Ash Thinline Telecaster

[Mark Crenshaw]

I'm out of control!!!

After my last few builds, I wanted to do something classic. So, I've decided to build an ash Tele.

Specs:
Quarter sawn 2 piece ash body
Black pickguard
Standard Tele pups and hardware
Flame maple neck & fretboard

And so it begins.
The body will be made from a rather nice slab of quarter sawn white ash. It's dried to 5% but is still a bit heavy. I know going in that this will be a heavy guitar but I'm comfortable in the 7 to 8 lbs range...strong back and shoulders.

The slab has a machined edge and one natural edge. This will present a few challenges and require a little different approach.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body03.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body02.jpg

Because the natuarl edge is twisted...it's narrow to the right on this end but to the left on the other end. I need to find the widest portions of the board before I decide how to cut it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body04.jpg

I ran a tape measure down the board on each side using the machined edge as my quide. One side showed 6.75" and the other 6.5" to be the widest points. I makrked those on the other side and checked the width to see how the opposite edge would yield. The max I can get out of this board, with a perpendicular edge is a shade over 6.5"...which I can get for about 90% of the length of the board.

So, I laid out my cuts...deciding at just over 2.75" in thickness, it was too much for a table saw...mine anyway. Plus I knew I had to maximize the width, and I could do that better in smaller pieces vs ripping the entire length to one width.

The 3 sets of marks are for the cut lengths and guide for my circular saw.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body05.jpg

This shot is for illustration only. Both hands are needed to do this safely. One hand holds the combination square in place, squared to the edge, while the saw rides against it. I made shallow cuts until I was half way thru, then flipped it and cut from the other side. I set my lengths at 17" so I didn't have to be super accurate in lining up front and back.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body06.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

After making my 3 cuts, I set the pieces on the bench and tried them in various combinations until I found one that gave me the widest area without crossing the natural edge.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body07.jpg

In this shot, you can see that I'm still just a bit shy of the 12.75" I need for my Tele body. But, I'll be resawing the planks down to roughly 2" thick. You can see that the deeper I go into the board, the wider the natural edges are from eachother.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body08.jpg

I decided to cut the boards into manageble sized pieces not only to make it safer to cut, but to allow me to use the jointer to clean up the natural edge. Here you can see this in progress. With my jointer set at a .0625" cut, it took awhile but I just shaved away at it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body09.jpg

Stopping to check my setup as well as how far I need to take the edge to get the width I need.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body10.jpg

I could continue until all the natural edge is gone, but it would make the boards too narrow for a 2 piece blank. The portion above 2 " will be cut away during resaw.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body11.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Here's a test piece...the third plank...that I ran first to test out my jointer setup and theory. It's a nice before and after.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body12.jpg

During resaw, I removed about .75" leaving the planks at 2" thick. Plenty of room for planing later.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body13.jpg

After both planks were resawn, you can see that I just do have the width I need for my template...I love it when things work out.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body14.jpg

Nice grain match and flat joint, ready for glue up.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body15.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body16.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

That slab yielded a very nice body blank, Three .75" boards for use on another project and a third, and a 3rd resawn plank that I'll feed into the planer butted up to the tail end of the blank each pass to prevent snipe.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body17.jpg

Here's the blank out of the clamps and down to thickness with the planer. I used the other plank from the slab and passed it thru behind the blank each time and I had zero snipe. Nice.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body18.jpg

Rough cut on the band saw...broke a blade. Should have wrapped it up then...nope, pushed on.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body19.jpg

Profiled the body with the route and template. What's that gouge you see there? Well, I told you I should have stopped eariler. The router bit I was using is not one I normally use. It's a very shallow cut and has a pressed on bearing. I was using it because of a thin template so I didn't have to take off a huge cut first pass. Well, after about 3 inches, the bearing slid up the shaft and the cutter ducked under the template. I could have been worse...it could have cut the template.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body20.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body21.jpg

So, now my simple, classic Tele is going to have a black .090" binding on the front. I must be living right because the .090" bit leveled out the gouge. I haven't sanded the sides of the body yet and after I do, I'll re-route the channel just to make sure I got it all.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body22.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

In addition to working on my walnut build, I had a chance to work a bit on the ash build.

