Tele Special (Tonarcaster)

[Mor Paul]

Telecaster/Les Paul Special inspired guitar
Locking Gotoh Tuners
Bone Nut
Birdseye Maple neck
-1 11/16" nut
-59 roundback
-7.5"radius
-Total Vintage
Mahogany body
-Tonar TV White finish
Grolsch Straplocks
Custom Roadhouse (TroubledTreble) Humbucker
Custom Roadhouse (TroubledTreble) T-90 pickup (tele/p90)
Custom-designed pickguard (4 ply)
Glendale Blackguard bridge
Glendale Twang-plus saddles
Mark Rutter Angled tele plate
Allparts black bell knobs
Countersunk ferrules
3-ply jack plate

And for the ladies...

 

[crash]

I like that finish!  How many teles is that for you now?

 

[Mor Paul]

That's 2, I've got an extra tele body at my house I should use.

 

[hannaugh]

Looks really cool.  Finally finished!

 

[Tonar8352]

It turned out great Max and there will never be another one like it. That guitar cured me of every wanting to do that finish again.  :laughing7:

I have been healed so now you can change its name from El Diablo:  :evil4:  to something nice like  :icon_scratch: I can't think of anything but you can.

 

[OzziePete]

FINALLY!   :blob7:  :blob7:  :blob7:

Congrats Max, good looking pix of the Tonarcaster.

Submitted any pix to the official Warmoth site for their Gallery?

 

[Paul-less]

It turned out great Max and there will never be another one like it. That guitar cured me of every wanting to do that finish again.  :laughing7:

I have been healed so now you can change its name from El Diablo:   :evil4:  to something nice like  :icon_scratch: I can't think of anything but you can.

What is the process for finishing a body like that?

Also, amazing tele. I want to get my hands on a tele so bad, but each time I try to spec one out on Warmoth's website, it comes up costing more than an equal Fender....

 

[OzziePete]

It turned out great Max and there will never be another one like it. That guitar cured me of every wanting to do that finish again.  :laughing7:

I have been healed so now you can change its name from El Diablo:   :evil4:  to something nice like  :icon_scratch: I can't think of anything but you can.

What is the process for finishing a body like that?

Also, amazing tele. I want to get my hands on a tele so bad, but each time I try to spec one out on Warmoth's website, it comes up costing more than an equal Fender....

Not if you compare it to a Fender Custom SHop Tele, which is what you are doing - customising a Tele. Do a good enough job assembling it and it will be top quality for sure....  :icon_thumright:

 

[Paul-less]

It turned out great Max and there will never be another one like it. That guitar cured me of every wanting to do that finish again.  :laughing7:

I have been healed so now you can change its name from El Diablo:   :evil4:  to something nice like  :icon_scratch: I can't think of anything but you can.

What is the process for finishing a body like that?

Also, amazing tele. I want to get my hands on a tele so bad, but each time I try to spec one out on Warmoth's website, it comes up costing more than an equal Fender....

Not if you compare it to a Fender Custom SHop Tele, which is what you are doing - customising a Tele. Do a good enough job assembling it and it will be top quality for sure....  :icon_thumright:

I was in the understanding that the Custom Shop doesn't actually make "Custom" instruments? Or at least, not to the general public.... Also, what I want is practically a stock tele.

 

[mgaut051]

:hello2:

 

[Tonar8352]

What is the process for finishing a body like that?

Here is a finishing schedule for this guitar finish on mahogany, which Max's is.
1. Shade the wood with 1 part white lacquer with 5 parts of well-thinned clear lacquer. Make sure that it is thin enough to soak into the wood grain and yet leaves the pours open.
2. The second wash coat is a tan made by mixing brown colorant in with the first white. It should look like a light chocolate milkshake color.
3. Fill it with past wood filler mixed with raw sienna colorant and a small amount of red colorant. I used Jasco oil base filler with UTC raw sienna colorant and a dab of color in oil red. This was thinned very heavily and brushed on like paint. After it flashed off it was wiped down with burlap. I let it set a couple of days and then filled it again with un-thinned filler and wiped it off with burlap.
4. Next it was shot with a couple of wash coats of clear lacquer and then got one more session of paste filler.
5. At this point it is a good idea to play a guitar through the loudest amp you can get your hands on, turn it up to 12 and take out your frustrations swearing never to grain fill a piece of mahogany again.
6. Finish it with several coats of conventional lacquer, which will yellow heavily as it ages; I used Val Spar on this.
7. Wet sand and rub it out and promise your self never to do another one like it.  :laughing7:

 

[OzziePete]

What is the process for finishing a body like that?

