Starting out in guitar building - There will be questions!

SteveF

Ah thanks Bill. It is nice and snug - I suspect it will come down to the quality of the templates too.  I did read somewhere that if the templates don't give a tight fit, you can put some tape around the end of the neck to make it ever so slightly bigger and then shave down if oversize. 

SteveF

Trimmed up the fingerboard. Ended up using a block plane to do the end parts then sanded the overhang down to 1/4" and rounded the corners slightly. 

SteveF

So, it's been a tale of ups and downs recently.  The paint on this guitar is going to have its work cut out to hide a multitude of sins (if I can get it that far!) 

First, the ups.  Neck is going really well.  I drilled the fingerboard for the dot inlays and installed them before setting up a couple of bits of wood as a track and then sanded the radius into the neck.  All went smoothly.  I think I will need to deepen the slots quite a bit as they're pretty far down at the edge - I may not have gone deep enough on my initial cuts. 









Happy with that. Now to 'fess up. 

A few days ago, ill-advisedly as I was shattered from work, I decided to drill the control wiring channels.  I didn't get the angle shallow enough with the drill bit and came out of the back of the guitar rather than into the control cavity (d'oh!) 



Needless to say I had to walk away and have a little word to myself. 

After going through the full five stages of grief, I decided I might as well try and save it (and I am glad I didn't start a new body as you will come to see later......)  So, I picked up a drill bit that will cut a dowel from the body offcuts and some Rustins wood filler and did my best.  It's not pretty, but it's flat, so won't be seen when painted, I hope. 



The hole is now re-drilled. In to the cavity this time. Onwards and upwards.  OR NOT. 

Next up, I decided I would drill the rest of the holes in the body, so I put the bridge in place to check the positions for the string through holes (now that I have done more research, I know that YOU know exactly where this is going....)

You may have noticed in the pictures above, the nice snazzy but not very big Bosch bench drill press I have.  It was bought to drill out enclosures for effects pedals and a very good job it does too. It also has a nifty digital depth guide which was brilliant for the dot inlays and an easy to use fence that made drilling the tuner holes straight a breeze. What it won't do is reach the holes where the bridge goes on a telecaster body.  

What I didn't do was ask here for advice, and I should have, because I know for a fact that you would have advised against what I did.  I decided that I had a steady hand and could do it by hand... I'm sure you can guess how that went. 

There was I, looking proudly at the nice straight line of holes that I had made in the front of the body. And then I turned it over.  Car crash.  Not even useable as some of the holes had wandered too close together to be able to put the ferrules next to each other.  I forgot to get a pic, but I am sure you can imagine.  

I drilled the holes out to 8mm, plugged them with dowels and cut them flush.  I will use more Rustin's filler today to hopefully get them nice and smooth again and needless to say there is a press on the way with more throat depth (180mm which I am led to believe from searching through old threads should be enough for anything in guitar building).  

Going forward, I have seen a method that involves using the bridge to guide the holes, drilling them part way through from the front and then turning over and using a guide pin lined up with the centre of the drill bit to index with the front of the holes and meeting up from the back.  This seems to look relatively straight forward - is this what you guys would use or would you recommend something else?  

Kalimna

Very briefly, good work on the neck Looks very neat.
Regarding the body, ive lost count of the number of times Ive had a wandering drill bit, or gone through the back or front. So dont worry about that.
For drilling through the back, Id be tempted to rout a rear access cavity (like a Les Paul) for controls and put a cover on. Even if you have already routed the front for pickups etc, it might still be handy and can be called weight relief.
As for the string-through holes, yep it's not straghtforward. Ive only done it once, and used the pin-registering method. Its a bit of a faff setting up, but works a treat. If i get chance later i'll dig up some photo's I have of my build (on a Flying V, no less!)

Either way, good luck with the rest of the build

Adam

WezV

Yeah, even with a big drill press I do the outer 2 first and drill the rest halfway before flipping and remarking.

I then use a separate thick template for ferrule holes, so if the string holes have wandered a bit I can still correct 

I showed the process for doing them with a hand drill here on a kit challenge build - although I did use the drill press for a template but the basic idea was to make a thick template first
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/18377/finished-wezv-tele-build/p6

If it makes you feel better, look at some vintage teles. They can be all over the place on those too

SteveF

Thanks both, that does make me feel better!

@WezV ;Do you use a metal template for the ferrule holes or is thick wood sufficient to keep the bit aligned? 

WezV

i tend to stick with wooden templates for most things

TTony

Ahhhhh, the "I've got 10mins, I'll just quickly ..." job.

Inevitably leads to mistakes.  My worst one led me to putting the body aside for over a year whilst I worked out how to remedy the mistake.  So, don't worry, yours won't even be visible under the paint.

String through holes - I've had that problem too, and followed Wez' advice on drilling the outer 2 first, then flipping over and use the outside 2 holes to make sure the other 4 are at least in a straight line and equally spaced.  They generally meet up in the middle of the body, close enough to thread a string through.

Strangely, I've also had success using a straight hole guide and a hand drill.  I didn't expect that to work, but it avoided the bit wander that you get with a drill press.  This sort of thing ...


And another cheat, which I think actually looks better, is to use a ferrule block on the back.  Then you only have to drill half way through the body to reach the recess for the ferrule block, and the end result looks neater too (IMHO!).

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

PeteC

Weve all been there !   It will be fine once redone - Ive made myself 4 Teles now and the best sounding one has the misaligned ferrule holes !   I too now use the “outside two” then halfway drill method.   The rest of the build looks really good.  The neck and fretboard work is really excellent 

WezV

@Ttony isn't wrong about the string block.  it can also be used as as a fix for misaligned ferrules by making a wooden one     

A couple of my older guitars have the feature of an inlaid ebony string block.  One with just the ebony, one with ferrules added after.  Obviously it was done for tonal reasons and definitely not covering a mistake  

Roland

TTony said:

And another cheat, which I think actually looks better, is to use a ferrule block on the back. 

In my eyes this isn’t a cheat. It’s a design improvement. The string ends are anchored more securely, and there’s no risk of individual ferrules falling out and getting lost during a string change. Anyone who’s had to change a string mid gig will know about this.

SteveF

Wizzes all round.  Those ferrule blocks look the biz and might be the way to go, I wonder about whether the different densities of the various plugs and fillers would make drill bits want to wander so routing a straight channel might just make things a bit easier this time - I am determined that I will do ferrules at least once and get them right though!  

I bet the blocks look nice when set into the wood too.  Presumably you just make up a template from the outline and rout a cavity for it? Those above look like they have a lip - do you have that sitting proud like some ferrules I see, or have you been making a slightly larger rout at the top to have it flush?

WezV

The grainger ones have router templates available for them
https://graingerguitarparts.com/products/grainger-ferrule-block-template-insert-6-sting-105mm-spacing

SteveF

Well that is just downright convenient!  

WezV

Well the template costs more than the insert - you better start some more builds to make it worth it

TTony

I made my own templates ....

But buying them is cheaper than buying your own CNC to make them yourself

SteveF

Oh you nearly caught me out there.  The insert you linked is 10.5mm string spacing but my bridge is 10.8! 

https://northwestguitars.co.uk/products/wilkinson-wtb-telecaster-compatible-ash-tray-bridge-brass-saddles?variant=44261353914642

Check me out checking! I am learning!  

SteveF

TTony said:

I made my own templates ....

But buying them is cheaper than buying your own CNC to make them yourself

I think I might try that too - the templates there are designed for use with a guide bushing rather than a bearing guided bit so I would need to get some of those too.  I will have a go at a template and see how I get on. 

davros

Should be easy enough to make templates, you have the router table which I use for straight edges - i stick a short piece of angled aluminium on the MDF for the bearing to ride on, but you can use a straight bit of wood. Bobbin sander is wonderful for the non-straight bits but you can use a file/sandpaper.

davros

If you have a short bearing bit and a thick enough template then you won't need to worry about the bushing or offsets.