First Telecaster Build

[Prashun Patel]

Jim Becker has inspired me. I'm trying my hand at my first telecaster. Hopefully I can build one better than I can play one. There are great resources for building this style and there are many things about the geometry that make it an easier style to tackle as a first. We'll see...

I'm making this one out of cherry mainly because I've had this piece laying around for several years. I suspect that people typically use swamp ash or poplar for price or weight. This isn't that heavy, though. I don't see a lot of cherry necks either. It's also easy to shape and work with.

437226

[David Falkner]

Looking forward to seeing your build - post lots of photos!

David

[John K Jordan]

That will be interesting! Post some in-progress pictures!

[Zachary Hoyt]

Cherry is probably my favorite wood for instruments, it's stable, easy to work and pretty. Best of luck with your build.

[Prashun Patel]

I cut the body and neck blanks.

437290

I'm planning to route the cavities before cutting the body shape. I started with the neck pocket. The inside corners are typically rounded over. I guess this is because they are all made with a router. I recall from building a Maloof rocker that that these kinds of joint require matched roundover and pattern bits. If you don't have these, you have to do some manual adjusting and filing to get a perfect fit.

I decided to make my corners square (trapezoidal since the pocket is tapered). Squaring the corners of the pocket with a chisel was straightforward. This also allows me to cut the end of the neck flat, and then sneak up on the fit with a plane. I couldn't find examples of people doing this. I know...I have a little clean up to do on the walls...

437291

[Prashun Patel]

It's probably not critical that these mortises are pretty, but I would like to achieve more straighter walls. I fastened the template to the blank, and then used a pattern bit (1/2" dia x 1/4" depth). The issue I have with pattern bits is that if the bit is too short, you can be limited in how deep you can go. But if the bit is too long, you are limited in how gentle a pass you can make. Regardless, it's critical to keep clearing chips out or else the bit won't register and you'll get lines like I got. The switch channel is a little better because I hogged out a good deal with a forstner bit first. I'm only about half way done. Will complete tonight.

437294437296437295

[Jim Becker]

That body is going to be really beautiful with that figured cherry! Wow.

Can I assume you're going to use your basic pocket routes as your temple for getting things to proper depth for the pickups and control cavity? If so, be sure to hog things out with a forstner bit first to reduce strain on your router which in turn reduces the chance of a miss-route. When you drill your wiring holes between cavities, use a long "aircraft" style bit and a little piece of PVC pipe around it to protect the edges of the cavity on the body top from damage as you make these flat angled holes.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Jim. I have had a million questions and have been tempted to ask you, but I've been holding back, using TDPRI and 'Tube first. It took me forever to figure out that the angled mortise between the neck pickup and control channel is just a wiring channel.

I am nervous about lining up the fretboard to the neck. I haven't found a good template that helps align them; I'll have to do that part manually.

How do you feel about using walnut as a fretboard. It's much easier to work with than ebony or rosewood.

[Jim Becker]

I generally omit that wiring channel on the top of the body, although the bodies I'm building most of the time are chambered and capped so I can put in the channel "hidden". Otherwise, I use a long drill bit via the neck pocket through the neck pickup cavity to the control cavity.

Walnut is fine for a fretboard although you need to keep in mind that it's going to get lighter over time. At some point, it will be hard to distinguish from the cherry other than a slightly greenish haze to the walnut as compared to the darkened cherry. The Indian Rosewood I used on the last two builds worked pretty easily, honestly, but then again, I was using the CNC to cut them. If you want to, you can get pre-cut fretboards from StewMac, including fret slots for very reasonable money while you are getting your feet wet with building. I recently bought some .25" Richlite to try for fretboards. I have several if you want to try one...they were not expensive at about $11 a piece.

Aligning the fretboard can be relatively easy...two small holes hidden in inlay or fret slots and some toothpicks while you're gluing it up. Chris from Highline Guitars uses a few grains of salt for the same thing during a quick glue setup prior to fully clamping.

