My Tele...or...Strat

[Crusader]

Well I've put my concerns about the body aside in the last couple of days and got some progress on the neck and the pictures tell the story

First up I have a photo of how I did the profile in the 1990's. Notice the skunk stripe is already done but now I do it afterwards in case the wood alters shape

I still have the router but that cordless drill with the red battery is long-gone

 

 

First I do the neck thickness. On this one I did 23mm at the first fret to 26 at the body join (16th fret) That will come down 1 or 2mm in the end

 

 

 

Then I did the transition from neck to headstock, a little bit tricky that part

 

 

 

 

These days for the profile I have a jig which fully supports the router

 

 

 

After the routing I get busy with a rasp. There's still a bit to go but looking good

 

 

 

It really helps a lot if you have an example to work from. I would fail miserably otherwise

 

 

[Bizman62]

Thanks for showing your neck profiling router bit! I've often been wondering if something like that could be used. Now I know!

[avengers63]

8 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

Thanks for showing your neck profiling router bit! I've often been wondering if something like that could be used. Now I know!

Go check out p3 of my High End Build thread. I did a couple of experiments with large molding bits.

Also, I'm dutifully taking notes on how I want to approach doing mine. Looking at this jig, I'm wondering if clamping it to the edge of my router table would get it done. WWhen I did my experiments, I clamped it down flat. I'll have to play with it and some scrap lumber.

[Crusader]

9 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

Thanks for showing your neck profiling router bit! I've often been wondering if something like that could be used. Now I know!

I used to use a 1 inch router bit which is good for the upper end but not for the 1st fret end. I had a couple of disasters so now I use ... I think its 5/8" ... 19mm

Either way there's still some shaping to do with hand tools. I aim to match my 59 reissue Les Paul but you could just leave it as it is

[Crusader]

1 hour ago, avengers63 said:

When I did my experiments, I clamped it down flat

I've tried it that way but the router can tilt and dig into the middle of the neck. It might actually be a better way when doing a Fender style neck but I usually do Gibson style and do the profile before gluing the headstock ears on so I can take the router all the way through. Which leaves less to do with hand tools

[Bizman62]

5 hours ago, avengers63 said:

Go check out p3 of my High End Build thread. I did a couple of experiments with large molding bits.

Thanks, I remembered your long and narrow fretboard radiusing bit but the large moulding bits had dropped off my head.

[Crusader]

My Tele pick guard arrived today and I like it

 

[Akula]

13 hours ago, Crusader said:

I used to use a 1 inch router bit which is good for the upper end but not for the 1st fret end. I had a couple of disasters so now I use ... I think its 5/8" ... 19mm

I bought a 19mm Carbatec bit to do a roundover on a bass guitar a year or two back. That thing scared me. It's been sitting in my bits n' blades drawer ever since. Lurking. 

 

Nice build. I like the tele pickguard.

 

- Jam

[Crusader]

On 8/22/2022 at 11:51 PM, Akula said:

I bought a 19mm Carbatec bit to do a roundover on a bass guitar a year or two back. That thing scared me. It's been sitting in my bits n' blades drawer ever since. Lurking. 

 

Nice build. I like the tele pickguard.

 

- Jam

Yeah they are scary to use LOL I use them at slow speed, specifically bought a variable speed router for the job

I think the black Telecaster pick guard enhances the colour of the grain very well. I've got another project started for a Tele which I will probably paint so everything's the wrong way round. I'd rather the Strat be painted

[Crusader]

A little more done on this today. The black pick guard will go on the Tele and the white one on this. Only question is about the bridge pickup. I marked it out 0n the Telecaster angle about a week ago and today I diligently routered it to the line. But that's okay I might keep to that plan

I'm determined to prove you can make a Stratocaster sound like a Tele, and I would just use a Tele bridge but as far as I know you can't get one with Strat string spacing. I find it hard to believe the difference in pickup angle makes much difference. And if you were to put a Tele bridge and pickup on a hard-tail Strat the only difference is the body shape. I find that hard to believe as well. I've got some experimenting to do!

I'm going to make my necks wider but also want them to be interchangeable with the real Fender neck. This was my process

 

I marked the base equidistant from the centreline then marked round the neck heel

 

 

 

The laminate trimmer is too narrow for this job so I left the centre to support it then just chiselled it out

 

 

 

I usually make a jig for this but I managed to get a good result and the neck pocket is snug enough to hold the neck up

Fenders don't have the thin section of body on the cutout side but I will figure out what I want to do when I make my own neck for it

 

 

Drilled for the pickups and as I mentioned the bridge is on the Tele angle. I'm not sure how I want to approach this. One idea is to keep it all looking like a Strat (keep bridge pickup on Strat angle) but have a metal plate under the pick guard reaching between the pickup and bridge

[Bizman62]

2 hours ago, Crusader said:

I find it hard to believe the difference in pickup angle makes much difference. And if you were to put a Tele bridge and pickup on a hard-tail Strat the only difference is the body shape. I find that hard to believe as well. I've got some experimenting to do!

That experimenting is something I'd like to learn the results of! For what I've been told the pole spacing doesn't matter much as long as part of each pole is under a string. The angle and position are also quite similar. The main difference is that the Tele pickup has that large metal base plate which adds to the magnetic properties. Especially a steel one being magnetic adds inductance (henries). Another significant difference is that the Tele pickup is attached to the same solid metal plate with the bridge pieces whilst the Strat pickups are mounted to a flimsy piece of plastic.

[Crusader]

23 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

... Strat pickups are mounted to a flimsy piece of plastic.

