The Buttercaster Project

[eryque]

Originally Posted by BarnesTO

Bucko, I ssume with the electrosocket you do not use the retaining clip that stock Teles use?

I think the whole reason for the electrosocket jack is the problems with the standard jack cup. On a standard, the retaining clip is what holds the whole thing in. The electrosocket uses screws instead, so no clip.

Buck, I think we can all agree that you've deserved some good twang time with your new beauties and we could all wait at least 12 hours between your posts :)

[Buckocaster51]

Is it real?

Or is it Photoshop?

[kyle1167]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

Is it real?

Or is it Photoshop?

Hey Buck,

For some reason I'm not seeing a pic. I'm getting the little box with the red X.

[Buckocaster51]

Little RED X? I was getting a little blue box w/white question mark.

But the owie is okay now.

[kyle1167]

I can see it now!!. OMG that is beautiful!!
I'll have to admit when this all started and you said that you were building an Orange and a Yellow Tele I didn't think I would like them. Man was I wrong they are two beautiful guitars and you should be very proud.

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by Old Guy

Buckocaster - Thanks so much for the tutorial ! I feel the withdrawls beginning to start. Say it aint so !

...somewhere I missed the installation of the control plate. I know its only two screws but are there any pitfalls there ? Are the screws installed before or after the pickguard ? Are there any tricks to lining it up ?...

I keep telling you kids that I am making this up as I go along...

I try to position the pickguard, bridge, and control plate at the same time...trying to get them all lined up as best I can.

As far as withdrawals...I'm the one that is going to have to get the monkey off my back...this has consumed me for three (3) months.

Remember though...the Martycaster is floating around someplace. I think we'll be hearing something of that before too long.

But right now I'm FREE! FREE! I tell you!

And just in time, I think a student sneezed on me a week or so ago...I feel it coming on. Headache. Bodyache. The last thing I want to do today is play guitar...or clean house.

More later kids.

[Buckocaster51]

One last one.

[Jelly]

Man, that Buttercaster is fine. I thought surely I was going to like the Pumpkincaster the best. And I did up until you posted that first shot of the yellow one all finished. Now I'm leaning toward the butter. It's just perfect - the black neck pickup against the white pickguard on the bound yellow body with the rosewood fingerboard. WOW!

[DrewB]

Awesome work, Steve! How far are you from Lamoni? My outlaws live there and I would love to see your Steve-o-casters "in the Deft" sometime!

[BarnesTO]

Now, we must wait for the Martycaster....hopefully it won't be TOO long....

[riggergreg]

I'm glad you're done, You kept me up too late last night

[Dr Gonzo]

I too am diggin' that Buttercaster, can ypu let us know which plays better when you get round to it!

[Stuco]

finally

[Tom S]

Steve,

It's a great feeling to be done, isn't it?!?

The guitars look GREAT and this has been a great thread!

Kudos to you for having the patience to document it all. And you must be really happy with the results!

[csapo]

This has been an amazing journey and quite the learning experience for me.

Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

Just great looking Telecasters!!!! Buckocaster, you're a talented guy!!!

Look forward to seeing more of your gems!!!

[wilkat1]

Beautiful work, Bucko! DiWiDi Tech strikes again!

I'm digging that Pumpkincaster. And the Buttercaster is beautiful as well.

(If you did a burst starting with that orange and went to brown on the edges, would it be a pumpkinpiecaster?)

Man, I picked a great time to come back to this board!

[mapcaster]

You all should have seen Bucko'caster's 1962 Rambler station wagon with the stars-and-stripes racing stripe. He spent the same time and effort on that stripe back in the late sixties that he's spent on these casters and it was the shiniest paint I'd ever seen. I keep telling him that he should start building theme casters just like the Tuttles build theme motorcycles. I'm sure there would be a market and maybe even his own TV series. If that ever happerns, I get the role of Mikey.

[kyle1167]

Originally Posted by mapcaster

I keep telling him that he should start building theme casters just like the Tuttles build theme motorcycles. I'm sure there would be a market and maybe even his own TV series. If that ever happerns, I get the role of Mikey.

