Been away for a while, but I'm thinking of building a Tele UPDATE

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hannaugh

Master Member
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Hey guys, it's been a while for me.  I've been really busy, still playing guitar but not doing all that much with gear other than some BYOC pedal kits.  Recently one of my cats (my favorite cat, actually) ran away after a traumatic experience and I've been going crazy looking for him.  I think he is still in the neighborhood, but the search is emotionally draining to say the least.  My husband thinks I need a project to take my mind off it when I'm not out looking, so here's what I'm thinking. 

I would like to build a Telecaster body with my husband.  He is a really good carpenter and we have built up his workshop quite a lot in the last couple years, so we have most if not all of the tools we would need.  I've wanted to do a Tele Thinline for a long time, but I think maybe because it's a first scratch build, just stick with a regular Tele at this point.  At some point I'll get a neck for it, it might be a while though. It's more "hey look, something to do that sounds fun so I don't lose my mind" rather than a dream build. 

We have some mahogany that we actually got from an old Fender warehouse (the Fender plant in Corona is 15 mins from my house).  They gave up this warehouse and my friend's company bought it complete with a bunch of wood that Fender left behind.  Why did they leave it behind?  We have no idea.  But we got to fill up the back of my hatchback with free mahogany, which my husband built a book shelf and various other things out of, and we saved some for future music projects.  It's not great mahogany, but it is free and it's just sitting in our garage.

Anyone have recommendations for which plans I should get or advice for this build?  We plan on getting some throw away wood to do practice runs on as well so hopefully we don't screw anything up too bad.  Any ideas on finishing?  I'm all ears, nothing is set in stone yet other than I want it to be a fairly traditional setup pickup and hardware wise. 
 
Hi Hannaugh, building a tele is a great idea. I think you could do a lot with a jigsaw or bandsaw to rough out the shape. Then a router and a drill press would be about all you would need for the main tools.

Oh and either a plan to print out and make the templates from or buy some templates ready made.

For finishing mahogany you will need to fill the grain, but what type of finish do you plan ? Tru oil is quite good to work with if you don't want to spray anything. Or in the US there is wipe on Poly etc.


If you didn't see it I just did a natural ash tele with a bit of an unusual twist to the finish. The build thread is here.
http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=23725.0

A plan can be found at http://terrydownsmusic.com/Archive/Tele_body_drawing_revE.pdf
 
I think we've got all the tools we need - bandsaw, drill press, router, etc.  and the wood.  We have some wood dye that is pretty nice looking, like a dark aged mahogany. 

This plan you posted is very nice looking.  I might have to tweak the neck pocket a little to match up with a Warmoth neck, but I think it will work. 

Thanks! 
 
Look forward to seeing the results of your project.

And a good idea to base the neck pocket off the Warmoth neck to ensure a good fit.
 
Hey!  welcome back!  Have fun with the telecaster.  As you know, I have a lot of opinions about these instruments.

Have fun.  and the cat will come back.
 
I'd be very careful about building a Tele.

The problem is that before you know it you'll have more Tele's than all your other guitars combined.
 
DavyDave53 said:
I'd be very careful about building a Tele.

The problem is that before you know it you'll have more Tele's than all your other guitars combined.
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth? What is it about those things?
 
Teles are like Pringles, apparently.  :icon_biggrin: 

Mayfly said:
Have fun.  and the cat will come back.
Click to expand...

I sure hope so.  I got a really promising tip as to where he went today, so fingers crossed.  I miss him so much.
 
I have managed to resist the tele urge for a few decades... but I suspect it's because a hardtail strat is actually a renegade tele in disguise.
 
Good job on the shaping. Comfort contours, indeed. That's gonna be a comfy Tele.
 
Very nice indeed.  Looks like you have all the right tools needed to. 

Make sure you list some picks of the neck pocket.  I am doing a P-Bass from a 150 year piece of pine and am stalled at the neck pocket.
 
Sadly, he is still on the lam.  We're not giving up, but we haven't gotten him back yet.  I did get another cat in the meantime, but we would be thrilled if he would get his butt home.  Our new kitty is awfully cute though.

IMG_9981 by hannaugh, on Flickr
 
We found one of my mom's cats alive 2 YEARS after he ran off to become a barn cat at the local dairy.  He even answered to his name but alas wasn't interested in coming home.Still. they can still turn up fine, especially if the reason theyte missing is a neighbor feeding your "homeless " stray
 
I really, REALLY hope that someone is feeding him and we can get through to them soon so they call us to come pick him up.  The infuriating thing is that we've put up tons of posters and passed out flyers on every door in the neighborhood, and I am still bumping into neighbors constantly who are like "Oh, you lost a cat?", because yes, people are that oblivious.  It's been 2 1/2 months and it's still killing me that I don't know what happened to him, and there is probably some idiot out there with information on his whereabouts who isn't picking up the phone. 

Working on the Tele a little tonight.  Will post pics as things progress.
 
Well, we ran into a little hiccup with the router and we need a different bit to do a couple of the routs.  I will post pics after we get ahold of the bit we need.  It's looking good so far though.
 
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