First Tele, First Build

[Bhansen25]

The shop


The plan


The first cut into the ash


Blanks ready to glue

[BroadMaster]

Originally Posted by Bhansen25

You guys have inspired me try my had a build. I thought I would share the experience.

Welcome! Bhansen. I'd like to see it. linky no worky.....

[Bhansen25]

The glue up


Making the template


Sanding the template


Re-sawing the curly maple top

[Bhansen25]

Re-sawn stock for tops


Hogged out the bodies with a forstner bit
By the way, the blanks were too heavy. One of these is for my daughter. She's young, I'm old - neither of us wanted guitars that were too heavy.


Cleaned out the inside


beefing up the top under the control plate

[Bhansen25]

Gluing on the tops


Finally time for some routing


The bit I am using


Finishing up on the router table

[Nick JD]

I like what you've got cooking in that "kitchen" there!

[Bhansen25]

I just noticed that some of my pics are out or order.

Oh well, you have seen all of this before. You get the idea of how this all works.

By the way, I have taken a lot of pics during the project, after I showed them to some of my friends - they were bored to death, so I kinda lost motivation on the pics. I will try to resume taking photos from now on.

Also, it will take me a day or two of posting to get the pics posted (to get me caught up to where I actually am today on the projects). One of the guitars is ready to begin finishing, the other is close. I ran out of fret wire - with two frets left. Stew Mac loves me now - and my wife is getting a little peeved with my constant parts orders. It seems it only takes about 2 days past getting an order for me discover I need something else. ARGH!

[Bhansen25]

Originally Posted by Nick JD

I like what you've got cooking in that "kitchen" there!

Funny you would say that, many of my cabinets came out of kitchens. The wall cabinets over the arm saw were originally over a microwave.

One of the perks of working in the home-building industry.

[Bhansen25]

Looks like the curly maple is going to look OK


They look like toys, but the are beginning to actually look like guitars


I didn't want to spring for a template, and I couldn't figure out how to measure accurately enough to mark the lines, so I used my strat neck for a story-board.


Again, I am getting my pics out of order. Oops.

[Bhansen25]

Using a plug cutter to make plugs to use to fill the hole for the truss rod at the head-stock.


The plugs (sitting on my radius bock)


Good day to work in the shop. The view outside my window

[Bhansen25]

Neck / truss rod pieces before they get assembled.


Sanding the fretboard with my handy-dandy Stew Mac block


Miking a jig for the head stock truss rod holes. Notice there are two holes - one larger one (for the adjustment nut to fit into - that will be filled with the mahogany plugs, then a smaller hole to guide the drill bit for the smaller hole. By the way, the drill press table was tilted to 3 degrees.

[Bhansen25]

How the drill bit will run through the block - into the head stock


The view from above


My assistants look tired

[studio1087]

You have some amazing talent with woodworking. Wow. Keep posting those pictures!


John

[fletch]

Nice Bhansen !! Making your own necks too , way to go

I'm envious of your workshop, my workshop consists of my backyard pergola

I look forward to more pictures

[martino]

Originally Posted by Bhansen25

My assistants look tired


Good day to work in the shop. The view outside my window

Folks calling your shop a kitchen and the photo of your "assistants"
reminding me of 1 of fav Floyd songs.



Your photos are inspiring to say the least !

[Bhansen25]

Originally Posted by fletch

Nice Bhansen !! Making your own necks too , way to go

I'm envious of your workshop, my workshop consists of my backyard pergola

I look forward to more pictures

Thanks Fletch ...or are you going by J Edgar Hoover, Dr. Rosenpenis, or John Cocktosten today?

It has been a lot of fun. The necks have been (by far) the hardest part. I have made several errors on the first one. Lesson learned: get the neck REALLY strait before applying the fret board. I had to sand and sand on the frets to get them level. Hopefully the twin's neck will be better. I have asperations of building a Les Paul style guitar next - as I can't afford one of those either. Maybe I'll have most of this stuff figured out by then.

[Bhansen25]

As I mentioned earlier, I was lax in taking pictures lately. So the guitars are skipping ahead now.

I'm an inpatient old fart. I couldn't help wire one of the twins up. I got it set up and it is a BLAST to play. After setting the intonation it sounds GREAT. I am getting the fretboard discolored playing it - it's just raw wood at this point. I haven't decided on finish colors yet. On mine I'm going with either a very dark blue or very dark green - using aniline dyes. I think my daughter is leaning towards a Les Paul-esk cherry sunburst.




The good news is the Stew Mac parts (fret wire) came in today so I can finish the slower twin. I'll try to keep a better photo record from now on.



I'm excited how the tiger striping is coming out. If I don't screw up the finishing, these promise to look pretty good.

By the way, it's probably been said a lot before, but taking the pics REALLY slows you down during the build. Whine, whine, whine

[Bhansen25]

Originally Posted by martino

Folks calling your shop a kitchen and the photo of your "assistants"
reminding me of 1 of fav Floyd songs.



Your photos are inspiring to say the least !

I'm a HUGE Floyd fan. My dog (Buddy), the one on the right, goes bananas when he hears that song. He hears the dog but can't seem to figure out where it is coming from. He barks and whines when he hears it.

[martino]

Originally Posted by Bhansen25

I'm a HUGE Floyd fan. My dog (Buddy), the one on the right, goes bananas when he hears that song. He hears the dog but can't seem to figure out where it is coming from. He barks and whines when he hears it.

I think this one is from movie Pompeii Live?



The 1st twin looks good and the 2nd slower one looks even better!
Please keep posting the photos ! ! !

[Tom S]

Hey, really nice job, and you seem to have made quick work of it! Nice shop too!

[amp boy]

i'm in awe.........
i gotta get my life like this.

Craftsman skills, workshop/nice home, guitars, family, pool.......wow.
you've made it man.
I look forward to this as it continues, though to get ahead of it i just want to ask if you can post and document you LP project here as well.
I'd really like to make myself a p90 special or goldtop someday, and would greatly appreciate seeing what you do to make an lp.

Thanks again, this is quite inspiring.

[Bhansen25]

Originally Posted by amp boy

i'm in awe.........
i gotta get my life like this.

Craftsman skills, workshop/nice home, guitars, family, pool.......wow.
you've made it man.

Not really. Everybody has there problems. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't go for the money - I would be a Park Service Ranger or something.

With the "workshop/nice home, guitars, family, pool" comes a lot of pressure.

Your comments brought back a memory from a high school lit class I took back in the dark ages:

Richard Cory
by Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935)

Whenever Richard Cory went downtown,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good morning,” and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich -- yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread,
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

[cwood3]

i hate you !


.......just kidding, great shop!

[Dep]

Nice place ya got there, BHansen.

Did I see a Pembroke Welsh Corgi among your assistants? We have 3 and they are never that still.

Great builds..looking forward to the finish your are going to put on them.

Thanks for posting,
Dep