My First Build: Walnut Thinline

[rednwhiteblues]

So, I've been tossing around the idea of building myself a guitar for a while, and have recently decided to give it a try. I've just started work on a walnut thinline (inspired by Rich Rice's walnut thinline build thread on thegearpage, http://www.thegearpage.net/board/sho...d.php?t=309436, amazing work!). I originally planned on just using alder or swamp ash to build it, but the guy who's shop and tools I am using had a 10 foot plank of walnut that he's been trying to make use of for the past 12 years, and gave me the wood for free! I figured why pass up on that opportunity?!

So right now I'm looking at a walnut body and neck, with a rosewood fingerboard that I'll be purchasing from warmoth. Other than the fingerboard, the whole thing will be built from scratch.

I've got the main body piece rough cut, and will begin sanding it to the outline soon. I apologize for the quality of my pictures, as until I find where I left my camera charger, I'll be stuck using a camera phone.

Here's the top of the bottom I guess you'd say, I'll be routing the chambers out of this side.



And here's the bottom of the guitar, I'll most likely end up doing an oil finish on it, because I really love the grain pattern.



As soon as I get some walnut putty I'll fill the few worm holes in the wood, and finish getting it sanded to its final shape.

[Rich Rice]

Oh yeah! Looks great already! Love to see you doing this!

[jwells393]

What will you be using to cover the top?

Speaking of misplaced camera chargers............ A friend of mine is always losing hers. I got her a replacement on eBay for $1.99 BIN plus $6 shipping. Seller: everydaysource

[rednwhiteblues]

I want to do a solid black finish on the top (with a white binding), so I don't know whether i want to use up another piece of that walnut if the grain won't even show, but the price is right (free), and it would probably be more solid of a body if it was the same wood glued together. besides, chico only has two companies that sell hardwood, and they only sell in large quantities (at least a lot larger than is needed for a telecaster). And i'll look that seller up and see if i can find the right one, thanks!

[Rich Rice]

Originally Posted by rednwhiteblues

I want to do a solid black finish on the top (with a white binding), so I don't know whether i want to use up another piece of that walnut if the grain won't even show, but the price is right (free), and it would probably be more solid of a body if it was the same wood glued together. besides, chico only has two companies that sell hardwood, and they only sell in large quantities (at least a lot larger than is needed for a telecaster). And i'll look that seller up and see if i can find the right one, thanks!

I'd stick with the free walnut. You can do anything you want with it.

[rednwhiteblues]

thats what i think i'll do. i have enough to make the top and the neck out of walnut from the same piece as the main body, so the color of the body and the neck will match up perfectly too.

*edit* Might as well add in the specs for the build:

• Walnut Thinline body, black finish on top with white binding
• Red Pearloid pickguard, my own design (basically the warmoth hybrid tele shape but covering the treble-side horn like a standard pickguard)
• Walnut Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, 21 frets, roman numeral "III" inlaid at the third fret
• Fender Vintage Noiseless Pickups
• Vintage 3-saddle bridge
• 4-way switch mod to allow neck+bridge in series
• all gold hardware, including gold neck pickup cover, and gold fretwire

[Rich Rice]

I think you'll agree that the walnut is really nice to work with, and very predictable. A little Bartley's pore filler and a couple of coats of sanding sealer will get you right where you want to be.

[rednwhiteblues]

thanks for the advice Rich, i've had a lot of questions and problems in planning answered just by reading your build threads, so thanks for doing what you do around here!

[mojocasterman]

can't wait to see this progress

[Rich Rice]

Originally Posted by rednwhiteblues

thanks for the advice Rich, i've had a lot of questions and problems in planning answered just by reading your build threads, so thanks for doing what you do around here!

It's my pleasure. If I can help you out, I'll be glad to do so. You're going to love the walnut thinline! I just played this one for the first time yesterday, and it had to go in a case.. I kept trying to work on other stuff, but kept stopping to play the walnut one.. Too much of a distraction to have it sitting out!

