If you ever need to feel normal (Steel Telecaster build)

[swarfrat]

If you ever feel the need to normalize our hobby - there's always someone more eccentric out there. I'm fascinated by this guy's build. 43,000 hours, $3,000 worth of mig wire, $200 worth of grinding wheels, and $12,000 worth of electricity I'm sure. But still cool.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clAPajiwT48[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZBkVKZLF3s[/youtube]

 

[DangerousR6]

Gotta give the guy props, he went about it a different way than I would have, but he got the job done.. :glasses9:

 

[swarfrat]

Yeah, a couple things I wouldve done different, but I'm impressed. It's funny, I've often joked about stuff made of entirely of  mig wire. He comes close.

Not a fan of the expanded metal front or back. I wouldve at least thought about welding up a neck too, with a slotted wooden fingerboard from LMii to make fretting easier.

I'm also quite sure its microphonic as hades. You can actually hear it ringing in a few shots just from handling.

 

[DangerousR6]

Yeah, a couple things I wouldve done different, but I'm impressed. It's funny, I've often joked about stuff made of entirely of  mig wire. He comes close.

Not a fan of the expanded metal front or back. I wouldve at least thought about welding up a neck too, with a slotted wooden fingerboard from LMii to make fretting easier.

I'm also quite sure its microphonic as hades. You can actually hear it ringing in a few shots just from handling.

He needs to ground himself... :laughing11:

 

[rgand]

Having spent years building custom machinery, I can appreciate the effort he puts in. I would never do it, though. Still, a cool build to watch.

I think I'd have made it out of stainless.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

I couldn’t stop watching! It’s not my cup of tea particularly, but certainly a cool thing to see coming together.

 

[Sovereign_13]

Saw the headline and thought "oh cool, a lap-steel Telecaster".  Nope.  Quite literally a Telecaster made out of steel.  Huh.

It's a cool thing, for sure.  It would go quite well as decor in an industrial-type music venue or pole-barn-turned-practice-space or some such.  I have no skills or inclinations with metalworking, so the things people can do with metal are always fascinating to me.

 

[swarfrat]

Having spent years building custom machinery, I can appreciate the effort he puts in. I would never do it, though. Still, a cool build to watch.

I think I'd have made it out of stainless.

Welding stainless is a royal PITA. No thank you.

 

[rgand]

Having spent years building custom machinery, I can appreciate the effort he puts in. I would never do it, though. Still, a cool build to watch.

I think I'd have made it out of stainless.

Welding stainless is a royal PITA. No thank you.

I use a MIG with co2/helium/argon mix. Makes great welds. No more difficult than anything else.

 

[fdesalvo]

Now that's metal  :headbang: