Wood Butchery III - Y.A.T.B. (Yet Another Telecaster Build) DONE!

Comments

• Misterg Frets: 344

  May 2014

  Ha! Cheers Richard
  

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• Fez Frets: 526

  May 2014

  I'm loving these brilliant documentary build threads, Octatonics acoustic one is great and so is this tele build.

  Don't touch that dial.

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• Misterg Frets: 344

  May 2014 edited May 2014

  Cheers @Fez
  
  Meanwhile, back at the neck...
  
  Cutting the slot for the nut proved surprisingly difficult. I'd made the cuts either side of it when I did the slots for the frets, but at only 1/8" (~3mm) wide, I didn't have a file or chisel narrow enough to clean the slot out. I made a few extra saw cuts to try and break up the surplus wood, but ended up taking a fraction of a millimeter off the headstock side of the slot to be able to get a square needle file in there.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3681_zpse75422fa.jpg
  
  (I'd also been a bit over-zealous when I made the original cuts, so the slot is fairly deep.)
  
  The nut blank needed a fair bit trimming off it in any case
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3680_zps6f4e593a.jpg
  
  I took most of the thickness off on the belt sander (and stank my shed out), then a bit of gentle sanding got it to a nice snug fit.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3685_zpsb3961f6c.jpg
  
  I also needed some side markers for the neck. I spent weeks with my eyes peeled for some suitable black plastic rod, but nothing showed up. In the end I used a leather punch to cut some dots out of an offcut of control cavity cover material. I did a bit of experimenting with drill bits and punch sizes to get a good size match between the two.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3699_zps4938cdda.jpg
  
  It would probably have been easier to drill for the dots before I started shaping the neck. Instead, I clamped it to a length of straight, square planed timber with the marker side of the neck parallel to the top edge. I also packed out the headstock slightly to get the edge of the fretboard parallel in plan view, too.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3701_zpsd4c6fdd0.jpg
  
  This made it easy to use a square to carry the 'half way' position marks down the edge of the neck and mark a appropriate distance from the fretboard for the markers.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3703_zps99953e02.jpg
  
  And because the fretboard was parallel to the timber, I could use a fence on the drill press to try and keep the markers in line.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3704_zpsd1a96065.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3705_zps42803eff.jpg
  
  Some fiddling around with superglue and fiddly little bits of plastic (I probably lost as many as I fitted)
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3706_zpsfe4b8568.jpg
  
  And after sanding the edge of the neck
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3710_zps9319ba72.jpg
  
  With the dots fitted, I could finish sanding and shaping the neck. The shape was roughly carved already, and I did most of the final shaping with a scraper made by turning the edge of a razor blade.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3744_zps8c5c2855.jpg
  
  I spent a very pleasant, sunny afternoon, feeling for smooth curves in the neck and whittling away imperfections with the razor blade. It's amazing how little material you need to take off to remove what feels like a huge ridge.
  
  I tried to keep everything symmetrical, and made occasional checks with a profile gauge
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3741_zps7ad943c6.jpg
  
  I would fit in one way, then flip it 180 degrees and check it against the neck again in the same place. Primarily, I went by feel, though.
  
  When I thought I was done, I put the neck down for a day, and then came back to it with fresh eyes / hands. Eventually, I decided that it was 'right', and it was still 'right' the next day.
  
  As the final contours took shape, I felt that the headstock transition looked wrong, so I wanted to move it
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3715_zpsc0f15b64.jpg
  
  It felt wrong attacking a lovely smooth neck with a chisel, but I knew it would bug me if I left it.
  
  Surprisingly quickly, it was carved away and sanded smooth again.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3716_zps1e5533ca.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3717_zpsedfb1d6b.jpg
  
  No regrets
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3739_zpsa13dd5a4.jpg
  
  I did something similar at the heel end
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3737_zpsb91499ae.jpg
  
  Now, back to that damn superglue I spilled all over the frets...
  
  I'd tried to clean as much as possible off with acetone at the time, but it was obvious, even so, that the glue residue would affect the finish (just wiping the neck with thinners showed that it would look awful).
  
  So I spent ages with a Stanley knife blade carefully scraping the glue off the fretboard between the frets. This messed up the lovely smooth finish I had on the neck, so I then had to spend even longer with tiny bits of sandpaper trying to smooth it out again.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3731_zps550048fd.jpg
  
  While I was at it, I also rolled the edges of the fretboard a little. It made a big difference to the feel.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3735_zpsee74e53d.jpg
  
  Getting there...
  

