Koa Tele Build

[OzziePete]

You really are a masochist Jalane....

The neck pickup rout has gone thru the neck pocket and you show a crack around that pocket too. There's a vid on You Tube with Jason Lollar and he mentions being careful with the thin wall of wood between the neck pickup and the neck pocket - he believes it a structural issue. But yours has been removed.

Good luck with the project, I'll be interested to se how it finishes up. For $50 you can't lose really.

 

[exaN]

Damn that's one beat up body, takes some serious balls to salvage this, gonna look great though :icon_thumright:.

 

[pabloman]

Only a lefty would deface a koa body like that. :icon_jokercolor:

 

[OzziePete]

Only a lefty would deface a koa body like that. :icon_jokercolor:

Why risk ruining a good piece of Koa when you don't know what you are doing...?  :doh:

 

[jalane]

You really are a masochist Jalane....

The neck pickup rout has gone thru the neck pocket and you show a crack around that pocket too. There's a vid on You Tube with Jason Lollar and he mentions being careful with the thin wall of wood between the neck pickup and the neck pocket - he believes it a structural issue. But yours has been removed.

Good luck with the project, I'll be interested to se how it finishes up. For $50 you can't lose really.

Thanks.  By any chance do you remember how to find that Lollar video?

Only a lefty would deface a koa body like that. :icon_jokercolor:

:icon_tongue: :icon_jokercolor:

 

[OzziePete]

You really are a masochist Jalane....

The neck pickup rout has gone thru the neck pocket and you show a crack around that pocket too. There's a vid on You Tube with Jason Lollar and he mentions being careful with the thin wall of wood between the neck pickup and the neck pocket - he believes it a structural issue. But yours has been removed.

Good luck with the project, I'll be interested to se how it finishes up. For $50 you can't lose really.

Thanks.  By any chance do you remember how to find that Lollar video?

Found it: it's an Allparts body, but I think the discussion he has at about 2:29 onwards about routing 'too thin' is relevant to all Tele bodies.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuwQtM0Y9IM&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[jalane]

Thanks for posting that.  The impression i took from the video was he was saying it was a structural issue only because if the wood was too thin there it would break easier.  Do you interpret that differently?  Either way, it was a great video and thanks for posting! 

 

[OzziePete]

Thanks for posting that.  The impression i took from the video was he was saying it was a structural issue only because if the wood was too thin there it would break easier.  Do you interpret that differently?  Either way, it was a great video and thanks for posting! 

Yeah I got the impression that if you removed or thinned out the small strip of wood between the neck pocket and neck pickup rout, that the neck would wobble around. A tight neck pocket being the optimum, preferred way to install a bolt on neck.

 

[jalane]

More progress over the past few days.  First, I used a Forstner bit to cut the extra space needed for the bridge pickup.  Then, I got to work on getting the old screw holes and that nasty chiseled route filled.  The holes were just tooth picks and Titebond.  For the route i cut and glued in a chunk of a sycamore block i got at woodcraft (i used sycamore only because it was WAY cheaper than any other wood blocks there, especially Koa), and filled the gaps with some Locktite.

The body was looking pretty pathetic throughout the whole process:

But once i got everything cleaned up and level sanded, i was starting to see the potential more clearly:

And that is where i am now.  Tomorrow i am going to cut some wood chunks to fill the extra space in that extends on either side of the bridge.

 

[whitebison66]

Nice work so far. I enjoy 'rehab' projects a lot, so I'm digging this one.

If you think neck movement may be a problem, cut a piece of window screen to fit in the neck pocket. When you tighten up the neck, the screen mesh will bite into the pocket and neck, and you won't have any problems with movement.

 

[jalane]

Nice work so far. I enjoy 'rehab' projects a lot, so I'm digging this one.

If you think neck movement may be a problem, cut a piece of window screen to fit in the neck pocket. When you tighten up the neck, the screen mesh will bite into the pocket and neck, and you won't have any problems with movement.

Hey thanks for tip!  I had never thought of that, but it makes sense.  Cheers!

 

[Patriot54]

Extreme makeover Warmoth style - I like it

 

[graceshredder]

???  Hey Jalane!  Any updates?  That Tele is a very interesting thread . . . give us an update!

 

[jalane]

???  Hey Jalane!  Any updates?  That Tele is a very interesting thread . . . give us an update!

Hey man, nope sorry nothing new to report just yet.  I still need to make the plugs to fill the excess bridge p'up route.  I'm hoping to get a chance to get that done this weekend. 

 

[TomPerverteau]

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

Not to hijack, but I have not forgotten about my project. I was attracted to this thread because it is a somewhat similar rescue mission! However, I am not brave enough to take on a body with structural damage like this one. Hats off to Jalane for taking on the challenge.

 

[jalane]

Ok, so after not touching this thing for about 2.5 months, I've made a ton of progress of late.  The two cracks are glued, the excess bridge pickup routing is filled in, and I've managed to grain fill, seal, prime, and color coat the body.  I'm in the process of clear coating now.  Here are some shots:

All primed:

And one last mockup before she gets color:

Shoreline Gold:

Done with color-coats (and a little protective clear on top):

 

[mgaut051]

I can hear the Koa. It's saying "free me! Free me!"

 

[jalane]

I can hear the Koa. It's saying "free me! Free me!"

Actually, I think it's saying "Thank you! Thank you!"  Did you look at the earlier pictures?  That was an ugly piece of wood.  Now it won't get picked on by the other, more attractive and popular, Koa bodies.

 

[Cagey]

That certainly has come a long way. You'd never know it was the train wreck you started with. Good work, and a fine job of it!

 

[pabloman]

But it's still a lefty :dontknow: I thought you were going to "fix" this guitar  :icon_jokercolor:  Man that thing came out great! Good work. :headbang1: