Original Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Hi everyone, I'm John. I haven't been around here very long, but I've enjoyed reading many of the threads. It's always a learning experience. I migrated here from the pickup makers forum, and haven't really done anything new since I registered 'til now. I'm a woodworker by trade, but mostly self taught when it comes to building guitars. I'm always working on a low budget, but I have good tools to work with, and a little free time now and then. I'm building a Tele in J'master clothes, or sort of anyway. The body is African Mahogany, Maple neck/fingerboard, 25.5 Scale. I make my own truss rods. I know that there's been discussion lately about F style necks. I anchor the rods directly under the nut. My theory is that this would give the best transfer of energy. This will be a set neck. I've cut a step in the neck tenon so I can use a vintage style neck adjuster, and still have it extend beneath the pickup cavity once installed. The guitar will have a stained/natural natural finish with no binding, so I chambered it from the back side. I finished the neck over the weekend, and got it glued into the body. This is where I'm at now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Interesting ideas. More jaguar then telecaster in my opinion. I must say, i am NOT jealous when it comes time to do truss rod adjustments. i do like the good longtenon though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted September 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Interesting ideas. More jaguar then telecaster in my opinion. I must say, i am NOT jealous when it comes time to do truss rod adjustments. i do like the good longtenon though! Thanks Bob, It is a tel in disguise. The truss rod adjustment isn't a big issue for me. It won't be too tough to access, and I shouldn't have to mess with it much. I built an S rigged guitar with a similar setup, and it's worked out fine. I like hiding the adjuster from view, and minimizing the clutter of such things as pickup adj screws, cover plates etc., and keeping them concealed from view. The long tenon works great for streamlining the neck taper to give unimpaired upper fret access. The main thing I don't care for on Fender guitars is the bulky, clumsy area where the neck bolts on. I quit building bolt-on's when I started making my own necks. I made a little progress. I routed for the pickups, and controls. Finished the neck taper, and now I'm prepping for the finish. A couple pictures of my S type with a similar neck configuration.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 And a fine looking neck it is, too. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Interesting approach! I agree on the "clutter" aspect as well. Your stuff looks great, love that strat neck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted September 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2013 And a fine looking neck it is, too. SR Interesting approach! I agree on the "clutter" aspect as well. Your stuff looks great, love that strat neck! Thanks for the nice words. I spent some time today sanding, and prepping for finish. It was hot, and humid here today. We are in our monsoon season, and it hasn't let up for weeks it seems. It was uncomfortable in the shop, so I gave up early. The finish on this guitar will be similar to the bass in the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted September 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 I've been away from town for a few days, and in the San Diego area. I'm home now, but while there I visited Tropical Exotic Hardwoods In Carlsbad CA. The inventory is impressive, but the prices were a bit of a shock. I don't usually spend much on a project, and the wood isn't a major expense. That might change soon. I saw many species that I'd really like to work with, I just wish my wallet was a little fatter. I didn't buy anything because I have the material already acclimating for my next couple of projects, but I will probably be back there soon. I have family out there, and travel to the area often. I'll get back on the telthingy this weekend, but meanwhile the next one in queue is a bass. American walnut top over a chambered maple body, maple neck, and fingerboard. This will be another one for my daughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted December 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 Hello Again. This thread's been idle a while. I've been pretty busy these past few weeks, but I've made some progress nonetheless. The Telemaster guitar is all but done. I wound the pickups a couple of weeks ago. I just need to cut the plastics, and assemble it. My Girlfriend wanted me to do a natural finish on it. I'm glad that I did. It'll be a pretty guitar when it all comes together. The main reason the tel's not done is that I've been concentrating on this bass. Here's the chambered body, and rough cut top. All clamped up I've wanted to make a one piece neck for a while. I really like the minimalism. Here was my chance. I've always made my own truss rods, so I had a pretty good idea about how i was going to go about it. I cut my truss rod channels with a router riding on shaped rails. the difference is just going at it from the other side. I made a new set of rails that had a crown. The whole operation was less difficult than I anticipated. I used walnut for the skunk stripe. The hardware will be black, so I bound it with black ABS. I wanted to do a subtle carve on the top, so I made this little sanding block with a built in bevel. It worked pretty well. I was able to get a nice consistent bevel. I made it a 24 fret neck so that it would have a long tenon. I'm at the finishing stage of this now. Her birthday's in a couple of weeks. It'll be a surprise for her, so I'm pushing to get it done. The weather is too cold right now to do anything other than a hand rubbed finish. I've got all of the hardware, and I've wound the pickup. I think I'll be cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 7, 2013 Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 Both are coming along nicely. What is the top wood on the bass? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted December 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 Both are coming along nicely. What is the top wood on the bass? SR Thanks Scott, Congratulations on the GOTM. That's some beautiful work. The top wood is American Walnut sourced from a local supplier. I posted a picture of the rough stock in the previous post from Sept. I'd gotten so far behind on progress updates here that I knew it would take some time to sit down and get everything caught up. In keeping with my minimalist tradition, my stuff isn't very interesting compared to much of what goes on here, but if anyone has questions about my procedures I'd be happy to respond. I've got a friend coming over today. We'll work on his project. I'm going to work on the tel. Maybe wind a couple of pickups, and possibly jam for a while. A perfect Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 7, 2013 Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 The inventory is impressive, but the prices were a bit of a shock. For some reason every time I go in a place that has inventory stacked vertically it's always sky high in price.The best places I found locally just have stacks of mahogany,maple,etc and it takes a bit of digging to get the pieces you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 7, 2013 Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 Maybe it's because they pick through the lumber to find the best pieces and then mark them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted December 7, 2013 Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 Hey I recognize the work from the PIckup Makers forum. Nice to see you here. Always good to have some new blood. I like the Jagcaster thing looks like fun. Also like the set neck and found myself looking at the heel more than once. Nice work. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted December 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 (edited) The inventory is impressive, but the prices were a bit of a shock. For some reason every time I go in a place that has inventory stacked vertically it's always sky high in price.The best places I found locally just have stacks of mahogany,maple,etc and it takes a bit of digging to get the pieces you want. I agree, but fortunately that's not always the case. I feel pretty lucky that we have a supplier here in the middle of the desert that has a decent selection. They stack vertically, and their prices are not bad at all. Hey I recognize the work from the PIckup Makers forum. Nice to see you here. Always good to have some new blood. I like the Jagcaster thing looks like fun. Also like the set neck and found myself looking at the heel more than once. Nice work. Cheers! Thanks R, I'm happy to be here. It's cool to be among so many others that share the same interest. I'm truly humbled by the remarkable work that I see here. It really inspires me to "up my game". Here's another example of a similar neck joint on a sapele guitar I made a while back. It's the first one that I did like this. I liked the way it felt and looked, so I've done more like it. I did something a little different on the bass. I need to take a picture of it though. Edited December 7, 2013 by Original Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Marino Posted December 7, 2013 Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 Really like your work man... It's very clean and precise looking. That flamed maple strat neck looks stunning too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted December 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2013 (edited) Really like your work man... It's very clean and precise looking. That flamed maple strat neck looks stunning too Thanks Sancho. That was the last neck blank from that particular piece of wood. I had saved it for a few years. I wish I had more like it. Meanwhile.. I glued up a couple of sapele neck blanks a while back. One of these will be for the next guitar in queue. I had planned on doing something along the lines of a stylized Jr. P-90's, wraptail etc., and had even made a body for it with book matched curly maple over alder. Unfortunately it warped pretty badly, and there isn't enough thickness to plane it back to flat, so I'm not sure what path I'm going down with this yet. One of the pictures is my truss rod jig. I've got a cheap little plunge router that's dedicated to use for cutting the channels. Another shows the body blank that warped, cumaru fingerboard, neck blank, and hardware. I may switch gears on this on, and build a jazz box instead. Edited December 8, 2013 by Original Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted December 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 It's been cold here lately making the shop an unpleasant place to be. I've been applying tru-oil in the warmth of my music room, and bringing pieces indoors at night so the temperature is correct for the glue to cure properly. I've finished the truss rod, and glued the fingerboard to the sapele neck. The body originally planned for this one warped so I had to visit the lumber store on Monday. I bought some mahogany, and figured maple to replace it. I got away cheap, <$50 for enough material to build two guitars. I'm going to let it acclimate a bit more before I cut into it. I've got most of the day today to work on the others. I need to finish something here. The weather's warming up some. It should be nice for the next few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted December 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 The telemaster is almost done. I still need to wire it, and cut the nut, but that's it. The finish is coming along on the bass. I've sawn and glued the new top, and body blank to replace those that warped. The beat goes on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted December 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 I finished the fret work on the bass, and got a little further on the tel. Here's some better pictures.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted December 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 The bass is almost done. The neck worked out great. I hope to get it wired tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted December 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 Back to where this thread started. The telemaster is almost complete. I mounted the pick guard, cut the nut and strung it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted December 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2013 Both guitars are done. Here's a few pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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