  
  

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• close2u Frets: 997

  May 2014

  "Fancy you being stuck indoors on a nice day like this!"
  

  My feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59432/
  

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• Misterg Frets: 344

  May 2014 edited May 2014

  Right, sorry for the delay - this week I have been mostly doing: Tru Oil...
  
  I finished the neck in Tru Oil (a wipe-on varnish intended for gun stocks, etc. - I'd used it before on my Firebird).
  
  I used the 'coffee paper' method - put a few drops of Tru Oil onto a coffee filter and rub it into the surface, then, quickly,  with a fresh paper, wipe off the surplus. It took me a while to learn the same lessons as last time: Less is more, and don't ever go back over the same area twice!
  
  The maple took the finish really well once I'd stopped trying to slather it on - you almost have to go with the attitude that you're trying to wipe every trace of it off. Even if it doesn't feel like anything is happening, the surface gradually starts building a hard gloss. Doing between the frets was a PITA!
  
  It took much longer that it should do, because I had 5 attempts at doing the transfer on the headstock (disintegrated, 'silvered', sanded through (after about a dozen coats of tru oil!!), sanded through (duuur!), put on and left alone ! )
  
  Eventually, I decided it was 'done':
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3767_zpsf1d037c4.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3773_zps6c5496e0.jpg
  
  I attacked a £4.99 Wilkinsons straight edge with a file to make a notched straight edge for a 25.5" scale:
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3871_zps2cbc01e6.jpg
  
  And used this to check the fretboard was level - it had ended up with a very slight back-bow, even with the truss-rod completely loose (I tried whacking the truss rod nut, too, in case the rod was stuck)  - it was only 0.1 to 0.2mm, so I could take it out when levelling the frets.
  
  With the neck as straight as I could get it, I masked it up, blackened the frets with marker pan  and started levelling them (I already had the levelling beam - it is a couple of pieces of laminate glued together with some wet & dry paper fixed to it with double-sided tape).
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3775_zps6105ecff.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3776_zps04ce7f7b.jpg
  
  For the first time, I worked in a deliberate fall-off from roughly the 12th fret by taping a couple of thicknesses of card over the other frets:
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3777_zpsab64b52d.jpg
  
  Pretty much done:
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3778_zps214b1b62.jpg
  
  I re-crowned the frets with a pukka crowning file from an ebayer in Portugal (much faster than using a needle file), then polished them with some micro-mesh. It was the first time I'd used that, too - it's like posh emery paper.
  
  The finishing touch was some Silvo polished up with my Dremmel-a-like.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3781_zps624c694e.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3787_zps390c0d59.jpg
  
  Nut blank re-fitted and trimmed to rough size:
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3784_zps7f88bcc1.jpg
  
  There's a really nifty pdf file on TDPRI for marking out the string slot spacing. Just line the ends of the nut up with the outside lines and mark off the string positions:
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3808_zps52114159.jpg
  
  Then just use a square to take the marks up to the top of the nut (making sure you have the nut the right way around, or you end up with two sets of lines like I did....)
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3812_zps7a2ddd2b.jpg
  
  Tuner bushings (after cleaning all the tru-oil out of the holes). These needed a surprising amount of force from a G clamp to get them fully seated.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3794_zps4559c4d7.jpg
  
  And the tuners (candle to wax the tiny little screws)
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3795_zpsb0cc538c.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3802_zps9b224c67.jpg
  
  I'd cut the truss-rod adjuster down a little so that it was under the 'overhang', but because I'd cut the truss rod flush with the neck heel, it still needed to stick out a bit to get the screwdriver into the slot.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3785_zpsd1478aa8.jpg
  
  I needed to cut a notch in the pick-guard to accomodate this so I could get the neck on and off. It will still be hidden by the overhang.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3786_zps948788e1.jpg
  
  To finish the body, I shielded the control cavity. I didn't do the pickup routs as I ran out of foil! (And there are reasonable arguments as to why it's not really necessary)
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3753_zpsb30a2f29.jpg
  
  I'd picked up some some MIM pickups to use in the guitar, but I wanted to body mount the neck pickup and explore the options for out of phase wiring. I snipped the link on the back of the neck pickup and fitted a dedicated ground wire to the cover:
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3754_zpsb16fcfa1.jpg
  
  and drilled through the threaded mounting lugs to take wood screws and springs:
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3761_zps6d036dee.jpg
  
  To get the pickup square in the pick guard, I put some blu-tac under the pickup and placed it loosely in the rout. I then fitted the pick guard and squished the neck pickup down so it was square, removed the pick guard and marked through the pickup mounting holes:
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3757_zps18b548e7.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3755_zps48f1aa8a.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3760_zps762a74e0.jpg
  
