Need help on this tele build

[Dustin Keys]

I was given a Saga Tele kit some time ago that I keep putting off because I don't know how to do what I want to with it.

Here's the basic scoop: I have a normal tele and a lot of other guitars already, so I want this one to be something different. I have a Bigsby B50, an extra ashtray bridge, some vintage Fender style tuners, and a set of Filtertrons looking for a home. This kit guitar should be that home.

I don't quite know how to get there though. Here are my two big hangups that I need help with:

1. I need to fill in the bridge pickup cavity (and possibly the neck pickup cavity depending on how things line up) and reroute it for the filtertron as I won't be using pickup rings because I don't like the way they look on a tele. I understand that the easiest way to do that is route out the existing cavity into a standard shape (square) that is easy to cut a block to match. I was told to use a wood very similar to the body wood for this. The body is basswood. I can get basswood at Hobby Lobby or any other hobby store, but I don't think it's really very similar to the guitar body wood. It's difficult because the body comes ready for paint with a tough poly sealer on it so I don't know what the wood itself is really like. The sealer is basically bulletproof, so removing it isn't an option. So, what should I use to fill the cavity before I route it back out for the filtertron and how should I prepare that wood (I should be doing something to prepare it for finishing much like the rest of the body with the poly sealer, but I don't know what to do)?

2. I need to keep everything centered properly on the guitar (new bridge, pickups, and bigsby), but I have no idea how to do that. I know this is a really basic question, but I'm not sure how best to go about it. I see a lot of people go wrong on this part with kit guitars, and I don't want to put a lot of effort into this to find out that my finished product is crooked.

I'm good at setup work and I take my time to get things right on projects like this. I should point out that I'm new to guitar building and fairly new to woodworking though.

Thanks for your help!
D

[John Coloccia]

You're painting the body, right? Then it hardly matters what kind of wood you use. You could use plywood if you wanted to...LOL (don't really use plywood, BTW). Don't use a wood that needs pore filling because that will just cause you more work for no good reason. The Saga Teles are supposed to be basswood. I would assume it's a relatively dense basswood, but it really just isn't going to matter very much.

As far as filling and routing, be aware that because the body is sealed there is a good chance that you will chip it when you go to make the new routes. It's not a big deal and easily repaired, but just don't be surprised. Scoring deeply around the proposed route will help, but some of these fancy schmancy factory finishes are just incredibly hard. Routing it square and then filling is not a bad solution. I would personally probably just make a plug to fit but that's not necessary.

To get things straight, you need to establish a centerline. Welcome to the world of guitar building...NOTHING IS STRAIGHT. That's the most difficult thing when starting out is how do you make and establish straight lines, centerlines, etc when nothing is straight and often things aren't even symmetrical. In this case, the most important thing is where the neck is pointing, and the neck should establish your centerline. In fact, the last things I do on a build is drill for the bridge and route for the pickups...and only after I've routed the neck pocket. From that point on, I forget about any old centerlines and allow the neck to determine the true centerline. If I did everything right, all the centerlines lines up, and by and large they do, but I always check anyway.

Do you have a long ruler? Maybe a long straight stick? At this point it's important to find something about 30" long and STRAIGHT. Stick the neck on the guitar. Place the ruler alone the edge of the neck and measure exactly 25" (for example) from the nut to somewhere on the body. The exact measurement doesn't matter, but it does need to be the same on both sides...you'll see. Also draw out the straight line created by the ruler. It's important that the 25" mark be precisely on the line. Stick down some masking tape first so you're don't make a mess. Now do the exact same this on the other side of the neck. When you're done, you should have 2 tapered lines extended from neck to the body somewhere, and two little marks, in this case at 25". Now go back to all that geometry you took in high school that you never thought you'd use again. Take a compass and set it for a relatively large circle....at least large enough to extend past the center of the guitar, but bigger is better. Use the 25" marks as the compass pivot and draw two circles. The places where the circles intersect are two points on your center line.

The other method, though I prefer the circles, is to mark two points....say 20" and 30". Draw a line between corresponding point, measure the length of the line, divide by two and there's' the centers. You can measure with calipers, actually, and also then use the calipers to lay out the center (set it to the required distance, lock them and then use them to mark). For a double check, draw diagonal lines between the points. Where the lines intersect should also fall on the centerline.

With geometric constructions like this, take your time, sharpen your pencil, and be precise.

edit: if you're having trouble visualizing this, the geometric construction here is probably called something like "locus of points equidistant to two intersecting lines", or possibly listed under the construction of a bisector between two intersecting lines (the locus of equidistant points lay on the bisector). You should be able to look up more info on this that describes it more clearly. Of course, the two lines (the sides of the guitar neck) intersect somewhere beyond the headstock, so we have to use the nut as the starting point. I don't have a compass big enough to mark from the nut to the body, so I have to measure instead. That's all we're doing, though.

