Charlie H 72 Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 (edited) Hey all - so it has been 8(?!) years since I was last on this forum (as a high school student) and this time around I am back at my family home, furloughed, waiting for this corona thing to pass, and I have gotten way back into guitar after about 5 years of not playing at all. Its rewarding to see how the old skills start to come back, and rewarding to see this community still going strong!! I have also noticed that there are a lot of guitar parts around this house that could be put to work, most notably an old friend's abandoned warmoth wenge tele neck with an ebony fretboard, as well as some tuners, some pickups, a hunk of basswood.. pretty much everything I need to make a guitar for free. So here goes nothing! Doing a variation on a tele, (with a strat bridge, maybe single coils, maybe humbuckers? maybe i will buy some p90s?) let me know what you think, looking forward to this. -Charlie Edited May 15, 2020 by Charlie H 72 title change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 Welcome back, you are certainly on the right path. I'd do a full sized plan to get all the proportions just right. You can even cut it out of cardboard or something just to give it a "lap test" and get a general idea of how it may feel. 1-2" building foam insulation? I've had a build in mind forever that uses three P90s, with the bridge being a stacked double coil P90. I've got them sitting here but had too many other builds in the way. So I may be biased, but that's my vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted May 2, 2020 Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 One of my favorite combinations is a tele bridge with a P-90 neck. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted May 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2020 Thanks for the replies Komodo and SR! I'm pretty set on these proportions. I like a slightly off kilter look, and for what its worth, the design is based on the last guitar I made, which has suited me quite well. Wish I had insulation foam around for a test though, that's a good strategy. Kinda going fast n loose here anyway-no templates no problem! I decided to keep it to being a partscaster for now and maybe plan to replace the pickups when (IF) I get my job back lol. Soon~hopefully. Maybe even jazzmaster pickups. Love that sound. Jazz neck tele bridge?? I got the body blank glued up, cut the outline, and used a router sled situation to get it down to thickness. the shape might need a once over. I am thinking of pulling the upper side in just a little bit. here it is hanging next to my last guitar. I also messed with the neck a bit- dyed the wenge black with india ink (super easy, this is just one coat-love the color!) and reshaped the headstock, which left the top tuner feeling too high so I moved it to the other side. Should I leave the old hole? fill it with something contrasting? Idk, let me know your ideas. Leaning towards leaving it for now. Another spot I may need a little help with-Routed the neck pocket 1/8" too deep-should I shim it, recess the bridge, leave it all as-is and see how it shakes out when I get the guitar all strung up? Next steps are to rout for the bridge pup + electronics cavity- just one volume + a 3 way switch, and then paint. I am enjoying flying by the seat of my pants on this. Not my usual MO but it's a lot of fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted May 4, 2020 Report Share Posted May 4, 2020 9 hours ago, Charlie H 72 said: I am thinking of pulling the upper side in just a little bit. Like this? That might make her more female as the previous one is quite masculine to my eye. 9 hours ago, Charlie H 72 said: Should I leave the old hole? fill it with something contrasting? Idk, let me know your ideas. Leaning towards leaving it for now. Leaving it for now is a good option. If the guitar turns out to be neck heavy that'll give you an option for a fix. Such a clean simple instrument, like homecooking: Nothing fancy but damned good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted May 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2020 (edited) Hey everybody, So I finished this thing up..mostly. All for a total cost of $65, including the strings! I bought a top loading bridge and pickguard material from stewmac, and other than that it was just parts I had around. I ended up taking that upper side in as @Bizman62 suggested, and offset the bottom just a hair for a little bit of off-kilter ease. I'm thinking of etching the surface of the bridge and the knob-they are a little too shiny! Let me know if you have had any success with this or if I should just wait 10 years or so... I cut the pickguard using stewmac's tortoise archtop stuff-barely fit the PG on that small rectangle, and I wish the grain was going the other direction, but hey. I messed up routing for pups, and cracked it when trying to fit it nice n tight to the neck, so it will have to be redone someday. I like the material though. The transparency is nice, and it takes on a good matte finish with some steel wool. If by the time I replace the PG I have decided I want to keep these single coils (ripped from a MIJ Squier strat-but they surprisingly sound great-better, at least, than they did in that guitar) then I'll angle them a la Fender Mustang-the bridge is spaced too narrow for these, resulting in some pretty off center polepieces. I think angled pups will look cool in this one. Otherwise it will be a more major overhaul with a tele bridge, Lollar 52 bridge pup and Lollar Jazzmaster neck pup. Who knows! I went through a few options on finish-first was a dark green artists oil paint I had around, but it wasn't meshing with the fretboard or the neck, so I sanded that back and went for a surf green color. That wasn't working for me either so I burned the thing! Lacking a propane torch, I built a fire and kind of roasted it. Here's the process 1-build a fire. Make sure to have a bucket of water nearby in case things get outta hand! Wait for some good embers to build up. Gorgeous flowering trees in your neighbor's yard are a bonus but by no means required. 2-put sacrificial neck on guitar, and set up a rest/spit near the fire so you can move the guitar easily and freely (see pic) 3-swing it low over the fire, checking to make sure it doesn't catch totally. Its fine if it does-just blow it out. This is the fun part-experiment and enjoy! 