Let's build a Tele....well, almost...

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Originally Posted by Jim Tobias

John,
What do you use to cut/nip your frets so close?

Jim

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Depending on my mood, either large flush cut nippers or large diagonal cutters. The trick is that the backs are ground right up to the cutting edge so you can get get very close to the fingerboard when you're nipping. I used to just make them myself from hardware store cutters, but now I just buy them.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting...et_Cutter.html

http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdpro...r+Fret+Cutters

and now you can get some from FastCap too. I've never tried them so I don't know how durable they are. The LMII ones (the "economy" ones...SPE) are just modified Channel Lock cutters. The cutters themsevles cost around $20.00, so $28 for pre modified ones is a good deal and there's no reason to make them myself anymore. They now have a "professional" cutter. I'm not sure what that is...it's a new product. It must have much harder jaws and works well on Stainless Steel. SS will destroy your tools in just a few sessions of fretting.

Now, of course grinding the backs and removing all that metal makes the edge less durable, so I have another set of unmodified Channel Lock diagonal cutters here that I use to cut the fretwire to size. I suspect the unmodified set in this role will last me many years and it cuts the wear on the more delicate cutters in half. When they get too dull to use, you can slightly blunt the edge and use it as a gripper to wiggle nuts loose, or in the case of really stubborn nuts you saw a kerf down the center and then use the blunt pliers to crush the nut, and remove it that way.

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Originally Posted by John Coloccia

They now have a "professional" cutter. I'm not sure what that is...it's a new product. It must have much harder jaws and works well on Stainless Steel. SS will destroy your tools in just a few sessions of fretting.

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If they are hardened as hard as the klein side cutters that they specify for cutting steel, they'd be worth the price difference. I don't know if they're fully hardened or just case hardened. I have a pair of 6 year-old side cutters hardened for steel that I've abused and they're still in pretty good shape, but I would think that like anything else, they'll not last forever cutting stainless steel, just several times longer. At the time I got the hardened kleins, the regular side cutters were $25 and the hardened side cutters were $28. It wasn't a difficult decision.

I'll bet I ruined every pair of side cutters my dad had gradually putting dings in the edges from cutting guitar strings as a kid. Ruined being my term, my dad will use a tool until it falls apart, so if it gets a few warts on it, he doesn't care. they all look terrible now, though.

In the end, I really disliked the neck I had made for it. I decided to use my "standard" neck on this one and retired the more traditional design. I thought it would look weird at first, but the first time I mounted it, I was convinced it was absolutely right and that there is no reason to use anything but my standard neck and headstock. I also didn't like how I carved that original neck. I tried a few different things that didn't work out...which is fine because that's what quicky prototypes like this are for. I made the neck rather thin...I used a very short heal....I thinned the fingerboard a bit. I ended up with a neck that has more flex than I like, and I really didn't like the feel of the smaller neck anyhow. If I do anything like that again, I will embed carbon fiber the entire length of the neck. The headstock really started to annoy me too. Sometimes designs grow on you...and sometimes they fester.

Anyhow, I had ended up setting this aside because I was just really unhappy with that neck, I knew it was wrong, and I didn't really have time to fiddle with it. The new neck really brought it alive, now I'm satisfied that it's not a pile of cow manure and most importantly it feels like "me".

So here it is:

Attachment 236240


Body is alder with flamed maple cap. Neck is mahogany with a Pau Ferro fingerboard. I'm happy with the finish...it's a straight amber with a moderately flamed top. Nothing fancy but it works. Pickups are Joe Barden. Bridge is a Modern T, and the neck is an HB Two Tone. The Two Tone is setup with a real coil tap, so this setup is dead quiet in every position. Standard push/pull on the tone to activate the neck coil tap. Push/Pull has no effect on the bridge pickup. Bridge is a Gotoh.