[Fatmanstratman]

Originally Posted by rednwhiteblues

Here's the top of the bottom I guess you'd say, I'll be routing the chambers out of this side.

You're building this in your bathroom???...

[rednwhiteblues]

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

You're building this in your bathroom???...

haha, Im actually a resident advisor here in chico, so I currently call a dorm room home, and due to the law of lets-make-dorm-rooms-unnecessarily-uncomfortable, the bathroom has the best lighting for pictures.

llucky for me, a good friend of the family is the autoCAD/drafting teacher at one of the local high schools, so I have access to all of their equipment to build the guitar.

[rednwhiteblues]

Update!

So in the last two days, I've gotten some work done on the body. I made this template (once again based on tdowns' drawing) out of particle board I found laying around, and cut the pickup routes, control plate, and f-hole into to use later for the top piece. I also used it as a "mock up" drawing for the areas I'd be hollowing out of the body.



I screwed that onto the top of the body and routed around the whole thing, was able to get it all in one pass, and no tear-outs! i still need to fill some wormholes though, haven't had a chance to get any putty for that yet, but i hope it'll happen by this weekend.



Then, I used a drill press to start hollowing out the body. unfortunately the depth stop doesn't work on that drill press, so i had to go with the old masking tape. It worked fine though, fairly uniform depth that can easily be cleaned up later.



I'm happy with how it's going so far, I'll keep you updated when I can

[martino]

[quote=rednwhiteblues;
I'm happy with how it's going so far, I'll keep you updated when I can[/QUOTE]

Yes please do !

You realy removed loads of wood, I wonder how light it will be . . .

[Rich Rice]

Originally Posted by martino

Yes please do !

You realy removed loads of wood, I wonder how light it will be . . .

It's very similar to one I built, I removed about 6 lbs. of wood from the body with that cut. The finished guitar was about 6-1/2 lbs.

[tonfarbe]

Originally Posted by rednwhiteblues

thats what i think i'll do. i have enough to make the top and the neck out of walnut from the same piece as the main body, so the color of the body and the neck will match up perfectly too.

*edit* Might as well add in the specs for the build:

• Walnut Thinline body, black finish on top with white binding
  ...

This is such a nice piece of wood. Are you sure you want to cover it with black finish?

[rednwhiteblues]

Originally Posted by Rich Rice

It's very similar to one I built, I removed about 6 lbs. of wood from the body with that cut. The finished guitar was about 6-1/2 lbs.

I find that i've practically followed your build to the "T" (subtle little pun there i suppose) so far, not necessarily intentionally, but simply because you seem to know the best way to do everything! and who better to take examples from than someone who builds as exceptionally as you do?

in other news, as a result of some late-night-turned-into-an-early-morning brainstorming, i've made some final decisions as far as the final aesthetics of the guitar go. I'll be using walnut for the top, and doing the whole body with just a clear coat, as opposed to a black solid finish on top like i originally planned. (that walnut has just grown on me way too much to want to cover it up with paint!) I'll also be making it a double bound body (white binding) as I've always loved the look of a double bound tele.

[sean79]

Sounds good. Love the double-binding.

Is the routing in front of and behind the bridge typical for a thinline or chambered body build? If seen some routed with two "chambers" or a big "U" shaped chamber - leaving solid wood between the bridge and neck. Does the full chamber routing have much of an impact on the sound?

Keep posting with your progress.

[rednwhiteblues]

i'd say that having it chambered is going to sound different than having it hollowed out completely like this, just from the fact that it is more area for the sound to resonate. i'd say that hopefully this guitar, when finished, will be quite loud even without plugging in, as it is about as close to being hollow as you can get without making it an archtop style guitar. i do believe, however, that the way you describe it with the wood left in the middle, is the way fender makes their thinlines, and i know thats what warmoth does to theirs.

