Roasted Swamp Ash Telecaster Deluxe - Artisan

[xParallax]

Hey all, here's my build log for my Roasted Swamp Ash Tele Deluxe!
Gonna call it 'Artisan' after the Fender range it was initially based on but I couldn't afford!
It's probably surpassed that now and the 'F' word is probably an insult to it!

Body: 
Model:  Tele Deluxe 
Orientation:  Right handed 
Scale:  25-1/2" 
Wood:  Roasted Swamp Ash
Rout:  Top Rout 
Pickup Rout:  Standard Pickup Routing
Bridge:  Vintage 6-Hole Tremolo 
Jack Rout:  7/8" (22mm) Side Jack Hole 
Neck Pocket:  Strat® Shape 
Mounting Holes:  Standard 4 Bolt 
Contours: Tummy Cut
F-Holes:  None 
Binding:  White Binding
Top Finish:  Clear
Back Finish:  Clear 
Finish Type:  Gloss Finish

Neck: 
Style:  Stratocaster® 
Construction:  Modern Construction
Scale:  25-1/2" 
Orientation:  Right Handed 
Neck Wood:  Maple 
Fingerboard Wood:  Indian Rosewood 
Nut Width:  1-11/16" 
Back Shape:  Standard thin 
Fret Size:  GD6150 (Gold Color)
Tuner Ream:  Schaller (25/64") 
Radius:  10-16" Compound 
Fret #:  22 
Mounting Holes:  Standard 4 Bolt 
Inlays:  White Pearloid Blocks
Side Dots:  Black Side Dots 
Binding:  White
String Nut:  GraphTech White TUSQ XL - Standard Nut
Finish:  Clear Gloss
Peghead Veneer: Roasted Swamp Ash to match body

Pickguard:
Shape:  Tele® Deluxe
Orientation:  Right Handed
Color:  White Pearl
Neck Pickup:  Gibson Humbucker
Bridge Pickup:  Gibson Humbucker
Control 1:  Volume
Control 2:  Volume 2
Control 3:  Tone
Control 4:  Tone 2
Upper Switch:  Toggle Hole
Neck Pocket:  Strat® Neck Pocket

Equipment:
Bridge: Gotoh 6 Screw Vintage Tremolo in Gold
Tuners: Fender 'F' Staggered Locking Tuners in Gold
Pickups: IronGear Rolling Mill (Neck), IronGear Rolling Mill Overwound (Bridge) in Gold Covered
Controls: 2x CTS 500 ohm Push-Pull Pot (Tone Control both Pickups w/Coil Split)
              2x CTS 500ohm Standard Pot (Volume Control both Pickups)
              1x Allparts 3-way Toggle Switch in Gold
              1x Allparts Output Jack in Gold
              2x 0.022uF Orange Drop Capacitors
Knobs: Barrel Knob with White Pearloid Inlay in Gold
Strap Locks: Fender Infinity Locks in Gold

-------------------------------------------------

Trying my hand at Soldering, first time I've ever soldered a guitar up start to finish
Pic 1: Body out of the box - Absolutely stunning!
Pic 2: Neck out of the box - Perfection!
Pic 3: Copper Shielding Tape throughout entire cavity - Don't know if this will be beneficial but I might as well give it a go!
WD: Seymour Duncan wiring diagram I followed for 2 Vol, 2 Tone, 1 Switch, Coil Split Push Pull on Tones.
Pic 4: Solid Start (Had to redraw the diagram because IronGear pickups use different colour wires for almost all of their wires!)
Pic 5: Getting there! Slowly getting better at soldering as it goes, and it shows!
Pic 6: Testing the soldering job out! (Worked first time with all functions)
Pic 7: Phew all that wiring fits back in the body cavities!

Thanks for reading, I'll update soon with more progress!

Rhys

 

[xParallax]

Update:

An issue I had was that the 'Schaller tuner holes' (9.92mm) ordered on the neck from Warmoth arrived almost 1mm too tight (Pic 1.1) for my Fender Locking Tuners (historically a Schaller design and manufactured product) (Pic 1.2)

This was probably due to some lacquer overspray into the holes, as well as an imperfect hole left by the drill. Lacquering was out of this world amazing, so I didn't want to drill the holes obviously and interrupt the lacquer.

Got in touch with Spike at Warmoth who suggested a bit of sandpaper around a dowel. Couldn't find any dowel suitable so used the chuck end of a 6mm drill bit and a few wraps of sandpaper (Pic 1.3). It took a while in a rotating motion to finally get the correct hole size, but now they're snug without being riskily tight, and the quality of the lacquering hasn't been compromised.