Attachment 236235


Here's the back carving detail. I used flush mount string ferrules. I build these things to be practical. I hate things sticking out the back that scratch up everything you lay it on. Sometimes it's unavoidable, but in this case it's not :)
Attachment 236236


Here's the carving and relief around the heel area. It's amazing what just a little contouring will do to the feel of the guitar. Between the deeper cutaway and this bit of carving, that whole area practically disappears under your hand when you're playing. You can also see the neck screw inserts. Again, I really dislike have a big, metal plate there. Not only does it scratch things up, but it makes it impossible to carve this area.
Attachment 236237


The back of the headstock has a walnut backstrap. I generally backstrap all of my scarf jointed necks. It not only coves the ugly discontinuity right at the scarf, but it reinforces that area as well. It looks nice too.

Attachment 236238


Here's my standard headstock. Very simple and clean...slightly asymmetrical. The veneer is cocobolo. I have a guy out in Pennsylvania that CNC's the truss rod covers for me with my logo inlayed.

www.customluthier.com

This guy's work is far better than I can do by hand in any reasonable amount of time. I'll also say that every dealing I've had with him has been very pleasant and professional.
Attachment 236239


So there it is...definitely one of those cases where the last 5% took the other 95% of the time, but before I posted back I needed to be happy with it.

John,

Very nice! I have to agree with you on the necks. The first one felt "off" to me. It wasn't the traditional headstock, yet it wasn't different enough to look "right."Your craftsmanship is superb. I think the first one would have worked better aesthetically, if the body was more traditional tele.

I love the back carve and heel countours. As to your comments about the neck flex, do you think that is primarily from the neck wood, the truss rod or the carve? I tend to like thin necks for my guitar, though I think sometimes is dependent upon how "low" I hang the guitar and whether I finger pick or use a plectum.

Just out of curiousity, with the effort to recess the neck/body screws and the rear string ferules, you didn't recess the output jack. Do you find the jack cups undesireable?

Again beatiful work!

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Originally Posted by Shawn Pixley

John,

Very nice! I have to agree with you on the necks. The first one felt "off" to me. It wasn't the traditional headstock, yet it wasn't different enough to look "right."Your craftsmanship is superb. I think the first one would have worked better aesthetically, if the body was more traditional tele.

I love the back carve and heel countours. As to your comments about the neck flex, do you think that is primarily from the neck wood, the truss rod or the carve? I tend to like thin necks for my guitar, though I think sometimes is dependent upon how "low" I hang the guitar and whether I finger pick or use a plectum.

Just out of curiousity, with the effort to recess the neck/body screws and the rear string ferules, you didn't recess the output jack. Do you find the jack cups undesireable?

Again beatiful work!

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Thank you for the kind words, Shawn. Getting the back and heel contours to come out like that does take a bit of work. It's easy to get them rounded and looking kind of unfinished. I really concentrate on maintaining straight lines when I do it, and then only soften the edges later. It takes me a long time because I'm not very efficient at it yet. I even use layout lines to guide me, and I really hate using layout lines, but I find it's too difficult to do it free hand at this time. Maybe one day :)

re: neck wonkiness
Well, I think it's a combination of things. The neck was really thin...I forget how thin, but it was much thinner than I normally make it. It also wasn't tapered like I normally taper it. It was a much flatter all around. Really, it does need to get bigger as it approaches the heel or you end up with a long lever and a point near the heal where it just wants to flex, instead of spreading out the flex over the long neck. That was something I didn't fully appreciate until that neck. It wasn't as wide as I normally make them, either. I was just trying something new. I think it would have done better as a laminated neck, and it would have maybe done better as a maple neck (though maple introduces it's own problems, namely with stability...millions of guitars have been made with maple necks, though!).

re: the jack cup

You know, i have some cups here that I was going to use. What I would never use is the traditional, Tele jack with the wedged in clip. I don't know what Leo was drinking that day, but that's a Rube Goldberg setup if I ever saw one. I have a nice one here, though. Electrosocket, maybe? In the end, I just didn't like the look. I think it felt to me like that recessed jack, though sleek and simple, was "over engineered" for the purpose. It almost felt like it would take away from the simple aesthetics of the guitar, even though it is a sleeker design. I like sleek, modern homes, but I also like seeing some exposed beams. To me it just makes it seem warmer and more inviting...maybe even more "solid", if that makes any sense. Maybe "industrial" is the right word. The other reason, though this isn't major, is depending on the plug you use, some plugs will have large cases, or other protrusions, that make it difficult to plug into a recessed jack. I've occasionally run into that, and though I don't know that's a problem with the Electrosocket, it's another one of those things where it's just over-engineered with an unnecessary feature that could potentially get in the way. I also don't really like that you thread the jack into the socket. That limits you on your choice of jacks. No problem for this guitar, because it fits a switchcraft jack. What if someone wants to fit an LR Baggs piezo in there? You have to use their stereo jack. What's the thread? I don't know either. :)