Can I be Jr.? I'm really good at talking back to and getting into arguments with my boss also.

[telechucker]

Well done, Bucko - I'm inspired as well. Thanks for a great tutorial - couldn't get all of this from a book.

[Arlo]

Nice job indeed. Thanks for all the great posts Buck!

[geardaddy]

is it just an illusion, or are the headstocks on both a darker color than the bodies?

i thought i'd been following the thread pretty carefully, but maybe i missed something...it must be just the angle of the lights...

regardless, i'll thank you again for pics of your journey, buckocaster...

let me know when you're ready to tackle a lefty, 'cause i know you're just achin' to put hours and hours into something you can't play for a guy you don't know...

of course, i'll require one of those "fretlight" fingerboards, but that's just for the (bound) 6 string neck...the 12 string and fretless bass necks won't need those guiding lights, as i know all the basic chords and bass notes...

oh, and be a dear, won't you, and just go digging for some fossilized t-rex bone for the nut...i'm sure there's one in your backyard...or your neighbor's...

of course, i'd settle for a relic'ed fiesta red lefty esquire...my suit will call your suit...

again, well done...

p.s. there's something historic and memorable about this thread...i'm a renter with no tools and no workspace, but this one's gonna stay with me for a good long time...

p.p.s. i love the fact that you're so uneasy (or at least bemused) about referring to yourself in the third person...it kills me!

p.p.p.s. it won't be a problem to airbrush a pic of dubya on my "decidercaster", will it? (damn, and i swore i wouldn't bring politics into tele-talk!)

peace,

geardaddy

[MulliganChebichev]

wowowoowow, I absolutely love this thread, like others said this is the only one I read every single day

I was mostly waiting for the soldering, something i'm thinking of doing, and you made it so easy (basics of it and i'll be learning some soldering tricks from my teacher so I don't screw up)

Thank you Bucko!

[David Barnett]

So were the string trees necessary, even with the staggered tuners, or are they just a precaution?

[daviddoubleu]

Pure class! Congratulations.

[Kilt]

Congratulations! I am in awe. Simply magnificent work and great looking guits. Wow!

[wikur]

Thank you buckocaster!
This link has got me started to build a telebody.Your thread has been both informativ and useful.It has given me some real good laughs as well.
Hope you will carry on showing your future projects like this.
Thanks again Wikur!!!

[Fatmanstratman]

Buckocaster, I am in AWE!....

Thanks you so much for sharing all your blood, sweat and tears with us. A truely inspirational record of all your hard work from start to finish. There were times when I almost felt that I was sitting next to you in your workshop, handing you screwdrivers and allen keys while I watched you work.

The end results speak for themselves - two absolutely BEAUTIFUL Telecasters of which you can be rightly proud.

I know I have mentioned this before - but I really DO think it would be a great idea to go through all the postings in this thread, 'cutting & pasting' the appropriate parts (including the wonderful photographs) into a word processor.

You probably don't feel like doing it yourself, but maybe someone might want to take on the task?

Then, it could be saved in PDF format and made available as a downloadable file so EVERYONE could draw inspiration - and confidence - from your efforts when attempting their own 'self-build'. I know that I would love to try one day soon.....

Thanks again!....

[Big Mike Blues]

Fan-freakin-tastic. Nicely done mate!

[petele]

...10's of thousands educated & inspired -
world twang factor increased by two -
Iowa now voted "most improved" -
my brain THANKS center over stimulated:
pretty good for one thread! pete

[csapo]

Wow, over 25,000 views!!!

A true testament to not only Buck's build ability, but his excellent narrative and photojournalistic skills.

Paul, does this set a record for the most viewed thread in the history of TDPRI?

Regardless, it has been one heck of a journey.

[kyle1167]

Hey buck,

Will the Martycaster be profiled on this thread or will it have a thread of it's own?

[Tom S]

Originally Posted by csapo

Wow, over 25,000 views!!!

A true testament to not only Buck's build ability, but his excellent narrative and photojournalistic skills.

Paul, does this set a record for the most viewed thread in the history of TDPRI?

Regardless, it has been one heck of a journey.