As I noted earlier, a bearing mishap created the "opportunity" for the addition of a front binding. No big deal, the binding channel will easily cover the damage. To make sure, I trued up the edges of the body on the spindle sander and then recut the channel to make sure it was clean and that I removed all the damage.

A note here. I could have just cut the channel to the same depth as before, but I wanted to make sure I had a nice, square channel so I cut this pass a few thousandths deeper than finished depth. This recut not only the thickness of the channel, but the depth as well.

I then passed the body thru the planer with the knives just breathing on the top to cut the channel height back to spec...I always leave the bindings a bit taller than the channel and scrape them down to meet the top. This gives me a flat, square edge on the tops of the bindings...they have a tiny bit of roll on their edges as they're delivered.

Here it is with an extra flame maple neck I ran during my alder/mape build.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body23.jpg

Well, this build continues to evolve. My last 2 builds were planned out very carefully and I knew, step by step, what I wanted the guitar to be. This one seems to have a life of it's own. Instead of forcing the issue and building what I want, I'm rolling with it to see where it goes.

The latest development is the body weight...as is, 7.3 lbs. Routing would remove perhaps .75 lbs but, adding hardware and neck that's likely a 9 pounder...at Mickey D's, that's 36 Quarter Pounders. Ha!

So, remember the cutoffs from resawing? They may be destined for a top on a chambered Ash Thinline.

In preparing for this option I decide to plane and glue up the cutoffs to see what I would end up with. I had 3 and only need 2 for the top, so the third will be used as a "prop" to get the top pieces thru the planer safely. I lay them on the bed and feed them one right behind the other. The prop is the last to go in since I only have snipe issues on outfeed.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body24.jpg

I sue a sled in my planer to keep from bottoming out the height adjustment. It effectively raises the planer bed toward the knives. Beacuse of the pressure from the feed rollers, the sled can sometimes push thru with the stock, so I use a stop clamped to the end of the planer bed.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body25.jpg

The top planed out nicely...just over .375" thick. I left enough that I can run it thru again after glue up.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body27.jpg

Looks nice. Like it was meant to be.:cool:

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body28.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

To make this work, I needed a new routing template for the chambers. I posted this in my Maple Thinline thread but since I was taling pics anyway...

Starting with a standard template, I drew a center line, measured out 2" either side and, then drew out the curved lines for the chambers. I used a couple of spacers...one to ride along the edge of the template and one to space the pencil out to the distance I wanted. Then I just traced the template like you would with a router.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body29.jpg

I added to lines that are at the center point of my Forstner bit making it easier to stick and go while drilling.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body30.jpg

This kind of drilling makes a huge mess so I hung my dust collector hose overhead so I could grab it and keep things cleared off.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body31.jpg

All drilled out and ready for filing.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body32.jpg

I figured out that I was putting too much pressure on the fragile template while filing with it on it's edge, so I layed it flat and hung a small portion over the edge of the bench and clamped in place, letting the bench support most of the template as I filed.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body33.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Here it is after some time with a rasp...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body34.jpg

And then after some blocking with 80 grit.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body35.jpg


The top came out of the clamps looking pretty good, so I decided to go ahead and chamber the body. I started by removing the .25" that made up the binding channel. 15 to 20 gentle passes thru the planer took care of it...always using the extra piece to prop up the feed roller as the body passed thru.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body37.jpg

Here you can see the last bit of the channel...a couple more passes and it's done.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body38.jpg

I traced out the body profile and rough cut the top. I cut it very close to the line to prepare it for the next step.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body39.jpg

