Just finished: the "Icecaster"!

blackbelt308 · May 22nd, 2008, 12:48 AM

Some of you may remember me posting this "mystery body" a couple of weeks ago...

It was an eBay snag that was listed as a "'94 Fender body in ice blue metallic". There was only one auction pic and the pickguard was laying on top of the body, blocking any view of the neck pocket. So when it arrived, I was surprised to see the micro-tilt adjustment in there. US perhaps? Don't know, 'cause it's drilled for a vintage bridge. But whatever it is, the previous owner had done something to badly mar & cloud the poly finish. The good news is that with a little rubbing and polishing compounds, and a fair amount of elbow grease, the finish is now nice and clear again and the gorgeous color came back nicely!

So here she is, fitted with a Nashville neck, Tex-Mex pickups, a modern six-saddle bridge (all my other Teles have vintage bridges so I thought I'd make this one different, at least for awhile), the original w/b/w pickguard, and vintage electronics. Thanks to using mostly spare parts and odds & ends picked up here and there, this little project totaled up to less than $400. And she sounds great!

Thanks for lookin'!
Rick

Telewilly · May 22nd, 2008, 12:53 AM

Beautiful!

ste993 · May 22nd, 2008, 12:53 AM

It looks really nice man. Good job!

furrfurrfurr · May 22nd, 2008, 12:57 AM

nice work

PJ · May 22nd, 2008, 01:12 AM

Rick....a real looker. Curious, though - you not a fan of the vintage bridge rig?

ajgus · May 22nd, 2008, 01:51 AM

God bless it!...

. Nice work, man.

Now I'm sorry, but I'm running short on time. Hurry up & send that guitar my way, cause I got a ton of things to do...Thanks!

mudbean · May 22nd, 2008, 01:53 AM

Yikes! That's stunning - great job!!

mud

RotelliCaster · May 22nd, 2008, 01:57 AM

Great job!

She is beautiful, and under $400 makes it even sweeterer!!!

riolux · May 22nd, 2008, 05:39 AM

Looks pretty. What's that Mickey Mouse looking routing?

markothefish · May 22nd, 2008, 05:56 AM

Nice , Nice color and paint work ... I'm jealous , I would like that with a TV Jones pickup in the neck...

blackbelt308 · May 22nd, 2008, 02:22 PM

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

PJ, I'm a big fan of vintage bridges! Just figured I do something different on this one. I may swap it out at some point in the future.

riolux, I believe those "Mickey Mouse" circles provide a reference for the CNC machine.

Ciao!
Rick

magicguitar · May 22nd, 2008, 02:27 PM

Nice restoration.

twangcaster1 · May 22nd, 2008, 02:30 PM

at first it looked like a little brother to brent mason's primer-coat tele, but now it's a real shinin' glimmercaster. Good work, man. Cool tele.

Jake D · May 22nd, 2008, 03:58 PM

It is beggin' for a 'bucker in the neck position! Or a filtertron or a P90! That would be different, even with a vintage bridge.

Mark Davis · May 22nd, 2008, 04:04 PM

That turned out great.

superchicken_VI · May 22nd, 2008, 04:11 PM

That looks like agave blue, like the one in my avatar or this pic:

Odd, humbucker route and microtilt...

blackbelt308 · May 22nd, 2008, 04:14 PM

Quote:

That looks like agave blue

That's actually the color I was expecting but it's clearly a metallic paint. Lots of tiny sparkles!

Ciao,
Rick

newrider1969 · May 22nd, 2008, 04:39 PM

Beautiful!! Great job.

PJ · May 22nd, 2008, 07:17 PM

Just goes to show what can be done with some of those nice Tele
"take-off" bodies on eBay. What a nice color!

Ed Bickert · May 22nd, 2008, 07:24 PM

Looks sweet! Well done!

May 22nd, 2008, 12:48 AM	#1 (permalink)
blackbelt308 Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: St. Louis, Missouri Age: 49 Posts: 160	Just finished: the "Icecaster"! Some of you may remember me posting this "mystery body" a couple of weeks ago... It was an eBay snag that was listed as a "'94 Fender body in ice blue metallic". There was only one auction pic and the pickguard was laying on top of the body, blocking any view of the neck pocket. So when it arrived, I was surprised to see the micro-tilt adjustment in there. US perhaps? Don't know, 'cause it's drilled for a vintage bridge. But whatever it is, the previous owner had done something to badly mar & cloud the poly finish. The good news is that with a little rubbing and polishing compounds, and a fair amount of elbow grease, the finish is now nice and clear again and the gorgeous color came back nicely! So here she is, fitted with a Nashville neck, Tex-Mex pickups, a modern six-saddle bridge (all my other Teles have vintage bridges so I thought I'd make this one different, at least for awhile), the original w/b/w pickguard, and vintage electronics. Thanks to using mostly spare parts and odds & ends picked up here and there, this little project totaled up to less than $400. And she sounds great! Thanks for lookin'! Rick

May 22nd, 2008, 12:53 AM	#3 (permalink)
ste993 Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2008 Location: Portland OR Age: 38 Posts: 144	It looks really nice man. Good job! __________________ --

May 22nd, 2008, 12:57 AM	#4 (permalink)
furrfurrfurr Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South of Heaven Posts: 2,495	nice work __________________ Hope I'm not too Messianic or a trifle too Satanic. Meow.