Third most viewed thread currently on the forum (click on views on the header of the main page). Can you believe that there's a thread that has more views than this...and it's about SADDLES???????

[jwells393]

Originally Posted by Tom S

Third most viewed thread currently on the forum (click on views on the header of the main page). Can you believe that there's a thread that has more views than this...and it's about SADDLES???????

Saddles ..................... I'm sure it's not nearly as interesting as this one. Topics must have been pretty boring when it was current.

[kerc]

Bucko, just two words: Congratulations, and thanks!

[tdowns]

Originally Posted by csapo

Wow, over 25,000 views!!!

A true testament to not only Buck's build ability, but his excellent narrative and photojournalistic skills.

Paul, does this set a record for the most viewed thread in the history of TDPRI?

Regardless, it has been one heck of a journey.

I'm honored to have been here to see it unfold. With all the folks in today's that want to hide all their "tricks", you've got to admire bucko's williness to share his info and processes.

How many views did the saddles post have? Maybe we can salivate over this post some more and run up the view count.

[Douglas_Holt]

Shucks, we ain't through yet. The Martycaster is till out there somewhere. And besides I use this thread as reference material.

On the page before this one when Buckocaster was drilling those holes in the body for the pickguard and such. A good way to keep from chipping the finish is to use a refursible? drill, and start the hole with bit running backwards. He didn't say if he did that or not but he didn't seem to have any problems with it. Just a thought.

Love those teles

awsome work

Doug

[Buckocaster51]

Gee kids, I am overwhelmed.

You can't believe how much fun this has been.

Once again I want to thank Paul for making this possible.

The Ol' Buckocaster thanks you all again.

I'll answer some of your questions later. Right now I am still recovering from some sort of intestinal crud. Yuck!

[mojocasterman]

Buck, thanks for spreading the knowledge in such a selfless and informative way. This thread is a gem. And so are your guitars! I am still pumped about the martycaster to come. Great job!

[Home Grown Tele]

Thanks Bucko, you kept me up many nights in breathless anticipation of the next installment of this thread.

Keep us all up to date on the Martycaster! That one has given me some ideas for the mahogany Thinline I have sittin' on my work bench awaiting it's build!

[Buckocaster51]

Just got back from the paint shop...had to go spend some "quality time" with the Martycaster.

Sample dialog:
Bob: "How big do you want that flake?"
Buckocaster: "Big"
Bob: "Is this big enough?"
Buckocaster: "Can you get it bigger?
Bob: "How about this?
Buckocaster: " Bigger."
Bob: "Do you know how HARD that is going to be to mask the binding on that?"
Buckocaster: "Well, I have this internet buddy, Redogbass, that has this REALLY great method..."

Originally Posted by reddogbass

Problem- After installation, the bindings are scraped and sanded flush with the body. After the color has been applied, if you scrape off the color to reveal the entire binding, you are dangerously close to the bare wood, and more often than not, expose some wood.

Solution- Before applying the color-coats, mask off the body and clear-coat the bindings to the approximate film thickness that the color-coats will be. Un-mask and shoot the color over the whole shebang. All you have to do to expose the binding is sand the color off the bindings, only to the previously applied clear coats. Not you have a flush surface to which you can apply more clear- and you have not gotten even close to bare wood.

and that is what we are doing.

So far the binding has SEVEN coats of clear on it...and it just POPS through that PPG clear urethane.

A few more and we will be ready to apply some color.

Forgot the camera though. No pictures.

Now if I can just figure out why the Buttercaster only has two (2) sounds coming out of its 4-way switch...

...and when I am on the neck PUP, rolling back the tone control also lowers the volume...I'm thinking that I have the wrong cap in there. Can't imagine how I would have made a mistake last weekend. Don't want to gross you out with the details, but I was doing more than JUST throwing up...

Other than that little wiring snafu, these two guitars are going to be perfectly serviceable...not the best new Teleguitar I have ever played (that distinction belongs to a Crook that followed me home one day) but they are also far, far, far from the worse. They are not going to embarass me.

I'm happy.

Thanks again for all of the kind words.