First build - '52 black guard-ish tele

For the neck I just sprayed a coat of vinyl sealer and then a few coats of lightly tinted (amber) nitro. The finish shows every single spot that I didn't sand well enough. Lesson learned for the next one(s).

The only thing you may want to do is use pore filler for the walnut stripe. The walnut is very porous, and will have a texture if you don't fill. I can't feel it while playing. I vaguely remember trying to pore fill the walnut, but I think I gave up and left it as-is.

 

Nobody taught me, in person at least. My teachers are all of the great builders on this forum. I've spent many hours pouring over preeb's detailed threads, as well as all of the build challenges. Every bit of knowledge you need to build from scratch is in this forum somewhere. It helps to have basic woodworking knowledge, experience using power tools, and a general eye for detail. But all of the specifics for guitar came from the wonderful people who share their knowledge here.

I'm liking the idea of doing four different vintage styles. Time to stock up on some more wood!