4-When there is some good char on the surface, take a wire brush and brush it along the grain-if you want a textured surface. If not, you can sand it a little bit to get the loose sooty particles off. I opted for the brush. 5-when you have the whole thing to a deep brown, heat it over the fire, and take beeswax (or old candle stumps, etc.) and a cloth. Rub the wax across the heated part of the body, and burnish it with the cloth. This should take the deep brown to a nice even black. Continue this all over the body until you have a finish you like. 6-you're done! I just left it like this. I imagine it will age quite quickly, but the finish is easy to repair if you have a small butane torch and some wax. You could also put a more durable clearcoat on top. On other charred stuff I've made, spray clear worked well, as did wipe-on poly. This pen was spray-clear: Some cautions- Fire is dangerous-be safe! Have water nearby, wear long pants and long sleeves, and do this away from any buildings. Rout the neck pocket and drill bridge holes AFTER you have burned the guitar-The pocket shrank a fair amount, so I had to widen it afterwards, and the the exposed 90-degree edge at the bottom of the neck pocket where the body meets the neck got charred pretty badly, resulting in an ugly (but still functional) joint. I also had to readjust the saddles a little bit after mounting the bridge back in the same place as well-the whole body got smaller, bringing the bridge holes towards the nut. Do this with one-piece bodies only, unless you don't mind an obvious seam. The piece on the left of the guitar shrank differently than the rest, which caused it to pull away just a little bit. Its still solidly on there, but definitely on the "rustic" side of things. Consider routing control cavities afterwards as well. I was concerned about the thin through-top mounting area charring all the way through. It ended up being totally fine, but still worth a word of caution as it caught fire more easily than the rest. Thanks for tuning in! Charlie And just for fun, all the guitars I have built over the years-can you tell which one I did in eighth grade? a little PS-I found a push/pull pot lying around and wired up the middle guy for a PRS-style coil tap with a 1.5k resistor between the tap and ground. Its a lollar imperial bridge and it sounds awesome--a whole new instrument/range of sounds opened up. Edited May 15, 2020 by Charlie H 72 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 C'mon, 15 days? Show off... Such great results! Ballsy to cook the thing I might add. That wouldn't have went well for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 I remember the boat deck guitar, so the one on the left has to be the 8th grade build. Headstock is a little wide but otherwise I quite like it. You've got some artistic flair! The toasted tele came out quite nice as well. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 Wow! The pickguard colour is perfect, I wouldn't worry too much for the grain direction. And roasting on open fire! BBQ season grande opening! 18 hours ago, Charlie H 72 said: ripped from a MIJ Squier strat-but they surprisingly sound great-better, at least, than they did in that guitar Might be just because your build quality is better than theirs! It's amazing how much a good tight fit in the neck pocket can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 Thanks everybody! @JayT-well, 15 days with a premade + fretted neck, preslotted nut, and nothing else to do! It could still use some setup to get it to optimal play, but I am happy with it as-is for now. Cooking wasn't too bad -just had to take it slow. Thanks @ScottR-and you're exactly right. Honored to know you remember the last one! I think the notebook-doodles would give #1 away even if you didnt... @Bizman62-The pickguard color is a lucky match! Though the transparency helped it along too, I think. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 Ok everyone I am bringing this one back for a little design chat-the shiny hardware keeps throwing me off! As do the shiny fretboard dots. And I think I want a little more darkness and a little more “tele” out of this thing. So I was considering an aged nickel bridge and knob from Q parts, a lollar ‘52 tele pickup set, (or tele bridge jazz master neck?) a new pick guard to fit, and possibly aged nickel tuners from QParts as well. anybody have experience with them? It’s not like the relic look is what I’m going for-it’s more like I want to bring the luster of the whole thing down to a matte finish. I don’t mind if it gets kinda grungy, but I don’t want it to look theme-y and “distressed.” Is there a good way to achieve this with my existing (chrome) hardware? And how about drilling out fretboard dots? I’m not sure what they are made of-MOP, plastic? But I would like to swap them out for aged clay dots. I imagine this is a somewhat difficult process without removing the frets... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 12, 2021 Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 For hardware...I'd just go full on black hardware makeover. Here is an idea for your fret dots (fretboard, actually). Jennifer Batten uses them. Neck Illusions Here's a pic of one on one of her guitars. If she uses them, you can be sure they do the job. They probably have something more to your liking, just an idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 12, 2021 Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 Heat treating might give a blueish hue but then again that might ruin the structural integrity. That would also require quite a lot of disassembling and that can be a no-go for tuner housings. Since you've played with fire before that might be an option for solid metal easy-to-detach parts. Notice that some pot knobs have plastic inside so check that before burning! Another option is vinegar as described in https://www.tdpri.com/threads/vinegar-for-relicing-hardware.106991/#post-1240445 . That might be safer than burning and would allow for treating the entire tuners. The shiny white mother-of-toiletseat dots may take dye to some extent. Drilling them out should be easy, getting the new ones leveled can also be done without removing the frets. It can be a bit fiddly at the highest frets but a narrow file with polished sides shouldn't damage the fret wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 Thanks for the reply drak-I’m not super into black hardware, but maybe I should give it a go. I’ll see if I can find a couple inexpensive