FINISHED! Padouk canary 3p90 7/8 tele halfmoth

[mgaut051]

Oh sh*t.

So I just changed from (perpetual) student to employee. And there goes my only GAS control.

So I have to go into a little background before I launch into my GAS rant.

1) My brother-in law is finishing the carved-top tele that we built together -

with the all wenge LP neck that I had planned for another build, another OTHER build actually.
(I had planned to put it on an all padouk SG body - but price is  :binkybaby

2) And I'm "theoretically" finishing my mahogany bass

That only needs a control cavity and cover, a good sanding and some solder.

So my FLAWED reasoning is that I might as well order my 3rd build parts now, so that they'll be here when I finish my bass, right, RIGHT? Here's where my brain normally says "you don' t have any money"; but my status change has evaporated my Gimminy cricket.

Crap. GAS sucks.

so....
3) De-showcased an all canary tele neck. Oh yeah.

And then,

Inspired on the 0.85 tele from USACG (sorry for the curse words)
I'll make a 0.85 tele body out of Cocobolo (got for 64$ at local woodshop) - pics coming. With a harrison style maple stripe. (www.constantines.com)
Neck and middle P90 - cream.
Bridge PRail (tele HB bridge).

fluorescent red picguard from s.i.m. in the UK

final plan:

Look for it in 2013.

 

[DangerousR6]

That canary neck would go sweet on that black tele body.... :icon_thumright:

 

[mgaut051]

Agreed.
'cept my brother in law finds that tele headstocks look like limp post-coitus condoms. I have no such qualms, but since it's a collaborative build... life goes on.

I've got to hit you up for 3 custom neck plates.

Martin

 

[DangerousR6]

Agreed.
'cept my brother in law finds that tele headstocks look like limp post-coitus condoms. I have no such qualms, but since it's a collaborative build... life goes on.

I've got to hit you up for 3 custom neck plates.

Martin

Cool deal....just pm me when ready... :icon_thumright:

 

[ORCRiST]

'cept my brother in law finds that tele headstocks look like limp post-coitus condoms.

HAhahaha.  :icon_biggrin: Agreed! I know I'm not alone out there in my tele-hatred...

ORC

 

[Cagey]

...my brother in law finds that tele headstocks look like limp post-coitus condoms.

Far be it from me to defend Tele outlines, but if that's what he thinks of those headstocks, what do you suppose a Strat headstock reminds him of? Or worse still, any of the pointy-headed designs out there?

 

[mgaut051]

Sorry - just started a new job here in Calgary, so don't have much time to updated my posts.

WARNING(S)!

1. Wood porn (softcore)
2. iPhone pics - wife hasn't joined me in CowTown yet, so her camera is still with her.
3. My garage is a HUGE mess ATM - wife hasn't joined me in CowTown yet, so no reason to clean up.

Made a workbench with MDF and 2x4's, about 200$.

got the vise for a steal (40$, NIB) and the plans are here: http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/18985/still-dont-have-a-workbench-this-one-is-easy
That's my bass-in-progress on the bench, and the image on the left is a Les Godfrey bass I'd love to copy onto a gorgeous one piece of walnut I have, for a fretless all purpleheart neck.

Got a MASSIVE drill press for 40$ - dates back to the war!
And this kit from lee valley for sanding templates square and smooth:

Got the bandsaw for $180. I feel like I robbed the guy. It's new, and the tires barely had any marks on them. Still looking for a riser kit.

The lumber:
4/4 cocobolo, about 60$ a piece.

The reverse of the second one has more sap, but I filled it with CA, so it looks terrible ATM.

The pinstripe:
Maple from Constantine's

thick stuff!

What's that on the left? Had it 30 seconds, was still in my dress shirt, dress pants, still had my bag on, and I was piloting the tuner screwholes.

The Plan:

7/8ths tele, based on the plans I found here: http://terrydownsmusic.com/Archive/tele_body_drawing_revD.pdf
Kept the neck pocket and bridge rout at 100% (so no change to the scale length), and re-sized the rest.
It's going to be busy, with the 3 pickups - like the bass I'm making. I don't know why. It's just how I can see it when I imagine it.
Harrison style pinstripe, 1 9/16ths" or thereabouts thick.
Not sure yet about rear-rout vs front rout ... It sure is gorgeous wood, but I need the tele style control plate I think. I may rout the cocobolo before I glue the two halves together (to make a wider cavity within the wood), make the control plate thinner and shorter (re-drilling the second pot hole).

