Modern-ish Tele-ish build

Corvus

Doing the string ferrules it went a bit south. Realised the pillar drill has like 2mm play in the quill, something's a bit broken. The holes were sort of vintage-ok-ish but not really. 
Doesn't look too bad in the pic maybe but close up it's really not good.



So I need a drill as well as the rest of the broke stuff... looking for something old and British. I got 20 years out of the Korean thing so not too bad I guess, but wasn't happy.

The heel is taking shape and the control cover made, flame maple laminated with oak to try and keep it stable.

Corvus

A Grainger ferrule block arrived today so made a template and the block got dropped in. I might recess it but their templates are very pricey and it's a slightly awkward 14mm wide lip. Anything even slightly off in the fit will look worse than it sitting proud I think



The heel is sloped down and away at the treble side, your hand slides along there quite nicely. Failed to get a decent pic of it, next time.

Slightly tempted to leave it Esquire-ish

TTony

There is so much I like about the design and that build.

This might help with the string holes ...

https://graingerguitarparts.com/products/grainger-string-ferrule-block-6-string-105mm-spacing

(and how do I know!)

Corvus

Sorry, I was writing stuff so we crossed over but yes, very nicely made they are eh. And a better price than others, bar the template system.

edit - and thanks muchly, I'd like to say there is some design and careful thought and whatnot going on, but it's mainly using what's to hand plus having half an idea, and making it up as we go along. I seem to work better if I don't think about it too much...

Which reminds me, one router which broke took a chunk out of the fretboard blank as it overheated and grabbed (shot bearings?). Luckily it was at the nut end and I chopped it off, took a slice off the edge, so we have a Gibson-style nut. The board is slid slightly forwards and the transition curve made to suit it. Forgot, so no pic

Plus side is that it looks like I'll have heel adjust without having to loosen the neck at all. Not 100% about that but looking promising.

MattNovak

Looks great Bill, and the binding is top notch / a lovely touch.  

Roland

I love that neck binding. I’d forgotten what it’s like to play a bound neck, and see that level of detail every time you look at the neck.

PeteC

Lovely work indeed.    There’s a few nice Fobco Star pillar drills on eBay right now if you need a drill.   I love using mine and would recommend one.  

WezV

I tend to drill the ferrules with an evenly spaced template after doing the string holes.  That way, even if the string holes are off, which happens, the ferrules can still be correct and it normally all works out fine.

Binding is great 

Corvus

Thanks a lot all.

Pete, I got my eye on one or two Fobcos and a Meddings, they're all a fair trek from here but hey.

Cheers Wez. I've been doing them with 6 holes up top, the two outer all the way through. Flip over and use shafts off old Dremel bits as pins in the 2 holes, old spare bridges slipped over those. Drill the other 4. Then a stubby centre drill, counterbore thing where the nose bit is 3mm. Knew something was up when the body started wobbling about as I did the boring out, but carried on because may as well. A template sounds a better idea really.

WezV

I do a similar method for the string holes, but always change to a template for those last holes as I have screwed this up many times! 

Corvus

Did a bit more between other jobs, got the neck fretted and lined up & bolted up.

I'm going with a push-pull tone pot which will switch a bass cut on the Filtertron. I'll try it first with cut by default, pull up for the full fat 'tron. They sound great with some cut, and I think will balance better sound-wise.

Did a quickie mockup with a spare tron surround -

Corvus

Did another headstock scoop


And had an idea that may be not be as good as it seemed at 2 in the a.m... I bent up some veneer over a steel tube slipped over the donkey soldering iron that gets used for dent steaming, after skimming out the pocket that got lined with the veneer. The idea was to link up with the purfling. Although it may just look like a pocket gap ..




Need to do fret ends, tuner bushing recesses and general tidying etc, then on to paint

Winny_Pooh

Nice work, I like the complementary body & neck centre strip. 

PeteC

I meant to ask earlier in your thread @Corvus   how did you do the black and white purpling at the bottom of your black and white binding - it looks really good and I haven’t seen one like that before.   

Corvus

Thanks chaps.
Pete, I'd bought some binding that had purfling already glued on-edge. Except on nearly all pieces the purfling had come away. A piece I did use cracked a while after glueing, not where heated or stressed either. When you do heat it, the purfling part wants to twist away, it reacts differently. Not chuffed, basically.
So the neck's a piece that stayed together OK, the body's binding is one of the separated pieces cleaned up, plus separate strips of purfling underneath and top/inside. Getting started is a bit hairy with it all waving about but after that it's OK if a bit slow.
I've a Tele template for pre-bending & heating binding which helped out. Just a body template with a routed ledge and 'fence' pieces around it, dead simple.

PeteC

Thanks Bill.  I was scratching my head trying to work out how you’d done that!  I’ve only just done my first binding so quite keen to learn more about the various techniques and approaches  

Corvus

Got some colour on, hopefully final clearcoats on the body tomorrow. Bit delayed trying out some new things, but it's been worth doing that. The paint on the body is two pack, it can be thin despite popular belief. The neck has 2k sealer and will get nitro topcoats, the clear I have feels lovely. Not at all draggy/sticky or anything like that.





The body back should be more of a cherry, it's sanded in the pic, hopefully looks right when clearcoats are done.

WezV

That binding really pops against the finish

PeteC

Well that contrast is so sharp with the binding Bill - looks top quality.   

MattNovak

That looks surperb Bill, didn't see the red coming at all - in my mind I thought it was remaining natural for some reason but colour suits it so much more.