Crusader

Reminds me of my first two builds. These are made of Western Australian Jarrah. Early settlers called it "Swan River Mahogany"

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

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

On 7/14/2022 at 7:41 PM, RVA said:

Beautiful! I love the color. You might find that it grows on you

Yep it sure has. I don't see the 'pink' any more its just white

Only thing with a Strat though is the tremolo and the associated tuning issues. I've got a set of locking tuners, I might have to chuck them on this

Sorry for digging up an old thread but I have to comment

I used to think binding does not belong on a Tele but you converted me when I saw this... That is just gorgeous!

You're getting me all fired up, loving that piece of Ash. My Tele build has stagnated for too long and I gotta get back into it

By the way I had never used one of them jacks before either and a 22mm bit was the go

On 7/31/2022 at 1:35 AM, avengers63 said:

..........But first, I have to finish cussing. 

Oh yeah I've been down that path too many times!

On 10/2/2022 at 10:41 PM, avengers63 said:

The camera is lightening up the color quite a bit. It's really a LOT darker than that... kinda blackish brown 

Funny how that happens. I quite often spend a lot of time taking photos to get the results I want, trying different lighting and so forth

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!

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

I would call it "Tony"

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!

I finally got around to making a neck

I could have used this piece of maple for a top but it was the right length and thickness for necks. Decided to stick to a traditional Tele shape headstock just a bit oversized

Happy with results so far

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

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

Just for the record, yes it does sound like a Telecaster!

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

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

I've just had a really busy week so tonight I'm just chillin with a couple of Coronas and a few Youtubes. Managed to drill a few holes in the Tele earlier, I'm getting there inch by inch. Control cavity done

To me the piece on the left looks like Cedar, on the right Oregon. But a quick google I conclude its probably all Oregon, also because Cedar is usually used for window frames etc. Had to bring out the sash cramps for this job! Finished the template and got the body all routered today

I used a piece of thick card to locate the screw holes of the Stratocaster neck and bolted it to The Telecaster body. Then measuring from the nut I located the bridge and pickup locations

With the neck attached I put it on the scales along with all the hardware I could think of and what a surprise, just over 7 pounds!

I am really excited about this project I can't wait to get strings on it but drats it will have to wait till another day

1 hour ago, mistermikev said:

... really should consider somehow preserving and incorporating that label... just so cool... but perhaps late for that.

I haven't used that piece of wood because the sides are rounded, but I'm glad about that for the reason you mentioned 

Oh and the clamps are made in Germany, I love those things!

On 8/22/2022 at 11:19 PM, Akula said:

What kind of timber is that?

My father says its Oregon (Douglas fir) To me it looks like Cedar

Its from an old bed and whatever it is, I reckon it must be over a hundred years old

Here is the manufacturer's label, it might help find its identity

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

My Tele pick guard arrived today and I like it