My First Build

[matman14]

The biggest thing I have learned is to test everything on scrap material before you do the task on the actual guitar.

It's a pain, but better to find out that your drill with a larger bit corkscrews through pick guard material leaving a chewed up mess, or your stain of choice doesn't apply evenly etc etc on scrap material than ruining your project.

 

[rodneynolan]

Welcome Rod. You have already received some of the best advise you can get. A couple more things - I always recommend Melvyn Hiscock's book - he literally covers every step of electric guitar building on three different style guitars. But he also talks about things like geometry and tools and woods and safety and finish..... Its all there.

The 3rd Edition is on Amazon for way more than it should be, even considering import fees. I'll probably buy direct from the website. Thanks for the recommendation.

Second, if you haven't downloaded the TDowns plans at the head of this forum do so. Take the pdf to Kinkos and get about four full sized prints. You will be cutting a few of these up to make templates and such.

I got one copy each of the body and the neck from Staples on the weekend. Looks like I'll have to make a return trip.

Third, mahogany is my favorite body wood. Keep all the cutoffs for experimenting with finishes - mahogany does finish beautifully. When thinking about cutting and routing and all I think it is important to do everything in a logical order. I build the neck and body at the same time and don't route the bridge or pickup cavities until they are mated up. I am constantly checking the geometry as I make the neck and neck pocket. Its a good idea to have your bridge in hand as you build so you can keep checking against it.

For the first build, I'll likely go with two single coils and I've read enough to know that I most definitely want a six-saddle bridge, maybe Gotoh or Fender American Series.

I'm not sure I've seen a walnut neck but no reason it won't work fine. Many builders here do the traditional curved skunk stripe truss rod - that requires some jigging to route the channel. Hiscock shows how as does Marty in his neck building threads. I've used double acting truss rods on all of mine - they go in from the top and the route is much simpler. I also like how they work, but both are fine.

I have a piece of wood that used to be a shelf has been sitting in my basement for the last 20+ years. I'm not sure what it is but I'll post some photos to ask for opinions on whether it'd be any good for this project.

Lastly, have fun and don't be afraid to ask for advice.

I'm absolutely certain that I'm in the right place here. I'm so glad I found you guys.

 

[rodneynolan]

I cut and spindle sand instead of route, but YMMV

I've never had a spindle sander but it's on my wish list.

 

[rodneynolan]

The best advice I can offer is Take Your Time.

I've often been accused of being a procrastinator but I just really do like to have a plan before stepping into the starting blocks. For me, this project is as much or even more about the process than the result. I've been talking with a wood worker friend of mine who insists that I have to impose a deadline on myself to avoid losing steam and losing interest. We agree to disagree.

Be patient. Think through each operation before you do the operation. If you get in a hurry--which is normal--your work will look rushed. There really are no shortcuts. Take your time, ask lots of questions, and learn from your mistakes. Many of us have been building for many years and we all still goof up once in a while.

Also: wear eye pro and ear pro. A small flying wiod chip or a broken drill can hit you in the eye and it will be Life Changing.

Ear and eye protection are a must, I agree.

 

[Peegoo]

I've been talking with a wood worker friend of mine who insists that I have to impose a deadline on myself to avoid losing steam and losing interest. We agree to disagree.

Oh I totally get that. I have a similar problem, but it's not so much losing interest as it is becoming distracted by my thousands of other interests and hobbies. I have a lot of 'em.

The warning about taking one's time is especially important when it comes to finishing because a rushed finish looks like a rushed finish. A good sprayed finish takes time to develop. For example, if you polish out nitro lacquer a week after spraying it and assemble the guitar, the finish continues to gas off over the next few weeks as it cures and becomes thinner. This creates all kinds of imperfections in the surface, and on a glossy finish the bad juju is merely highlighted by rippley reflections.

 

[rodneynolan]

I'm building a mahogany telecaster currently over here if you want to check it out and follow along.

Thanks Steve... I found your thread yesterday and read through the whole thing. You made me reconsider my initial plan to stick with a one-piece body. That rosewood top is beautiful!

 

[rodneynolan]

If you aren't completely overwhelmed with reading build threads, here is another one - a chambered (for lightness) tele looking guitar made out of mahogany

A chambered tele-ish sort of thing

I'm at kind of a bitter sweet moment in a current project. Some of you might have looked into my Chambered LPish thread - that guitar now has all the finish on it and is hanging quietly in my shop/garage. If I am good, it will hang there for two or three weeks (four would be even better but...

www.tdpri.com

So far, so good. I'm really enjoying my nightly hour-long soak in this pool.

I'll check this one out tonight... I weighed my body blank this morning and it's coming in at 9 lbs 13 oz. The fretboard and neck blanks combine for another 3 lbs 7 oz. I know I'll lose some during the build but chambering is starting to sound attractive.