[rednwhiteblues]

alright, so its been a while since i've updated, and unfortunately i dont have anything to update with, other than a question:

has anyone heard of having a maple fretboard on a non-maple neck? i was thinking about it, and having a rosewood fretboard on a walnut neck doesn't make sense for two reasons.
1. The two woods won't match color-wise, and as the neck and body will be from the same piece of walnut, the fretboard would look a bit off.
2. Tonally, rosewood and walnut don't match up very well, but walnut and maple are much closer, both sounding fairly bright.

at this conclusion, i think i'm going to go with a maple fretboard on the walnut neck, but does anyone have any pictures of a light fretboard on a dark neck? i'm curious what it looks like other than a kisekae rendering.

speaking of kisekae, here is the most updated rendering of the goal for this project:

[garrett]

Originally Posted by rednwhiteblues

thats what i think i'll do. i have enough to make the top and the neck out of walnut from the same piece as the main body, so the color of the body and the neck will match up perfectly too.

*edit* Might as well add in the specs for the build:

• Walnut Thinline body, black finish on top with white binding
• Red Pearloid pickguard, my own design (basically the warmoth hybrid tele shape but covering the treble-side horn like a standard pickguard)
• Walnut Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, 21 frets, roman numeral "III" inlaid at the third fret
• Fender Vintage Noiseless Pickups
• Vintage 3-saddle bridge
• 4-way switch mod to allow neck+bridge in series
• all gold hardware, including gold neck pickup cover, and gold fretwire

Looks good!

I had the same finish idea, except I want to do one out of mahogany.

I hope you stick with the pickguard covering the lower horn. I want to do that too! I always thought the thinline guards looked a little funny.

Great minds think alike, I guess!

[jwells393]

......

Hmmm........... sure don't like that look ......... but that's just me. If you don't like rosewood, I'd suggest ebony or an all maple neck.

[rednwhiteblues]

So I have finally gotten around to getting some more progress on the build, yesterday I found a really nice piece of walnut for the top ($20 from a local hardwood supplier!!!!) and cleaned up after the mess made by the forstner bit when i made the cavity, and I have some pics!

Heres the body as it stands now after routing the bottom flush. I had one rookie router mistake (i had no experience with a router before this project) in which I had the collet of the router lowered down past the router base, and ended up burning/removing a bit of wood where the bridge will go, but its not really an issue because it will be covered up.


Ouch!!!!


And heres the piece I got for the top, its got some really nice cross-grain flame to it, that will really pop out with a nice clearcoat on it.


Today i'll cut that top piece, join it, and glue it on top (probably at the same time), and maybe by the time the weekend is over i'll rout the binding channel. gonna wait on the neck pocket until I have the neck built, which means i won't be able to install the binding on the top, but I'll at least have it ready

It's finally starting to look like a tele to me, so Im pretty excited!

ps. decided to scrap the maple fretboard idea, just gonna do a one-piece walnut neck and try slotting for frets myself. i think i'll end up liking that better.

[sha4096]

+1 on this one, looking forward seeing the next steps ! But before gluing the table, I would shield the whole cavity as your neck pickup will be in that empty area (or not ? I have hard time seeing if you have enough wood for the pickup cavity near the future neck pocket).

[rednwhiteblues]

ooh, didn't even think about shielding it... if i use shielding paint, do i have to ground anything to it or do i just paint it?

[amp boy]

this is awesome....though may i suggest another asthetic approach.
instead of white binding, go with a lighter wood trim, or stain. i don't know how they do it, but i think folks here know what i'm talking about.
Then match that wood binding color to a wooden pickguard.
Praisecaster on here has a sweet wooden guard on his tele. maybe he can give you some word on that.
i think that would compliment the overall look.....actually rather classy i think with the dark creamy grain of the walnut, and the gold accent hardware. it's a simple line to take in.
i think the red and white clash in the mix with dark brown wood and gold.
the line of appearance is not as smooth.
just my thought on it.

your more of a builder than i though,
this is an awesome thing your doing.

