to the grave.

January 21st, 2013, 09:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
whodatpat Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: College Park MD Age: 41 Posts: 1,341	Post lots of updates and pictures. Don't get too frustrated by mistakes, in the end they will give your new favorite guitar a lot of character. __________________ I do all my own mistakes. My Guitar Page

January 21st, 2013, 10:49 PM	#5 (permalink)
Muzikp Friend of Leo's Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sacramento Age: 43 Posts: 2,104	Woohoo! Looking forward to this one, nice to see the younger generation building, there's hope for future custom guitars with these youngsters. It should be said my band saw has cut about 1,785 board feet more than it was designed to, and that was 5 years ago. It's always entertaining to cut stuff with it. __________________ _______________________________________________ James

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January 21st, 2013, 11:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
Davecam48 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Queensland Australia Age: 65 Posts: 1,502	Good on you young man, welcome! Pay attention to James and keep the fingers away from all the sharp high speed things that can hurt you. Best of luck with the build, looking good so far. __________________ " I have this piece of wood that I've cut three times and it's still too short! "

January 21st, 2013, 11:27 PM	#8 (permalink)
glen smith Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Quebec, Canada Age: 63 Posts: 3,855	You are a lucky grasshopper!

February 5th, 2013, 09:44 PM	#9 (permalink)
riledup TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Sacramento Age: 18 Posts: 23	Sorry I haven't posted in a while, schools been keeping me super busy. Thanks to everyone for all the kind words and advice! I do feel quite fortunate to have James as my mentor. Here is what I have since accomplished: I glued the pieces of wood together to make the block of wood I am going to cut the body out of. Luckily, that went went pretty smoothly, I'm hoping the seam will almost unnoticeable. Then I sanded, sanded, and sanded some more until i finally got the edges of the template perfectly smooth. Sanding is a lot more intense than I thought it would be. Last edited by riledup; February 5th, 2013 at 10:17 PM.

February 5th, 2013, 10:41 PM	#10 (permalink)
whodatpat Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: College Park MD Age: 41 Posts: 1,341	Nice job on the template. Keep at it. __________________ I do all my own mistakes. My Guitar Page

February 6th, 2013, 12:18 AM	#11 (permalink)
deadicated Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Baltimore Age: 37 Posts: 402	It's looking good. Now the fun starts. Take your time and it'll go fine. Like people have already said you've got great help. __________________ "One man gathers what another man spills."

February 12th, 2013, 11:32 PM	#12 (permalink)
riledup TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Sacramento Age: 18 Posts: 23	So this weekend I made some progress on working toward finishing the body. I traced the template onto the fully glued block of wood. I wasn't finished with my template when I started this-luckily James let me use his . The seam turned out pretty good, so I was happy with that. I drilled wholes in the curves of the guitar shape to make it easier to cut out with the band saw. Then I used the sanding machine to smooth out the edges until I got as close to the sharpie line as possible. Then I screwed the template onto the body to make it as secure as possible so it didn't move when I used the router to make the body shape perfect. It was a little scary at first, but I managed to not maim myself so I count the entire day as a success! Unfortunately, when I was doing the final pass with the router I knocked a chunk out . Luckily its fixable!

February 12th, 2013, 11:55 PM	#13 (permalink)
riledup TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Sacramento Age: 18 Posts: 23	Here is some more pictures. On this day I screwed the template onto the body and I used the router to make the holes for the pickups and the volume and tone controls. I cut each hole to about a 1 in depth. Its beginning to look like a guitar

February 13th, 2013, 12:43 AM	#14 (permalink)
Bentley Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Kelowna B.C, Canada Age: 15 Posts: 2,663	Why didn't you use a router base for the perimeter route? Just curious, I know everyone has different methods. __________________ -BB I like guitars. You can make anything you want, and make it the way you want. That's what I love.

February 13th, 2013, 03:37 PM	#15 (permalink)
bevins Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montreal, Canada Age: 53 Posts: 115	Great job so far. I love me some poplar Tele's. I have the same orbital rigid sander. I find I still have to finish by hand alot. I am not used to the Rigid so I make more dents then sanding....hehe

February 13th, 2013, 03:52 PM	#16 (permalink)
alexlaguna29 Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Atlanta, GA Age: 31 Posts: 545	Free-hand router - brrrrrr - that gave me chills :)

February 13th, 2013, 05:22 PM	#17 (permalink)
Obsessed Tele-Holic Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Montana Posts: 868	Those are great skills that you are developing and don't worry about the router slip, that is a special skill in itself and takes a lot of practice. It is the main reason for router tables. At this stage, measure three times before you cut or drill. You're doing great and you obviously have a good mentor! Looking forward to more pics. __________________ It is not the destination, it is the adventure of getting there.

February 13th, 2013, 11:14 PM	#18 (permalink)
lookslikemeband Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: CO - again Posts: 142	I'm WAY impressed. I don't mean to be the old fuddy duddy.... be remember... When sanding.. always wear a dust mask. Especially stuff like MDF or glue... Roll up those sleeves! I have nightmares about getting a sleeve caught in a fan belt many years ago... NOW for a fun tip: When gluing up... allow any squeeze out to tack up and scrape it off or wipe it off immediately with a dry towel. Don't use a wet towel. It can penetrate and contaminate the wood fibers and show up in the finish. Carry on!!

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