Out of curiosity, what's a reasonable average final weight to shoot for with a Tele?

 

[rodneynolan]

The biggest thing I have learned is to test everything on scrap material before you do the task on the actual guitar.

It's a pain, but better to find out that your drill with a larger bit corkscrews through pick guard material leaving a chewed up mess, or your stain of choice doesn't apply evenly etc etc on scrap material than ruining your project.

Looks like there'll be a decent amount of mahogany left over from the body. And the blank wasn't exactly cheap so I'll certainly try to make the most of it.

 

[Steve Holt]

So far, so good. I'm really enjoying my nightly hour-long soak in this pool.

I'll check this one out tonight... I weighed my body blank this morning and it's coming in at 9 lbs 13 oz. The fretboard and neck blanks combine for another 3 lbs 7 oz. I know I'll lose some during the build but chambering is starting to sound attractive.

Out of curiosity, what's a reasonable average final weight to shoot for with a Tele?

My body with weight relief and cavities cut off was something like 4lbs 13 oz before I put the top on. I was hoping for closer to 4ish lbs which is what my alder strat body is. The top I glued on was so thin that I didn't want to risk having big open cavities so I drilled holes. If I was putting on a 1/4" top I would have probably done big open cavities like a thinline.

But yeah, something between 4 and 5 lbs will make a pretty light feeling guitar in my experience.

I'll weigh mine tonight if I get a chance which I haven't done since I did the belly contour and roundovers.

 

[Freeman Keller]

So far, so good. I'm really enjoying my nightly hour-long soak in this pool.

I'll check this one out tonight... I weighed my body blank this morning and it's coming in at 9 lbs 13 oz. The fretboard and neck blanks combine for another 3 lbs 7 oz. I know I'll lose some during the build but chambering is starting to sound attractive.

Out of curiosity, what's a reasonable average final weight to shoot for with a Tele?

I have only weighed two - my completely solid douglas fir body/maple neck weighs 6 lb 3 oz. My chambered mahogany body/neck (the thread I linked) is 5 lb 12 oz. Everyone who plays it comments on the weight (or lack of). To put that is perspective, my unchambered Les Paul clone is 9 lb 3, my similar chambered on is 1 lb 9 oz lighter.

I'm a great believer in chambering but you pretty much have to do a drop top or something similar to make it work. Also I play sitting down so neck dive is never a problem for me, if you make the body too light they say it is a problem.

 

[crazydave911]

So far, so good. I'm really enjoying my nightly hour-long soak in this pool.

I'll check this one out tonight... I weighed my body blank this morning and it's coming in at 9 lbs 13 oz. The fretboard and neck blanks combine for another 3 lbs 7 oz. I know I'll lose some during the build but chambering is starting to sound attractive.

Out of curiosity, what's a reasonable average final weight to shoot for with a Tele?

7lbs seems to be the ideal

 

[old wrench]

Walnut makes a very nice guitar neck

Walnut isn't too heavy and it has good stiffness - it's also hard enough to function very well as a fretboard material

I've built a couple of necks using some nice straight-grained quarter-sawn Walnut, and they are every bit the equal of necks I've built from good quality Maple - plus Walnut has its own beauty!

I'm actually a little surprised that Walnut isn't used more often for necks - it's one of our nicest domestic hardwoods

.

 

[Steve Holt]

I weighed it tonight and it came on at 4 lbs 13.4 oz. That's mahogany with weight relief a roughly 1/8" rosewood top, humbuckers, 1/4" roundover and a belly cut.

It's somewhat noticeably heaver than the alder strat body I'm building at the same time but not bad.

I've built a few where the bodies are 5.5 lbs or better and they're just not enjoyable for me.

 

[crazydave911]

Walnut makes a very nice guitar neck

Walnut isn't too heavy and it has good stiffness - it's also hard enough to function very well as a fretboard material

I've built a couple of necks using some nice straight-grained quarter-sawn Walnut, and they are every bit the equal of necks I've built from good quality Maple - plus Walnut has its own beauty!

I'm actually a little surprised that Walnut isn't used more often for necks - it's one of our nicest domestic hardwoods

.

Amen brother

 

[rodneynolan]

So, just an update... my blanks are still unmolested. Last night I completed my first complete read-through of @guitarbuilder's Let's Make A Neck series. They were great and many thanks for making them, Marty.

I also discovered Steve from Maximum Guitar Works on YouTube and really liked his video on hand shaping a neck. Thanks, @gb Custom Shop for the link.

@Freeman Keller, I also just ordered Melvyn Hiscock's book, third edition. All in, it was just over CDN $120 but the order is in now so that's progress. I've got plenty of ways to fill the time between now and when it arrives.

