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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Eltham, VIC
    Posts
    65

    Default First electric guitar build - QLD Maple Tele

    Hi all,
    As promised in my "G'day" post (https://www.woodworkforums.com/f175/beginner-melbourne-178825), I've been working towards my first guitar / telecaster build and have come far enough to make a post about it.

    I started off by buying a long piece of QLD maple last year from Thumbsucker via the Market Place on these forums. After some sanding it revealed a nice reddish colour with good tight and straight grain at one end and a bit of a crazy but cracked grain at the other where a there was a crotch on the timber.
    20131121_201330.jpg

    Then through a thicknesser. There was a slight twist in the length and buy the time I got it out with some hand sanding, etc, and back through the thicknesser I had lost quite a bit of thickness and was down to 40mm rather than the 45mm I was hoping. Ohwell, live and learn, and I decided to just push on.
    After assessing the cleanest body halves I proceeded to cut and join.
    IMG_2958.jpg

    Time for stencil building. After waiting too long for my A1 drawings to arrive from Officeworks I went ahead with multiple A4 + sticky tape. Not ideal
    Cut with a bandsaw and sanded to final shape with a drum on the drill press and a belt sander clamped sideways on the bench.
    IMG_2951.jpg

    Then traced on to the maple and back to the bandsaw.
    IMG_20140111_165422.jpg

    Stencil fastened to body through the pickup locations, and off to the router. I didn't have a router table at the time (have since fixed that!) so went hand held with the router using an inverted flush trim bit for the first pass then flipped it over and finished with a regular flush trim bit. My first try using a router - I was a little shaky at first but took my time and got used to it eventually. I found the tight curves either side of the neck the hardest, with the router wanting to tip. A couple of blemishes there but nothing a couldn't sand out.
    IMG_2987.jpg

    Then a tight radius bit around the edges, both sides. Old bit, a bit of burn...
    Back to stenciling for the neck pocket and other cavities. Particular care with the neck pocket to fit tightly on the neck (I bought the neck). Neck pocket cut. Neck trial fit. Nice and reasonably tight. String through holes drilled on the drill press. Quick assembly for the end of the day. Tunes and seems playable - relieved.
    IMG_3004.jpgIMG_20140112_133409.jpg

    Next build day. Cut pickup and control cavities from MDF stencils. Pickups and pots arrived. Pickups are Dragonfire Tex Blues. Hardware fitted and wired temporarily. Re-string, tuned, plugged it in - all working. Some setup to do, but it plays and sounds surprisingly well.

    IMG_20140204_215114.jpgIMG_20140303_194219.jpgIMG_20140303_194204.jpg

    TODO: Next up is stain + poly clear coat. I've got some reading to do here before proceeding.
    Soon after, I'm hoping to have a go at making a neck from some QLD maple.

    It's not a very interesting build log, but I can say that I've thought of nothing but woodworking since that first day in the workshop... and not just guitars. I've since been on a mission to setup my own workshop and the wife hasn't seen much of me...

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Dandenong, Vic
    Posts
    2,029

    Default

    Snap,
    This one was Norfolk Island Pine Body.
    Maple neck, plays ok.
    I did go to the fender site and look at the color for the original tele's (olympic white I think it wwas), was tempted to get bunnies to make the colour up if the timber looked bad and I painted it.

    I should try a neck as well at some point.

    When you do the next one we want more WIP bits and piccies
    Attached Images Attached Images

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Eltham, VIC
    Posts
    65

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by _fly_ View Post
    Snap,
    This one was Norfolk Island Pine Body.
    Nice one. I'd like to do a pine body too at some stage. I've heard its a good material and popular for tele bodies.

    Quote Originally Posted by _fly_ View Post
    was tempted to get bunnies to make the colour up if the timber looked bad and I painted it.

    When you do the next one we want more WIP bits and piccies
    I was going to go a solid colour on it too. Surf or seafoam green. But after working with the wood, sanding, etc for so long I couldn't cover it up, even if it isn't pretty. The cracks are pretty crazy in the top half, plenty of wood filler was required.

