First and second build (At the same time)

Chocklit_Thunda

Hey this is my first build and I'm doing 2 guitars at once (I don't know why.... :sorry: )

I REGRET NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!! ? ? ?

Anyway I'm building a 335 style hollowbody (Maple and mahogany) and a Pine Telecaster (Maple neck, rosewood fretboard)

Anyway here's the story so far.... I started with the 335, cut and shaped the mahogany by hand because my router couldn't manage the hardness of the wood... and still waiting on some birdseye maple for the top and bottom
the router is a Triton 1400W plunge router... It should have been able to do the job but the moment it touched the mahogany the bit would slam the wood causing massive chip outs and kick the wood away rather violently so i shaped using a belt and disc sander and finished it by hand.
(Any advice here would be great) ?

And as for the Tele, after the router destroyed the edge of the mahogany, almost taking my hand with it, my uncle had a bit of a fit about routing the inside of the mahogany (the hollow wings) and wanted me to abandon the project because I'm not experienced etc etc.... Naturally stubborn as I am I said no and said I'd build a solid body first out of a softer wood to show him that the router/bit is the problem and not me. I spent all of today shaping the body and hopefully tomorrow I can have the pickup routs done ?

As for pics heres the progress (In chronological order) so far.....

335

The 2 piece mahogany body being joined

The body shape of the 335

The paper template to be transferred to a wooden one (Yes the three pickups are happening! ? '57 classic neck, P94 middle and Burstbucker 3 bridge ? )

Fastforward in time and here's the body ?

Tele

Pine being joined

My Dad routing the template (they still don't trust me.......)

rough cut

Smooth 8)

My super awesome powers of grain matching ? That's the bottom

All my hard work these past 2 days

converting a 2 wire to 4 wire pickup ? Mad skills! The Zebra BB3 was a mistake though.....

And thats what I got so far ? I'll try to keep you guys posted on the progress

guidothepimmp

Good stuff choc, looking great..

Surprised by how light that mahogany looked.. How heavy is that sucker or are you going to rout out cavities still?

Well done

That router table is giving me tool gas..

Chocklit_Thunda

guidothepimmp wrote: Good stuff choc, looking great..

Surprised by how light that mahogany looked.. How heavy is that sucker or are you going to rout out cavities still?

Well done

That router table is giving me tool gas..

Thanks ?
That mahogany it's African mahogany that's been planed and sanded down but it is still quite light in colour :-\
As for weight that mahogany is like holding a small child ? I'm going to have to rout out the sides and leave them completely hollow to compensate for the weight of the maple caps too. I'll just have to do it millimetre by millimetre so the router can handle the hardness

As for the router table, my dad bought out an entire Triton workshop that was closing down ??? He's an avid triton fan ad I can see why ? most of the tools have accessories that you can buy and use on more than one machine so everything is interchangeable. It really helps that he also has a passion for woodworking ?

Wizard

Enormously exciting !!

guidothepimmp wrote: That router table is giving me tool gas..

Me too ...

Chocklit_Thunda

Quick question.... What's the ideal depth for a Tele pickup cavity??

Neon-Gecko

I dunno if there is an ideal depth as such, but we rout ours out to a depth of 12.5 mm. I suppose ultimately you want to make sure that your chosen pups will fit at the end of the day...

Chocklit_Thunda

Oh snap..... I went over that to about 17/19ish mm..... Are the pickups attached to the pickguard and adjustable from there?

I regret something..... ☹ ☹ ☹

guidothepimmp

I dunno about teles but i rout my pup cavities to 15mm

guidothepimmp

My first build i went to 2cm. No big deal.

Pups mounted on the pickguard are adjusted from there. If you want to direct mount the pups to the body, just use long screws.

But you're ok with the pickguard

Chocklit_Thunda

Thanks guys ?
Hopefully it isnt a train smash :-\ If they are mounted from the pickguard then the depth shouldn't affect them.

I'll Just upload the picks to photobucket and then post my progress for today ?

Edit: Today was all about routing the body... Spent most of the day working up jigs to rout with... Still working on one for the neck...
(If anyone has an existing one they would let me borrow that would be great ? )
Here are the pics.

That weird skunk stripe going through the back (I kinda like it)

Sanding

right after sanding the top and bottom

Work done for tonight ?

Chip out from the router... Going to fill that with pine dust and wood glue...

As far as this body goes, she's almost done... Once the neck pocket is routed there's nothing much I can do while I wait for Parts from the great blue yonder.....
As for the 335 im still waiting on maple and a new router bit for the hollows (all the parts for that are here)

@NeonGecko When it comes to finishing, could I use clear sanding sealer instead of a grain filler?
If yes how would I go about applying it? Mix in thinners and spray it on or brush? (or just pour the tin on and hope for the best ?)

paw2005

Looking good chock! " two at a time....." ? brave man! Still have to post a few of my "in build" pics ..... in a few days time, in UK at moment, but shortly ? also, check "Calaghan Guitars" on f/b a mate of mine...

guidothepimmp

I'm not gecko but

I used anding sealer to finish my build.. came out great, i just sponged on a few coats letting them dry between applications.

For a smooth glassy finish, wet sand with a1500 and 2000, then polish.

I didn't even bother with sanding because the finish was exactly what i was going for

Neon-Gecko

Sanding sealer will work fine, I just don't use it because most sanding sealers are nitro based and tends to shrink over time, which in turn can ruin your finish by having the grain pattern "pop through" to the painted surface. I think you'd be okay on the pine though, as it is nowhere near as porous as mahogany or ash for instance. I'd still leave the sealer a minimum of a week between sanding and applying the next coat to allow the sealer to get most of the shrinking out of the way through the solvents venting.