And that is, attaching it to the back of the body and running it thru the planer to smooth out the glue joint. I cut it as close as I could so that it would be fully supported by the body. I placed 6 pieces of double stick tape around the edges and attached the two. I placed the tape at the edges so I could reach it with a thin putty knife to break the bond. This keeps me from having to pull on the thin top to separate it from the body.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body40.jpg

To make this work, I also attached 2 pieces of scrap from the top to keep my prop the same thickness as the body and top taped together.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body41.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Two nicely planed surfaces ready to be glued up...but not yet.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body42.jpg

First, I need to chamber the body. Nothing new here, just showing the steps I went thru.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body43.jpg

I chose to use a Forstner bit to hog out most of the wood before routing...guess you could just route is out if you wanted to.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body44.jpg

I used a piece of scrap to help set my depth. I'll go deeper than this with the router to clean up all the center points from the bit.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body45.jpg

I decided at the last minute to attach my routing template to use as a visual guide for landing the bit...as long as I don't nick the template, I know I'll be inside my lines. Ready for routing!

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body47.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Before I started routing, I used a chisel to remove some of the sharp points left from drilling...just to keep the router from hanging up and popping loose. I don't need any extra drama when doing this step.

I made a couple of shallow passes using a 3/8" long cutter. This ensures I won't take too big a bite and I'm able to remove the template after the first pass.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body48.jpg

I changed to a 1" cutter and though it doesn't show in the pic, I had to reattach the template or it would have taken a very deep first pass.
Done!

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body50.jpg

A down and dirty, low tech way to check the thickness of the back is to place a piece of scrap inside, mark a line...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body51.jpg
Set it outside, mark a line...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body52.jpg

And measure the distance in between the two lines. I used calipers but a tape measure works just as well. Mine is just a few thousandths from .50" I can easily take it further, but with the body and top now at 4.5 lbs, no need to cut away anymore mass.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body53.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Now I just need to decide what shape of vent, if any, I want to use. Hmmm.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body54.jpg

I went to put the guitar away and found our fat cat Mony keeping the blanket warm while it was away.

Catocaster?

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/Catocaster.jpg'

I laid out the vent. I really like the way this shape came out on my maple thinline so I've decided to adopt it as a regular element for my chambered bodies. I cut this one the same way as last time but before I do another, I'm going make a routing template...guess I need to get a dremel tool also.
I placed it exactly as on the maple thinline. It's the same size, too.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body55.jpg

I started by drilling into the corners with my smallest Forstner bit.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body56.jpg

Then I drilla round the edges and the center dropped out.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body58.jpg

After a bit of filing, things are looking better. Just the corners to go.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body59.jpg

I took the blade loose on my coping saw and assembled it thru the opening. I cut a straight kerf into the corners. I can carve the rest out with a sharp knife.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body60.jpg

[John Keeton]

Don't know if I could handle doing two at once! I like the ash, but the walnut is striking. However, you set the bar pretty high with that maple one.

[Mark Crenshaw]

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body61.jpg

Just a bit of fine tuning and it's ready for binding. Even though a router operation would speed this up, it only takes about an hour to do it by hand.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body62.jpg

I'm waiting on binding to arrive and I want to bind the vent before I glue up the top, so on to the neck.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk02.jpg

Again, using long clamping cauls to apply even pressure down the neck as I glue on the fretboard.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk04.jpg

Out of the clamps and it's time for profiling on the belt/spindle sander.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk05.jpg[/QUOTE]

[Mark Crenshaw]

The fretboard is evened up with the neck...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk06.jpg
The heel is shaped...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk07.jpg

Thinned out the headstock...still needs some blocking.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk08.jpg

I use a little different technique for laying out the position markers. I draw a single diagonal line on each position. Then I draw a line down the center of the fretboard. This gives me an average of the entire fretboard vs just finding the center of each position with 2 crossing diagonal lines forming an X. I don't mark the 12th fret until the center line is in place.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk09.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

On to carving the neck. I'm still trying to find a workflow that I like. Today I tried setting the crve depth by using a rasp to take the head and heel ends of the carve to depth first.