    I have more pictures but didn't want to make the post too long and loose interest It's hard to remember to stop and take pictures during the build.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Bradbury
    Posts
    1,429

    Default

    Really good work. Everything looks nice and clean. I'm working on a thinline tele for a customer at the moment. Teles and strats are my favourite builds at the moment

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Dandenong, Vic
    Posts
    2,029

    Default

    I filled the cracks in the knots with black tinted epoxy.
    comes out good, nice and shiny, sanded etc well.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Eltham, VIC
    Posts
    65

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by floody_85 View Post
    Really good work. Everything looks nice and clean. I'm working on a thinline tele for a customer at the moment. Teles and strats are my favourite builds at the moment
    Thank you, a bit rough but I wasn't expecting it to be a Fender on my first attempt. I'm planning to do a Thinline next too, twice the amount of routing joy in a single guitar

    Quote Originally Posted by _fly_ View Post
    I filled the cracks in the knots with black tinted epoxy.
    comes out good, nice and shiny, sanded etc well.
    Can you give me more info on the tinted epoxy? I just used some hardwood timbermate wood filler but am not thrilled with the result.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    649

    Default

    Looks good for a first build. 40mm is okay, we do all our strats and teles at 42mm.

    Leo Fenders design is a goodie because it is such a basic shape with minimal things that can go wrong,

    I didnt see your neck build, did you just buy a neck

    Steve

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Eltham, VIC
    Posts
    65

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by simso View Post
    Looks good for a first build. 40mm is okay, we do all our strats and teles at 42mm.
    ...
    I didnt see your neck build, did you just buy a neck
    Yeah the 40mm worked OK. The remaining body thickness at the neck pocket is a little thin compared to my Fenders but still feels solid enough, and I went a little shy on full depth for the control cavity pocket because I felt like I was going to make a through hole!

    I did buy this neck but with a plan to make one for this or the next build. There are some good 1:1 drawings for the body but not so many for the neck. I've seen some good plans for router jigs to cut the curved truss rod slot.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Minbun, FNQ, Australia
    Age
    66
    Posts
    12,881

    Default

    Good on ya, the parts for mine are sitting in a box in a container 'cos several other projects got in the way.
    Cliff.
    If you find a post of mine that is missing a pic that you'd like to see, let me know & I'll see if I can find a copy.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Melbourne Outer East right next to mount dande
    Age
    73
    Posts
    1,859

    Default a little telecaster history

    leo fenders first electric production "spanish" guitar [1949] as opposed to the lap steels they made were built from two slabs of machined one inch pine glued together
    the finished thickness was around 38 - 40mm these had the ashtray bridge, single pickup and headstock still seen today on the modern vintage repro teles
    this model was painted black and known as the "esquire"

    the original proto telecaster came fairly soon after when the sales guys at fender suggested that leo put a second pickup on the design
    this model was called the broadcaster, then the nocaster and finally in late 51 the telecaster -
    the colour of this model was known as blonde and faded to a yellow mustard colour - think of keith richards micawber or springsteens tele
    the olympic white tele was released in the 60's when fender began using auto paint to produce the "custom color" models

    the broadcaster / nocaster story is an interesting one if you care to go gargling
    ray c
    dunno what's more fun, buyin' the tools or usin' em'

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Mornington Peninsula
    Posts
    24

    Default

    Binary01, that's a sweet looking guitar. Really nice.

    I'm still stuck finishing a kit for my son, before I will move on to a couple of guitars for myself, all stained wood. One will be a Tele with Bigsby, the other an LP style. For time purposes, I may go kit again though ( Making my own from scratch will likely have to wait a few years.

    Congrats on your work.

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    649

    Default

    Ebay Australia, has templates for sale on it for teles and strats.

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Eltham, VIC
    Posts
    65

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by DRMS View Post
    Binary01, that's a sweet looking guitar. Really nice.

    I'm still stuck finishing a kit for my son, before I will move on to a couple of guitars for myself, all stained wood. One will be a Tele with Bigsby, the other an LP style. For time purposes, I may go kit again though ( Making my own from scratch will likely have to wait a few years.

    Congrats on your work.
    Thanks DRMS. Making the templates and body was great fun, so I'd thoroughly recommend trying it. Still haven't had a chance to try making a neck. I did stain the body and put what feels like a million coats of clear poly and it's getting there.
    In the process of selling / buying a house but will post update pics as soon as I get a chance.

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