For the first two applications I'd use a brush as opposed to a spray gun to really work the sealer into the pores, after that I say one more "insurance application" just to be sure before going onto you final finishing in the paint of your choice.

peterleroux

Looking good! ?

Over at TDPRI there are cad drawings/PDFsof a Tele body that should give you a good idea of neck route options. I'm the kind of overly cautious person who'd wait until the neck for this body is in hand before routing it out, to make sure the width and depth are right.

deebee

choc, when routing, start off by having a depth of only 2 mm on the router blade. You have far more control, then increase by only 5 mm at the most each time. It's asking for trouble to have too much depth on the blade. also, when gluing and cutting the body out, i move the cut to a position where i do not have a join on the neck join, the neck goes on to one solid piece. Also, keep the left over from the cut, it can be used as a jig when you need to fiddle on the body. My axes that i've made i sprayed with poly urethane mixed with thinners, NOT turps. A few very light coats over time and you can just give it a polish when you are done and dusted

Neon-Gecko

The golden rule when plunge routing is to never exceed the diameter of the router bit in depth in one pass.

I play it even safer though, so if for example I use a 6 mm diameter bit, I'd set the plunge on the router at at 4 mm and make a few passes to get to the depth I require.

Chocklit_Thunda

peterleroux wrote: Looking good! ?

Over at TDPRI there are cad drawings/PDFsof a Tele body that should give you a good idea of neck route options. I'm the kind of overly cautious person who'd wait until the neck for this body is in hand before routing it out, to make sure the width and depth are right.

Yeah I downloaded a whole zip folder of scale guitar plans so I have the sizes and stuff but I do agree with you in waiting for the neck to arrive for perfect depth ?

Neon Gecko wrote: The golden rule when plunge routing is to never exceed the diameter of the router bit in depth in one pass.

I play it even safer though, so if for example I use a 6 mm diameter bit, I'd set the plunge on the router at at 4 mm and make a few passes to get to the depth I require.

deebee wrote: choc, when routing, start off by having a depth of only 2 mm on the router blade. You have far more control, then increase by only 5 mm at the most each time. It's asking for trouble to have too much depth on the blade. also, when gluing and cutting the body out, i move the cut to a position where i do not have a join on the neck join, the neck goes on to one solid piece. Also, keep the left over from the cut, it can be used as a jig when you need to fiddle on the body. My axes that i've made i sprayed with poly urethane mixed with thinners, NOT turps. A few very light coats over time and you can just give it a polish when you are done and dusted

Yeah for the cavities I did it this exact way ? I went down a few mm at a time and did each in about 3 or 4 passes. The problem was with a 38mm router bit I use to shape the body... The moment it touches the mahogany it destroys the wood like a bull in a china shop ☹

Neon Gecko wrote: Sanding sealer will work fine, I just don't use it because most sanding sealers are nitro based and tends to shrink over time, which in turn can ruin your finish by having the grain pattern "pop through" to the painted surface. I think you'd be okay on the pine though, as it is nowhere near as porous as mahogany or ash for instance. I'd still leave the sealer a minimum of a week between sanding and applying the next coat to allow the sealer to get most of the shrinking out of the way through the solvents venting.

For the first two applications I'd use a brush as opposed to a spray gun to really work the sealer into the pores, after that I say one more "insurance application" just to be sure before going onto you final finishing in the paint of your choice.

guidothepimmp wrote: I'm not gecko but

I used anding sealer to finish my build.. came out great, i just sponged on a few coats letting them dry between applications.

For a smooth glassy finish, wet sand with a1500 and 2000, then polish.

I didn't even bother with sanding because the finish was exactly what i was going for

Great guys thanks ? this is perfect because my dad has tins of sanding sealer so I don't have to go and buy tiny little tubs of grain filler (costing him even more money ??? )

Will the sealer work if I want to use a poly topcoat though? Or as gecko said, since they're nitro based, will I cause a cataclysmic rupture in the space time continuum by using a poly coat on a nitro sealer? ?

Neon-Gecko

Mmm, not too sure about the compatibility of the two paints, so when in doubt find out.

For an adhesion tests I normally do the entire finishing process on a scrap of remaining timber. After the final coat has cured, score the surface using a sharp craft knife in a 10 mm grid pattern. Then take a strip of duct tape, or similar high-tack tape and apply it to the scored surface, then yank it off. If the finish comes off with the tape 'tis time to rethink your finishing strategy, if not you're safe. ?

Chocklit_Thunda

Neon Gecko wrote: Mmm, not too sure about the compatibility of the two paints, so when in doubt find out.

For an adhesion tests I normally do the entire finishing process on a scrap of remaining timber. After the final coat has cured, score the surface using a sharp craft knife in a 10 mm grid pattern. Then take a strip of duct tape, or similar high-tack tape and apply it to the scored surface, then yank it off. If the finish comes off with the tape 'tis time to rethink your finishing strategy, if not you're safe. ?

Ah thanks ? brilliant advice! Ill try it out as soon as I can ? of you don't mind me asking, where do you source your finishing supplies? I see you are based in Kempton, I work there so do you source your finishes from around the area?

deebee

A 38mm router bit is just a tad large, i'd go waaaay smaller. If you used it rout out the body it's safer and easier to use a jig saw. Just leave some room for error 2mm or so, and then sand the rest.