May 22nd, 2008, 01:12 AM	#5 (permalink)
PJ Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,077 4 Photos	Rick....a real looker. Curious, though - you not a fan of the vintage bridge rig? __________________ PJ "I don't know if it's art, but I like it."

May 22nd, 2008, 01:51 AM	#6 (permalink)
ajgus Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: chicago Posts: 2,302	God bless it!... . Nice work, man. Now I'm sorry, but I'm running short on time. Hurry up & send that guitar my way, cause I got a ton of things to do...Thanks! __________________ "I'm still married to my first wife...and that's my first guitar...she don't talk back to me, she talks for me..." -Stevie ray Vaughan

May 22nd, 2008, 12:53 AM	#2 (permalink)
Telewilly Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Katmandoo Posts: 204	Beautiful!

May 22nd, 2008, 01:53 AM	#7 (permalink)
mudbean Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: SoCal Semi-Desert Semi-Paradise Age: 49 Posts: 1,730	Yikes! That's stunning - great job!! mud __________________ www.mudbean.com "Do ya want it to be interesting, or do ya want it to be true?" "So far, it's neither."

May 22nd, 2008, 01:57 AM	#8 (permalink)
RotelliCaster Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bethany, Oklahoma Age: 41 Posts: 437 13 Photos	Great job! She is beautiful, and under $400 makes it even sweeterer!!! __________________ " Trust me, I saw this in a cartoon and I'm pretty sure I can do it! " http://www.myspace.com/bmwsteve Guitar Photos

May 22nd, 2008, 05:39 AM	#9 (permalink)
riolux Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Age: 30 Posts: 255 6 Photos	Looks pretty. What's that Mickey Mouse looking routing?

May 22nd, 2008, 05:56 AM	#10 (permalink)
markothefish Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Greenville, Rhode Island Age: 42 Posts: 2,025 7 Photos	Nice , Nice color and paint work ... I'm jealous , I would like that with a TV Jones pickup in the neck... __________________ Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted. Groucho Marx

May 22nd, 2008, 02:22 PM	#11 (permalink)
blackbelt308 Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: St. Louis, Missouri Age: 49 Posts: 160	Thanks for the kind words, guys! PJ, I'm a big fan of vintage bridges! Just figured I do something different on this one. I may swap it out at some point in the future. riolux, I believe those "Mickey Mouse" circles provide a reference for the CNC machine. Ciao! Rick

May 22nd, 2008, 02:27 PM	#12 (permalink)
magicguitar Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Fallon, Nevada Age: 61 Posts: 554	Nice restoration.

May 22nd, 2008, 02:30 PM	#13 (permalink)
twangcaster1 Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Utah Posts: 626	at first it looked like a little brother to brent mason's primer-coat tele, but now it's a real shinin' glimmercaster. Good work, man. Cool tele. __________________ SLC Twangsmith

May 22nd, 2008, 03:58 PM	#14 (permalink)
Jake D Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 186	It is beggin' for a 'bucker in the neck position! Or a filtertron or a P90! That would be different, even with a vintage bridge.

May 22nd, 2008, 04:04 PM	#15 (permalink)
Mark Davis Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bakersfield Ca. Age: 58 Posts: 12,846	That turned out great. __________________ I'm so blind my seeing eye dog needs glasses.

May 22nd, 2008, 04:11 PM	#16 (permalink)
superchicken_VI Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Monroe, NC Age: 36 Posts: 1,560	That looks like agave blue, like the one in my avatar or this pic: Odd, humbucker route and microtilt...

May 22nd, 2008, 04:39 PM	#18 (permalink)
newrider1969 Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: st david il Age: 39 Posts: 288 3 Photos	Beautiful!! Great job.

May 22nd, 2008, 07:17 PM	#19 (permalink)
PJ Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,077 4 Photos	Just goes to show what can be done with some of those nice Tele "take-off" bodies on eBay. What a nice color! __________________ PJ "I don't know if it's art, but I like it."

May 22nd, 2008, 07:24 PM	#20 (permalink)
Ed Bickert Tele-Holic Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cape Cod, MA Age: 40 Posts: 946	Looks sweet! Well done! __________________ Sorry, not the real Ed Bickert. Just a fan.