[Dustin Keys]

I am painting it. Current plan is to use Duplicolor Metal Specks Burnt Copper. I didn't realize that it wasn't that big of an issue with the wood choice. I've got lots of SYP, DF, and some pretty soft white pine laying around my shop, so I think I'll just try to use one of those. I'll also try just making a plug in the shape of the pickup route. I was told it was a lot easier to route it square and drop in a square piece of wood, but I would prefer to do as little with the router as possible (too much can go horribly wrong fast, so I like to minimize the risk). The other benefit to just making the plug the shape of the current pickup route is that it minimizes how much of it will be left in the finished product which further minimizes the importance of the wood choice. I think the guys that were recommending closely matching the wood type were concerned about tonal differences resulting from a different type of wood being used than what's in the rest of the body. If I make the plug the size of the pickup route though, there won't be much more than a few slivers of that plug left after the filtertron route.

Thank you so much for the bit on establishing the centerline! That makes perfect sense and I'm so glad you posted it. When you got to the second line down the neck I thought to myself, "I could take a compass and find an intersection point from those two points and find center." Sure enough, that is exactly where you were headed. I don't know why I didn't think of that. I'm ashamed to say just a few months ago I read Tolpin's "Measure Twice, Cut Once" where he repeatedly demonstrated those kinds of techniques, yet it never crossed my mind for this project.

Now I feel like I have the ability ro really make this the guitar I really wanted it to be. It's been sitting in my closet for a year or so because I couldn't wrap my head around it and didn't want to screw it up.

Thanks John!
D

[John Coloccia]

My pleasure. I would advise using a piece of light hardwood instead of the softwoods. It will be easier to finish it if everything behaves roughly the same way. I would probabl use a piece of basswood, or in my case alder because I have a lot of that in my shop. Any light, hardwood with no pores would work well. Poplar would work well and is cheap.

[Dustin Keys]

My pleasure. I would advise using a piece of light hardwood instead of the softwoods. It will be easier to finish it if everything behaves roughly the same way. I would probabl use a piece of basswood, or in my case alder because I have a lot of that in my shop. Any light, hardwood with no pores would work well. Poplar would work well and is cheap.

OK, I'll look around and see what I can find. Poplar is probably going to be the easiest thing for me to find. I was thinking that the hobby store basswood was too soft, but I might be being too hard on it (no pun intended). I have some that has been sitting in the house for several months that I could laminate to make it thick enough for the plug if it isn't too soft. It's leftovers from my failed attempt at relief carving (didn't have the right tools). I had forgotten about it until just now.

D

[Chris Fournier]

I was given a Saga Tele kit some time ago that I keep putting off because I don't know how to do what I want to with it.

Here's the basic scoop: I have a normal tele and a lot of other guitars already, so I want this one to be something different. I have a Bigsby B50, an extra ashtray bridge, some vintage Fender style tuners, and a set of Filtertrons looking for a home. This kit guitar should be that home.

I don't quite know how to get there though. Here are my two big hangups that I need help with:

1. I need to fill in the bridge pickup cavity (and possibly the neck pickup cavity depending on how things line up) and reroute it for the filtertron as I won't be using pickup rings because I don't like the way they look on a tele. I understand that the easiest way to do that is route out the existing cavity into a standard shape (square) that is easy to cut a block to match. I was told to use a wood very similar to the body wood for this. The body is basswood. I can get basswood at Hobby Lobby or any other hobby store, but I don't think it's really very similar to the guitar body wood. It's difficult because the body comes ready for paint with a tough poly sealer on it so I don't know what the wood itself is really like. The sealer is basically bulletproof, so removing it isn't an option. So, what should I use to fill the cavity before I route it back out for the filtertron and how should I prepare that wood (I should be doing something to prepare it for finishing much like the rest of the body with the poly sealer, but I don't know what to do)?

2. I need to keep everything centered properly on the guitar (new bridge, pickups, and bigsby), but I have no idea how to do that. I know this is a really basic question, but I'm not sure how best to go about it. I see a lot of people go wrong on this part with kit guitars, and I don't want to put a lot of effort into this to find out that my finished product is crooked.

I'm good at setup work and I take my time to get things right on projects like this. I should point out that I'm new to guitar building and fairly new to woodworking though.

Thanks for your help!
D

First I'd place the Bigsby on the tele roughly in position, the neck would be installed with the nut in place. Now take a straight edge and place it on the bridge and the nut. This is how your strings will play with that body and that bridge. If that's acceptable you can continue your quest, if not it's back to square one.