My First Tele Build!

[TonyClark]

Hi Guys,

I've been on this site for a while and mostly posting about amps. My guitars have been Gretsch lately but I always missed the feel and twang of Teles that I've had over the years. So after reading many partscaster posts, I decided to jump in! Doing a bit of a nod to Bruce's Esquire "mutt".

I got a pre-cut and sanded swamp ash body because I have no room (or skills) for that level of wood working.

I also found this beautiful nitro neck (50's style) on the verb. Just put some Nickel Kluson Supreme Series (18:1) in. Wow they are smooth. This neck feels like my old Teles and I can't wait to play it!

I'm going to do all nickel hardware because I love the way it ages on my Gretsch guitars.

Any tips/suggestions are gladly accepted!

 

[Steve Holt]

Gotta love nickel hardware. It just looks better than chrome. Lookin good so far!

 

[TonyClark]

Gotta love nickel hardware. It just looks better than chrome. Lookin good so far!

Thanks Steve!

 

[TonyClark]

By the way, I'm going to do the 4-way switch option. Anyone have suggestions for a pre-wired 4-way switch, cap and pots I should use?

Thanks!

 

[Freeman Keller]

By the way, I'm going to do the 4-way switch option. Anyone have suggestions for a pre-wired 4-way switch, cap and pots I should use?

Thanks!

If you mean to do both series and parallel connections remember that you need both ends of one of the pickups (usually the neck) brought out. I did a 4 way Oak switch on a dual P90 tele and had to solder an extra wire on to the neck p/u.

 

[TonyClark]

If you mean to do both series and parallel connections remember that you need both ends of one of the pickups (usually the neck) brought out. I did a 4 way Oak switch on a dual P90 tele and had to solder an extra wire on to the neck p/u.

I did like the idea of having the original 3 positions that I'm used to as well as the series option for a little added fun! I'm glad you mentioned that; I thought it probably wasn't as simple as just replacing a 3-way setup with a 4-way.

Do you have any suggestions as to where I should get a decent quality 4-way switch pre-soldered with cap/pots ready to go?

Thanks!

Tony

 

[Freeman Keller]

I did like the idea of having the original 3 positions that I'm used to as well as the series option for a little added fun! I'm glad you mentioned that; I thought it probably wasn't as simple as just replacing a 3-way setup with a 4-way.

Do you have any suggestions as to where I should get a decent quality 4-way switch pre-soldered with cap/pots ready to go?

Thanks!

Tony

I'm sorry, I don't. I know how to solder and sometimes do wiring for others (including my son who is a journeyman electrician). I just bought the Oak Grigsby switch from Stew Mac and followed their diagram. Even if you buy a prewired plate you'll still have to wire the pickup leads to the switch and possiby the output jack.

Here is the P90 opened up with the additional wire added (the SM instructions tell how) and the plate ready to drop in

Also be aware of one thing - the 4 way switch seems to be a hair deeper than the 3 way and is very close to shorting out on foil in the cavity. I ended up switching back to a 3 way since I didn't care for the series connection.

 

[TonyClark]

I'm sorry, I don't. I know how to solder and sometimes do wiring for others (including my son who is a journeyman electrician). I just bought the Oak Grigsby switch from Stew Mac and followed their diagram. Even if you buy a prewired plate you'll still have to wire the pickup leads to the switch and possiby the output jack.

Here is the P90 opened up with the additional wire added (the SM instructions tell how) and the plate ready to drop in


Also be aware of one thing - the 4 way switch seems to be a hair deeper than the 3 way and is very close to shorting out on foil in the cavity. I ended up switching back to a 3 way since I didn't care for the series connection.

Got it; thanks for all the info, very helpful.

I'm decent at soldering but it doesn't seem to be much cheaper to buy the parts alone vs assembled upon first glance but I'll keep looking. (plus my wife gets a little upset when I go too far down the garage project rabbit hole! )

 

[TonyClark]

By way of follow-up I did a bit of web researching on pre-wired 4-way switches and found Atlantic Custom Guitars in Raleigh, NC. James is super helpful via email. Also, I like the way he discusses on his website the parts he chooses for his 4 way switch wiring harnesses.