Lately I've been considering options for bringing the body blank down to thickness.

I don't own a thickness planer and can't justify the cost yet.

The thought of using a circ saw scares me and my father's saw from the 80's may not be up to the task anyway. But this guy was certainly entertaining to watch!

I do own a heavy triton router and a thick MDF table to mount it in. Not sure yet whether I want to build a sled. And I'd need to buy a flattening bit for it if I went that... ahem... route.

So, I've decided to purchase my first hand plane. I've been watching people like Paul Sellers, David Charlesworth, Rob Cosman and Steve Maxwell to try to soak up the hand tool way.

Next step: heading to Busy Bee Tools to pick up a no. 4 1/2 smoothing plane and some sharping stones.

I got lost for a few days in researching all things pickups and found a guy just down the road from me in Mississauga who makes custom pickups.

I've been drooling like a baby browsing stewmac while the bean counter in me screams in horror. I discovered Solo Guitars as a local alternative... just too bad that they're not open on weekends.

Overall, my list of things to learn continues to grow and grow. Enough talk for now. Time to hit the road.

Rod

 

[Freeman Keller]

@Freeman Keller, I also just ordered Melvyn Hiscock's book, third edition. All in, it was just over CDN $120 but the order is in now so that's progress. I've got plenty of ways to fill the time between now and when it arrives.

Lately I've been considering options for bringing the body blank down to thickness.

Wow, maybe I'll stop recommending it. My second edition still has the bar code and price sticker on the back, it was $34.95 US and 38.98 CAN.

As far as thicknessing pieces of wood, I do no own a drum sander or thickness planer and I've never built a router sled (altho I should). I simply take large hunks of wood like body blanks to my local wood shop and have them run them thru their planer - it costs me a few bucks but saves the grand that a good drum sander would cost. I also do a fair amount of hand planing, it is a skill you should learn.

 

[Peegoo]

@rodneynolan check out Philadelphia Luthier for tools and supplies too. They offer serviceable tools for some of the best prices from a US vendor.

 

[guitarbuilder]

As far as a router sled is concerned, you can just attach a router to a flat piece of material that won't bend and run it on a couple pipes. A straight bit will do the job as opposed to a wider bit. 1/2 or 3/4 will work. Those flattening bits just became available in the last few years. Melv's book comes from England and that is why the price is high.

One thing I would suggest is an oscillating drum sander as an initial purchase.

Get your truss rod before you start. The blue ones that are imported work fine and are just a little more work to install over a stewmac hotrod which drops into one consistant slot.

Be aware that there are one way and two way rods. If a rod is welded at one end, it is just a compression rod and adjusts downward at the ends and can come back to horizontal.

The two way rods that actually adjust in both directions from horizontal have a metal threaded block at each end.

Guitar & Bass Truss Rods - Canada

Truss rods for building or repairing acoustic, electric, and bass guitars.

nextgenguitars.ca

Let's make a single one way truss rod!

I needed a single rod for my current build and thought I would take a few pictures along the way to show how simple it is. Many people opt for the double rod these days, but in some applications you may want or need to make your own. With the cost of buying the needed parts versus a truss...

www.tdpri.com

See post 45 to make a Ric style truss rod:

Old Kraftsman Kay 142 inspired - A lo-fi budget build part 2

That ain't too bad a warp...A few passes with your favorite n°5 away from heavenly straightness! About the poplar you are using for these necks, is it what you guys across the Pond call 'tulipwood' (liriodendron tulipifera), or one of the cottonwood/aspen species? I've been offered a whole...

www.tdpri.com

A simpler router-planing jig shown in here.

3. Planing Know-How

Planing Know-How, including how to use a thickness planer to cut lumber to the thickness desired. Part of the Workshop Companion, a collection of information on wood, woodwork, woodworking skills, woodworking materials, and woodworking plans that together form the core knowledge needed by...

workshopcompanion.com

 

[pypa]

Hand planing is possible but it might be a lot of work. Learning to use them is a project in itself.

I bet you could find someone local to thickness your parts for you.

There is no shame in spending for that. I suspect that there are people in the area that would even do it for free. Where are u located?

 

[peterg]

Rodney. Welcome to the forum!

You don’t seem to mind driving around the GTA to support your new found hobby so I’ll suggest looking into the Toronto Tool Library Maker Space located on Spadina at Queen in Toronto. I have been a member there for a year and make use of the shop 3 or 4 times a week. They have all the tools needed, table saw, band saw, drill press, planer, etc. needed to build guitars. There are at least 2 other regular guitar building members there as well.

TTLMakerspace Home

TTLMakerspace is a fully equipped creative workspace with woodshop, cnc mill, 3D printers, all for $77/month.

www.ttlmakerspace.com