Yet another thinline project

[varakeef]

I bought a Dr. Parts tele body and started to make it hollow.






Now it's quite hollow indeed, but I'm looking for ideas to continue.

This far I've made the chambering with a hand drill, so now I have somewhat 30 mm deep chamber that has additional little spike holes of 4 mm deep here and there.

Sorry for me being metric... anyway I have about a fourth of an inch to remove of the wood to get a top that is somewhat thin enough (1/4").

I don't have too many tools available, a hand dril and a smal band sander (dunno if it's a correct term, like this http://www.blackanddecker.fi/powerto.../catno/KA293G/ ). Am I doomed to use the band sander to get the chamber a bit cleaner and a bit deeper? Or is there any bits that could be attached to hand drill to make the work?

I also borrowed a small hand router but I really don't know how to use it or is it a right tool for the job at all. I could try thou...

The body will be painted gold, with kinda paisley top.

[jwells393]

Hmmmm.......... looks like you jumped right in without a plan. How are you going to cover the back? Man I wish you hadn't connected the two chambers.

The link below shows how I built a semi-hollow but I'm well equipped with tools. To remove the remaining wood, a router and template would be best. A drill press could possibly be used.

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/showgallery.php/cat/574

[varakeef]

Originally Posted by jwells393

Hmmmm.......... looks like you jumped right in without a plan. How are you going to cover the back? Man I wish you hadn't connected the two chambers.

Guess I'm a bit impulsive indeed .

The back... hmm... I thought I could glue a back on there but is connecting the chambers somekind of a problem in relation to that? Or to something else?

The idea to connect the chambers was to create a bigger chamber to get more sound out of the f-hole.

[sromero]

jwells,

would it be possible to use a band saw to slice a top off of a solid body, then chamber it, then re-attach the top? you'd have to have a planer wide enough and you'd lose maybe 1/4" (i'm guessing here) on your overall thickness when you put it back together.

[jwells393]

sromero......... You would be better off running the body through a thickness planer and removing 1/4 inch from the back side, then hollowing the chambers from the back side and adding a new back. You want to do this from the backside so you don't screw up the pickup cavities or neck pocket. It would take a very large bandsaw to resaw (slice) a Telecaster body. The body is about 12 3/4 in. wide at the widest point. Chances of screwing up big time are very probable.


varakeef........... If you hadn't connected the chambers, you could have made covers like I did in this thread. They could have been plastic or wood. You can add a full back to what you have there. If you can get access to a thickness planer you might take off a 1/4 inch from the back so the thickness of the body doesn't increase. You also need to get rid of the edge radius on the back side.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...reduction+plan

[fivenote]

What's done is done, so at this point what can varakeef do with the tools and skills he has? I think jwells plastic cover approach is easiest and can be done with the tools he has. Stewmac has 12"x20" sheets of single ply pickguard material. You may be able to cut a single piece to cover the entire chamber route across both sides.

[jwells393]

sromero........... after further thought you could take the 1/4 inch off the top if you wanted to add an nice figured maple, flamed maple, or other nice wood top. You'd have to rout the cavities and neck pocket in the new top but this wouldn't be a big deal if you have the tools and template. You could put a nice natural wood top on a solid color body.

[varakeef]

Thanks a lot everybody!

Originally Posted by jwells393

varakeef........... If you hadn't connected the chambers, you could have made covers like I did in this thread. They could have been plastic or wood. You can add a full back to what you have there. If you can get access to a thickness planer you might take off a 1/4 inch from the back so the thickness of the body doesn't increase. You also need to get rid of the edge radius on the back side.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...reduction+plan

This is a great thread and especially a great idea indeed. And it's quite relieving that the full back is still possible.

Actually I may have access to a thickness planer via a friend that is a wood working professional. So it seems we have a plan here.

Now if we go back to the back piece, do you think I might be possible to make it from thin birch plywood for example. I got some.

[Robert(og)]

the bridge...... what will the bridge mount to?
this is how i did my girlfriends chambered tele.
i simple took a peice of poplar, made an outer template, marked off all the no no spot(i.e. neck pocket, center wood, pups,bridge, and what not) and then took out the sides and followed it via a bearing bit with a router.
i know this pic does not help much but its the best that i could find.

then when i was satisfied with that, i glued on a basswood top
and proceded as normal, this is what it looked like before paint.

[varakeef]

Originally Posted by Robert(og)

the bridge...... what will the bridge mount to?

If I measured it correctly there's solid wood under the bridge. The chamber goes in between the bridge and end strap pin.

[jwells393]

Now if we go back to the back piece, do you think I might be possible to make it from thin birch plywood for example. I got some.

