Maple/poplar/Walnut tele

[dmraco]

I picked this up on eBay for $80.  IT was not without issues.  It had a crack in the back of the poplar and the neck pocket was far from perfect. 

The crack has been filled with epoxy and I was able to fix the pocket by adding some additional material on the sides and reshaping.  It looks like the router/template must have slipped during routing.

There are also the telltale holes on the ambrosia maple.  I filled them the last time I used ambrosia, but I think I will leave them. 

My plan is to cut a tummy cut and simply tru-oil the body.  I do not want a super glossy finish.  I had watched some videos since this will be my 1st time using tru-oil.  I was thinking of putting on a coat, let dry.  Second coat, let dry.  Hit with some 0000 steel wool then clean.  Add a final coat and buff with clean cotton cloth to rub it in.

Thoughts?  I would love to hear from the tru-oil experts.

 

[AirCap]

Screw that steel wool. Use Scotchbrite.

 

[dmraco]

Tummy cut done.  Easier to see from this angle.  I also did a very slight forearm.  I did not want to burn thru the lam top.  It adds just a bit more comfort.

 

[DangerousR6]

Nice looking tele, I like the stripe..I did a similar guitar some time back, not a tele but with the wood stripes. And I'm no expert in tru oil, but I have used it several times. And pretty much the way you described, coat let dry, coat let dry...etc

And finished off with #0000 steel wool, and comes out not too shinny, but not too dull..

 

[dmraco]

I remember that one Doug.  Good memories.
Do you recall how many coats you did?

 

[DangerousR6]

I remember that one Doug.  Good memories.
Do you recall how many coats you did?

For sure...

I think it was 4 or 5 coats if I recall...

 

[dmraco]

Got it....  24.75 inch scale for this baby

 

[rgand]

Nice neck. Good score, there.

 

[DangerousR6]

Got it....  24.75 inch scale for this baby

Sweet neck... :icon_thumright:

 

[dmraco]

It's been a while but I got this together.  The neck is amazing.  It's my 1st Wenge neck and I love it.  The blood wood with the black inlays looks great too.

The guitar turned out great.  I used a GFS single coil sized humbucker in the bridge and it is amazing.  Finish is just a satin poly.  Turned out great.  I did some slight relicing on the black hardware too. 

The guitar is a bit heavy but not over the top.

 

[rgand]

Beautiful. What a fine look. The way the center stripe matches the fretboard is a bonus.

 

[dmraco]

Thanks.  I will get some better pics.    I need to find a better image host server

 

[rgand]

I like imgur.com when I need to host a photo for forum posting.

 

[bagman67]

That's a right handsome slab o' goodness.  Nice work! 

 

[dmraco]

Some better photos.  I need to get some smaller head screws for the neck plate.
20180707_142218 by dmraco, on Flickr
20180707_142238 by dmraco, on Flickr

 

[rgand]

Good photos. Very nice work.

 

[DangerousR6]

Some better photos.  I need to get some smaller head screws for the neck plate.
20180707_142218 by dmraco, on Flickr
20180707_142238 by dmraco, on Flickr

Sweet, has a bit of flame in it... :icon_thumright:

The angle of the countersink of the screw maybe different. Or I just didn't countersink the holes enough. You could just use an 82* countersink on the holes to deepen them..

 

[Cagey]

Those aren't oval head screws, and the head is slightly oversized. Looks like flathead countersunk #10 screws. #8 would fit better, but if they are #10s it's too late now - the neck screwholes are stretched too far. #8s won't bite.

 

[dmraco]

You are correct these are flatheads but they are an #8.  I have used these on other neck plates with no issue.  This was made by Doug and is super thick.  The holes are not as counter sunk as others. 

I since have removed the plate and counter sunk the hole a bit more.  It’s now flush.

 

[Cagey]

That's good.

I've got a neck here now for a refret that's not only had #10s run into it, it feels like they've been run in and out a couple dozen times. There's almost no wood left in the holes until the very end of travel. Wouldn't be a problem if I drilled it out for inserts, but for some reason the customer doesn't want them. We're gonna have to have a serious conversation about this pretty soon.