[rednwhiteblues]

Originally Posted by amp boy

this is awesome....though may i suggest another asthetic approach.
instead of white binding, go with a lighter wood trim, or stain. i don't know how they do it, but i think folks here know what i'm talking about.
Then match that wood binding color to a wooden pickguard.
Praisecaster on here has a sweet wooden guard on his tele. maybe he can give you some word on that.
i think that would compliment the overall look.....actually rather classy i think with the dark creamy grain of the walnut, and the gold accent hardware. it's a simple line to take in.
i think the red and white clash in the mix with dark brown wood and gold.
the line of appearance is not as smooth.
just my thought on it.

thanks for the compliments and input, I think i'm pretty set on the red pearl guard, that has been the single thing that hasn't changed in my plans ever since i started even considering doing this build. i'm actually trying to find out if i can do a decent dye job on some of lmii's white pearloid binding to get it to match the red pearl pickguard, but if not, i'll just go with the white pearl binding.

your more of a builder than i though,
this is an awesome thing your doing.

haha, thanks for that, but considering this is not only my first build ever but also the first major woodworking project i've ever undertaken, i'm tempted to throw in an "if i can do it anyone can do it" after reading that. still, thanks so much for the nice words

[rednwhiteblues]

Ok, so I got the top joined and glued down onto the body yesterday, and just today I routed it flush to the body (at least close, I have to sand it a bit to get it good, but I think the binding will hide it anyway, so it doesn't matter). Looks alright, except that the top is a bit on the not-so-level side (shoulda checked it better before gluing, oh well). other than that it looks great!


Also routed the bottom for the binding, I'm gonna wait until i can send it through a surface sander to square up the top before routing the top for binding, and then I'll rout the holes with a cnc mill at the shop im using. should be awesome!


Also, I ordered my bridge, control plate, and binding strips today, should have them fairly soon.

[telechaser]

Originally Posted by jwells393

......

Hmmm........... sure don't like that look ......... but that's just me. If you don't like rosewood, I'd suggest ebony or an all maple neck.

+1 and not a real fan of gold hardware. Are you sure you want to put a pickguard on it? The top looks too good to cover up. But it' your Tele and you should do what looks good to you.

[rednwhiteblues]

yeah, i really want that pickguard, although i'm gonna wait to drill the holes until i get the guard to make sure i like it.

[lennyb]

lookin good ....another great build thread!

[cknowles]

Originally Posted by rednwhiteblues

yeah, i really want that pickguard, although i'm gonna wait to drill the holes until i get the guard to make sure i like it.

You may have answered this already, pickguard material is wood or plastic?

I really like the wood guard on my parts caster. Especially since all I've done is apply a thin oil finish. I can feel the wood while I'm playing and love the feel.

[rednwhiteblues]

not wood, its gonna be a vinyl red pearl guard from warmoth.

[scubadoo]

great build so far! Can't wait to see more. How thick was the back of the guitar after you'd routed out the chamber?

[RodeoTex]

You might consider making your pickguard in the shape of the one below. I think the pointed areas around the control plate look a little more 'finished' than just straight cuts.
Just a thought.

[jwells393]

Got to agree with that.

......

[rednwhiteblues]

i like that shape, and i have recently come to the decision that red pearl will be out in favor of a white pearl guard to match the binding, i agree with what some of you have said and don't want the red to take away from the guitars overall look.

i will (hopefully) get started on the neck soon as i am finally back to a stable point financially after a few rocky months. i've got the wood, just need the truss rod. any suggestions for a good quality double rod? stewmac vs. warmoth?

[Mr.Reed]

Originally Posted by RodeoTex

You might consider making your pickguard in the shape of the one below. I think the pointed areas around the control plate look a little more 'finished' than just straight cuts.
Just a thought.

Where do I order a guard like that? It's pure awesomeness!!!

[graphs]

i think white pearl will look fantastic on the walnut body. can't wait to see how it comes out!

[hooverrocks77]

whatever happened with this build?