I propped the neck up on a couple of blocks so I could slide the calipers under to check my progress.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk13.jpg

Once I did this, I carved down the edges to allow the calipers access to the center of the neck.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk14.jpg

Then, using the calipers, I carved down the length of the neck to take it all to thickness... .850" in this case.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk15.jpg

If you have a belt sander, save the belts after they've seen the end of their use on the sander. They're great for hand sanding too. The strong backing makes them ideal for sanding the backs of necks, using on sanding blocks and other uses.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk16.jpg

That worn out belt made short work of rough sanding the back of this neck.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk17.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I did some detail carving head and heel. This one, along with the walnut neck from my walnut build, is ready for fretting.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk18.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk19.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk20.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk21.jpg

So, I fretted them along with a nicely flamed neck from my maple/alder build. My hope is to have all 3 of these builds ready for finish at the same time. Fingers crossed. But I have plenty of fret leveling and dreesing to do while I wait for binding to arrive.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/walnut/nk21.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I didn't take any pics of this process on my maple thinline, but I wanted to show my work this time.

The toughest part is getting the corners fitted tightly. The key is to place a small amount of cement on the end of the binding going into the corner. I let it "heat up" the binding...it melts it slightly...then I set it into the corner. This lets the binding form itself to the corner.

Here's the first piece in place.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body64.jpg

My technique is to put pressure down on the piece...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body65.jpg

Then smooth the tape down into place. I let the binding hang over each edge of the top, so just applying the tape from one side to the other, with wet cement under it, could cause it to slip one way or the other.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body66.jpg

Where the pieces will overlap, I cut and then sand the glued piece to follow the contour of the piece to be glued to it. Gluing a butt joint is tedious and difficult to get right. Doing it this way allows the next piece to simply lay down on top of the first. The direction and position of the joints doesn't matter as they will be invisible after touch up with binding paste later.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body67.jpg

A progress shot.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body68.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

With the tape off, it looks a bit scary amd messy but after the cement has set up, it will all scrape and sand out smoothly. You can see how the cement melts the binding. It takes a fair amount of care during gluing to make sure you don't get the cement on the surfaces that don't need it. If you do, it just means a bit of cleanup and sanding later. But if you can avoid it, all the better.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body69.jpg

Fitting the smaller corners takes an additional step of mitering the binding. A block with some 120 grit makes this easy. I take my time until I get a good fit. I hold the top up to a light to see how well I'm fitting the two pieces together.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body70.jpg

A nice, tight corner here...but even if there's a gap in there, no problem. I can fill it later. It will disappear with no problem.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body71.jpg

[Bruce Volden]

I'm drooling!! This is as bad as waiting on Christmas to arrive :D

Bruce

[Mark Crenshaw]

A couple more shots of the binding process.

Here it is with all but the last piece in place.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body72.jpg

I put the last piece in place. This is a different type joint than the rest. I wanted it to have natural peak to it vs being overlapped by the last piece. I had to pull up the end of the previous piece, but it laid right back down after a bit of glue clean up.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body73.jpg

All the tape is off and it's ready to be scraped and sanded...well, it will be by the time I get home from work this evening. Then, I can finally get this top glued on...even though QS wood is less likely to warp, I've been keeping it weighted down so it doesn't turn into a potato chip on me. So far, so good.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body74.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Doug W Swanson]

If you have a belt sander, save the belts after they've seen the end of their use on the sander. They're great for hand sanding too. The strong backing makes them ideal for sanding the backs of necks, using on sanding blocks and other uses.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/nk16.jpg





Where do you get the double sided sanding belts?:D

As always Mark, another informative post. I like how you over come the little mistakes and improvise along the way.

Doug

[Keith Christopher]

OMG Mark you're killin' me ! I haven't even begun the 59 yet. I have to finish up a couple of more projects before I can. I need to focus.....focus.


Looking great though !