If you're on TDPRI, be sure to post your build in the Tele Home Depot forum area...you'll get lots of help as well as kudos. :) I have learned a "yuge" amount from that group!

[Prashun Patel]

Body and neck are cut. Channels routed.

This is a fun project. Half precision, half sculpting.

437790

437791

[Jim Becker]

...and it's going to be a really delicious instrument when you are done!

[Phil Mueller]

Looking good, Prashun. Can’t wait to see that cherry when the finish goes on.

[Prashun Patel]

I made some progress this weekend. Fretboard cut. I used the Stewmac Dozuki. A pretty nice saw in its own right! When Lie Nielsen starts making saws more frequently again, I'm itching to pick up their tapered dovetail saw. I have their normal saw and LOVE IT. It's aggressive and smooth. It just works in my hands. The tapered version cuts a .021 thin kerf and I suspect would also work well for this.

I knifed the lines and cut them free hand with the Dozuki. The depth stop on this is very nice - especially when re-cutting the slots after radiusing.

438232

438233

[Prashun Patel]

Fretboard glued and trued. I don't like template routing when I don't have to. It's a lot of work, risks tear out, is dusty and I rarely seem to have the perfect length bit... Anyway, I just hand planed this. Up near the headstock I used a rosewood shaver. Ironic, because my fretboard is walnut and not rosewood...


438238

[Prashun Patel]

I radiused the neck with a small 12" sanding block. I got a tip from a Maximum Guitar Works video to use a #4 plane to assist. cutting the high spots and then using the sanding block really just to true up and check things. That worked quite nicely. I originally intended to do that for speed reasons. However, I found that it resulted in a more controlled cut because I was able to keep the neck flat along its length; Sanding requires a million strokes. Planing required 2-3 full length passes between tests. This fretboard is pretty straight grained, so it planes easy even in hurried hands. Last, the frets slots served as an excellent visual guide during the sanding because they'd fill with dust. Because the head end is narrower than the heel end, I focused on keeping the arc centered about the center line. It's a hard to describe, but those slots help make it easy to see how straight the radius is.

I'm using a 12" radius on this one.

I did a little neck shaping as well. I owned a couple Dragon rasps from Stew Mac that I bought several years ago to use on blended joinery. They have been awesome. The pointy tip makes them surprisingly versatile.

438242

438243

438244

[Prashun Patel]

I installed the frets today. I don't own a fret press, so I've been using an Irwin one handed clamp and a 2x4 cradle+caul. It doesn't really require a lot of pressure. I wonder if a slightly thinner kerf blade would have made it more of a snug fit. The frets did require more than my finger pressure to seat, and they don't wiggle or pull out easily, but I was expecting to have to exert more effort to seat them.

It took me a few trials to figure out a workable method to glue them. Originally, I had put a couple CA dabs (Hot stuff thin) on top of the slots at the ends and the middle. This darkened the wood and was messy. Then I tried just pressing in the fret dry, and putting a dab at the ends. This worked better, but still stained the top of the wood. Finally, I decided to wipe a seal coat of Waterlox on the unfretted board, then pressing the frets in dry, and finally dabbing CA on the ends. That worked best. In fact, it made for a less stressful assembly.


438486

438485



438484

[Jim Becker]

For fret installation, use a brass hammer starting at the ends and working inward to the center of each fret. They may not seat fully with a clamp and caul like that. If you decide to continue building, there's a nice knock-off fret press for a DP on EBAY under the name "Elmer" for reasonable money.

[Prashun Patel]

It's funny you say that Jim. I actually did tap them in with a hammer. I checked each one carefully to make sure there were no gaps. Also, my caul is slightly under 12" radius. So it preferentially presses the ends. I deliberately cut my slots a tad deep - and then re-cut them after radiusing so I wouldn't risk bottoming out.

[David Falkner]

Did you cut the slots at 0.023"? Also, you'd be better off using a caul made of hardwood; I imagine that soft wood is indenting where the frets hit, or I would think so.

