Tele for my friend...

[mistermikev]

so, have a long time friend has asked a few times if I'd build him something and so here we are. He wants a tele that will twang.

so this is what I came up with...

will be a thinline tele... with a 'bell shaped' drop top. basically a transition between a 16" and 24" radius.

this was the initial concept drawing... but it's changed since then...

the actual top I resawed for him initially... (wood porn!)

but then I re-sawed this one thinking I'd use for a prototype... and he liked it better

want to push my skills afa I can always, so thought "why not a bookmatched fretboard?"

did up this mockup for my prototype and it's the one that pushed him to want this top instead... and to change his color scheme...

here's how I join boards for a bookmatch...

I kept messing with the design even after I showed him cause I was showing him ideas for my prototype (or practice run if you will)... and that led him to want a burst... so revised mockup...

 

[mistermikev]

bought some lovely turquoise recon stone... sliced it up and now my garage looks like an episode of breaking bad... also my bugars are blue (even tho I wore respirator)...

chose some nice chunks of birdseye for neck blanks from my stash... out of curiosity... which blank would you choose (between the following two) and why? (if you care)

and with a little learning... got some fretboards done:

anywho... all for now and thanks for looking!!

 

[Groovey]

Holy crap! Me too, me too please.

 

[mistermikev]

Holy crap! Me too, me too please.

hehe flattered.

 

[Groovey]

hehe flattered.

I'm a sucker for wood porn.

 

[axejock]

WOW! I am truly impressed! I'll take one too!

 

[mistermikev]

I'm a sucker for wood porn.

He me to woodpoint always a popular one with the guitar crowd!

 

[mistermikev]

WOW! I am truly impressed! I'll take one too!

Key I'm blushing thank you so much for saying so . That's 2 orders of supersized tally with extra cheese correct?

 

[Bowmap]

I have a nice piece of ziricote floating around here that I made one fret board from. I so do love slicing wood open to see what's on the inside. My wheels is a turning.

About your question on which hunk of birdseye, I would use the 2nd hunk that looks to have more flame for the neck. The piece with more eyes is fret board material in my opinion.

Are you routing the fret board via template or are you CNC capable?

I used to make pens out of a material called true-stone. Dulled the crap out of my chisels but gorgeous when polished. As always I will be looking over your shoulder here. Excited to see how this turns out.

 

[myredstrat]

WOW!
most impressive, I hope your friend REALLY appreciates it.
I'd let you build me a guitar any day. (if I wasn't married)

 

[mistermikev]

I have a nice piece of ziricote floating around here that I made one fret board from. I so do love slicing wood open to see what's on the inside. My wheels is a turning.

About your question on which hunk of birdseye, I would use the 2nd hunk that looks to have more flame for the neck. The piece with more eyes is fret board material in my opinion.

Are you routing the fret board via template or are you CNC capable?

hehe, maybe I'm starting a bookmatched fretboard trend? Sure is a lot more work that way but... I thought it'd be unique to use the sm wood for the top, fretboard, and headstock overlay and have it bookmatched all the way down.

so birdseye... not sure how well it comes across... but that second birdseye piece - while not as pretty as the first in terms of 'lots of eyes'... has absolutely optimal grain. very tight, zero runout. that thing is going to make the most stable neck ever... in theory. would be my choice too. I have a feeling my friend is going to pick #1 at which point I'll feel obliged to tell him what I think... and then hope he still goes with the first one!! honestly, both are good stable chunks of birdseye. the factory flat on them was so straight and flat it made me dizzy... so can't hardly go wrong.

cnc... well I got a cnc in november... and have been figuring it out as I go. had some mechanical issues that stopped me flat for about a month... but I've already done one bass body and now these fretboards. before I got the cnc I had planned to make a modified version of the jig I used to do guitar tops... and use it to do compound radius fretboards... but fate stepped in... was not w/o it's challenges tho!!I kept running into my nylon mounting bolts and sending them flying across the room. was pretty funny if it hadn't been so annoying.

here's that bass:

 

[Bowmap]

Holy crap! What ever you are making there looks so organic, free flowing body.