As with the control plate, I need the pick guard. But again, such nice wood. So - transparent pick guard.
Pretty sure I'll go with the transparent red

But if I feel adventurous, I got fluorescent too.

Got from TAP plastics ( http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=341& ) - reasonable prices, and will cut to any size,  but got completely destroyed by customs. 30$ brokerage on a 46$ order!
Again, I'll probably mock up two different pick guards: one that's a straight 7/8ths scale, and so will bottom out just at or below the middle pickup, and one that is stretched on the string axis of the guitar, a so to clip the bridge at the same place as on a regular tele (because of the shrunken body but unchanged scale, the bridge is relatively closer to the butt end of the guitar, so if the pick guard is to need a bridge cutout, it will require to be stretched on one axis...)

Yep

That's where it is for now.

Will try to work on it this weekend, have to make a jig for planing with my router (no planer, figured wood). Will try to joint, glue both front and back. Using gorilla glue - but it's so messy and requires enormous clamping pressure...

And I have to rout my control cavity for the bass...

And life continues!

Ah well.

 

[NonsenseTele]

Oh god you're really putting this pickguard on it :sad:

 

[mgaut051]

Whatever do you mean?

 

[NonsenseTele]

Whatever do you mean?

That I'd prefer it without pickguard... But it's your guitar...

 

[mgaut051]

beauty of it is, I can set up the guitar completely before I mock up the pick guard(s). I'll see how I like it front rout vs rear rout, and then w/o pg, w/ pg, and then short vs long pg.

But I think I'll set up my bass first... dunno yet. Party on Sunday, so have to clean up my  mess.

 

[mgaut051]

Padouk mockup.
No time to plane \ laminate etc the cocobolo for now.
So one piece padouk mockup it is.

 

[hachikid]

canary = awesome

 

[Patrick]

im thinkin you need to get some more parts for that padouk body  :icon_thumright:

 

[DangerousR6]

Padouk mockup.
No time to plane \ laminate etc the cocobolo for now.
So one piece padouk mockup it is.

That's f'king awesome.... :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

Doesn't look like a padouk mock-up, looks like a padouk real thing.

 

[mgaut051]

I don't plan on leaving it as padouk, I really want to make it out of cocobolo. Just dont have the time or patience to make the planing jig for my router, plane some moderately twisted boards,  laminate the maple pinstripe in... 1 pc padouk was the easy copout. Once I make the coco body, I'll give the padouk one to my brother.

It's a mockup only because it's not final. But thanks for the kind words!

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

DAMN!  That's your mockup?!?!?

If you're not planning on using it.... I'll take it!   :icon_jokercolor:

Seriously, that's a fine instrument grade piece of wood right there!

 

[BigBeard]

Nice work!!!!!  Good to see some more builders!

Ever used biskits to edge glue your boards with?  I have used them on multiple furniture projects.  My dad bought a biskit cutter a while back for one job and gave it to me.  I'm going to start using it for gluing up guitar wood.... Keeps boards matched up nice using it.

That cocobolo is beautiful.  Good find.  I was reading an interview with Doug Irwin (Jerry Garcia's luthier) and he was saying that you need to coax some of the oil out of cocobolo to glue it.  He would rub it down with I think Naptha to get some of the oil off the surface before he glued it.  I think he used Titebond...... And Jerry's guitars are still holding up, I don't think they have delaminated yet.  I hear that cocobolo is also pretty sneezy wood when you sand it or cut it, so you might want to keep that in mind.   

I'm definately going to be watching your progress! 

 

[mgaut051]

(...)
Seriously, that's a fine instrument grade piece of wood right there!

Just from the local lumber shop. I initially wanted maple, but they didn't have a big enough board to make a one piece.
I picked padouk, but I  also had the choice between walnut (I have a nice blank for a les godfrey fretless copy, so nix that), mahogany (my bass is mahogany, so nix that), purpleheart (too hard), bubinga (too heavy), and yellowheart (too yellow). And padouk is relatively cheap.
I've glued cocobolo before, I used acetone which DEFINITELY clears up the surface oil without impacting long term looks. Gorilla glue expands well into the pores of the wood and is actually rated for oily woods, but makes a freakin mess and can expand a nice gap there if you don't clamp agressively (thank goodness cocobolo is a hard hard wood that can withstand monstrous clamping pressures without bruising.)
I also always wear an n95 mask when woodworking - I have pretty bad allergies and otherwise woodworking would be brutal for me.

Thanks again guys.