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I didn't get many pics today, sorry. I left my camera at home, so all I had was my cell phone.

Anyway, I picked out my boards and got them jointed and glued together. I've changed from the douglas fir to the reclaimed red pine I found. These boards are gonna be sweet with the relic'd look.

Jointing the edges


All glued up



And we got the pattern glued onto our template material. He's got a friend with a really nice saw, so he'll have them cut out for next weekend. Then we can start cutting out the bodies


Not as much progress as I'd hoped, but we're getting there

LOve it - everything about it spells madness and where do I sign up? Keep it going man!

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

Hehe, thanks man. If anyone knows madness, it's you. That beast you're tackling is pretty danged impressive, especially for a first effort

I've decided on my headstock logo. This is the name I use for my recording studio, so I thought I'd just carry the moniker over to my guitar as well

I got a little more work done today. First up was the jack plate



Got it laid out and then to work with the tin snips



Then after the bench grinder, it looks like this. Just needs holes drilled, and it's done



After that, I wanted to work a little more on the bridge. First I needed to cut the flange off the second side



Next, the secondary piece of metal was worrying me, so I got rid of it. I didn't realize there would be no paint underneath it, but that's ok. It's done now



Then I worked on making sure the back side was flat and as square as I could get it.




The bridge still needs a lot of shaping (cut to size, drill holes, cut out area for pickup, etc), but it's getting there.

"Thank you sir, may I have another!" LOL

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

So my neighbor is also a bit of a tinkerer and works at a place that manufactures builders supplies/tools. We had a joint garage sale today, and he had some bins full of brand new tools, some of which were nice, metal yardsticks. I picked one up to tell him what I had planned for it, and he goes into the garage and gets me this-- a nice piece of 2mm thick aluminum.



I'll cut some slots in to fit over the frets, and I'll have a great tool to make sure my neck is level when I do fret levels

Combine that with the granite that my home-builder friend is having polished up for me, and I'm going to be a fret-leveling machine... oh yeah, as soon as I really figure out how to do it hehe. There's a great tutorial over at TDPRI, and I'll be searching the tutorial section here as well.

Instead of using a bench grinder to make your hardware a belt sander or disc sander would be safer.
I have an Electro-mech combo disc/belt sander that has served me safely for over 30 years.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Ok, since I couldn't do any work on the actual guitar today, I figured I'd work on some things that I'll need later. I got this from my same neighbor who works for the building supplies manufacturer.



Cut it down to a more useable size with my trusty hacksaw



Cut some slots that correspond to frets-- again using my hacksaw. I've used that tool more than anything else up to this point, I think.



File the slots into v-grooves using a file I found while cleaning out my dad's old toolbox today. It's not exactly pretty...



But it works great. This is my new neck bow gauge for use when I do my fret level.

I've made some significant progress after so long. I've just kind of given up on waiting for my buddy to get some time, so I've just started heading over to his shop when I get the time. Luckily he trusts me and doesn't mind :friend:

I had to go pick up a top bearing bit today


I then worked on getting my working template ready. Here my master template is clamped on top of another piece of mdf


Truth be told, I was so excited to start routing the actual body that I didn't finish with the working template. I just used the master

Here's the body just after routing the profile


And after cavity routing


The routing wasn't perfect, and I had some tearout in a couple of spots. I'm not really worried about it, though, because as you may remember, this one isn't going to look factory-fresh and brand new.

Sorry some of the pics aren't too good. I only had my cell phone with me at one point. Anyway, I'm pretty pumped about moving forward finally.

I think some shell casings are a must for knobs and such.

Keep it coming.

Darrin

I can't wait to see the finished geetar!

shell case ends(the heavy part that holds the primer, not sure of terminology) would make interesting fingerboard fret position markers too, IF you could sink them under a mm or so of resin or something so they don't get sanded off in the radiusing process....
maybe .25 cal or so would be the right size....? and 10 gauge shell ends for knobs....