David

[Jim Becker]

It's funny you say that Jim. I actually did tap them in with a hammer. I checked each one carefully to make sure there were no gaps. Also, my caul is slightly under 12" radius. So it preferentially presses the ends. I deliberately cut my slots a tad deep - and then re-cut them after radiusing so I wouldn't risk bottoming out.
Kewel. I do have the press I mentioned if you want to do a mask-laden field trip to be sure they are tight. :)

[Prashun Patel]

I applied the finish. Couple coats of Waterlox followed by waterbased conversion varnish (Target). Shielding is in.

Love the Target. Even that little drip on the right side of the body (first pic) during the spraying dried pretty much level.


439258


439255

439253

[Jim Becker]

Simply "delicious", Prashun!!!

[Prashun Patel]

Finished this week. Waterlox and Target Flat Conversion Varnish. Plugged in. Seems to work. This project had a lot in common with a sculpted rocker. 50% science and routing and joints, and 50% shaping and contouring.

439685
439684



439687

439686

[Bruce Page]

Beautiful results Prashun! How does she sound?

[Prashun Patel]

Pretty good. I was afraid I'd get a lot of buzzing, etc. I lucked out. I learned more about guitar set up in the last month than in the last 30 years.

I think it's quite a doable project for any reasonable woodworker with a respectable set of tools. I find with each project that a foundation in 'flat', 'square' and 'sharp' is so valuable. There were a lot of times where order of operations was important. Being able to predict that helped a lot - especially during the assembly of the neck.

Having a reasonable command of basic set of hand planes, spokeshaves, and even a drawknife really helped.

I did find great use for my spindle sander, though. Hadn't touched that in a couple years. But it's one of those tools that when you need it, it's so perfect.

[Ted Calver]

Very nice, Prashun. You can be proud of this beauty!

[Jim Becker]

Such a wonderful end result!!!

And yes...the spindle sander is a "staple" tool for this kind of work for sure.

[Mark Rainey]

Very nice guitar Prashun!

[Phil Mueller]

Looks great, Prashun...nice work. Beautiful wood...gotta love when the finish goes on.

[Bruce Volden]

Prashun,
That is a very nice electric!
I would like to buy it from you----of course I'd need MANY lessons:D:D
I would like to hear it when you get a chance.
Beautiful craftsmanship!!!

Bruce

[Matthew Springer]

That looks great! How hard was the neck carve to get the way you wanted it?

I've been planning and studying in prep for something similar. My wifde won't let me buy a PRS Custom 22 soapbar, so I'm going to try my hand at a triple p90 carved top double cut from a slab of mahogany I have lying around. After I finish the Princeton Reverb.

[Prashun Patel]

It's easy to carve the neck; it's hard to know how it'll feel until it's mounted though. Mine's a little thick, to be honest because I have smaller hands. It's a little too much 'U' shaped. I would have liked more 'C' or even 'V'.

As it so happens, I'm trying to make a PRS Custom 24 right now. I just loved their carved top profile. But they make theirs with a base and top plate that brings the thickness to a heavy 2". I'm making mine about 1.75" and no top plate. I'm trying to figure out how to do a through body neck.

Jim B wisely recommended 2 things to me: start with a Tele, and register on TDPRI. If you think the guys HERE are friendly and supportive... The Tele is nice because it's a straight neck and head, a simple, has a simple bridge that's easy to install and intonate, and plans are ubiquitous.

It sounds fine. I'm just waiting on a real amp to see how buzzy it is.

For any decent hobbyist woodworker, this is a very doable project...

[Matthew Springer]

I'll likely start with a lefty tele short scale for my daughter (7y/o) who swears up and down she'd learn how to play. If I'm going bolt on, I'l likely build a jazzmaster first although a thinline tele is pretty tempting. I thinkI'm already registered on TDPRI. I've also found the people on TalkBass to be super helpful. Honestly the neck and the fretting are the only two things that scare me, everything else is just finesse. I've built numerous kit guitars already and I already do all my own tech setup and wiring. Great way to avoid practicing.

If you want a "real" amp, build a tube Princeton BF reverb kit with a 12" speaker. It's kind of the "standard" amp. Don't do what I did and build a 50W marshall / Twin mashup as your first amp; 20 watts is plenty. I've built two tube amps from scratch that were custom designs (that's my other craft hobby) and I'm building a heavily modified Princeton clone now. I'm about halfway through the main power supply.

If you go with a standard design, you can get the chassis mechanical work pre done which turns out to be most of the work. Just getting things fitting in the chassis correctly is 65% of the problems you run into. The soldering is relatively easy. You can follow my build for that over on ampgarge.com under the "Donut Princess" thread.

[Jim Becker]

If you're not going to "play out", instead of a traditional amp, consider something like the Spark 40, which is a modeling amp, computer interface, etc. Sounds like almost anything you want it to sound like, includes pretty much any and all "stomp boxes" you could ever want and is also a USB computer interface if you want to record. I grabbed one so I could experiment and see what the guitars I'm building "could" sound like in various types of amp/modifier setups and at under $300, it's economical. It can even intelligently accompany someone who can actually play. (which is not me these days due to wrist surgery I had a while back) For the record, I have a vintage 1980s Sundown amp (similar to a Mesa Boogie) that I keep in my shop so I can set things up. And while it's versatile, I don't have all the modifiers and don't want to invest in them since I'm not a player. The Spark will take care of that fun in one package. :)

Prashun, BTW. if you feel the neck is too thick for your hands, it's not a terrible thing to unstring, take the neck off and recontour it. Once you refinish, that cherry will not give away the changes and you'll be more comfortable playing it.

[Prashun Patel]

Haha, jim, that’s the one I got and am waiting for. I am a huge fan of the desi Serna podcast Guitar Music Theory. I wrote him and asked for a rec, and he suggested the Spark. I normally don’t like smart for Smart’s sake (like a smart fridge that tells me to order milk). But this one purports to help figure chords out and tie in with song streams.

Matt, good luck. The electronics were the hardest for me; sounds like you got that part down.

[Jim Becker]

I haven't plugged a git-fiddle into mine yet, but I did faddle with some of the backing tracks and explored the amp/modifier setting in the iOS app the other day. I also just did some regular playback of material in my music library and the sound was pretty darn good for something of its size with two smaller speakers. My singular complaint is that it doesn't have a normal audio out...it's either headphones or USB. It would be nice to be able to plug it directly into my mixer at line level so I could take advantage of the backing track stuff with my keyboard without dealing with a computer or taking it off the headphone jack. I guess there is no perfect product. LOL I was bummed to wait so long to get it...especially with prepayment required...but I'm not sorry I bought it at all.

Darrell Braun just posted a follow up video on YouTube with his favorite Spark setups. It and the previous review are worthy of your time.

[Prashun Patel]

We really have to meet one of these days.

[Jim Becker]

But of course...that will be enjoyable!

[Matthew Springer]

My background is in EE, if I can't solder, I need to reexamine my life choices. I went to college to learn to build things and discovered what they were actually teaching me was math which is not the same thing at all. Junior year in Eng school I got an A+ in the circuit design class, a B in the signal processing class and a C- in Fields and Waves. Basically a perfect inverse on the amount of math involved. Then I discovered there was no calculus involved in comp sci and digital electronics and never looked back.

I actually got into woodworking building cabinetry for the guitar amps. I bought my first block plane trying to smooth a sapele 1x12" combo cab for the second build ( A tweed deluxe/62 princeton reverb hybrid ). The smoothing did not go well since I didn't know about cambered blades but I got hooked on hand tools.

[Prashun Patel]

That's so funny. I also majored in EE. All the circuit board wiring I did in the 90's was breadboard circuits that pressed into the slots; so I'm partial to the solderless wiring kits ;) I only learned how to do any practical wiring when I got my own home @ 30.

Your experience with signal processing, etc. mirrors mine. I liked making stuff.

I wanted to major in EE to build my own speakers and guitar (like Tom Scholz from Boston). Took me until 50, a son to kick me in the butt, and a supportive mentor like Jim Becker to get me over the line.