If it's a high grade birch plywood you could probably use it for the back. Probably have to use grain filler on the edges. Some of the older Squiers and the current Squier Mini-Strats are made of plywood and they get a good smooth finish on the sides with no sign of the plies.

[varakeef]

This is my first experience with the router. I was just trying to follow the pencil line drawn into the back with free hand. After a bit of consultation I found a guiding bit in he router box and got instructions of how that should have been used... Got also a hint not to press the bit to the bottom of the socket to get a bit deeper.

Now I have about 1/4 inch thick top. I used the route I first made as a sablon to go deeper. Now the bottom of the chamber follows the beautiful curly lines of the first route. Eh...

A few slips here and there but gladly it will be covered with a back cover:


Next weekend my friend will use a thickness planer to take a few millimetres off the back side.


I see that you used a router for f hole:
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/768249-post35.html
I wonder would it be wise to use a drill and a jigsaw straight away since I don't have small router bits nor the template? Or maybe I should make a template.

Here's where I'm trying to make it:

[varakeef]

Weight reduction update: I started with 1980 g, now it's 1120 g. (4.4 lb into 2.5 lb). The back will weight a bit less than 250 g (half a pound). So I guess the body without hardware will weight three pounds.

The planing took away 100 grams so the body will weight 1300 g -depending on how heavy glue and paint I will use...

[varakeef]

Originally Posted by varakeef

I see that you used a router for f hole... I wonder would it be wise to use a drill and a jigsaw straight away since I don't have small router bits nor the template?

So I did it with drilling a few holes and then used a jigsaw and some files and sand paper to make a cut like this:



The f-hole may be a bit too narrow yet. Maybe I sand it more. The ends of the f-hole need a bit of work, they are not roundishly oval shaped enough.



Some tearing off the clear laquer (some factory added goo) but the wood behaved well enough with jigsaw. Maybe I fill those with filler before decoupage job.

[varakeef]

This goes quite nicely. My friend Seppo planed the body 4 mm thinner with some gigantic sanding machine - he didn't have courage to use thickness planer because I had left quite a little wood in some sides. It turned out that the body wasn't actually level, but now it is.

I'm pleased with the result:


I had drawn the shape of the guitar to the back piece earlier, almost made a lefty out of it (as can be seen in the pencil lines). I used a jigsaw.


Next I'm going to glue the back in its place. I got a nice trick for glueing: hit two little nails to body, then cut them leaving just tiny bit sticking out. Now the back will keep steady when glueing. Of course there will be two lil' pieces hidden in the body from there on.

I left a bit too little marginal somewhere but I think I can handle that.

I found and old bridge plate in my stash (guess it's from 80's Japanese Fender). Tail pieces are compensated Klusons.

Other parts are coming from UK, Axesrus.

[varakeef]

Originally Posted by varakeef

I got a nice trick for glueing: hit two little nails to body, then cut them leaving just tiny bit sticking out. Now the back will keep steady when glueing.

Like this:


Spruit, spruit some glue:


And the body is buried somewhere there in between two pieces of book shelves under quality literature. Used some clamps too.

[WisconsinStrings]

Originally Posted by varakeef

I have hundreds of dollars worth of clamps in my shop. I think your book method probably works just as well.

You are really making good progress and recovering nicely from your first goof. This should turn out to be a fine guitar.

[varakeef]

Mr. Postman brought me some parts today:

Like neck, pickups, control plate with electronics, kluson type tuners... basically everything else but the bridge I already had and clear acrylic pickguard that I roughly cut a few days earlier. Near the control plate the viewers with best eyes can spot a piece of the gift wrap paper the guitar will be covered with.

The back is already glued and glue has dried. Hand router awaits:


But it didn't have to wait for too long. I am a man of action:


However a mishap eventually took place... you can't wait can you?

[varakeef]

I don't know what really happened, but after I got the back routed...

... something happened.

My plan was to take another router bit, the one that makes the edge radius. I rehearsed a bit with another piece of junk wood and evrything worked like it should. However, when I started to route the body piece the mechanism that prevents bit to go too deep failed, some spring jumped out and that evil machine took a piece of wood with him.


Now the router is dead silent, something seems broken, maybe somekind of a protecting routine went on.

In hindsight I do think that the upper layer of the plywood is too soft and it would have been torn anyway.

Maybe I should continue with sandin block and elbow grease?

[varakeef]

Now it seems that the router is resurrected. Maybe it heated up too much and after some cooling period it came back. It's time to start assembling the bugger I guess. Hope the parts will fit.

After a second thought I gave the router a one more chance. Glad I did! Now I got a nice back edge radius:

[varakeef]

.. so I put Wilkinson deluxe machine heads in. I needed to use a round file to get the adjustment rings in their place.



Then I borrowed a machine that converts a hand dril into a press dril (whatever it is called):

Then I was able to attach the neck conveniently.