It's been a loooong time, but we have PROGRESS!

I finished up my neck pocket jig, routed my neck pocket, did the round-over, re-routed my control cavity to proper depth, and made my neck template. The neck pocket still needs some work, though, and I'm not sure of the best way to proceed. I was able to do a mock-up though. I like it!



This isn't the bridge I'm going to use. I'm making my own out of the .50 cal ammo box, but I don't have it worked enough for the mock-up, so I just grabbed one to put on.

Whoa! That looks awesome, Roger! Where'd you find the body wood?

Can't wait to see the progress unfold!

Thanks, Gabby. I appreciate that. I salvaged the wood from an old church. It's got a great patina, but it's completely gone where I've sanded on the sides. I'm going to have to figure something out there. Also, I wanted to smooth out the grain roughness on the front, but I see how I can do that and retain the patina. I've got a long time before I have to worry about that though

Nice find! I see your problem with sanding and evening out the wood. It's one of those strange problems to deal with ("oh no! When I sand the wood, it becomes smoother and cleaner! What a disaster!") but I totally get it. I'd want to preserve the rough, worn look of the wood, too. It's kind of the point of using a salvaged piece like that.

For the sides (and back if it's also gotten smoothed out and lost the patina), I'd maybe suggest a subtle stain or tint, just so the contrast isn't so intense with the top. You could try a black or deep brown stain, and sand it back so that it just fills the pores. For the top, if you want to basically keep it how it looks, but smooth it out a bit, a pore filler could do the trick. I just tried Z Poxy for the first time (also on a Tele-style build) with great results. It's very forgiving in the mixing ratio and application. I'm thinking one good coat on your Tele would even it out a bit without giving it a perfectly flat, overly polished feel.

Thanks for the ideas, Gabby. Those sound like good options. I think the dark brown or black stain would work great for the sides and back so that they don't stand out so bad. With the ZPoxy, does it leave any color at all, or is it completely clear when dried? It sounds like the perfect way to handle the roughness of the front.

What i say is never shoot down someones ego when building a guitar with that type of materials at hand, he may have the ammo that went into the box in his workshop and he will come around and shoot you first lol....

Just read this post and must pile on the relic portion of the topic. I sooooo agree with Chris. I love to pick up an authenic relic with real wear. I admire an ancient artifact as much as the next guy. But, manufacturer's relicing new instruments for premium pricing.... no way! I also hate buying my daughters and granddaughters jeans pre-wore out at a higher cost.

I am nearing retirement and reserve the right to be persnickery.

I mean none of this to discourage Roger and I admit to liking faded denium.

Danny R. Little

Here's another way to look at it...

If I were to spend all my time on this build trying to make sure that the cosmetics were perfect, I'd have given it up for lost already. I've had tearout while routing, mishaps while doing the roundover, etc. In all honesty, the wear on this is complete original. Is it from playing? No, but since all the materials have been repurposed, it's original from it's original purpose. And as they say over at TDPRI in their finishing section, "Remember relicing is a finish option not an affront to your emotions."

Well said! Let me shift this emotional baggage to the other hand...wait, there. OK, I am fine with it, given your logical approach. Just don't sell it for more than I get for mine, OK? 'Cause that would bring up a whole lot of other emotional issues, Doctor, that, well, .....

I would throw some traditional brass tele saddles on your home-made bridge. I think they would fit the feel your going for alot better

I think you're right. I've been leary of doing the traditional 3 saddle set up becuase of intonation issues, but 3 tarnished brass saddles would look pretty good on there. I'm going to have to think more on this.

ZPoxy leaves a very slight amber tint, but I happen to like it. It warms the whole thing up visually. Below are before and after shots of the Tele I applied it on.


Also, I agree that aged or worn brass saddles would look great on your bridge. OLF's own Shad Peters did a great relic job on one of his Tele's. Maybe he'd make you a set. Check his out: http://petersinstruments.com/guitars/ranger2.htm