Koa Tele Build

[jalane]

So I just received word from Warmoth that my neck is on the way, so it's time for the build thread to commence!

A few months back i got a lefty koa tele body on ebay for $53.  Before you comment on what a steal i got, you should see how much work it needs.  I was aware of all this stuff when i bid on it, and really just wanted a fixer-upper to work on during the winter months.  Here's what it looked like the day it arrived:

Yikes!  Pretty hideous, huh?  Well, i wanted this project to stretch me as i've not done much repair-type work, and this will definitely need plenty. 

So the neck should be in Wednesday.  Nothing too exotic, just Indian Rosewood/Flame Maple.  Vintage Modern, SRV contour, 6130 frets. It'll be my first experience with Warmoth flame-y-ness, so i'm excited for that.

You may remember some earlier posts discussing a mini-hum in the middle position.  I'm still leaning that way, but i'm no longer going to paint it coral pink.  Instead, I'm thinking Shoreline Gold:

That's about where i am right now.  If anyone has any thoughts regarding wiring options and/or body repairs, i'd love to hear them.

 

[Nando Vallart]

jesus freaking christ...

 

[Cletus]

jesus freaking christ...

What's the deal with that huge split in the middle?

 

[jalane]

jesus freaking christ...

What's the deal with that huge split in the middle?

She's a beaut, huh? 

That split I believe is a route for the pickup wires.

 

[bagman67]

So the neck should be in Wednesday.  Nothing too exotic, just Indian Rosewood/Flame Maple.  Vintage Modern, SRV contour, 6130 frets. It'll be my first experience with Warmoth flame-y-ness, so i'm excited for that.

i'm no longer going to paint it coral pink.  Instead, I'm thinking Shoreline Gold:

That's about where i am right now.  If anyone has any thoughts regarding wiring options and/or body repairs, i'd love to hear them.

In re flamey-ness, I'm sure you'll be very pleased.  I love my new Tele neck.

In re color, how about that kinda sandy-beige color Tonar has a huge amount of lying around:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=13955.30

 

[jalane]

So the neck should be in Wednesday.  Nothing too exotic, just Indian Rosewood/Flame Maple.  Vintage Modern, SRV contour, 6130 frets. It'll be my first experience with Warmoth flame-y-ness, so i'm excited for that.

i'm no longer going to paint it coral pink.  Instead, I'm thinking Shoreline Gold:

That's about where i am right now.  If anyone has any thoughts regarding wiring options and/or body repairs, i'd love to hear them.

In re flamey-ness, I'm sure you'll be very pleased.  I love my new Tele neck.

In re color, how about that kinda sandy-beige color Tonar has a huge amount of lying around:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=13955.30

Thanks for the tip Bagman.  I actually have my heart set on the Fender metallic color shoreline gold.  I guess the mock-up may be a bit misleading in that way, here's an actual tele in that finish:

 

[Cagey]

Looks like you've got your work cut out for you. First off, in the "can't see the forest for the trees" category, I don't know if you noticed, but that whole body is cut out backwards <grin>

Seriously, though. Judging by the crack in the neck joint, I suspect that thing suffered a rather abrupt face-plant, which pushed the neck backwards from the body. I'm not sure you can fix that. It goes across the grain rather than with it, so it's an unusual break. Either that, or the thing wasn't properly supported when the previous owner took the hammer and chisel after it. Not sure what the point was there. Maybe it should be a Fred Flintstone-themed guitar, to celebrate the stone-age woodworking.

Anyway, if you can get ahold of a syringe, you may be able to inject some CA into the crack, then clamp it tight. Don't know how long it'll last, but it's probably your only shot.

 

[Disco Scottie]

My first thought when I saw the body was

 

[Cagey]

I don't know that it's going to cost much more than any ambitious guitar project, but this one's gonna be a time sink as well, expanding its needs and demands until it just eats his life. I think that's what he wants, though. He was looking for a "project" guitar on the going-in side.

 

[jalane]

Ha, so you guys aren't feeling too good about the project?    Well, my thinking going in is that, being only $50, if i can't get it structurally sound, then the learning process of working on it was probably worth the cost.  I don't see how i'll sink any money into it, unless i realize it's a lost cause and buy a new body.  Cagey, you're right that the purpose is having something to tinker with.  I got the neck with gift certificates i got as Christmas presents, so the only dollars i've sunk into this project so far is the $50 on the body.  So if it just isn't happening, and i decide i need to break down and get something else for a body, then it's not the end of the world. 

 

[Cagey]

Here's how I'd look at it. That crack isn't going to hurt anything else. Worst case is, the guitar sounds dead when it's done, and you've lost any effort put into finishing it. But, on the plus side, unless you've finished a lot of bodies, there's a lot to learn. So, you will have invested some time and money into sanding sealer, grain filler, abrasives, and some kind of top coat. At the end of all that, if you have to toss the body in the fireplace, you'll probably only be down about $100 and your labor. But, you'll be a lot smarter. The next body will come out a lot better. Wood finishing is very much an art. It takes practice, and you probably don't want to practice on a perfect $400 chambered exotic wood Warmoth body. Better that you have some finishing experience under your belt so you have your chops down before you ask to play with one of those.

 

[mgaut051]

Make the anti Koa tele: leave it EXACTLY as is. Stainless chopped from Callaham, 2 knobs no switch, ss plate and knobs, wood mount all pups. No alteration. Raw, unadulterated, glorious. A real relic. And an all wenge neck or sthing.

 

[DangerousR6]

My first thought when I saw the body was

After seeing Tom P. did what he did to that VIP, that tele would be a piece of cake.... :dontknow:

 

[AGWAN]

Yeah, that thing is NEVER getting done, is it?

 

[rapfohl09]

My first thought when I saw the body was

After seeing Tom P. did what he did to that VIP, that tele would be a piece of cake.... :dontknow:

+1, my first thought was a wince too, but there really isnt TOO much work that needs to be done to it, especially if its getting a solid color on top.

 

[swarfrat]

What's the deal with that huge split in the middle?

That split I believe is a route for the pickup wires.

Route is a verb. Route as a noun, meaning something done with the verb does not apply here. That is a chiselling, not a route.

 

[AutoBat]

i'd rock it with the neck crack filled, body sanded, and a clear pickguard to show the world what i've got.

 

[m4rk0]

leave it EXACTLY as is.

Exactly, I think you are done!!

 

[jalane]

I've been able to make a little bit of progress between work, grad school, and writing and grading papers.  I started by sanding errythang with 180 then 220 then 320.  This is what i ended up with:

Not QUITE so bad........right?

Then i started filling in all the littles dings and dents.  There were a LOT of them:

After i sanded everything back, this is what i ended up with:

Still pretty hideous, but certainly making some progress.  Before moving on to the crack in the neck, i wanted to slap a neck and bridge on there and string it up to see if it was even worth continuing with.  As you can see (and as i expected) the bridge p'up route is wider than the width of the actual bridge!  Awesome.

BUT, once i got it strung up and in tune, I was pleasantly surprised SHOCKED with the resulting sound.  Compared to the acoustic sound of my other electrics, it had a really nice punchy tone with EXCELLENT sustain and resonance.  In many ways, this was the opposite of what i expected to find. 

So, next up is fix the cracks, put new wood in to fill the excess bridge p'up and wiring routes (and possibly for that chiseled looking part of the neck cavity), .  Then grainfill. 

 

[mgaut051]

THIS

MORE

solder your pots bottoms-on directly onto a plate that you screw into the bottom of the cavity, and mount a switch against the wall. No pickguard, play it as an esquire.

I'm drooling

A lot