Guitar Project #7, The Rosewood Telecaster, Part 3

For Part 1:  http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2012/05/guitar-project-7-rosewood-telecaster.html

For Part 2:  http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2012/05/guitar-project-7-rosewood-telecaster_26.html

So to make a long story short, I finally completed the Rosewood Telecaster.  I'll explain how I did it while posting pictures of my work.

First off, here's the body after routing and shaping.  I got it nice and sanded down.

Next I used Z-poxy to fill the grain.  This really helped one place on the back that had a hallow place in it.

Then I sanded down the Z-poxy.  Sidenote:  It really sands down nicely.

Then I put on the Tru Oil.

After sanding and buffing I had this:

Next, it was time to assemble the guitar. 

I had to use a different bridge pickup than I would have liked, but I will change this one out later.

Here's the shot of the back.

Overall not too bad.  There's a couple of places that I could have done better.  I am going to change the one pickup out when I have the chance/money.  Oh, I also need a strap as I have locking tuners.  So it's playable, but not completely done yet.  But I guess it's close enough for jazz.

I Am A Terrible Luthier, But I'm Working On It

For quite a while now I have been building a guitar I've called "Project 5."  Here's the original post describing the ideas I had behind it.

http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/02/not-another-guitar-project.html

Here's a picture of the guitar that I based my design on.

But I wanted it to have that jangle and style of the Gretsch White Penguin.

Here is what I have come up with so far.

Not bad, but I have made a number of mistakes.  I have fixed most of them, but I have two serious ones.

The first big mistake I made was drilling a hole out the back of the body.  You can see the hole in the picture above.  So I decided to plug the hole.  I would like to thank my Dad for woodturning a piece of black walnut so that I could fill the hole.  Here's the piece he did.

With a bit of Titebond 2 glue, and some time, I will be able to fix my screw up.  After the glue dries I will sand down the plug, and cover it with lacquer.

The next mistake was as serious as it gets.  I screwed up royally.  I screwed up so bad that I put this guitar away for over a year and a half.  Simply put, I made the neck too thin.  Then, when I was shaving it into shape, I cut through, so that the truss rod was showing out the back of the neck.  

So, after spending some time away from the project, I had a friend on the net show how to put a patch over a broken neck.  His was way worse, so I figured I could save this guitar since it was not as bad.  This is what I came up with.

It may not be pretty, but it will work.  I tested the movement on the neck, and it seems to be holding.  I have sanded it even, and applied tung oil to fill the grain.  Once I get the hole on the back sanded even, I will start applying polyurethane to both the filled hole and the neck.  

The Ongoing Baritone/ Tele/ Cello Project, Part 4, Not So Baritone

The original post, http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/03/baritone-cello-guitar.html

Part 1, http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/05/ongoing-baritone-cello-tele-project.html

Part 2, http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/05/ongoing-baritone-tele-cello-project.html

Part 3, http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/05/ongoing-baritone-tele-cello-project_29.html

So I've had a little change of heart/ design when it comes to the Tele project.  Frankly, I can't get a good baritone neck at a decent price, so I got a regular Tele neck.  I got it from the same place that Fender gets their higher end Squier series, from Hong Kong. 

I've found a nice little place where I can order things straight from the Hong Kong factories.

http://www.eyguitarmusic.com/

I have been really happy with what I have ordered.  I am getting the same stuff I would normally get from other places, I'm just cutting out two middlemen, and two trips of shipping.

Here's the pictures of the neck.

I also got the last pieces to complete the build.

You wouldn't believe how hard it has been to find an output jack.  I've been to just about every store in the bay area, and can't find one.  It's bordering on ridulousness.  But, this place has all the output jacks I want to buy.

And one other thing...

A double bladed hot rodded bridge pickup.  I have a thing for double bladed pickups, and this one is right up my alley.  And if I hate it, I have another Kent Armstrong pickup that I can replace it with.

My next step is to route out the neck.  Here's a picture for clarity.

The body is basically complete except for routing out the neck pocket.  So, I am going to do that in the near future, and post another blog when my wood work is hopefully complete.