Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Ian Price on May 03, 2010, 09:39:20 PM
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Evening all. Some of you on here will know that I have been planning on building a guitar for a while. After weeks spent on getting wood (easy Afghan) and tools sorted I finally made a start today. Special thanks go to Wez for loaning me his templates!
Very, very early stages so far as you'll see from the pics. The body is ash (from luthierssupplies.co.uk) and is 2 piece. The majority of it is from one piece - the join is on the very top left of the body.
I've not decided on making the neck myself yet - it may well be beyond my capabilities. Next stages are going to be routing for the control cavity and neck pickup and spending quite a bit of time on making sure I get the neck pocket right - I think I may have made a mistake on it already. It's all pretty exciting at the moment and I find my mind drifting towards my next build - I really must learn to focus.
Final special thanks goes to my neighbour. I've been living next door to him for 8 years and found out last week that he has a workshop in his back garden. He offered me use of it and the tools within whenever I wanted (a big band saw, belt sander, drill press, two work surfaces and a router table). He has also provided me with some free training on the tools. Not only did I find this out but I also learnt that he used to work in the wood industry and has some wood in his garage that might be made available - he has some maple, ash, sapele, elm (not sure if this is useful as a tonewood) and pine.
Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours.
Anyway, enough rambling. Here are the pics (feedback and comments much appreciated)
(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh267/IanPPrice/Telecaster%20build/DSC01743.jpg)
(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh267/IanPPrice/Telecaster%20build/DSC01750.jpg)
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Looks great mate!
It does beg the question though, why did you buy a Baja Tele recently??????
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Good work Ian! You're a braver man than I. :D
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It does beg the question though, why did you buy a Baja Tele recently??????
Good question mate, and one that I thought about for a while before deciding to buy the Baja. There were a few things really - I know that any build I do will take more than a while, I liked the Baja the minute I picked it up, it sounds relatively stratty with the neck pickup and, finally, a man can never have too many teles.
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Cool, looks like a nice chunk of wood! I'll be watching with interest. 8)
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This is brilliant. I really admire your courage in doing so much from scratch. It's a lovely looking piece of wood too, any thoughts on finishes? I reckon something that would show off that grain would be stunning. Best of luck and keep us posted.
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That looks really great.
Can't wait to see more and watch it develop.
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wow! lovely figuring!!!!
Think you've start very well, seems cut pretty close to the 'line', so small job doing further work!
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No firm thoughts on finish yet although will probably go for something fairly translucent. Will give it some thought over the next few weeks.
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sweet
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a man can never have too many teles.
:lol:
Fair point! You need a clear coat on that body, or a light butterscotch. Washed lime white would look good too!
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Necks are easier to build than you think........ as long as you have the tools that is (which is the hard part).
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a man can never have too many teles.
:lol:
Fair point! You need a clear coat on that body, or a light butterscotch. Washed lime white would look good too!
Yeah - I'd considered either a washed white, butterscotch or very light blond. Definitely keen on showing the grain pattern.
It's also just dawned on me that I staretd planning the tele build before I had a need to get some cash in and sell the strat and deluxe. If I'd known beforehand I may well have been attempting a strat build (I think a tele is much easier though!)
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My Tele has a big open grain pattern like that and that's what appeals to me. My favorite Fender colours are Mary Kaye blonde, butterscotch or I've recently seen someone do a Trans Sonic blue (I think) ... so a Mary Kaye blue which was F'in awesome!
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Looks nice. Will be watching to see how this develops. For me butterscotch would be great colour too!
Good luck with the rest of the build.
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looks good ian - i think i would be very happy with that blank even with the little extra piece
just remember to get yourself a scratchplate (off the baja for a few moments) and check the location of the control plate before routing - dont rely on those templates being accurate
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Cheers Wez - very kind. I bought a scratch plate from axes r us a while back - the neck pickup cavity and control cavities are slightly out against it so will shift it a little to make sure it fits.
I did wuss out on using your router jig though - I was worried about taking a chunk out so routed the bridge pickup and neck pocket free hand (very, very, very slowly).
Will send the templates back soon - I've pretty much decided to get on with making the neck myself, should start on it in the next few weeks after plenty of reading the bible (the one written by Melvyn Hiscox).
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I did wuss out on using your router jig though - I was worried about taking a chunk out so routed the bridge pickup and neck pocket free hand (very, very, very slowly).
i would not have lent them out if i wasnt prepared for the odd hickup
what i would say is to ignor melvyns jig heavy way of making a tele neck. its nice to see and be able to do but is quite complex for a beginner. get a modern 2-way truss rod and do a straight channel and things become much easier
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The secret to happy routing is to remove as much wood as possible with a drill first - routers are tiring to use and only having to finish offwith one and clean up edges is the secret - also reduces risk of accidents too