Here is a finishing schedule for this guitar finish on mahogany, which Max's is.
1. Shade the wood with 1 part white lacquer with 5 parts of well-thinned clear lacquer. Make sure that it is thin enough to soak into the wood grain and yet leaves the pours open.
2. The second wash coat is a tan made by mixing brown colorant in with the first white. It should look like a light chocolate milkshake color.
3. Fill it with past wood filler mixed with raw sienna colorant and a small amount of red colorant. I used Jasco oil base filler with UTC raw sienna colorant and a dab of color in oil red. This was thinned very heavily and brushed on like paint. After it flashed off it was wiped down with burlap. I let it set a couple of days and then filled it again with un-thinned filler and wiped it off with burlap.
4. Next it was shot with a couple of wash coats of clear lacquer and then got one more session of paste filler.
5. At this point it is a good idea to play a guitar through the loudest amp you can get your hands on, turn it up to 12 and take out your frustrations swearing never to grain fill a piece of mahogany again.
6. Finish it with several coats of conventional lacquer, which will yellow heavily as it ages; I used Val Spar on this.
7. Wet sand and rub it out and promise your self never to do another one like it.  :laughing7:

I don't think I can finish a guitar in this fashion. I only have an amp that goes to 10.  :laughing3:

 

[m4rk0]

Love the guitar, hate the dog!!!

 

[OzziePete]

It turned out great Max and there will never be another one like it. That guitar cured me of every wanting to do that finish again.  :laughing7:

I have been healed so now you can change its name from El Diablo:   :evil4:  to something nice like  :icon_scratch: I can't think of anything but you can.

What is the process for finishing a body like that?

Also, amazing tele. I want to get my hands on a tele so bad, but each time I try to spec one out on Warmoth's website, it comes up costing more than an equal Fender....

Not if you compare it to a Fender Custom SHop Tele, which is what you are doing - customising a Tele. Do a good enough job assembling it and it will be top quality for sure....  :icon_thumright:

I was in the understanding that the Custom Shop doesn't actually make "Custom" instruments? Or at least, not to the general public.... Also, what I want is practically a stock tele.

Last time I checked, and that WAS a while ago, you could go to a Fender Custom Shop - authorised retailer and request a quote for your custom build.

 

[bigguspickus]

It turned out great Max and there will never be another one like it. That guitar cured me of every wanting to do that finish again.  :laughing7:

I have been healed so now you can change its name from El Diablo:   :evil4:  to something nice like  :icon_scratch: I can't think of anything but you can.

What is the process for finishing a body like that?

Also, amazing tele. I want to get my hands on a tele so bad, but each time I try to spec one out on Warmoth's website, it comes up costing more than an equal Fender....

Not if you compare it to a Fender Custom SHop Tele, which is what you are doing - customising a Tele. Do a good enough job assembling it and it will be top quality for sure....  :icon_thumright:

I was in the understanding that the Custom Shop doesn't actually make "Custom" instruments? Or at least, not to the general public.... Also, what I want is practically a stock tele.

Last time I checked, and that WAS a while ago, you could go to a Fender Custom Shop - authorised retailer and request a quote for your custom build.

You still can. http://www.fendercustomshop.com/index.php/master-built/ It's expensive though.

Nice Tele-Paul Special, Max. :icon_thumright:

 

[Paul-less]

What is the process for finishing a body like that?

Here is a finishing schedule for this guitar finish on mahogany, which Max's is.
1. Shade the wood with 1 part white lacquer with 5 parts of well-thinned clear lacquer. Make sure that it is thin enough to soak into the wood grain and yet leaves the pours open.
2. The second wash coat is a tan made by mixing brown colorant in with the first white. It should look like a light chocolate milkshake color.
3. Fill it with past wood filler mixed with raw sienna colorant and a small amount of red colorant. I used Jasco oil base filler with UTC raw sienna colorant and a dab of color in oil red. This was thinned very heavily and brushed on like paint. After it flashed off it was wiped down with burlap. I let it set a couple of days and then filled it again with un-thinned filler and wiped it off with burlap.
4. Next it was shot with a couple of wash coats of clear lacquer and then got one more session of paste filler.
5. At this point it is a good idea to play a guitar through the loudest amp you can get your hands on, turn it up to 12 and take out your frustrations swearing never to grain fill a piece of mahogany again.
6. Finish it with several coats of conventional lacquer, which will yellow heavily as it ages; I used Val Spar on this.
7. Wet sand and rub it out and promise your self never to do another one like it.  :laughing7:

So, does going PAST 11 affect the finish? Vibrates it into a more compact, smoother finish? How fast after finishing Step 4 must Step 6 be started? How close must the body be?

In all seriousness, I thought I might do that finish, until I saw the steps. Now I'm happy with my solid colors and stains....

 

[Tonar8352]

It takes two day to get 8 thin coats of clear on after the grain is filled and level. I do 4 coats a day and then let it hang two weeks before I wet sand and rub it out.

 

[Jack Michaelson]

Oh my...

That guitar is...

So sweet!

 

[Steve_Karl]

Nice guitar and excellent photography!

 

[Mor Paul]

Thanks, guys! I appreciate the comments.