Here's the one I went with: https://atlanticcustomguitars.com/t...-pots-crl-switch-mallory-047uf-capacitor.html

I'll update further once my nickel hardware parts start arriving.

 

[TonyClark]

UPDATE: The Nickel Parts are In!

I found a beautiful nickel control plate in a 2mm thickness. (it's perfectly level with my pickguard) They're sold by a company outside of Nashville called Tesi Switch.

As I posted earlier, my tuners are nickel Kluson Supreme. (smoooooth 18:1 )

I got my nickel bridge plate on Reverb from Tricked Out Guitar. It's one of their Real Live Relics. I think they strip the chrome and then relic it further. I actually polished it up a bit because I want my nickel parts to naturally age. (which they do so well)

For the neck plate, I like the Fender, Corona California stamp and those are only in chrome. I changed it from chrome to nickel by putting it in an acid bath. It came out great. (that was pretty easy)

The nickel knobs are easy to find; I got mine on Amazon. They're by a company called Vintage Forge.

Finally, I was searching for output jack plates in nickel and I realized that I didn't want to purchase a special install tool for the standard Fender tele jack system. I ended up getting one of the nickel Electrosocket jack plates that simply screw in.

Oh yes, I got a nickel string tree by Kluson too .

If any of you haven't had nickel parts on your guitars, from my experience they age naturally and quickly; plus you can always polish them whenever you like! I'll update again upon my next step...

 

[TonyClark]

Update: Body Finishing!

Well, I finally had a string of about 5 days in a row with great weather and time off to start finishing the body. Since I don't have spray gear, nor room in my garage to use it, I decided I'd go with a brush on water-based finish as well as a water-based dye stain.

After reading (way too many) articles and posts, I decided to go with General Finishes Enduro-Var as well as their dye stain. I have used it for some small furniture pieces and had good luck.

As I mentioned in my first post, I'm doing a loose nod to Bruce's "Mutt" Esquire/Tele. So I went with the amber dye. I also dyed my grain filler with some brown and black acrylic paint to try to get the look of his old weathered friend.

After I grain filled the ash, I decided to mix the dye into the poly to create a more even color application. (That was in another post I read. ) For the first few coats, I hung the body to allow me to cover everything. Once I had some more coats on (dry sanding with 320 between) I proceeded by doing one side at a time for easier gloss application.

So far, it's going pretty well; I'm hoping to finish it up when I have some more time in a week or two. I'll update when I have some more progress.

 

[Freeman Keller]

Finish looks good. Has popped the grain very nicely./

 

[TonyClark]

Finish looks good. Has popped the grain very nicely./

Thanks, it's slowly getting there!

 

[TonyClark]

She's Finished! Final steps over the weekend and setup over the last couple days. She came in at a svelte 6.6 lbs. (2.99 kg for those of you across the pond) She plays like a dream and the string reverberations feel wonderful through the body. I had forgotten how good it feels to play a Tele! I also love the 4-way switch for an extra snarling sound option.

Thank you to everyone here on TDPRI for all of the sage advice along the way. This site is an invaluable resource!

 

[DrASATele]

Nice job. Great color.
I love GF dyes and stains. great stuff.

 

[TonyClark]

Nice job. Great color.
I love GF dyes and stains. great stuff.

Thanks, as you probably know, I was aiming at a loose homage to Bruce's "Mutt". But, I can't bring myself to do the 6 saddle thing; just compensated Wilkinsons.

Also, I agree about the GF stuff. It's so nice to work with; easy cleanup and very low fumes! (by the way, love the Bruce quote! )

 

[26and385]

Great job, that finish looks quite nice.

 

[TonyClark]

Great job, that finish looks quite nice.

Thanks, not bad for water based brush on! (sponge brush for the final 4 coats )