Sorry, we are talking about the CNC. I have been looking at them for the past several years. My big green box has been eating up funding like a grade school kid with twinkies. Obviously in that picture that opens up so much more creativty in design. Congrats on the kewl tool. And I can already see the tele build f holes will be putting your binding skills on display again.

I just thought of this, CNC is going to make your circuit boards easier and consistent.

 

[mistermikev]

Holy crap! What ever you are making there looks so organic, free flowing body.

Sorry, we are talking about the CNC. I have been looking at them for the past several years. My big green box has been eating up funding like a grade school kid with twinkies. Obviously in that picture that opens up so much more creativty in design. Congrats on the kewl tool. And I can already see the tele build f holes will be putting your binding skills on display again.

I just thought of this, CNC is going to make your circuit boards easier and consistent.

right on... well... I can tell you that the challenges I thought it would hold were not exactly what I got! I went the cheaper route on the machine cause I figured i'd cut my teeth and learn... and boy did I learn! cheap was $1400 for the machine, 2k in software, plus all sorts of extras. the first month I spent figuring out why it would cut a body like that perfect... cut could not cut a neck pocket without wandering off coarse. Turns out I needed some mech troubleshooting skills. will a little help from my friends we zeroed ever closer to the problem... then on a whim I swapped out one of the driver boards for the A axis (I only use 3 axis) and voilla. but that was a rough month. now I realize the electronics on this thing are kind of crap and I need to really spend another $1500 to get something that will be faster and w/o issues long term. So now you have the benefit of what I learned!

green box?

the bass is based on the carl thompson stuff... so I can't take all that much credit but it's def "my take" on that. radius top/back and massaged the profile and all the carves. when I started that project I didn't have cnc... and thought building a bridge from wood would be too hard... but now figure I can't in good conscience build that without making my own piezo bridge... so a big diversion as I figure out how I'm going to do that. then my friend asked me about building him a tele... so we got farther off coarse... but I WILL right this ship!

circuit boards... well so I'm told. that was half the reason I got it - so I wouldn't have to drill goll darn circuit board holes anymore. but we're a ways off on that. Lots to learn about it yet. I gather that a lot of people use different special software to do circuits and I know nothing about that for now. Fortunately I have a big bin of circuit boards I've done previously so... should hold me while I figure some things out!!

binding... well... this one is going to have natural binding... cause I gotta keep reaching up (have never done that). I'll tell you tho... cutting that hole via cnc is sure going to be a lot easier!!

 

[Believer7713]

Wow!!! That's gorgeous work. One day I will have a CNC too. But for now I am just tooling up to work by hand. I do plan to have my first couple builds done this year though.

 

[axejock]

Key I'm blushing thank you so much for saying so . That's 2 orders of supersized tally with extra cheese correct?

Is it possible to get fries with that?

 

[Guitarchaeologist]

I'm a sucker for wood porn.

Seems an appropriate place to insert... "Thats' what she said"

 

[mistermikev]

Wow!!! That's gorgeous work. One day I will have a CNC too. But for now I am just tooling up to work by hand. I do plan to have my first couple builds done this year though.

honestly wasn't even on my radar... I pretty much build something different every time I build... and cnc is doing anything but making it faster... but my hope is it is an enhancement! I honestly think that the skills I developed doing everything w/o cnc continue to be crutial to success w cnc. Modeling the radius top for this build def drew upon my experience building a radius top by hand... and at the same time it's like I'm learning to build all over again! Anywho, don't ever rush, but looking fwd to seeing your build pics.

Is it possible to get fries with that?

if you call the 800 number right now, and are one of the first 500 callers... we'll include a deluxe bag of "big pimpin" with your order -FREE of charge!

Seems an appropriate place to insert... "Thats' what she said"

good old fashioned wholesome wood porn... prob keeps us all out of trouble some.

 

[Bowmap]

green box?

My new garage/shop/office/music room was sheathed in ZIP Systems sheathing. For several months it looked like a big green box. Zip systems sheathing has a green water tight air tight coating on OSB.

 

[mistermikev]

My new garage/shop/office/music room was sheathed in ZIP Systems sheathing. For several months it looked like a big green box. Zip systems sheathing has a green water tight air tight coating on OSB.

noice... had all these crazy ideas in my head of what "the green box" could be!

 

[Chicago Matt]

You're an artist!