82DeanZ Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 I hesitated to post this project considering the quality telecaster work being done by several members on this board (whose names certainly don't need mentioning as their reputations precede them)! Anyhoo, I decided to share regardless. This is my third project (not counting my first guitar build which was a Saga kit). I decided to challenge myself and see if I could build a guitar for someone other than myself. I immediately thought of my guitar teacher. He has helped me make several major breakthroughs in my playing this year and he is also a gigging musician which would give my work great exposure. He told me that was cool (duh) and said he wanted a custom Tele tung oiled and stained orange with gold hardware. In addition, he wanted a custom 3+3 headstock, small abalone inlays aligned with the top edge of the fretboard, custom forearm drop, and a custom on-off switch. Here is a teaser pic of the body after grain filling with oil based grain filler (available at Orchard Supply Hardware of all places), staining with water soluble Transfast orange dye and about 7 coats of tung oil: Here is a link to several other progress pictures: Custom Tele Pics After all the horror stories I read about staining swamp ash (the body is a one piece chunk of swamp), I was prepared for the worst, but it came out very nice. The body did absorb more dye at the body edges, but it actually looks really good that way, almost like its bursted. The only real issue, and it's fairly big depending on how you look at it, is there are a few small spots, mainly on the body edges, that absolutely would not absorb any dye. I did a naptha wipe before staining and handled the body with latex gloves at all times. They remained white no matter how many times I went over them with dye solution (you can see these on the picture of the backside of the body which is currently the last picture on the site linked to above. Look at the body edge in the cutaway). Very bizarre. I showed my teacher Roman and he had no problem with it so I will proceed without trying to fix them. I'm almost done and will post final pics soon. Oh, forgot to mention, he wanted a short-scale (24 3/4) ebony fretboard and I gave him my last piece of birdseye maple for the neck. Thanks for looking! Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 i like it, looks cool Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 i like it, looks cool Curtis ← I second that... looks really nice man good job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGGR Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 Body is looking fairly good. Did notice some router marks in lower horn cavity....is this just in pics.....or didn't you sand this out properly?? Not big fan of headstock. Personally I think Tele shaped headstock gives guitar just that little touch. Unless your guitar teacher wanted it like this, though. The customer is always right, right!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted May 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 Thanks Curtis and Angel! Body is looking fairly good. Did notice some router marks in lower horn cavity....is this just in pics.....or didn't you sand this out properly?? Not big fan of headstock. Personally I think Tele shaped headstock gives guitar just that little touch. Unless your guitar teacher wanted it like this, though. The customer is always right, right!!! ← Hey RGGR, Actually, the whole body is smooth as a baby's butt! I'm not sure exactly what you are referring to, but I did mention a problem I had staining the guitar that left a couple of white spots in the cutaway. Very strange. No router marks though. In fact, the answer to both of your questions is in the text of my original post and on the web page I link to (I know, I know, I'm too verbose). Here is a picture of the just finished headstock: Thanks for checking in on me. Best Regards, Mike P.S. How's the JS coming along? You're killing me with suspense! I'm in love with my JS6. It plays like a dream and sounds sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGGR Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 P.S. How's the JS coming along? You're killing me with suspense! Yeah, tell me about it. Will turn into multiple year project. Waiting for parts from Ibanez to arrive. Don't know what darn hold-up is. Can't be so hard to put couple of parts in box and send 'm over the pond. They're seriously testing my patience. Body is ready to go. Currently working on neck. With arrival of parts will be matter of routing rear cavities and body is off to painters. I'm in love with my JS6. It plays like a dream and sounds sweet. I can imagine. Can't wait to play mine. How are you gonna cover that cavity in lower part of body. Is scratch plate gonna cover this??? Like the orange color......very funky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted May 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 Hey RGGR, Yes, the standard Tele pickguard will cover the route for the custom on-off switch. Of course the Tele control plate will cover the other route. As for the orange, I'm not sure if this is what he had in mind, or not: G&L ASAT I wasn't so sure about the orange either at first, but after seeing it I like it quite a lot. He requested a black pickguard and gold hardware. I test fitted the hardware and it does look really cool with the black/gold/orange color scheme. When I get back from my trip this weekend (it's Memorial Day holiday this weekend in the States) I'll post a picture of the test fit (the tung oil should be dry enough by then. Sorry to hear about the trouble you're having getting parts for your JS. I'm sure it will be worth the wait. Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted May 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 Real quick I thought I would do a mock-up on Virtual Guitar. Of course, the headstock will be different, but this will give you the general idea: Cheers! Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 Hey all, I finally got around to test fitting the neck and some other items. Here is the picture as promised. I think I'll be done with this project in about a week. Thanks for checking it out! Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 is it just me, or does the pickgaurd cover a tiny bit of the control cavity (thinger???) Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 (edited) That's it!!! That's your only comment!!! O.K., O.K....that's because it's a custom pickguard (note the middle pickup route) that I made from a 10 x 20, 5-ply blank from Stew Mac and 45 degree router bit. The recipient of the guitar needs to provide me with the control cover so I can finish the route on that part of the pickguard (he's providing his own electronics and his own tuners as well). Mike. Edited June 10, 2005 by 82DeanZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 (edited) I really like it. At first I wasn't so sure but seeing it all together I like it! May I recomend staining the headstock the same orange or painting it black? I think it would go better with this guitar... (BTW I like that headstock design. That would go really good with a cool les paul-ish single cutaway) Edited June 10, 2005 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 I really like it. At first I wasn't so sure but seeing it all together I like it! May I recomend staining the headstock the same orange or painting it black? I think it would go better with this guitar... (BTW I like that headstock design. That would go really good with a cool les paul-ish single cutaway) ← Looks nice so far...only thing i can really say is I think the body would have looked alot nicer with the use of some grain-filler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Don't stain the headstock black...with the ebony board it would be too much black...maybe orange. For the headstock itself, sometimes changing the look of an obvious classic design can be a worry but I think it works here as it fits in with the kind of hotrod tele look, side markers and such...I like the orange, gold and black! nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Thanks for your comments and suggestions: May I recomend staining the headstock the same orange or painting it black? Great idea! I'll mention it to Roman (the guy getting the guitar). Don't stain the headstock black...with the ebony board it would be too much black Hmmm...good point. In general, I do like the idea of staining/painting the headstock, however. We'll see what we can come up with. You also wrote: I like the orange, gold and black! I wasn't sure if I would like it either, but now I think it looks awesome too. I wish it was my idea! Looks nice so far...only thing i can really say is I think the body would have looked alot nicer with the use of some grain-filler. Thanks! Actually, I did use grain filler. Did you mean a colored grain filler? Hmm... Everybody tends to like the headstock. Me too. That wasn't my idea either dammit. I'm glad I didn't try and talk Roman out of any of his ideas. Thanks for looking everyone. Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSo_Spencer Posted June 13, 2005 Report Share Posted June 13, 2005 (edited) DeanZ - stunning Tele - Original, kind of reminds me of a les paul custom in a way - i dunno thats just me the only thing i would do to the guitar is yes, put a ebony veneer on the headstock with some nice mop inlay and some gold grover imperials - thatd be crazy. Edited June 13, 2005 by ZoSo_Spencer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2005 Thanks ZoSo. I like your MOP inlaid ebony idea very much. I need to get busy working on a logo! I actually have an idea, but it would be a bit complicated and I don't have a lot of experience with inlay yet. I was actually thinking of woodburning it into the headstock. That wouldn't work very well with ebony though. Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Well, I delivered the custom Tele to my guitar teacher this evening. He was obviously excited: As I said before, he is going to finish it with his own electronics and his own tuners. The body was finished with about 14 coats of tung oiled buffed out with #0000 steel wool and finished with 2 coats of Minwax Finishing Paste. I did the custom logo in Paintshop Pro printed on Testors waterslide decal paper. The neck was finished with four coats of tung oil and rubbed out with steel wool. The birdseye maple really popped on this one: http://www.pariah-now.com/images/Tele%20We...%20Backside.jpg Here is a shot of the finished body with custom pickguard and custom on-off switch: http://www.pariah-now.com/images/Tele%20We...shed%20Body.jpg Finally, here is a total body shot: http://www.pariah-now.com/images/Tele%20We...al%20guitar.jpg I'll post a picture of the guitar after he gets all the electronics in. Maybe I can even get him to record a sound sample of it. Thanks for looking! Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Congrats on all your hard work. Looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Ha! I've been trying to decide whether to use contours in my tele mod --this came up just in time. Like the way that forearm contour looks...nothing on the back though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Congrats on all your hard work. Looks great! Thanks Greg! Ha! I've been trying to decide whether to use contours in my tele mod --this came up just in time. Like the way that forearm contour looks...nothing on the back though? I like the forearm drop too. No carve on the back, though: If it were mine I'd probably put it in, but he said no. Honestly you don't even notice it's not there. Maybe if I had a bigger gut I'd notice. Ha! Obviously the guy is skinny as a rail so I can see why he didn't care for a backside carve. I'd kill for his long, skinny fingers, though. Best Regards Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 I realized that the headstock logo is hard to make out in the photos so here is the graphic: Just thought I would give those interested a closer look (some of you may even know where the concept comes from ) . Thanks! Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 I realized that the headstock logo is hard to make out in the photos so here is the graphic: Just thought I would give those interested a closer look (some of you may even know where the concept comes from ) . Thanks! Best Regards, Mike. ← Thats the dark crystal font? I loved that movie as a kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 (edited) http://www.1001freefonts.com/fonts/dfonts.htm Actually, the concept comes from my band. The font style was a complete accident! I didn't even know it came from a movie until I read your post. I just saw it at the free font site listed above and thought it looked cool. Now I have to go rent the movie! Best Regards, Mike. Edited June 24, 2005 by 82DeanZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 I caught up with my teacher today and got to see the custom tele I made for him with all the electronics and the tuners in place. The thing looks great, plays great and sounds awesome. We actually did my lesson today with him using the custom tele and me using the custom JS6 that I made not too long ago. Really cool. Here's a shot of Roman diggin' in deep: Here's a couple more shots of Roman with the Tele: Roman Holding Tele 1 Roman Holding Tele 2 I couldn't resist taking a couple of shots of the two guitars together: Tele with JS6 1 Tele with JS6 2 Thanks for looking! Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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