I didn't touch tools until I was 30. So jealous of my son. At 15 he's a way better musician and woodworker than I was. Time and youth is wasted on the young.

[Julie Moriarty]

It's easy to carve the neck; it's hard to know how it'll feel until it's mounted though. Mine's a little thick, to be honest because I have smaller hands. It's a little too much 'U' shaped. I would have liked more 'C' or even 'V'.

A few years ago a friend from out of town asked me to build a Tele for him. (the thread is here) I told him when he comes into town I'd have everything ready but the neck. It would be mostly shaped but still a bit fat. He'd have to set aside some time from work to come over and do the final shaping. Boy, did he do a LOT of sanding!

But in the end he really loved the feel. He, too, has small hands and his other 6 or 7 guitars all had necks a bit too thick. He said this one was perfect.

I learned from that, you gotta get the neck right.

[Olivia Mayers]

Such a great work.. I'm new, but I wish I can do the same one day

[Prashun Patel]

Thank you, Olivia. You will. And it will be much sooner than you expect. Lots of great support here. Jump in!!!!!

[Olivia Mayers]

Thank you for your support :)

[Bill Yacey]

Beautiful job!

[Halgeir Wold]

Nice job!! As it happens, my son has been bugging me for some time, to build a Tele with him... he's the player, - I'm not ( although I play other instruments)
A few weeks ago he borrowed a custom Tele from a common aquiantance, which presumably had a D profile neck.... I find very little info on this...

[Prashun Patel]

Jim Becker turned me on to a tele forum called tdpri. Good resource with people as friendly as here.

It is a very doable and rewarding project to do . The tele has a lot of elements that make it straightforward for someone to build who has modest woodworking skills.

I in fact am doing a build with my son of a P bass. Great dad kid project. Go for it. Start a thread. You will get lots of help. Just jump in.

[Jim Becker]

Tele-type is absolutely the best "first build", Helgeir. Fender's geometry has the neck and body co-planer, so there's no tiny angle between the neck and the body to deal with. And I do suggest the place that Prashun mentioned for online help. Great people just like here at SMC. (but still post the build here, gosh darnit!)

-----
Prashun, funny you should mention the P Bass...I'm about to start a build using that same underlying design, although it will have "my" headstock shape and a body shape similar to the BroBuild with the koa top.

[Bobby Fletcher]

It will be great if you will post the in-progress photos) Good Luck

[Prashun Patel]

There's a Telecaster forum that's got a lot of these builds (including mine). More interest in instrument building over there.

Anyway, here's my second: a PRS style guitar with a carved top. Walnut body and neck; maple fretboard.




443995443996

443998

[Jim Becker]

The PRS-type is stunning, Prashun!

[David Falkner]

That is a really nice, clean look - great job!

David

[Matthew Springer]

BTW Prashun, thanks so much for sharing the builds, I've been following your build threads over at TDPRI and you're a wizard.

I'm psyching myself up for my first full build, going to be a jazzmaster. I'm probably going to build a trio of jazzmaster (for me), jaguar 3/4" size (22" short scale for the 5y/o) and a short scale leftie tele for the 7 y/o.

[Prashun Patel]

Matthew-
Just do it. You already know the electrical stuff. That was the most intimidating for me. Another daunting thing was knowing where and what exactly to buy. I can send you my spreadsheet of steps and parts that I bought. It also has some dimensions in there and notes. PM me.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Prashun, Matthew...dive in!

[Jim Becker]

Prashun and his nice PRS-inspired instrument paid a visit on Saturday. Trust me, the photos of his guitar do not do justice to just how beautiful it is...dude does amazing work! I think it likes my Bro-Build, too...they sat together happily while we talked without fighting. :) :D

444730

[Prashun Patel]

Jim, I learned everything from you! Your axes give me something to aspire to.

[Jim Becker]

I appreciate that some inspiration came from what I've been doing, but I'm just learning this stuff for sure!