[Mark Crenshaw]

I finished up the vent binding this evening. I used a cabinet scraper to level the binding on the front of the top.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body75.jpg

Then blocked it with some 120 grit.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body76.jpg

Looking better...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body77.jpg

The back side wion't be taken flush with the wood because I want it to appear a bit taller than the top is thick. So I blocked it enough to level the edge. Then I cleaned up any glue that squeezed out on the top.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body78.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I had a joint that wasn't pulling together so I needed to clamp it separately. I added a thick drop of cement and then taped it up. I also added a small block of wood to keep pressure on it until it set up.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body79.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body80.jpg

Here it is after a bit of shaping. It still needs some work but any pits that are left will be filled with binding paste later.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body81.jpg

It's time to glue this baby up. I've been waiting fo this. It's the completion of the design change that I made early in the project...from solid body to chambered body.

Before I glued it up, I signed the underside of the top...had to lay the template on to make sure I was igning in the right place.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body82.jpg

Clampzilla!!!

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body83.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

All trimmed up with a flush trim bit. Now that it's an actual body, I can move on to routing.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body85.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body84.jpg

Well, I had a bit of a set back, and I wasn't sure I wanted to share it with the world but on the chance that someone might benefit from my mistake...

While I was routing the neck pocket, the double stick tape holding the template released and the bit gouged the bass side of the neck pocket. Heart breaking when you raelize what's happened but it presents an "opportunity" to learn and grow my skill set.

Like I said, I wasn't going to post this so I didn't take any pics until this point in the repair.

I started by blocking the side of the pocket flat. Then, I took my time and hand shaped the patch until it fit perfectly...as close as I could get it anyway. I wasn;t worried about the back of the pocket so much as the side.

Here you see the patch already glued in place and being planed down flush with the top. I took it to within a 1/16th or so and then hand blocked it flush.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body86.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body87.jpg

There were several routing operations that neede to be done. This patch affected the profile of the body, the neck pocket and the binding channel. I could have used a flush trim bit from the front but since the back of the guitar offered the most support, I decided to use a pattern bit.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body88.jpg

Taking my time and making a few passes. This shot is after the first pass.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body89.jpg

And after the second one to complete it.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body90.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

With the template clamped in place, I recut the pocket very slowly...I think I did 4 passes to remove the 5/8" of material. You might be able to see that I set the template back about 1/32" so the router would recut the back of the pocket also...remember, I put my efforts in matching the side of the pocket with the patch. And while it's not a bad match, I wanted to remove any gap that might remain. The pocket is 1/23" longer than spec, but that's easily made up in the bridge location/adjustment.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body91.jpg

The patch is virtually invisible. Patience really pays off on something like this. And I didn't do it the same evening that the slip occurred...I took some time away from the problem and came back in with a fresh perspective.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body92.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body96.jpg

So, with that taken care of, I moved on to the binding. This is a nice, simple task in contrast to the neck pocket adventure. Just the small radius to go and I can get them scraped and leveled.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body94.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body95.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

After pulling all the tape, it's time to scrape.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body97.jpg

A quick pass with a scraper takes the binding flush with the top and sides.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body98.jpg

It's looking prett good considering the mis-steps this project has taken. I'm really liking the black binding.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body99.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body100.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

In fact, I like the black so much that I'm thinking about altering a stock PG to enhance the vent and the overall look of the guitar...just thinking about it at this point. I'll have to jump into Photoshop and see what I can come up with.

Here's a tease...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body101.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body102.jpg

A few hours later...

OK, I took a little time to mock up some PG looks. Some of these are a bit out there but a couple have potential. Maybe it just needs binding around the neck pocket like #9.

I've shown them all with a control plate but I think back loaded controls would look better on a few of the designs. Right now I'm leaning toward 1, 2, or 8. What do you think?

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/BG_options.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Ted Calver]

Nice recovery Mark! Glad to see you back on track. I really like the black binding too. PG's....I like 4 and 8.

[Doug W Swanson]

I like the black banding as well. I think it will look really good when done.

