Jump to content

Bokchoi's Double Humbucker Tele


Recommended Posts

Hey all,

I've been a bit of a lurker around here for a while, and I thought I should join up and post my current build in progress.

I started on the building road early this year when I got a kit Telecaster from eBay. I'd heard bad things but went ahead and was pleasantly surprised with the kit, and the result I got out of it.

IMG_6325.thumb.jpg.d4a404f28407ba0d0ec7f975a54afc03.jpg

Having completed the kit, I decided I'd like to have a go at a full body on my own. I sourced some local woods (Blackheart Sassafrass and Tasmanian Myrtle) and laminated them together. I ran the blank through the thicknesser to get it down to the correct thickness.

IMG_6302.thumb.jpg.60af1ca391c427cf5f88a71b4517248c.jpg

I've discovered that upon starting my first real build, that I've probably spent $300 on materials, and $2000 on workshop equipment!

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today was the day I've been most worried about so far, routing the neck pocket.

I 3d Printed a template and then transferred that one over to wood. After measuring 1600 times I hit it with the router....... and everything turned out ok!

IMG_6412.thumb.jpg.28c698332ed1d233d49a731544d3daba.jpgIMG_6415.thumb.jpg.75256c35c9983024e6a3ec3bd3d41597.jpg

The plan for this guitar is to run with gold hardware, gretcsch style humbuckers and a les paul style switch and volume/tone control layout.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love that you are using local woods. Love that they are not insanely ornamental (aka sausage quilted maple). Love that natural character the wood has on the front. It already has MOJO!

Also - even after you've smashed that guitar on stage, you will still have your bandsaw. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, ScottR said:

Welcome to the forum and nice work so far.

It's good to have another member pop up in Tasmania, too. @curtisawill be glad to have another member to help him represent.

Brudda! I'm not alone anymore! :D

What Scott said. Maybe your people should call my people and we should do lunch?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, komodo said:

Love that you are using local woods. Love that they are not insanely ornamental (aka sausage quilted maple). Love that natural character the wood has on the front. It already has MOJO!

Also - even after you've smashed that guitar on stage, you will still have your bandsaw. ;)

Hey thanks man, I kinda avoided the really fancy looking woods for this one, I didn't want a huge investment if I messed it up on the first go! These bits were actually in the 'discount' pile as they were a bit cupped and warped etc... needed some work on the planer. But that's kinda cool too I reckon...

13 hours ago, ScottR said:

Welcome to the forum and nice work so far.

It's good to have another member pop up in Tasmania, too. @curtisa

 

13 hours ago, ScottR said:

....will be glad to have another member to help him represent.

SR

Cheers mate, cool to know there are others down this way!

11 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Can't believe I missed this one! I've really been digging the seductive simplicity of Teles lately, so seeing others on the boil can only be a good thing!

I thought it was a good one to start with, simple enough to do a great job while learning! Well, thats the theory.

8 hours ago, komodo said:

@Prostheta +1

I'll be updating my LP Jr build thread soon - because it turned into a tele.

Sounds like a late night movie! 

4 hours ago, curtisa said:

Brudda! I'm not alone anymore! :D

What Scott said. Maybe your people should call my people and we should do lunch?

Cool! I think we should definitely make this happen! 

 

I found an early pic of the hardware kinda mocked up:

 

IMG_6372.thumb.jpg.33636562475d3d8b25773594378b8374.jpg

These are LP style pickup rings, I have gold and black ones on order, I'll try the gold ones but I think the black breaks it up nicely. Also have gold input jack, strap buttons and tuners in the parts box.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/24/2018 at 4:21 PM, Prostheta said:

I agree about the black rings. If you go gold, it has to be all in.

Yeah I think so too.

Currently debating what level of round over to go with, I like a crisp edge but they do look good with a decent round over as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anything below 4mm and you need to have a perfectly flat top with perpendicular sides to get it consistent with a router. I'd say maybe 4-6mm. Larger and it can look a bit clownshoeish, but it all depends on whether that design aspect complements or detracts from the bigger picture. Give it a few looks, sleep on it and look again. The answer will be forthcoming 😄

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Not sure what the edge radius on Ibanez RG/JEMs is, however I suspect that it's in the order of 2-3mm. They dent like hell. A great case for binding though.

 

Yeah I'm keen to have a crack at binding, probably next build though.

 

22 hours ago, curtisa said:

You'll want a roundover of some description on the body. Anything with sharp (ish) edges is just asking for denting or chipping as soon as you look at it. IME a 3mm fillet looks good.

 

Oh no... another option!

 

On 5/28/2018 at 1:42 AM, Andyjr1515 said:

Looking good from over here :)

Welcome!

Thanks mate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How flat is the top and are the sides perpendicular to it? The roundover seems to have worked fine except there is a bit of variation and what looks like a sharp transition....nothing a bit of sanding can't cure, but it's useful to know how it occurred of course! Nice woods. Nice and rustic-looking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

How flat is the top and are the sides perpendicular to it? The roundover seems to have worked fine except there is a bit of variation and what looks like a sharp transition....nothing a bit of sanding can't cure, but it's useful to know how it occurred of course! Nice woods. Nice and rustic-looking.

Yeah I can see it in the pic, I'll double check but I think it's just a funny light scenario, I would have noticed I'd imagine.

Just checked again, the roundover is consistent but it has lifted the grain a little in places so will need a decent sand in any case.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see. It happens. When I do roundovers, I usually set the router to a hair over the depth so that the cutter leaves a fuzzy trail at the edge of the profile less than a tenth of a mm. Sanding knocks that back of course. It reminds me to sand profiles fully, so it's more of a mental trick than best practice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

I see. It happens. When I do roundovers, I usually set the router to a hair over the depth so that the cutter leaves a fuzzy trail at the edge of the profile less than a tenth of a mm. Sanding knocks that back of course. It reminds me to sand profiles fully, so it's more of a mental trick than best practice.

Yeah thats a good tip! The whole thing needs a good deal of sanding correction around the edges so it should get covered off. It's essentially 100% learning process for me with this one, as I'm not really a wood worker either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...