First Warmoth Guitar - Butterscotch 52 Telecaster Project

[Ted. Wu]

Last month, I met an alder Tele body with a grain that instantly sold me. So… I pulled the trigger and decided to build a vintage-leaning Telecaster.

Vintage Tele® Replacement Body
Alder
One Piece
Right-Handed
Vintage Telecaster®
No Paint

Telecaster® Replacement Guitar Neck
Vintage/Modern
Quartersawn Maple (One-piece)
1-11/16" (43mm) - Modern Medium
Boatneck
Straight 9.5"
21 Frets
Vintage Style (11/32")
Standard Dots
Standard Nut - White Corian
No Finish

To match the vibe, I also ordered a quartersawn neck. The parts should be arriving soon, so I’m starting early—spent the last 4 days dialing in the butterscotch feel by mixing nitrocellulose.

After a few days of testing, I’m pretty set on a vintage tint look for the neck, and semi-transparent finish to show the grain. I’m still deciding between only a butterscotch coat, or doing a white base first and then blending a yellow layer on top like the vintage 51 or 52.

Updates coming once the package lands.

 

[Hodgo]

Last month, I met an alder Tele body with a grain that instantly sold me. So… I pulled the trigger and decided to build a vintage-leaning Telecaster.

Vintage Tele® Replacement Body
Construction
Solid
Core Wood
Alder
Body Upgrades
One Piece
Right / Left Handed
Right-Handed
Control Cavity
Top Rout
Neck Pickup Rout
Tele®
Bridge Pickup Rout
Tele®
Jack Rout
7/8" (22mm) Side Jack Hole
Bridge Rout Type
Hardtail
Bridge Rout
Vintage Telecaster®
Mounting Holes
Standard 4-Bolt
Neck Pocket Shape
Tele®
Paint Category
No Paint

Telecaster® Replacement Guitar Neck
Construction
Vintage/Modern
Shaft Wood
Quartersawn Maple
Fretboard Wood
Quartersawn Maple (One-piece)
Nut Width
1-11/16" (43mm) - Modern Medium
Right / Left Handed
Right-Handed
Neck Back Profile
Boatneck
Fretboard Radius
Straight 9.5"
Number of Frets
21
Fret Size & Material
SS6230 - Vintage Small (Stainless)
Tuner Hole Size
Vintage Style (11/32")
Inlay Shape
Standard Dots
Inlay Material
Black
Side Dots
Black Side Dots
String Nut
Standard Nut - White Corian
Mounting Holes
Standard 4-Bolt
Neck Heel Shape
Tele® Shape
Finish
None

To match the vibe, I also ordered a quartersawn neck. The parts should be arriving soon, so I’m starting early—spent the last 4 days dialing in the butterscotch feel by mixing nitrocellulose.

After a few days of testing, I’m pretty set on a vintage tint look for the neck, and semi-transparent finish to show the grain. I’m still deciding between only a butterscotch coat, or doing a white base first and then blending a yellow layer on top like the vintage 51 or 52.

Updates coming once the package lands.
View attachment 67624View attachment 67625View attachment 67626

If you look at vintage Teles from that era there is a ton of discrepancy in how amber they got with age and how much grain they show. Don’t hesitate to go with the result you prefer. I quite like the medium tone on the top board in day 3.

 

[Tretgeraet]

Don’t hesitate to go with the result you prefer.

100% THAT!!!

I was about to write a similar thing. There's so much variation in the shades of blonde Fender offered in the 50's alone and the decades of reissues, copies, tributes plus differently aged originals have added even more variantion.

So, I agree, go after the result you like.

I personally prefer a creamier blonde, more opaque, lighter and less intensity. I originally aimed for an even brighter, "whiter" version, but I'm very happy with the result:
(Build thread here)




I read that Fender never put blonde on alder bodys, I can't really see why, though.

Welcome to the forum!!!

EDIT
P.S.: Unrelated to the OP but @Hodgo, I think you subconciously inspired me to add a personally aged, white switch tip:


Thank you, looks much better!

 

[Hodgo]

100% THAT!!!

I was about to write a similar thing. There's so much variation in the shades of blonde Fender offered in the 50's alone and the decades of reissues, copies, tributes plus differently aged originals have added even more variantion.

So, I agree, go after the result you like.

I personally prefer a creamier blonde, more opaque, lighter and less intensity. I originally aimed for an even brighter, "whiter" version, but I'm very happy with the result:
(Build thread here)

View attachment 67627
View attachment 67628

I read that Fender never put blonde on alder bodys, I can't really see why, though.

Welcome to the forum!!!

EDIT
P.S.: Unrelated to the OP but @Hodgo, I think you subconciously inspired me to add a personally aged, white switch tip:
View attachment 67629

Thank you, looks much better!

Dang I should have started selling those (assuming you’re talking about the one I put on my Hendrix Tele)

 

[Tretgeraet]

assuming you’re talking about the one I put on my Hendrix Tele

Yes. I saw that one, but I didn't (actively) remember that, when I decided to replace the black switch with an off-white one.

I actually bought a cream colored and - just in case the cream didn't look right - a white one, thinking "how hard can it be to age it?". Then the cream one didn't fit the switch at all and while looking for ideas how to age it I somehow thought: "Hey, didn't Hodgo wrote something about aging white plastic parts?"

That's when I noticed, yes, you did and it was even about a white Telecaster "top hat" switch tip.

I used black tea and a hint of curry btw. and it didn't seem to work at all at first, took me a few days and I had to sand them a bit.

If you have a reliable method, then yeah, maybe you should sell them.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Very cool.
Dang, I really need to finish my Tele. I'm just dreading all the sanding I need to do.

 

[Ted. Wu]

If you look at vintage Teles from that era there is a ton of discrepancy in how amber they got with age and how much grain they show. Don’t hesitate to go with the result you prefer. I quite like the medium tone on the top board in day 3.

I have searched many books, and I did find that there's many different colors and variations from the 1951 to 1952. As you mentioned the medium tone, actually it is under the sunlight, so it looks more creamy in the normal light, a bit similar to Dang's.