I think #6 and #8 are the best.

JMO,
Doug

[Seth Dolcourt]

Wot mistake?

Yup, I know the feeling when router templates slip. But you're right - wander away, watch some TV, or play with the dog. Come back with a fresh mind, and all will be good.

I like the coverage of #8, but if its upper right matched the curve of the body's upper right, I think it would be a winner; similar to the way #1 follows the guitar's waist/hip.

Nice, nice, nice. Same for the walnut build.

Cheers,

Seth

[Jim Becker]

What mistake??? :) (Nice recovery) I really, really, really like this one, Mark. That straight grain on the ash is majorly attractive to me.

I like number 8, although the bottom edge of the guard doesn't follow the body contour on those you cite...

[Joe Leigh]

#1 gets my vote.

[Dan Forman]

I think #3 and #7 do the most to emphasize the vent. From my perspective as a player, I would want the pickguard uninterrupted in the area under the strings, as I drag my pinky there, so 4 and 5 would be right out, and I would have reservations about 2. If I had to choose one, it would probably be 7, but maybe 3 if I was a rock and roller.

Dan

[Doug Shepard]

#2
I think the back edge of the PG parallel with the slant of the PU looks better than some of the others.

[Hal Peeler]

My vote is #1, and I am really enjoying your threads, here and on the tele forum. I learn so much from watching people like you. I've done one from a kit, and hope to do another from scratch soon. Keep the pics coming.
Hal

[Mark Crenshaw]

I'm drooling!! This is as bad as waiting on Christmas to arrive :D

Bruce

Thanks Bruce. I know what you mean and I have control over when it's done...still feels like it's taking forever. :rolleyes:


Nice recovery Mark! Glad to see you back on track. I really like the black binding too. PG's....I like 4 and 8.


I like the black banding as well. I think it will look really good when done.

I think #6 and #8 are the best.

JMO,
Doug

Ted, Doug. Thanks for the input. I've given myself too many options on this one. There's something I like about each of them.:mad:


Wot mistake?

Yup, I know the feeling when router templates slip. But you're right - wander away, watch some TV, or play with the dog. Come back with a fresh mind, and all will be good.

I like the coverage of #8, but if its upper right matched the curve of the body's upper right, I think it would be a winner; similar to the way #1 follows the guitar's waist/hip.

Nice, nice, nice. Same for the walnut build.

Cheers,

Seth

Hi Seth. Good to hear from you again. I think I'll end up cutting several and looking at them in person to see which I like best. I may go back the Photoshop file and combine some of the looks...see what comes up.


What mistake??? :) (Nice recovery) I really, really, really like this one, Mark. That straight grain on the ash is majorly attractive to me.

I like number 8, although the bottom edge of the guard doesn't follow the body contour on those you cite...

Hi Jim. Thanks! The mock up was done with images that don't really match up. The pickguard is a vector image and the guitar body is a photo I took but has a bit of parallax distortion in it from my camera lens. I'll cut a complete PG instead of altering one so it will all line up with the body edges.


#1 gets my vote.

Thanks Joe.


I think #3 and #7 do the most to emphasize the vent. From my perspective as a player, I would want the pickguard uninterrupted in the area under the strings, as I drag my pinky there, so 4 and 5 would be right out, and I would have reservations about 2. If I had to choose one, it would probably be 7, but maybe 3 if I was a rock and roller.

Dan[/QUOTE

Hey Dan. That's an interesting point about how you use the PG...not something I had considered. I play so many guitars with no PG at all that I hadn't considered that.

[QUOTE=Doug Shepard;1345033]#2
I think the back edge of the PG parallel with the slant of the PU looks better than some of the others.

Great observation Doug. I guess your talking abou 2 & 4. They mimic the Thinline PG that's standard on most models. They do seem to follow the line of the bridge pickup.