Yes that is something I intend to avoid. In the 90's I experimented with fixing pickups directly to the wood and it made quite a difference. The pickup moving with the wood providing more vibration than just the strings to create the signal. At the time I found it too much trouble, deciding that ease of adjustment was preferable

When I got around to looking at the Telecaster pick guard I was surprised there were no mounting holes. So a Google was in order and I was surprised to find the early Tele's neck pickups were not mounted to the guard. Huh whadda ya know? Leo had it right from the start

 

So the latest with My Strat. I don't like the Strat output jack and I don't want the Volume knob in the usual place, it hinders my playing so I quickly came up with the idea of having a Les Paul type of setup. I will put a Tele jack on it and drill through as I did with the Tele. I'm even considering having no scratch plate. Here's a mock-up of my idea

[Crusader]

I got some progress in the last few days. I decided the only way to see if a Strat can sound like a Tele is to have a Tele pickup so I routed for it and installed

 

 

I think the ground wire needs to also go to the pickup

 

 

 

With some excessive hum I plugged it in and low and behold it doesn't quite sound like a Telecaster! So next thing is to instal a Tele bridge but I will need a Top-Loader because the string holes for the Strat bridge are further forward. But its looking good and I might re-think the strat pick guard and leave it off and have all black pickups

 

[Nicco]

That looks gorgeous. Simple, clean and elegant. Nicely done! 

[Crusader]

16 hours ago, Nicco said:

That looks gorgeous. Simple, clean and elegant. Nicely done! 

Thank you, the trouble is all this experimenting makes it hard to decide which way to go!

 

Well I got progress on the neck today. I want it to be wider yet also interchangeable with the Fender gear, so this was my solution

First I made the Template the same as the Fender neck (risky business there!) Then located the holes and routered the neck

 

 

 

[avengers63]

On 9/12/2022 at 11:58 AM, Crusader said:

Thank you, the trouble is all this experimenting makes it hard to decide which way to go!

 

Fortunately, we have an advantage over just everyone else. We ultimately don't have to decide which wat to go. We can (not so) simply make another hand have it both ways. Of course, that's a slippery slope of justification as to why we NEED 21 guitars with another 4 in various stages of incompletion....

[Crusader]

I was going to route the truss rod groove today but when I realised I had not done a Fender style neck before I thought I will run into some problems. I made a Strat in 2000 but I gave it an angled headstock. With a straight Fender headstock the truss rod needs to be at just the right depth for it to exit in the right place. So as usual here is photo evidence of the activities that took place

 

First up I spent a lot of time altering my Truss Rod jig to suit the Strat neck but its so riddled with holes I don't mind making a new one

 

 

This is where I realised the problem, so glad I didn't go ahead with the router. The curve I had is quite flat and the rod doesn't come through under the Nut with much angle. Then somewhere I found the plan for Fender necks and set out to do the same as they do

 

 

Using my ingenuity at my best

 

 

I drilled a hole in the tape at 255 inches so the pencil doesn't wander, and I got a clean line. There is also the 115 inch radius

 

 

 

eventually I got the combined radii onto wood

 

 

and I am happy with the results on paper

 

 

We have a holiday tomorrow to honour the passing of our Queen. When I was a child I would look up to her

photo on the wall in the headmaster's office, but anyway I shall be making guitars!

[Bizman62]

7 minutes ago, Crusader said:

We have a holiday tomorrow to honour the passing of our Queen. When I was a child I would look up to her

photo on the wall in the headmaster's office, but anyway I shall be making guitars!

As the old farmer said, when caught driving a dung cart during the Sunday Church ceremony: I believe it's more blessed to drive a dung cart and ponder upon God than to sit in God's house thinking about the dung cart...

Guess Elizabeth would appreciate building a guitar more than glooming and mourning.

[Crusader]

Got the Truss rod jig done and put it to use

 

 

Then I use a home made long drill bit to drill through both ends

 

 

 

Then a few other things and I'm ready to test the truss rod design, but that will be tomorrow

[Akula]

1 hour ago, Crusader said:

Then I use a home made long drill bit to drill through both ends

Once again, your pure mastery of that particular tool amazes me.

 

Great build, mate.

[Crusader]

22 hours ago, Akula said:

Great build, mate.

Thanks cheers mate

 

So, well tomorrow is here! and I did as I said I would

First up I skimmed the neck face to make it flat. Then I bolted the neck on, strung it up and tested the Truss rod. And its all thumbs up, Flat as a tack!

 

[Crusader]

I got home from work the other day and the sun was still shining so I said "I'm gonna make guitars!" Its so depressing to see my babies just sitting there being ignored for so long, I finally got the round-overs done

I'm not sure where I will end up with the Strat. I've given it a 1/4" diameter round-over and will see if I like it. I might keep the Tele theme going and use a Tele pickup in it permanently but I thought it was extremely bright when I tried it

 

[avengers63]

FWIW: I just LOVE a tele bridge pickup. I honestly don't know what Fender either doesn't offer a Strat with one. I've never seen them do it, but the paring seems like a no-brainer. The closest I've seen them do is the Nashville Tele, which is most decidedly NOT the same thing.

[Crusader]

Thanks for your comments, yes I've decided to go with the Tele pickup, I bought another Antiquity last Thursday but there's a funny story behind it. Initially I decided I would use the white pick guard and install Strat pickups, but on the way to the shop that had what I wanted, I missed the turn-off and ended up at another place that had the Antiquity!

I think I will be happier going this way, after all I have put in a lot of work to make this guitar to suit having no pick guard. And tonight I saw this which further reinforces my decision. This is John Brewster of "The Angels" I like the look of this guitar although mine will have the black Tele pickup in the bridge which I don't think will look out of place

 

 

When I bought the pickups last week I came home and did numerous mock-ups but I like this one the most

[Bizman62]

That sure looks like a solid plan! Beatiful wood telling its story and only the essential hardware. What more could one add?