parts to try. And that’s a no from me on the stickers-I’m a pretentious one and I want “real” materials-I know I know.. (Just don’t ask me if I’m replacing the plastic pickguard for real tortoise shell!) the stickers do look great on battens guitar but it’s not what I’m going for. Hi biz-I’ve been wondering about heat treating. I did a knob over my gas stove a while back and it turned out great but the patina wore off the dome quite quickly, however the knurled part still looks good. Maybe I need to hit it with a clear coat, or use some steel wool first so there’s something to grab. I worry about heat treating fiddly tuners and bridge springs and such, but since all of this hardware was free, maybe I should just go for it. I’ve heard that vinegar/acid solutions only really work with nickel parts. Maybe there is a commercial chrome patina out there-I’ll do some research. I’ll try drilling out the dots too-I think this guitar will look great with clay. A razor blade used as a scraper will probably help level too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 (edited) (Here’s a quick shot of the knob-you can see on the top where the patina has worn off) Edited February 12, 2021 by Charlie H 72 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 12, 2021 Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 If you're going to remove the dots, I would at least call Warmoth ahead of time and ask them what they use to install them. For example, if they say epoxy, I would maybe be looking for alternatives...just me. But you never know until you ask. It may be just a little piece of information, but information never hurts, in any amount, and they may tell you something useful. That's why they have a customer support team and phone numbers. It can't hurt to ask. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 That’s a good call! I hadn’t thought of that-I will give them a ring before I do anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 Tried some gas stove heat treating-and it went terribly! I had fun though. Seems like there must have been some pretty soft metal in there-if not lead, zinc? Anyway looks like I’m on the hook for a new bridge-or at least some new saddles but I might as well get the whole bridge while I’m at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 13, 2021 Report Share Posted February 13, 2021 Yikes! I was afraid of that but not in that measure! Guess I'll rather try acid fumes should I ever want to darken the shiny parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted February 13, 2021 Report Share Posted February 13, 2021 On 2/11/2021 at 7:14 PM, Charlie H 72 said: It’s not like the relic look is what I’m going for-it’s more like I want to bring the luster of the whole thing down to a matte finish. I don’t mind if it gets kinda grungy, but I don’t want it to look theme-y and “distressed.” Is there a good way to achieve this with my existing (chrome) hardware? Look at what I did to this hardware for a relicy build. Should have an organic vapor mask, rubber gloves, etc. Take great care. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted February 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2021 Thanks @komodo that’s a gorgeous build! Love the shape, love the simplicity, and the relic looks great. That’s about what I’m going for-seems like most people do either light relic to match a vintage instrument or they totally trash the hardware. I like your approach. I will get some nickel hardware and give it a go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted February 13, 2021 Report Share Posted February 13, 2021 Thanks! I don't know what I wrote in that thread, but for the acid process: You need one large container with the muratic acid in the bottom. Then another container with the hardware in it, floating on that. Then seal it. I;m not sure how long I left them in, but it wasn't crazy long, and you need to check on it. You can always do more. I'd do some Googling and see what others have done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted February 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2021 Thanks Komodo. I just ordered a bunch of nickel hardware from allparts. And a GFS bridge pup. I’m looking forward to this. I drilled out the inlays yesterday and replaced with wood filler. The inlays were actually shell which caused some difficulty in removing, mainly with the bit wandering and nicking the fretboard in a couple places but I got em out with no major issues. Just drill a small hole, heat the dot with a soldering iron for 30 sec, then use a screw to pull out. I think the wood filler suits the guitar much better than the shell that was in there, but I unknowingly got putty (the non-hardening kind) instead of filler. so we’ll see in a few days how hard it gets and if I have to remove. I also put a piece of dark brown paper under the translucent pickguard to help it pop just a little more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 14, 2021 Report Share Posted February 14, 2021 Ahh yes, the old soldering iron trick. I always use a soldering iron to heat up rear ferrules and the finish before I drive them in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted March 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 Alright everyone better pics later but this is where it stands-it’s becoming a bit of a frankentele but I’m still having a good time with it! I aged the nickel hardware-went with vinegar instead of muriatic acid -it went ok, might dunk em in again down the road depending on how the natural aging process goes. I also removed the cream fretboard dots and replaced with durhams water putty tinted with acrylic paint to match the wood grain. I like how that turned out. put a GFS low wind pickup in bridge-I like the sound! Pleasantly surprised for the price. I installed the bridge a little further forward than normal to get the pickup closer to the neck. This resulted in a big string break angle over the saddles, so the tone is a little sweeter than your standard tele bridge and nice n plucky. Pulled out the old bridge pup, taped over that hole for now-new PG down the line? maybe! A piece of tape works for now.. I am also eyeing the upper left bout and thinking of rounding it over a little more. But..some things should just be left as they are. Next build maybe anyway I’ll try post some better pics tomorrow! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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