My vote is #1, and I am really enjoying your threads, here and on the tele forum. I learn so much from watching people like you. I've done one from a kit, and hope to do another from scratch soon. Keep the pics coming.
Hal

Thanks Hal. Sometimes I feel like I'm repeating myself on these build posts but I guess not eveyone follows every build.

If I start repeating myself like an old man, you guys let me know. I'll consolidate some of the posts. :o

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

I started on the PG this morning. Still not sure which I'll use but I have to start somewhere. My plan is to cut them out of MDF and use them all on projects down the road.

I sized and printed the designs and mounted them on card stock. I used spray mount, or as the guys in the set shop call it, "Misty Glue". I sprayed both surfaces, let it set up for a few minutes and then used a plastic squeegee to smoot them down onto the card stock.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body105.jpg

Then I rough cut them from the sheet of card stock.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body103.jpg

Then trimmed them out. I didn't cut right on the edge of the printing. I wanted to have some room for shaping after the MDF is cut.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body104.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I decided to do one more mock up after cutting them out. These are numbered as they were in the original contact sheet I posted. I think it made it even tougher to decide...I like them all. But, I'm moving forward with my plan of starting with #3 and see where that leads.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/bg01.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/bg02.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/bg03.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/bg04.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/bg07.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/bg08.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Continuing on with the PG. I laid out 2 of the designs, 1 & 3, on MDF. And rough cut them on the bandsaw.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body107.jpg

After some filing and sanding, they're fitting pretty nicely.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body108.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body118.jpg

After I got one of them real close, I clamped them together and filed the "common" areas so they would have the same fit on the guitar.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body109.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body110.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Cutting the PGs is a simple operation. I use double stick tape to fasten the PG material to the template and to secure the template to the bench. I use a small diameter flush trim bit so it will get into the small turns.

It's important to work from the top side of the PG while routing in this way...the next step, while they're still attached and lined up, is to use a chamfer bit on the edges to bevel them.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body111.jpg

Here are some shots of the actual PGs on the guitar. I didn't get the "V" cornered as cleanly as I would like. I'll have to take another pass at it when I get some more black material in.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body114.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body115.jpg

I'm digging this one though. It even made me think about going without a neck PU. Hmmm. I'd have to come up with another solution for the vol & tone since I wouldn't need a switch. But I think I'm gonna want the tonal options a second PU offers.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body112.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body113.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

A couple of beauty shots...the guitar with the plastic PGs in place

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body116.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body117.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Seth Dolcourt]

Exemplary work, as usual.

Just an un-offered opinion, I do like the pick guard on the bottom picture, I like how the vent gets to stand off on its own.

Saw something interesting on the drum forum I post to - a guy had a CarveWright machine, and there was a guitar body in it. For less than $2K, the poster said, one can get a bench top CNC and knock out the bodies. It's probably not hard to get a ready-made file for guitar making, too.

But, my preference is the CrenWright...

Have you thought about a hollow body with big 'ol F holes? Like Brian Setzer's Gretch?

Cheers,

Seth

[Van Huskey]

Thanks! I really love all the pics and watching it come together as well as the design process.

[Brad Schafer]

+1 on both the recent pick guard selections ... when corners are sharpened, think i will prefer the one that wraps the vent, but either will work. a previous poster (dan?) referred to a more complete pick guard coverage - agree with that. others looked interesting but might make for weird feel while playing.

have you ever considered an "inlaid" pick guard? make 'em interchangeable. :)

+1 as well on the dual pickups (unless your intent is to only play Junior Brown covers :D).

missed this earlier, so will ask a stupid Q - what kind of material is the binding, and where do you get it from?

[Mark Crenshaw]

It's been awhile since I posted an update on this one. I've made progress, just haven't had time to organize pics and such...until now.

Well, for those who have been following along, I made a decision on the pickguard. I went with #1. I just couldn't look at the other one without being reminded of the Bat Signal. And really, it's just a standard PG with a notch cut in it...not very custom at all.