  Bridge and pickup went on OK, and I wired it with a reversed control plate and a push-pull switch for the 'series-out-of -phase' wiring.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3763_zps46da6df0.jpg
  
  At last, I could screw it all together and string it up
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3805_zpsef09d3cb.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3815_zps8123a4f6.jpg
  
  I filed the nut slots down (leaving them a touch high, just in case)
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3814_zps1dbd08c7.jpg
  
  As soon as I tried to play it, I realised that I hand't done as good a job of polishing the frets as I thought (It was like someone had put sand on the fretboard), so I had to slacken the strings and go over each fret again with the micromesh (string supports available for £20 + shipping )
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3816_zpsf4b4bd8a.jpg
  
  The one on the right has been done, the one on the left hasn't.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3817_zps9e19a878.jpg
  
  This also gave me the opportunity to take the nut off, sand off some of the excess and gave it a bit of a polish. There's  a few 'pores' (?) in the bone which are making the black dots.
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3818_zps54082848.jpg
  

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• Misterg Frets: 344

  May 2014

  (Body too long!!)...
  
  I fitted a string tree to the top two strings, re-tightened the strings and that was it - done
  
  The Intonation was very close, and just needed a turn or two on each saddle to get it right. Action was pretty much perfect and it seems to play very well!
  
  Some pics:
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3821_zps39c83ef1.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3822_zps0da4a202.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3828_zpsc29e95c5.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3847_zpsb2e126c6.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3851_zpsdb6ce481.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3852_zps92e21bb1.jpg
  
  http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/TC/DSC_3864_zps56f3d9b4.jpg
  
  

  FIN
  

  
  

  

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• close2u Frets: 997

  May 2014

  You, sir, are a marvel.
  Just flaming brill.
  
  

  My feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59432/
  

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• GavRichList Frets: 7164

  May 2014

  I'll give you £50 for it, CASH.
  
  Looks great. The neck looks especially fine. Congratulations; I could never ever ever ever do this.

  https://open.spotify.com/artist/350MeprlGRHZw73mPOJG2x?si=5stis2yVTPSxTKpEizaQ3g
  

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• Niallmo Frets: 467

  May 2014

  That is immense. Brilliant thread, brilliant guitar. Sir, I salute you.

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• juansolo Frets: 1773

  May 2014

  Epic end to an epic thread. Bravo sir, bravo!
  

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• NPP Frets: 236

  May 2014

  Very well done, congrats!

  
  

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• impmann Frets: 12667

  May 2014

  Very nice. :-)

  Never Ever Bloody Anything Ever.
  
  

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• GuitarMonkey Frets: 1883

  May 2014

  Excellent job. It's very interesting how you approached and overcame each challenge in the build.

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• Evilmags Frets: 5158

  May 2014

  Wow.

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• Misterg Frets: 344

  May 2014

  Aw shucks!  ">
  
  Thank you all very much for the kind words. All I can say is that if you've got a hankering to build a guitar, then go for it - you will probably surprise yourself.
  
  Cheers!
  
  
  50 quid? - I'll bear it in mind
  

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• GavRichList Frets: 7164

  May 2014

  Ha, I jest of course. Need a video really now to hear it!

  https://open.spotify.com/artist/350MeprlGRHZw73mPOJG2x?si=5stis2yVTPSxTKpEizaQ3g
  

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• dchwhite Frets: 182

  May 2014

  Most impressive
  

  Stonevibe: 'The best things in life aren't things'.
  
  Trading feedback: Previous (+18) and Current
  

  
  

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• Panama_Jack666 Frets: 2989

  May 2014

  I'll give you £51 CASH!
  
  Seriously though @misterg it was an absolute pleasure to read this thread. Your photo's and well explained method kept me intrigued and entertained. This is one of the best threads I've seen on The Fretboard and has really made me want to build something. Very inspiring seeing this happen from scratch!
  
  You seem extremely knowledgeable and resourceful when it comes to building stuff!
  
  Is your playing as good as your building/thread making? I'd love to see a video of it being played!
  

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• Misterg Frets: 344

  May 2014

  Thank you very much indeed for those kind words @Panama_Jack666. I like making stuff, but most of what I know has come from spending too long on the internet!
  
  Sadly my guitar playing is nothing to write home about - I'm still learning.
  

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• wave100 Frets: 150

  May 2014

  That looks fantastic - thanks for sharing!
  

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