Wow!
Amazing thread to watch you build your guitar!
Thanks

Thanks for sharing, John. Makes me itch to get back to building instruments. I've had a baritone on the back burner forever now, it seems. The band breaking up kind of kicked that stuff to the back of the build list.

Just stumbled upon this thread, and haven't had time to read the last page or so, but what size drawknife are you using? I've been meaning to pick one up for ages - I learned long ago that edge tools make the neck roughing a lot faster than raspy tools, but I'd like something a little easier than my favorite big chisel for those steps. . .

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Originally Posted by Joshua Pierce

Thanks for sharing, John. Makes me itch to get back to building instruments. I've had a baritone on the back burner forever now, it seems. The band breaking up kind of kicked that stuff to the back of the build list.

Just stumbled upon this thread, and haven't had time to read the last page or so, but what size drawknife are you using? I've been meaning to pick one up for ages - I learned long ago that edge tools make the neck roughing a lot faster than raspy tools, but I'd like something a little easier than my favorite big chisel for those steps. . .

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I'm using this knife:

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/200...drawknife.aspx

Seems to be the perfect size for luthier kinds of things. It's really great if you have some layout lines. You can remove a LOT of material very quickly. I haven't really used it like that, but I will on the next neck. I have to start getting faster, and I think the way is to start using layout lines, wasting a lot with the bandsaw, and then using more lines and wasting in between with the draw knife. Then hit it with rasps and sanding blocks. Fast and accurate.

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to watching some video of my new favorite sport....Australian hurdling.

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Originally Posted by John Coloccia

I'm using this knife:

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/200...drawknife.aspx

Seems to be the perfect size for luthier kinds of things. It's really great if you have some layout lines. You can remove a LOT of material very quickly. I haven't really used it like that, but I will on the next neck. I have to start getting faster, and I think the way is to start using layout lines, wasting a lot with the bandsaw, and then using more lines and wasting in between with the draw knife. Then hit it with rasps and sanding blocks. Fast and accurate.

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to watching some video of my new favorite sport....Australian hurdling.

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I've used the same draw knife as John for 20 years now. In addition to this drawknife I have two Frost knives (available at LV 2.5" and 3"). To carve a neck quickly I have made up templates of the neck profile at the nut and at the heel neck transition and of the heel as well as at the 3rd, 7th fret positions.

I lay out the heel profile and use the Frost knives 2.5"er is my fave, to shape outside the line by .125". I then go to the nut and break it out by eye. Freehand I run lines down from the heel to the nut and the drawknife quickly hogs off to the lines. More templates to see that all is moving in the right direction and I carry on with spokehaves and knives. Good now? On to the patternmakers rasps and double cut files. Sanpaper to fair the playing surface of the neck - pulled across the neck - Low E to High E nut to heel. Very careful sanding at the nut and heel transitions because it is all too easy to follow the grain and make a mess. I prefer files until 180 grit is required. Grab the neck and feel for lumpy or chubby problems and I'm done. I most often carve a neck for a custom instrument with the client right there to tweak as the customer sees fit.

John,a great presentation on building a guitar. Your shop is MUCH more organized than mine!! I just have too much stuff,trying to cram a full machine shop as well as a wood shop into the same space,PLUS,I'm a metal and wood pig!! Way too much of both,especially at my creaky age.

Thanks, George. My shop was exceptionally neat at that time. I promise, it's a bit messier right now....back to normal, in other words.

I'm catching up with you. You just have a little head start with your tool collection, that's all :)