I've always liked #1 because it flows away from the vent and continues it's lines nicely...see the yellow line in the pic. This line is mirrored at the bottom of the PG...red line. And both the yellow and red lines follow nicely with the waist of the guitar.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body100a.jpg

OK, with that said and done, Next was lining up the neck so I could place and route the bridge. Again, my little jig makes this easy. Here are a couple of shots. It's very simple to make. Just a piece of MDF with 2 countersunk holes in it. The string spacing is marked as they would be that distance from the saddles...they're not parallel, so the spread is a bit wider at the jig.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body121.jpg

A couple of clamps positioned so they don't interfere with the strings. And they elevate the guitar off of the bench nicely while I string it up. Twist, move, eyeball and cuss until it all lines up.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body122.jpg

I moved on to the string thru/ferrule holes. I started by using my test bridge that I keep on the bench to start the string holes from the front side. I'm really liking the pin jig I made. It has removed all anxiety from this step of the build. You can see the details in my other Tele builds.
http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body119.jpg

And, it's dead on accurate, too.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body120.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

I drilled the neck and screwed it in place. And then started trim fitting the PG. Once I was happy with it, I drilled the screw holes.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body124.jpg

This is the first time I've seen the PG from an angle other than flat...me likey!

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body126.jpg

Time for the control plate. I struggled with this a bit. When it was parallel to the bridge, it looked off because of the straight grained ash...it's very close but not parallel to the side of the bridge. When I lined up the control plate with the grain it looked better visually but I knew it wasn't right, so I went with the bridge instead.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body127.jpg

I'm not sure if was due to the PG or the amount of wood I removed during profiling but the template wasn't lining up properly, so I screwed down the right end of the control plate, marked the other end and then removed the PG and bridge. This way I knew I would end up with the plate right where it needed to be. In this shot, you can see what I meant about the grain being straight but not parallel to the bridge.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body128.jpg

Once I had everyting marked, I placed the template and drilled a hole with a Forstner bit. Now, I knew this was a chambered body. But when the bit dropped thru so suddenly after only drilling .250", my heart jumped into my throat.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body131.jpg

[Mark Crenshaw]

Routing out the opening was easy enough, but wait. I knew when I measured out the thickness of the back at just under .500", that something wasn't quite right. This being my first Tele with front loaded controls, I just didn't know what it was.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body132.jpg

Fortunately a 1" long bit was just right for the bearing to follow the edge of the top as a template and cut the depth in the back that I needed for the switch.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body133.jpg

That's better.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body134.jpg

Here's the body after a wash coat of thinned EM6000, before grain filling.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body135.jpg

On to the fun part...clear coats!!!

[Dave Sepucha]

I'm very happy with your PG choice, I think it had the best lines. The build is looking great. (As usual)

[Mark Crenshaw]

I have the body grain filled and sanded back. The neck has 4 coats of clear on it and has been wetsanded. They're smooth as silk and ready for clear coats. I'll add just the tiniest hint of amber to the neck to darken it a bit but I think I like the body natural.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/body137.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Jim Becker]

Wow...I really, really like this one, Mark. It's going to be a 'looker'. Amazing how "natural" can sometimes stand out more than some of the really fancy stuff!

[Tim Mahoney]

I'm getting ready to build another guitar also. This time around I plan on using walnut for the hard body, maple for the neck and rosewood or bloodwood for the fretboard. The last tele I built I used bloodwood for the fretboard and so pleased with the look. I haven't tried the thinline body yet.

[Mark Crenshaw]

I wrapped up work on this one today. What started out to be a classic ash Tele ended up being a unique Thinline. Many twists and turns on the way to being what it is in it's final form.

I will need to recut the pickguard at some point. It doesn't quite flow between thw bottom of the neck pocket and lower horn...it crowds the edge a bit. It's an easy fix but I'll need to disassemble the guitar and alter the PG routing template.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/final01.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/final02.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/final03.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/final04.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/ash/final05.jpg

Peace,
Mark

[Jim Becker]

I really love that one, Mark. Congrats on another great completion!