After much thought and consideration, I'm not brave enough to start drilling holes into my brand new (and perfect) Warmoth body and neck, so I'll be sending it all off to a Luthier to finish off. I'll update this thread when I get it back.


Total work the luthier will do is as follows:
Install loaded pickguard (wired by me earlier in this thread)
Install bridge and tremolo springs
Install neck to body
Install tuners to neck
Install input jack plate, strap buttons, trem cover, etc.
Fret level, dress and polish
Full setup to my preferences

Thanks for reading. If you have any questions about the ordering process, my experience with delivery and build, please ask me below!

Rhys

 

[stratamania]

That is quite normal to have to do tweaks like that to tuner holes. Another thing you can put sandpaper around is a biro or pencil.  You would not use a drill for this, but there are reamers available that are the tool of choice for this type of job.

 

[PhilHill]

An old machinist's trick is a wood or metal dowel that has been slotted down the center lengthwise deep enough for the size paper you want. The small end of a strip of sandpaper is placed in the slot and the rest wound around the dowel. This keeps the paper from turning on the dowel. If you want to turn it clockwise to sand, you wind the paper counterclockwise.

(Edit)  Stratamania is correct, the best way would be a reamer of the correct size. In this case, judging by the readout on your caliper, would be 10mm. It might be worth getting one if you plan to build more guitars in the future. Of course the size of the reamer depends on what tuners you choose, but there are not a great deal of different sizes among tuner brands.

 

[BigSteve22]

Another thing you can put sandpaper around is a biro or pencil....

My new word for the day~
Biro: A generic term (used outside the US) for ballpoint pens, in honor of their inventor, Ladislo Biro.
:glasses9:

 

[xParallax]

Hey all,

Apologies for my lack of activity, work got a bit hectic, but every cloud has a silver lining, I managed to take the parts to a luthier last week and got it back this weekend! I am in love - it's the best guitar I own by far, and the best guitar I've ever played! Just have a look at the photos below! Thank you to everyone who has helped me on the first time Warmoth journey! All I can say is it's worth every single penny to have done this and I'm so glad I invested in it the way I did, going all out on the options in the custom builders!

I know some of you guys don't like F logos on the Warmoth products, but with my F strap buttons, F locking tuners and F neck plate, I think it finishes the look off well, especially in that metallic gold style. I've payed homage to Warmoth with the turtle on the back of the headstock, and when people ask 'Is it a Fender?' I'll say 'No, it's much better than anything they could put out' - But there's just something about the spaghetti logo on the strat headstock I love, and personally, if I want a custom guitar to be totally perfect for me, it has to be there! I'm never going to sell this thing or claim it is a Fender, if I'm asked, it's always a Warmoth!

I think I'm going to enter it into Guitar of Month next month - I love it so much and hope that everyone here will too!

Thanks everyone!
Rhys

 

[PhilHill]

Very Nice, Congrats Man. :icon_thumright:

 

[rgand]

Looks good. Congrats.

 

[xParallax]

Looks good. Congrats.

Very Nice, Congrats Man. :icon_thumright:

Thanks both! Means a lot!

 

[pirate]

Great job! Looks fantastic! Congrats!

 

[BigSteve22]

Very nice, congrats and enjoy!  :icon_thumright:

 

[stratamania]

A very nice guitar indeed. Well done... ccasion14:

 

[Logrinn]

That’s beautiful. Stunning actually.

 

[Great Ape]

Indeed, that's a stunner! :icon_thumright:

 

[xParallax]

Very nice, congrats and enjoy!  :icon_thumright:

A very nice guitar indeed. Well done... ccasion14:

That’s beautiful. Stunning actually.

Indeed, that's a stunner! :icon_thumright:

Great job! Looks fantastic! Congrats!

Wow, all of this feedback is amazing! Thank you all very much! Was supposed to be doing a show on Saturday night and it was due to make its live debut, but it's been postponed now due to the pandemic!
One good (and risky) thing about the pandemic is we can all stay home all day using the Warmoth custom builders and making up another few hundred combinations for our next Warmoth builds! I'm totally hooked after how well this one turned out for my first one!

Most importantly, though, everybody stay safe in these uncertain times.

Thanks all,
Rhys

 

[stratamania]

Thank you Rhys, stay safe.

 

[Rick]

Stay healthy.  Use  common sense and we'll all be fine.